rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jim Hines closes off the trilogy with another winner. The tone is changed in this one, of necessity. When it comes to getting in trouble, Jig has nowhere to go but up. Oh, and he does.
I kept imagining a God slap-fest every time Jig’s deity started explaining how the pantheons worked. I found myself chuckling and laughing throughout the entire thing, which earned me plenty of quizzical glances from my wife.
If you like the funny, read these books!
This year, my birthday fell on the last day of PenguiCon. I’ll go into that in more detail in my con report… I can’t possibly fit all of the awesome of my birthday AND the con into one post. :)
So, last weekend (24,25,26 Apr) some friends brought over a cake -again-. And I didn’t even realize it -again-. It had little Transformers on it -again-. I giggled like a madman, AGAIN. Here, you see Rodimus, Warpath, and Wheelie in their new modes. And let me tell you, the improvement in their vehicle modes is even more impressive than the improvement in their robot modes. It’s only been, what, twenty-five years?
Early in the week, my Mom and Dad brought over my Grandparents’ grill. It hadn’t seen use in years, and was practically new. Well, Dad cleaned it up, disassembled it, and brought it over. We put it back together, fired it up, and grilled some tasty burgers on it. It’s not technically a birthday gift, but it sure felt like one!
After the con, (1,2,3 May) I stopped by my parents’ place for a bit in the TWP. They handed me a Transformers movie gift bag, and I was all like “You didn’t have to get me anything, you know.” They gave me The Look, and so I smiled and opened the card and gift. Mom made me an awesome card, and I’m now the proud owner of a Kodak Zi6 Pocket video camera. I may have even used it to film this and then place it on YouTube. Hee!
I got the last (at least, I think so) of my gifts yesterday. The Pampered Chef order came in from Nikki’s sister’s party, and I now have some high-quality tools (heh) to go with the grill:
BBQ Tongs
Barbecue Turner
Grill Cleaning Brush
Great Grilling! Seasoning & Recipe Collection
To bring my birthday awesome to a close, I’ll be grilling Johnsonville cheese brats on the grill tonight, and will be using my new hotness!
From a friend of mine:
“I heard on the radio this morning that 70 Australian Shepards were seized from a home in Mason, Mi. due to neglect and filthy conditions. They are at the Ingham County Animal Shelter, and, its over full! They are going to have to put down lots of dogs if these Aussies don’t get adopted soon. I know I want to help. I’d even take one myself. Please tell everyone you know about this situation, its crazy! At least the woman got her kennel license taken away, and she’s going to court now.”
I can’t tell you guys how excited I am right now. I’ve got materials out for making swag, I’m printing out CD labels and business cards, and I’m trying really, really hard not to squee out loud.
I’m making it back to PenguiCon this year. I’ll have ribbons – purple Rebuilder ribbons – to hand out with business cards that reference the web page, where there’ll be an answer to the question on the ribbon. I’ll have teaser CDs to hand out to people that attend the panels I’m on. And this year, I’ll have HAIR!
Heh.
Here’s a list of the panels that I’ll be on:
May 2, 2009
– 9:00 am Sci-Fi/Fantasy – Perception or Prescience?
– 10:00 am Short Stories : What’s the Story?
– 11:00 am Sci-Fi /Fantasy – What Really Works?
– 12:00 pm Self-Publishing – How to Not Get Totally Screwed
– 1:00 pm The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
– 3:00 pm Johnny Can’t Read and Nobody Thinks It’s a Problem
– 4:00 pm What’s So Funny?!
– 6:00 pm Future Crash – What If We Lose the Knowledge?
May 3, 2009
– 8:00 am National Novel Writing Month
– 1:00 pm Selling Your Soul – Marketing Your Work on a Limited Budget
If you’re going to be there, say hi! :) I may be vibrating from the High Octane coffee, so if I slip out of space-time, just give me a sec, I’ll be back.
Last Temptation by Neil Gaiman
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had been familiar with the idea of concept albums, but I’d never read a graphic novel based off of one. I’m a ridiculous Neil Gaiman fan, and was impressed to see that he helped Alice Cooper with the concept of the album. This graphic novel is just the icing on the cake. He pulls off the dark theatre/dark carnival story very well, keeps the preaching to a minimum, and worked with a great artist. I would definitely recommend this one.
Irony: The VP that fired me sending me an invitation to connect with him on TripIt. Perhaps the technical VP shouldn’t send invites to his entire address book.
A few days ago, I had composed a brilliant post in my head. I’d framed my thoughts about joining Pampered Chef with
“How do I sell? How do I share my exuberance about a product – actual, real excitement – with others? In a professional setting or a fun one? How do I express that I love using these products without sounding cheesy and/or coming across like I’m trying to pressure my friends into buying something that they don’t want and/or need?
I’ve been using Pampered Chef tongs and angled measuring cups and the liquid/dry measuring cup since
I didn’t end up finishing… Cian ended up falling asleep, and so I snagged the opportunity to sleep. I have to admit, I’m kind of wishing for the same situation right about now. Heh.
Put plainly and simply, it’s an opportunity to add to our income by selling products that we buy ourselves.
I won’t push anyone to host a show or to buy any products. If you want to check out the online catalog, and you happen to see products that you and your friends would enjoy, we’d be happy to put on a show for you. Hosts get free products, too, depending on how much their show earns.
Me, I can’t wait for my hinged grease spatter screen. Nikki’s biting her nails for her cutting board with drop-in measuring cups. Yeah, we’re addicted. :)
I don’t think he wants to transform and roll out.
He’s so big already that the 0-3 month onesies are tight on him. It could be because they’re 100% cotton, and need to be stretched by wearing, but… I’m still amazed. My jaw dropped when he outgrew his newborn size outfits.
I wonder if he’ll ever know how many directions he pulls me in on a daily basis.
