My car, on Sunday, developed a noise.  Sort of a buzz, or a rapid rattle, inside the car.  Outside the car, it’s clearly something metal rattling.  It’s got me concerned, as it’s started happening more and more.  Something is probably loose.  I hope it’s an easy fix.  But even if it is, it’s an unwelcome expense with sucky timing.  I’m trying to save up some blasted money for GenCon in August, dammit.  Of course, spending money on food out 3 times this week, then $30 on something I truly don’t need (but is extremely cool, a 50mw green laser pointer) and $32 on beer doesn’t help that situation any.  Or $25 going to the doctor yesterday morning for her to basically tell me “you look fine, take Tylenol and gargle with salt water” because my throat was starting to itch again, and Jade came down on Monday with what seems to be the same thing that had me horribly sick before and I feared I was still contagious.

I was supposed to take it in to Jimmie’s shop Friday morning.  But because I’ve got to get up stupid early for a work trip to Amarillo Friday morning, I had to reschedule.  To the following Thursday, the soonest they can get me in now, because they’re so busy.  Grr.  I really hope something on my car doesn’t explode or fall off before then.

Link of the Day: Combination CD and vinyl record – on one disc.

Spam of the Day: “Just broke your leg…”

Funny of the Day: Rather tempting, honestly.

Pic of the Day: Kitty looks . . . happy.

Video WTF of the Day: Klenginem

First, we ate at NOLA, one of Emeril’s restaurants.  It was good.  No photos in there, but I drank Chimay Blue, an excellent Belgian beer, extremely smooth, almost a chocolatey texture (not the taste of chocolate), and 9% alcohol.  James was on an Abita kick (Abita being a local LA brewery).

After NOLA, we wandered around Bourbon Street for a bit.

Here are some pics:

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Abita Andygator beer. Pint bottle. 8% alcohol.

Still very happy about being able to open my car door from the inside.  Such a small thing, but so appreciated after being deprived of it for a week and a half.  Jimmy also got me a front license plate mount ordered.

Got paid today.  My financial status has changed from “broke” to merely “poor.”  Rent paid, electric paid, ordered more cat food, ordered a surprise for someone.

Link of the Day: “The Spy Who Accepted My Friend Request”

Spam of the Day: “As catwalk in refill. An a willpower.”

Funny of the Day: Craigslist Wanted ad

Pic of the Day: The truth about Godzilla

Quote of the Day: “There is a pervasive tendency to treat children as adults, and adults as children. The options of children are thus steadily expanded, while those of adults are progressively constricted. The result is unruly children and childish adults.” – Thomas Szasz

My car is fixed. The broken driver’s side inside door handle was replaced yesterday, finally. Such a small thing, but it’s so nice to be able to simply open the door from the inside again.

Link of the Day: Super Mario Crossover – Play Super Mario Bros. – as Samus, Link, or other characters.

Spam of the Day: “Love the mall, but only the private spots.”

Funny of the Day: Beyonce – Masonic Satanist.

Pic of the Day: Sulu likes it!

Video of the Day: Slave Leia Car Wash

Quote of the Day: “Pros: Zero to ecstasy in 3 minutes. Works great on sore and knotted muscles too.” – Reviewer on Newegg.com for Hitachi Magic Hand Massager.

*tap tap*

“This thing still work?”

I’ve been meaning to start posting at least some token trifle of the Day stuff again for a bit, because there are far too many amusing things in this world, and I find a desire to at least feel like I’m sharing them with others outside of Gtalk. I’ve however found myself rather busy and frustrated with work-related technical issues several times this week, so it’s taken me until today. A reddit post and its accompanying comment thread provided entirely too many amusing moments for me to let it drift by again. Also, I can annoy people on Facebook now too.

Link of the Day: Women: Why do you show cleavage if you don’t want men to look? Every girl gets a disgusted look when they catch me looking at what they’re displaying.

Spam of the Day: “Supersize your tomatoes with Tomato Giant”

Funny of the Day: Nikon camera ad . . . with Face Detection.

Pic of the Day: “Dude, is there something on my cheek?”

Quote of the Day: Billy Mays here!
Are you tired of not being allowed to look at breasts? Then I’ve got just the product for you! My exciting new product Bitch, please! You ain’t all that! will revolutionize your dating life.
The BPYAAT system will teach you such winning techniques as:
Does this rag smell like ether?
I have cancer and I don’t want to die a virgin.
No means yes.
And many more!
All this can be yours, for the low low price of three easy payments of braaaaaains! – _Zombie_Billy_Mays_

Tired and groggy, I drove my car to Jimmy’s shop this morning, dropped it off there, and got a ride to work from my dad. By 9:30, I had news: there was a minor leak from one of the transmission seals. Not a big deal, in itself . . . but, I also found out that the entire steering rack needs to be replaced, as there was a significant steering fluid leak and the steering rack had issues. So, looking at at least $600 . . . and then after clearing a short-term loan from my dad to be able to go ahead and get stuff done, I find out that it’s also going to need new tie rod ends, and an alignment. Yay.

Getting it done, I need a reliable, functional vehicle, but it’s going to make me poor for about the next month. It’s going to take what I have in savings (which was already mostly money I had earmarked for repaying my dad for the last round of repairs on this Acura), most of the money from my check this Friday after I pay rent, and a significant chunk of my paycheck on the 16th to pay for all this. Oy.

As I said, most of you won’t care about this.

Weekend was pretty good.  Spent it with my Kara, we entertained ourselves inexpensively, ate very well (perhaps too well, I need to not be poor again soon so I can afford to get back on my diet), had a lot of fun and many good snuggle times.  Weather most of the weekend was dreary.  I really kinda wanted to see about playing with/test driving some cars Saturday (though Kara really didn’t seem too keen on that idea), but the weather wasn’t cooperative for that.

Entirely too broke right now.  I had to borrow money from a friend until this upcoming payday on Friday so I could afford food to make sure I’d have something other than hamburger and ramen (not the end of the world, I’ve been worse off) and be confident of having enough gas my dad’s van I’m currently driving to be able to get to and from work this week.  Heard from Littlefield Automotive earlier, $350 to get my car from them.  Then haul it to Lubbock this Friday afternoon, and see what the Saab place there says it’ll cost to get things all fixed up.  I’m worried about what they’ll say.  I hope it’s a reasonable figure at all.  Even if I end up in (further) debt to my dad for a year or more, I’d really like my car back in proper working order.  I miss it.  I do like it.  I’d really rather not have to buy something else on the cheap right now.

Link of the Day: Students for an Orwellian Society

Spam of the Day: “Colo Cleanse Plus”

Funny of the Day: Burned by a pharaoh!

Pic of the Day: Irresistable geekette earrings

Quote of the Day: “Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” - Douglas Pagels

Quote of the Day: “I think gin would make a better mixie for cooker dough.” – Me.

Liz, one of our True Dungeon volunteers and DMs.

Yesterday, I got home from work, to find my apartment oddly quiet.  Why?  Because my apartment was devoid of power.  They’d frigging disconnected me.  By mistake/accident.  In calling them, on my cell phone, to get this mess sorted out, I got disconnected/hung up on twice.  I was spoken to rudely.  I was berated, accused of lying, and told flat out things that contradict the pink piece of paper I was holding in my hand from Bounce – the one that told me to either call them, or use their web site online to make my payment to avoid disconnection. The final supervisor I talked to was so confused by my bill from Bounce, she ended up arguing with me about what I’d paid and suggested that I was disconnected because I didn’t pay enough.  I quite simply paid what their web site’s billing section for my account said I owed.  Simple enough, right?  My current bill is really amusing.  My current monthly charges, indicated on it?  $-42.99.  Then there’s the amount due for my Next billing cycle, not due until September 8th (Currently, nothing is due – zero balance – as the only semi-intelligent rep I spoke to observed, there’s no reason I should have been disconnected) is $137.01.  Oh, but if I wait until After the due date . . . it’s $134.86.  Wait, what?  I save $2.15 if I pay my bill AFTER the due date?

Lunacy.  Insanity.  Absolute, ludicrous incompetence.  After my power is turned back on, I’m looking for a new energy provider ASAFP.  I’m done with Bounce screwing up with me.

On more amusing notes, here’s something that’s just too awesome not to link:

Automatic Pancake Machine: 200 pancakes per hour

Next up, here’s the next GenCon pic:

This girl was actually featured on an article on this year’s GenCon in the Indianapolis Star: Despite recession, Gen Con Indy drew 27,900 I ran into her as she was waiting for the elevators on Saturday as I was heading up to grab food before my DM shift, and she was en route to the costume contest.

I don’t really feel like going in-depth about the con.  It wasn’t quite as fun as I’d have liked, I didn’t get to do quite as many things as I wanted.  I’ll still do it again.  But dammit, next year, I’m staying for the Dead Dog party.

I’ll try to post a pic from the ones I took at GenCon here every day or two for a bit.  Here’s the first one, which I simply call “Umbrella Girl:”

At this point, it’s more a question to me now of, what’s the sane cutoff point of money to throw at this car?

Link of the Day: “Where I Write” - pictures of SciFi Authors and where they write. (Thanks James)

Spam of the Day: “Look at cars they drive”

Funny of the Day: “That’s sexual harrassment, Lion-O.”

Pic of the Day: Spock’s Ship “Jellyfish” done in Legos

Quote of the Day: “I’m assuming it’s either ginger, or condom flower. I’m hoping for ginger.” – Kara

Was I moping?  Maybe I was just being practical, given that my car is sitting in the shop, with still no prognosis (I’m giving Littlefield until 3ish, and if they haven’t called me by then – which they won’t, of course – I’ll call them for a status update), and I needed some sleep and me time.  I had offers for companionship, which I rejected.  Some of it, genuinely because I didn’t really want anyone to intrude (oh, and Saturday, my left shoulder was sore and aching horribly) on my solo veg time.  Some of it, maybe . . . because I just didn’t really think that being with someone else I didn’t really want to be with when the person I wanted to be with was off with someone else for the weekend would make me feel any better.

Some friends had a poker game Saturday night that I’d have really liked to be able to go to, but I lacked transportation, and they couldn’t find anyone willing to give me a ride to and from their place.  Understandable, I guess, but I really would have liked to have been there.  I could have used the companionship and fun.  Does that seem to be a contradiction of the other offers of companionship I mentioned above?  All I can say is, they’re different sorts of things, really.

I’ve already had a couple of texts from one woman hinting that she wants to do something with me tonight.  I haven’t figured out yet how I’m going to decline.

Link of the Day: Jeremy Clarkson Sound Box video

Spam of the Day: “LUKY JUNE ONLINE CASINO PROMO”

Funny of the Day: “How’s the Magma?”

Pic of the Day: Kermit the Frog + Internet Horror

Quote of the Day: “(757): Shark Week may as well be Shark Weed.” – another gem from TFLN

No transpo?  Yeah, getting back to the terrible fucking Thursday last week . . . It rained Wednesday night/Thursday morning.  Lots and lots of rain.  Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

That’s the sort of open field that dips down a little across from my apartment complex, and behind a host of businesses right along on the Loop 250 service road.  It stretches from this paved alley behind them that runs from Midkiff to my apartment complex, up to Caldera.  It was basically a humongous pond, or a shallow lake.  Unfortunately, so was a good stretch of Caldera.  I stepped out of my apartment that morning, greeted by this continuing rain, water all over the parking lot, in a rush to try to make it to work and Not end up a couple of minutes late.  I hopped into my trusty (so I thought) car, and drove across the parking lot, and saw Caldera underwater.  Hmm.

Keep in mind, this was right at pretty much 8:00 a.m., I hadn’t had been awake very long yet, and what little caffeine I had in me thus far had not kicked in yet.  I’m not fond of mornings at the best of times, unless I approach them from the “still awake from being up all night” angle.  This is the only defense I can make for the terrible decisions I made.

I decided I’d try to make it across a bit of Caldera to Crista Lane on my way to work.  This was a bad decision.  The water was really quite a bit deeper than I thought it was initially.  This is something I discovered as I was trying to begin my turn towards Crista Lane on Caldera, as my car’s engine sputtered and died.  Then, being sleepy and stupid and panicked, I tried to restart it.  Only afterwards, reading on the web, did I realize just how terrible of a thing that potentially is.

A City of Midland Transportation Services truck happened to come driving by (though the water – that truck has ground clearance of about up to my windows) right as I was getting stuck.  They radioed for for someone to come get me out.  A couple of police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck all showed up, with a wrecker supposedly on the way.  Two firemen got out of their truck, put on waders, and pushed my car out of the water up onto Crista Lane – so the tow truck ended up being unnecessary.  Later that morning, Corey pointed out a bit on the CBS7 web site about a water rescue being reported in Midland “near Loop 250 and Midkiff.”  That was probably the host of vehicles with various sorts of flashing lights that showed up for me.

While I was waiting, in the water, I took a couple of pictures.  This one, when, hrm, I felt something wet on my ankle:

Water was coming up from under the car, through whatever various holes or crevices or whatnot, and filling my floorboards.  It got to being a couple of inches in each of them.  Not fun at all.

Here’s a view from my car while I was stuck in the effing water:

Tried to do what things I could Thursday afternoon after work, Friday after work, and then Saturday, to get my car driving.  No luck.  Sunday, Kara and Matt came over, and we pushed my car back to my apartment complex, parked right downstairs.  It doesn’t start, and the electrical system is haywire.  I reached out to my dad for help, having no other real alternatives.  Finally got my car towed on a car carrier to Littlefield Automotive Wednesday during lunch.  Haven’t heard anything from them yet, going to call in a bit and see what, if any news, they’ve got for me yet.

I’ve been really severely stressed most of this week and last weekend.  Stressed about my car, about everything going on at work right now in crunch time (well, until this morning anyway), stressed about money being entirely too tight until my next payday.  Having a non-functional vehicle, and that adding unknown added costs to repair it (or possibly end up getting a cheap used vehicle if repair on it is too costly to be considered feasible) and having to work something out with my dad, probably on a payment plan basis, just added heaps of stress for me.  Some of that is why I haven’t posted a damn thing on this site until today.  It was just something that so seriously wasn’t anything of a priority for me.

So, yeah, that’s a bit to catch things up.  All I really feel like writing about it for now anyway.  Linkage commences:

Link of the Day: SDCC 2009 Hot Cosplay Chicks

Spam of the Day: “Time For a New Copier?” – from, of course, Copier King

Funny of the Day: “Try and spell shield that“

Pic of the Day: Interesting Top

Quote of the Day: “(760): I wish they had nachos that got you drunk” – another gem from TFLN