Brittle Mom

09.29.2004

I'm not sure how she managed it, but Mom now has a broken foot.

I know, the first image that pops into mind is her kicking Terry around to keep him in line. Maybe even her fighting off a ninja horde. But no. How did she break her foot?

She stepped on a rock.

Not "stepped on a rock, slipped, and broke her foot", just "stepped on a rock". From the way she explained it, she stepped on a rock and afterward thought she had a bruise from stepping on it too hard. 3 weeks later, she still has a little bruise that's calloused. She goes to the foot doctor (they don't have podiatrists near Tater Peeler Rd.) to see about getting her callouses taken care of, only to find out an x-ray later that she has many hairline fractures in her foot.

From stepping on a rock.

Mom is now encased in Carbonite and awaits her recovery. Actually, she's got one of those boots that lets her walk around while keeping pressure off her foot for the next 3 weeks.

The moral of the story? Don't go stepping on any rocks!

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So Not Ready To Rumble

09.27.2004

Over the weekend I goofed off more than I should have (my garage cleaning chore is only about halfway finished). Part of my goofing was spent playing some games, one of which was Def Jam: Fight for NY. Much like the precursor to this game, I suck at it. My butt got kicked all over the place.

Although I seem to suck at it, I did like this game a little better than the first. This one lets you create your fighter, although not as detailed as the Smackdown series Create-A-Wrestler. You also pick yopur style of fighting, and then spend points later learning new moves, or even a new style. But I still get KO'ed in the first couple of fights. Every time. Now I know why I tend to stick with driving games.

Permalink video games

Sunday Sunday Sundaaaayyyyy

09.24.2004

Being in that I've been in a video game mood lately, I picked up a requisite driving game. Hey, I've been playing football just to mix things up, but I can't give up wrestling and driving cold turkey! But maybe I should have tried the cold turkey thing.

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction is the latest addition to the Test Drive franchise, which has never been quite up to the par set by the Need For Speed series. The latest incarnation has you taking the role of Billy Bob Joe Bumpkis (or something similar) out in the sticks as you try to make your way to fame and fortune racing in demolition derby type races. Although it sounds to me like a good concept - who doesn't like wrecking cars - the game just doesn't pull it off well. Maybe I just haven't progressed far enough to get the cool cars, but so far I slide around in underpowered Pacers and bump into other cars. Sometimes I get points for hitting the other cars, sometimes I don't.

I think I should have gotten Jerry's surprise find for himself, Burnout 3, the first driving game without guns that Jerry seems to actually like!

Permalink video games

Routes

09.23.2004

I've been working in Research Park for off and on for almost 5 years (it's taken 4 companies, but it's still around 5 years worth of time). I have a pretty standard route as far as driving to work. Every once in a while I'll mix it up a little, but driving 20 miles to work will do that to you.

Most of the time I drive up Hwy 72 to Point A (see pretty map). From there I take right and go through Research Park to the Bradford intersection at Point C. From there I continue on to the office, not shown on the map for highly classified security reasons. Sometimes I'll go from Point A to Point B, coming in using the overpass at Bradford. I timed it once, and it takes the same amount of time regardless of which route is taken. Research Park is shorter distance wise, but has 2 extra lights and a 35 mph speed limit.

The past couple of weeks, I've been confused by a group of people taking a route that makes no sense to me. They follow my route from Point A to Point C through Research Park, but they then turn onto Bradford, continuing at least to Point D. Who are these people? Why are they taking the longer (time) route? Are they stupid? Do they not know where the roads go?

It's not just 1 or 2 cars. Everyday I see at least a trio of cars that have been behind me since turning into Research Park peel into the turn lane at Bradford. I'm tempted to follow them one morning to see where they go. Maybe then it will make some sense. Until then, it's all insanity to me.

Permalink random

I Appreciate You More

09.22.2004

He's back! My favorite Japanese auctioneer on eBay once again brightens my day as he offers another Space 1999 auction. The wording is exactly the same as the first auction I saw from him a couple of months ago.

Ah, the joy of language screwed up by an automated translator. I appreciated him.

Permalink random