A Short Burst of Harmless Narcissism

Greetings, everyone! (OK, fine, greetings both of you...) It's Dave, with a quick blast of hot air... can't stay long - I've got work to do! As much as I enjoy spending my valuable time on entertaining you, I simply can't tonight! Sorry! Hey, the reason my time is so valuable is because it is in mint condition... and that is because I never use it. BUAHAHAHA!!!

Oh, I meant, "I never use it wisely"... that's a different thing...

OK, so where to start tonight? Well, the big news is that I've finally spent my birthday $$$ from last August. Yep, I bought myself one of these guys...

Yeah, I know, the pic isn't all that red hot... which is a mild bummer, since one of the main reasons I bought one was to (finally) replace my long-missing digital camera. I can't show you the actual unit... since I'm using it to take the picture! I guess I could have photographed it in front of the mirror (doing a duck-lips pose, of course), but that's a little too extreme...

In case you don't know what that is, it is an iPad Mini (32GB wifi-only). Yes, I know they just came out on Nov 2. I've never bought a gadget so close to its release day before. But I've been contemplating getting a new iPad for some time now, and the stars lined up just right, and it just happened. The mini's are less $ than the full sized ones, so I actually saved $! Think of it!!!

I bought the Pinnacle Studio video editing app for it ($10), which now takes the gadget from awesome to amazing. I can snap photos with it and film video, which is automatically dumped into Pinnacle Studio for editing, and then once I finish the little videos (I plan on shooting), it saves and exports it directly to YouTube. A self-contained filming, editing and uploading unit! How easy is that! I've tested it out already, and it's awesome! Woot! Yaayyy! More projects to start and likely not finish!!!

Here's my beard, by the way...

See how happy I am? (trust me... that's "happy" for me...)

Here it is, from the side (sort of) . 

And here I am, washed out color, hoodie up, shades on, Wagner Scowl in full effect. 

Hello! I'm mocking myself! Relax, I don't think I'm "cool".... sheesh! I should make that my Facebook avatar for a day, just to see how many people "unfriend" me for being an insufferable D-bag.

Anyway, the iPad doesn't take very good photos IMHO. I may have to end up getting a real digital camera anyway. I'll see on Monday, when I take it into work and use it to take some rug photos for our website.

So, there's the infamous beard. Wifey hates it, but Youngest loves it. It's closing in on 3 inches long. I'm going to grow it until Thanksgiving, and then, who knows. I enjoy running my comb through it, for some reason. It soothes me. Then again, so does passing wind on my wife's pillow, but we won't go there...

So there was a wreck on the freeway near my house today that redefined "awful" for me. I've never seen a car that mangled, bumper to bumper, before. There's no way anyone could have survived that. The wreckage was almost unrecognizable. All lanes of the freeway were stopped completely. Took me about 45 minutes before I could inch by in the only lane they opened up. I'll never complain about anything again... [EDIT: Let's see if this article link works... ok, it sort of works... when you go there, click the green "Read The Rest of This Article" link... they've got a pic and details...]

Yep, a second "nighttime stars" photo. Hey, when you are faced with life/death, you need to contemplate the stars, eh? The funny thing is, after grabbing lunch today (while on errands), I grabbed a coffee and then just sat in my car for 15 minutes, chilling out before driving home. That accident happened about the same time frame. If I'd headed home straight away instead of sitting in my car for a quarter hour, it could have been me.

Bottom line, it was someone. And who knows how many folks are grieving for them right now, in shock.

Yeah, I know, happens every day, all over the world. I get it. "Tis true, tis common; tis common, tis true," and all that. Sheesh, I sound like Woody Allen playing Hamlet. I'll stop now.

Election this week! Trying hard not to be too cynical about it all. Usually, I hold my nose and pull the level of the least offensive side of the coin, but this time, I think my choice is easier. Gonna vote for the one who'll provide a better environment for businesses.

Actually, the election is just one step toward the only thing that *really* matters for me now... and that is the new Joe Abercrombie book, releasing on November 13! Actually, there's a string of things on tap... the election is on the 6th, as is the release of the Bones Brigade Autobiography documentary. Then Skyfall comes out on the 11th, and then Red Country comes out on the 13th. Hey, don't be too surprised/disappointed... you know my life revolves around entertainment of various kinds... then not too far past that, we have the Steam Thanksgiving Sale, then The Hobbit, then the Christmas Play, and then the Steam Christmas Sale... so, yeah, good things ahead.

OK, I'm out. Gotta get some Piranha work done, and then (hopefully) get some writing done (novel!).

Adios for now,

Dave the Sorely Lacking