Monday, November 30, 2009

151

Tomorrow november'll be over. That means we can finally take out our advent calendar. One door every day! I've found a Kinder-Schokolade advent calender at the store, filled with all the varieties Kinder has to offer: Schoko-Bons, Surprise etc. Very cool.

I've just noticed this I've posted 150 posts already on this blog. This very post is number 151.

As of today we also own a big box full of christmas decorations. Glass balls and lights and stuff. We've decided to put the tree up earlyish, around the 15th already. First christmas spent by ourselves!
But before we'll honor the in this country quite uncommon tradition of St. Nikolaus day. On december 6th. So on the evening of december 5 we'll have to clean our shoes, and then overnight Mister Nikolaus will put stuff in them. Yes. It sounds weird, but's it's fun. Especially if the shoes or boots are nicely clean. If not, you'll only get black coal.

But it's a week still to go until then, so I guess I'll be safe stealing some more cars and shooting some more people on the virtual streets of Liberty City.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Sex Gone Bad

There was a sudden explosion of outside-noise today. Barking. A pack of dogs was running back and forth in the snow, circling two other dogs, who were stuck together. At their back-ends. One light brown colored long haired big dog and one slightly smaller short haired blackish dog. Stuck with each other as if their asses were glued together.
An interesting case of sex gone bad.
The bigger dog kept dragging the smaller one around. We went to outside to investigate, but the dogs kept running all over the place, and the locals assured us it was perfectly normal for dogs to get stuck together like that. Seen it before! Happens all the time! Dog-penis stuck in dog-vagina! Excited pack of other dogs jumping around, wagging their tails!
Bark, bark!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Virtual

It's snowing again. According to the locals last year this time there was about a meter of snow. Today's snow, although an 2 inches only yet, looks as if it's about to stay. This snow means business!
I have this nagging suspicion in the back of my head, some voice insisting I've been spending to much time in the virtual worlds lately. Hanging around too much on the fictious island of Faranga, slashing saurian warriors and looking for either titan armor parts, hidden treasures and other artifacts or both. Driving around too much through the non-real streets and avenues of Liberty City, running over innocent pedestrians, stealing cars, shooting gangsters and throwing molotov cocktails at cops and gang members alike. Buying suits. Watching in-game TV. Listening to in-game radio shows.
The weird tingly feeling in half of my left hand seems to support my suspicion, it also suggests a possible strain from overworking those WASD keys. But do not worry! I've started taking pills against that! Nothing will interfere with my shooting/stabbing/fireballing/frosting virtual people/beasts/monsters!
And today I open the curtains and see: Snow. And later today, when I'll cook the roast beef, I'll think of it as fried meat taken from a black wolf, or as a shark steak purchased from that fish vendor in Harbor Town, giving me 15 experience points and 15 health points. That should take care of that left hand strain, too. If it doesn't, I'll spend one non-existent dollar at Cluckin' Bells for a life-restoring chicken burger.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Roastbeef

Tomorrow I'm gonna make roastbeef. It's gonna be the first roastbeef I'm cooking myself, and I am kind of excited about it. They had it at the store, and after passing it by on monday, thinking: "Nah!", I couldn't resist and bought one on wednesday. 1200 grams for 18 bucks.

After a week or so of having the new computer I must say that I am very happy with it. I won't write a detailed review on it (already available i.e. here), all I can say that whatever I did on it so far (gaming, image processing) worked flawlessly and fast. When I find time I will soon try some music making.
Before purchase I was concerned about possible fan-noise issues, but I've found that the system even on GTA4 hardly ever goes onto full-fan-speed (and even that is less noisy than full blast on my old ASUS. Full blast on the D900F is as noisy as an average desktop. But most of the time I don't even notice the fans going, though, only when it's really quiet (like at night). Temperatures under load settle between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius, that also is better than my old ASUS (which frequently hit 90 while gaming).
I cleaned out the last junk-files from the autostart (though on this machine I don't really have to worry about one or another crappy background process), and there are no stuck pixels. Very cool.
Awesome machine.

And now, well, soon-ish we're gonna have pizza. Yum.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Good News Everyone!

Good news. I am now health insured.
Finally, after more than a year, I can get sick again safely. Not that I have been sick. But now I can be! If I wanted, I could! No evil doctor's bills will stand in my way.
What a nice comforting warm and fuzzy feeling that is. I can feel it in my belly. Yay! I can fall ill again! What a relief! Whatever virus or medical malady may strike me down, I will be helped! Oh boy. I feel good. No American will ever experience a sensation like this. I feel so secure. I will start gettting sick tomorrow.
Mh.
Wait a minute. Maybe I'll finish playing Risen first. Yes. And then perhaps I'll try out this country's health care system. Yes. If nothing else comes up.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

New Computer

Here's a picture, old next to new. The D900F is so fast, I thought my old computer was finally drawing his last breath. Then I realized it was its normal working speed.
I have to get used to a couple of things like the keyboard layout and Windows 7, though. The new OS is nice, and one can really fall in love with these Aero features. But coming from 8 years of XP, 7 is quite a change.
Awesome machine. Works great. I'll never go back to a resolution below 1900x1200.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

It's here.

The package just arrived. Exactly 6 weeks after ordering. I'm gonna open it now.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Tracking

What good is a tracking website, if all it does is make one angry?*

Feeling too happy? Issues with optimism?
No problem!
Just check the UPS tracking website!
Instant frustration guaranteed!

Still feeling too good?
Just call UPS costumer service!
Free Anger That Leads To Hatred That Leads To The Dark Fucking Side!

Not yet enough?
Wait for UPS costumer service promised callback!
And experience for yourself The Wrath Of Khan!

*the new scheduled delivery date is now thursday, november 19.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Apple Cake With Streusel

After going crazy over UPS's tracking website and finally deciding not to go there anymore and to just wait it out I found it advisable to bake a cake. So I did that.

I baked* a Traditional German Apple Cake With Streusel.

This cake is no calory bomb like the last one, yet it is as delicious. Juicy. Ahh. *sigh*
*To me, who speaks English as a second language, the word 'baked' sounds strange and weird sometimes. In those moments I am not only suspecting, no, I am convinced that the word must be wrong, that it can't be 'baked', that instead it has to be 'boke'. As in "Today I boke a cake." As in "bake, boke, boken". Writing these words now, however, makes me feel differently. As if the moment was over. Maybe it is 'baked' after all. Bake, baked, boken.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Delivery Delay

The scheduled delivery date was today, but now it has been pushed back to monday. Very disappointing.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

5 Weeks

Today it's been five weeks since the order went out. But I'm tracking the package through UPS. After sitting in the (far away but closest) real city for the weekend, it is now again on its way...

Monday, November 9, 2009

Snow White Cake

Remember the fairytale? Red as blood, black as ebony, white as snow?
Well, there's a cake following that line, and today I baked it. It's called Snow White Cake.
Full of red like blood cherries, with white as snow butter creme (or the cake-part itself), topped by copious amounts of black like ebony chocolate...
Results like that call for plenty of ingredients, especially heaps of icing sugar, one whole block of butter, half a block of margarine, lots of white sugar, cherries of course (in this case three cans of them), a little ground coffee, no less than 6 eggs et cetera et cetera...
All this adds up to a cake so delicious, so rich, so... so... delectable and awesome in taste and texture, that every single piece you eat serves as a ticket to Fattie Town, population: you, including a one-year free membership in "The Fat Club" (Tagline: Gulp Chocolate Fat!) and free admission to the musical show of Calory & The Boms, supported by Lardman and Orchestra Obese, hosted by W.A.D.O. (Worldwide Anti Dieting Organisation).

We instantly froze major parts of the cake for later pleasure. Here are two pictures.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Questing III etc.

1st: Remember the questmap? Well, all the quests are done now, except main quest number 1. Before that one can be completed, they have to do some internal subquesting, which will then, if all goes well, result in my name being put on a certain list.
An interview, so it seems, won't be necessary. Once you're on the list, they'll call. And when they call, you've got yourself a job.

2nd: I've got word from the computer people, apparently now all my extras have arrived in stock. The notebook will ship within 2-4 business days. I've decided to expect an order-has-shipped-mail on tuesday, that seems reasonable to me. The earlier the better, though.

3rd: While I was finishing up my questing today, I talked to some guy at yet another job-opportunity-place (it also involves a list). They're still busy doing some internal subquesting there, been at it for 2 months now. But it's important, and, as they say in a distant country, the mills of bureaucracy grind slowly. However, the guy told me to call in next week, so there's a small possibility that my name's gonna be on their list, too. That'd be two lists at the same time, which kind of doubles the probability of actually being called.

4th: My questing involved buying a money order. So I went to the only bank in town. After waiting for 15 minutes and then failing to produce a matching bank card I was immediately stigmatized a non-client. Non-clients pay more for services. For my 10 buck money order I was supposed to pay a 15 buck fee. Being a non-client really sucks. You can't do anything as a non-client. Can't cash government-issued checks, for example. They only thing I managed to do at that bank as a non-client was putting money into a client's account.
So for my money order I walked to the post office instead (which is considerably further away, and it's minus 5 degrees celsius). At the post office the fee was only 5 bucks. (And I hitched a ride on the way back.)

5th: Because the last oven-baked chicken was such a success, I've decided to make another one today. Mhh, that'll be a feast.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

November Winter

This weather makes me think it's late january or early february, because where I come from it goes like this (October to March): Fall, Rain, Mud, Rain, Cold, Rain, Christmas, Freezing Rain, Rain, Snow, Rain, Rain, Spring.
But as you can see the snow's here already, and Christmas is still 2 months ahead.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

4 Weeks

4 Weeks have passed.
I have to be patient. Be patient, Brato.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

November 1st

There. October becomes November and it starts to snow. It's been snowing all day. Looks like the snow is here to stay. I bet now it'll keep snowing nonstop until april 1st, because that's just how it is here in BFnowhere. Winter, I welcome you.
.
..
...
But now you can go. And call in Summer on your way out!