Animal Names The other day, Dala and I were watching a nature documentary following a family of wildcats over the course of a year. In true nature documentary fashion, each one was given a unique name, which is fine. Names build connections and all. I decided then and there though, if by some weird happenstance I'm ever part of a documentary, I'm gonna give all of the animals names you'd expect a five year old to name their new pet. Names like Princess Sparkle Butt, June Bug, Tankmaster Thunderhead or Mr. Jim. Tell me you wouldn't watch a documentary about the lioness, Princess Sparkle Butt, as she makes her way across the African Jungle. Video Games The wife and I recently came across a system that's coming out, The Evercade, that really appeals to me for a lot of reasons. With the exception of a few titles here and there, The X-Box One has seen the least use of any generation of console I have owned (actually, the WiiU and Nintendo 2DS get way less, so much so that I forget I own them). Lately, the majority of the time I'm playing the X-Box, I'm playing retro games like the Sega Genesis Collection or the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. There's something about classic games that are hard to beat, like no constant needs for updates, getting the complete game out of the package sans DLC, local multiplayer, pixel graphics being a huge treat, on and on I could go. So when I heard about this new system, about how it's gonna have legitimately licensed games on swappable cartridges, it got my interest. I know emulation is pretty big these days, so much so that systems like the GP2X aren't really necessary anymore because people can emulate on devices like the Wii, the Playstation Portables, etc. But legit, emulation isn't for me because I don't want to deal with the hassle of programming a device, and more importantly, it's a legal gray (and sometimes black and white) area that I don't even want to wander into. Similarly, while it's great to see mini consoles like the Mini-Nes, the Mini-Genesis, the upcoming Mini-TurboGrafx16, etc., I got rid of a lot of systems a while ago to make room in my house, and if those mini-systems are gonna take up a lot of space and not have swappable cartridges? I mean, they're less than what I let go of. But the Evercade? It seems to fit a lot of what I want. It's small, but can still be hooked up to the TV, I can play it right out of the box, there's classic games coming out on it, and there's no legal gray area about it. So I'm gonna get one, and give it a shot. I'm a little bit concerned about build quality, since it's not from a major company and I know some of those small time game companies have major quality control issues, but if it's halfway decent, I think it'll be worth it. I'll probably post my thoughts on it when I finally get my hands on it, in case anyone is interested. My only regret is, Amazon seems to be the only place carrying it, and we all know how I feel about them. But I dunno, maybe buying something from an underdog company through an absolutely evil corporation is a morally neutral thing. Besides, I think it's the first time the wife and I will be getting anything from Amazon in ages, so I can at least take comfort in that. Personal Health I'm not comfortable talking about this, but I promised you guys an update when I brought this issue up and a promise is a promise, so here we go. Went to the neurologist the other week to talk about what's been going on lately. They said they think I look good for the most part, that most of what I'm dealing with is the result of being really stressed basically all the time and maybe just a bit of aging. They said if it would give me piece of mind, they could order a bunch of tests for me, I said "No thank you. The less tests the better." I'm still not completely convinced I'm in the clear, because I can't imagine so many problems stemming just from stress, but a relationship has been established, I'm welcome to come back, and that's good enough for me for now. I'm just gonna keep an eye on things, do my best to be careful, do my best to be healthy, and do my best to be vigilant. Besides, hospitals suck, I know I have a distrust in doctors, and if stress is the problem, the less I have to deal with all of that stuff, the better. So I'm just gonna keep on keeping on, because really, what other option is there? It's been a good year, so far, guys. I hope you're all doing well. Seeing what goes on with you guys on Pubski is honestly the highlight of my week.
Look at this little one. It looks like it's having a smug little chuckle over there. I love it. Netflix I was recently told that an hour of watching Netflix causes about as much pollution as driving a car ten miles. I tried looking it up, but I can't find where to get that information, but I did find quite a few articles that data servers are quite the energy hogs. So I'm thinking of maybe just not watching Netflix anymore, save myself some money each month, and be just a bit more environmentally friendly. When I first thought about doing it, I was thinking "Oh, I dunno. I really like television." The more I think about it though, the less of a sacrifice it seems. After all, I gave up Hulu after Disney bought Fox and don't miss it anywhere near as much as I thought I would. Additionally, there's tons of films and TV shows over the years I've never gotten around to seeing, despite people raving about them, and I never really felt like I'm missing out. Plus, let's be honest, a lot of these services are just full of lame filler anyway, which just lead to a lame way to fill in the day. Blessed Chalk I recently hung out with a friend of mine and due to a scheduling issue, I ended up sitting and chatting with their lovely mother for about an hour and a half while they took care of a few things. I adore this woman and I'm told she's similarly fond of me. We chatted about a few things, from gardening to the aches and pains of aging to family. She's a pretty devout Catholic and so inevitably, our discussion drifted towards faith and religion. We talked quite a bit about courage and forgiveness and the ills of gossip. Before I left, she gave me some blessed chalk and instructions on how to bless my house for The Epiphany. All she asked was, that if I didn't bless my house, is to at least respect that the chalk is blessed and respectfully bury it in good soil instead of throwing it away. I didn't bless my house, cause I'm not Catholic and it's not my house and I'm the only person under this roof who is religious. I still have the chalk though, and I am gonna respect her request about burying it. I'm thinking of instead of burying it whole though, of maybe breaking it into smaller pieces or grinding it up and putting it in the pots where I'm trying to grow my trees. Do I honestly think the chalk will help the seeds grow, either through science or prayer? No. But I feel like the chalk was a heartfelt and meaningful gift and I think burying it in something that I feel is meaningful to me is a significant act. Pets and Aging My dog is getting old guys. When it was younger, I wanted it to be young forever. Honestly though, this dog is wearing each day and each grey hair it gains with a very real dignity. I can only hope to age half as gracefully. Here's hoping everyone's new year is going great so far. :)
Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! Happy surviving twenty years under the scourge of Y2K!