D0dN

*Not an iPad

It was the first Apple product in living memory to have a reasonable price. Shortly after the announcement was finished, I received many calls and emails from friends and co-workers, asking 1) Had I heard about it and 2) When I was getting mine.

The best of the bunch had to be the email from Nadia:

wow the price is actually really cheap for tablet.
crazy.
and also NO camera.
You should GET YOU ONE!

Not only did just outright endorse, nay, command that I purchase one for myself, she did so by quoting Borderlands. How awesome is that? Read the rest of this entry →

Well, this is new: the Wall Street Journal has, effectively, invoked Godwins Law in regards to the recent Late Night War between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno.

There’s not much more to say, other than: Good game, y’all. Discussion over, everyone go back to your lives.

Over the course of the past week, I’ve read the entire Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series. Yes, all five young adult books were quickly devoured over the course of seven days, thanks to their action filled writing, and the fact that I couldn’t put the damn things down.

It’s been too long since I’ve done an actual review on this site, so bare with me if I get it wrong.

The idea behind the books is, frankly, very reminiscent of the Harry Potter series: child from a broken home find out that the strange things that have happened all his life aren’t really bad, that he’s part of some other mystical world, and he’s plays a major role in their Big Prophecy.

Where Harry was a Wizard, Percy is a demi-god (son of one the Greek Gods); where Harry had Hogwarts, Percy has Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for others of his kind; where Harry had Hermione and Ron, Percy has Annabeth and Grover. Both have one main quest per book, with an larger story arc spanning the entire series.

What I’m trying to say here, is there are quite a few parallels between the two series. Frankly, a more cynical reader would – at this point – dismiss the Percy Jackson series as derivative, and move on. This is something I strongly, strongly caution against! The Percy Jackson series has a voice of its own, and is quite entertaining in its own right.

And, really – being Harry Potter with Greek Mythology instead of magic isn’t a bad thing at all.

Read the rest of this entry →

I recently went on a trip to Indonesia – the liveblog of events can be found right here.

In order to better facilitate the retelling of this experience, I’m going to tell it in chunks. So much happened that to try and tell it all in one big wall of text would completely undermine the wonderful and awesome experience that I had in Jakarta and Bali. Plus, trying to cram all that text out in one go is just unfeasible for me – I work best with smaller volume of words.

The first part found here. This is part two, of three

We touched down safely, offloaded slowly, walked off the plane and started taking photos of the airport: So began the first day in Indonesia.

After marveling at how bright and clean the airport was, a star comparison to the hellhole that is LAX, we made our way to customs and immigration – where Nadia was reunited with her mom. There as much running, jumping and squealing of joy (the majority of which was from Nadia; Her mom was a bit quieter) and then brief introductions were made.

Then, I made my way to the passport queue, to pay for my Visa and get my passport stamped. Because I was going to be in country four 8 days instead of a week (Well, seven days and three hours, roughly) I had to pay for the longer-stay visa, which cost more. Granted, the total cost was only $25 US, so it wasn’t all that bad – and it would allow me to stay in country for a full month if need be.

After that, Nadia’s mom “helped” us through customs. I’m still not entirely sure what she said to the nice guard fellow, but he simply waved to me and Nadia and allowed us both into the country, no questions asked. Really, nice, that – otherwise, we’d have been in the line for ages.

It was a quick walk from their to claim our luggage, then out to the awaiting van and her father. We had, in short, made it and managed to catch up with two thirds of her immediate family! Read the rest of this entry →

I recently went on a trip to Indonesia – the liveblog of events can be found right here.

In order to better facilitate the retelling of this experience, I’m going to tell it in chunks. So much happened that to try and tell it all in one big wall of text would completely undermine the wonderful and awesome experience that I had in Jakarta and Bali. Plus, trying to cram all that text out in one go is just unfeasible for me – I work best with smaller volume of words.

So, here’s the first part.

The journey, like all such things, started simply: with packing.

Packing for this trip was unlike, well, any other trip Nadia and I have made together. For one thing, there was more luggage. Normally, we travel light – well, I travel light. Nadia, not so much. I’m usually good with a backpack full of shirts and shorts, where she’ll need a duffel of clothes for all occasions and weather – even if it’s just a day trip. Considering this was to be a three week voyage for her- and a week for myself – significantly more clothing was needed.

So, we did what any sane people would do: Bought new, larger luggage, and filled it to the brim with clothes for all occasions. And, since we were headed across the globe to her homeland – and the homeland of some of her friends here, we acted as a parcel service as well. What space in our bags that wasn’t filled with clothes (and I cannot stress the sheer number of clothes that went with us) was filled with food items and other small trinkets for the folks we’d be meeting, and the family of those friends she has here.

This, of course, lead to our bags being quite heavy – something which she fussed over for a couple days, worried that they would be too heavy, that we’d be hit with massive fines and become bankrupt and destitute all because we had too much stuff with us on the plane.

All this worrying – and repacking, trying to balance the weight of the bags and bring it something near the limit, would be for naught. Read the rest of this entry →