Behind the times

I am always behind the times. It’s a fast-moving world, in my own defense, but I still manage to be behind by years. I get all excited about trends in software and Internet long after they’ve peaked in popularity and everyone else knows about them and uses them. This has always been true, but what prompted this diatribe is my web site. My web site is such shit. I mean really, really awful. For one, I do things the hard way. All the ‘coding’ I’ve done myself, and I totally suck at coding. There are tons of programs out there that help with this sort of thing, and I’m only just figuring out that everyone else already uses them to make their nice sites. I also really want to host my site myself, but I’m far too retarded (as in slow) to do that. I spend all sorts of time reading up on hot new Internet stuff but never implement it myself. That’s got to change. It probably won’t, but it must. I’m going to finally start trying these tools to see if I can’t make this site a little easier on the eyes.

The death of a great man

Boris Yeltsin passed today. If one thing can be said about the man who laid the foundation for Russian democracy, it is this: that motherfucker could party.

Happy anniversary to me (and my wife)

It’s been a year, and it’s been great. I don’t know how else to describe it. I’m the luckiest guy in the world that I managed to find a beautiful, talented, accepting partner; you’re perfect, and I will love you forever.

Self image

I came to a realization today. People have two images: an outer one that everyone can see, and an inner one, a judgment on themselves. In my experience, this inner view of oneself rarely coincides with the outer. Either you see yourself worse than what everyone else sees, or you see yourself better. I fall into the latter category. When I hear myself in my head, I’m a very different person than what comes across to most people. I’m confident, I’m witty, I’m prepared for all sorts of eventualities. On the outside, I don’t come off this way at all. I’m reserved, easily swayed by others (a pushover, really), and I think that I sound dumb (mostly because I don’t say anything). I’d like very much to be more like the me in my head.

In less somber news, I like TextMate. I’m tempted to make the big switch from Vim, but it’s really hard to move from modal editing. Also, the neat things that TextMate does, like wrap text in HTML tags, can probably be done in Vim if I just spent some time learning how to script. I’m so torn. I doubt that I’ll really make the switch, now that I think about it. Vim is just too good. I actually just downloaded some HTML scripts, which do many of the things TextMate was doing. I’m going to play around with them a bit, but I think that I’m back on Vim. That was a short trip, huh?

A question for which your librarian does not have an answer

“There’s a book I need, and it’s checked out; if I kill the person who has it, does returning it become my responsibility or does their next-of-kin have to handle that?”

My brother sucks

My brother is an incredible jerk. In his spare time, he has developed a new take on Super Mario Strikers. He crafted season-like system, where each team has to qualify for the four cups the game provides in order to play in the cup. In addition, placing high in each cup earns a team points, which are tabulated at the end of the Bowser Cup to see who wins the season (the team with the most points). The idea is simple yet intoxicating. Hearing him talk about his struggles and triumphs within this system has drawn me back to perhaps the most frustrating game ever created. The AI in this game is simply ridiculous. At the penultimate level of difficulty, it takes a master at the game to regularly win. Even if you are so skilled, however, there often occur games that are simply unwinnable. You can outshoot your competition 20-5, and lose by multiple goals. The entire thing frustrates me to no end, yet I cannot stop playing. If I’m not updating this site regularly, it’s because of this insanity. For reference, I have yet to win any cup in 5 iterations of my brother’s seasons. In fact, the best I have done is 4 points (you get points for placing in any cup). It makes me hate myself, yet I can’t stop playing.

The Hunchback of Alexandria

I popped the zit on my shoulder and cleaned out my ears and am returning to normal. This is a very good thing, as my obsession with Gypsies was getting out of control.

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I think I am developing hunchback-itis. I have a monstrous zit on my shoulder. It’s begun to affect my shoulder’s range of motion and has given me a distinctive hump. I also got some water in my ear the other day, which combined with spring allergies has made me even more hard of hearing than usual. Then I found out that my attic is in fact a bell tower over-looking the Seine. Weird, I know.

TextMate

As you all know (or should know), I use Vim for all of my text-editing. I love modal text editing. It makes editing so much faster. That said, I have had some issues with Vim on my Mac. It’s not a big deal, to be honest, but the few problems I have with Vim have induced me to try a new text editor. It is heresy, I know. I’m updating the site now with TextMate, and I must say it’s a neat program. It’s very Mac-like, which I think was what I was missing in Vim. I’m sure that I’ll switch back to Vim after trying TextMate for awhile, though. I’ll do a bigger review if I actually stick to it.