tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10176468264007354522024-03-08T08:04:59.592-08:00Travels With Our Cats(with apologies to <a href="http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0501/travelswithmycats.shtml">Mike Resnick</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travels_with_Charley:_In_Search_of_America">John Steinbeck</a>)CKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.comBlogger167125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-19449654021811921832010-04-16T17:27:00.000-07:002010-04-16T17:30:12.086-07:00"Bayla's Tale"My name is Bayla. I'm a cat. I was born in 1994 near Chicago, Illinois. My human got me on the same day she was moving to a new house, and I had to spend the day in an empty fish tank. Fun.<br /><br />In 1998, we moved to California. That was my first experience with a long-distance road trip, and I was glad it only lasted a few days. There wasn't anywhere dark and cozy to hide inside our cage, and it's hard to nap when everything is noisy and shaking.<br /><br />In 2008, we moved again, and this time the road trip lasted five months. I know what you're thinking: How could any self-respecting feline spend all that time on the road? I got used to it. We made plenty of stops. The humans brought a lot of my stuff, and there was always a bed for me to hide under.<br /><br />We drove all around the United States, to lots of different places with many interesting smells. Still, five months was my limit, and I pointed this out to the humans by puking in the car. They got the message and settled down in Vancouver, Washington.<br /><br />But the humans still traveled by themselves, and I got lonely when they were away. So in October of 2009, I went on a hunger strike. That got their attention. They stopped running around so much and spent more nights at home with me.<br /><br />I suppose I should mention that I've always had a bit of a skin condition. The medical term is "eosinophilic granuloma," but it basically means my belly itched all the time. The humans used to worry because I would lick the fur off until I started bleeding, but it got much better after the vet prescribed THE MIRACLE DRUG--I think she called "cyclosporin" or something.<br /><br />Anyway. Fall of 2009. Hunger strike. Despite subsequent force-feedings of icky meat-pudding, some good things also happened: I got to play with curly ribbons and eat anything I wanted (the humans are obsessed with weighing cats--go figure), and I finally had my own pillow on the bed. Life was pretty good.<br /><br />I died on December 9, 2009. The humans were driving me to the vet for a check-up, and a few minutes before we got there, I felt weak and lay down in my carrier. I never got back up.<br /><br />I think I had a heart attack. It didn't hurt. The last thing I felt was one of the humans holding me and stroking my fur. She was making unhappy noises, and I wanted to tell her: It's okay. It's okay.<br /><br />I died in the car where I'd spent so much time the year before, traveling all over the country. I wasn't afraid. I was glad the humans were there. It was familiar. It felt like home.<br /><br />My name is Bayla, and for fifteen years, I was part of a family. I loved them, and they gave me a good life. The end.Baylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12018098189232293071noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-34224587813414698452010-03-26T00:47:00.001-07:002010-03-29T00:45:48.739-07:00This blog has moved<br /> This blog is now located at http://roadtrip2008.malum-iter.com/.<br /> You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click <a href='http://roadtrip2008.malum-iter.com/'>here</a>.<br /><br /> For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to<br /> http://roadtrip2008.malum-iter.com/feeds/posts/default.<br /> CKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-87994452389627525892010-03-04T17:54:00.001-08:002010-03-04T18:10:10.065-08:00DeeAnn Talks TWOC at Ignite Portland 8Though DeeAnn is unlikely to ever watch this video or acknowledge that she gave a great talk on Wednesday, you can still enjoy her presentation about our 2008 road trip:<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cZAez7fMNdg&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cZAez7fMNdg&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><small><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZAez7fMNdg">http://youtube.com/watch?v=cZAez7fMNdg</a></small><br /><br />And here are her slide images, which you may peruse at your leisure:<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&noautoplay=1&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5444964628651923793%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br /><small><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/IgnitePortland8?feat=directlink">http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/IgnitePortland8</a></small><br /><br />You can follow DeeAnn on Twitter as <a href="http://twitter.com/deeannsole">@DeeAnnSole</a>. Her tweets may be infrequent, but always aim to be insightful.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-9078398312737327822008-12-31T16:44:00.001-08:002008-12-31T21:05:09.158-08:00The EndWell, we've reached the end of the year, and now that we've had our first guest stay over (Karin, right after Christmas), I guess we're officially moved into our new home. So we're closing down this road trip blog.<br /><br />You can continue to read occasional blog posts by Bayla, Jasper, and DeeAnn over at <a href="http://snout.org/hotsheet/">CKL's HotSheet</a>. D has already posted about <a href="http://www.snout.org/hotsheet/2008/12/its-snowing.html">the snow</a> which gave Portland its first "white Christmas" since 1937. I don't know what the cats will write about, but I'm sure it will be entertaining.<br /><br />Here are some statistics from the road trip, which we compiled for our first annual holiday newsletter:<ul>Days spent traveling with cats: <span style="font-weight:bold;">153</span><br />Number of locations visited: <span style="font-weight:bold;">25</span><br />Miles driven: <span style="font-weight:bold;">16,833</span><br />Average fuel efficiency of our Prius: <span style="font-weight:bold;">45 MPG</span><br />Number of Marriott Rewards Points earned: <span style="font-weight:bold;">120,181</span><br />Average amount spent per day: <span style="font-weight:bold;">$234.83</span><br />Total posts to road trip blog: <span style="font-weight:bold;"><strike>164</strike> 166</span><br />Blog posts written by cats: <span style="font-weight:bold;">42</span></ul><br />And here's an index to help you find your way around the blog posts for each destination we visited this summer, in chronological order:<ol><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/sandiego.html">San Diego, CA</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/flagstaff.html">Grand Canyon</a>, <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/pueblos.html">etc.</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/carlsbad.html">Carlsbad Caverns</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/fortworth.html">Fort Worth, TX</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/houston.html">Space Center Houston</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/neworleans.html">New Orleans, LA</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/chicagoland.html">Chicago, IL</a> (Kendra's graduation, with <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/blytheville.html">stopover</a>)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/saintlouis.html">St. Louis, MO</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/atlanta.html">Atlanta, GA</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/orlando.html">Orlando, FL</a> (Space Shuttle launch)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/charlotte.html">Charlotte, NC</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/altoona.html">Altoona, PA</a> (Sole family reunion)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/killdevilhills.html">Outer Banks, NC</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/williamsburg.html">Colonial Williamsburg, VA</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/fallschurch.html">Washington, DC</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/buffalo.html">Niagara Falls</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/vermilion.html">Cedar Point</a> (roller coaster capital of the world)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/madison.html">Madison, WI</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/minneapolis.html">Minneapolis, MN</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/rapidcity.html">Rapid City, SD</a> (Mount Rushmore, Badlands, Wall Drug, and more)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/denver.html">Denver, CO</a> (Worldcon)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/lasvegas.html">Las Vegas, NV</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/campbell.html">SF bay area</a> (old home week)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/medford.html">Ashland, OR</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/seattle.html">Seattle, WA</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/portland.html">Portland, OR</a>--our new home!</li></ol><br />Plus some non-location-specific topics:<ul><li>Posts by <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/cats.html">cats!</a></li><li>D's <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/cooking.html">Food & Cooking</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/marthasvineyard.html">Viable Paradise XII</a> (CKL)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/map.html">Maps</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/photos.html">Photos</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/video.html">Videos</a> (more coming soon to <a href="http://youtube.com/sparckl">YouTube</a>)</li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/packing.html">Packing</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/planning.html">Planning</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/forsale.html">stuff for sale</a></li><li><a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/usps.html">The Postal Service</a>, and I don't mean the band</li></ul><br />Thanks for reading, everyone, and we hope to see you over at <a href="http://snout.org/">Snout.org</a>.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-33061418368410238722008-12-26T17:53:00.000-08:002008-12-26T17:53:01.040-08:00The Merch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/twoc_photobook-755286.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/twoc_photobook-754852.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />D and I spent some time earlier this month picking our favorite photos from the road trip (or, sometimes, the ones that would fit) and putting them into a <a href="http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/bookviewer.py?d=tq%3Ey-cppl%60je%3E35896%3A9">photobook</a> for our families. It took a long time, and the layout software left much to be desired, but it was fun to reminisce about all the places we'd been.<br /><br />Here's a preview of the interior:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/twoc_atlanta-755581.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 169px;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/twoc_atlanta-755566.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We're pretty happy with the finshed product. You can flip through a tiny Flash version of the whole book over at <a href="http://www.mypublisher.com/bookshelf/bookviewer.py?d=tq%3Ey-cppl%60je%3E35896%3A9">mypublisher.com</a>.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-3845729079333153082008-12-04T18:11:00.000-08:002008-12-04T18:25:01.038-08:00Movin' On UpIf you tried to visit SNOUT.ORG today, you may have noticed that it was <a href="http://snout.org/throttle-me">throttled</a> for a few hours. That's because I exceeded the 300 MB/day bandwidth limit on my account. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later.<br /><br />Not to worry, though; I was already in the process of moving to a new hosting plan which will cost me less per month <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> give me more storage space and no transfer limits. Once I've finished backing up all my files to my home computer, I'll contact my ISP and tell them to pull the trigger on the upgrade. Mail delivery and some web pages may be briefly broken for the next few days, but I expect the transition to go smoothly otherwise. (This blog and <a href="http://512words.blogspot.com/">512 Words or Fewer</a> will not be affected.)<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-14934587987972088832008-11-25T21:09:00.000-08:002008-11-25T21:30:52.526-08:00Famous!I am told that one of the humans mentioned Bayla and me by name in this month's Stanford Magazine <a href="http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/2008/novdec/classnotes/reader_v2.html?class-year=1995">Class Notes</a>. I believe this means that we are now FAMOUS!!!!!1!!!<small>eleven</small>!<br /><br />Welcome to all you Stanford Magazine readers! You really should have been reading this blog, like, six months ago, but it will still be quite exciting for you to go through the archives and see what we thought of places like <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/flagstaff.html">the Grand Canyon</a> or <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/neworleans.html">New Orleans</a> or <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/buffalo.html">Niagara Falls</a>.<br /><br />Oh yeah! PHOTOS! <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl">LET ME SHOW YOU THEM</a><br /><br />And here are some new friends I have met recently:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00208-723921.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00208-723363.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00324-740999.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00324-740513.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00326-741653.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00326-741156.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a>Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02360318410803027589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-78572254277863390702008-10-08T23:38:00.001-07:002008-10-08T23:55:38.282-07:00The Unpacking Continues<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00173-717216.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00173-716791.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Here you see <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/2008/09/unpacking.html">all the DVDs</a> (and LaserDiscs) in their new shelf. In the interest of saving more space, we've ordered some archival albums, like the little black number in the lower right corner, from <a href="http://www.demco.com/">Demco</a>. Those librarians know a thing or two about storing mass quantities of media.<br /><br />By the way, does anyone want a whole bunch of packaging from Region 2 <span style="font-style:italic;">Buffy</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Angel</span> DVD sets? Lots of pretty pictures, if you're into that sort of thing.<br /><br />We've mail-ordered most of the rest of our furniture, and it should all arrive by Election Day. So even if--<span style="font-weight:bold;">ghod forbid</span>--Captain Caveman & the Buffybot win the White House, we can still be happy about our well-appointed new home.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-13068799597441205242008-10-02T11:30:00.000-07:002009-10-19T12:17:18.466-07:00Address!We cats are very helpful and informative! Here is the address of our new maxi-house:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/128673591763646131-779340.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/128673591763646131-779336.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Do you want to "telephone" the humans instead? Use this magic button:<br /><br /><object type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="https://clients4.google.com/voice/embed/webCallButton" width="230" height="85"><param name="movie" value="https://clients4.google.com/voice/embed/webCallButton" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="FlashVars" value="id=bfeff3998a769b0a68345ad27d560277f29a20eb&style=0" /></object><br /><br />I'm still getting used to this new place. There are lots of strange noises around here, but also SQUIRRELS! And OTHER CATS! I love looking out all the different windows.Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02360318410803027589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-47667470716379963012008-09-22T14:22:00.000-07:002008-09-22T14:26:37.839-07:00We're in a maxi-house now.The day before yesterday, she packed us into the car and took us for a drive. I thought we were going to yet another mini-house, but this place is much bigger.<br /><br />This maxi-house is a lot like a mini-house. We're in a small part of the building. There are other humans (and a few other cats) in the building too. I can hear the humans next to the kitchen, everywhere above us, and thundering up and down the stairs by the bedroom. Mostly, the cats just respond when Jasper or I call out. There's one upstairs somewhere, and another one who gets to go outside. I ignore the dogs.<br /><br />Also like the mini-houses, the car storage is nearby. I can see it sideways out the bedroom window, when I'm not watching squirrels and birds and humans on the path outside the window. The window is almost on the ground, but I like this view. We can see a lot. Jasper is very jealous of the cat that gets to go outside. He was chasing squirrels yesterday.<br /><br />Unlike the mini-houses, however, our stuff is here. The little bit of it that was still at home when we left, anyway. Most of it is still in boxes, but I can walk around and sniff the boxes. Yesterday, I slept on the boxes for a while. It's good to be surrounded by my stuff again, even if I can't actually touch it. <br /><br />I don't know where he is. He left a few days ago and hasn't been back. Hopefully, he's gone off to fetch the rest of our stuff. I'm not hopeful, though. Other humans came and took it all away before we left on our tour of mini-houses. In my experience, whenever humans took stuff from our house, they never brought it back again.<br /><br />Of all the stuff I've missed, I've missed my bed the most. But the bed here is my bed. I recognized it immediately, even if it was on top of some unfamiliar carpet, was missing the privacy dropcloth, and has different sheets. I've spent years sleeping under and on top of this bed. When I'm not exploring the maxi-house, eating, or sleeping on a box of my stuff, I'm enjoying my bed. It's good to have it back.<br /><br />It's also good to see that she keeps going out and bringing back new stuff. Each time she does this, she puts away a little bit of our old stuff too. I've seen this behavior in humans before. It means that they plan to stay for a while.<br /><br />Finally. I want my home back. This maxi-house isn't home yet, but if we stay here long enough, it will be.Baylahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12018098189232293071noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-80762420311089788452008-09-21T10:55:00.000-07:002008-09-21T11:16:26.331-07:00Almost ParadiseSo here I am on <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=109441474141594961169.00045769bb7f554a2971b&ll=41.439895,-70.556946&spn=0.18119,0.395164&t=h&z=12">Martha's Vineyard</a>, waiting for <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/?bl_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.snout.org%2Fhotsheet%2F&ui=blg&as_q=viable+paradise">Viable Paradise</a> to officially begin. I met most of our instructors <span style="font-style:italic;">very</span> informally last night, at an ostensible birthday party for staff member Kate's husband Ernie. I missed the guitar- and harmonica-playing because I was out on a grocery run (no Coke==cranky me), but I did later sit on the balcony and listen to the pros swap stories until after midnight.<br /><br />I've still got four hours until the official meet-and-greet, and I'm debating whether I want to walk out to a beach while the sun's out. There's supposed to be some kind of nighttime jellyfish-viewing outing later in the week, but it might be nice to also see the scenery in daylight.<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="300" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=109441474141594961169.00045769bb7f554a2971b&ll=41.439895,-70.556946&spn=0.18119,0.395164&output=embed&s=AARTsJo72_CrqTS41f-CT5rj_jrJ_a1jag"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=109441474141594961169.00045769bb7f554a2971b&ll=41.439895,-70.556946&spn=0.18119,0.395164&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />Astute readers will note that I'm here by myself, and have left D and the cats in our new apartment a mere three days after moving in. (VP did graciously invite them along--and others have brought their families to the island--but we weren't about to schlep the cats across the country again, and we couldn't leave them all alone so soon after moving in.) She's always been very supportive of my crazy ideas.<br /><br />If you thought she was cool for mocking up <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/2008/09/almost-there.html">our new apartment in The Sims</a>, check out the <a href="http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pUEw4fqXRfON7PugnXxZvTA">menu and shopping list</a> she created for my VP trip. I love my wife.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-56109473221338591112008-09-20T19:13:00.000-07:002008-09-20T19:14:07.235-07:00UnpackingOur friends did a lot of the packing when we moved out, so we didn't actually see these markings until months later. We have great friends. And a lot of DVDs.<br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5248290552451873857%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/Unpacking" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-21368520241124089072008-09-17T23:59:00.001-07:002008-09-18T00:36:42.181-07:00A New HomeTired. Should go to sleep, but instead am wasting time on Facebook and, now, blogging. There's running on adrenaline, and then there's running on fatigue. It's kind of like antimatter, a negative energy source, unpredictable.<br /><br />Yesterday, signed the lease on our new apartment, lots of paperwork, walked through inspection, made a big checklist of move-in to-do items, researched local broadband options. If we can actually get 12Mbps DSL from Qwest, I'll be a happy camper. Fingers crossed, waiting for CSR to reply to my email and confirm pricing.<br /><br />This morning, hired a U-Haul truck and movers to get our stuff out of storage. No visible damage in transit, yay. Finished moving all stuff in less than two hours--thanks Jeff and Justin! Had lunch at Thai Terrace, a great restaurant within walking distance, then measured things and headed off to the sensory-overload rat-maze that is Ikea. (<a href="http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Ikea">Meatballs tasty</a>, though.) Found some stuff we liked, but realized we didn't have all the needed measurements. Drove back to apartment--only ten minutes away, w00t--and measured some more.<br /><br />Returned to Ikea and bought $520 worth of bookshelves that would have been too big to fit into the Prius. (We have a lot of books.) Unloaded boxes at apartment. Dropped off U-Haul truck after the place had closed; D's going to get up early tomorrow and officially return it. I'm going to sleep in so I don't go off to <a href="http://blogsearch.google.com/?q=viable+paradise+blogurl:http://www.snout.org/hotsheet/&ie=UTF-8&ui=blg&scoring=d">Viable Paradise</a> with an excessive sleep debt.<br /><br />Returned to hotel to find that maids had tidied our room despite "no service please" sign on door. Fortunately, cats do not seem traumatized.<br /><br />Showered.<br /><br />We won't be fully unpacked and settled for at least another couple of weeks, but we've gotten off to a good start. I think I'm going to like it here.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00083-757203.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC00083-756704.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-47265062163542164482008-09-15T19:17:00.000-07:002008-09-15T22:07:35.886-07:00Almost There(If you read the title of this post and said to yourself, "Stay on target," go ahead and award yourself 31 <a href="http://mikesell.blogspot.com/2004/11/almost-there-stay-on-target-all-mooost.html">geek points</a>. You've earned it.)<br /><br />We got the call tonight. Our application to rent an apartment, which we submitted on Saturday, has been approved! (Not that there was ever much doubt.) We're going in tomorrow morning to sign the lease and pick up our keys. D's already called U-Haul to rent a truck and movers to do the heavy lifting, so by Wednesday night we'll be well on our way to being fully moved in.<br /><br />We gave away most of our furniture before leaving the bay area, so we'll be hitting thrift stores, garage sales, and Ikea over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, D made a mockup of the apartment in <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sims</span> to try out some furnishing options. Because she's just that cool:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_95db006a-799881.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_95db006a-799868.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_35db0074-799909.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_35db0074-799907.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_75db00a5-786810.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_75db00a5-786807.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_75db00aa-786828.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/snapshot_00000001_75db00aa-786827.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Yes, we do have a lot of books. And no, there isn't a fireplace; the chimney in the model is for the second floor, where she reproduced our current hotel room for size comparison. She's very thorough.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-28468314571940277192008-09-11T21:35:00.000-07:002008-09-11T22:06:14.900-07:00End of the RoadWell, here we are, in Portland. (Actually Vancouver, Washington, but close enough.) Our first day of apartment-hunting went pretty well; we found two good places near the local Trader Joe's, which is one of our main criteria. They're not perfect, but we're not expecting that anyway. When you can get a 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment in a nice part of town for less than $900 a month, how much can you really complain?<br /><br />Tomorrow, we're going to run down some more of the listings we found on craigslist, and then see if we can find other sources that list places near downtown Vancouver. We will, at some point, actually make it to Portland proper, but so far it's looking like we can find bigger apartments at lower prices here in Vancouver--which is also in the state without income tax.<br /><br /><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103782763210378182717.00045677968e78279b896&ll=45.624765,-122.601764&spn=0.253547,0.272442&output=embed&s=AARTsJomWHzkG6MLjCNX5taj-CI2X4H6vw"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103782763210378182717.00045677968e78279b896&ll=45.624765,-122.601764&spn=0.253547,0.272442&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />We'd like to make a decision quickly, but not hastily. In the ideal situation, we would find a place that meets all our needs and most of our wants within the next few days, and get all our stuff moved in before I leave for <a href="http://www.sff.net/Paradise/">Viable Paradise</a>, so D and the cats can unpack at their leisure while I'm off writing and learning.<br /><br />The more likely scenario is that we'll spend the next week gathering data, then make a decision after I get back from VP and be moved in by mid-October. That'll be good too. Sooner is better, because rent is cheaper than hotel, and we want to be well settled in our new home before the holidays.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-40128532140509840822008-09-11T11:09:00.000-07:002008-09-11T22:00:39.628-07:00Indignities!Our last two car trips have been horrible! <br /><br />They weren't as long as some of the others, but Bayla was pretty upset about not going home when we were back in the bay area, and has recently decided that she's going to be carsick. <br /><br />She threw up on me. TWICE! The first time I yelled and yelled, but the humans just ignored me. <br /><br />I suppose you're going to say it's my own fault for crying wolf. <br /><br />Well I wasn't crying wolf! I was crying VOMIT! It's a totally different meow. I can't help it if humans are completely tone-deaf. The second time, at least, they stopped the car and cleaned me up a little.<br /><br />I've forgiven Bayla. She's old. Oooooooollllldddd. Like three times as old as me. I hope I don't get all crotchety and pukey when I'm that old.Jasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02360318410803027589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-4482468667764798832008-09-09T20:14:00.000-07:002008-09-09T23:23:19.962-07:00For Future ReferenceSince D started blogging about her <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/labels/cooking.html">cooking adventures</a> on the road, the response from our readers has been tremendous. As a result of all their prodding and praise, she has decided that her first writing project will be a cookbook. (It will not be titled <span style="font-style:italic;">To Serve Man</span>. Sorry, I tried.)<br /><br />Anyway, one of the ideas we bounced off our friend Carol was including a "quick start guide" with the cookbook, like all those pamphlets that come with consumer electronics so you can start using the damn thing without wading through a 200-page manual. During that conversation, the subject of <span style="font-style:italic;">dice</span> also came up. D isn't convinced, but I believe there is an untapped market for, shall we say, <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_generation">procedural</a> meal generation</span>, and not just for <a href="http://members.tripod.com/~sue_in_nj/dam.htm">fad diets</a>. As shown here:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/20041210h-793962.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/20041210h-793930.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br/><small><a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/10/">penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/12/10</a></small><br /><br />Seriously, though. Some of our friends approach cooking as if it were some arcane alchemical ritual, whose actual mechanism is shrouded in impenetrable mystery, and which might conjure forth some hideous demon if you dare to vary a given recipe. But they're all geeks, so here's what I propose: hammer home the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1584790830/curtiscchensfree">Food + Heat = Cooking</a> thing, so they're down with the science, and then tweak the terminology so they're using "ingredient classes" and "flavor modifiers." Now we can build an MMO! <Colbert>VENTURE CAPITAL, PLEASE.</Colbert><br /><br />Did I mention that, while at PAX, I saw an <span style="font-style:italic;">Iron Chef America</span> game for the DS? It appears to be a rebranded ripoff of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fZRgxpXoYk">Cooking Mama</a>, and Alton's hair looks terrible. I hope his agent gave someone an earful.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-35362820493776371712008-09-07T10:40:00.000-07:002008-09-07T10:41:09.697-07:00Photos Galore: The Other Bay AreaOkay, I know it's technically a <span style="font-style:italic;">sound</span>, but in many ways, Seattle feels an awful lot like San Francisco. You've got the water, the bridges, overcast weather, hideous freeway traffic at all hours, and urban sprawl. (We're staying in Renton, right next to the <a href="http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/">Wizards of the Coast</a> offices. Really! I'm tempted to walk in just to get a look at their <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/toonhound/2810517578/in/set-72157607020311669/">lobby dragon</a>.) And we've had a ton of fun with our friends Karin and Bryan, just like the good ol' days when they lived next door to me in Menlo Park:<br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5243186011036461505%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/MicrosoftCafe" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5243190324405291217%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/FremontDistrict" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5243195113288950881%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/GasWorksPark" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5243202745461669713%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/BallardLocks" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5243200406203830737%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/EMP_SFM" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-77090182452850574412008-09-07T02:05:00.000-07:002008-09-07T02:06:56.987-07:00Photos: Oregon TrailFrom last month...<br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5243185203601649601%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/OregonTrail" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-15446364034750628672008-09-02T13:31:00.000-07:002008-09-02T13:42:58.647-07:00PAX08 PhotosMy own scant collection:<br /><br /><div style="width:400px;font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><div><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&noautoplay=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fsparckl%2Falbumid%2F5241505570529833745%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></div><span style="float:left;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/sparckl/PAX08" style="color:#3964c2">View Album</a></span><div style="text-align:right;"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/getEmbed" style="color:#3964c2">Get your own</a></div></div><br /><br />Others were much more thorough--just search for the "pax08" tag on <a href="http://flickr.com/search/?q=pax08">Flickr</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pax08">YouTube</a>.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-28015657226104199502008-08-31T21:37:00.001-07:002008-08-31T23:10:25.596-07:00PAX08, Day 3I'm a little bummed that I missed <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfyeJ6CX0vI">Felicia Day at Friday's concert</a>, but at least I got to chat with her this morning. I'm not sure why she signed "LB" on my DVD of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Guild</span>, but maybe it'll make sense after I've seen all of Season 1. (And yes, I know what it means in WoW.)<br /><br />D and I got to the convention center just after 10:00 AM and went straight to the exhibit hall, so we could walk around before the crowds got too thick. She headed for a zombie board game demo while I stood in line for Felicia. After my <span style="font-style:italic;">squee</span> moment, I translated the remainder of the anticlimactic <a href="http://www.snout.org/hotsheet/2008/08/riddle-me-dhis.html">runic riddles</a> from banners hung around the convention center.<br /><br />I spent the rest of the day in the main theatre, where I saw Family Feud, Gabe and Tycho's Q&A #2 (which had the best ending EVAR, thanks to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC3v_Q1RAyE">Bad Horse Chorus</a>), the Dragon Age demo, and the Spore demo. We didn't feel like waiting another hour and a half in line to see the final round of the Omegathon, so we walked over to <a href="http://www.tomdouglas.com/lola/">Lola</a> and had a very nice early dinner.<br /><br />During last night's drive back to our hotel, D and I briefly discussed how future PAXis* might handle the overcrowding issue. We didn't come up with any genius solutions, but we did note that waiting in line isn't as annoying when you're already toting a <a href="http://www.nintendo.com/ds">DS</a> and prepared to spend hours lounging around with it anyway.<br /><br />I think I want to stay at one of the nearby hotels for a future PAX--it's nice to bunk with <a href="http://kplusb.org/">K+B</a> and their cats, as we have in the past, but I'd like to cut out the 20-minute commute and spend more time running around and playing games. <span style="font-style:italic;">Video</span> games!<br /><br />~CKL<br /><br />* <small>As established at Friday's Penny Arcade Q&A #1, the proper collective term for all Penny Arcade Expo events is "PAXis of Evil."<br /></small>CKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-12144339283673097022008-08-31T19:22:00.000-07:002008-08-31T22:25:03.424-07:00PAX08 Is OverCKL and I just got back from PAX. Like last year, I've come away with an overwhelming desire to play lots and Lots and LOTS of games.<br /><br />Also like last year, PAX was too short. Over the course of three days, I played a board game* demo, watched two PC game demos, stopped at three booths** in the vast and very crowded exhibit hall, saw four panels***, and stood in countless lines****.<br /><br />I didn't actually plan to see either of the PC game demos, but CKL and <a href="http://kplusb.org/">K+B</a> wanted to see the <a href="http://www.spore.com/">Spore</a> demo. After our experience with the countless lines, however, we decided that prudence dictated that we get in line for Spore immediately after the previous panel began. So we were in line ten minutes after the scheduled start time for the <a href="http://dragonage.bioware.com/">Dragon Age: Origins</a> demo.<br /><br />The previously scheduled Penny Arcade Q&A second session ran long. Lucky us. We got to see the Dragon Age demo as well as the Spore demo.<br /><br />Let me just tell you this: you can show me videos of puppet people fighting until the sun goes out and I still won't be interested. I'm even less excited to see how I can create my own scenarios for puppet people to fight in. When the game is eventually released.<br /><br />So I feel asleep. What can I say? I'm a bad person. Besides, the room was very dark and I was well-fed, warm and happy.<br /><br />But I was wide awake for the Spore demo. That's really too bad, because now I desperately want to play Spore. Unfortunately, the vintage 2004 laptop I bought for Sims2***** doesn't come anywhere close to meeting the system requirements for Spore.<br /><br />Ah, well. I have a week before the game comes out to think about whether I really want to take CKL's computer****** away from him.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">* Yes, I know. Most people come to PAX for electronic gaming. But then I'm not exactly the target demographic: fighting games bore me, and I'm old enough to have given birth to most of the attendees. That said, <a href="http://www.flyingfrog.net/lastnightonearth/about.html">Last Night on Earth</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">rocks</span>. I'm very excited about playing the zombies. I'll be sure to have them all report back to their colleagues who have been <a href="http://www.jonathancoulton.com/songdetails/Re%20Your%20Brains">chewing on the doors</a>.<br /><br />** <a href="http://e3.nintendo.com/wii/animalcrossing/index.html">Animal Crossing</a> is coming to the Wii. Karin was very excited. The PAX booth was very crowded. CKL was not excited. And did I mention that Last Night on Earth rocks? I'm very excited.<br /><br />*** Keynote (Ken Levine has found his tribe), Penny Arcade Q&A Panel #1 (It's good to give exotic Canadian chocolate to Gabe, Tycho, the wives and pregnant women), Penny Arcade "Make a Strip" (The exotic Canadian chocolate was poisoned?!? Oh Noes! But Gabe says, "I didn't eat any. F*ck him!"... and presumably the wives and pregnant women) , and Female Gamer Communities (Unsurprisingly, women don't always <a href="http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2008/07/autoadmit">feel</a> <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=19&entry_id=14783">safe</a>.)<br /><br />**** Lines for panels, demos, bathrooms and food were to be expected. But lines for the escalator, exit doors, and access to the line-up room? This was perhaps a bit excessive.<br /><br />**** Yes, I bought the computer specifically to play Sims2. Aside from a few weekend play marathons, however, I have rarely used it to play games. Shortly after procuring said computer, I learned from painful experience that if I spent a few hours with a game, I'd spend a corresponding number of weeks suffering agonizing withdrawal pains. I also learned that if I'd just play long enough to overdose, I'd be so sick of my computer that I could go days without wanting to check email, weeks without reading a blog, and months before I was compelled to play a game.<br /><br />****** It may actually be bad to throw another addiction on the fire. Especially when I've been itching to find the time to actually play the Sims2 expansion packs I bought last summer. Or to play a little Civ4. Each time we visit a monument, I whine because I want to build my own version of that monument. And it takes me an entire weekend (no sleep, just game) before I overdose. There just aren't that many entirely free weekends in a year.<br /><br /></span>DeeAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08754787580496239398noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-79422047734080008312008-08-30T22:39:00.001-07:002008-09-01T00:16:36.572-07:00PAX08, Day 2Made it to three panels* today: Penny Arcade "Make A Strip" (in which Mike and Jerry created <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/9/1/">Monday's comic</a>), Bethesda's Fallout 3 demo, and "Is Casual Killing Core Games?" (featuring Wil Wheaton, who says "No," and also, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV_controversies#Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving">"Go kill pedestrians"</a>).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/casual_vs_core-725613.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/casual_vs_core-724234.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />In between Fallout and Casual, D and I walked with Karin and Bryan to <a href="http://www.tomdouglas.com/serious/">Serious Pie</a>. We shared three excellent pizzas, and my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_Pale_Ale">IPA</a> was pretty good, too.<br /><br />We ended the evening in the tabletop gaming area, where we played <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citadels_(game)">Citadels</a> and <a href="http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/2842">TransAmerica</a> and ran into fellow <a href="http://snout.org/game/">Game</a>r <a href="http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessen_Yu/679904076">Jessen</a>. See, all the cool kids show up at PAX sooner or later.<br /><br />~CKL<br /><br />* <small>Note that I stood in line for about 2 hours to get 3.5 hours of actual content. That's not a very good ratio, but the Enforcers continued to impress by being on the ball with crowd control. I don't know how they're going to handle next year if the number of attendees doubles <span style="font-style:italic;">again</span>.<br /></small>CKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-11732273724406724462008-08-30T01:24:00.000-07:002008-08-30T22:39:58.043-07:00PAX08, Day 1Friday was fun, but really crowded. I mean like ZOMFG crowded. And tomorrow is sure to be even worse. I'm bracing myself for a <span style="font-style:italic;">lot</span> of waiting in line.<br /><br />We met Karin and Bryan at their house around noon, then had sandwiches at Panera and got to the convention center just before 2:00 PM, when the doors opened. Crowded. We learned our lesson from last year and didn't bother waiting in line--the only reason we did before was to get concert wristbands, and we opted to skip that, since we'd just seen <a href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/2008/08/coverville-500-loot.html">Coulton in Vegas</a> two weeks ago.<br /><br />A quick stroll around the exhibit hall, and then we got in line for the keynote. (Did I mention there's a whole <span style="font-style:italic;">room</span> devoted to waiting in line for the main theatre? Really. It's labeled "Line Up Room" on the map.) My former coworker <a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501094981">David</a> joined us in line. We chatted, then sat together to watch Ken Levine's keynote and the Penny Arcade Q&A. I love these guys.<br /><br />David and his friend went off to get in line for the Friday concert, and the rest of us went in search of a quick dinner. We ended up at <a href="http://www.cyber-dogs.com/">Cyber Dogs</a>, which had good food but a tiny space. We got our food to go, found an empty table downstairs in the convention center, and ate there.<br /><br />Then, disappointment! The Raven Theatre had completely filled up for the Telltale Games panel (make a scene with Strong Bad), and the PAX Enforcers weren't letting anyone else in. We wandered over to the PC freeplay area, where I poked at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_in_Conflict">World in Conflict</a> for a while (not bad, call it Starcraft meets <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Dawn</span>).<br /><br />Went back to the Raven to see if we could squeeze into the screening of <a href="http://www.watchtheguild.com/"><span style="font-style:italic;">The Guild</span></a> and Q&A with <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/7/28/">Felicia Day</a>, but the line for that stretched all the way across the convention center, and we were pretty sure the room wasn't that big.<br /><br />Wandered down to the console freeplay area, got a number, watched some people play Rock Band while waiting. Bryan checked out Guitar Hero III and two guitars, and he, Karin, and I strummed away while D watched with amusement.<br /><br />And that was Friday. Tomorrow we're driving in separately, since the first panel D and I want to see is at 1:00 PM, and we'll meet up later for food and such.<br /><br />I'm hoping the place won't be a complete madhouse, but I'm prepared for disappointment. I just hope everyone remembers <a href="http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/wwdnbackup/2008/08/wil-wheatons-20.html">Wil Wheaton</a>'s sage advice:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC09749-784266.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://malum-iter.com/RoadTripCatsMMVIII/uploaded_images/DSC09749-784031.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1017646826400735452.post-82503784424029390872008-08-27T12:01:00.000-07:002008-08-27T12:01:01.012-07:00Seattle BoundToday, we continue north:<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&s=AARTsJr1M6RpyEFeKkzpHK30DSl_LD-hbw&msa=0&msid=109441474141594961169.0004556b5455ab0e79c29&ll=47.562627,-122.218781&spn=0.324336,0.549316&z=10&output=embed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=109441474141594961169.0004556b5455ab0e79c29&ll=47.562627,-122.218781&spn=0.324336,0.549316&z=10&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />The main attractions there are <a href="http://www.pennyarcadeexpo.com/">PAX</a> and our friends <a href="http://kplusb.org/">Karin and Bryan</a>, but I've also been wanting to see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_Works_Park">Gas Works Park</a> ever since I first read about it in 2006. There's the <a href="http://www.empsfm.org/">Science Fiction Museum</a>, of course, and our Bank of America credit card will get us into a few other <a href="http://promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums/">museums for free</a> the first weekend in September.<br /><br />This will be the final leg of our road trip, so I feel like we should make the most of it by also visiting some of the local <a href="http://www.nps.gov/state/wa/">NPS sites</a>, but laziness will probably prevail and wind us down. That's okay--I'm going to need to catch up on my sleep before heading off to <a href="http://www.sff.net/Paradise/">Viable Paradise</a> in three weeks.<br /><br />~CKLCKLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05813803474788808773noreply@blogger.com0