Sketch a Day: Day 3

Crappy sketch today, but I didn't have much time tonight. I had to go back to work today :( no more vacation, and then after work I had a fondue party to go to... do not go to a fondue party on an empty stomach... it was fun but the items are so small, it's hard to eat a lot of it. Anyways... here is todays sketch... there is so much wrong with it I don't know where to begin but it is better than nothing.

Sketch a Day: Day 2

All right everyone, you might want to sit down for this one. Not only am I posting on two consecutive days but I am also carrying through on something I said I would do yesterday... I know, I am shocked too. Well here it is, day two, sketch one.



P.S. It's an amazon warrior.

Sketch a day

So I am trying to draw more these days. It's hard. Your will is trying to make you do something while your brain is telling you what your doing is crap. In any event I am going to try to post a daily sketch. To start things off here is a crappy pic of crappy sketch number one, day one.

Sucky Blogging

Man, I am the suckiest blogger who ever sucked at blogging!

PJPII

‘Science can purify religion from error and superstition; religion can purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.’ - Pope John Paul II

Personality DNA Part II

http://personaldna.com/psychyou-psychme.php?for=5a474c6670ac

Personality DNA

Go Oilers!

Feeeerrrrnnnnnaaaaannnnnddddddoooooo!!!!

Riiiiiicccoooo!!!!!

Rico!  Why O why did you jinx the Oilers so bad?

Also... why are the Canada's Next Top Model girls ugly?  Was that seriously the best they could find? ... Not that I watch that show or anything.

God v. Science, or is it Science v. God?

When did being knowledgable and being religious part ways?  It seems I can't turn around these days without someone making the assumtion that because one is a Christian they obviously don't like science, don't read books, don't like knowing things and will rely on the Bible to satisfy any questions they may have.  When did this happen?  Has it always been this way and I just never noticed?  I see it in forums all the time, I even see it from some of my friends who are not Christian, they assume that the only basis for any input I have to a conversation comes from the Bible, and therefor am generally unknowledgable.

I bet that recent sentiment has a lot to do with the whole Intelligent Design/Creatist groups out there trying to get their creation views taught in schools as science while they keep shouting about how evolution and it's partners are not scientific fact.  I always cringe a little inside when one of these people take the stage.  Realisticly they... well... they don't seem to know much other than their belief system seems to hinge on a literal translation of Genesis.  I don't understand those people.  Genesis is a story of creation as understood by people who lived far after the fact, it is not literal.  Although I do believe that the general ideas seem to match up roughly with what we do know scientifically about the creation of the universe, the earth, and life.

So perhaps some of the confusion lies there people taking a literal view of Genesis.  It seems though that in a larger context people seem unable to reconcile God and science, perhaps they are trying to fit God into science and he doesn't seem to fit.  I look at it the other way around, fit science into God and things seem to fit nicely.  Science can tell us the mechanics of the universe, but that is all, and I see no reason for that to shake a persons faith in God.  I have heard of no theory yet that does not fit into a God view of the universe.  Just because you figure out how a car works, what it's made of, when it was made, doesn't tell you who created it or why.

Here are some imporant scientists who were also Christians.

Roger Bacon

He was an English philosopher who emphasized empiricism and has been presented as one of the earliest advocates of the modern scientific method.

Jean Buridan

He was a Catholic priest who sowed the seeds of religious scepticism in Europe. He developed the theory of impetus, that was the first step toward the modern concept of inertia.

Robert Grosseteste

A Catholic bishop. A.C. Crombie calls him "the real founder of the tradition of scientific thought in mediaeval Oxford, and in some ways, of the modern English intellectual tradition".

Nicholas of Cusa

Catholic cardinal and theologian who made contributions to the field of mathematics by developing the concepts of the infinitesimal and of relative motion. His philosophical speculations also anticipated Copernicus’ heliocentric world-view.

Michael Stifel

Led to the development of Logarithms, hence the picture. He was also among Martin Luther's earlier followers and wrote on Biblical prophecies.

Robert Boyle

Scientist and theologian who argued that the study of science could improve glorification of God.

Antoine Arnauld

Jansenist theologian who wrote New Elements of Geometry and was compared to Euclid.

Isaac Newton

He wrote Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John(Nontrinitarianism)

Blaise Pascal

Convert to Jansenism known for Pascal's law(physics), Pascal's theorem(math), and Pascal's Wager(theology)

Charles Babbage

The Difference Engine and the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise.

-- Three of my favorites there; Newton, Pascal and Babbage.

Teilhard de Chardin

A member of the Society of Jesus, a Paleontologist linked to the finding of Peking Man, and a philosopher linked to the Omega Point idea.

Asa Gray

His Gray's Manual remains a pivotal work in botany. His Darwiniana has sections titled "Natural selection not inconsistent with Natural theology", "Evolution and theology", and "Evolutionary teleology." The preface indicates his adherence to the Nicene Creed in concerning these religious issues.

Lord Kelvin

He gave a famous address to the Christian Evidence Society. In science he won the Copley Medal, the Royal Medal, and was important in Thermodynamics.

Charles Townes

In 1964 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics and in 1966 he wrote The Convergence of Science and Religion.

Electronic Boutique

Electronic Boutique has let me down.  I have been egearly awaiting the release of Heroes of Might and Magic V, otherwise known as HOMM V.  It was supposed to come out on the 23rd.  I called EB and asked if they had it, they said no, it would not come out until the 26th now.  I was dissapointed but this kind of thing happens so I took it in stride.  I checked Future shops website on Thursday they said one store in the city had it, I was puzzled as my old faithful EB said it wasn't coming out until the 26th.  I called EB to see if it had arrived early... no luck... worse than that they now said it was not coming out until the 29th!!!!  What is going on?  Were they just trying to torture me?  Still, I trusted them, they have always been there for me in the past, I was not about to abandon them.  Well today I found myself near a Futureshop and thought I would just go in and take a look, expecting to find nothing.. well, they had some nice new copies of HOMM V on an end-cap.  Long story short, Electronics Boutique has let me down.  They failed in their mission to bring me games in a timely manner.  Perhaps next week they will make for their transgression by bringing in the new Hitman 47 game on time.  And for the record I am still not down with this whole EB Games name change... to me they will be forever Electronic Boutique.  Gamestop recently bought them out, hopefully they won't change names again to Gamestop... stupid name that... Gamestop.

Red Dwarf VIII

Woo hoo!  My Red Dwarf collection is complete!  I know, your green with envy.

Mission Impossible III

Just saw MI:III, it was pretty awesome.  J.J. Abrams is the best thing movies and T.V. has going right now.  Easily it was the best MI movie and it was an excellent action movie in it's own right.  Do yourself a favour and go see it.

Sucky?

What's that?  My blog sucks?  Ya.... I know it.

Vision

Go give this a listen, it's about vision.

Then watch this.

A slightly more real post

Ok, here is a slightly more real post, this is a poem from the
www.24-7prayer.com website:

THE VISION

So this guy comes up to me and says "what's the vision? What's the big idea?" I open my mouth and words come out like this…

The vision?

The vision is JESUS – obsessively, dangerously, undeniably Jesus.

The vision is an army of young people.

You see bones? I see an army. And they are FREE from materialism.

They laugh at 9-5 little prisons.

They could eat caviar on Monday and crusts on Tuesday.
They wouldn't even notice.
They know the meaning of the Matrix, the way the west was won.
They
are mobile like the wind, they belong to the nations. They need no
passport.. People write their addresses in pencil and wonder at their
strange existence.

They are free yet they are slaves of the hurting and dirty and dying.
What is the vision ?
The
vision is holiness that hurts the eyes. It makes children laugh and
adults angry. It gave up the game of minimum integrity long ago to
reach for the stars. It scorns the good and strains for the best. It is
dangerously pure.


Light flickers from every secret motive, every private conversation.
It loves people away from their suicide leaps, their Satan games.
This is an army that will lay down its life for the cause.
A million times a day its soldiers choose to loose

that they might one day win
the great 'Well done' of faithful sons and daughters.

Such
heroes are as radical on Monday morning as Sunday night. They don't
need fame from names. Instead they grin quietly upwards and hear the
crowds chanting again and again: "COME ON!"


And this is the sound of the underground
The whisper of history in the making
Foundations shaking
Revolutionaries dreaming once again
Mystery is scheming in whispers
Conspiracy is breathing…
This is the sound of the underground


And the army is discipl(in)ed.

Young people who beat their bodies into submission.

Every soldier would take a bullet for his comrade at arms.
The tattoo on their back boasts "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain".


Sacrifice fuels the fire of victory in their upward eyes. Winners. Martyrs. Who can stop them ?
Can hormones hold them back?
Can failure succeed? Can fear scare them or death kill them ?

And the generation prays


like a dying man
with groans beyond talking,
with warrior cries, sulphuric tears and
with great barrow loads of laughter!
Waiting. Watching: 24 – 7 – 365.

Whatever
it takes they will give: Breaking the rules. Shaking mediocrity from
its cosy little hide. Laying down their rights and their precious
little wrongs, laughing at labels, fasting essentials. The advertisers
cannot mould them. Hollywood cannot hold them. Peer-pressure is
powerless to shake their resolve at late night parties before the
cockerel cries.


They are incredibly cool, dangerously attractive inside.

On the outside? They hardly care. They wear clothes like costumes to communicate and celebrate but never to hide.
Would they surrender their image or their popularity?

They would lay down their very lives - swap seats with the man on death row - guilty as hell. A throne for an electric chair.

With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days,



they pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on them.

Their DNA chooses JESUS. (He breathes out, they breathe in.)
Their subconscious sings. They had a blood transfusion with Jesus.
Their words make demons scream in shopping centres.

Don't you hear them coming?
Herald the weirdo's! Summon the
losers and the freaks. Here come the frightened and forgotten with fire
in their eyes. They walk tall and trees applaud, skyscrapers bow,
mountains are dwarfed by these children of another dimension. Their
prayers summon the hounds of heaven and invoke the ancient dream of
Eden.


And this vision will be. It will come to pass; it will come easily; it will come soon.
How
do I know? Because this is the longing of creation itself, the groaning
of the Spirit, the very dream of God. My tomorrow is his today. My
distant hope is his 3D. And my feeble, whispered, faithless prayer
invokes a thunderous, resounding, bone-shaking great 'Amen!' from
countless angels, from hero's of the faith, from Christ himself. And he
is the original dreamer, the ultimate winner.

Guaranteed.

Not a real post

Testing this Performing blog tool thingy.  I know I know, I should make a real post.

FUEL

SNOW DAY!!!

I can't believe how much snow we have gotten. This railing was clear before this little snow storm started, and it's still coming down!

Who invented what?

So, apparently Muslims invented everything. Now I am not to say that many important inventions didn't come from the middle east. But this site/show/book seems to want to indicate that pretty much anything you can think of came from MUSLIMS, not just the middle east but muslims. Despite the fact that the Islamic faith did not begin until 700 A.D., a lot of these inventions they are claiming as muslim were actually chinese and pre-islam middle east. Ah well, would we be human if we didn't try to rewrite history to suit ourselves?

Random friday night. thoughts

It's friday night and as usual here I am all alone... sigh... guess I will blog.

Go here: ObjectDock to give your windows PC a bit of a Mac OS feel, it's a cool little applet that I am finding pretty useful. I have almost zero icons on my desktop now.

For the record I am NOT watching 'Shall We Dance' starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez right now.

Anyone remember Junkyard Wars? That was a good show... once it moved to America it was all downhill from there but still a good show. Rico says that Mythbusters has filled the void left in his heart by Junkyard Wars. While I agree that Mythbusters is a very entertaining show it doesn't quite live up to the ingenuity displayed by those people sifting through mounds of scrap to make a tank or an airplane (yes there was one episode of the american version where teams made airplanes from scrap, and they all got up in the air if I remember correctly). I think I remmember an episode of the American Junkyard Wars that was like a cross country race. Three teams started in one junkyard, made a car loaded it up with junk then had to race a few hundred miles to another junkyard where they had to modify their vehicle to do some task then race to another yard a few hundred miles away etc. etc. Too bad that show didn't last, I'd still be watching it.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion officially comes out in 10 days.

I bought three Star Trek movies today for $11 each. Couldn't turn that down, they were collectors editions even, I am a sucker for 'collectors' editions. Strangly enough these are the first Star Trek DVD products I have purchased. I got First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis. Granted perhaps only First Contact was worth owning, but still, Star Trek... $11... irresitable.

I put gas in my car today, 3/4 of a tank was $33. That seems like a lot to me.

Who here hasn't played a pen and paper role playing game a la Dungeons and Dragons, raise your hand. Well you should, you don't know what your missing. Last week we had eight people at our D&D session and it was a blast. We went on way longer than we expected to just because people were actually role playing instead of just getting to the fighting, lots of laughs. If any of you virgins out there want to try let me know, I've got D&D and Star Wars. Anyone who likes reading or movies would like a role playing game, I think people are just afraid of the 'geek' stereo-types that have been heaped on rpg's.

Tomorrow is Star Wars marathon day! We are watching all six Star Wars movies at my brother Keith's house. Should be a good time and really neat watching the whole story end to end.

I like Ikea.

Nelly Furtado, where is your new album? Mike and I are still waiting.

I think I need a new hobby.

Is it just me or is Harry Potter getting uglier as he gets older?

Are you bored yet? I might be running out of random things to blog about, at least for tonight. All right, I guess I am done.

One

Johari Window

Go here: http://kevan.org/johari?name=benscarbeau

And tell me what you think I am.


Also, check this out, tre hilarious: Broken escalator - directors cut

Brain Dump

So this week marks the start of 4 consecutive weeks in which there is a game coming out that I intend to purchase. This week was Battle for Middle-earth II, next week is Ghost Recon: Advanced War Fighter (or GWAR as I am calling it, GWAR sounds cooler than GRAWF... although... GRAWF... hmmm... that does sound cool GRAWF), then The Outfit, then it's the biggie, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion... I am expecting that one to blow my mind and keep me occupied for many months. I am trying to keep my expectations low so that my enjoyment will be high (the universal law of expectations vs. enjoyment, the lower your expectations the more you will enjoy something, even if it's not that great, rarely do video games or movies live up to high expectations).

New Blogs

Look to the right, you'll see some new Blogs. Awesome dude Graeme, cool cats Chris and Kirsten, and the lovely Joey.

Posting just for the sake of posting.

So, how's things? Good, good. So, ah, ya. Nothing much new here, back to work after vacation, it's ok, I didn't die as was the running theory. I rearanged my room, got a free wall mount for my T.V. from Best Buy due to their false advertising (thanks dad). Still thinking about going back to school, downloaded application form from U of A. Think that the university application process is a form of test in and of itself, I'm betting they figure if you can figure out what you want and how to ask for it your prolly good to go. It appears things have changed, it does not appear that there is a strictly Fine Arts program at U of A anymore, now it is a BA in Art and Design, or maybe I am just looking in the wrong place, failing their little test already heh. What else, what else... hmmmm... I got a new action figure, it is a Valkyrie from the Conan series. I have really cut down my figure buying, I must be getting more mature heh. I used to want to get complete series of things, now I am content getting just the figures that are the most appealing to me. I will never catch up to Brian heh, although I hear he has gotton off the wagon... or is that on the wagon as well. That just leaves Keith out of triumverate of action figure addicts. Oh, and for those of you out there who think action figures are lame and like to make fun of us, this whole 'stamping' craze you are all into right now totally brings us to the same level so your rights of ridicule have been revoked, not that they were valid in the first place :D. Hmmm... I guess that's all.

What I'm listening to.

Kutless - Strong Tower



Flame - Rewind

March - FUEL - Unplugged - Be There!

Valentines

Valentines, Schmalentines. Bah Humbug!

Xbox 360

Hey look! My Xbox 360 gamer tag to the right there.

Survivor: Panama - Exile Island

It's all about Mr. Miyagi... I mean Bruce this time around. Bonzai!




http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor12/survivors/bio_bruce.shtml

Happy Birthday Rico

Rico, Frederico, Rico-Suave, Fred, Brett, to you all, Happy 23rd Birthday.


Proof that he is a geek, here he is playing hero-clix with us. Buy some new ones with your birthday money Rico, I don't want to see Swamp Thing, Green Lantern or that Ming guy anymore heh :D

J-Doug's B-Day Par-tay!

Here are some pics from Jonah's birthday party.


Happy birthday, here's a balloon to the face.


He liked his card.


He liked opening the presents although he would not leave torn wrapping on the floor he had to put each piece into the garbage bag as it was torn off. It was cute, we'll see how long his tidyness lasts.


Mmmmm.... cake. He was saying 'Cheese' for the camera.


Jonah got a piano for his birthday along with a lot of other Rad stuff. His uncle Brett got him the batcave mini tent with inflatable matress, he loved it.


Rock on Jonah, Rock on!

Youth-a-palooza

BE THERE!

Happy Birthday J-Doug!!!!

Today is my nephew Jonah's birthday. He is 2. He rocks, even if he is a cranky pants sometimes. Rock on J-Doug, happy B-Day. Your fun uncle Ben loves ya.

Steph tagged me.

Four jobs I've had

* Intermediate Customer Service Rep for IBM
* Self-employed programmer/network architect type guy. I guess that would have made me President and CEO of Datastream Computer Solutions :D
* Anonymous cog #456521 at Convergys.
* Lab Monitor for N.A.I.T

Four movies I can watch over and over

* Hackers
* Sneakers
* Goonies (basically any movie involving treasure hunting, if I could change careers instantly I would so be a treasure hunter, if that is a valid 'career')
* Star Wars (Any, even the bad ones)

Four places I've lived (that's easy)

* Edmonton, AB
* Ottawa, Ontario
* Oakville, Ontario
* Nanaimo, B.C.

Four T.V. shows I love (geek list)

* Angel
* Firefly
* Battlestar Galactica
* The Office (both U.K. and North American version)

Four places I've vacationed

* Pine Lake
* The Maritimes
* Somewhere in B.C. Some mountain.
* I can't rememeber, it's been so long since I had an actual vacation apart from camping in the local area.

Four on my favorite dishes

* Pizza
* my Mother's Chili
* Spaghetti
* did I mention Pizza?

Four sites I visit daily

* MegaTokyo www.megatokyo.com
* Slashdot www.slashdot.org
* Flight www.flightcomics.com
* Gamespot www.gamespot.com

Four places I'd rather be right now

* here, but just not working
* back in school
* Visiting Carol and Mark in Japan
* a galaxy far far away

Four bloggers I am tagging

* Beth
* Skoch
* Megs
* Ian

My Ecological Footprint

CATEGORY GLOBAL HECTARES
FOOD 3.7
MOBILITY 0.2
SHELTER 1.8
GOODS/SERVICES 2.1
TOTAL FOOTPRINT 7.8



IN COMPARISON, THE AVERAGE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT IN YOUR COUNTRY IS 8.8 GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.

WORLDWIDE, THERE EXIST 1.8 BIOLOGICALLY PRODUCTIVE GLOBAL HECTARES PER PERSON.



IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 4.3 PLANETS.

http://www.myfootprint.org/

How about another Tesla quote?

If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search... I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.

Nikola Tesla, New York Times, October 19, 1931

Quote of the Day and Nikola Tesla

The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.
- Nikola Tesla

Nikola Tesla was one cool guy. Did you know he once powered a light bulb by sticking it into the ground and transmitting electricity to it through the earth, no wires, just the earth. He was the father of AC current, his legacy can be seen whenever you plug something into the wall, but he died impoverished and forgotten. Down with Edison, long live Tesla.

A Vision

So we in FUEL are in a bit of a state of flux. We are taking a look at what FUEL is and asking ourselves questions about FUEL's vision and mission. Thought I would post a little something about Vision my father passed along to me.


Lessons from Abraham Gen. 12-22.
Criteria for God Given Vision

A Vision Must...

1. Begin with God's Priorities - Gen. 12:1-2.

2. Connect with the leader's identity - Gen. 15:2-4

3. Involve and bless others - Gen. 12:2,3

4. Be bigger than the leader - Gen. 12:1-8

5. Connect with the leader's deepest convictions - Gen. 18:9-12

6. Be tangible and easily communicated - Gen. 15:5

7. Have eternal value, affects the eternal destiny of others - Gen. 17:19,20

Supreme Nerd!

Slacker

Who doesn't update their blog? Me, that's who. I am lazy, I apologize. Look how lazy I am, this isn't even a real post.

mmm Brains....

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (46%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (46%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

The Apprentice

Apprentice ended last night, Randall 'won'. Once he learned he had won he walked over to his opponent.... and metaphorically kicked her in the face and then spit on her. I always knew there was something not right with that Randall. I have to give him props for being such a good actor, he sure had everyone fooled with his nice guy act. What kind of a business person would not go for the win-win scenario!?!? A poor one IMHO. For those who may not have been watching The Apprentice. During the final face-off both finalists made some mistakes and both did some things well, they were neck and neck, Donald wanted to hire them both, he hired Randall first and then asked his opinion, letting him make the choice to hire Rebecca or not. I'd like to think that most people would have hired her, Randall instead shows his low character and tells Trump that he should be the only apprentice. Unbelievable. If I were Trump I would have reversed my decision on the spot, fired Randall and hired Rebecca. Randall, I hope you get fired.

Narnia

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
This movie was great. Highly recommended. Hoping there will be more.

Mexico

So I heard a horrible story today. This was in the paper this morning. Apparently a man from Edmonton went down to Mexico for his daughters wedding. He was scuba diving when he had a heart attack. The family waved down a taxi to get him to the hospital (I guess there is no 911 equivalent). The taxi driver, on seeing the man was in trouble, proceeded to extort the family, demanding 2000 Canadian dollars to drive the man to the hospital. They didn't have that much money, he agreed to take them the few blocks to the nearest fire station for only 200 Canadian dollars. With nothing else to do they agreed. When they arrived at the fire station the firemen there refused to perform any CPR or life saving measures claiming they don't assist tourists. Finally they got the firemen to take them to the nearest clinic, not an actual hospital. When they arrived the locals waiting there were apparently quite upset that this tourist was going to go in ahead of them, despite the fact that he was DYING. The man did not survive, he died at the clinic. When the doctor came out to tell the family apparently the locals who were waiting cheered at the news of the mans death. CHEERED! They were happy I guess because it shortened their wait for the doctor. CHEERED A MAN'S DEATH! I know it sounds like one of those internet stories that go around and isn't true it's so unconceivable that people would do that, but it was in the paper. I am disgusted, saddened, outraged. How do you deal with people who have that kind of callous unconcern for their fellow man? What kind of social and cultural circumstance foment that kind of outlook on life? Some days I think God should have finished the job with the flood. Obviously we aren't getting the message.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

Winter

Winter. My mortal enemy. Oh how I hate winter. It is cold, dark, and dreary. You have to bundle up just to go to the corner store, your glasses fog up, my car never heats up until you get where you are going. My car also ices up on the inside... the inside! At the same time though winter can be beautiful but only when you are looking at it from inside a nice warm house. In the end though all I have to say to winter is, "Who invited you to the party?".

For my family: Here is what you can get me for Christmas.

Beth and Keith I guess this really only applies to you guys seeing as how the other three people who will be buying me gifts already know.

Ben Christmas Wish List


D20 Modern Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
ISBN: 0786928360 • Published by Wizards of the Coast
Price: $38 online at chapters.ca
$55 in store at Chapters West Edmonton mall



DVD:
Constantine (Widescreen, special edition if you can find it)
Season 4 or 5 of Angel
Season 6 or 7 of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
Season 1 of the new Battlestar: Galactica
Any Season of Sliders (I believe there are only 3 seasons, Season 1&2 come together, Season 3 comes on it’s own).
Space: Above and Beyond



Books:
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis (Softcover)

Gift Certificates: Future Shop, Sears, Chapters, South side Wizards Comics (Just north of the Millwoods Town Centre near Shoppers, some grocery store and some nail salon).

A King Kong poster

Cities and Knights of Catan 5-6 player expansion pack (Approx. $20 - $25)


Hero Clix: Armor Wars (Approx. $10. Available at Comic or Collectible stores)

The Tick

"Destiny dressed you this morning my friend and now fear is trying to pull off your pants. If you give up, if you give in then your going to end up naked with fear just standing there laughing at your dangling unmentionables." - The Tick.

Why did The Tick not last? Why? It was so great. I blame you. Yes, you know who you are, you, the one who didn't watch, it's all your fault. Shame on you.

Night shift... NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

So the shift leader for the midnight shift just quit. Don't blame him, hope he does well in his new job. Problem. They might ask me to take his shift. I have done it before and my manager wants me to prove my 'flexability' by the end of December. Priority number 1: avoid phone calls and emails from manager. Heh. Seriously though, I hope they don't ask, the night shift kinda blows, the weekdays are not so bad but it really ruins your weekends when your body wants to sleep all day saturday and sunday.

Whatever happened to Kool-aid man? He was the best. He would unexpetantly burst through solid brick walls to tell you about his sugary drinky goodness. I think remember him playing guitar, wearing a hawaii shirt and even skateboarding. That guy was up on all the trends. Bring back Kool-Aid man. Oh Yeah!!!! (No, I don't think this picture is 'official'. I don't know if he is saving those chicks with his Kool-Aid or if he knocked them out with flying debris when he came through the wall.) 

WooHoo

Woo Hoo! Four days off! What am I going to do with all this time? It's like I've won the jackpot! Hmmmmm, tomorrow I will see Harry Potter seeing as how everyone else has already seen it. Then? Who knows. The world is my oyster!

Advertising

I am getting tired of all the advertising. Last night I was watching Surface before going to bed, maybe I was just tired, but the commercials were driving me up the wall. It's like you can't turn your head without seeing an advertisment for something. Is it just me or are commercials getting more annoying and more phoney? Seriously, I am going to spaz! Hulk Smash!

There's just no end to these things.

You are Schroeder!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
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Star Trek

So the other night I left my window open and it was real cold, kept waking me up, but it was too cold to get out from under the covers to close it. The side effect of this is that I remembered a lot of dreams the next day. I was going to blog about it but now it has been too long and they have all faded so I won't bother telling you about it, it would be boring. Your bored already aren't you? Alright, alright, moving on.

My favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was on Monday. It's an episode called 'The Inner Light'. For me this was the pinnacle of the series. In the episode the Enterpise crew encounters an alien probe. The probe hit's Captain Picard with some data beam and and he falls unconcious. He wakes up on an alien world, he doesn't know where he is but everyone there recognizes him. They believe he is suffering a bit of mental illness as he tries to convince them he is Captain Picard and not the man they think he is. Eventually he accepts life on this new world and believes that he is the man these people thinks he is. He lives an entire lifetime on this planet, becomes ingrained in their culture, has a family, lives life as one of them. Eventually we see him as an old man, his family comes to take him to the launching of a rocket. He realizes that the rocket they are launching is the probe he encounterd in his other life, his family and friend surround him, both living and dead. They implore him to remember them, remember his life, remember their culture so that they can live on even though their world and culture has been dead for thousands of years. Picard wakes up and finds that only 25 minutes have passed on the Enterprise even though he lived a lifetime in his mind. The probe deactivates, never to give that experience to anyone else. Inside they find the flute that Picards alternate identity learned to play and love. The final shot is Picard looking into space playing the tune he learned on the flute in his other life. I can't really put my finger on why I like this episode so much but I get misty eyed at the end everytime.

Middle Earth

Dwarvish


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
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Fear Collectors.. such a dissapointment. 

Meant to blog this awhile ago. So I recently purchased the 'Collectors' editions of two games, Fear and Age of Empires III. Both were more expensive than the regular version and both were the same price. You can see from the pictures that one was obviously a better value. I pre-ordered and pre-paid Fear so when I got to the store to pick it up I kinda felt like I had no choice but to take it, needless to say I felt a little ripped off. Collectors edition and the dvd came in a paper sleave, oh and note the nice message they included warning me to upgrade right away once it was installed as they shipped a broken product. Ripped off. Age of Empire III on the other hand should be the text book of how to do Collectors editions right. It was beautiful. Lot's of stuff, nice cases, and the best part, the part that can make me buy a game even if I had no interest in it previously it came with a beautiful art book filled with concept and digital art from all three games in the series. I love concept art. If I could instantaneously change careers that's what I would be, concept artist for film or games. 

A prayer warrior call

Without going into to much detail the Scarbeau family could use your prayers. So please put us on your lists and remember us when your talking to the Big Guy. Thanks.

Long time.

I havn't blogged a real blog in awhile, sorry, this is not a real blog either, just something to tide over my legions of fans until I make a real blog later today. What?!? I don't have legions of fans?!? Impossible. Someone find my legions!

Ben Needs...

From Rico... from Ian... See Rico blog for the rules.

Ben needs help.
Ben needs a new smock.
Ben needs you.
Ben needs your help.
Ben needs a ride home.
Ben needs a new TV.
Ben needs to keep cool.
Ben needs to code.
Ben needs to develop step-by-step approaches to academic work.
Ben needs to act fast.

New Fuel shirt logo. 

Is this me?

Your Hidden Talent

You have the natural talent of rocking the boat, thwarting the system. And while this may not seem big, it can be. It's people like you who serve as the catalysts to major cultural changes. You're just a bit behind the scenes, so no one really notices.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

The Juice

Just a quickie. I am back on the 'roids. Synthroid that is, not 'The Juice'. Dr. Jeffries did not have his nurses beat me up, and gave me a years worth of the 'roids. It's all good people, I will survive. If all goes well I may start remembering stuff again in a month or so :D Not that I was ever very good at remembering things but it seems I have been extra forgetful latley, one of the effects of the good ol hypo-active thyroid.

Holidays

Working during holidays really sucks. Did I mention this before? Seems familiar. Well, even if I did... here it is again. Working holidays sucks. Unless you are saving lives there should be no reason you have to work on a holiday. Seriously, you'd think that ABB could do without tech support for one day, but no. Well not entirely true we are closed on Christmas... one whole day in the entire year. It's prolly not a good thing that most days I really dislike my job eh?

Fuel 

Serenity

Just a quick post while I still have time left on my break. Saw Serenity last night. It was great. Loved it. Best sci fi to come along in quite some time. Quick thoughts. River rocks, it wasn't western enough, I missed the show's title song, can't believe the killed who they killed (don't want to give too much away), loved it, I want a sequel, or I want the show back... or both. Joss Whedon is my master now. :D