Saw Austin Powers in…Goldmember this weekend. For being the third movie in the series, that was seriously one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in the theatre. I was smiling and/or laughing throughout the entire thing…so much so that my face was absolutely aching by the time it was over. Sheesh!

Had a nice thunderstorm this morning. A huge booming crack of thunder woke me up at 2:43 this morning so I stood by the window and listened to the rain fall (since it was too dark to actually watch it). It was a welcome relief from the yucky, sticky humidity that was going on yesterday. I took my iMac in the basement with me again during the afternoon and watched DVDs while I crocheted. It was kind of boring, but I couldn’t really do much more without sweating like a pig. (As my mother is absolutely against the idea of air conditioning.)

When I wasn’t busy trying to keep from sweating this weekend, I tried to get video capture to work on my computer. My video card is a Radeon 7500 VIVO which is supposed to do video caputre, but it does a pretty shoddy job. It does grab the video as MPEG-2 but it drops frames like crazy. I never have had too much success using the vid card for that purpose, so I tried again to use my USB vidcap device, which previously hadn’t worked worth crap. Well, finally, I figured out how the fricken software worked (I absolutely do NOT recommend Ulead Video Studio to anyone who wants to do serious video capture/editing…*shudder* It’s unbelievably counter-intuitive) and finally saw a bit of success. Aside from the software blazing along at a snail’s pace, the only problem I encountered was when I tried to convert the MPEG-2 to avi. The video got caught at one point and I’m not sure why. I ran out of time to futz with it, so maybe later this week I’ll try again.

My brother left for college for the year already. He’s going to be part of the athletic training program in Madison working with the football team for about a month before classes start. That should be a cool experience for him. I’m very excited for him because it’s something he really wants to do, although he has to basically block himself off from the outside world during this time. Hope he can find the strength to do without TV and internet for a month…

And grrrrrrr! Photoshop has been erroring out on me all morning. And I’m in several queues on IRC right now, so I absolutely do not want to reboot…

Yesterday a link off of FARK caught my attention: A Girl’s Guide to Geek Guys.

To be fair, some nice person also posted a link to the Guy’s Guide to Geek Girls.

I posted both to my university’s CS Club mailing list to see what the guys thought about the content of these essays. The few who replied thought the essay about geek guys was more accurate, and the girls one less so.

However, there were a few passages in the “grrlz” essay I thought were especially accurate (from my own perspective):

“They are more attracted to intelligence than testosterone; they don’t need football players - in fact, most of them find them to be a turnoff. Most importantly, they like fellow geeks - prefer them, even.”

“Jeans are the staple element of the geek girl wardrobe. Glasses, usually strong, are also a familiar touch. The hair can be any length, but in almost all cases, it is OUT OF THE WAY. They don’t dress for success. They dress for comfort, for long hours in the lab, for convenience. This is not to say that geek girls aren’t capable of looking nice; they can be quite striking when the mood suits them. Most of the time, however, they are under flourescent lighting and bent over the monitor, so makeup, suits, and high heels are utterly pointless. Not that they aren’t anyway, of course.”

“All women like gifts, but the geek girl’s tastes are different. The average woman likes flowers, but the geek girl is not average, and would probably rather not be bothered with something so transient…Thinking of getting her a necklace? Why not a new sound card instead? A makeup table would not get much use, but a new computer desk would probably see her more than you do. Use your brain when choosing gifts; that’s what she likes you for, anyway.”

While I tend to think of myself as the antithesis of any stereotype, these particular things describe parts of me perfectly. Smart is sexy in my book, and I tend to be highly attracted to guys who are intelligent and useful than those who are not. I’d get more excited watching a guy take apart one of my lamps and put it back together properly than watching a guy hoist my 27″ TV over his head. Seriously. (Okay, maybe I’d be a little impressed with the TV bit, but you get the idea…)

I think all the guys I’ve ever been attracted to have leaned towards the geeky or offbeat side. Of course, they all have not been computer guys, but they’ve all had some characteristic that pulls them out of the mainstream. When a guy demonstrates that he has some worth, that he has an important talent, gift, or interest that he wants to share with the world to make it a more interesting or enjoyable place, I often find myself smitten.

This has been especially true of guys who can play an instrument well, particularly the piano. At the risk of sounding a little creepy, the first time I heard one of my high school English teachers play “The Phantom of the Opera” on the piano, I was so enraptured I nearly passed out. (Not to say I was attracted to him per se, but this is an example of how talent affects me, regardless of gender or age) If someone can make me say “Wow!” they have won me over. (Unless, of course, the person is a egomaniacal jackass, in which case I want nothing to do with them.)

But why computer geeks? Well, I really can’t say for sure. As much as I hate to do this, I guess I could generalize a little. On the whole, most of them are very nice people with a well-developed sense of humor. They are smart, sarcastic, and rebellious against convention. They can be sweet and sensitive when the spirit moves them. They tend to think from their brain rather than their pants. They are creative, but not in a traditional sense. They are useful. They will help society rather than hinder it. Some of them have crazy mad-scientist/Einstein-looking hair. Oh, yeah, did I mention they’re smart? :-) *drool*

On a whim, I turned on the TV this morning when I was getting ready for work and caught part of Sesame Street. I’ve heard a lot of talk recently about the possibility of having an HIV positive muppet on the show…well, whatever. Not exactly sure how a muppet could contract anything let alone HIV… But not having seen the show since I was about 8, it was comforting to note that Big Bird is still as scary as ever, that Ernie still sings the same Rubber Ducky song (and that I remember the lyrics), and they’re still using some of the same ’70s and ’80s animations/segments for counting. Today’s number was 9, and there was a very interesting ’80s Stop-Motion segment with a guy holding numbers and moving all over town without moving his feet. How frightening! I was kind of interested in the fact that I still found myself drawn to the TV screen despite being far too old to be properly entertained by the show…

Ohhh, that’s how you’re supposed to do that…I finally found out what it takes to Be a Modern Artist. I’m not quite sure how exactly I’m supposed to grow a goatee, but I’ve heard that Testosterone therapy works wonders. Or steroids.

Oh yeah, and I noticed that GTA3 is easier to play when I’m slighly distracted. I must concentrate too hard on the game when my attention isn’t divided. I think I handle the vehicles better when I’ve had a few Zimas or when I’m chatting on the phone than when I’m fully sober and focused. Thank god it’s not like that in real life…

I just came back from a long weekend in Chicago. One of my buddies had an extra ticket for the Tropicana 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race on Sunday, so I went along. Having never seen a race before, it was quite an experience, and despite being surrounded by hicks, I had a good time. (Also, my legs are quite sore after doing so much walking and running all over the place, but it was worth it.)

It was a weekend of many firsts for me: I stayed in a hotel for the first time, took a passenger train from Chicago to Joliet, and ate Asian food. I ate chicken in one form or another for 4 meals straight. Blah, I can’t take any more!

I got ahold of a copy of Grand Theft Auto III for Playstation 2 last night and played it until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. Surprisingly enough, the cars are much easier to control on the console than on a computer. That game r0×0r5!

Verrrrrry tired today…not sure how I’ll make it through the day on 4 hours of sleep. Guess I’ll have to start in early with the caffeine.

I started crocheting another blanket last night. I agonized over a set pattern for this one since my last one was quite strict in dimension, but ended up giving up and making it free form. It’s much easier that way, and I don’t have as many restrictions so it’s more fun and relaxing. Crocheting (while mainly a hobby practiced by grandmothers) is one of the only forms of expression (i.e. “art”) where I have actually felt more comfortable without a strict plan than when I’m sticking to a pattern. Typically I need to have it all thought out ahead of time when I create things because the risk of putzing the project up without planning is far too high. That’s one of the faults of being a perfectionist, I guess. A somewhat lazy perfectionist perhaps…but just because I don’t put forth a heroic effort on something doesn’t mean the sub-standard quality doesn’t *bug the HELL out of me!*

I guess I should clarify that a little… Before I decided to give up on making a premeditated pattern for the blanket, I sat there thinking to myself that I have so much wasted potential in my life due to utter laziness. Throughout school (and life, I guess) I’ve always been a few steps ahead of most of my peers and have found it easy to excel in many things without a whole lot of effort. Until college, I had never studied for a test, because I didn’t have to. While that may sound conceited, I assure you it’s just the truth. I got very good at bullshitting my way through my classes because they were designed for those who were not quite as “gifted” as myself. (That label got slapped on me enough to make me want to puke.) Nevertheless, I only tried as hard as I needed to in order to get good grades.

It wasn’t until I hit college that I realized how much more I could offer if I just made an effort. In my art history classes, it was imperative to study my ass off to learn the material, so I did, and found myself astounded by how much I could learn and the speed at which I could learn it. I breezed through all my exams but at the end found myself rather depressed because I finally saw just how much of my life I’ve wasted because I only worked as hard as I needed to in order to “do well”.

I spend more time thinking about doing great things than actually doing them. I frequently underestimate myself just because I’m so comfortable doing the bare minimum that I don’t really know what I’m capable of. I have no clue where the hell this trait came from since my whole family is full of perfectionists and overachievers.

All I know is I’m saddened by the idea of knowing I’m lazy while at the same time realizing how much I could offer the world if I got up and did something about it. And that’s no one’s fault but my own.

Heading off to Chicago this weekend with a couple of my guys. That should be fun. Also this weekend, a friend from school is getting married! (And being that I wasn’t invited, I’ll just have to find out how it went later on!) *waves to Daniel, who appears to be the only one who reads this*

Had a fun time last night doing a collaborative painting with a friend (my webhost) who had never tried oil painting before! It was fun seeing him enjoying something that was unfamiliar territory to him. Hopefully he enjoyed it enough to give it another shot. Marshmallow brontosaurus Tama-chan peep!

Slow day at work today, not much happening. Still waiting for feedback from my last project so I can add creative touches to it. fingers drum on desktop Guess I’ll have to spend all day looking at FARK.

Oh yeah, and yesterday, somehow my car managed to not get flooded. In fact, despite the window being open, the seat wasn’t wet at all. It stormed bad enough last night to knock our power out long enough to reset everything including my beloved computer. Dave says I should invest in a UPS. I think he may be right.

Gah, here I sit at work in between projects, listening to the rain pounding down on the aged roof of this establishment, pondering the reality that I’ve left my driver’s side window partially open. I can’t see out a window from where my cube is situated, but being that I’m not on the top floor, really (It’s hard to explain, but I’m on the 3rd 1/2 floor, and there are 4 total) and I can hear it quite clearly, it must be cascading down. But by the time I realized how hard it was coming down, it was too late to do anything about it (I mean, it’s wet no matter what I do now!)…so I’ll have to drive home with a soaked ass.

Aside from that fact, just knowing that the moisture will remain in my car for months to come is what I’m not too happy about. It has this weird tendency to trap humidity inside, which leads to steamy windows, puddles of water on the floor, and a yucky mildewy smell that is impossible to get rid of.

One might suspect that having steamy windows on my car may suggest something about me, but when they are covered with condensation on the inside without anyone in the car, that would have to be some act of projection, if you know what I mean. (Not that I have anyone to “project” with…) *sigh*

But anyhow…strange dreams returning again. This time one of my best friends unexpectedly proposed to me, and I actually accepted. That dream had me in a weird funk most of the weekend, and I still can’t shake it. Welcome to my world…where dreams may be distinguishable from reality but interfere nonetheless.

The one thing I had been holding off buying in the sincere hope of getting as a gift was (of course) Moulin Rouge. Being that I have a one-track mind most of the time, the obsession over not owning the movie and having an overwhelming desire to watch it was driving me insane. And then I ended up not getting it from anyone. (I’m pretty sure most everyone expected someone else to buy it instead.) Gah, I was disappointed.

But a couple of my buddies got me an Igor (Young Frankenstein) doll, which I had bought over a year ago, so they were kind enough to return that and bring me Moulin Rouge with a gigantic gold bow! :-) I was most pleased!!!! I’m really excited to watch the special features as I have not partaken of them as of this moment.

*buuuuuurrrrrrp* Whew. I had pizza for two meals yesterday, in addition to birthday brownies and ice cream cake. I’ve never really been much of an eater, but I had enough to last me for quite awhile without going hungry. And no, I didn’t get wasted. Yes, I remember everything that happened. :-)

Got my Zima, watched A Beautiful Mind, Moulin Rouge, and half of Trainspotting (yes, I got the rental free!), which took me up to 2 AM this morning. I was so unblelievably tired that I took a half-day at work today since tonight’s a big night too. I have no idea how I plan on packing away another huge birthday meal, but I’ll figure it out somehow.

Finished One Door Away From Heaven this morning. Good, but not one of Koontz’s finest. There were so many parallels to Intensity that I couldn’t decide whether he was being lazy or just unbelievably clever.

The autographed Doggett/Reyes (The X-Files) pic I won off eBay finally came today, after a wait of almost a month. Schweet. Happy birthday to me.

Looking forward to tonight! After work I’m going to get myself some Zima and rent Trainspotting. (Hopefully for free!) I’m on an Ewan McGregor kick. *smile*

Then later I’m off to my aunt & uncle’s to watch A Beautiful Mind and chow on pizza. And tomorrow is the opening of MIB2. Already have the tickets ordered.

I got The X-Files Season 5 on DVD for my bday and I watched Bad Blood this morning before I left for work. What a classic episode…I still laugh despite the number of times I’ve seen that ep.