Today is 02/02/2020, the first time in almost 1000 years that the current date creates a mirror image of itself! I shall leave you with a song to celebrate with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUQDzj6R3p4 :D

Finally put the last nail in the coff... err, I mean, everything is fine!

Most of the updates and installs were done much sooner, but I had been having a problem getting Poser downloaded and then making it see where my content was.

In between all of that, I had ordered a new PSU and a new, larger SSD. The PSU because I'm testing to see whether that was the cause of my random system crashes that caused the final crash and corrupted Windows last weekend.

Scored a deal through Best Buy for a 500gb, Samsung 850 SSD on sale for $85, nearly half what I paid for my current 250gb Samsung SSD nearly five years ago :P

PSU is installed and seems to be giving enough power to the system, but I'm just waiting to see if the system shuts down and reboots again to know if it was that or not. Still waiting on the SSD, when that arrives, I'm just going to mirror this SSD onto that so I don't have to do a complete system install again :D

Amiright? You'd think after 8 years they'd roll them up into a couple of nice and tidy service packs instead of the 1200+ updates that they currently are *grumbles*

So. About 11pm last night, I had a random crash and a system restart. Nothing too big, Windows began running CHKDSK and I figured everything was ok. That was until Windows got stuck in a boot/crash loop. Through various tests and fixes, I was not able to get Windows to boot. Essentially, somewhere along the line, the boot files for Windows became corrupted, but none of the various tools could fix it. Not only that, but none of my latest restore points would show up, latest was some time back in 2015. I've run CHKDSK, SFC.exe, BOOTREC.exe, plus a host of other things that I could find.

Finally had to break down and reinstall Windows onto my backup drive just so I could access my SSD, which thankfully did not lose any data due to this, just corrupted boot files. Didn't lose any other important files like Poser figures, movies, pics, etc since I leave all those on two separate backup drives.

Currently working on prepping the SSD for format and later reinstall of Windows onto that once again. Should be ok, though I've been suffering a minor anxiety attack because of it. Really lame because I keep telling myself that everything will be fine, I didn't lose anything and all I need to do is spend the time reinstalling software. It makes for a really long shift at work... even though it was only four hours. Bleh.

but my aim is improving!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwNGR792Ifk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT3BFzSD6YY

The really don't. Beware.

Be The Day <--- ran out of title room.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsncKAUV9rk

Special Song Trivia: I absolutely hate this song <3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtAhISkoJZc

I regret nothing!

And don't click this link: http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons.....7/itsatrap.jpg

Was just reading up on some Twi'lek stuff on the 'canon' Star Wars twi'lek wiki page and have discovered that purple is now an official color of skin! This means that yours truly can now be a canon character, woo! I also noted that they have made all colors, ROY G BIV, canon as well, something not done before. It used to only be green, blue, white, orange, and some rare cases of red. How cool is that? *bounces*

I was told by a customer today that we need to get rid of our men's cologne because she was allergic to it and it was giving her a migraine after another customer had sprayed one of our testers.

Let that one sink in for a minute.

She stood in line, waiting to be checked out. Breathing in a substance she knows will cause her pain and suffering and says the solution is that we need to get rid of it.

I hadn't actually noticed it until she said something...

It's a nice sunny, 60 degree day out, I do love summer! Wait... what do you mean it's still February? *grumbles* Fucking Michigan...

I finally got to see the trailer for Ghostbusters. If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, Hollywood has run out of ideas and the only thing they can do is cash in on successful franchises just to make a quick buck. This movie is no different. I already ranted about this a few months ago, but now that I've gotten to see the full trailer, my suspicions were correct.

To start, let me make it clear that I have no problem with a female cast, I think if done right, a cast of the opposite gender in (almost) any movie can be good. However, they could have chosen a much better cast, people we can recognize, aside from Melissa McCarthy. Sorry, but she's just not funny at all. Her method is to yell and scream everything and (literally) bounce around everywhere trying to be as obnoxious as possible. I don't know why they keep hiring her for anything, but I supposed the dumbed down masses consider this humor now, just yelling and being annoying. It's also the same reason reality TV is so popular.

When the movie was first leaked, they specifically stated that it was a sequel. Then, when the photos were leaked several months ago, they said it was a reboot and has nothing to do with the previous two movies or cartoons. Now, we find out that three of the four original Ghostbusters are supposed to make cameos and that this Ghostbusters does in fact take place 30 years after the first movie. In the trailer, you can plainly see the old firehouse, if this was a reboot, they would have no reason to show it.

This movie just doesn't know what it wants to be and frankly, I don't think anyone working on it knew what they wanted it to be either. The entire plot is a rehashed and retold version of the first Ghostbusters. McCarthy's character has written a book on paranormal activity and no one believes her. Later, the book resurfaces during some lecture she's having and she and her colleagues are tossed out of the university they work at. They decide to "go into business for themselves". I'm sorry, but if this is a sequel, why does no one believe McCarthy's character when she studies ghosts? You can't tell me that a 50 foot tall marshmallow man and the Statue of Liberty walking down Manhattan have been forgotten by everyone, even after 30 years. They just happen to forget blowing the two floors off the high-rise penthouse and the Titanic sitting in the harbor? There were no samples of the slime from the sewers from part 2? I get that in number two when Ray and Winston are talking about no one remembering them, it was in a different context, like rock stars that fade, but we're going on 16 years of the WTC attack and everyone remembers that quite clearly and it only happened once.

Then, we see in this trailer that they have to build all their own equipment, get their own car, and even set up shop in their own building... ever after we were just privy to the firehouse about 30 seconds earlier! One of the first scenes they show is them huddled around an apparition in a library. Huh... real original there. Why, if this is a sequel, do they need to make all their own equipment? Egon even says in number two that the power cells of the proton packs have a half life of 500 years, I don't think they needed to make new ones. One of them says "someone is creating a device that amplifies paranormal activitey", oh, you mean like the apartment building in the original movie? Yep, that's original. The CG, from what I can see just in the trailer, looks horrible, but they're taking a note from that play book as well, remake a good movie into a bad one and make everything out of CG with the hopes that no one will notice how bad it is.

If anyone disagrees with me, that's fine, but let's list some of the other reboots that failed miserably (or no one cares about):

Total Recall
Robocop
Conan
Clash of the Titans
Annie
Spiderman (not Sam Ramai)

Shall I go on?

Just got back from seeing Star Wars... for the fourth time :P

It's currently my record holder for movies seen, second being Independence Day three times and Avatar third, seen twice.

And in before "I hated Star Wars, because of this, this, this, and yes, that" or "Worst movie since the prequels, this is NOT Star Wars" and of course, the popular "Anyone that spends money on this movie is a retard and is only giving money to Disney to fuck up Star Wars". I don't want to hear it.

"This product should not be taken if you walk, eat, sleep, or breath. Side effects include, constipation, diarrhea, blindness, kidney failure, fever, chills, AIDS, Ebola, and death."

Damn, I only have a headache...

Sssoooo... have you seen the new images for the new Ghostbusters movie? Come to find out that it's no longer a sequel, but another fucking reboot. Because the first Ghostbusters did so terrible at it. A reboot, if done right, can be a good thing. Sometimes you bring new ideas to the table, maybe update with new technology, both in the movie and filming it, perhaps find actors that do the original justice.

However, Ghostbusters will not be one of those movies. It's such a bad idea that they aren't even going to use an original idea, they're actually using the original plot from the first movie. The major difference is that it's "now" and an all female cast. I don't have a problem with a gender swap in movies, as long as it's not stepping on the toes of other movies. Let's say for instance that they decided to reboot Scarface and said, "you know what would make this movie rock? If we cast Megan Fox as the lead role!".

An all female cast of Ghostbusters isn't such a bad thing, it'd be neat to see what they can do... however, one such actress on the team is Melissa McCarthy... ugh... if you're a fan, I apologize. Like Megan Fox, I don't see the appeal. She's not funny, loud and obnoxious. I've always had this theory in music that if you play bad, you play it louder so people can't tell how bad you are. The same can nearly always be applied to acting, especially comedy. If you can't act and can't act funny, just be loud and yell a lot. Now, some people can pull it off, like Chris Farely, but part of it was the writing and the people he had acting around him. McCarthy is about as funny as a rock.

I mentioned the plot. While some sites say the plot is "yet unknown", I read on a news site that the basic gist of the story is one of the team members writes a book about ghosts, trying to prove they exist, then gets "thrown out" of college when the book resurfaces years later because no one takes her seriously. She and her friends decide to start a business to catch ghosts and even have a Cadillac hearse for their vehicle. In New York. Sound just a tad familiar?

I was really hoping for a real sequel, something like what Star Wars is doing by passing the torch to the new generation of actors. I know Ivan Reitman is gone, but we still had Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murry, they could have been "retiring" and gone on to teach new members. I did read that Murray said the only way he'd do a new movie is if he was a ghost. he would too :P

I get that Hollywood has now become this company that is afraid to take chances, but for fuck's sake, they've scraped the bottom of the barrel so much that it's poked a hole through into the ground.

Yes, another fail reboot that will once again remind people what not to watch and when you ask them "hey, did you see "that movie"?" They'll be like "yeah, I hated it" when you REALLY mean the original. No one seems to remember the original Total Recall or Robocop anymore *sighs*

For the first time ever in my life time, but not quite in the lifetime of Michigan, we experienced a 4.2 magnitude earthquake. Was sitting here a few mins before 12:30 when the house and ground shook up, didn't know what it was at first. Found out later that there was an earthquake outside of Kalamazoo, SW Michigan for those not familiar.

While it was only a 4.2 and nowhere nearly powerful enough to cause an real damage, we felt it all the way up here in Mount Pleasant, which is about 20mins past the middle of the state. There were reports that it was felt from Chicago to Detroit!

So yes, I survived the Michigan earthquake of 2015!

Was all but forced to sit through Teenage Mutant Bay Turtles... holy fuck, there's two hours I'll never get back.

I can't even begin to describe the problems with this movie. I'm not even going to compare it to the comics, cartoons OR even the original live action movies, I don't have to, it's just that horrible.

So, according to this movie, the turtles have taken on the powers of Superman. That is, they have super strength, are bulletproof, and can leap large distances in a single bound. Yes, I'm totally not kidding, they are pretty much Superman from the 40's. Their voices are just... odd, I can't really put my finger on it, maybe because they're supposed to be teenagers and they sound like 30 year old males trying to be teenagers? Also, there's hardly any "ninja-ing" going on in this movie, a lot of it is just Matrix style fighting with a slow-cam shot on NEARLY. EVERY. FUCKING. FIGHT. They do a slow-cam shot for scenes that don't even need one, kinda like those scenes where you think they only did it was for a 3D effect, but without the 3D, it just looks out of place. And I swear, if I see one more fucking lens flare, I'm going to kill someone. I'll let Star Trek slide, since that was intended, but I'm sick of everyone else copying it and just knowing this is a "Bay" picture, it just makes it that much more annoying. Not only were the lens flares overused, but there were numerous times where the flare was so bad that it actually ruined part of the movie and looked like a JPEG artifact from being so bright. You'll really notice it around blue lights for some reason.

April (played by the ever bland Megan Fox) is an aspiring journalist instead of a big time journalist with her "partner" Vernon Fenwick... yeah, they worked him in too. Shredder is just a simple man in an Iron Man suit with extra blades and the head of Megatron, it's not intimidating in any way at all. Splinter... actually, Splinter wasn't so bad, but he was nothing memorable either.

The entire plot is about Shredder wanting to set off a toxin to poison the city and then take control with the only antidote, which is *que epic music* mutagen. That's it, there's nothing else to it. The entire plot is so 2-dimensional that just isn't fun at all. Even the Transformer movies felt like there was some kind of a threat. The biggest plot hole in the entire movie is centered around the mutagen. It has dangerous mutangenic properties, but Shredder wants to use it as the antidote for the toxin he's going to poison the city with. Soooo... your "antidote" is going to mutate people into super strong beings that could potentially defeat you? How does that work?

The humor in this was really dry (and I don't mean British dry) and forced. You literally have to sit through two hours of both Michelangelo and Vernon flirting, hitting on all but slipping April a roofie just to get her clothes off and into bed. There are so many references to other franchises that it just seems odd... the ONLY thing they didn't mention in some way was Transformers, which I thought for sure they would have tossed in just for good measure.

The entire downhill 'chase' toward the end was possibly one of the worst chases I've ever seen, I mean there is just no laws of physics to it at all... and I know movies don't always follow laws of physics, but damn... The CG was just lame, I can't believe that with all the tech they put into movies now that it looks this bad, none of the turtles were believable at all.

Yeah, so skip this one completely, it's totally not worth it, dude.

Made this up for work... and yes, inspired by true events in some fashion or another.

---

Twas the day before Christmas, when all through the store
All the customers were scurrying, to get out the door.
The hooks were empty, and the shelving laid bare,
Leaving many folks to scold, and pull out their hair.

The children would cry, mostly fake tears,
While the parents wished, they had just one beer.
Mamma had a coupon and dad had his cash,
But both knew that shopping today, was going to be brash.

When at the front of the store, there arose such a clatter,
Everyone looked over to see, what was the matter.
Away from the door, he stumbled and whirled,
While he said "I can't find this item in all of the world!"

He knocked over carts, and filled hearts with much fear
When finally he spoke "wait, this is not Sears!"
What to their wondering, eyes should they all spy?
Well that of a flask, slung low to his thigh.

The man was not lively, and he could barely stand,
But that didn't stop him, with the ad in his hand.
"I forgot it was Christmas, and boy am I drunk,
But maybe you could find this, with just a bit of luck!"

"Oh, K-mart, oh, Wal-mart and Target and Kohl's,
I've been to Penney's and Meijer and even Trader Joe's!
I have searched high and low! From store to store!
Help me, I need help, to search some more!"

To the home store department, the man did tread,
While visions of late gifts, danced through his head.
He had not one clue, not one in the slightest,
Of the thing he searched for, since he wasn't the brightest.

And then with a crackle, a store clerk did chime,
Through the radio he said "I'll save him this time!"
He bound through the store, so light on his feet,
His name tag was shiny, they all called him Pete.

Pete was all dressed, in his best holiday suit,
Even some of his coworkers, thought he was cute.
A merchandise scanner, hung just to his side,
Used to check prices, on the gifts people eyed.


"I've looked for this item, for my wife named Mary,
Do you think you have it in stock? Oh, my name is Harry!"
Pete greeted with a hand shake, and a hearty "hello",
But deep down inside, he knew the answer was "no".

The man then pointed, to the page in the ad,
To the item at the left, right next to the plaid.
It was shiny and new, like a just-stamped penny,
Pete looked quickly, but knew he didn't have any.

The man waited for minutes, as Pete went to look,
Wishing he'd had a game, or at least a good book.
It was not too long, before Pete did return,
The look on his face, was one of concern.

"I am sorry to say, but I have had no luck,
It appears we have some, but on our next truck."
The man was confused, then he touched his hair,
It was ruffled already, he didn't really care.

"Then I shall take this, and be on my way,
I'm sure Mary won't mind, I'll be back another day!"
With that the man did grab, one lonely little mug,
On the front it read 'World's Greatest Wife, With Much Love!"

He sprang to the checkout, placing the mug on the lane,
The man was rung up, by a cashier named Jane.
She finished his order, and he turned with a wave,
"Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good day!"

So, some of you might know that I went to a marathon showing of all three 'Hobbit' movies, with the third one being shown two days before everyone else gets to see it! Not only did we get to see all three, but we got to see a world premier showing from (I think) London and before showing the third, there was a nice "thank you" from Peter Jackson himself which was neat. So, needless to say, that is the longest movie marathon I've done to date.

Peter Jackson says "you are some of the few that get to see the third a few days before everyone else and all three consecutively, so now you'll have to see all six". He's silly :P

(yes, another repost)

Neener, neener, neener, going to see the Hobbit. (don't wanna hear any "Hobbit is stupid" crap either)

So, I pre-purchased my ticket for the 'Hobbit:Battle of the Five Armies yesterday'. Why so early, you might ask? Well, the locale theater is going to be showing the entire Hobbit Trilogy on the 15th. For $20, I'm not only going to get to see the Hobbit two days earlier than everyone else (well, me and the others that are going too :P), but I get to see all three of them the same day! *squee!*

It is going to be a looooong day too. Starts at 12 and ends around 7 at night, but it's sooo worth it. I'm really hoping they do the same with Star Wars when the new one is released because I'm kicking myself for missing the Star Trek movies when 'Into Darkness' came out... 'Wrath of Khan' on the big screen! I missed it!

Finally got to download the teaser for Star Wars Saturday night and even for being a teaser and showing almost nothing, I'm going nuts over it :P

The first thing that caught my eye was the Stormtroopers, signifying that the Empire is clearly not gone as everyone would have believed at the end of 'Return'. Secondly, the X-Wing squadron flying low over the water was just epic looking. Where are they going? Why are they so low, are they avoiding radar? For what purpose? I wanna know! *salivates* Also, has anyone noticed those are different X-Wings? It took some searching, but I found out that these new designs are actually older than the X-Wings themselves that we already know... kinda. They are the original concept designs from Ralph McQuarrie. You'll notice that the wings interlock instead of overlap and the two engines are will form a complete engine when brought together!

http://www.slashfilm.com/ralph-mcqu.....rce-awakens/2/

Then, there's the final scene that has everyone on edge (no puns), the strange looking Lightsaber. So far speculation is that it could be a proto-saber left over from an ancient Sith order, it would explain the jagged looking blade and the cross-guard saber blades, the blade itself also looks longer, like a long-sword. Then again, I've seen that maybe it was hand made with leftover parts of other sabers, so it's not as refined as a common saber. Either way, I like it :D

I even made my own wallpaper! http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15126918/

The overall look from what I could see definitely looks like it'll hold true to the original trilogy while bringing in some updated CG looks to some parts. All I keep hearing is that Disney and Abrams will ruin the entire franchise and some are even going so far as saying that it will be hated so much that they won't even make the last two... whatever.

Here's to hoping for more Twi'leks to be in these movies! <3

--- Do Not Pass This Point If You Don't Like Constructive Criticism

Let's point out some things. Yes, Disney did buy Lucas Arts and everything that it's attached to, but this isn't a Disney film, it's produced by Disney. Yeah, there'll be a grey area there, but I don't think we'll have to worry about Disney characters and singing animals showing up anytime soon. Has everyone forgotten Pirates of the Caribbean already? Even if pirates aren't your thing, you can't deny the fact that they struck gold with that series (no pun intended). Also, Abrams has already stated multiple times that they are going back to more practical effects. This means less CG and more models, puppets and actual actors. Let's not forget that Frank Oz was the reason why Yoda had any life at all, who also worked with Disney along with Jim Henson (and the Muppets) and that worked out awesomely, right? Abrams also said he's shooting on film rather than digital to better preserve the look and feel of the original trilogy. Granted, film today is much better than film of yesterday, but still.

I'm excited for it. People are complaining about them not following the Expanded Universe for the story, but something was pointed out to me that I really didn't stop to think about. By doing this, you don't end up with a legion of fans saying "these characters weren't here when this happened" or "this name was meant for this person, not that person" or the even lesser known "this didn't happen in that story, they added things to it, now it's ruined". I was bummed that they wouldn't 'expand' on the EU stories, but now that I've thought about it, I think it's a better idea. While I don't always agree with the way Lucas treated the original trilogy and the new, I can see hi reasoning for him saying that he never intended for anything outside the movies to be canon.

This has been an issue with the Lord of the Rings and the more recent Hobbit movies. For LotR, you can't expect them to follow the books exactly, 100%. If they did, you would have (for example) 'Fellowship of the Ring' lasting 9 hours long and split into 3 parts. Then you still have two more after that. On the flip side, that's almost exactly what they did the Hobbit. The Tolkien estate has said they aren't allowing anymore media to be done of the Hobbit/LotR. So Jackson said they didn't want to cram the book into just one 2 hour movie and expanded on it with more story. Yes, they did indeed add some things, but overall, I think it made for a better story, since there probably won't be anymore made now. Also, I love the female elf they added, so dreamy and strong, I wants her for myself, she'll be my precious!

So yes, I'm excited for the new trilogy. They've brought back nearly the entire cast, but they aren't "in the way". Hammil has even said that "this is about the new generation, we're just here to help", so that will be a nice thing to see. Also, he has a beard, he is soooo going 'Obi Wan' in this series :P

the wonderful lizard with fireworks that go booms and makes with the crackles and the snaps and ground shaking stuffs which haunt the nightmares of small children with the "HEY LADY!"... no wait, that's not how the song goes... *scampers off*

Never have I ever thought I would hear myself utter the words "waffle taco"... but I did. If you've not seen, Taco Bell has started a breakfast menu. I'm sure many are skeptical, but I'm willing to try at least once... besides, I was a bit overdue on my bi-monthly Taco Bell craving. About every two months, it just hits me and I just HAVE to have Taco Bell. Our Taco Bell is also a brand new store, so it doesn't have all the grease and grime of the older model stores.

The Waffle Taco... the name alone just screams "TRY ME!, NAO!!!1!!!" It's quite literally a folded waffle with egg, cheese and bacon (you can also get sausage). It does look bigger in the advertisements than it really is, but it's also only $2, so it's not too bad. I also tried the A.M. Crunchwrap. Not quite the same silly name, but for only $.50 more than the waffle taco (I still giggle at that), it's actually quite filling. I tried that one with sausage, but they have bacon and steak too... steak is next on my list. It's a tortilla wrapping the egg, cheese, sausage, AND hashbrown! It was frickin' awesome!

Overall, they both weren't so greasy and they were kinda light. I'm sure I'll be hungry in a few hours, but for a quick nom, I'd definitely do it again if I'm running late. :D

So, what's black, as big as a car and has the look of "fuck that, I'm not moving?" Yes, a cow.

Coming home tonight, I was greeted by what I thought were tennis shoes walking in the road... you know the kind, those ones with the little reflectors on them that you don't see until you're actually running the person over because they're in the middle of the road in the first place?

Anywho, I see these little shiny "reflectors" in the middle of the road... literally in the middle of the road. Mind you, I had my brights on, but I still couldn't see what it was that was in front of me. It wasn't until I was nearly off the side of the road going around that I realized it was a damn cow. 9:30 at night on a back road with only my headlights for illumination and there's a BLACK cow in the middle of the road. Oh and I don't mean a bit of black and white... no, this butthead is pure black.

I stopped down the road and turned around, easily enough with a front wheel drive car on a snow covered road, just throw it in reverse and do a backwards doughnut. Sure enough, stupid is still standing there, staring at me. Those eyes just gazing at my headlights as I pulled off to the house it was standing in front of. It just stood there, staring, the kind of stare that's like "fuck moving, I'm a cow". This isn't the first time this has happened to me and if you don't believe me, cows don't move for anything. You can yell at them, honk your horn, you can probably tap them with the bumper, but they will just stand there all like "nope, not gonna do it".

I ended up knocking on the door of the house next to where I know they are supposed to be penned up and asked if they knew their neighbors with the cows because one was out. She didn't really, but knew who they were. After I got back to the car, stupid had moved off somewhere...

Cows *sighs*