OH HAI. It's me. Your favorite evil overlord. At least I think I'm still overlord. It's hard to tell sometimes.

SO ANYWAY. I just thought I'd pop in here and let everyone know I'm not entirely dead. That is, if there's anyone out there who still remembers me or pays any attention to the insane things I occasionally spew into the word-o-space. Hello out there! *waves* *crickets* Anyone? *more crickets* Hm. Everyone seems to have become crickets while I was away. How peculiar.

Well...I've just (mostly) completed a move IRL and am still pretty busy and stressed out about the whole thing, and on top of that my computer is limping its way slowly but determinedly to its grave, so I can't promise to be a paragon of activity or anything (not that I ever was in the first place) but I thought I'd see if anyone was still about.

I have 4338 things in my inbox to go through...

So, this started yesterday:

http://news.yahoo.com/wis-wolf-hunt.....1QwUsA8WPQtDMD

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/di.....wis-wolf-hunt/

Now, I have no intention of getting terribly preachy about this (Though, being irritated, I might not be able to stop myself.) People will have their opinions on it, and there's nothing I could say to sway anybody one way or the other. But I figured this is something people might want to know about (Though I'm hardly going to reach a large audience, haha), since it seems to be flying under the radar.

I have to admit that I find it funny (or, alternatively, horrifying) that a hunt like this is organized LESS THAN A YEAR after the wolf is taken off the Endangered Species list. I can just see the conversation now:

"You know, I think the conservation effort is actually going really well for a change."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I think we might just be able to take wolves off the endangered species list."

"That's great news. We should celebrate."

"We should."

"I know! Let's go kill an eighth of the population!"

*facepalm*


I love how the proponents raise the issue of "farmer complaints" as if that's meant to justify it. As if a farmer's loss of profit is a comparable injustice to pushing a species to the brink of extinction. As if the farmers haven't been killing them illegally all along anyway. Now don't get me wrong, it's not as if I don't understand the issue of a farmer's livelihood, or consider it unimportant. I grew up in a small town filled with farmers, and I still live in a relatively rural area. I get why sustainability of small farms is an issue. But you can't make me believe that there isn't a balance to be struck here, and you can't make me believe that balance is reached by mounting a thinly-veiled campaign of (admittedly partial) extermination against a recovering species.

As a side note, did you know that Japan used to have wolves? See the Hokkaido (or Ezo) wolf and Honshu wolf, extinct since 1889 and 1905, respectively. The extinction of both of these species can be mostly attributed to a very deliberate campaign of eradication, because they were disruptive to farmers. The more you know.

Of course, the real irony of all this, were I just to appeal to the politics of people's wallets, is that the United States is currently facing a (currently southern, but ever-expanding) problem with feral pigs. A problem now made famous by idiotic reality shows. A problem which, according to the Department of Agriculture, causes $800 million worth of damage a year. And yet nobody has considered that maybe, just maybe, this problem has been exacerbated by pushing the pig's natural predators to the brink of extinction? I.E. the wolf and especially the North American Cougar. Cause and effect, people. Cause and effect.

There. Rant over. You can go back about your business now.

(Also - Two journals within two weeks? Is it just me, or am I very very slowly becoming active again? I've probably jinxed it now that I've said it.)

*One week ago*

Me: Gee, Brain, we've got an entire week all to ourselves. There's nobody around and nothing to do. What are we going to do with all this solitude? We should totally do something productive. Like we could study something, or...I know! We could totally focus in and write something for the first time in a year! How does that sound, Brain?

Brain: Or we could look at memes, read creepypasta, and watch Doctor Who the entire time.

*Present day*

Me: Damn you, lazy Brain. Damn you.

My unread submissions/journals counter is just about to pass the 17,000 mark. I just felt people should know that. Clearly I'm paying so much attention to this newfangled "internet" thing all the kids are on about these days...

I am so out of touch with everything. XD

1. Spell your name without an E,R,S,H,K,I,M,L,C,A,Y,N
Tt, but you can call me T-Squared.

2. Are you single?
Yes

3. What is your favorite number?
42

4. What is your favorite color?
Green and/or black.

5. Least favorite color?
Umm, I guess I tend to dislike orange.

6. What are you listening to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLlRaJkMNlE

7. Are you happy with your life right now?
Ahaha, no.

8.Are you involved with anyone?
No.

9. What is your favorite subject in school/college?
Anything involving SCIENCE!

10. Do you shop at Abercrombie?
Nope.

11. Do you have money?
Negatory.

12. Would you take an ex back?
Probably not.

13. Are you outgoing?
I'm so introverted that my organs are actually outside my body.

14. Are you gay?
I vary.

15. Where do you wish you were right now?
Nowhere. I'm completely happy to have lost my soul to Skyrim.

16. What should you be doing right now?
PLAYING MORE SKYRIM.

THE CANS:

Can you blow a bubble? Yeah.
Can you do a cart wheel? No, and if I could it would be a terrifying thing to behold.
Can you touch your toes? Yes.
Can you wiggle your ears? I cannae do it, sonny jim.
Can you touch your tongue to your nose? No sir, 'tis beyond my grasp!

THE DIDS:

Did you ever want to be a doctor? There was a brief stint where I wanted to be a psychologist, but I've since realized I could never actually handle the people.
Did you ever want to be a fire fighter? No.
Did you ever want to be a teacher? No.
Did you ever break the law? I confirm or deny nothing!
Did you vote for Bush? No, not that I could've voted anyway.

THE DOs:

Do you like rollercoasters? I've never been on one.
Do you own a bike? Nope.
Do you play the lotto? No.
Do you like football? Nope.
Do you have a shopping addiction? Yet another negative.

THE DOES:

Does your family have family picnics? Aha, hell no.
Does you wallet have any pics in it? My identifaction, that's it,
Does your job bring you satisfaction? I have no job.
Does sex mean love? No.

THE LASTS:

Last person you hung out with? It's been so long since I've hung out with anybody.
Last car ride? About a year ago, before the car died.
Last text message? Uhhh...
Last baby you held? Would you believe I have never held a baby? I believe this to be in everyone's best interest.

LAST THING:

What was the last thing you bought? Pfff, I dunno.
What was the last thing you had to drink? Milk.
What was the last thing you watched? Last year's Doctor Who Christmas special.
What was the last thing you read? The Sandman - Season of Mists.
What was the last thing your hand wrote? "000DABA7"

THE WHOS:

Who last talked to you on the phone? Oh god, um...
Who was the last person you took a picture of? God.
Who was the last person to leave you a comment? Tache, I think.
Who do you miss right now? No one.
Who last hugged you? My mother.

CURRENTLY:

What color shirt are you wearing? Gray.
Have any tattoos? Nope.
Have you any piercings? Nay, I have not any piercings.
Straight hair or curly? Closer to straight, sort of wavy.
Where are you? At my computer.

HAVE YOU EVER:

Failed a class? Only Phys Ed, haha.
Professed your love and been turned down? No.
Accomplished a life goal? Negative.
Thought you were pregnant? My anatomy does not support such an event. If it does, then be afraid. Be very very afraid.
Sang in front of a crowd? HAHAHA, no.

SIX THINGS YOU WILL FIND IN YOUR ROOM:
1. A computer.
2. A bed.
3. A bookshelf.
4. A mirror.
5. A chair.
6. Several dozen fresh corpses in various stages of reanimation.

THREE RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONS:
1.In a relationship? I have some kind of relationship with everyone I know. Be specific!
2.Want a relationship? What I want right now is just breakfast.
3.Wanna get married? I don't know. Probably at some point.

FOUR THINGS ON YOUR MIND:
1. Breakfast.
2. Skyrim.
3. Cold.
4. The nature of time in our universe.

Hello? Is anyone still out there? This is your Overlord speaking. I am speaking to you from the far side of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. Or rather, I am utilizing a highly advanced method of superluminal communication via wormhole: I'm shouting very loudly. I would like to report simply that I am not dead, merely existentially challenged, and that while I assume the zombies have largely overrun the planet in my absence, I am still The Overlord of Earth, I am still your leader. At least, I assume I am. I assume this message is being received in roughly the right timeframe so as to ensure its relevance. If it is being received in the distant future and you don't remember who I am it may behoove you to know that once I get back I'm just going to conquer you all over again. If this is being received in the distant past and you don't know who I am yet then I would dearly like to know where you got the technology to pick this up in the first place. If this message is, in fact, arriving during my reign and has, in fact, been received by an instance of myself then we may have just created a paradox and that may explain my current trans-dimensional jaunt. Though it is possible that the Black Hole Generator may also have something to do with it. If this message is not being received on Earth at all then I would like to say that I, for one, welcome you alien invaders, would ask that you forward this message to the proper solar system, and would like to inform you that you will be assimilated into my dominion. That is all.

The exodus continues. More than 1000 things in my inbox, no will to go through any of them. I guess I've hit a nasty patch. My unsocial tendencies have been pretty dominant for quite a while now, but this is different. I don't just feel unmotivated, I feel like my energy has been completely sapped. I feel like crap. I don't know what specifically set me off this time. It's just been descending on me over the past couple weeks bit by bit. I don't know. I don't even really know why I'm typing this now except that I feel like I ought to, for no reason in particular. Ah, depression. Such fun.

On a brighter note, I discovered a typewriter in the house a few days ago. A real manual typewriter. And I bloody love it. As a result I've gotten more writing done over the past 3 or 4 days than I have in the past 3 or 4 months. It still doesn't amount to much, only a few pages, and it's all bad. Not just my usual "I never like my own work" bad, but really terribly awful. But most of it will end up retyped, rephrased, rearranged, reused, refined into something worth keeping when my mental clarity returns to me. The ideas are worth keeping, even if most of the actual writing needs to be redone.

So, there's this new personality quiz going around FA. In an effort to combat boredom and illustrate that I am, in point of fact, still alive, I have decided to do it. I ought to be writing. But the Muse is not willing. So internet personality quiz it is.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The quiz can be taken here: http://www.signalpatterns.com/psych_central/

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Your Results: You are Passionate, Creative, and Curious.

Passionate

You are in touch with your emotions, and sometimes you react before you think. The good news: you don't tamp down your feelings. The bad news: you sometimes say or do things that you later wish you could take back.

You do not live your life on an even keel; you do not go for long periods without experiencing some mood swings.

Creative

You are good at solving problems, coming up with original ideas, and seeing connections between things, connections that most other people miss. People with a high score on the "creative" trait often are employed in such fields as finance and scientific research, and enjoy avant garde and classical music as well as literary fiction and scholarly non-fiction.

You do not shun abstractions and concepts in favor of the concrete and tangible.

Curious

You like to get to the bottom of things. You're not content knowing what someone did; you want to know why they did it.

You don't simply take things as they are and move on; you're not content skimming along on the surface; you don't feel you're wasting time by digging for the meaning of things.

Pessimistic

You tend to be a "glass half-empty" kind of person, which for you is simply a realistic outlook. Your feeling is that this world can be a depressing place, and only a fool would think otherwise.

You do not waste your time searching for the silver lining in every cloud, nor do you believe it's your job to cheer up the people around you with happy talk.

Intellectual

You are thoughtful, rational, and comfortable in the world of ideas. People find you interesting to talk to. You're the living embodiment of the saying "You learn something new every day." In general, those with a high score on the "intellectual" trait are employed in such fields as teaching and research, and are enthusiastic about reading, foreign films, and classical music.

You do not avoid abstract conversation, experimenting with new ideas, or studying new things. It bores you to stick to the straight and narrow of what you already know.

Introspective

You like your own company; you're a very interesting person. Tracking your own mental processes, knowing what you're thinking and why you do what you do, is important to you. Often, what's going on in your mind is more compelling than what's going on outside. For the most part, those with a high score on the "introspective" trait enjoy reading, taking long walks, learning new things, and other solitary activities.

You are not someone who is constantly looking to be among a group of friends; you never feel bored when you are by yourself.

Astute

You are a quick study. You generally don't need to have things explained to you more than once. When presented with a problem, you will often have an instant understanding of where to look for the solution.

You do not take your sweet time when presented with a new task to complete or problem to solve. You don't avoid assignments that require you to learn new skills.

Original

You are constantly coming up with new ideas. For you, the world as it exists is just a jumping-off place; what's going on inside your mind is often more interesting than what's going on outside.

You don't feel that the road to success is to be a realist and stick to the program; you never stop yourself from coming up with new ideas or telling the world what you're thinking about.

Unsettled

You may be comfortable on your home turf, but you have a tendency to be self-conscious in an unfamiliar environment. While you're usually at ease with your friends, you can be a little skittish around strangers.

You usually don't feel at home in unfamiliar settings or with new people. When you get rattled, you don't necessarily recover instantly.

Organized

You like to think a task through before you embark on it. If it's the slightest bit complicated, you make a list (even if it's only in your mind) and methodically work your way through it. When you have a goal in mind, you're not satisfied until you reach it.

You are not one of those people who ignore the details, and you don't understand how anyone can get anything accomplished without thoughtful planning ahead of time.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I won't say that it's totally 100% accurate, but it did pretty well for a quick internet quiz.

This journal is exactly what it says on the tin. This journal is my usual "I haven't said anything to anybody in months, I'd better let them know I didn't die" journal.

So...yeah...I'm not dead. I just seem to have completely lost my ability to keep up with anything. I'm still checking in semi-regularly so I'm not unreachable if you want me, I'm just being a bit of a recluse.

On another completely unrelated and random note, we had tornado warnings last night. IN VERMONT. TORNADOES. IN VERMONT. WHAT THE HELL, WEATHER, WHAT THE HELL. SINCE WHEN? Actually, according to my research, we've had a grand total of 43 tornadoes in the past 60 years. Still, we seem to have had an inordinate number of these over the past couple years. We also had hail. Ping-pong ball sized hail. Lots of it. It was very loud. And most of the state got flooded. Again. Because, you know, all the flooding a week or so ago wasn't good enough. (Except, somehow, where I live has managed to avoid the worst of the flooding, despite the nearest town having its streets turn to rivers.) But this is all much less dramatic than tornado warnings, so I'll say it again. TORNADOES. IN VERMONT. I BID YOU GOOD DAY, SIR.

LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE

-Name: Leon
-Eye Color: Brown
-Hair Style/Color: Long, somewhere sort of between straight and wavy, and brown.
-Height: About 5' 7''
-Clothing style: Simple. T-shirt, pants or jeans, mostly black.
-Best physical feature: HA. HAHA. I don't have one. I like my hair, that's about it.

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE

-Your fears: Oh I'm just a walking ball of anxieties.
-Your guilty pleasure: Okay, I'll admit it. I actually like the Twilight novels. I understand what people don't like about them, and I actually agree with most of the criticism, and the rabid fandom is annoying as all hell, but somehow I still enjoy the books, which is a fact that is completely inconsistent with my intellectual appraisal of them. What can I say, I'm a sap.
-Your biggest pet peeve: People who are willfully ignorant and PROUD of it. Bigots.
-Your ambitions for the future: I'm sort of low on ambition at the moment. Eventually I'll get my life straightened out somehow.

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS

-Your first thoughts waking up: Buh. GUH. Urrrrrggglefeh... *tries and fails to go back to sleep*
-What you think about most: Things, and also some stuff.
-What you think about before bed: On bad nights, that's when all of my nasty depressive crap comes on real heavy. On good nights, it's when all my creativity that I'm too damn sleepy to write down happens. And just about everything in between.
-You think your best quality is: No matter how often I think I'm an idiot, I still have a brain the size of a small moon. *Insert "THAT'S NO MOON" joke here.*

LAYER FOUR: WHAT'S BETTER?

-Single or group dates: I wouldn't know. I would think single.
-To be loved or respected: I'm your Overlord, can't I have both?
-Beauty or brains: Brainssssss *OM NOM NOM*
-Dogs or cats: Cats. They are furry little piles of cute.

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU?

-Lie: Not usually, no.
-Believe in yourself: HAHAHA. Hell no.
-Believe in love: Sure.
-Want someone: I suppose.

LAYER SIX: EVER?

-Been on stage: In school and the like, but that's it.
-Done drugs: Nope.
-Changed who you were to fit in: No, and I got no shortage of crap for it.

LAYER SEVEN: FAVORITES

-Favorite color: Green, black, silver.
-Favorite animal: Don't make me start a list. I will never finish it.
-Favorite movie: Watchmen, Shaun of the Dead, Godzilla, End of Evangelion, so many others.
-Favorite game: Once again, don't even get me started, this is another list I would never be able to finish.

LAYER EIGHT: AGE

-Day your next birthday will be: Currently, at this moment, in the present, today.
-How old will you be: 20
-Age you lost your virginity: AHEM. Not applicable.
-Does age matter: Yes, to some degree.

LAYER NINE: IN A BOY OR GIRL

-Best personality: Intelligent, funny, patient enough to put up with my bullshit, I don't really know.
-Best eye color: Does it matter?
-Best hair color: See above.
-Best thing to do with a partner: I wouldn't know.

LAYER TEN: FINISH THE SENTENCE

-I love: astrophysics.
-I feel: sleep deprived.
-I hide: often.
-I miss: the point of a lot of things that most people think are important.
-I wish: that wishes actually made a difference.

LAYER ELEVEN: I TAG - Who do you tag?: Everyone within arm's reach. *Flails wildly, succeeding only in damaging several priceless artifacts.*

It's just past 3am now, and thus is technically April 11th. Which means, on this day, 20 years ago, your exalted Overlord came into the world. I don't feel like I should be 20 years old. Which is weird. As you may or may not know, your Overlord is not generally fond of his birthdays, so if you'll excuse me...*Hides under his throne.*

Taken from  Tache


1. Yourself
Your Leader

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend:
Not Applicable

3. Your hair?
Long Brown

4. Your mother:
Gave Birth

5. Your Father:
No Comment

6. Your Favorite Item:
Death Ray

7. Your dream last night:
Somewhat Bizarre

8. Your Favorite drink:
Highly Caffeinated

9. Your Dream Car:
Superluminal Spacecraft

10. The Room You Are In:
Throne Room

11. Your Ex:
Not Applicable

12. Your fear?
Multiple Things

13. Where you want to be in 10 years?
Galactic Domination

14. Who you hung out with last night?
Zombie Minions

15. What You're Not:
Democratically Elected

16. Your Best Friend:
Loyal Henchmen

17. One of Your Wish List Items:
Lotso Books

19. The Last Thing You Did:
Biological Experimentation

20. What You Are Wearing:
Hazmat Suit

21. Your Favorite Weather:
Bright Colorful

22. Your Favorite Book:
Hitchhiker's Guide

23. The Last Thing You ate:
Nothing Today

24. Your Life:
Perpetually Nonexistent

25. Your Mood:
Tired Bored

26. Your body:
Adipose Accretion

27. What are you thinking about right now:
Very Little

28. Your Crush:
No Comment

29. What are you doing at the moment:
This Meme

30. Your summer schedule:
Conquer Mars

"A denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-service attack (DDoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person or people to prevent an Internet site or service from functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely.

One common method of attack involves saturating the target machine with external communications requests, such that it cannot respond to legitimate traffic, or responds so slowly as to be rendered effectively unavailable. In general terms, DoS attacks are implemented by either forcing the targeted computer(s) to reset, or consuming its resources so that it can no longer provide its intended service or obstructing the communication media between the intended users and the victim so that they can no longer communicate adequately." - From Wikipedia

A DDoS attack is basically like a zombie horde (the botnet) trying to clog up as much of your Moonbase (the server) as it can. It's a Zerg Rush. It's the clusterfuck of cyber-attacks. Security has nothing to do with it. Nobody's information is compromised. Basically, you just have to wait out the flood.

If anybody has been paying attention to world news lately, most of us should know this. Fairly recently DDoS attacks have been responsible for temporarily taking down websites belonging to the Libyan, Egyptian, and Tunisian governments. DDoS attacks have crashed Twitter and Facebook before. DDoS attacks have clogged up Visa, the MPAA, banks, etc. If servers like that aren't immune, then why would FA be?

So before anybody gets upset about whether the admins are doing their jobs, or thinking that their account in unsafe, or thinking that FA is doomed forever, take into consideration what a DDoS attack actually is, and calm down.

As always, all I ask is that people think before they react.

One of my cats, Zelda, died this morning. Don't know what of, it all happened too quickly to get her to a vet. As I'm sure we all know, it's upsetting to lose a much loved pet. I don't know what else to say, really. Just thought I should post something.

The scent of coniferous trees is in the air and the ground is coated with crystallized water. The zombies are trying their hardest to manufacture toys with their poor decaying hands, as they inexplicably do this time of year. Bless their undead hearts. My subjects are sleeping all snug in their beds while dreams of sugar plums dance in their heads. People are placing their footwear where it's likely to combust, and wrapping kidnapped trees in electric lights. All this "holiday cheer" can mean only one thing...We have reached that point in the turn of the Earth when once again my ancient nemesis shall rise up from the depths of the arctic wastes to tread upon the planet once more. Every year he returns, he and his diminutive minions, traversing the Earth faster than any mortal man, invading homes...bypassing my security with ease...The unspeakable red-clad horror approaches again tonight. Yes...Come to me, my arch-foe...Santa Claus...I'm waiting for you...and this time...I'm ready...

But fear not, my loyal subjects, in an effort to spare you from the horror of the battle that has yet to come and to insure that you all have a Merry Christmas, I have arranged for the zombies to deliver their hand-made gifts to you all personally via rocket-sled. Happy Holidays!

Allow me to propose to you a hypothetical situation, using a bit of hyperbole to illustrate.

A real estate agent sells you a house. You like your house, it isn't perfect, but it does the job. A while later you learn two things. One, your real estate agent suppressed testimony about a crime that may or may not have occurred. Two, your house is built on top of a leaking radioactive waste dump. Which is your primary concern? A) The real estate agent's moral fiber. Or B) the toxic waste?

If you answered "A", congratulations, you have died of radiation poisoning. If you answered "B", congratulations, you didn't.

In case you haven't worked it out yet, yes, I am talking about the recent drama that has overtaken FA. I tend to avoid weighing in on issues here. It doesn't do any good, and a month from now nobody will remember it happened. I am making an exception, not so much to weigh in on the issue, but to weigh in on the nature of the drama itself.

My point is simple: Objectivity. Practical concerns first.

I do not know the entire truth of the supposed rape that was supposedly covered up, and neither do you. It seems to me that if someone was raped that they should go to the police, or a shelter, or to family, not to a website administrator. Doesn't prove it didn't happen, doesn't prove it did. We don't know. Whether or not the crime occurred, the incident still calls into question the professionalism of the administration. Crime or no crime, and while I believe the administrator's action has been exaggerated, this concern is still valid.

However, what we do know is that website security was compromised. What we don't seem to know (though we really should) is the extent of the damages. It's really not as bad as people seem to think it is. Notes were taken. That is all. And, chances are, not from you. Odds and logic dictate that if you are one of the few people who read my journals that you are not one of the 41 people who were compromised. Remember the Hitchhiker's Guide - Don't Panic. You're fine. And while I believe the severity has been exaggerated, this still calls into question the overall security of the site, and while panic is unfounded, this concern is still valid.

Okay, now we have the premise. Now the conclusion.

Neither concern is worth the uproar, but both concerns have validity. However, they need to be prioritized properly. As I hope I illustrated early on, fix the house first, the rest comes later. The security concerns are an immediate, quantifiable, and practical problem. Starting a moral crusade against the admin(s) isn't likely to encourage them to solve it in a timely manner. If the moral concerns are that important to you, you will remember them after the site is fixed. A repair which is, to whatever extent it can be, apparently, already in progress.

The short version: The moral concerns are valid, but they have their place. That place is right behind the immediate practical concerns.

The super-short version: Chill out. Think first. Talk second.

The past seven nights I have dealt with rattlesnakes, being shot, alien invasion, giant spiders, being shot again, exorcism, and a black mamba. I don't even have normal dreams on a regular basis, and I almost never have nightmares. So, seriously, sleep, wtf? Enough with the damn nightmares already! *grumble grumble groan groan*

I almost forgot about it entirely. XD Apparently Thanksgiving has been instructed in the ways of the ninja. But, because I am The Overlord, we shall pretend that I was not taken unawares but was, in fact, lying in ambush, having been prepared for this the entire time...

Greetings to you, people of Earth, on this most omnivorous and turkey-cidal conviviality! As I'm sure you are aware, this is your less-than-holidayirific Overlord speaking! I am here to wish you jollity on this day of your ambrosial feasting orgy and to inform you in my most verbose manner that The Moonbase has decided to bequeath unto you the most generous of benefactions! A free turkey, showing only minimal to severe signs of zombification! Included with your free mostly-dead turkey is a complementary pumpkin pie! I hear it's been baked lovingly in our new non-radioactive ovens! I am unable to ascertain the veracity of that claim, but the marketing department told me to say it! So it must be true!

So enjoy! Or else!

What is this...I don't even...Did he just tear the head off that mummy...and then throw it at another mummy...which then exploded? Didn't they just destroy the planet? STOP JUMPING DAMMIT! Why do they think he's Indiana Jones. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?! I think I can feel my brain leaking out of my ear...

The next ten minutes of your life will make no sense whatsoever, but this simply must be shared. You have been warned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx7PYAAOwxE

...Did he just karate chop Leonidas in half? Why yes, yes he did.

It's snowing. Please tell it to stop. I tried threatening the sky with my heat ray, but it just won't stop.

New icon!

"Up, up, up, that's where I'm going!"

"Not until you pass an engineer's exam. And you won't do that because you'll just go in there and flunk again."

"Lister, last time I only failed by the narrowest of narrow margins."

"You what? You walked in there, wrote "I am a fish" four hundred times, did a funny little dance, and fainted."

One free Cuddle-Wuddle Zombie will be awarded to anyone who actually knows the reference. XD

It LIVES. Windows is actually installed and functioning on the evil computer!

All it took was transplanting in a different power supply, motherboard, RAM chip, and hard drive. Or, in other words, except for the case and CD drive, it's a totally different machine. So this hardly counts as a triumphant victory. XD But I'll take it. I'm trying to install the updates now, and then the other programs. Hopefully, it will survive this. It had damn well better work. If it still hates me now that it's a totally different machine then I really will go all Necronomicon on it. I swear I will.

Wish me luck, pray to any deity you choose, I don't care, just please, please let this be the end of it.

UPDATE: The updates are installed. Antivirus is installed. Firefox is installed. OpenOffice is installed. It has not crashed. It works. It is ready to be moved back to it's original desk. It actually works. It's really over. I win. I WIN.

I'm bored, I'm taking a break from the life and death struggle with the busted computer, and this seemed like a good way to get that last journal off my front page, so have at it.
-=-=-=-

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes I do.

2. Have you ever smoked? Nope.

3. Do you own a gun? No.

4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? I do not know.

5. What do you think of hot dogs? I'll eat them, sure, but not often.

7. Favorite Christmas movie? Uhhhhhhh......ummmmm......Yeah...I got nothing.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I require an injection of 1000mg of pure caffeine upon waking. Unfortunately, I don't usually get one, so instead I spend a couple hours mingling with the living dead when I get up.

9. Can you do push ups? Maybe a couple, haha, not really.

10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I have none, good sir.

11. Favorite hobby? Just put me in front of a screen with a controller. I won't move for hours.

12. Do you have A. D. D.? No, though I am often distracted by periodic breaches of zombie containment.

13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? I am the only person in my family who doesn't. Go figure.

14. Middle name? Evil.

15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: "Product ID is invalid" DAMN YOU. - What kind of mutant does this meme think I am thinking three things at once? - God I'm tired.

16. Last book read? Life, the Universe, and Everything.

17. Current worry? That damn computer.

18. Current hate right now? That damn computer.

19. Favorite place to be? Asleep.

20. How did you ring in the new year? I slept through it.

21. Where would you like to go? Mars.

22. Name three people who will complete this: Somebody, that guy, and also maybe them.

23. Do you own slippers? I do. I never wear them. I don't know why. I think they're falling apart. I'm not even sure where they are.

24. What color shirt are you wearing? What color shirt am I ALWAYS wearing? Black.

25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? All I know is that I usually get overheated with flannel sheets. Probably because I pile so many other blankets on top.

26. Can you whistle? Somewhat, but not well.

27. Where are you now? The throne room. Of course.

28. Would you be a pirate? WE'RE HEAVY METAL PIRATES! WE SAIL ACROSS THE SKY! IN OUR BATTLESHIPS OF COSMIC STEEL WE'RE THE TERROR UP ON HIGH!

29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I do not sing in the shower. I do not sing. It would be a terrifying event if I did.

30. Favorite Girl's Name? It changes at random intervals.

31. Favorite boy's name? Same deal.

32. What is in your pocket right now? Nothing.

33. Last thing that made you laugh? I have, apparently, developed the ability to remove the entire socket from the motherboard when trying to unplug something. I did not discover this until I tried to plug it back in on another motherboard. This is only funny because the other board was dead anyway. You had to be there, I guess.

34. What vehicle do you drive? It's a space battleship of terrible potency.

35. Worst injury you've ever had? While I've been sick and in the hospital before, I don't think I've ever had a terribly bad physical injury. There was the one time where I totally missed the stairs and fell straight down 1 story. Don't ask, the architecture was funky. I landed precisely on the back left corner of my right heel with my full weight. Couldn't walk for over a week, and there were a couple minutes where I couldn't breathe, but no major damage done, somehow.

36. Do you love where you live? Thanks to my anxiety, I almost never leave my house. Hence, I am totally apathetic to where I live.

37. How many TVs do you have in your house? 3, but one of them is just a tiny thing in my room for gaming and dvds, but it almost never gets used since it's smaller than my computer's monitor.

Not quite sure what to say, except that I feel like another existence failure is settling in. I know what you're thinking "Wtf, but you only just recovered from one!" I know. I think, maybe, it's my sleep schedule that's to blame. As you are likely aware, I have not been sleeping well. I don't think I've gotten a really solid night's sleep in a couple weeks. I'm tired, and I can feel myself shutting down behind the eyes. Or maybe it's the other way around, and my sleep is the symptom rather than the cause. It can be hard to tell sometimes with these things.

It feels almost like my mind is getting physically smaller. There's no room, everything is grinding against everything else. I've no motive power. No energy. It's all used up just trying to force the right thoughts into place. I'm falling behind on submissions and journals again. I just feel like hiding away in a corner and walling myself up, and I don't know why.

Normally there's no warning. I just sort of *poof* out. Typically, this is because I just resist the urge until it's overwhelming and beyond my control. So why am I telling you all this?

Two reasons.

Number one, I'm hoping that maybe saying this all "out loud" for a change will help somehow.

Number two, because my ability to predict this sort of thing seems to be totally inverted. When I'm recovering from one of these and post a journal saying "I feel better now! I'm back!" I promptly continue to not exist for several more weeks. On the other hand, when I say "Sorry guys, not back yet." I am caught up and active again within the day. Ergo, by some horrible perversion of logic and the laws of causality, if I warn you all that I might disappear for a while, I won't. Because screw cause and effect, that's why.

I really really really need to learn the lesson that I should check what my volume is set at before I put my headphones on. Somehow the volume gets cranked up when I'm not looking.

*Puts headphones on.*
"VIRUS DATABASE HAS BEEN UPDATED!"
GAH *Collapses on floor, ears bleeding.*

>.<

Random pointless journal is random and pointless.