All posts by Dan

“Hey, remember the 80’s?”

Movies, Music

I watched Real Genius the other night with Holly. First time for her; first time in a while for me. It made me, as always, nostalgic for 80’s syntho-pop. Since the soundtrack was never released as such, and there’s no legal way to acquire the individual tracks, I was forced to become… resourceful.

One of the resources I encountered in the course of my search was Ron “Boogiemonster” Gerber’s Crap From The Past. It’s hard to decide just where to start loving this show and its host. With the fact that both exude deep affection for a wildly eclectic assortment of pop confections from the 1970s and 1980s? Or perhaps with the fact that the show’s website is a brilliantly executed homage to text-mode DOS interfaces, something at least half of today’s computer users wouldn’t even recognize?

Who knows? Who cares? The point is that it’s all good stuff. If you’re the sort of person who played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and periodically found himself jacking a car just to drive it around aimlessly and listen to the radio, this is the show for you.

Wyrms

Books, Comics

“The graphic novel will either complement the original text, or profane it. The prophecies are vague.”

(I like the rendition of Unwyrm on the cover — enough not to be too scandalized that the Gebling King’s been omitted. No matter — I eagerly await seeing Geblings depicted within, to say nothing of Dwelfs and Gaunts.)

“Are you always this sentimental?”

Life, Sabers

“I had a good day.”

— Mal Reynolds

Yesterday was good. Really, really good. Kick-ass hand-made coffee for breakfast. A brief walk. An extra hit of coffee. A long, soul-stirring ride along the Los Gatos Creek trail. (Marred only by the discovery that the last segment of the trail, to Lexington Reservoir, is closed and will be until June 9th, but that’s life.)

Afternoon fun at Art and Lisa‘s. Met a handsome, charming horse. Got to groom said horse, who was was gentle and well-behaved as could be.

Launched rockets. Caught rockets. Discovered that the saberstaff leaves neat trails when you twirl it in front of a camera with the right settings, under the appropriate conditions. (Must attempt to duplicate said settings and conditions.)

(More pictures, along with detailed reports of the nonsense in question, have been collected by Lisa.)

Today could be a total wash — not that I expect it to be — and I’d still call it a good weekend.

Schrödinger’s Ball

Books

The website for Adam Felber’s upcoming novel Schrödinger’s Ball has gone live. Adam is far and away my favorite of the Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me regulars, and his blog, Fanatical Apathy, is a treat in its own right; I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with a longer work.

Something that baffles me, though, is the incredible lead time for the book. It sounds like it was complete a while ago; reviewers appear to have gotten their hands on it, or at least a close-to-final version of the manuscript. We ordinary mortals are going to have to wait until August to sink our teeth into it. In an age of internet-based instant gratification, that seems almost archaic. Maybe it’s just me.

Quote of the Night

Friends, Games

Greg and I just played our first game of WarCraft together in weeks, against supposedly hardcore CPU opponents. I’d worried that this was a bit ambitious, given our lack of practice, but we turned out to crush them rather effortlessly. This led to the following bit of post-game chat:

Me: I guess genocide is like riding a bike.

Greg: Genocide is like riding a bike: if you do it right, it only hurts for the other guy.

This is going to have me chuckling foolishly all evening.

Park It

Outdoors

Lately I’ve been finding myself repeatedly asked to describe some of my favorite hiking spots. Rather than have the same abbreviated conversation multiple times, I figured I’d try to write out the list in some detail for future reference. (Don’t be surprised should other installments follow.)

Almaden Quicksilver:

The most recent discovery, and rapidly becoming something of a favorite. Large, located near the southeastern tip of the Bay, and generally not overrun with hikers. Fairly hilly. It’s located in the south hills, so it tends to be green, shady, and (relatively) cool, even in the summer.

Los Gatos Creek:

This one is quite literally across the street from me. It’s paved, which makes it a good choice during the rainy season, flat, and long, extending all the way to the Lexington Reservoir. It tends to be fairly busy, but the folks you find on it are usually friendly.

Rancho San Antonio:

The terrain type is very similar to Almaden Quicksilver, this being another place that hugs the south hills. It tends to be very heavily attended, especially on Sundays, and parking can actually be hard to find. If you go at the right time of year, around April, and walk carefully around the brush in the low-lying areas, you might be rewarded with the sight of proud Quail parents marshaling a parade of their small, antenna-headed offspring about. There are cuter things in this world, but not many.

Wunderlich Park:

I’ve only been here once, but it’s nice. Like Almaden Quicksilver and Rancho San Antonio, it’s in the woods of the south hills, though it might offer the steepest inclines of the three. According to my friend’s guidebook, but not the website, it is home to a pond which serves as a salamander spawning pool in spring. I’ve been to the pond, but, having been there in November, saw absolutely nothing going on. That’s a reason to go back right there.

Crystal Springs:

This is up in San Mateo, but it’s a favorite of my mom’s: it’s relatively flat, and paved, so it suits her style of fast walking. Being paved, it’s also a good choice during the rainy season, when some of the other park trails can be treacherously muddy. Oh, and it offers at-times spectacular views of the Upper and Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir. Like Rancho San Antonio, it can be very popular, so it pays to go early in the morning.

Joseph D. Grant Park:

“One of these things is not like the others.” Grant Park is nestled in the north hills, about halfway between San Jose and Lick Observatory. It’s huge, and sprawling. Being in the north hills means that it’s much more open: the terrain type is grassland dotted with the occasional oak, rather than woods. This means that it’s a good place to visit in the spring: if you go in the summer, bring lots of water, sunscreen, and a hat, because it can get wickedly hot and dry. (Note that the fact that it gets dry in the summer does not insure it against being muddy just after the rainy season, as I discovered to my chagrin one year.)

Although the park may sound harsh and spartan the way I’m describing it, it’s actually quite beautiful, with sweeping views of gently rolling hills and grasslands. It’s also home to various kinds of animals — I’ve seen cattle (often), wild boar (occasionally) and a bobcat (once).