Musings of a Beetle

RIP Penny.

2009-11-08T13:08:00Z

A bit of a tragic note to make a return post on.

This morning, a lady came to the door asking us if we owned two rabbits which were out on the street. Mentioning we had two cats, so no, not us, we left it at that. About 7pm tonight, another lady came to ask us about the rabbit which was now under my car. We put away X's two cats since a) the rabbit might become an issue there with two cats b) her little cat was out there, and X's two can be quite territorial. We go out, and attempt to capture this rabbit (not a feral, clearly a pet (I believe it was a Lop)). No luck, and it ducks over the road into a very dense garden.

While doing this, the little cat is sitting back on the other side, meowing. A car turned the corner, and she bolted towards us. About 2/3 way over, she doubled back, and the car hit her.

I was already running over to her in her last moments; X was quite devastated, crying and upset. The lady seemed very calm, to which I can only attribute having experienced this before, or being in shock. X asked if she wanted us to drive her to the vet (there was nothing to be done at this point, but still.) but no, she would go herself. I tried to take X back inside, although she had to stop and sit in the driveway for a minute. Inside, we tried to settle back in.

Conflicting emotions rose, between sorrow, that whole "if only" state of mind, and some anger (if the lady had kept her cat indoors while trying to catch the rabbit, if the driver had slowed right down*..)

It was a very sad, terrible end to an otherwise wonderful day. Please, if you have pets, do all you can to ensure their safety. Don't just let them out into the street; make sure you check on them if they're exploring a bit. If you have cats, consider converting your yard into a large outdoor run, and go with them if you're going out the front. If you have a dog, make sure they're trained not to run across a road. And if you're driving, and you see an animal on the side of the road, just err on the side of caution. Accidents happen, but assume the animal is going to run out - just anticipating that worst possible outcome might slow you down enough to avoid it.

The street X lives on is becoming troublesome, as people turn the corner and put their foot down. We're going to look into petitioning local council to install more speed humps in the area (the feeder road already has them before you get into her street); not just for the animals, but there's a children's playground just opposite her house as well.

RIP Penny, 2009. I didn't really know you, but I'm so sorry how your life ended.

finback @ 2009-10-03T11:48:00

2009-10-03T03:48:32Z

Happy birthday susp

Posted via LiveJournal.app.

Put on your goggles, turn your radio static to full volume, and watch the skies for my dirigible.

2009-08-18T09:36:48Z

Hey folks.

I'm gonna make a long story short; I've recently come to realise I've got some serious personality issues going on in my life that need serious attention; one of these is how much time I have spent online. Part of my attempt to resolve this means I won't be around as often making posts, commenting etc. It's by no means a sign I think less of the friends who I normally speak to near daily. It's part of something I have to do to become a far better person, one I can be happy being. I'm also very lucky to have a partner like X, who wants to help me improve.

I still miss you all a lot though, and think of all my "online" friends often. Take care, everyone. And my email is still there if people want to talk.

finback @ 2009-08-10T15:31:00

2009-08-10T07:31:50Z

I turned 32 this Saturday!

Writer's Block: I May Be Crazy

2009-08-07T03:25:03Z

What does this Rorschach blot look like to you?

View 548 Answers

The pelvic bones of some strange fossil creature.

finback @ 2009-07-23T09:05:00

2009-07-23T01:05:22Z

You know, if Ted Kord comes back in "Blackest Night", I'll be amazed.

Seeing he was cremated and all.

finback @ 2009-07-15T13:01:00

2009-07-15T05:10:24Z

Hm. A little perturbed by something from the Magic: The Gathering website.

So, the new basic set is out, there've been new cards added in place of simply rotating in cards from other sets. That in itself is fine.

But some cards seem to simply be slight modifications. Grizzly Bears is out.. but now we have Runeclaw Bear, which is the exact same thing with a new name. It's more a flavour change. OK.

Orcish Artillery is out, but now we have a duplicate named Goblin Artillery, which is exactly the same - only it's more tribal. OK, I can see that (although I do think they're killing off potential tribes which they may one day wish to revisit. If they do a new set, they'll simply say "we'll make it a goblin, rather than an orc" - a case of simply repeating what's been done before, when Magic is a game about innovation.

But there's a card, Savannah Lions. A rare 2/1 creature for W.

But the new version is a 2/1 Soldier (named Elite Vanguard), costing W, with the rarity changed to uncommon. And this is why:

There was concern that this would frustratingly devalue people's Savannah Lions (which had been rare in previous printings),.

This bugs me. Since when has Wizards worried about the *secondary market*? When Chronicles came out, people complained that reprinting stuff like the Elder Dragon Legends would devalue the originals.* Serra Angel has dropped from being an uncommon, to a rare, to not being in the set, to being back as an uncommon. It never mattered before to WotC what people were paying outside the game though.

So why now?

A card's "value" on the secondary market has no bearing on the actual price of the card - it's worth the paper it's printed on. It's the *players* who attribute real-world dollar values and significance to the cards. Generally, rares are better cards by way of having super-duper effects, etc. That's fine. But cards only increase in value when there's demand in the secondary market - player X wins a tournament using Fairy-Dragon Juggernaut. People start emulating that deck, and want more Fairy-Dragon Juggernaut cards. So they haggle, and soon the card raises in price. One year later, maybe it's old hat, and noone cares, and the card comes down in value.

But WotC makes nothing off the secondary market. So why are they so worried about someone's collection of Savannah Lions losing value on the secondary market?

oh man, I am so hard for this.

2009-07-13T04:10:25Z

finback @ 2009-07-13T10:03:00

2009-07-13T02:02:45Z

Heh. I have gained some respect for Slash for these comments:

“I once asked Axl why he left the ‘E’ off his name. He started crying and said he thought he’d spelled it right.” – Slash

“An anagram of Axl Rose is oral sex. Why do I know? Because when I’m not playing music I love solving erotic jumbles.” – Slash

finback @ 2009-07-09T10:51:00

2009-07-09T02:51:47Z

Folks, I give you - perhaps the singlest dumbest statement of 2009

finback @ 2009-07-08T13:11:00

2009-07-08T05:12:13Z

Whoa weeeeird.

Just found the "not gonna get released in the US" Robot Heroes; Inferno/Tigatron, Predaking/Stepper, "Bomb"shell/Perceptor and BM Cheetor/Tankorr. No sign of Slag, Gnaw, Laserbeak etc.. yet...

If I had a kerjillion dollars.

2009-07-05T13:52:44Z

I was in the shower, my mind running a million miles a minute, when I came to thinking about the phrase, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." An old adage, but one that almost seems redundant in my mind. I mean, you have to understand evil to be able to stop it. If you see and hear it, you can speak out against it. Then my mind got onto creationism, etc. and then my brain struck upon something I would do if I had won the lottery.

A statue to scientific endeavour, and using three "men of science" as the basis. Yes, I realise there are as many women who've contributed to science - look, this is what my brain comes up with in the shower. It was either gonna be something like this, or an overly detailed Transformers rewrite.

So, visual this, if you will.

Obviously, larger than life, the three figures stand back to back in triangular formation. Ideally, the statue is made of something like granite from the Yilgarn craton, amongst the oldest rocks in the world (representing geology and the age of the universe, diametrically opposed to the Young Earth Creation model).

Part of me would want to see them dressed in the style of, say, men of science from the Renaissance, but that's being a tad silly.
Jamie Hyneman of MythBusters is one. He's got one leg raised, foot perched upon a large piece of a real meteorite (astronomy). In one hand, held in front of him, palm up, he has a carbon-12 atom (physics, chemistry, component of life on Earth). His other hand is raised over his eyes, gazing to the horizon (exploration).

The next is Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, of Australian radio and tv. Dr. Karl has a Microraptor gui perched on his shoulder (palaeontology). In his hand, he holds a cluster of fern fronds (botany) and a stethoscope hangs around his neck (medicine, human biology). His head is turned to one side, because his free hand is cupped to his ear, which faces out on the 120 degree angle.

Lastly, Adam Savage, also of MythBusters. Adam holds a large strand of DNA in his hands (specifically, a section of code from the common fruit fly, one of which should be carved onto his clothes somewhere). Hanging from his belt should be a sextant, representing the history of scientific exploration. His free hand is raised to his mouth, and he is shouting.

I chose these three because I feel they represent some of the best examples of people who bring the reality and wonder of science to the general public. Adam and Jamie through tv, Dr. Karl through tv and radio. They explain things to people, they show them how to look at the world, and how to learn about it.

See science and the world around you; listen to science and the world around you; speak of science and the world around you, to others.

Quiz!

2009-07-04T02:15:37Z

Name this celebrity:

Stephen Colbert, as "Raven" in Wigfield.

MIND. BROKEN.

finback @ 2009-07-02T13:07:00

2009-07-02T05:08:01Z

Hrm.

Well, apparently, RAC is only gonna give me $800 towards my repairs, since it turns out

a) at some point prior to owning the car, they replaced the headlights, and did a really dodgy job welding them back in
b) when they've reattached the front bumper, they.. completely forgot to put this insulatory material behind it

The guy who inspected it says it's entirely plausible they'll remove the bumper and find a BUNCH of things wrong, which they can't cover. As is, they won't cover the lights, either. So I can only hope that any repairs will come in under, say, $600 leaving me a little wiggle room.

Sense of foreboding - high

finback @ 2009-06-29T08:25:00

2009-06-29T00:27:16Z

Woke up at 5:20am to thunder. My neurons said it would be a bad day.

It's now 8:25am, and they were right. Left early for work, since I needed to collect a daily cash float. Noone in cashier's room until after I need to be at the Centre. Get to Centre. Massive tree limb down blocking the entry road. Dragged that off the road. Get in, look out back window. Massive tree that stood alongside the river is now at a 30 degree angle to the ground, leaving a huge wall of soil upturned, and the revegetation project area is now reclaimed by the river.

Plus side? We had two pelicans sitting on the dirtwall kicked up by the tree's death.

Only another 8 hours of work to go..

finback @ 2009-06-27T14:34:00

2009-06-27T06:34:59Z

Was just in a minor car accident; my fault, I hit the back of someone. It was less than a metre's distance though, going from a dead stop, so it appears to entirely be cosmetic damage to my front and their rear bumper.

Thing is, only the passenger (presumably the owner) gave me his details, and he hasn't responded to my SMS yet about the details for the woman who was driving. I've already contacted the cops (done a report) and contacted my insurance company and lodged a claim.

Now it's just a waiting game.

I'm completely fine though. A little queasy and headachy, presumably from adrenalin.

In good news WOO! Ravage, Mudflap, Cannon Bumblebee and Interrogator Barricade.

Revenge of the Fallen.

2009-06-25T01:23:05Z

There's so much to say about Robot Movie 2, and I'm kinda burnt out, mentally. Suffice to say I really enjoyed it, despite the terrible flaws at times.

I'm probably seeing it again tonight, so I can watch for bits I missed, and try to pick up on notes. Our cinema didn't fit the projection to the screen, so all the placenames and Cybertronian dialogue subtitles were obscured..

finback @ 2009-06-15T10:14:00

2009-06-15T02:14:23Z

Pretty frickin' sweet. Megaman 2.5D

finback @ 2009-06-04T22:11:00

2009-06-04T14:11:28Z

Mixmaster's hybrid/weapons mode? He's clearly a hermit crab.

Rampage is a crab.

They all have spider-ish faces.

Constructicons?

Or INSECTICONS?

finback @ 2009-06-04T20:22:00

2009-06-04T12:22:18Z

Things that are awesome:

my girl

finding Bludgeon/Whirl, Sideways, Sideswipe, Mixmaster, Rampage, Breakaway, TFA Sunstorm and TFA Shockwave

Gabe having a Son of Gabe

tomorrow is my day off

deciding I will have pizza for lunch

Photos!

2009-06-03T03:29:28Z

I took lots of new photos at the Perth Zoo at the end of May. Go, browse, enjoy. (I wish one could comment on pics, a la facebook.)

finback @ 2009-06-02T20:00:00

2009-06-02T12:00:49Z

I think I've found the most FAIL wikipedia entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fictional_life_forms

Basically, it's... a completely random dumping ground. There's no rhyme or reason to it at all - Wookiees are in, but next to no other Star Wars creatures. There are singular entries for very specific creatures, and then some for very vague, practically empty entries. And then there's "individual" creatures, versus entire species or conceptual creatures. It's terribly disorganised.

The universe is an awesome place.

2009-06-02T10:33:39Z

Mr T provided the voice for the Jabberwock in the 1987 animated TV film adaptation of "Alice Through the Looking Glass".

finback @ 2009-05-29T14:52:00

2009-05-29T06:54:02Z

Oh, TRU. How you mock the world.

Your Ultra class figures cost as much as Leader class at another store. You even charge me $10 more than the shelf price.

But then, you would be the ones to get the lovely repaints.

You're also selling things for 50% more than your rivals. So in some way, the money I spent with you today is being saved elsewhere.

in other words, wheeee, Darkwing and Countdown!

finback @ 2009-05-29T11:11:00

2009-05-29T03:12:08Z

Big-ass salmon. I also read about a monster pike being caught that was around 68 pounds, whereas the normal "maximum" for pike is around 48. And then there's a report skull of a pike that was found washed up measuring some 18" long - indicating an animal up to 10 *feet* long, and weighing in the realm of 90 pounds.

Impressive, and a little terrifying.