It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for subtlety.
- Isaac Asimov

The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair.
- Douglas Adams

I've gone into hundreds of [fortune-teller's parlors], and have been told thousands of things, but nobody ever told me I was a policewoman getting ready to arrest her.
- New York City detective

I've done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not.
- Fran Lebowitz

So much still to read!

So, off the top of my head I still have to read(aside from CFP stuff):

Forever War
Green Mars
Air
Annihilation Classic
Some random bag of stuff the Hennings handed off to me
Bone

Who knows what else? I probably have boxes of things I haven't read yet. I don't think I ever finished reading all those X-Factor issues I assembled either.

On a related note, the iPod Touch would be really useful if I decided to start tracking down complete sets of different books. That would be kind of neat. Except I really should just get trades. Maybe just post on Craigslist what I'm looking for?

Need Brain AAA

The whole damn brain has just stalled out! It's not really turning over and I really need to get back on the road. If somebody would just stop by and give me a jump or something, I've got a lot of deliveries in the back seat that are rotting away. Maybe some bits need replacement or maybe I've just been running it too hard. Damn boss just kept trying to jam other boxes in and the ones in there already are getting dented. Maybe I'll just buy a bike.

I'm so screwed if I go blind.

So much reading this weekend.

Finally read Impaler. That was pretty solid. I think there's been some actual printed books put out leading up to this story, but I'm a big fan of taking extensive backstory as read. It really kicks in fast and doesn't dwell too much on the side stories. I'm not a huge fan of the ephemeral nature of the vampires, though. And I'm not sure if the repercussions of the final page are handled quite right.. A great read for $10, though.

Also reread House of M. I guess I love the concept, but on it's own as a story arc it doesn't quite blow me away as much as it does in context with all the other books coordinating. Still wonderful seeing Layla Miller's beginning again and jumping from there to the latest issue of X-Factor. She's very nice all grown up.

Then there was all that tax stuff. I feel like I should have spent more time on it, but I always feel that way. I'll need to go back over some chapters to brush up on the fine details, but I think I'll do ok on the final.

Caught up with the last 3 issues of Jack of Fables and loved it. The twist about who Jack is? Awesome. Babe the Blue Ox? Still wondrous. The Page sisters? The baddest ass librarians. Then The Great Fables Crossover kicked in and I already had the first two-thirds of it - very nice. Some of the lines in there work so very very well. Trying to imagine what could happen in the last third and that, like many other things in Fables, is almost literally impossible to predict.

Also, Spider-Man - The Short Halloween - good stuff. Amusing hijinks. Knocked out Spidey gets swapped with drunk guy dressed up as Spidey. Each of them handles the other's nemeses quite satisfactorily. Kind of expensive at $4. Them's knocks, I guess. It's not like I'm on an allowance anymore.

Also, beat all the events and smashed all the billboards in Big Surf Island - new island for Burnout Paradise. Definitely digging the smaller area - much more tightly knit and very good flow. In love with the toy DeLorean I unlocked. So cute leaving flaming tire tracks off the mega jumps.

Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.
- Plato

Netflix as a personality test?

Not sure if I should take this too seriously, but Netflix recommends the following genres to me:
Violent Revenge Dramas
Suspenseful TV Shows
Critically-acclaimed Cerebral Comedies
Inspiring Action & Adventure
Romantic Movies from the 1950s

I guess that works. But where is the Inspiring Romantic Revenge Dramas from the 1950s genre?

FOUR BAD STATES - 10.6% of all mortgages in the state of Florida were in some stage of foreclosure during the 1st quarter 2009. Nationally, 3.9% of mortgages were in some stage of foreclosure. Excluding the states of Florida, Nevada, California and Arizona, only
1.0% of mortgages in the other 46 states were in the foreclosure process during the 1st quarter 2009 (source: Mortgage Bankers
Association).

Idea nuggets.

I'd love to see the steampunk versions of CNBC, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC. All the tickers along the bottom would be hand set and mechanically run. All the spinning graphs and logos would be physical entities breaking down on the air - greasy guys in overalls frantically trying to get them running again. Perhaps a variant of TV Wheel would help.