David's Boring Blog

 One of the side effects of trying to play through a lengthy series of video games like Final Fantasy is burn out. I am on game nine, which is a lovely, quirky entry, and I am just struggling to maintain interest in story or game play. I have done enough marathon gaming, reading, and watching sessions in my day to have a few coping mechanisms for this.  The best is variety. I have been intermittently reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series this year. I tend to read one or two and then I will throw in some Kevin Hearne, Stephen King, or Andy Weir. I also decided to add some George Carlin to my Kindle because it has been too long since I read the prophet. By changing the type of book I am reading pretty drastically from satirical fantasy, I keep chipping away at Terry Pratchett novels enjoying each one in turn. I am more than half way through book eight at the moment which is Guards, Guard. This is about my fifth reread of that book and it never gets old.  My blog suffers from the

 Taquitos Stir Fry or Barbeque Chicken with Rice Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots Those were my menu plans for the weekend. I had skipped Taco Tuesday in favor of homemade pizzas. I work to keep things as fresh as possible. Teagan won't touch tacos yet. I try more and more to make things she won't fight me to try, but are still not junk food like chicken nuggets and fries.  I got my chicken for the taquitos into the slower cooker during my lunch break on Friday. I made an executive decision to let the chicken cook with just salt, pepper, and chicken broth for seasoning. I do this with my buffalo chicken prep and it makes for a more juicy chicken as compared to cooking in heavy seasoning. I was already off the recipe. My confidence was high.  After work I shredded the chicken. I stirred in the seasoning. While I was working on this I put one of my cast iron skillets on the eye and poured in some oil. I let it heat up while I assembled the taquitos and prepared to fry them up.

 I try to be intentional in life. I keep myself pointed roughly in the direction that I want to go. I am good at chasing my preoccupations. I prefer that label to obsessions. Maybe passions would be a more apt descriptor. Lets go with that. I am good at chasing my passions.  People grow and develop over time. This can happen intentionally. It can also be a side effect of a ton of other factors in life. Because of that fact my passions ebb and flow regularly.  For example, I started collecting Magic the Gathering cards in 1994. I stuck with that collection fiercely until 2007. I sold my collection in 2010. I started playing and collecting again in 2014. I sold that collection in 2017 when I changed jobs and stopped playing. During the pandemic I played Magic the Gathering Arena quite a lot. It made me want to put together some real world cards. After three years of not playing a real world game and now having dropped Arena, I am ready to sell out of my MtG collection again.   The pandem

 I have middling internet. It is one of the downsides of living as far out as I do. There just is not an option for more speed than I have currently. All that really impacts is a few slower meetings at work and an occasional short delay when I am loading something up to stream. I occasionally yearn for more internet bandwidth, but I make it work with what I have.  People having varying degrees of bandwidth as well. Some people can run multi-billon dollar corporations while developing personal projects and writing their memoirs. Other people do well to remember to take a shower every day. Forget about the scruff off their face. I have never run a multi-billon dollar anything, but at different points in my life I have been capable of having huge amounts of bandwidth. Other times, I am the guy who doesn't have the energy to jump in the shower. Lately, I have been struggling with bandwidth.  I have to remind myself that my capacity to handle things ebbs and flows depending on a ton of

 I finally finished Final Fantasy VIII a couple of days ago. I had debated if I ever finished it when it first came out. I had not. I would have had a lot more recall about the game's ending if I had. In fact, I am fairly certain I only played the first disc.  Completing VIII should be the half way point of the main numbered series. Technically, I suppose it is, but since I will be playing through the sequel games (X-2, XIII-2, Lightning Returns, etc) in order I am not quite half way. Here is an update of my progress:  Final Fantasy I Pixel Remaster ✅ Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster ✅ Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster ✅ Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster ✅ Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster ✅ Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster ✅ Final Fantasy VII ✅  Final Fantasy VIII ✅  Final Fantasy IX ⮜ I am here Final Fantasy X Final Fantasy X-2 Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age Final Fantasy XIII Final Fantasy XIII-2 Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII Final Fantasy XV Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade Fin

 While riding back from Cove Lake, Whitneigh and I got into an interesting conversation about blaming others. I have spent a good portion of my life pointing to other people and placing blame. It is an easy habit to get into. It is also a really neat way to get trapped into a pattern of behavior you cannot escape.  Like most psychological things that (I believe) I am coming to understand, most of this starts with our parents. For a few years now I have held the belief that there is no way to get parenting right from the perspective of the kids. Let me give the disclaimer that I feel like a complete loser as a parent. I am good for a hug, whatever cash I have on me, the honesty to admit I am faking my way through all of life, and a light-hearted look at most things.  There are some terrible parents out there. Some of them neglect or abandon their kids. Some of them abuse their kids physically, mentally, emotionally, or sexually. For victims of those situations this post does not apply.

 One thing about living in the country is that you have critters. No matter how spotlessly clean you keep your house (and mine isn't) you are going to contend with the occasional field mouse as soon as the weather turns cold. That is the danger of making a human habitat comfortable. The nicer it feels to live in for people the better everything else likes it too. I mean who doesn't want temperate comfortable hole full of yummy food to live in?  The best deterrent for the rodent problem is to have a cat. In case you have never seen Tom & Jerry, mice are not going to completely avoid your place just because a cat is present. It makes them a lot more cautious. If you combine a cat with good house keeping you can almost be rodent free. My cats are such good mousers they catch and kill the vermin outside.  Because I know this I had zero objections to Dad bringing in two kittens a couple of years back. I like animals in general. I like cats and dogs specifically. I have resisted

 I spent my weekend chasing my own tail. That was not my intention. I had been in the mood to simplify my office. That all started when my newest unnecessary purchase from Amazon.com showed up. It is an ironic catalyst that a vicarious online purchase triggered my want to declutter and simplify. I will talk more on that later.  I bought a 5.6mm lead holder to challenge myself to learn to sketch with a wide tip lead. To me this is a bit like going back to the fat crayon after years of coloring with the standard skinny size. It takes a lot more dexterity to work a thick tip (insert your own innuendo here.) Turns out I can draw just as well with a 5.6mm as I can with a .5mm lead. The fun part of trying a new medium is in doing things that you cannot do in others. I can make some broad sweeping strokes (feel free to apply innuendo again) with a fat lead. For cartooning it can add some definition that I typically have to approach differently.  I finished that first sketch and was really hap

 I was sitting at my desk sewing up a tear right next to the pocket of my favorite pair of shorts when I got inspired to write this post. The shorts are a burnt orange. My favorite thread is purple. I paid about twelve bucks for the shorts last year. I bought the thread a few years back. I think it was about a dollar.  I have had three spools of thread in the last decade or so. Purple was purchased because I cannot find the Neon Green or Neon Orange that I bought way back when. I do not do a ton a sewing. In fact, if a piece of clothing is of any quality I will replace it before sewing something on it myself. I am a lousy seamstress.  I have an odd value to when I break out the needle and thread. I will repair a jacket, bag, or a cheap pair of pants or shorts. I make the repair in a bright color. It is an ugly repair, but it will be strong, durable, and functional. I have a leather bag I have had for twenty plus years that has at least two visible repairs in those neon threads I mentio