One Strange Catboy 一人変な猫人

Best store idea, IMHO

2009-09-08T21:05:00.003-05:00

A store that is separated into three parts. The first, a large are filled with gaming tables and gaming stuff. The second, a small bookstore focused on SciFi and Fantasy. The third, a curry restaurant. I don't know about anyone else, but I would never leave.

Gah

2009-06-14T10:02:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm trying to keep myself at roughly a post a day. I only missed by a few hours.

Nothing much new to say. Decided I was going to teach some people Japanese because the constant misuse of "kawai" on that forum was terribly irritating. I will fix it. Oh yes.

What's on the slab?

2009-06-12T00:12:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the lab.

Which is actually a shoe box.

Anyway, work has begun on a few jewelry pieces. They began life as nasty, fake silver bracelets with heart shaped plastic and pewter decorations. The decorations were the first thing to go. Underneath that terrible silver finish, there is a lovely copper, now sandpapered to smoothness and a nice sheen.

Unfortunately the weld/glue/solder points from the original decorations have left a residue that somehow goes deeper than flush with the surface of the bracelet. I'm at a loss for how to get rid of it.

Further decoration will likely cover those, assuming I find no way of removing them. At the moment, considering using the shutter assembly from one of the old cameras as a base. No real idea of where that will go yet.

As I have seven of these bracelets, I plan on using one or two to make some wrist mounted ray guns, though I'm lacking components. I may also end up using the jeweler's saw to make some interesting shapes, not sure yet.

Fun in the City

2009-06-11T01:46:00.002-05:00

Madison continues to be lax in providing sufficient job opportunities for its citizens. I will be taking a test for a position as a library page next week, and applying for several other jobs tomorrow, time permitting.

My other plans for the day include stopping off at a thrift store or two in search for parts usable in several different machinations, as well as a stop at the hardware store for some fine grain sand paper and WD40.

Beyond that, I shall be working on a translation project for the day. I should hopefully finish that at some point next week, thus banking myself another $100.

Progress reports on gadgets and gizmos to continue each day that I find time to work on them. Something similar shall probably occur in regards to my employment search as well.

Until next time,
SCIENCE!

Most Addicting Game Evar

2009-02-22T10:54:00.001-06:00

So, there's this game, Dwarf Fortress.

It's pretty awesome, but has a few issues. These issues could be fixed by adding the user interface of Warcraft 2 or 3. This game would then be the best thing since hard drives.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the system requirements would kill most modern computers. That, and I can't program it. Be thankful.

Also, this

2009-02-18T23:47:00.001-06:00

Happy fun money dance!

2009-02-18T23:29:00.003-06:00

So, after much consideration(read 2 minutes), I applied for a job at National Chain Bookstore(genericized for fear of something or other).

The application for said job was routed through an online system that asks you the usual bits about references and work experience, as well as an extra 100 random bonus questions!

These questions include such gems as "do you correct people when it's necessary," and "do people often annoy you?" These aren't terrible, really, except that the answer choices are "Strongly disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly agree," and the questions themselves contain imprecise qualifiers like "always" and "necessary."

These words have multiple meanings. Assuming that "always" was intended to mean generally, your answer might be less of a bad mark against you than if it actually meant at all times, ever. Really, a little clarification. Please.

Also, when your largest hiring block is college students and you expect personal references to have known them for a minimum of five years, you may not be getting the most up to date info from those references. College only lasts 4-26 years, people.

Time for the fun stuff!

2009-02-17T18:36:00.003-06:00

Well, I finally managed to get a little bit ahead in my classes, which means, Update Time!

I have one ridiculous class, Japanese Modern Lit, which eats up time. Little benefit there, except in realizing that Meiji era literature makes me depressed, as it follows an aesthetic of frustrated desire and death. So cheery.

My other classes all feel a touch more useful. Japanese, being my major, pumps vocabulary into my brain almost faster than I can forget it, though I'm working on retention. Scandinavian Mythology is perhaps one of the most interesting classes I've ever taken, lots of analysis of how the mythology came about and how it was altered through christian and Roman influences. Astronomy is amusing, we get to calculate fun things, like the luminosity of the sun.

Soil Science is... odd. They decided that a class based on guest lectures and group work should be held in a large class room that is incapable of seating a group in any configuration other than a line, which makes it rather hard to talk to each other. Being a devil's advocate during group discussions is enough fun to off-set this greatly, however.

Those are my classes in a nutshell. At the moment, they kind of dominate my life.

Blog, redux

2009-01-28T20:22:00.002-06:00

I killed the stuff that was on here for privacy reasons, as some of the posts that were here included names and identifying info that need not be out on the interbutts.

Besides that, it was all stuff from my time abroad, and I still have the memories and pictures, so I don't really need the blog posts.

Now I can start with a clean slate, assuming I come up with things to post.