Spelunking Into Diurnality

The start of a new month... oh, how it feels interesting. Though it may not be the first, it doesn't mean I can't still call it the beginning. and you know what that means?

I don't know either, but hey: let's find out if anything cool happens in the meantime!





CURRENT MUSIC:
Atreyu - "An Interlude"
The Curse

This track is exactly what it says on the tin. I don't know if I could get any more specific than that. An interlude track. In an album. So?

Obviousness aside, it's a nice two minute track. Perfect for those moments of quick relaxation or when you need casual ambient noise.


Bear McCreary - "Allegro"
Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 Original Soundtrack

Ah, orchestra. For each season of Battlestar Galactica, McCreary intended on placing at least one big orchestral piece in the score. Season two saw "Allegro" and with it an interpretation of "the shape of things to come" motif heard in the series.

What caught my ears on this track was the fact that it's made with traditional string instruments and those alone. Impressive - and I thought that the piano was the only instrument that could hold its own. (Technically, it still is - but strings are the instrument class that can definitely hold its own.)





Afternoon, everyone! How're y'all doing today? The sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are getting out of - *gasp*
To be honest, I really don't have much to say this afternoon. I'm not sure why. My life can't be that boring, because if it really was, you wouldn't be reading this, would you?

Wait, what? People still read in America? *laughs*

*clears throat* A-Anyway, let's just get this business done and out of the way. Y'all want to continue your lives, and I am merciful lame benevolent enough to let you do so.





The Weirdest Shift I've Ever Worked (So Far)
(And the resulting aftermath.)

I wasn't the only one somewhat weirded out by yesterday's work experience. Ask anyone who saw me that day. They found it to be quite weird.

Yesterday was... well, weird. As you probably saw, I worked a morning shift from 1000 to 1700. In the whole entire time I've spent working at The Red and Khaki, I've never once performed a midday shift such as that. (Thank you, rigged availability.)

I have to say that it was quite the relaxing day for the most part. I worked; time sorta flew by; it was quite quiet; there were no frakking whelps (at least until 1515ish). It makes me wonder why I've never considered working during the day.

And then as I began to fall asleep before midnight, the answer dawned on me. I'm a night owl. Night owls don't sleep before midnight. What kind of black magic has this day cast upon me!?

So I got off at 1700 and realized I had no idea what to do. Normally on my Fridays, one of two things apply:

1. I'm not working that day and I have plans already set up. By 1400 I'm already enacting said plans with great joy.
2. I'm scheduled to work that night and don't make any plans.

But seeing as how it threw me off-sync, I didn't have any clue as to what to do. I spent a good ten to fifteen minutes wandering around in thought, trying to figure out what to do.

I'm not going to bore you with the rest of that time, so we'll skip ahead. I found some people to hang out with for the night (hang out with friends - something I haven't done in a while), found interesting things to do (Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii... HAHAHAHAHAHAH!), and had a great time.

But working a shift like that has got me thinking a bit... what if I decided to take a few shifts during the daytime?





A Different Kind of Spelunking
(It may not be cave spelunking, but it's still got its dangers.)

But enough talk considering the philosophies of a night owl considering diurnal living. Let's move on to a different topic.

Earlier this week I went spelunking.

Now, before you start asking yourself where I went, I'm going to tell you that it was entirely local. Some time ago I found a large crevice in the ground and had a few friends install some reinforced steel railings on the edges. I told myself that one day, I'd go off and explore it.

So, a few days ago, after I found I had nothing better to do, I said "Frak it." I drove over to the crevice, ready to begin an adventure that at the time had no real reason to exist. I grabbed some sturdy rope and tied it off to the reinforced steel railings and began my descent.

They say that you escape close calls by the skin of your teeth. Applejack here probably took that a bit too literally...
(Image made by "AtomicGreymon" and found on DeviantArt.)

Midway to the bottom, I don't recall what happened. From what I remember from the five-second blur, I lost my footing and began to fall. At the last second I found the rope and grabbed onto it for dear life. Thank goodness I was able to grab onto the rope when I did - otherwise I would've hit the bottom and possibly have died.

I'm messy; deal with it. (Besides, they say that messy people tend to me smarter. *wink*)

As I hit the bottom, I found myself staring at a cave of some kind. It looked man-made and almost... archaic. Various things were strewn across the area, and from what I could tell it looked to be a tomb of some kind.

I'm thoroughly amazed that all those clothes to the left (yes, that's all clothes) are still able to hold up a mattress without collapsing like that box there.

Amazing! While it seemed dank and decrepit, it was amazing to see how durable the not-so-structurally-sound "cave" was. I mean, the thing was built out of mere planks of wood and what appears to be the belongs of whoever was entombed here!

An old Game Boy bag? No... it couldn't have been...!

At the end of it, I found an altar with a mysterious satchel on it. Inscribed was an old language that surprisingly was easy to read. It translated to "Game Boy." Was this the name of the man who was buried in this crevice? Or was this some of his personal belongings?

This is why I like spelunking in my storage unit. I find awesome things from my past that still are awesome today.

I didn't care - I grabbed the bag and hightailed it out of there. Thank goodness no boulders were chasing after me - that would've been bad. And as I opened it, I found some amazing treasures...

Holy crap; I totally forgot I had all of these games!

...data cartridges of the man's life, and a mummified cartridge-reading device! (I told you I'd post a picture of it...) I think I might have scored the archaeological find of the year! Huzzah, me!





A Thousand Fixings
(You gotta let me have mah cards, Jack! I need my cards! *mouth froth*)

It's readily apparent that I'm hooked on 1000 Blank White Cards. As such, here's some more cards I made - and if you're needing ideas for your own cards, stuff for you to either steal or base your own cards off of.

"Arm the Mob" (SECRET)
Loudly yell: "AK-47s for EVERYONE!"
+500 for you for each "Huzzah" you get in response

If you're a fan of real-time strategy games (more specifically: Command & Conquer: Generals), then you should get a kick from this.

Anyway, this references one of the infantry units of Generals: the Global Liberation Army's "Angry Mob." True to its name, it's a bunch of pissed off people chucking Molotov cocktails and rocks at any of its opponents. One of their upgrades is called "Arm the Mob," where each person in the mob gets an AK-47. When the upgrade finishes, the infamous quote is shouted and the angry mob becomes nigh unstoppable. (Even tanks have problems dealing with mobs at this point.)

Radiation Poisoning
For the next five turns, you are irradiated.
While irradiated, flip a coin whenever you play a card.
TAILS: This card is now contaminated with radiation and now affects all players.
-13

Since I'm playing Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, I figured I'd involve one of the series' central themes: nuclear proliferation. While not directly inspired by the games, the resulting fallout (pun wholly intended) is what makes up the bulk of this card.

The Rarity
For the next three turns you are Rarity from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Speak with a Mid-Atlantic English accent and a sense of refinement at ALL TIMES.
If "Tom the Rock" is in play, gain possession of him.

And you thought that Princess Luna card was going to be the only My Little Pony reference I'd make for 1000 Blank White Cards, didn't you?

To some people in the brony community, Rarity is the best pony. While I'm neutral on which pony's my favorite, Rarity rates amongst the top. (Especially when one considers this particular moment. The bronies who like her will usually cite this episode as their reason why.)

Tom the Rock
You now own a diamond rock name Tom.
Tom gives you 1000 points at the end of each of your turns.
A player can steal Tom if:
- they skip their turn, flip two coins, and call both correctly, or
- they are Rarity.

If you were asking "What is 'Tom the Rock'?" then here's your answer.

Meet Tom, the best diamond rock you've ever set eyes on! To get this reference, you'll need to have watched the second season opening for My Little Pony.

Polarity Shift
Positive numbers are now negative.
Negative numbers are now positive.
This card stays in effect until it is nullified or if all players are dead.
+1000 to all players who were killed by Thaddius

About time I threw in a World of Warcraft card in there. (Yes: I'm aware I already referenced the Onyxia Raid Wipe video, but still...)

This time, I chose to reference a classic raid that for some reason still gives people trouble (because they can't master a somewhat-easy mechanic): the Thaddius fight in Naxxramas. To the non-players, Thaddius is an artificial construct created from the flesh of women and children who boasts massive size, strength, and an electrical charge that can kill the unwary adventurer. While fighting him, he lets off a static discharge that - depending on the charge you're hit with - may overvolt him... or overvolt yourself and your allies.

Confusing? It sort of it unless you've fought him before. The one time I did, I was the main tank. We downed the bastard like it was nothing (because our raid leader was good enough to explain how the encounter worked to raid newbies like myself), but still... I think someone might have died during the fight. Hehehe.





Well, I'm off to go explore another hazardous location: my job. Until the 'morrow, everyone!