Man Bites Dog

No, not really, but I was reminded of that old adage about news when I came across this article.

Dog Performs Heimlich Maneuver on Owner

Neat, eh?

Picture-Perfect

If Adobe Photoshop is the most popular digital art program for artists, MSPaint is the choice of rebel artists.

Check out this PSP, and then this rendition of the Mona Lisa.

There is a lesson here. It is that the expensive tool isn't what counts. What does count is the ability to use it, and the will to try.

All hail the lousy tools, which force us to gain true skill.

Update VIII: Randomness

As if all the updates weren't random. Anyway, I've taken a short break off my PowerPoint monster to live a little and do some blog updating.

There are currently only two words in the English Language which end in "gry" (unless you count some pretty archaic words which hardly anyone has heard of). It's pretty typical that some have made a joke out of it.

Sandwich-makers are probably one of the greatest inventions ever (next to the microwave oven). If I can, I bring one along with me when/if I go overseas next year.

On Friday, Sluggy Freelance had the most awesome plot twist since the Blacksoul = Obsidian Teknokon = Bun Bun revelation. The speccers are already buzzing, and I can't wait to see how this plays out.
Also, Torg does something smart. It's always great when he does that.

And... I'm off to slay some more of the monster.

Update VII: A Question of Weight

While looking for something entirely unrelated, I came across this.

Okay, this is ridiculous. I've never got why so many women feel compelled to lie about their weight, or age, or "vital statistics", or whatever. But when it gets to the point where such lying interferes with medical research...

To be fair, when conducting a telephone survey on something which people typically lie about, you would have to expect some nasty inaccuracies.

But it's still ridiculous. What is so important about maintaining an illusion to others that you are lighter than you seem? Your weight isn't going to magically change just because you say it is something else. And when that weight is a possible indication of serious health problems, lying about it moves from silliness to suicide.

Let's change this, one woman at a time. I weigh 64 kilograms (that's 141 pounds for you imperialists). I'm the heaviest person in my family. Thanks to the "spare tyres" around my waist, I have a fairly unattractive figure. I could improve it but I'm too lazy to exercise. So there.

Since this is an update, I'm supposed to talk about other random things. Let's see... I finally rounded up my Final Year Project report and logbook; I'm happy with them and I'm going to submit them tomorrow. (Incidentally, since it's the holidays now, and since I have no other business in school, I have to travel all the way up North to Woodlands just to hand in my stuff. Sometimes teachers can be really... insensitive.)

And since I'm temporarily free from actual work, I've gone on to comic-drawing. The current project is a PowerPoint monster and it is going to kill me.

Of course, half the fun is defeating the monster.


I'm not sure if anyone's noticed, but I tweaked a few things here and there around the blog. There are also some exciting new links up:

Pirate and Alien: One of those "innocent comics" which I'm apparently fond of. I adore the quirky art style, and it's so, so funny.

USS Constitution Virtual Tour: I actually wanted to put this up long ago, but the link wasn't working then. The site has detailed diagrams and photographs of the famed Old Ironsides, the oldest frigate still in service. I use this every time I need to design or draw a ship.

Quick After-Battle Triple Chocolate Cake: If there's a method to kill people with excessive chocolate, this has to be it.
I am so making this someday.

Chalk: An artistic take on the traditional shoot-em-up. Highly addictive.
(I might review this later. I find reviews are the best way to corrupt my friends.)


In completely unrelated news... there is no completely unrelated news.

Meme: Marriage Age

I got tagged with this meme by Noel - put an X next to the items in the list which apply to you, tot up the frequency of Xs and that's the age that you'll get married. (What do you do if the total is 3 or something? Wait, don't answer that.) So let's see how this turns out...

[X] I know how to make a pot of coffee. (I can make my father's coffee. That's even harder!)
[X] I keep track of dates using a calendar. (...There's something else you can use?)
[ ] I own more than one credit card. (Ha! No.)
[ ] I know how to change the oil in a car. (Not with confidence, no.)
[X] I know how to do my own laundry. (Every Wednesday and Sunday, baby!)
[ ] I vote every election. (Not 21 yet, sorry.)
[X] I can cook for myself. (Definitely! Now, about cooking for others...)
[ ] I think politics are exciting. (Bleh. No.)
[ ] I balance my checkbook. (Don't have one, silly.)
[X] My parents have better things to say than my friends. ('Fraid they do. Age, wisdom, etc.)
Total: 5

[X] I show up for school/college/work every day early. (Touch wood!)
[X] I always carry a pen in my pocket/purse. (And scissors, and a pencil, and a ruler, and...)
[X] I've never gotten a detention. (Clean record here.)
[X] I have never smoked a cigarette. (Ew, no.)
[X] I have never gotten completely trashed. (Never drunk enough to.)
[ ] I have forgotten my own birthday at least once. (Bwahaha! No.)
[X] I like to take walks by myself. (Yeah... I miss Phoenix Park.)
[X] I've watched talk shows. (Never enjoyed them though.)
[X] I know what 'credibility' means without looking it up. (Ha! Yes.)
[ ] I drink coffee at least once a week. (No. Caffeine makes me drunk, remember?)
Total: 8

[X] I know how to do the dishes. (We don't have a dishwasher.)
[X] I can count to 10 in another language. (Two languages, actually.)
[X] When I say I'm going to do something I do it. (Even if I take a million years over it.)
[X] My parents trust me. (Thankfully.)
[ ] I can mow the lawn. (What lawn?)
[X] I can make adults laugh without being stupid. (Can do.)
[X] I remember to water the plants. (That doesn't mean they grow well...)
[X] I study when I have to. (And even when I don't.)
[X] I pay attention at school/college. (In RP, if you don't you're dead.)
[ ] I remember to feed my pets. (What pets?)
Total: 8

[X] I can spell 'experience' without looking it up. ('Cause it's right in front of me. :P Nah, I can. Really. It's "separation" I have a problem with.)
[ ] I work out on a regular basis. (Nah. I'm a slob.)
[X] I clean up my own mess. (Yes. Yes I do.)
[ ] The people at Starbucks know me by name. (No. Caffeine. Can't drink.)
[ ] My favorite kind of food is take out. (Hard call, but no.)
[X] I have gained weight since middle/high school. (2 kg. Nothing too bad.)
[ ] The first thing I do when I wake up is get caffeine. (CANNOT. TAKE. CAFFEINE.)
[X] I can go to the store without getting something I don't need. (Strangely, yes.)
[X] I understand political jokes the first time they are said. (Yeah... doesn't mean I enjoy them.)
[X] I can type quickly. (Sure.)
Total: 6

[ ] I have realized that the weather forecast changes every hour. (Considering I don't believe it anyway, I've never had a reason to know the frequency of forecast updates.)
[ ] My only friends are from my place of employment. (No.)
[ ] I have been to a Tupperware party. (A what?)
[ ] I have realized that no one will take you seriously unless you are over the age of 25 and have a job. (Lies. People take me seriously all the time.)
[ ] I have more bills than I can pay. (Nope.)
[ ] All (most) of my friends are older than I am. (Nope.)
[X] I can say no to staying out all night. (I've never stayed out all night.)
[X] I use the Internet every day. (Guilty as charged! Well, almost every day. There was that time Macx conked out...)
[ ] My wardrobe hasn't changed in a while. (I just stole a belt from my mother.)
[X] I can read a book and actually finish it. (You mean... I'm not supposed to? But...but...)
Total: 3

Grand Total: 30 years
(And that was without a single drop of -I mean, a calculator. Yeah, calculator.)

So... If you are responsible, dedicated to your work, a credit to your parents, politically aware, careful of your health, lax when it comes to paying bills and completely obsessed with caffeine, you'll marry later.

Man, that's depressing. I'm going to go mow someone else's lawn and get drunk on coffee.

...Three posts in a row referencing a Jack Sparrow quote! I'm on a roll!

Misguided Good

Today's Order of the Stick... No, you know what? This calls for a quote.

"...a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they're going to do something incredibly... stupid."

Gaaah! Miko!

I want to feel sorry for her, I really do. But it's hard to feel sorry for someone who can't snap out of her own little world and realise that she is, in actual fact, not always right. Even though her action was bad more through timing that actual evilness, there's a fairly high probability that she would never understand how bad smashing that sapphire was even if it was pointed out to her. She hasn't even got that redeeming feature. Plus from what we've seen so far, it's not even certain that her reasons for breaking the sapphire were sound in the first place.

I suppose then that I'm angry at her not for her mistake, but because she'd probably do it again if given a chance, without so much as thinking it through.

Anyway, Burlew gets kudos for creating such compelling panels. If you think about it, the outcome was predictable (honestly, if the bad guys died that would be the end of the comic), but by triggering this predictable outcome through a set of infuriating events, he involved readers in the story and made them feel genuine emotion at the result.

And that's brilliant.

To change the subject completely, the current Dominic Deegan storyline, while somewhat contrived at points, remains whole-hearted and charming. After the heavily-emotional storylines preceding this one, the light-heartedness is rather a relief.

But I'd really like to know if Dominic is being genuinely pleasant, or whether he foresaw the whole thing.

The World's Most Reputable Company

Congratulations to LEGO!

That's actually very impressive, considering all those complaints about Cordak blasters and guns and whatnot, and considering that the survey ranked a total of 600 companies worldwide. This result shows that, in spite of all the griping, people still trust the makers of the old reliable studded brick. It's also great because, well, I wouldn't know what to do if Lego had been placed at the bottom. Sort of like finding out that a childhood hero was really rotten to the core.

Anyway, well done Lego, and thanks for giving me a better reason to waste more money on your stuff. :P

Also, congratulations are in order to IKEA (#2), Toyota (#6) and Ferrero (#7), other familiar companies (to me, at least) which made it to the top ten. The full rankings are available here.

On a completely unrelated note (it was Ferrero Rocher which put me in mind of it), what on earth does Pizzaro have to do with pie?

Just a Thought

Why do Robitussin lozenges come in packs of nine?

Worst. Bluebeard. Ever.

[Warning: The following link leads to a site with some mildly mature language.]

Superman has a locked room which he warned Lois never to enter! What deadly secret could possibly be inside? Gasp!
... To their credit, that was an entirely unexpected outcome.

In other news, Spiderman battles illiteracy.