The initial plan was to go running this morning. It would be hard because I was up so late last night. But I’ve done a run without much sleep before.
I woke up on time. I looked out and saw it was foggy with a thick layer of snow on the ground. That’s the last thing I remember.
I really do need to go running again, but I am under a huge time crunch. I don’t know if I will even be able to get out this Wednesday, because I still need to pack and I don’t see me having time on any other day.

That was a good party.
The smaller venue seems to make it more personal. And the people going to this bar are regulars so interpersonal interaction are easier. At yesterday’s event, I didn’t know anybody, so it was harder to meet anyone. (Despite being surrounded by people.)
Anyway, I didn’t have to test my honor today. The judges picked as the winner for the men’s best costume, a tall skeleton. Which frankly looked like it was bought at a mass-market store. The women’s winner was a corpse bride, that was pretty forgettable. I really thought the women who make a homemade Twi’lek headpiece would have been a much better winner.
My costume sustained more damage. I guess sticking a wing between my legs yesterday strained them. So while trying to adjust the covering, a plastic rod snapped. I’m not too worried though. The piece that broke is one that is meant to be removed so that it can be stored in a smaller place. It shouldn’t be too hard to get it fixed.
And I met many nice people tonight. Some were very insistent I was robbed by not winning the costume contest. The attention was nice though.
I took lots of pictures. And I got some email addresses of the subjects so that I can send them copies. Unfortunately, the best looking women seemed to already be in couples. Although there was one woman that was very insistent that I promise to send her the picture. Almost scary.

I have a freakin’ awesome Halloween costume.
I had it made for me last year. I was an impressive demon, with wings that were big and strong. With the correct strings pulled, the wings would spread out to the glowing admiration of demonesses everywhere. I won some prizes for it last year, so it isn’t just my opinion.
But the parties I went to last year were in a smaller bar. I decided to try a different one. Specifically the place formerly known as Red’s. A radio station was having their party there.
So I went, but it didn’t go that well.
The most annoying part was the contest. I realized I was at a bigger party and that there was little chance I would win. But a lot of people came up to me and said that I had the best costume. So it went a bit to my head. But with a big prize, there would be more competition.
But, the judges never ever found me. I was never in the running. At no point was I on stage to be judged by the fickle audience. And a guy dressed as a mattress was up there. I’m sure I had a better costume than that.
Yes, I’m whining, but it would have been nice to be a contender.
Also at the party, one of my wings broke. The rope that held it in place snapped so it was stuck spread out unless I held it in place. So for the rest of the night I had have one hand on my wing at all times. Which made the party awkward.
I figured out a way to stick in between my legs when I wanted to take a picture of someone. That helped. But it wasn’t comfortable.
Oh. And my camera dropped on to the ground early on. It stopped working. Fortunately, it seemed to be that the memory card had popped out a bit. When it was back in, everything seemed fine.
Well, I’ve successfully repaired the wings now. A quick trip to Rona for more nylon rope and I figured out how it was constructed. Looks good. So I’ll trust it for tonight.
I’m going to go to the same party as I did last year with the same costume. Which I think should invalidate me from any costume contest. But still it would be nice to win, but I would have to decline. (Assuming I’m as noble as I’m pretending.)

It finally happened. Apple released new laptops. So I can now buy one with a practical guarantee that I won’t feel stupid in three months.
Unfortunately, I am way to busy these days to get one. Oh I could easily walk into a store and walk out with one (legally of course) but I wouldn’t have time to transfer data to it. I couldn’t spend time getting to know it. Find out what its hobbies are. It’s hopes. It’s dreams.
So I will have to wait until after my vacation to Jamaica.
Which means that the most likely date will be November 16th. Which is a special day for me. It will be exactly three years since I bought my last computer. (It was my thirtiest birthday.) At the time, I had a tradition to buy a new computer every three years. (I can easily justify that because I work with computers.) I had decided to scrap that plan when I paid off the mortgage to reward myself. But I kept the rule that I can’t do something that would make me feel stupid in three months.
In other laptop related news, at work today I got a new laptop. Our new corporate overlords want us to use a particular brand of computer, so they splurged for a lot of them. So I have a new work computer, but I can’t feel as thrilled about that. We’re only going to have a working relationship.

I have to be strong, but I feel that I am weakening.
Last year, when I went to Jamaica, my camera was stolen. Luckily I lost very few pictures.
Since I have a photography project I’m working on, I needed to buy a new one almost immediately on my return. The month after that, prices plummeted and new technologies made the camera obsolete almost immediately.
Now, I’m about to go on another trip to Jamaica, and I am very tempted to buy another camera. On routine expeditions to consumer electronic stores I see all the nice cameras sitting there, mocking me with their shiny new technologies, their higher megapixels, their impressive ability to zoom.
I’m only human.
But, if I buy now, it will be at about the same time I purchased the last one. So, if the lessons of the past are to be paid attention to (not a likely outcome), next month the prices will drop and the technology will go up.
But look, image stabilization. How can you look at that face and say “No.”

I wouldn’t say I am the best at making friends. (Please don’t comment on that.) So my pool of people I do stuff with is rather limited.
I have some good friends who I have had for a long time. But they never really want to go out and do things. They are quite content to stay in and play boardgames. There is nothing wrong with that, but man can not live on boardgames alone.
I have two friends who do call me up and want to go out and live non-productive lives. One has taken a job in Austin. I’ve known he will be leaving for quite some time and I’ve come to accept it.
But now the other friend has told me he is going back to Vancouver. It took overnight for it to sink in, and left me rather cranky the next day.
Crud.
So now what? I hate going out to bars alone, but I guess I will have to adapt.

There was an article in the newspaper the other day. It was about over-eating. One of the points it was trying to make was that if people are given a bigger container, they have a tendency to take more of what is in it. If the container was smaller, they would take less. So smaller portions are better.
The fifth year anniversary of the iPod is coming up. The first one could only store 5GB. That was about 1500 songs. Since then, it has slowly been improving.
I’ve been wanting one for awhile. I’ve been a fan of Apple products in a timespan measured in decades, so I should have had one for quite some time. But I don’t listen to much music, so it never seemed important.
Now with the mortgage paid off, I am treating myself. And I have a reason to need one. I’m going to Jamaica in less than three weeks, so I would like to use it to help store extra pictures.
Well, I went and purchased one.
And I had a choice between two sizes. 30GB or 80GB. Like an overeating slob I went for the big one.
And I’m finding it uncomfortable to find out how little I needed that extra space. I only have 736 songs I listen to (2.8GB). My collection of pictures will probably double that. So I am hovering around 5GB of space used on it.
I’m definitely going to have to start storing movies on it to justify this purchase.

Lying in a tanning bed is just as boring as I remembered.

I feel good today.
This morning I had a short run. 16-km. But it was done at a fast pace. (Done in less than an hour and twenty minutes.) And I feel great now. The endorphin rush is making me feel alert and perky. (The can of coke this afternoon may also be affecting my judgment.)
It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good run. All the others have been over the 20km limit. When I go above that, the endorphin rush is counteracted by the aches and pains of running too far. 16-km is perfect. And a good pace too so I feel like I did get a workout.
But I’ve come to a realization.
First some background.
I lived through the nineties. Nike was considered evil back then. Something about using child labor to make everything, and then sucking the marrow out of their corpses when they died from lack of food because they were chained to the sewing machines. I might be a bit fuzzy on the details. So I have an apprehension about purchasing anything Nike related.
The thing is, as a salesperson told me, that because they were having such bad press, they have to instead make sure their merchandise is of great quality.
When I run, I use spandex shorts, better known as bicycle shorts. It started out because I had read that tight fitting spandex toned your muscles better than loose clothing.
Oh look, a rut I’m stuck in.
I’ve been using Nike brand shorts for the longest time. Recently they expired. Holes were starting to appear where my legs were chaffing together. So I got a replacement. I went to the same place I bought the last ones, the Running Room. That place is trying to become a monopoly for all things running; An attitude that is starting to rankle me. In their quest for control, they no longer carry Nike branded shorts. So I had to get Running Room branded ones.
Since then, I have not had a comfortable run. The seams in those shorts are in all the wrong spots, and bigger than they should be. So I have a nasty rash during and after every run. It’s been hurting.
Today, I found out about a Nike store in town. I popped down there. They have shorts that I want, for half the price I paid the Running Room. The seams inside look intelligently placed and of minimal size.
I’m looking forward to my next run now.