Riftwave.net - Kevin's web log

Spring is here (and has been for a while) and the roommate, roommate’s other, and I have taken to tidying up the domicile with a little spring cleaning. I’ve lived here for almost 2 years, but just learned that we had an attic that I could put stuff in. In the process of moving some of my boxes from the downstairs storage closet, I noticed a unopened 3d-puzzle that had been sitting in its original shrinkwrap since I moved in. Since noone else was going to work on the puzzle, I decided to open it up and put it together. 700 pieces of foam-backed jigsaw puzzle pieces that formed a victorian style house replete with columns, patios, balcony and bay windows. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the picture on the box only displayed half of the puzzle (you know, the whole 3d can’t-see-all-sides-of-an-object-at-once-from-a-single-perspective thing),.1.5-2 days later, I completed the puzzle. The pooch in the photo is one of my other roommates, Lucy (I call her Lucy-Dooby-Doo)

I hunted around and found other 3D puzzles available for purchase, but I can’t quite justify such a frivolous expense at the moment. Maybe if I ever go away on a trip that will leave me a lot of boring free time, perhaps. I think I’d like to try to tackle the Sydney Opera House next.

I had a very interesting day yesterday (more on that in later post), capped off by a midnight trip to AMC Theaters to see Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith.

Although I’m not super hardcore into Star Wars lore, like most folks I am a fan of the action in the films. This third ‘prequel’ is heavy on the plot, and there is plenty of action to go around. The fact that there is a galactic war going on throughout the entire story probably has a lot to with the many many many light saber fights and blaster battles.

The basics of the plot go like this: The republic and their army of clone troops (led by the jedi) are at war with the seperatists and their droid army. The as soon as the republic starts to make headway and turn the tide of the war, it is gradually revealed that both sides have are being led by the same villain, whose strategy is to use the war to take control of the republic and eliminate the only real threat to consolidating his power, the jedi. In a strange reversal of roles (which is handled mediocrely), the champions of the republic end up joining a revolution against it. Central to the events in the movie is Anakin Skywalker, whom we all know ends up becoming a bad guy at the end of the movie.

Although the movie does explains the reasons that lead to Anakin’s ‘fall’ and transformation into a villain, it does a sub-par job of relating Anakin’s motives to his actions. All the pieces are there, but Lucas doesn’t quite go out of his way to connect all the dots. The entire scene in which Anakin betrays Mace Windu is a little strange in that all of the characters make decisions that seem out of character and forced in order to forward the plot. In the director’s commentary in Bring It On, he describes this kind of implausibility occurrence in a movie as a ‘vanity’ of writing.

One thing that did surprise me was how terrifying this movie would be for a kid. All of the villains and monsters are pretty terrifying, and a lot of good characters meet untimely ends.

Anyways, I doubt that anyone is going to see or skip this movie based on its merits as a film (you either want to see the final piece to the tale, or you don’t), but those that do plan to go see it should get a very entertaining show. My one biggest complaint about the whole thing is the teaser about seeing Qui-Gon Jinn appear from the beyond to speak to Obi-Wan. It is overtly promised near the very end of the film and never delivered upon. Punks, the lot of them.

East Roswell park is about 0.5 miles from where I live. I had noticed some land/path clearing work that was going on in the park during some of my occasional jogging trips to and from the park… but didn’t realize that they were building an 18-hole frisbee golf course until a few weeks ago when I saw some people playing as I drove past.

So, this past Sunday while I was buying a mother’s day gift at sports authority, I purchased a frisbee-golf disc. Apparently there is only one manufacturer of frisbee golf discs that has a near monopoly on the market, since the 3 different retailers I visited on sunday carried the same brand of frisbee-golf disc. I’ll have to visit I.F.O. (Identified Flying Objects) in Little 5-points to check out some other brands/discs.

My first outing was almost as frustrating as my first traditional golf outing. Many inaccurate tosses and venturing off into the woods. I spent almost 20 minutes looking for my $9 frisbee on the 4th hole. It was lodged in a bramble-patch in a way that the only visible part was the slim profile, making it too difficult to pick out the first TEN times I searched that spot.

I had an ok time (hey, it got me out of the house), but I got tired/thirsty after 11 holes since I hadn’t had lunch that day at all. I plan to return regularly and work on my game since it is so close and so free. Maybe I’ll even convince some people to come play with me one of these days.

I’ve done a horrible job these past 3 months of keeping a blog. In order to increase the frequency of my posts, I will keep them short.

Bought a pool table today. 8ft slate with a ball return. I wouldn’t ordinarily spend money on something like that… but it was VERY cheap, and I figured the gym would eventually buy it back from me since that is where I have put it. Its a HEAVY BITCH. My estimate is ~300 lbs or so. Ryan drove down with me from the gym and he and Scott (i bought it from Scott, a Tech student) helped me load it into a trailer towed by my roommate’s (Erik) Durango. It was quite an operation.

I started authoring DVD movies with my burner. So far I’ve just burned one movie and a clip that I found on the net. I’m supposed to reauthor two clips for Keith, Reed’s roommate.

Jayhawks is being very evasive about giving me my last paycheck. I worked 26 hours the last week while all their workers were out at banquets and goofing off. I might go in with the other guys they have stiffed (amazingly, all the people that don’t work at their gym anymore) on their last paychecks on a small claims court thing. I hate when people involve me in their conflicts. The problem causer is a guy named Brent Halcomb. If you come across him, hold on to your wallet and watch your back.

My aunt’s husband Delroy has passed away. Cancer. It only got diagnosed about a month ago. I had not seen him in years, but I had a lot of interaction with him in my younger years when my family lived closer to Brooklyn. I’ll post a photo if i can find one.