Duke Nukem 3D Coming to XBox Live Arcade

This is probably my favourite game of all time. I'm looking forward to having another go at it.

Space Invaders Bomb World Trade Center

"The Invaders! art exhibit at the Leipzig Game Convention features a large display of the 1978 arcade classic, except this time the orderly little invaders from space are bombing the Twin Towers, knocking holes in its walls and starting fires and apparently causing 8-bit figures to jump from the burning structures."

X-Men Origins: Wolverine bootleg trailer

Yay again!

Tron 2 Bootleg Trailer

Yay!

I ended up having to fly to Castlegar this last weekend for work, but thankfully that should be the last business trip for a while now. It was smoking hot when we left to come home, about 38 degrees Celsius, so we flew our wee plane up to 10,500 feet to try and cool down. That’s 500 feet higher than you’re supposed to go without oxygen, so I was a little worried about that, but apart from a few moments where I felt short of breath, it didn’t seem to affect me.

****

I also turned the ripe ol’ age of twenty-six last week. Rather than bore you with the self doubt rantings that typically accompany each of my birthdays, I’ll skip that bit and just say that I’m feeling a little more comfortable in my skin these days. Life’s going fairly well, so I shouldn’t complain.

****

I never did write about my trip to Tofino earlier this month, but I had a great time. It was nice to get away and spend a few days somewhere new. We went whale watching, bummed around town, spent an afternoon playing cricket on the beach, and just took it easy.

Whale watching, where we went, is normally about $120 per person, but we were staying with some people who work as deckhands on the boat, so we got to jump on for free. I really don’t think it’s worth the price if you’re paying, but it’s fun to hang around on a boat for a few hours and see some wildlife.

 

 

****

It’s funny how easy it is to slip out of the habit of writing. That’s something I should try to focus on - writing each day, even if it isn’t fiction or anything I’d want to publish here. I just need to get into the habit of sitting down and being able to quickly get my thoughts out.

Sorry for the lack of posting; it’s been a whirlwind of a week.

I got back from Tofino on Monday (which I’ll post about later), just in time to catch the end of the celebrations for British Columbia’s 150th birthday. I had forgotten about it until the Snowbirds flew over my apartment.

The Snowbirds are a aerobatic jet team made up of Canadian Air Force members that are at some big events and airshows here. I used to watch them every year at the Kamloops Airshow. They were my favourite part of going, so I was excited when I looked out my window and saw them flying over my house. I was suddenly a kid again, watching the jets fly over.

I ended up going out every night last week for dinners, drinks, and a going away party, so I was really looking forward to relaxing this weekend. Unfortunately, I found out on Friday afternoon that I had to fly to Kamloops for some work. I quickly drove home, threw some clothes in my suitcase, and made for the airport. Instead of a commercial flight, we got to grab one of the planes the organization contracts, so we skipped the airport and security lines and took a four man plane there. It makes flying so much more enjoyable when you can just hop into a plane like it’s a car and take off when you’re ready.

Despite the lack of notice, it turned out to be a really good trip. Work went well, and I was able to visit with Tanya and my parents. The only problem was on the way home. The two large coffees I had before take off were an incredibly bad idea. Ten minutes in I realized this was going to be a bad situation. The flight was supposed to be an hour and ten minutes, but it took a little longer due to poor visibility. We had to fly through the valleys instead of over them. Forty minutes into the flight I was seriously eying my friend’s water bottle.

Luckily we made it just in time, and my dignity was unscathed. Although, I think I may have damaged my insides. I was honestly about five minutes from a very embarrassing situation.

I may have to fly somewhere again on Wednesday, so I’ll have to try and unwind the next couple of days. And not drink coffee.

I spent all day yesterday in soul-draining meetings, and I spent today banging my head against a problem I wasn’t able to solve. I was hoping to tie everything off before the weekend, so I could enjoy myself with a clear mind, but that unfortunately didn’t happen.

I was feeling quite frustrated at the end of the work day, but right now, sitting on my balcony in the cool night air, enjoying a chilled beer, listening to some music, and typing away on my laptop, I’m feeling refreshed again.

I’ll be spending this weekend in Tofino, which is sort of a tourist resort village up island a few hours. I normally wouldn’t be able to afford this right now, but we know some people who run a whale watching ship there, and we can stay with them and go out for free, so it should be fun. We’re also planning on taking surfing lessons once we’re there, if the weather is decent, and I’ve wanted to do that for a while now, so I’m looking forward to that. It’s going to be stupidly busy, spending a long weekend in a tourist hotspot, but I should be able to handle it for a couple of days.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

This is the first episode of The Pod: The Animated Adventures, Techno is not a Joke, starring Julian Barratt and Tim Hope. They’re “a late eighties electronic dance outfit trying to cope with the mid nineties post rave come down”. I really like the animation style, and the quirky humour, and it’s a nice flashback to my techno-loving youth.