Heat

Not to sound like a complainer but it's really hot outside.

It's been over a week and no sign of the squirrel. I did, however, figure out how he must have gotten in. I'm assuming he left the same way, under the siding behind the chimney. Cheeky bastard.

I'm going to have to mow tomorrow. Just as thrilling as it sounds. I'm almost sure it's been more than two weeks since the last time I mowed. I keep finding other things to do. Like not mowing.

Postcard from the Space Museum

It sounds like a line from a David Bowie song but I got a postcard from the space museum today. It was telling me about some space museum shindig in a couple weeks. I'm not sure I could stand the excitement...

The Rock Swap yesterday was pretty interesting. Carrie and her mom both had a good time. I bought a trilobite fossil for 8 bucks. It was amazing how much people were gouging each other over rocks. I've thrown rocks into the creek that some people were charging 20 bucks for. Needless to say, I didn't cough up the 70 bucks for a piece of bismuth, no matter how super cool it was. Here's the link to my Rock Swap pics on Facebook.

In other news, I think the squirrel in my basement left on his own accord. The bait in my live traps has been unmolested for the past two days.

Infested

A couple days ago, I came home to find the pipe connecting my dryer to the dryer vent askew. I thought it was the result of vibrations from six years of drying. The next day, Belle was in the basement when I got home. Things were a little off; a soda can that had been on the window sill for years was on the floor; there was a discoloration on the floor that looked like a dried urine stain; things like that. Last night, I was reading in bed when I heard a crunching noise coming from Belle's dog food bowl. Since she was snoring away at my feet, I knew it wasn't her. I crept down the hallway to find...
















...a squirrel! It was eating Belle's dog food and oblivious to my presence. I took a look at it. It was a young squirrel, barely larger than a chipmunk. I shouted and Belle came to my aid. She chased the squirrel downstairs. It stumbled about halfway and rolled down the stairs. Once it got to the basement, it ran under the accursed couch with the hide-a-bed and took refuge. I heard it chewing on something in its lair. After a few futile attempts to get it out, I gave up. I closed the door to the basement and brooded for sixteen hours or so.

My first impulse was lethal force. After some soul searching, I decided I'd rather not send a young squirrel down oblivion's maw. Live traps were the answer. I bought a couple at Bucheits on the way home. I'm hoping they'll do the job and I won't have to buy a couple rat traps.

In other news, my parents have an armadillo tearing up their yard...

Monday again?

Wow, that weekend went by in a hurry. Carrie and I ate with her family at The Anvil, went to Dave & Busters, had Gyros, and went to a small child's birthday party. It was a busy couple of days.

Moving right along in the second Gotrek and Felix omnibus. I'll have to track down Giantslayer when I'm finished. I don't think I'll be giving Nathan Long a chance.

Joe gave me his dad's peach cobbler recipe today. I'll probably bring that over to Chris and Abby's this weekend, assuming it turns out edible.

I'm contemplating taking Friday off and going to the rock swap at Missouri Mines. The depths of my geekitude know no bounds.

Geek Thoughts

The last few days, I've been getting the urge to run a D&D game for old times' sake. There are several problems with this situation:

• My old group has scattered to the four winds. I'd have to assemble a new group, which introduces a whole new set of headaches, like which setting or edition to use, compatibility, etc.
• Time. When would we play the hypothetical adventure? Would we every play more than once? When would I find the time to craft an adventure up to my standards?
• The hassle factor. This goes hand in hand with the time problem. Running a game is a huge hassle, from scheduling to refreshments.

Hmm. Looking at this list makes me what to run less already. I think I like the creative process of putting a game together more than actually running the game. Oh well. We'll see how this week plays out. If I still feel like running a game next weekend, I may have to start putting wheels in motion.

Dreaming of the Dark Tower

For the fifth time this year, I dreamed of the Dark Tower last night. This time, my brother and I, armed with a stout club and a couple six-shooters we weren't too sure about firing, encountered Stephen King in the middle of a desert, who tried to get us to turn back and forget about the Tower. My brother gunned him down and we continued on our way.

I think The Dark Tower books have held my interest for so long is because it took me forever to read them all. The last three weren't out until I was already a Tower junkie. I mus have read the first four five or six time apiece. I was a wee lad of 21 when I first read The Gunslinger. Now I'm a wee lad just over a month from his 33rd birthday.

These days, I hate re-reading but I might have to give The Dark Tower another go, especially the last three books. I tried a re-reading a few years ago and quit after the fourth book.

I'd better get back to my coffee. I don't want another headache like last night. As they say in Mid-World, Long Days and Pleasant Nights.

Nostalgia

The following elicit strong feelings of nostalgia from me:

• Issues of the Fantastic Four published during the 1980's
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Question the Answers
  
• Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - 2nd Edition (especially Spelljammer)
  
• Beef cubes and rice
• old episodes of Seinfeld
• Big Trouble in Little China
• The Legend of Zelda for the NES
• plaid shorts
• super hero tshirts, preferably just the logo