Humm-dididly-ummm

kd‘s been talking about switching her home machine to linux (traveling a road I have oft-times glanced down myself, even going so far as to walk down the path a few miles to see how it looked).
It’s got me thinking again…

The Requisite Post

So, we went to the movie last night. No spoilers, just my very vague impressions.
Better than Episode 1? Absolutely. Much more visually interesting — Lucas acknowledges for the first time that I’m aware of that planets actually have weather, not just climates. Also, the plot is much more convoluted and interesting.
Favorite episode? No. Pacing in the first half could have been tighter. There was a slightly ‘off’ feel to a great number of the action scenes that I think better editting could have fixed. I’ll probably always be an Empire Strikes Back guy, I guess.
Should you see it? That’s funny — what are you, crazy? Go see it. It’s pretty damn fantastic. There are a great number of very, very good parts.
I’ve got a lot more to say about individual scenes that will just have to wait for a week, or just for a long conversation with people face to face.

Willpower

Man, I’m glad that’s over.
I’m not talking about the graduation ceremony, or the last two months spent getting ready for today, or even about the last two years where Justin and I made dinner for two every Thursday night while Jackie was at class; this goes back all the way to 1994. On September 28th of that year, I made the best decision of my life and asked out the 2nd baseman on my co-ed softball team.
My second best decision was on October 25th of 1995, when I moved out here to Denver with all you fine people. My girlfriend, that 2nd-baseman, encouraged me to make the move and joined me out here on December 19th, 1995, after her semester wrapped up. We got engaged that day.
When I asked her what she was going to do about finishing her degree, she told me not to worry about it — she’d finish up Denver.
Well, a few things came up.
It took five years of preparation and planning (during which we went through two apartments, bought four cars, one house, two cats, 18 fish, and took on the care of 9-year old boy). It took two more years of actual school (in the middle of which we got a dog and moved to our current house 25 miles farther away from the college). I was traveling for my job during that time, and while Jackie was going to classes, she was also taking care of our house, our extended furry family and a 10-year-old.
I’m not here to talk about how hard it was — that much should be obvious. I want to mention her determination. Jackie has never faltered in her convictions or her commitments in all the time I’ve known her. It’s one of her great strengths.
For those of you, most of you, who don’t know all the particulars from the graduation, Jackie graduated with Honors and Distinguished Achievement today (awarded to only 10% of the Honors students for special merit beyond the scope of the University). I see that as a small acknowledgement of her strength of will.
Really, it’s the thing everyone came to the house to celebrate today, whether they knew it or not.
Congratulations, baby.

Is it fall yet?

Gonna talk about some football now… you may want to just move away slowly.
First off, I love the Broncos, but only since I’ve moved to Denver: the constant exposure to them has gotten me on their side as I get to know the people on the team. In that, I think I might be sort of a “proximity fan” — I don’t know how into the Broco’s I’d ever have been if I didn’t live here.
But then there are the Raiders, whom I used to enjoy for their “fuck the rest of y’all” history and whom I NOW like for their coach. As the youngest (and one of the best) NFL coaches in the game, John Gruden is really the reason I watch the “Rayyy-dahzz”.
Finally, there are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team I decided I liked when I was seven and saw their logo.
Lemme tell yah, people. Love hurts.
Being a Bucs fan isn’t easy (and I think it’s actually gotten worse since they’ve started winning more), especially when you rarely get to see one of their games (since they’re not in your division) and even more so when you REALLY HATE the style of play their head coach promotes.
So: love the Raider’s coach, and love the Buc’s team. Barring moving the entire team into Denver’s division, there’s one thing that could make me reeeeeeeeealllly happy.
This is it.
Okay, I’m done. *pant*

Seven Words

Seven words on Office Space:
Why was this ever recommended to me?
~Or Jackie’s version: ~
You can live without ever seeing it.

Seven words on Farscape’s Season Finale:
You have got to be kidding me.
~Or Jackie’s version: ~
Are you sure there isn’t another episode?