The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey February 16, 2014

Happy Birthday, Baby

Not puttin' you in a corner, never fear. Yeah, my lovely had a nice birthday yesterday. She enjoyed a Downton Abby marathon, and we went out to supper with two other couples, each with a birthday celebration going in this week(end?). Good meal at Four Seasons Grille in Gambrills, just up the slightly frozen road from us a double handful of miles. Not much else to report. I should do taxes tomorrow, which is bound to be a cheerless and disappointing task. Why tomorrow? So that I can shell out some more dead Presidents to fund the current President's predilection…

Brian Bilbrey February 11, 2014

Really, Valve?

You folks at Valve crack me up. I'm waiting for Half Life 3. I'm waiting for Portal 3. I'm waiting for Obduction (oh, wait, I'm getting that through the Kickstarter) ... and y'all ask me if I approve of greenlighting Krita for sale on Steam? [[ Krita is drawing and image manipulation software, and it's pretty damn cool ]] But I already have Krita on my Linux install. Oh ... buying the free (as in GPL, eh) software just supports the development. Why did I have to dig for that information, Krita-people? Or was it Valve that made that information…

Brian Bilbrey February 9, 2014

Not very funny

While I've generally been a bit of a class clown, I've never thought of myself as funny. In a way, the snappy comeback and the right quote at the right time have always just been another way of masking my intrinsic discomfort around (other) people. I *can* put on a happy face and make my way through the world. I don't think I'm very good at it, though, so I'm always striving a bit. This whinging is apropos of our on-going spate of social engagements. We went to a cabaret last weekend, neighbors were here for supper the weekend before,…

Brian Bilbrey February 2, 2014

Sportsball: meh ; PSH: sigh.

We had no obligation to watch the sportsball game today, so haven't. I'm given to understand based on brief comments in Twitter that the contest wasn't really a contest, eh? Meh. For y'all? I hope you enjoyed watching the game, if you did. Sometimes the commercials are fun, but it's not enough to bring me to the set. RIP, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Addiction sucks, and it took him from us untimely. For those of us left behind, take this lesson: the disease but sleeps. Be vigilant. This weekend, I got some house cleaning done, and washed all the salt off…

Brian Bilbrey January 26, 2014

Cold Sunday

Still haven't got above freezing, snow and ice everywhere around yet. Other than that, and a nice supper in with neighbors last night, nothing too exciting going on. Unwound today playing Bioshock. Fun. Oh, yeah. We watched Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing this week. Loved. It. Loved it! You should watch it, too. * * * Our condolences to the family and friends of Chief Warrant Officer Edward Balli, 42, of Monterey, California. He died on Jan. 20, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds from small arms fire when he was attacked by insurgents.