Geeking Out

This is the story of last night.

It was about 12:30pm, and I had already caught up on my Facebook, Gmail, Twitter, and Reader. I had finished working on my paid gig (in Vim* via SSH) and finding the bug I was experiencing in Chromium alpha for Linux, and was planning on working on Quote Book (again, in Vim via SSH), and decided I was hungry, so I should make some mac 'n' cheese. Not just any mac 'n' cheese - Great Value Thick & Creamy - the only kind that there is. I, by the way, just now submitted the picture that will soon show up on that page. It took some doing, and some sticky tack - that box is actually suspended in the air: Now regarding my obsession with this box. Some will argue that Kraft is where it's at, but I've tried Kraft and it is at best a poor substitute. Others will argue that Wal-Mart is the penultimate evil, and belongs in the deepest ring of consumer hell. This may be almost true, but keep in mind that for all of its evils, Wal-Mart is still one ring above Kraft, one cold, icy circumference farther away from Satan and Judas. So there, Kraft-lovers.

Anyway, so I made some mac 'n' cheese, and while I was making it, realized I really didn't want it that much. And then that I didn't really want to work on Quote Book. And then, that I didn't really want to do much of anything, including sleep. It was then, however, that I remembered. Netflix has Star Trek Season 1 on instant play. The more I thought about it, the more TOS sounded like a fantastic idea. So I dug out my GrandTec PC-to-TV converter that i picked up at a rummage sale several years back (definitely NOT recommended, but it does the job and I got it for like $2) and hooked it up with my headphone-to-RCA converter and extension (all of which I had on-hand, of course).

After getting that set up, I queued up Netflix, dished up my mac 'n' cheese, and went upstairs to get my Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future that I picked up at the Safeway prostate cancer booksale a few days back. Yes, I do own the old one I linked to, but that's just fine, because I was watching TOS. Interesting sidenote: I initially figured out it was pre-Voyager by looking up Janeway. She's in there, but listed as an ensign, and barely gets a paragraph. I found that amusing.

Anyway, I settled in to watch TOS, and realized that my laptop was with the TV on the other side of the room, and I had no way of controlling it, since I don't (yet) have a remote for it. I had previously brought down my trusty Marble Mouse, but the cord wasn't long enough. Then I remembered that just a couple days ago, I had purchased a ridiculously long (probably 10-12 foot) USB extension at a garage sale. I had to rummage around for a few minutes before I found it, but find it I did.

So, with my laptop hooked up to the TV, Netflix ready to start TOS, and my mouse at my side, I dug into my mac and cheese and, after forcefully slamming my mouse against my hand a few times (it's not actually so trusty after all), got started. And then the connection was going a little slow, and I looked over and realized my laptop lid was closed. Since I was borrowing a neighbor's wifi, the signal was weak already, and having the wifi antenna horizontal couldn't be helping. I got up, opened the lid, and the buffering instantly sped up appreciably. Satisfied, I settled in, and quite enjoyed Charlie X (I had already seen The Man Trap) and its terribly cheesy effects, somewhat questionable acting, and fabulous geekiness.

*Note to self after Googling for this link - add gVim Portable to your list of must-haves. Awesome.