So it's nearly two in the morning, but my stupid brain is convinced it's really more like 11pm. I'm tired anyway, but I just can't fall asleep. It's not like it's even too quiet or anything -- there's a fan running in the bedroom that provides a comforting drone. If I'm out here, there's 6 computers on (5 at 100% cpu), and a bigger fan going (I've been too lazy to try to get the 7th, Toji, back up and running stably). I mean, it wouldn't be quiet quiet anyway, as Aselin's voice really hasn't left my head since Friday; mostly I just mean that my ears aren't ringing and driving me to the point of distraction.
Insomnia is a pain in the ass less because you can't sleep, but more because you can't accomplish a damn thing while you're awake. I've tried reading (everything from Gibson to manga, to some fiction on the web), and the only thing that could hold my attention was catching up on Thomas' journal. I tried messing around with myHTPC some more, but after getting Media Player Classic 6.4.3.0 from Justin and configuring it to my liking (stupid 6.4.4.2 ignores the /fullscreen parameter) I pretty much hit a point of diminishing returns that made doing anything else a waste of time. I've tried writing, but you're reading the most productive results of that. Maybe this seems less awful to an external observer, but to me it just seems like incoherent stream of consciousness. I'm too neurotic about my writing to send something of this level to A [in case there's any confusion, not the same person as Aselin, who is a singer -ed], despite the fact that I really ought to send her something soon. Insane work hours, being out of town, and general absent-mindedness have caused me to be silent for much too long. Given that I didn't even have the presence of mind to drop a quick note saying that I was busy and would write when I could, I'm not even sure she's going to bother talking to me any more. At the very least I wish I could come up with something decent for Friday's script tonight, but that also seems unlikely.
I nearly ended up buying an HDTV tonight (the Samsung TXM-3096WHF), but Best Buy didn't have any new ones to sell, and they said they couldn't sell me the floor model until a certain amount of time had passed (or something like that). It's probably for the best, as I really can get by with the 27" standard def set I have for the foreseeable future without really bothering myself. I was mostly just happy to find out that our contract had been renewed for another year, and wanted to do something to reward myself for the crazy amount of work I put in over the last month and a half (as if Hikari, the HTPC I recently built, didn't already qualify as that). Anyway, after being around Patrick's lovely TV again, I'm pretty much convinced that what I really want is a DLP-based HDTV (I really like the 43" version of this Samsung 50" DLP). It looks almost as nice as plasma, with the added benefit of no burn-in worries. Unfortunately, while the price is a good bit less than plasma, it's still way up there. This is really the sort of thing I should only be considering after I own a house, not before.
Anyway, I think if this goes on for too much longer people will start wondering if Tycho has stopped by as a guest ranter. We should have a lovely new comic scripted by yours truly ready to go on Friday, and I'll work on whipping up one of my traditional Phoenix trip reports. I also have plans to get back to work on that 'other' project we've been mentioning now and again; I have decent hopes that we can put together something interesting.
Oh yeah, just thought I'd plug Emi's art commission eBay auction. I'd bid on it myself, but I can't come up with anything that I'd like to have her draw.
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