So it turns out that I do, in fact, have a sinus infection. Because it’s the first one post-sinus surgery, my doctor decided that the best course of action would be to blast off and nuke the site from orbit.
I asked him if maybe we could do something a little less extreme, but he assured me that it was the only way to be sure. Since my sneezes weren’t going “achoo!” like they’re supposed to, but going “Ftagn!” instead, I’ve decided to follow his advice, and I’m on Prednisone + Zithromax for the next five days.
I’m already feeling better, if not entirely back to normal, but I’m looking forward to getting my command and control systems back online within the next 24 hours. I have this overwhelming urge to blast my quads and rip out my delts, but I understand that will go away IN JUST A FUCKING MINUTE GODDAMMIT WHAT?!
Oh. Um. Sorry. Meds talking and whatnot.
In place of an actual blog entry, here are a few things that have been on my mind:
I was going to write this myself, but Charlie Stross explains why I won’t be using Google Chrome better than I can. He even manages to avoid the phrase EPIC FAIL which I wouldn’t have been able to do. Competing with IE = good. Competing with Firefox = profoundly stupid. Having the most abusive EULA I’ve seen in years? That’s just fucking priceles, Google. Nice work on that one. I’d like to amend this paragraph, after hours of consideration and lengthy discussion with other people. Apparently, Google claims the EULA was “boilerplate” and they’re going to update it. If they update it, great. But does anyone really believe that a company like Google puts out a new browser, one that is as highly-anticipated as Chrome, and doesn’t fully vet the EULA? What did they do, borrow lawyers from John McCain? If Google is going to change their EULA to something less evil, that’s fantastic, but I don’t believe for a moment that this was a mistake. Google isn’t that incompetent. As for my statement: “Competing with IE = good. Competing with Firefox = profoundly stupid.” Yeah. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I’d like to blame the sinus meds, but that’s a pretty 80s excuse, isn’t it? I haven’t felt well for several days, and I typed without really thinking things through. Competition, as a commenter said, is very good, even (and maybe especially) for Open Source products. I hope I’ve earned the right over the years to ask for a little slack. If I haven’t, I’d like to point out that this mountain is covered with wolves, and the bar is right over there. Thanks.
Cory Doctorow has a really good idea for publishers.
Today is one of those days where it’s 97 outside, 81 inside, and only Miles Davis can keep the inside of my house cool.
Coilhouse has a fascinating article about a Modern Pirate Utopia in Hong Kong that has to be read to be believed. Coilhouse kind of rules. I highly recommend their magazine.
Doctor Horrible @ checked me on Twitter. I don’t think this should make me as excited as it does, but OMGOMGOMG! The Doctor Horrible soundtrack is #2 on iTunes US, #1 in the UK and Australia. The number one album in the US is some rap thing that makes me stabby just to look at. Come on, American geeks, let’s show the rest of the world what we’re made of! (Also, the soundtrack is really awesome and fun to listen to.)
Moe’s just isn’t the same since he got rid of the dank. Come on, Moe! The dank!
I played a little bit of D&D 4e with Jerry, Mike, The Other Mike, and Scott Kurtz when I was at PAX. I got to play a Tiefling Rogue who was trying out to be the new intern at Acquisitions, Incorporated. It was massively fun, and it made me want to play D&D about as badly as I’ve ever wanted. I’m taking advantage of my . . . current condition . . . to read all of Keep on the Shadowfell in the hopes that I’ll be able to convince Nolan and some of his friends to let me run it for them.
I got an insanely cool D&D thing via John Kovalic, but I’m forbidden to reveal it until he does.
I was mentioned rather favorably, in some very nice company, by one of the executive producers on Criminal Minds! “…we have scary locations and amazing guest stars like Jason Alexander, Luke Perry and Wil Wheaton.” OMGOMGOMGOMG.
We’re late to the party on this, but Anne and I have been watching Weeds on Netflix via our Roku box. We’re into the 3rd season (which we had to get on DVD) and I’m not as crazy about it as I was the first two. The acting and writing is wonderful, but the storylines that dominate the 3rd season are leaving me a little cold. I don’t believe a single Nancy does in this season, even though Mary-louise Parker is a phenomenal actor.
Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is online for free from his publisher. This is one of my favorites, and I heartily recommend it, even though I’m pretty sure most of you reading this have already read it. However, Neil says, “For those people who grumbled about reading American Gods online, here’s Neverwhere. You can read it online, and it’s also downloadable. That’s the good news. The bad news is you don’t get to keep it forever. It’s yours for thirty days from download, and then the pdf file returns to its electrons. But if you’ve ever wondered about Neverwhere or wanted to read it for free, now is your chance. And free is free…”
“America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.” A-fucking-MEN.
During my panel at PAX, I was asked a great question that I couldn’t answer to my satisfaction: What episode of Next Generation best defines the series? The answer depends heavily on how you’d define the series as a whole, and the best I could come up with is “Star Trek is all about possibilities. It’s about hope, so when you look around our totally fucked up world, you see that there is a better future for us.” Which TNG episode best exemplifies that? Is that even what Star Trek is about? My answer sucked so hard, I can’t even remember what I said. I blame the ConSARS.
A bit of blasphemy: I finally saw Dark Knight, and I was not blown away. Heath Ledger was spectacular, but I felt like the movie climaxed in the first 10 minutes, and was 2 reels too long. Maybe I’ll refine my feelings on subsequent viewings, but it didn’t send me into a Batgasm like Batman Begins did. However, it’s the second act of the trilogy, and if it’s anything like all the other trilogies I’ve seen, it’ll end up being my favorite when the dust settles.
I first became aware of the Xbox 360 game Braid when Buckman mentioned on his blog that the developer licensed a bunch of Magnatune music (which I’ve listened to and love) for the game. Monday night, I couldn’t sleep, so I downloaded the trial. 30 minutes later, I bought the full game, which is similar to Portal in a lot of ways. It’s one of the most visually beautiful games I’ve ever played. Check it out if you’ve got XBLA.
You can listen to one of the artists, Jami Sieber, with this nifty little gizmo:
John Scalzi’s Denise Jones, Super Booker, at Subterranean Online, dovetails brilliantly with Soon I Will Be Invincible, which I am still reading and still loving. And every single time I see, think about, or say the title, my brain fires up a chorus from Pat Benatar’s timeless classic song, “Invincible,” from the, uh, equally-classic film The Legend of Billie Jean .
And now that I’ve put it in your brain also, I’ll sign off for today.
I’m torn about Chrome. While competition is a good thing, I can’t help but feel like Google is being the Ralph Nader to Mozilla’s Al Gore. (Or the Ross Perot to Mozilla’s George H.W. Bush.)
In the end, though, we’ll all be better off as Google and Mozilla push each other. Microsoft will continue to sit smugly at the top for all the people too lazy or too ignorant to know that they can download something better. But one day we might all find Google is the platform and we don’t need Windows at all. Maybe.
re: Sinus Infection –
Same thing happened to me last month. For the coughing, ask for Tussinex /w Codeine. Only use at it night, because it knocks you right out, but isn’t that the point?! That /w the Zythromax should have you feeling *Zesty* in no time!
You had/have an Old God in your nose? Incredible!!!!!
I’m glad to see you say that about Dark Knight. I saw it about a week ago, and found myself constantly checking my watch. It was good, Heath Ledger was great (never has a villain made my skin crawl so much), but the movie was just not worth a whole two and a half hours.
John Kovalic is an incredibly nice guy, isn’t he? I’ve worked at the Essen Game Fair in Germany for years, doing admin stuff for a publisher and as I’m practically bilingual AND know how to wield a +4 Whip of Subduing Customers …er, I mean, I know how to get things organised….I’m the one who looks after any VIPs we get. John is one of my faves-I have several cards he drew for me (Munchkin!)-one because I drip-feed him coffee all the time…
…but I’m not gonna touch 4th edition. Our group has just reverted to….SECOND ed…
Hey Wil,
Wanted to post and update about the Chrome EULA thing. Google made good on their assurance as of yesterday:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/update-to-google-chromes-terms-of.html
It’s already been replaced on the Chrome EULA web page, and this applies retroactively to all people who have already downloaded it.
Whether it was a goof up or not, at least they fixed it quickly and made the new terms retroactive. Good thing too, because I like Chrome so far.
One of my favorite TNG episodes was the one about terrorism (and I’m sorry I don’t remember the title.) It was the one where Dr. Crusher and Picard were kidnapped via some new type of transporter (dimensional shifting) that was undetectable by traditional methods. Anyhow, I thought it was very powerful, and I did think of it quite a bit, especially post 9/11.
Totally with you on Weeds and TDN. I had to pee really bad towards what I thought might be the end of the movie, but went anyway, only to find out that it was really near the middle….Heath ruled for sure, and MLP is awesome, and beautiful. The Starbucks straw in the mouth thing definitely sexy, but not the 50th time…
Miles Davis and my ears begin to salivate at the thought of tasting the sweet and sour tones…
I have a deviated septum deep inside my nose so bad that it’s less than a cm opening on the left side. They said “surgery or live with it”. I only have sinus problems when I’m here in MS. (TX, no problem. CA, no problem. OH, no problem. MS when I was in 4-6th grades on the coast and now here up North, problems galore.) I’m allergic to Mississippi.
Hey there..
Been a fan for a long time.. my roommate just sent me this link..
I’m leaving technology and looking to start doing voice over work.. any recommendations for getting started.. my voice is a cross between rosie greer and david letterman.. which is fitting since their my parents..
The EULA was fixed as someone else stated and they even sent out news about it publicly instead of trying to sweep it under the rug.
I agree about the competition thing. The only people that are going to try Chrome are Firefox users. The people that are already willing to try something new. So it’ll bite into their already small market share. Sucks. I’m sticking with Firefox.
Doctor Horrible @ checked me on Twitter. I don’t think this should make me as excited as it does, but OMGOMGOMG!
I totally get what you mean, only it’s me getting excited to see you excited over Dr. Horrible.
I keep bothering my son about it because I get so excited. He politely listens but he only has the vaguest idea of who you are so he doesn’t understand how excited I get when one of my favorite actors likes stuff Joss Whedon does.
It probably shouldn’t get me that excited but it really does. I think it’s the coolest thing.
Wil, hope you feel better soon from your sinus infection, it sounds like you’re in good hands. Prednisone is awesome stuff. Within 48 hours of taking my first dose, I was out of bed and jogging down the street ripping up street lights and tossing parked cars into the next county. Steroids are great, mkay?
I grabbed Chrome, and they have updated the EULA to something non-evil. I’m using it for general browsing to see how it goes, but ironically, one of the things I’m specifically *not* using it for is non-search Google functions. They need to build in something like Gmail Manager, where I can swap between my Google accounts at the touch of a button. Also, none of my Firefox 3 bookmarks imported, so I’m using FF for browsing through my regular daily/weekly links (mostly RSS feeds I have Live Bookmarked).
Actually, Wil, I came by to see if you’d seen this: http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/09/10-movies-needi.html and I wondered how you’d feel about Scooter as Gordie.
I played through Braid a couple of weeks ago, but I’m just noticing now that the soundtrack is reminiscent of some of the music from Serenity/Firefly. Anyone else get that vibe?
I’m sorry to say I didn’t get to meet you this time around. Too much D&D to be played to spend any time in lines. Was hoping I’d see you in the tabletop room but it was not to be. Did you get a chance to check out the new Munchkin board game? Pretty rockin!
Hope your sinus infection clears up quick. I had prednisone one time for a sinus problem and I thought it was great. I lost like three pounds in the six days I was on it, and my back felt great due to the anti-inflammation properties. Anyhow, I know some people hate it because it makes them twitch like a nervous chihuahua, but it never had that effect on me. Good luck with the nukage.
Because you are awesome, you’ve gained an internship at Acquisitions Inc., under the tutalige of one Tycho (of Penny Arcade fame). Just thought you should know that you are a MUST for their next round of podcasts concerning their D&D adventures.
Congratulations, Mr. Wheaton.
Welcome to Acquisitions Inc.
Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou … for disliking Dark Knight. I just saw it, and I thought it was an abysmal boring failure, with plot holes you could throw elephants thru, horrible acting (other than Heath) and no good fight scenes.
It was an insult to Ledger’s memory.
I’m not sure if it sums up the series but my favorite TNG episode was The Best of Both Worlds Part I and II. Picard as a Borg with Riker ordering Worf to fire on the Borg ship (and kill Picard) at the end of part 1? I will never forget it.
Politics? I wish more people would wake up and realize that Democrats/Liberals are just as full of crap as Republicans. A person working in Hollywood MUST proclaim his or her love for Democrats regardless if he or she really feels that way. Can you imagine ANY acting/writing jobs in Hollywood going to Wil if he were an outspoken conservative? LOL, and they say the GOP is intolerant.
VOTE THIRD PARTY!!!
Hey, Wil, I just wanted to say that getting to take over Mike Fehlauers’ ranger and play D&D with you and the others on Saturday was one of the highlights of PAX for me. I’m usually so busy working that I don’t get to play much of anything, so it was especially cool. I’m glad you were able to make it up for the convention again, and here’s hoping that we’ll see you at many more to come.
— Lukas
I must doubly thank DrHorrible on Twitter for the @reply to you, as it was the way I found your Twitter and subsequently your blog. So many thanks there.
My condolences about the sinus issues. I’ve had my share of “Ftagn” sneezes, myself; meds are the way to go.
I have fewer qualms about Google Chrome, the main issue being that it’s TOO simplistic for me; I need add-ons and pretty-making things (yes, I am that much of a girl). Other than that, I’d use it. But bottom line is I don’t. Firefox is my browser of choice, even if I’m not upgrading to 3 yet (update your freaking add-ons, people!).
I definitely hear ya about the temperature. I may be in a completely different part of the country (Vermont), but it’s been straight in the 80’s all last week, and about five degrees hotter inside than it is outside.
I completely agree with you in regards to The Dark Knight. I, too, didn’t see it until late last month, and despite all the excitement, I was unimpressed. It was good, just not what everyone worked it up to be. Heath Ledger was awesome, the rest of the movie, not so much. And could the ending have been more depressing?