This is kind of a rebirth edition. With pictures / graphics. Enjoy.

• The Phoenix: So Hilly decided to reinvent herself. I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next. Just so you know, I’m totally stealing the Hilly Sundays and making them Mikey Sundays. I kid, I kid. I never blog on Sundays anymore.

• The Dark Phoenix: I’m thinking about this. Again. I already did this and that, so I’m thinking about making it official. Again. Feel free to gimme your thoughts, opinions and assvice.

• The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But it was a beginning. So I completely missed the release of Gathering Storm, the 12th (and final) book in the Wheel of time series. Well, true to the Robert Jordan experience, the final book has now become a three book saga. So the ending is really a beginning. As it should be, I guess.

• Galaxies are Colliding: I look good in black.

In a slightly modified Call of Cthulhu tradition, I’ll keep the last two bullets for myself – the madness is here and I’m not going down without a fight.

That is not dead which can eternal lie.
And with strange aeons even death may die.

Oh yeah, it’s Monday all right.

This is “Disintegration” from Luke Chueng.

I gotta keep it together. I might kill someone before the day is over*. Stay tuned.

*Of course I won’t. But if I did, wouldn’t this be messed up?

It’s no secret that I take the bus to work.

I don’t know why it might be a secret, or why it would make sense that it’d be a secret, but it seemed a good sentence to start this post, unlike this one.

So anyways, I live on the blue dot and work on the pinkish dot. Every weekday I use a combination of taking the bus and walking while following the green line to get me to work.

Normal bus/walk route

This takes me to work in about 50 minutes or so.

Yesterday, the bus made a slight detour – I didn’t know why at the time.

Wednesday’s detour.

I didn’t really mind, because even with the detour, I got to work in about 50 minutes or so. Today, we took a different detour.

Today’s detour.

You wanna guess how long it took me to get to work today? I’ll give you a hint: I took me 1h35 minutes to get to work. Sigh.

Maybe I’ll try some of that winter cycling tomorrow…

I know some of you have been asking Facebook for a “Hate” button. Well, I found how to make it happen!

Actual screenshot. No Photoshop involved. No siree Bob.

Follow me because the mechanics of making this happen is somewhat complicated. Here we go:

1. Log into your Facebook account (duh)
2. Put: “Hate_Button activation process [a,451-222..report-a]” as your status.
3. Open a second browser, and log into your Facebook account. Your status should show as your old status. Just delete that status.
4. Do not close the second browser window.
5. Go back to the first browser.
6. Now go under your settings, and find the new “Activate the Hate button” menu. Yay!
7. Activate. Easy right?

Well, if only it was that easy. I could really use a I fuckin’ hate that button on some Drama Queens. Seriously people. Woe is me much?

Well, you’ve asked for it. The irony is strong with this one.

Front and back views

Of course, you can buy it on Zazzle. You do want to help <insert your cause here>, right?

See, I am an asshole.

I’m an asshole.

There. I guess I should tell you why.

I never feel the urge to give money to any cause. In fact, the more a cause is publicized, the more I’m asked to donate to X or Y, the more this disaster or that disaster is covered by the news, the more of an asshole I become.

The flavor of the day is Haiti, obviously. Mind you, I have nothing against Haitians, I think they’re awesome and I really enjoy the Haitian on Heroes.

My point is that I absolutely hate being asked over and over again to give money to some cause or another. I’m not saying we shouldn’t give money. I’m saying can we just give one time and be done with it? When my alarm clock went off on the morning of the Haiti disaster, one of the first things I heard was that I could send money to help. Then I drove to work and again heard that I could give money to another organisation from a different radio station. I then received an e-mail from our university President, thanking us for the money the university community had already gathered for the United Way campaign and asking us to give more money for the Haiti Victims. Then on Friday it was a jeans day at work, if you wore jeans, you had to give 5$ for the Haitian Fundraiser of our service. I went to pickup my kids from school and the school is also collecting money for Haiti, by asking every student to give at least one dollar. Then there’s the whole Twitter thing – give money whenever someone mentions Haiti on Twitter, during this or that show, etc.

It never stops.

I should stay, it never stops until something equally as tragic happens. Just wait until there’s a volcano that decides to steal a school bus and run some kittens over. Then you’ll get asked to donate to that. Forget about Haiti and give to the volcano bus kitten thing. Sigh.

I mean seriously, how often do I need to be asked to give money? Is it better to give 5$ to 10 different organisations, or to give 50$ to one organisation? Come to think of it, why are there a hundred thousand million different fundraising efforts? Don’t get me started on all the different scam charities that sprouts in the wake of major disasters.

Of course, what is the most common reaction when I tell people I already gave money for whatever they are asking? Disbelief. If I don’t give money whenever I’m asked to give money, I’m treated like a big fat liar. Someone who doesn’t care. In a word, an asshole.

Can’t I get some sort of signed document that says “I’ve already given money for whatever you’re asking money for – move along.”? Again, it might just be easier to wear a t-shirt that says “Asshole” on it, or maybe just hum that song all the time.

What else can I say really?