Having spent much of tonight looking for gifts for those closest to me, I realize that buying gifts for those you like with absolutely no "hints" is quite difficult. With enough thought it is possible to find something that seems perfect for someone, but that’s rarely the case.

Because of that I’ve decided to make a list of "wants" heading into this final week before Christmas.

Books – I like fantasy and sci-fi books, and especially series of books. Anything you find at Barnes and Noble that has wizards, dragons, space, and elves I will probably enjoy (and especially if the story takes more than one book to tell). If you need more specific direction, I want to read The Stand by Stephen King, I want to read Dan Brown’s other novels (I’ve read Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, so whatever the others are), and some authors I enjoy are George R.R. Martin and Michael Crichton. I also have a couple series by Robin Hobb that are waiting for me. Based on all of the above you should be able to find me a book that I would enjoy. Finally, I like collecting books, so hardcover is great.

That’s all I’ve got for right now. If I think of anything else I’ll add to this post.

It shocks me that people still buy into the nonsense that is global warming. "Oh look, it’s hot, cars are eeeevil, the north pole is going to melt and we’ll all diiiiieeeee!!!" It’s all rubbish and a waste of money.

If you still believe in global warming, I have three things to recommend. One is to read this article, which talks about how in the last 8 years the global temperature hasn’t changed! Second is to read the book State of Fear in which Michael Crichton totally thrashes global warming losers. If neither of those are convincing, I am open to hearing explanations regarding how ice ages in the past came to an end because of humans (haha, you can’t blame it on cars, you’re screwed).

Sorry, my brain hurts too much to think of witty posts. I finished Disclosure by Michael Crichton in two days, it was ok. Now I’m reading Airframe. Once I finish that I can move on to more fantasy.

I’ve decided to make a list of all the junk I need to do for school, and cross stuff off the list as I accomplish it.

1) Prepare for EDSE 457 Final
2) Take EDSE 457 Final
3) Complete EDSE 436 Professional Development assignment
4) Complete EDSE 436 Project
5) Give EDSE 436 Presentation
6) Complete EDP 302 Research Paper
7) Complete EDSE 457 Project
Give EDSE 457 Presentation

I love making lists, I should do it more. It tends to make tasks seem more surmountable. What do you do to accomplish stuff you just can’t stand?

Yay, it’s all done! I’ve got one final next week, and my upcoming CSET in a week and a half, but I’m not adding those to this list.

I’m halfway done with George R.R. Martin’s series A Song of Fire and Ice! I just finished book 3, A Storm of Swords, and it’s still great. I’ve read about some other series that start to falter part way through, but this one is staying strong. If you missed my other warnings, this book series is definitly rated R with a lot of violence and a fair amount of sex…but it’s so enthralling. The next book comes out on July 26th, so I have to keep myself entertained until then. I’ve got a couple Michael Crichton books I haven’t read, so they should do. Time to find another good fantasy series. I should actually read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, since I haven’t quite finished them before. Then I can call myself a true fan of fantasy.

Stacie and I are going to walk through our townhouse in an hour the last time before it’s ours! We have to make sure it’s the same place we bought, i.e. they didn’t tear out any walls, or paint the ceilings black, etc. Much of my time of recent is spent obsessing over what TV to buy, so I’ll be measuring the approximate viewing distance in our living room; a vital piece of information when selecting the proper screen size.

I only have 75 pages left in the 3rd book of the George R.R. Martin series I’m reading. The 4th book isn’t scheduled to come out until late July, so I’ll have to find something else to keep me occuppied. There are a couple Michael Crichton books I haven’t read yet, so I’ll probably read those. I fear I’ve read the best fantasy series ever first, and all others will pale in comparison.

I’ve yet to mention the Dodgers in my blarg for fear of jinxing them, but that is no longer a fear. At 12-3 they’re off to an amazing start, but baseball is more like a marathon than any other sport, aside from a marathon. Brad Penny is scheduled to start on Sunday, with other key players returning from injuries shortly after. The best will just get better.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Eat some peas.

Lately I’ve been on a book reading binge. My mom bought me Michael Crichton’s latest book for Christmas, and since then I’ve read two and I’ve almost finished a third. I’ve bought all of his books on hardback, but I’m looking for something else to jump into. I think I’m going to give this book/series a try. It’s called A Game of Thrones. It’s a big fantasy epic that spans multiple books. The fourth one is just about to come out, and it’s supposed to stretch for six books total. What’s amazing is how many reviews this book has…over 1000! Anyways, it might be fun. The library has a copy, so I’m going to check it out and see if it’s my kind of book/series or not. Ok, as you were.

So my mom got me Michael Crichton’s new book for Christmas, State of Fear. Luckily subbing provides an ample amount of time for reading. In the last two weeks I’ve read over 1000 pages. Since hardcover books are fun, I decided to buy up all of his old books. I have most in paperback, but I want to have them in hardback too. Well, today I got the book Congo from someone on half.com. The book is in really good condition for being 25 years old, but there’s one problem. IT SMELLS. Not just like a book, but like dirty old dying dead people smell. It’s really gross. So gross that I bought a new one, haha!

Stacie and I got new cell phones about a week ago, and I just got a data cable to connect it to the computer. I’m having fun putting pictures of boo and Napolean Dynamite music on it.

AIM keeps disconnecting every two seconds and it’s driving me crazy. I’m going to put a real network card back in my machine, because I don’t trust my onboard anymore!