I think this picture captures something of my essense. Yes, those are bright green shorts I'm wearing.

I did... nothing.

For once in a long long time, I did nothing this weekend. Didn't drive down to Champaign for a business team meeting. Didn't leave the house at all. I did a few productive things, like building some improved sensors for our glove project and waxing my car, but mostly just sat on my ass, playing Oblivion, Prince of Persia, or FEAR. All excellent games. Also watched some 24 with the roommate. After I slept through three days of work last week, it occurred to me I needed to "recharge." I think it worked. I actually feel like I might wake up in 6 hours and feel ready to go to work, instead of the crushing apathy/i-hit-snooze-25-times-i-think-i-need-help that has been typical of late. Not kidding about the snooze either. Not that I was counting, but snooze lasts like 8 minutes, didn't wake up until... it's pretty simple math. Amazingly i woke up early Saturday, but that was because of an exciting Oblivion quest. I'm really getting good use out of my new graphics card.

Firefly

I recently introduced the Firefly series to a friend of mine. We have a lot in common so I hoped he would be into it. Not so much. He criticized some of the dialogue, didn't laugh at the funny parts, and wasn't at all intrigued by the idea of a registered companion. So why do some people just not get the show? Is it because there's no canned laughter to help them know when something is funny?

After doing some serious thinking on this important issue, I have to conclude lack of imagination is most people's problem. From Kaylee's excitement over fresh strawberries, to the respectability of Inara's profession, to the scenes of spaceships landing near crowded open markets, people are either intrigued or confused, depending on how much thought they put into watching the show, and how much imagination they have. There are also people who are so conditioned by sci-fi movies that they think something is wrong when explosions in space don't make any noise. I give huge props to the producers for this point. I hope to eventually nail down exactly what makes Firefly so captivating, but for now, go watch it yourself. Hollywood has it, Blockbuster doesn't.