loonyblog.

For several months, I’ve had a major problem with my desktop Mac — after a few minutes of use, I’d start to get vertical striping across the monitor. And not just static stripes, mind you, but weird blocky ones that would shift about as I moved things around the screen. The problem eventually became so bad that I was forced to get off my ass and do something about it. My desktop Mac has a 9800 Pro in it, which I put in about a year ago when I switched to a one monitor setup (the old card didn’t support anything but ADC). So thankfully, I was able to deal with ATI directly instead of Apple (since I’m not under AppleCare, I’d have gone with Tekserve anyway).

So I contacted ATI, and within a day, I received a reply with instructions for sending my card back to them for repair. I sent it out on the Friday before Thanksgiving, as I was going off on vacation for a week the following day. My replacement arrived today. That’s a pretty nice turnaround, especially considering that Thanksgiving landed smack in the middle of that time.

And of course, the best part is that the replacement works like a charm, and I’m writing this from my newly revitalized desktop machine. Which is definitely a good thing, as I’m in absolutely no rush to replace it.

That’s the logical explanation for the news that Philip K. Dick’s “The Golden Man” is being adapted into a major motion picture starring Nicolas Cage. I think there must be something wrong with the chip though, because when I was reading that story the other day (literally, the other day), I was thinking to myself how absurd it would be if Hollywood attempted to adapt that relatively simplistic story (about a mute main character…somehow I can’t see Cage going in for that). Maybe if I wear a tin foil hat it’ll get better reception.

Like anyone who eats, sleeps and breathes Superman, I caught this evening’s episode of Smallville, where the new Superman Returns teaser aired (if you missed it, lots of links for every conceivable format are up on the official website).

This teaser helped sway many of my fears about the film, but I can’t shake some of them. The good news, is that Bryan Singer appears to be carrying through with his inspirational look at Superman. This is A Good Thing, and I couldn’t be happier with that.

Unfortunately as this teaser didn’t show Lex Luthor, there’s a stinging voice in the back of my mind that won’t let me forget that this is being billed as a sequel to Superman II. Don’t get me wrong, I love Superrman II (and I, and III), but I think this is a mistake, and Lex is the reason. As much as I love those films, that particular version of Lex Luthor is dated. I don’t want to see the cackling eeeevil Lex, I want to see the modern, sinister business man Lex. Hopefully that’s what we’ll see, and not the very dated Gene Hackman version (if nothing else, that would be a waste of Kevin Spacey).

But everything in this teaser’s great. It’s just a teaser, but hey, it’s a good one, so go watch it.

Today is the Great American Smokeout, so this seems as good a time as any to do my annual math showing how much money I’ve saved (or would have, had I actually put it in a bank somewhere) since I quit smoking. The actual anniversary was on October 21st, but I was so busy I completely missed it. But anyway, let’s get to the math.

Using my average of 1.75 packs a day (most days were 1.5, but many were 2+, often reaching 2.5) over the last six years, I would have smoked 3832.5 packs of cigarettes, or 76650 individual cigarettes. Using the New York City rough average over five years of $7 a pack, that means by not smoking I’ve saved…

Drumroll please…

$26,827.50

That equals about $4,500 a year. A metric assload, if I’m not mistaken.

This year’s resources: if you’re looking for info on why you should quit, check out Wikipedia’s tobacco smoking page. QuitNet and WhyQuit are still out there to help, and there’s a great list of 5 steps to help you quit from the Surgeon General’s office.

No really, it’s not a joke: HOOAH!™ brand energy bars. Created by the military to “improve the physical and mental performance of Soldiers during sustained operations and under all climatic conditions.”

Yes, now you too can taste the blandness of combat rations. Kick ass. HOOAH!

In that new big budget Transformers movie that’s being made for no particular reason (and directed by Michael Bay no less), will Soundwave transform into an iPod?

On a similar note, this is the nerdiest thing I’ve seen in a very long time.

Sci Fi Wire: WB Develops Aquaman Series.

Then again, Birds of Prey was at least based on a decent (at least at some point…I haven’t read it in years) comic series.

I was browsing through the New York Comic-Con web site, trying to decide if this is worth getting excited about (it’s in February, so I’ve got some time), when I stumbled across this casting call for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy:

New York Comic-Con Fans… Queer Eye is looking for STRAIGHT GUYS!

If you or someone you know is a cute guy, a die-hard comic enthusiast, but needs some cleaning up… EMAIL US TODAY!

We are currently looking for the following characters…

• A fan who needs help getting ready for a major event in his life (i.e. wedding, high school reunion, family reunion, adoption interview)
• An artist who is making his debut at New York Comic-Con
• A guy who has an extreme occupation (i.e. bounty hunter, stunt man, timber cutter, news anchor, weatherman, etc…)
• A fan who is a widower and ready to date again
• A fan who needs to get cleaned up for a job interview
• A fan who is expecting a new baby but his memorabilia is taking up too much space in his home

Should I feel insulted that they’re specifically looking for comics geeks/nerds? Admittedly, people with that particular obsession tend to need some cleaning up (lord knows I did before getting married…now I only slightly need it), but I can’t help feeling a little marginalized.

Are we freaks to be trotted out in front of the country and made fun of? Or has metrosexuality taken such a stranglehold in this culture that the only people still needing the Queer Eye are comic collectors?

One of my games has been reviewed by Jeff K.

Awesome.

Tron!