Update - Bed Bugs

I just thought that I'd keep everyone up to date on the bed bug situation. There have been a few bites, but nothing nearly as significant as the bites at the beginning of infestation. Ristifer has a cluster on his hand, but we're not certain that they're from bed bugs. Ick.

Paid to Write Reviews

There are so many work at home scams on the internet nowadays that it's very difficult to find something that one can believe in. Most people know automatically that if you have to pay for some fortune making scheme, then it's just a scam... Most people. What about real money-making opportunities? Blogging is often turned to in that hope, but it's extremely difficult to make financial progress with blogging, and it takes a lot of patience.

Just recently I have discovered a site called, "Review Stream". What this site is is that it pays people to write reviews - about anything! Okay, that's not quite accurate. You can submit reviews about anything, and they'll let you know whether or not they'll buy it. If your review is purchased, you usually get $2.00 for the review. When you reach the $50.00 threshold, you can request payment and then payment will be sent through pay pal.
Review sense is an ad system, so they use the reviews to post pages that have a bunch of ads on them. That's pretty much it. People can read your reviews, and if so interested and if so provided, they can get in contact with you about your experience.

The Review Stream website is a very simple, text-based website. All you have to do is click on "write review", (or you can click the button over to the right), write your review, and wait. Sometimes it does take close to a week for the review to be read, so take your time and relax.

I Love TheBedBug

A person with such a different background in life, she came as a surprise to me. As someone who has been relatively comfortable with my surroundings, I met someone who was uneasy with theirs, and for good reason. In the past, I had met people with similar backgrounds as mine, dated them, and found them incredibly boring and/or useless in the sense that they offered nothing new or exciting to a relationship.

Finding someone with a different background brought something to the table (and it doesn't hurt that she's damn sexy too ;) haha). But seriously, her passion for things is something I haven't seen before in another person. Her love, companionship, passion for me, and her constant all-around strength has shown me an extraordinary person whom I can't wait to spend a lifetime with.

There's always that saying of sticking with each other through thick and thin, but with everything that has transpired over the past year and a half, we've stuck with each other through more than just thick and thin. She knows what I'm talking about. Sorry, I can't really explain all that's happened. A lot of external happenings that were straining.

I would have never imagined someone being with me through all kinds of hardships, and I never thought I could have such strength in myself.

Now I realize that my strength has really come from her.

I love you very dearly, Megs, and I'm extremely glad that we'll be spending our lives together. I always thought love would be something that would just feel like an addition to my world. You have come along and transformed my world into something much better than I could have ever imagined. I'm grateful every single day for you, and am excited that you feel the same.

All my love,
Ris

It Started With No Sleep...

After getting a solid three hours of rest, my day began with my weekly paper route. No big deal. Just a way to earn some much needed money. I am already cranky because of the lack of sleep, but also hopeful that the day will pick up, but so far, it has not.

Already scheduled for an eye appointment (which I'm not looking forward to) at 6:20pm, the day doesn't look to be headed in the right direction, but oh well. It's just an eye appointment after all.

I make my way over to Megan's (aka TheBedBug) brother's apartment to visit her before she heads to work. Unfortunately, before I get to see my lady downstairs, the day throws another crappy moment my way. I see an elderly lady walking her dog and like a gentleman, I hold the door open for her, only to get a snoody reaction: "You're just waiting for me to open the door, aren't ya?" (It's an apartment building, so I can't get in without a key, but Megs wasn't there yet so I politely waited for the lady to open the door).

At this point, I giggle, figuring she's just being lighthearted. Mind you, I didn't get a "thank you" for holding the door, but I let it slide. Moving to the side, I allowed her to move along and open the door to the building. Again, being nice, I held the door for her and her dog to get through. Here's where it gets annoying.

I know what you're thinking, she didn't give me a "thank you" again. Well, that's correct, but there's more. Her dog decides to wrap itself around me in its leash, making it hard for me to move while I hold this door open. The old lady, annoyed by this somehow, remarks to me, "I should have my dog bite you." I don't know if it's because I was trying to hold the door while the dog was wrapped around my legs or what, but I was confused by the comment.

If that's not bad enough, she then put her hand behind me and proceeded to shove me through the open door to get me through first. Now I'm thinking that she's just an ungrateful bitch.

I'm not Mr. Tough Guy, but don't put your stupid hands on me and try to shove me through a door. If I have one pet peeve, it would be unnecessary touching. It's rude, it's disgusting, and it's just plain inconsiderate.

I was being nice, and now any chance of a good mood for the afternoon has been shot.

Here comes the eye appointment...

Solarbotics

Before I talk about solarbotics, I just wanted to post an update on the bedbug situation. There have been no new bites for the past two nights, nor have I discovered any gross little pockets of bugs. Is it possible that they're really gone? Only time will tell...
Yes, I know that was cheese.

Anyway, on to solarbotics.

What is solarbotics?
Well, it's pretty much exactly as the name implies - robots that work on solar (or just light) power. These bots can use light for energy, to follow, to make decisions, etc.

Oooh, it's interesting.

What kind of robots?
The sky is the limit here. I personally put together a mousebot named Herbie. Herbie chases light, backs up when it runs into objects, and chases another mousebot around if assembled to do so. This was a very basic project that merely required some soldering. Other projects can include toy cars, nightlights, LED patterns, robotic butterflies, etc. The options are vast and only depend on how much money and effort you want to put into a project.

Where do I start?
Again, there are many different ways to approach a project. You can start by googling projects (using, of course, Google), buying a book about electronics projects, or simply go to a site such as http://www.solarbotics.com and purchase some ready-made kits.

What do I need to start?
It is generally recommended that you have a few different tools, such as:
1) A soldering iron (make sure that it's fine-tipped and meant for electronics)
2) Rosin core solder (avoid the lead-free solder because it will not hold your project together very well, and will melt easily if heat is applied)
3) Desolder Pump - in case you apply solder where you don't want it, or need to take components apart
4) Soldering Aid, which is a small stand with clips that will hold your project while you solder. Trust me, it's useful
5) Soldering Stand - Soldering irons get very hot (so hot that if you burn yourself, you won't even realize it for a while. Your body can't process the pain fast enough). You want a soldering stand to avoid burning your work area, objects, or yourself
6) Acid flux to clean your soldering iron should it turn black
7) A damp sponge (that doesn't contain plastic), or damp paper towel
8) Pliers or tweezers, because metal gets very hot and you don't want to be holding it with your fingers
9) A project, and whatever materials the project specifies
10) Time, as some projects can take several weeks to complete, depending on the level of difficulty. If it's a simple project, like Herbie, it may only take you an hour
11) Patience - soldering and assembling can be a very tedious process. You must be patient

Why suggest solarbotics?
The reason why I specifically mentioned solarbotics is because not only are the projects fantastic, fun, and interesting, but there are also projects available for all ages. Solarbotics also gives such a wide range of things to experiment with that just about anyone can have fun with it.

Some knowledge of electronics may be an asset depending on the difficulty of the project, and if troubleshooting is required, but is not necessary. If you get a kit from a company like Solarbotics, they do provide some help over the phone.

Have fun!

Addiction to Junk Food - The Downhill Slide

Crack cocaine, nicotine, caffeine... Who the hell cares when there's junk food?

But seriously, what about junk food? I'm not huge on caffeine, and cigarettes appall me, so I can't speak for all the addicts of the world, but I can tell you that there is one heavy vice that I have: A massive, irresistible, gross addiction to junk food. I swear, every day I can feel plaque building up in my intestines just a little bit more. Hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, chocolate bars... Hell, anything containing grease is my heaven.

Shocked? Yeah, so is anyone who meets me. I'm a scrawny little monkey, but I just can't resist the urge to chow down on the next unhealthy thing placed in front of me. Perhaps I am destined for a fat ass and calf rolls, but with the way I'm thinking, whooooo cares?

Yeah, I do.

How is it that junk food can have such a powerful hold on me? I have tried an experiment where I went with very little junk food for a few months, and at first the cravings were nearly unbearable. After a while, I started to feel better, and even had more energy than I did before, but it wasn't long after that point where I had a huge relapse and ate every piece of chocolate that floated my way. So, of course, now I'm back at the beginning, constantly pondering about how I should consider going on a diet not for weight loss, but just for the sake of my health. Heart disease runs in my family, and I can already picture my heart being drowned under layers of trans fat and the like. It's a gross picture.

Which all leads me to my next point.
Obesity is said to be a rising epidemic in North America, and there is all this preaching about how people should start to eat healthier food.
Please, allow me to tear this whole thing apart.
I can go to McDonald's and get a cheeseburger for roughly $1.39. I go to the store and get some beef, eggs, and crackers, and I'm looking at around $15.00. If I go to the grocery store and buy organic, said-to-be-healthier food, I stare owl-eyed at a bill of approximately $150. If I go to the grocery store and buy all the junk, I get twice the groceries, and I'm calmly gazing at a bill of $65.

Now, please, do continue to preach at me how I should be buying healthier food when I can't afford it.

Yeah, yeah, I'll hear the, "But can you afford not to eat healthy?"
Well, no, but I can't afford to do things either way, so I guess I'll have to make a decision.

I hope that my ass doesn't expand to the size of Jupiter and that I am one day able to afford a healthier lifestyle as far as food goes, but as it is right now, I'll admit it: I'm a junk food junkie.

Bug Apocalypse

Night five has come and gone, and no new bites. Could it be that the end of the bug age has come in my apartment?
Now wouldn't that be sweet.

My clothes are still packed away in plastic bags, which is uber annoying when one is attempting to keep a shirt wrinkle free for work. The other super annoying thing is that all my clothes are actually at my brother's place, because I'm scared that a certain cat will pee all over them (trust me, he would manage to get inside the bags).

For now, though, I will just be happy with the fact that the bugs may have finally kicked the bucket and given in to their demise. Life here is moribund for them, so they really should just quit, or travel next door to the miserable people over there. Whichever works best.

One Diamond Ring, Please

People become engaged in so many unique ways that it would be virtually impossible to list them all, so I'll just do what I do best and be concerned with my own engagement. To give you a little bit of background information, I met my fiancé on a networking website. It was sort of ironic, because neither of us was really looking to meet anyone in person; we were just looking to chat casually for something to do. Our first conversation was ridiculously entertaining, and so we ended up chatting on MSN messenger, and things just went from there. We met in person at a mall, and just continued to see each other from there.

Now to tell you about the proposal.

I was working at a really crappy job as an office cleaner. The pay wasn't too bad, but my boss was the devil's cousin and also very demanding. At the time I was attending school full time, and then going to work as soon as the last class was over. The night of the proposal was no different. Chris and I tended to talk to each other through texting while I was at work so that he would know where I was, and since I was receiving texts from him all evening, I thought that he was sitting comfortably at home (unbeknownst to me, he was actually using my computer).

Upon my return from work, I walked into a living room that was illuminated by candles and a huge smile from my then boyfriend. My first impression was that he was just being the sweetheart that he is and that he decided to surprise me with a romantic evening, but soon it became evident that something else was amiss.

Chris started talking a lot and babbling, and then suddenly broke into a very nice speech about how much he cares about me (thank god it wasn't cliché...). Without warning, he dropped to one knee and pulled out a cute little ring box and popped THE question. Good thing that he had talked to some of my family members before proposing... at least he knew what he was getting into.

The poor guy.

For a moment there was silence, and then I practically yanked him to his feet, jumped around a bit, kissed him over and over again, jumped on him (his description of this moment is that I appeared like some kind of wildlife), and then at last realized that I never even answered his question. He was staring at me, grinning all silly-like, and then he was like, "So what's your answer?"

If only I had a video of the moment. He was absolutely adorable.

So yeah, I was proposed to in my living room at about 9:30 at night, and I gave a big fat yes.

Vinegar and Cat Urine

A few months ago I was having a real problem with one of my cats urinating all over the place. Me being me, I put all the blame on my female cat because she is the fickle one of the two, and almost went as far as taking her to the vet. Luckily, Chris discovered that it wasn't her at all, but that it was actually my male cat, Ender, who likes to mark everything with an ocean of pee.

He's fixed, so I knew that wasn't the problem. Fearing a health issue, I took Ender to the vet to make sure that he wasn't ill.

And what did I pay $70 for?

Well, in short, to say that there was nothing wrong with the damn cat. She told me that he's stressed.

Yeah, stressed.

I'll show you stress!

Throwing out a $400 futon because it was drenched in cat urine... losing piles of important papers because the cat had an "accident"... Having nowhere to put the cat during fumigations because I just know that he'll urinate somewhere that he isn't supposed to (the perfect examples being my brother's pull out couch and his big comfy chair). Stress is being chased around with a stick to cover upholstery expenses that I don't have the money for, not to mention all the vinegar to cover the urine smell when there are no other options.

What the hell does Ender have to be stressed about, anyway? He gets cuddled, fed, brushed, played with, left alone when he's irritable; what could he possible be freaking out about? I don't have a lot of furniture, so there's not much to rearrange, and he's got a little friend to spend his days with. Gr.

Many who read this will say, "Why don't you just get rid of the stupid cat?"

Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind; however, Ender is a special case. I got him as a kitten and he'd been abused. He was at the point where no one was allowed to touch him and he was very skittish. I have had him for about two and a half years, and in that time I can touch him, pick him up, and even squish his face. He purrs, which is a pretty new development. I'm terribly afraid that if he goes to another home, he'll be abused again, or neglected. Ender has severe separation anxiety issues, and I'm not interested in putting him through all of that again.

I suppose I'll just have to keep my existing furniture covered with plastic for the next eleven years until he croaks.

Chris' First Rant - The Price of Music

There's something to be said about record companies who panic about the downloading age and the piracy of music: They don't understand.

I'm more of an old-fashioned guy. I like to go out when a new record comes out and purchase it. But as far as buying music goes, those new release prices are the lowest you'll see. Don't tell me about used CD stores. Just don't. I've been there, done that. They have decent selections but are still very limited and aren't even that cheap anymore.

It bothers me, as a person of eclectic musical tastes, to try and buy an album from an artist who is not Kelly Clarkson or Radiohead, and have to pay upwards of $25 for one disc of music. It's ridiculous. Yes, I know, they don't print as many copies of CDs for more unknown bands. Whatever. That's no reason to really gouge a person out of a huge chunk of their paycheque.

"Ooh, the new Keri Hilson album is so cheap! Wow, I'm so excited, I just wet myself several times over!"

Do I download music? Yes. But I prefer to purchase all of my music in the end in order to have the best quality recordings as I can get. I'm not asking for every CD to be $4.99 or something very low either. I understand that big corporations need to make the dough. However, if you're so concerned with people downloading music illegally, why are you raising the damn prices? In an age where inflated prices are appearing left, right, and center, why drive people away from buying music with insane prices? Yes, I already answered my own question: Inflation. I don't buy it. You can't raise the price of music so drastically and expect people not to download it. That's retarded. People don't care if it's illegal, and companies seem to think they will care. That's not how it works anymore.

Now, instead of addressing the problem properly, their solution is one that you can see in stores today: A free DVD with new music! "Like, OMG!" Who gives a shit?! You buy music for the music, not to see how it's made. That's what YouTube is for. I love my favourite artists because of what they produce, not how they produced it. That's like buying an apple grown in Ontario, and then tracking down the farmer in order to see how it was so juicy and ripe. You'll watch the free DVD once and then it goes back in the case never to be seen again. Deluxe editions to albums need to stop. I don't need a free diary or picture book. Nor do I need to see these guys jerking off in the studio and laughing about musical terms I'll never understand. Enough, already.

Now, I know it won't change, but why are you charging me up my ass for one CD? Just encourage me to download illegally some more, please. Don't even get me started on the selection of music these crappy stores have. I'm starting to order music from sites like Amazon and Barnes & Noble to get the CDs which are more difficult to locate, but I still prefer to have my music right in front of me and not take 3 weeks with a delivery charge tacked on.

I won't say much else, but it gets on my damn nerves to only get special discount prices on new releases. "Ooh, thanks so much, good sir." I'm tired of seeing older CDs with price tags like $19.99 and $22.99 (which are for single discs! Holy ass.). I'm not even talking about older albums from the 80s or whatever. I just saw one yesterday which was released in 2007 (If you must know, it was Porcupine Tree's 'Fear of a Blank Planet'), and it was ridiculously expensive for a disc of music. I get fed up. For an age where I have to shell out $50 for a full tank of gas, I better get some damn good deals on retail purchases.

My rant's over. There hasn't been any improvement, and if they don't smarten up, they're going to find a lot of business going downhill, to the point where people just download from the internet for every musical wish. You guys wonder why you're losing business when you do this kind of thing?

Shit.

It's a Bug eat Bug World

You just know that the pesticides are at work when one minute you see a fly buzzing around the room, and then the next minute it just falls dead to the floor. It was quite the sight, and it gets me wondering how that fly even came to exist in my apartment. In fact, I've been wondering how a ton of these nasty bugs have come to be here... I hadn't seen most of these species until the pesticide was applied. Very curious circumstances, I must say.

Last night was night four since the second fumigation, and as far as I can tell, there have been no bites. Chris and I spent some time last night flipping the mattress, peeking under the dust cover, and so forth to see if we could find any evidence of bed bugs. We didn't find anything, but I'm hoping that the dropping of the mattress back down onto the frame shook some onto the carpet, thus suffocating the little bastards in poison. Perhaps it worked, since I haven't yet discovered any new, massively itchy welts.

Now with that being said... how good can it be for me to live in this sterile smelling, bug eating environment?

I'll probably never know.

District 9: Don't Expect The Ordinary

The problem I find with a lot of newer movies these days is that they tend to start out strong and then fade with each passing scene. Yes, moments here and there often try to dazzle or humour the viewer into watching the rest, and yes, we usually stay in order to see the result. Some might say that a movie needs to start off with a bang, but I believe that finishing with strength leaves a more lasting impression.

Welcome to District 9: A movie that starts off mediocre, but only gets better and better as it progresses. I should be honest, the beginning isn't that terrible, but it's a newscast with interviews that you would turn off if it was on your television set at home. It's an introduction to a district in Johannesburg, South Africa, where you have extraterrestrial refugees wishing to leave and just go home. Unfortunately, they can't do that. They are kept in District 9 as "workers" while the outside world loses patience with them and their rioting. Clearly malnourished and without any kind of leadership, the aliens have no real way of getting out of the slum that has developed in a span of 28 years. On the human side, a company called Multi-National United (MNU) was given contracted control over the alien situation and calls for an eviction of the aliens from District 9 into a concentration camp, known as District 10. MNU also hopes to gain profits from the alien weaponry if they can learn its technology. However, the only way to discover the technology is by figuring out how to make it work through human biology, instead of through the biological means of aliens.

The eviction, as you can guess, goes all wrong. The main character and head of the MNU eviction, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), finds a suspicious canister of fluid and accidentally sprays it on his face. This becomes a problem for both sides as Wikus begins transformation into an alien, while the alien who developed the fluid, Christopher, needed it to be fuel to get back to the mothership.

From here, it becomes a rollercoaster ride. The MNU need Wikus' newly transformed alien arm to be the pawn for technological aims, while Christopher needs to regain the fuel that was transported to MNU headquarters. Without giving up the rest of what happens, I can say that it was a great experience to watch something fresh like this. A very cold, atmospheric film, District 9 shines as a movie that never relents and keeps the story interesting through sequences of both action and human-alien interplay.

Not too many sci-fi movies that I have seen in my lifetime actually allow you to feel sympathy for an alien race. That's not to say that this movie tries to drive home a message about African refugees, even after being based on a short-film about them called 'Alive in Joburg' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_9). The film keeps it strictly on the aliens without including an internal protest that would have been unnecessary.

In many modern science fiction movies, there is ultimately too much action involved and not enough to think about. This film allows you to think about both sides of the conflict and establish an opinion of your own. At times, you may feel sorry for Wikus because of his transformation and loss of relations with his wife. Other times, you will feel the pain that Christopher is going through to have to be far from home with his son living in a slum with him.

While the extraterrestrials don't resemble human beings, their emotions, expressions, and even their fight for survival are all just like human characteristics. Once again, the aliens are given a human side in order for the viewer to feel for their situation.

One more thing I must say is that the movie is visually stunning. Not only are the effects well crafted and used appropriately, but the aliens actually look unique. They don't look like some over-sized creatures that are going to take over the universe. They look simple and fit within the scope of the movie.

I won't spill the beans on the ending of the film, but it does leave an opening for a sequel. The story is engaging and has its twists, the visuals are stunning, and the characters develop perfectly as the movie continues from its lackluster beginning. A very well done film.

A-