Another Public Service Announcement

This is what I think of every time someone describes something as "cray":

Now stop it.  You sound like an illiterate jackass, "crazy" is not a word that needs to be shortened.

(Unless you are talking actually talking about our friendly freshwater-dwelling crayfish.  In which case, carry on.  I'm sure they appreciate the attention and not being confused for their evil saltwater doppelganger, the lobsters.  ...Seriously.  Lobsters are cannibalistic and their diet consists of eating things alive, whereas crayfish do all of the not-that.

*The More You Know***)

I am Runner 5

The anticipation is finally over.  Zombies, Run! is at last available on Android.  Better still, I now have it on my phone.

To fair it's only version 0.9 for Android as they keep ironing out the bugs for the specific platform.  Fair play, I don't even care.

The clips are well voice acted for what I was expecting, and it was fun to play "peg the accent" (I hadn't looked into development prior to know the team wasn't from North America) while it gets you into the prologue and crafts the world around you.  A good time to be tying up your shoes.

Funny thing, I didn't realize it uses my music to run to inbetween clips.  Related: if you don't adjust it it goes with the first playlist you have alphabetically.  ...For me, that was one entitled "Disney Afternoon".  After being told to RUN post-crash landing, I melodiously advised to be true to my heart (á la Mulan).  I dare say it was a little mood-breaking.

So I paused and quickly switched it to the broader selection of what was on my phone...which is still mostly pop oriented.  For the curious in between chapters it went:
True to Your Heart - 98º  ft. Stevie Wonder

Domino - Jessie J
1, 2, Step - Ciara
Tik Tok  - Ke$ha
In the Dark - Dev  ft. 50 Cent
Escape - 30 Seconds to Mars
Music is My Life - Don Diablo
etc... (I can't remember the rest, but you get the idea)

That was a learning experience.  I strongly suggest at least having some more...aggressive music, as opposed to songs that entice your feet into chorographed routines.  (Ciara, you're going to get me eaten!)  Definitely making a specific more appropriate list to keep myself immersed.

Also of note, the time in between  clips is always the length of one song.  Can't adjust that.  This means episode will never be the same length twice if your playlist is random.  Something to keep in mind when you have everything from TV theme songs (Call Me, Beep Me, 01:02) to iconic rock (In A-Gadda-da-Vida, 17:04).

It was fun hearing the occasional "You picked up [item]" during the songs, reminding you of the story you're in.  I thought I had "Zombie chases" checked on when I started, but I guess not.  I really hope they get more...intrusive.

So here's my first run's story.  (Spoilers for the first episode, if you care)
Though the map feature is blank, harkening back to why it's version 0.9.  According to the GPS, though I ran for 46 minutes I never took a step.  No biggie, but it's a shame since I would be interested to know where the heck it was I actually ran as I decided to make up a totally new route - and consequently got a tad lost for a bit - to celebrate finally having the app.

Amusingly, I almost believed the GPS was working the way the route consistently lined up with what was going on in the story.  Seriously, it was actually a little freaky.  Coincidence of course, but trés bizarre.  Example:
Crash in Story - Running in familiar streets
Yao starts to act as guide into unfamiliar territory - Veered off into not-quite-sure
Head for the Tower - Discover odd giant-ass staircase in middle of forest
Dubbed "Runner 5" - A little put out at receiving a used mantle (Okay, that has nothing to do with the route, just saying.)
Doc directs me to retrieve items from Hospital in ghost town - No idea where I am in...new residential side streets
Zombies become more prominent threat - breaking back into the forest at a random point, off path
Getting close to Town - Finally reoriented myself with the part of the forest I knew (close to home)
Arrive at Abel - Made it back to my block

Also, I assumed that once the mission/episode had reached it's conclusion the whole thing would stop.  Not so.  After the last clip, the music will pick up again, and just play song after song for as long as you're running.  This makes sense, of course, but I wasn't thinking on the same lines and kept waiting for the music to stop to stop running.  The music that kept going.  ...Yeah.

Overall, absolutely adore this app, early bugs notwithstanding, and hope the writing and developers et al keep that love alive. (I have faith they will from the team's obvious dedication plus little I've heard of other users that have had it longer on iPhones.)

Suddenly! A Less Mossy Rock

So motivated by a sale deadline I designed some new business cards pour moi last night.  Inspired by my graphic resumé (which the QR code takes you to), I like the continuity there but...honestly, wouldn't have been my first design choice as a stand-alone.
It'll be nice to actually be able to have something to hand out to people when they ask again.  The only part that wasn't outdated on my old ones was the name. Oops...

Next up: the cards repping my personal trainer side.  Just haven't deiced if I want to brand myself yet or not... Or more accurately, what as.  I could, after this blog, "Savage" - which I kinda like (apparently "Mongol" tests as more offensive/confusing.  So much for beating clients with the flat of a broadsword) - but how many times should I want to explain that its origin comes from my stripper name and what does that do to my credibility?  Also, do I care?  (PROTIP:  probably not.)

Still, open to ideas there for now.

That is all.

What's Black, White and Read all-over?

Apparently I am only 163% faster than the American national average.  That's...not impressive, when you consider where they set the bar.  Ouch, kick in the pants I need to stop being lazy.  How about you?

That's Just Messed Up

Sometimes it's just a "little" impressive, one's ability to rationalize utter nonsense.

Guild Wars 2 is $59.99.
The fantasy shopping list I stayed up till 0230 last night making amounts to $90.89*. (Foodie, much?  Foodgawker is my porn, Nuts.com my wannabe dealer.  Some people have fantasy football, I have fantasy cooking/baking/eating.  The difference is sometimes mine becomes reality.)  Not to mention my newfound PB2 love, avg. $50+...if I break $100, free shipping.

Being on a tight budget, means buying one voids the other.  On the one hand, a major time waster (albeit fun), on the other, a major body shape killer (albeit delicious).  And though I'm entitled to my cheat days I can't keep that stuff around the house after.  Cravings will eventually rear their monstrous heads (I picture it like a hydra) and that "for later" will be destroyed, as each I temptation I slay spouts more and more heads, gradually making the beast stronger with the knowledge "it's there, it's there", until I am overwhelmed! ARHG! It's the peanut butter Fibre1 all over again!  ...But I digress.

 Fuck you and your siren song, hydra.

 

Also, considering it's kinda part of my career to not be what some scientists may refer to as "one fat muthafucker"...

And yet, this is just makes me happy to dance to.

In effect, what I'm seeing here is vidya games are actually the healthier choice.  Huh, who knew!  Proven by science.  There, I'm glad we figured this out together.

*If you're wondering, this is what I had limited myself to on my fantasy candy binge to get to that price:

• Assorted Malted Milk Balls $7.49, 1 lb
• Malted Milk Balls (Low Sugar) $6.99, 1 lb
• Malt Ball Centres $3.99, 1 lb
• Speckled Robin Eggs $4.99, 1 lb
• Sun Dried Peppers $7.99, 1 lb
• Carob Powder $4.99, 1 lb
• Antioxidant Mix [goji berries, cacao nibs, golden berries, mulberries, brazil nuts) $2.50, samples
• Jordan Almonds (Assorted) $2.50, samples
• Ultimate Bridge Mix (Sugar Free) [chocolate covered: raisins, peanuts, almonds; yogurt covered: peanuts, almonds) $2.50, samples
• Organic Cacao Nibs (Raw) $2.50, samples
• Dried Persimmons $2.50 samples
• Deluxe Pastel Chocolate Berry Mix [cherries, apricots, blueberries] $8.99, 1 lb
• Dark Chocolate Strawberries $8.99, 1 lb
• Dark Chocolate Covered Banana Chips $8.99, 1 lb
• Dark Chocolate Covered Ginger $7.99, 1 lb
• Banana Mocha Coffee $9.99, 1 lb

...wut?  Oh, I could've kept going.  Heaven forbid I ever have money and a home stomach pump. Better to make the list and indulge the fantasy than actually lose it and hit submit.  C'est la vie...

For Comparison

Regarding that last.  Tonight I bothered to grab the SRL when making chili just to see the difference.  Then I remembered, Oh yeah, I friggin' love this camera.  Chili's more about the aroma (and taste, obviously) than its look particularily - at least to me - so.  Case made.

 Zucchini, broccoli, green olives, yellow, orange and red peppers, chopped tomato, red onion, mushrooms, TVP (textured vegetable protein) and my sauce of Prego, pesto, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.

 About a teaspoon of olive oil and got the onions going till they turn translucent.

 Prepped the lean ground beef the night before with a smoked paprika & chili rub, bay leaves and chopped garlic cloves.  There was no way this picture was going to not look weird.

 The traditional adding and cooking of meat.  Wherein we turn brown from pink.

 Final addition of beans, veggies, sauce, water and any additional flavours to taste.  See, this is why I love TVP, it blends in seamlessly with the ground beef making it seem like I have almost twice as much dead animal.

 Then I let it sit for at least 30, allowing the chili to thicken as I like.  (I used the time to sneak in another Insanity workout, Fast & Furious - so I could really earn that chili - while trying not to kill my joints.)

This is another super healthy meal with the same problem as wrap night: I've never seen anyone stop eating it after getting full. Seriously, unless I make a point of putting it away it'll be gone before bed.  Serves at least 10 people within reason, or 2 - 3 people without reason.

So to sum,
Canon T2i: All the points
HTC Desire:  Negative points

For fairness it should be noted that in the category of making phone calls and texts though, the scores are reversed. 

Oh, and here's the Chili's scorecard for those curious:
Serving size: approx. 1.5 C
Calories: 380
Total Fat: 6.3 g
    Saturated: 1.8 g
Cholesterol: 50 mg
Sodium: 68 mg
Total Carbs: 34.4 g
Dietary Fibre: 9.9 g
Sugars: 4.9 g
Protein: 50.3 g
Vitamin A: 39 %
Vitamin C: 125%
Calcium: 14%
Iron: 53%

Well, I'll Probably Never Starve...

So after injuring my knees on Insanity (by simply being neglectful to my body's early warnings - don't do that), I've had to stop.  For now.  Skipping over the part where this is a spectacular downer/setback.... Well long rambling "story" short, this somehow connects to me putting up photos off my phone of all the things I've been making in the mean time.  Cheers!