Tonight I renewed my web hosting and e-mail service for this domain. Along with the yearly domain renewal, it costs me about $60 to keep this site running. I used to joke that my web server was located in a back room of an Adults Only Video store in Langley. That was never really the case but the old server was sure unreliable. That's what you get when you pay nothing for web hosting.

For the last four years or so, my web server has been located somewhere in Arizona. I'm not certain it's Arizona but I'm pretty sure it is. I wish my web hosting company would take a picture of the actual server that runs this web site. I'd like to see what it looks and if it has a nice spot in the server room.

Ok, I'm going to bed now.

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I was thinking of two choices for lunch at the EA cafeteria today. It was gonna be either the beef brisket with gravy or the "homemade" pho. I went for the brisket first but was told they were all out and it would be another 20 minutes. Being hungry, I decided to go for the "homemade" pho instead.

What a terrible choice I made. EA's version of pho consists of a broth that doesn't taste anything like pho broth. Usually pho beef is thinly sliced and a bit on the raw side. EA pho beef was thick and decidedly well done. To top it off, there wasn't a whole of beef nor noodles.

Tomorrow, there's a salmon entree on the menu. Don't fail me salmon!

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I don't know where or when this photo was taken but I only just saw this for the first time today. My first reaction was to laugh. I'd like to think both parents of this baby have a really awesome sense of humour. In all likelihood though, I can just see the father being the mastermind of the photo. "Honey, all my buddies will find this hilarious!" I'm envisioning the less than enthused mother standing behind the father with a furrowed brow, waiting for her baby to stop being a prop for a picture.

If you don't recognize the above objects in the picture (other than the baby), they're from the Alien universe. Specifically, you're seeing an Alien egg and facehugger replicated in absolutely adorable plush form! In the movies, a facehugger hatches from an egg, looking for a host creature to implant an embryo. It does so by attaching itself tightly to the face of the host. Once implanted, the embryo eventually develops into the titular creature. I'm leaving out a lot of details on purpose but that's the general life cycle.

In any case, what a well-composed humourous photo. Including the egg, in its opened form, in the corner was the perfect touch. If you're wondering where to get these items, it appears this is the place.

Last but not least, click here for a bonus amusing photo.

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Since I was a small child, I've heard those grown-up adult types say playing video games all day will get you nowhere in life. That's actually kind of true. If I had sat on my ass and did nothing but play video games through most of high school and university, I wouldn't have the skills today that allows me to make video games for living. Wait, what was the reason for this post?

Ok, while video games in moderation is good, playing games can also lead to exploration of new ideas and concepts. For example, I have been playing a game called Far Cry 2 on the PC. The game takes place in Africa, where the setting ranges from swampland, marshes, grasslands, and even desert areas. The game is unique in that the player character, the dude you control is afflicted with malaria early on in the game. Traditionally, most players usually have to deal with more less exotic threats to them, namely bullets and/or zombie bites. I can't remember the last time a high-profile game featured a decidely real-world disease. The symptoms of malaria affect the player every sixty to ninety minutes of game play, though it's hard to tell what timetable the game is using.

Because of the inclusion of malaria in the game, I decided to read up on malaria to see I could predict what might happen to my character before the end of the game. Since I was in elementary school I always thought malaria was an affliction that you could only get in equatorial places that were hot and humid. After reading up on the disease, I discovered that wasn't and isn't always the case. For example, malaria was common in North America and Europe until mosquito eradication techniques in the early 20th century basically wiped out the disease in those areas. It is interesting to note that North America sees a handful of rare malaria cases each year.

Of interest as well is the history of the parasite that causes malaria. Scientists believe it may existed before even humanity did and has plagued us for nearly our entire history. The malaria causing parasite has affected humans so much, it's believed it put enormous evolutionary pressure on our species. For example, the development of sickle-cell disease in certain people is thought to because of evolutionary response to malaria. Those with sickle-cell disease are far less likely to develop clinical malaria.

In 1976, the first continuous malaria culture was developed, allowing scientists to study malaria in a much easier manner. Unfortunately, still no vaccine exists at the moment. The bad news continues in that drug resistant strains of malaria are appearing all over the world.

I learned all of that just because of a video game.

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I had a new bed delivered today. I'm still not sure what was going through my head when I went mattress shopping in late February. The original bed I purchased from Sleep Country Canada was way too firm for my liking. It lead to many nights of less than satisfying sleep. It was so bad, I'd get up and my shoulders and hip areas would be numb from having the circulation being cut off (I'm a side sleeper). The mattress was indeed way too firm.

Stupidly, I let the sixty night comfort guarantee expire. I went back to the store anyways and was ready to beg the salesperson for an exchange. Luckily, that was not needed. He just told me to phone the regional office to get a guarantee extension. I did just that and was able to select a new bed. Not only was I given an extension, I was given a 30 day extension. The dude who was doing my sale said I could spent four weeks picking out a new bed if I wanted.

I didn't really want to wait that long. I basically told him to show me the softest mattress in the store and we'd go from there. I eventually selected a mattress that felt like it was stuffed with cotton balls compared to the granite slab I had originally.

The delivery went without a hitch this morning and now I actually have something where I could get a decent night of sleep. Sleep Country Canada didn't have to give me the exchange extension but they did anyways. So at least in my books, Sleep Country Canada is ok in my books.

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