the odds are good, but the goods are odd

Internally i have evened out.
Bounced back from a depressed state.
These states come and go with me, as I am sure they do
with so so many people.
I suppose the key in understand and surviving is to
remember that these states do come and go.
No matter how bad you feel it will not last forever.

Involves a new laptop. A Toshiba Satellite C55-A5245 model.

I re-purposed the Sony Vaio i had in service as my main laptop

to flight simulation.

So far I have to admit that this laptop is very clean, very capable.

Hardly any bloatware as compared to Sony laptops.

I have just read up on a film soon to be released

starring Antonio Banderas,

Automata.

The premise of the film is that humanity is on it's last legs..

Surviving climate change due to the assistance of

Robotics.

The focus is on both the balance between

automata's and humans as well as what or who

will be the future.

I will await a DVD release.

I have, unfortunately, read my way through the

Inspector Rostnikov series of mystery novels. 

I will re-read them at some point.

I am starting on the Holy Thief, by William Ryan.

The first in a series of three novels centering on a

 Soviet investigator this time under Stalin in 1937.
Not as good as the Rostnikov series I am afraid.
I am apparently trapped in an endless loop 
regarding mystery novels set in the Soviet Union.

I readily admit that my search for a possible

retirement car project i have been less than logical.

Researching numerous varieties of vehicles as possible subject matters

for a restoration project.
Posting possible vehicles here and wax poetic upon them.

I believe that i may have finally found a balance between cost and love.

I truly loved the being the geek that i am over my Prius which

I had owned for over 120,000 miles hypermiling it all the way. 

geek hypermiling

In a very small explosion of focused thinking i discovered that I should do what i love to do..
meaning in a vehicle to Hypermile and own something totally geek.

The result is that i am now researching and searching for a  first generation 1999 to 2006 Honda Insight.

first generation Insight

These vehicles are now reasonably priced and available used on ebay 

This was the 15 year old car of the future.

Perfect for an old geek.
There is a Honda dealer 20 blocks from my house for 
major repair work if necessary and as a two seater this
year insight would be the perfect around town car.
As always i will have to advise on possible results.

" I couldn't find the sports car of my dreams,

so i built it myself."

Ferdinand Porsche

like bringing a corn dog to a knife fight

I faced the world a bit stronger this past week.

Made it to the weekend without total mental exhaustion.

Accomplished a few internally set tasks.

I have stopped asking the "why" of things and have attempted to

live more within the moment. 

To recognize when pleased at the smaller things.

I do remain grappling with the future.

Reading the news, any news, now is

I am still in the process of devouring the Rostnikov series

of books via my Paperwhite.

There are a dozen of them.

I am reading them at night prior to sleep,

at work when on a break. 

When completed I will start over and read 

them all again. 

Antarctica and Omega Speedmaster watches.

I felt a bit more capable with my watch skills by

repairing my Braun Chronograph yesterday.

It now functions although the chronograph reset function

is one second off true.

I plan on enjoying it functioning this week and then

address the off true return problem.

I've managed to complete the physical segment of my flight simulator project.

I re-manufactured my Sony laptop to the singular

purpose of flight simulation.

Arranged an area in the nerd cave specifically 

to house the physical requirements and

I also obtained two additional simulation programs.

The first centered on modern combat aircraft

Lock-On

The second new simulator features the aircraft of

World War One, called
Rise of Flight.

I've yet to have an opportunity to try either of these programs,
or to set controls, and operating systems.

I am hoping to get the time and opportunity to attempt

to set-up and become more familiar with these programs.

The most recent, streaming binge watching subject:

The Killing
seasons 1&2

"Hope is tomorrow's veneer over today's disappointment."
Evan Esar

Mad Max is not amused

For me it has not been a yuck yuck time lately.

One part of me would make an excellent Batman.
Only one part---the brooding.
A theory exists that one can determine one's overall view of the universe
based on the answer to a simple question.
"Who do you prefer? Superman or Batman?"
My choice even as a small child has been Batman.
Batman's brooding is the emotion in
a fictional character where i can honestly say..
That's me right there. 
I've got brooding down pat.

 I have been in a Batman brooding mode for some time now.
I am working on a way out.

I so wish i could figure out human sleep and create a personal

protocol on how to deal with it.

I feel constantly behind the graph curve when it comes to sleep.

I can sleep for ten hours on a work night or 

sleep only five hours.

The result is the same.

I am tired and worn at the end of the work day.

My brain which works off cause and effect logarithms

is at a loss with personal sleep results. 

My thought processes continually lock into a cycle of

more sleep should equate to a

longer cognitive wake time.

The human world is unjust.

I am going to start writing again.

I have been reading a series of novels on my Paperwhite by

Stuart M. Kaminsky.
Without a doubt i will wind up reading all twelve of the novels. 

Centered on a special investigation unit in Moscow

during and after the fall of the Soviet Union,

the special investigation unit handles problems which other

Russian police and/or intelligence agencies are afraid to face. 

The  multiple characters and multiple plots within each novel are just excellent.

These novels may not be for anyone.

I have a particular alignment with the dark, depressed Russian who

suffers through both life and the corrupt society surrounding him.

Production just finished on a new SF movie staring Norman Reedus ,
 Daryl in the Walking Dead.

The plot focuses on two men, charged with maintaining the last surviving members

of humanity who are frozen during a pandemic and stored in an underground bunker system.

This is all the information currently available on this film..

I will definitely hunt it to view.

"I can tell you the license plate numbers of all six cars outside. I can tell you that our

waitress is left-handed and the guy sitting up at the counter weighs two hundred and fifteen pounds and knows how to handle himself. I know the best place to look for a gun is the cab of the gray truck outside, and at this altitude, i can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that?"

Talk nerdy to me

Years ago I operated the combat flight simulator Sturmovik.

I not only flew within the computer program but flew

online as well.

I actually became somewhat accomplished at online WW2 air combat--

But for the 8 year old Koreans online who killed me at their leisure.

As with so many things the outside world intruded on the matrix and pleasure.

I was promoted and promoted again at work, making the real world insanely complex

and demanding all the time;

the result was zero time for the flight simulator geek in me, 

and this pleasure fell by the wayside.

With retirement  pending i recalled the pleasure and the feeling of accomplishment 

in combat flight simulation and decided to

 to reequip and return to flying Sturmovik.

In retirement I hope to defeat those hordes of 8 year old Koreans and reclaim the skies

for geezers.

Today I ordered the most recent complete and updated version of 

this simulator software for the PC---

IL-2 Sturmovik 1946---

and the absolutely necessary hardware,

a Joystick and throttle system, although the least expensive model.

Rudder pedals may come later..dependent on success or failure.

I am unsure at the moment if i should attempt to designate and upgrade my 

IBM t-41 Thinkpad as the specifically modified computer for

flying use only. 

Or it may be a miracle of the computing world where the new

combat flight simulator works perfectly on it...one never actually

knows that outcome until the software is installed and running?

Luckily i have friends who may provide advice on both the practicality 

on this experiment and may be able to provide the hands-on how to

in modification of the t-41.
This old laptop, which unfortunately i really like using,
may be just too far behind the technology curve tho for rescue.

One of the strange elements of Sturmovik is actually how 

beautiful the graphics of this combat flight simulator, can be with the right system.

I would often spend considerable time simply flying through the 

world this software offered.

I may even redesign a small area of the nerd cave

specifically for and setup for the laptop, controls, headphones, 

as well as seating and lighting for flying?

Nothing absurdly elaborate--

just a location to centralize my most recent obsession---

I'll keep you posted.

I am totally addicted:

This has been a dry season in films for my very particular tastes.

I have been placed in the waiting room

for films i actually want to view such as

Snowpiecer and Edge of Tomorrow

for their upcoming release on DVD.

I have also been following the production of the Mad Max remake

Fury Road,

Replacing Gibson with the excellent actor, Tom Hardy as Max.

Based on what little information and visuals that have been released to the net,

I already have high hopes for this remake.

It has great texture.

My morning commute here in the desert amongst

the oil field workers running late and the drilling supply,18 wheeler drivers

 either half asleep or on speed,

makes Mad Max's world a daily reality for me.

Perhaps the new film will provide survival expertise?

"All generalizations are false,

including this one."

Mark Twain