Losing Virginity

Sleds. Ice. Snow. Numbing. Yes, she lost her sledding virginity, as generally depicted below. Click to enlarge.

Coming Soon... Hopefully...

A few things are in the works:

First up, I'm planning to design and launch a small blog devoted to Even Horizon. With the story finally coming together so well, I'm hoping to share some of my thoughts and theories on it.

Also, since Blogger is upgrading to a new "2.0" infrastructure, I've been kind of weary to upgrade, mainly because a lot of work has gone into the custom graphics designed for this website. However, the new Blogger is much, much easier to use, and maintaining custom code is easier via a handy GUI. I will be changing Critically Correct over to the new system on or around my 400th post, which is up and coming (this is 367 or something).

Finally, I have all but killed the Critically Correct Audio Casts Series since there was zero interest in it, plus I'm too busy with school to ever record for it. Still, it was a fun time while it lasted.

And with that, I'm out. Catch you later.

Update Wii-kly!

Welcome back.

I"m sure you've noticed the compwii-t lack of updates in the past wii-k. Yes, even in the third wii-k of school, I've been quite too busy to find much time for blogging. Which means my last hour tonight is devoted to updates!

First off, some technicalities: my Calendar is updated for this coming wii-k, so take a look. I completely forgot my work schedule for next Saturday (the 3rd), but I'm sure it's probably something like seven to noon, so stay tuned for that update.

Oh, and after waiting at work for 15 minutes this morning at 6:10am, I finally have a Wii. So enough with the "wii" suffixes ;-)

Besides, Colleen would probably want to kill me if she read all of the above...

But anywho...

I've been focusing heavily on my fiction, which is part of the reason I haven't updated: I have been opting to spend my writing resources on my fiction rather than blogging... sorry guys... but I'll be ready to post another preview read of Event Horizon in the coming weeks, just to prove my progress.

Other than that, I've been laying low. Work, school, friends, rinse and repeat. Although unfortunately, it seems that the friends part will be taking a backseat this week as I take some more time at Meijer to earn the extra money that I spent on my "new Nintendo console."

Speaking of which, shitty-ass story time. After telling Colleen that I was gonna be in BG tonight to visit with her, I sort of backed out at the last minute in order to finish my homework (which I slacked off from doing mostly because of my Wii). I can't stand the sound of a disappointed voice (or text message, in this case), so I decided to head into BG around 7:30 anyway to surprise her with her computer mouse and a bottle of Mickey Finn's Raspberry Schnapps, which I've never had before, but it sounded damn good when I saw it at Meijer. I get as far as starting my car to warm it up, when I realize that I'm missing my cell phone. No biggie, I'll go back inside to get it.

Not a chance. My bedroom? Nope. Kitchen? Nope. Living room? Nope. Car? Nope. By 8:00pm-ish I'm fed up and pissed off. It's not that I couldn't have gone without my cell phone, it's just that I feel safer given the already-shitty roads.

So about ten minutes ago (this blog was a multi-parter to write), my mom comes in the house from work with a small black object packed in snow. My cell phone. Short version of a long story, it was turned off and the hinge frozen shut... and it won't power on. Hopefully it'll still works, because water damage SUCKS. :-\

Besides, I just spent $270 for a Wii... guess I might need that for a new phone now...

Anywho... I guess it's off to finish some reading and feeling all depressed-like about my phone :-(

High Dynamic Range Imaging

HDR, short for High Dynamic Range, is a concept that is exploding in the worlds of imaging, photography, and computer graphics. To get you started with what I mean, check out the Flickr group below... it's 36,000+ pictures large, so enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/hdr/pool/

And for a detailed explanation of HDR:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging

Out.

Try It, Love It

I'll pay $10 to anyone who can identify what the title of this entry is ripped from. Honest.

Anywho, in my ongoing effort to push and promote some of my favorite open source apps, I have listed links below to the official websites of all my favorite apps. Download them, try them, enjoy them. If you need assistance with any of them, at any part of installing, configuring, or using them, let me know, and I'll gladly help out, even in person if possible.

Finally, if you would like a CD with all the apps ready to install (Ubuntu comes on its own disc), let me know. I'll gladly hook you up with such as well. Otherwise, enjoy downloading!

Operating System: Ubuntu (latest release is 6.10 as of this writing)
Office Suite: OpenOffice 2.1.0
Web Browser: Firefox 2.0
Instant Messenger: Gaim 1.5

Out.

Boring-ness

It's been a boring as ever weekend -- the kind that I merely exist through, not run through excited and thrilled.

My commitment to doing better in my classes this semester has meant that my weekends are already filled with 90% homework, 10% Meijer... not fun at all.

In other news, I'm returning to the Community Center this week, which means I need to commit to that too. My calendar will now include my workout schedule every week, in addition to the usual.

Out.

My Real Weekend

Ever since I started college, my perception of time has become screwy, to say the least. Rather than plunge through a Monday to Friday school and work week (ie, high school), and enjoy two days off, I now can barely recognize the concept of a weekend, let alone enjoy one.

Perhaps more than ever before, there is no longer a boundary between work, school, and my side projects. Because of my CS major and creative writing minor, things that I used to do in my free time are now my core focus in life. Likewise, when I used to have free time, I'm now preoccupied with Meijer on the weekends, and because it is such a good source of money now, I can't simply throw that job away.

All said, however, my "weekend" days - those days that I have the most time to be leisure - are not Saturday or Sunday... but rather Monday and Tuesday afternoons.

*sigh* I'm missing the days of old-school weekends. Drinking on Mondays alone is no fun.

Event Horizon... Rough...

In order to hopefully build interest (and thus, support) for my fiction (and since I'm writing at a million miles per hour), I have posted the initial rough draft of the first half of Even Horizon for your reading enjoyment.

All the usual trinkets apply: this is a work in progress, the first draft, no doubt, so grammar, logic holes, story, etc. are not completely ready to roll. Also, this is my work, my copyright. You'll notice the permissions on the PDF reflect this.

Enjoy, and leave feedback if so desired!

Even Horizon

Out.

Write Right Away

It's 11:00pm and I'm fucked.

I'm stressed, I'm tired, and I'm writing. I couldn't be happier.

My goal has officially been put in place: to finish Event Horizon by the end of this semester. Stay tuned as I blog a bit more about it in the coming weeks.

Wee for a Wii... Terrible Idea!

Jesus H, people are dying for this thing,

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12396

Out.

Open Source This, Bitch

Beginning from this point forward, any job that I do for ACC that involves PC OS installs (either fresh or for a fix), I will be pushing the option to have open source software installed where otherwise typically expensive, closed source software would be.

This is mainly because most of the folks that I work for don't understand the concept of software licensing. I get phone calls all the time for people asking if I have a Windows XP disc. Of course I have a Windows XP disc. I have six of them, and a seventh ISO of one on my computer. I will hand out Windows XP discs to anyone who asks, no arguments. I will not, however, share my license.

Recently I've taken a strong stance towards software licensing (for example, I've actually read the WinXP EULA). Because of this, I've taken a new look at the GPL (version 2, for those keeping score) that most open source applications use, and am further committed to encourage such applications.

Some common open source applications that I am officially supporting via ACC are:

• Ubuntu Linux (6.06, 6.10) - for a full Windows XP replacement (the transition to Vista will hopefully increase the number of people that I can convince to use Ubuntu)
• Firefox (any platform)
• Gaim
• OpenOffice.org

As you can see, these are all applications that generally replace other core desktop applications. Because operating system licensing is so expensive, Ubuntu is an easy-to-use alternative that will suffice the average user just fine. Firefox is a no-brainer, as it comes recommended over IE 6 and 7 any day. Gaim replaces most popular IM clients, which reduces multiple installations and most importantly, skips the crap ads that most IM clients throw at the user. Finally, OpenOffice.org is a fairly fine alternative to the Microsoft Office suite, although it's not 100% compatible and feature driven. With the upcoming switch to Office 2007, I will be pushing OpenOffice.org for the "classic" user experience.

Okay, enough of my techno-rambling. I'm out.

BrandonBruno.com 2.0 Live!

I have taken some time to finish the redesign for the BrandonBruno.com front page. While previously just a simple few links to my blog and whatnot, the new portal will be focused on being a destination in and of itself, with the following changes/enhancements/etc. either implemented or coming soon:

• A new graphics design focused around imaged backgrounds, sharp lines, contrasting colors, and group boxing. The new background image is about 110 KB alone, and the page is nearly 160 KB large altogether. In other words, it's better for broadband.
• Links that were previously anchored in this blog have been moved to the new page, to allow for easier ("more direct") access.
  
• The general theme of "communication" has been included in the new design. Although not yet implemented, a MeeboMe widget will soon be available, which will allow any visitor to the front page to chat with me via AIM or Yahoo without having to sign into any service. Because this widget it portable, and because I'm online so much of my day, I expect that this will become a useful means of getting a hold of me.
• A weekly quote, either something that inspires me or is just cool, will be posted.
• The new design allows me to easily swap graphics and color schemes, so expect frequent changes to the graphics core without altering the layout.
  

Check out the new site at the usual address, www.brandonbruno.com, and let me know what you think.

Random Update for a Random Day

I have had enough happen in the last sixteen hours that a mid-day update is in order. What do I mean exactly?

Well...

A fairly slow and typical Friday night (relaxing at home, visiting friends, etc.) ended as every Friday will for me this semester: in bed early because of Meijer. Having lights out at around 9:00pm, I quietly tried to find sleep. Nothing.

First up, an old friend, Brittany, texted me late with news that she lives no longer in BG, but Fostoria. This raised all kinds of questions that kept me up: is it a house? An apartment? Does she still live with Steve? Does she have a different job?

The next occurrence happened shortly afterwards, although this one I don't recall at the time. Josh, my sister's boyfriend, had called our house (mind you, any phone calls after 9:00pm blow our minds -- who calls that late?!). He asked for me -- me, of all people. Later on I found out this was for technical assistance. Still, as lame as it sounds, I've never been "wanted" per se by any of my sister's relations.

Then things take a weird turn. I get a random phone call around 10:10pm, still unable to sleep after about an hour. This call got my attention, although I did not answer it, mainly because I was too irritated at not being able to sleep to answer a (completely foreign) phone number. This morning on my way to work, the voice mail left was from an old acquaintance, Adrienne, looking for someone to hang out with. Suffice to say, after I get homework done, sometime this weekend, I'm going to call her back and see what's up. Potential new friends are always fun!

As far as housekeeping goes, I've updated my Google Calendar for next week, so you can see my work schedule and (thus far) planned events. Looks like a light week, especially thanks to MLK day on Monday.

Until later, I'm out.

Week One

With the first week of the new semester over, I can still say that my first-day predictions might hold up: this is going to be an awesome semester. If nothing else, this is the first semester where all of my classes are core major or minor classes, which means they all interest me at least better than gen ed classes ever did.

I'm also happy that my writing/lit classes are forcing me to write. For too many years have I been praising my writing, only to constantly push it to the back burner. Now more than ever, I am trying to get back on track to make my writing a big part of my life (most as part of my "redefining" project that has come on so strongly in my post-Lacey era).

Among hundreds of promises that I have made to myself, "spend more time writing" is in the top three.

With that, I'm off to get some dinner with a good friend of mine! Out.

Tired!

I'm tired as shit, it's past midnight, I just got my homework done, and my first week of school has been a complete success.

I'll summarize it later on today, stay tuned.

Writing 'Till I'm Dead

As a writer, there are two distinct types of writing that I do. One is forced writing - that which I must do for school, or to complete a project (Meltdown, anyone?). The other is purely my creative genius at work - writing that comes from a perfect alignment of my heart, mind, and imagination. I hate the former but love the latter. However, I tend to do more of the former and less of the latter, mostly due to time constraints - I simply don't write enough.

This semester seems like it will be heavily focused on my writing. Although I'm taking a 50/50 split of creative writing and computer science courses, I can already feel that the writing side will consume most of my time. Quite frankly, I'm thrilled by this, to a degree. I'm taking advantage of this "forced writing" to get smaller projects done, which will of course be morphed into upcoming short story assignments.

Because my creative juices have been at an all-time low lately, combined with a complete lack of motivation to do anything other than play Guitar Hero, my writing habits have suffered considerably. I am declaring that this semester, I shall seek out and restore the raw creative energies that I have lost of the last few years, and this shall be reflected immediately in my writing.

Cheers.

Better Than Ever!

My first day back at school has been, in short, incredible. I like my school schedule, with two classes a day crammed next to each other, everyday. Meijer schedules me light, so I don't have to stress too much over them. Yes, I still have to work every Sunday at 5am, but given that my classes are at 11:30am three days of the week, I'll have plenty of time to get out and have fun (every Thursday is good to go, for example).

I have tomorrow yet to get through two "first day classes," so I'm hoping all goes as well as it did today.

Coutning Blue Cars... and Counting Down

As I am awash in the sounds of Dishwalla, with my backpack loaded and ready, my work clothes laid out, and myself ready to rock and roll. In 12 hours, I will be starting a short 4 hour shift at Meijer. An hour after that, I will return to the campus of BGSU to start my Spring semester.

I can't wait. As always, check out my calendar for my class schedule and other trinkets of interest throughout the week. I will be updating the calendar every Saturday or Sunday, so stay tuned for updates!

Until tomorrow, I'm off to enjoy my last few hours of freedom!

Out.

New Semester, New Goals

It's that time again... a new semester is upon the students of BGSU. Quite frankly, I think I have a fairly laid-back semester ahead of me, won't spend more than 28 hours a week at Meijer, and have lots of free time in the afternoons to enjoy myself, so I'm looking forward to getting things rolling for this spring.

With so much free time available, I plan to return to the diet that I started last summer. In the last three weeks of the summer of 2006, I underwent a fairly strict diet and exercise routine that was technically even more effective than my hunger strike at losing weight (not that my hunger strike was about losing weight). I will be returning to a fairly healthy and controlled diet, while also returning to the Community Center three times a week for a workout. Feel free to join.

Up and Coming!

With school just around the corner, I thought I would repost my class schedule (as a refresher to both myself and my wonderful fans...)

MWF:

English 333 / 11:30a to 12:20p
CS 301 / 12:30p to 1:30p

TR:

English 206 / 8:00a to 9:15a
CS 425 / 9:30a to 10:45a

Also, and not to toot my own horn too much, my traffic to my blog has more than quadrupled to over 25 unique hits per day, with about 40 to 60 total hits per day. I'm not sure what's with the spike in traffic, but thanks to everyone who reads me everyday!

As another way of saying thanks, I'm expanding the BrandonBruno.com portal to be a full-featured website soon. It will still obviously link to this blog, but many updates, images, news clips, opinions, reviews, and other sweet shit will appear on the "front page" soon. Stay tuned, as it will be a rolling update.

Time for bed, work at Meijer at 6am... out.

Shit, Buddy...

... I cannot wait for school to start again ...

Tucker Max, My Hero

I'm certainly a nice guy, and I certainly have moral standards. However, I still can't but help worship the ground Tucker Max walks on. In Tucker-esqe style, I will be occasionally posting stories of my own sexual, alcohol-induced, and other adventures that I have encountered over the years.

Stay tuned.

Expected Changes

I haven't had much motivation to flex my creative muscle lately, so I took time this morning to bring all-new graphics to the BrandonBruno.com portal page. The design is quick and dirty, but it looks better than a plain white background, that's for sure. I have a "3.0" design idea brewing, so it'll probably change in the near future as well.

With that, it's time for breakfast...

When Lies Become Memories

After I recently admitted to being a horrendously habitual liar, I have decided to take measures to scale this behavior back. One such way to do this is to talk about my past problems. Enter the almighty blog.

How far would you take a lie? A well-told lie is not one that merely covers up or denies the truth, but continues to do so for days, months, even years.

I have told lies that are so old they have become real memories for me. Indeed, a good portion of my high school memories never actually happened, but in the context of the time, were very well-told lies that either covered my ass or made me seem larger than life. In retrospective, because the fine details of the "memories" are so ingrained in me, they do not feel like lies anymore... and forgetting the reason for the original lie could be more destructive than keeping the lie alive in the first place.

Random thoughts... catch you later.

Random Poem

The Blue Fuzzies
by Brandon Bruno

come a typical lonely night at home
without a place to go or cautious desire
relief from tension is found in the blue fuzzies

they do not mean me harm
but merely the embarrassment that
no one but my other lover shall see

and even when that day comes
it will be a reminder of how
far i came to be truly happy

What the Rats Know - Part II

I can't tell you how much I love The Slip. "Even Rats" may be the closest they come to a radio-friendly song, but do not doubt it, the rest of their 2006 album, "Eisenhower," is a must-listen. "Children of December," "If One of Us Should Fall," "Suffocation Keep," and "Airplane/Primitive" are all standout songs that I simply cannot get out of my head.

Check out their Wikipedia page for a good introduction.

With that said... it's time to blog! As with Part I of this entry, it is time for more random bullet points:

• Event: I had a short New Year's. For the first time for as long as I can remember, I went to bed WAY before midnight. Certainly not intentional, especially since I had quasi-plans. I had the option to go to a few parties, a hotel room with Kristin and the gang, Laura's place, or just hang out with random peeps. I made it as far as packing my stuff to head towards BG when I conked out on my couch, and ended up sleeping until morning. It was very surreal to wake up in my house without anyone else home.

• Annoyance: I'm starting to become annoyed easily by repetition. I know many aspects of my life are built around repetition: working, school, etcetera, but over winter break I have become annoyed in the most extreme. Getting out and keeping busy is a good thing, but lately I've felt useless in that every time I leave the house to do something with a friend, it turns into aimless driving around the county, to the same places, or simply until boredom demands that we return home. Oh... I used to love driving randomly, but now it pisses me off.

• Desire: I have not drank all break long, save for a few casual drinks here and there. Let me rephrase that: I have not been DRUNK all break long. Drinking myself into oblivion is not something I purposely do, but I can recall a couple of awesome occasions last semester that just so happened to include lots of alcohol and some awesome people. I can't wait for school to start again.

• Lust: My battle against my hormones has been going fairly well lately. Up until about a week ago, anyway. For the last few months I have been diverting my constant lust for intimacy into other things: video games, writing, a hunger strike, and school. Really recently, however, I've completely lost control and cannot help but lose my mind to day dreams, thoughts, provocations, and other little teases about what I wish could be.

• New Beginnings: School starts next week, and I'm planning for a new kind of semester: a loner-type of study-heavy catch-up semester (much like last spring). It'll be an interesting one, that's for sure...

And with that... I'm quite tired of blogging for the time being. I'll have plenty more to say in the coming days, leading up to school and all. Stay tuned.