Ah, an end in sight! It's now 3pm here in Pensacola, and on this particular day that means I have one and a half work days left until I get to fly home to California. Yes, I rounded up for the title. I'm quite excited to get home to my cats and an environment that allows me to drink an entire cup of coffee without having to reheat it ten times. So, here is what I've been enjoying during my weekend in Florida:

1. Pouring rain
2. Extreme heat
3. A limited to moderate mosquito forecast

This is the only place I've ever been where I'm listing to a heavy storm while blasting the air conditioning. Most unusual, for sure.

On a nicer note, though, I did spend one of those stormy days in a bookstore, which resulted in me turning an unreasonable amount of money into paper goods and writing implements. I'm now the proud owner of a new, handmade Italian journal, a fountain pen, a sketchbook, assorted paintbrush pens and some drawing charcoal. Rain has this sort of effect on me. Now I'm thoroughly satisfied on both fronts: a place to rant publicly and a place to rant privately. Perfect! Also, the fountain pen has really encouraged me to write more in my wonderful new journal than I otherwise would; it's very satisfying. This is what the journal looks like:

So, since I'm the next person to escape the land that god forgot, I get to pick our restaurants for the next two nights; this is a blessing and a curse, given my indecisive nature at the end of a work day. That said, I think McGuire's just might have to be one of my choices, and probably tonight since tomorrow night is the night before I have to be up at 4am. Yeah, I'm thinking somewhere quick and involving less beer for that evening...

Well, I think that concludes this post that is of interest to me alone. Ciao.

~~ Alex

Happened upon this online this morning, and simply had to ensure that it was preserved here on my blog. Bless the many people in this world with more free time than myself.

~~ Alex

So the night before last my coworkers and I ended the day well by going out to McGuire's, a place that really has to be seen to be fully appreciated. I snapped a few pictures:

Pretty much every surface that can have something stapled to it is covered in signed and doodled-on dollar bills, with great effect when you see the place. There's also fantastic Irish music and the surprisingly non-alcoholic tasting drink known as the Irish Wake (limit 3 per customer in an effort to avoid fatally reducing their customer base). Good times all around. They also have the wonder known as the Boxty, a deliciously deep-fried, breadcrumb covered, garlicky, cheesy food that goes very, very well with the wonderful porter they serve there. Ok, just typing this is a clear act of masochism as I have none of these delicious things within reach.

Here's a photo that accurately depicts what you're missing:

If you ever find yourself in Pensacola, FL (and this I somehow doubt) you really ought to go there. Well, that's really all I have to say for now. I'm going to wander off while visions of boxtys (or however you spell the plural) dance in my head.

~~ Alex

So, I was recently (and by recently I mean within this very hour) inspired to exhume my old Xanga blog to see what a day in my life used to be like, and it brought back fond memories of keeping a journal that nobody read despite being in the public realm known as the internet. So fond were these memories, in fact, that I decided to hop over to my new blog (hint, you're reading it) and update it with meaningless ramblings of life's trials and tribulations. Nah, not really. Life is pretty good, actually. But yes, onward...

At this very moment I'm sitting in a secure naval facility in Pensacola, FL at Corry Station. This trip has the curious distinction of exposing me to both the warmest and coldest ambient temperatures I've ever had the displeasure of experiencing. Outside is hot and humid, with black flags posted around the base to warn you that the simple act of existing outside is likely to lead to the end of said existence. Inside in the control room, however, is the sub-arctic winter simulation known as my work area. If I don't reheat my coffee every five minutes or so it succumbs to the elements and gradually approaches that special place between liquid and solid. Nah, I'm kidding. It isn't gradual.

One moment, I must reheat my coffee.

There, that should help stave off death a bit longer. I kid, though, it's not really THAT bad here. I do think fondly of California, though, and our delightfully temperate "weather". I quote that as we really don't have what people in the other 90% of the US actually call weather, and truth be told I'm fine with that.

Anyhow, the work we're doing here is pretty interesting, and I'm getting to work with some really awesome people in the Navy. It's also been quite an experience spending so much time here in the south. I finally get why everyone thinks us Californians are jerks! See, relatively speaking, we are. Everyone here is incredibly friendly, and when someone greets you on the street they don't want money or signatures; they're just being nice! See how un-Californian that is? Quite.

Well, I suppose I'll wrap this up and get back to doing what I'm paid for. I surely do enjoy writing ramblings about my day to day life, though, even if it is vain and self-indulgent. Heck, that's probably the very reason I enjoy it. In any case, I think I'll do this again soon.

Until next time...

~~ Alex

...and felt like sharing. It's a Bearsharktopus.

-- Alex

After an unfortunate incident involving my credit card expiring and domain payment lapsing, adroitcreations.com was lost. Lucky for me, I snagged it back before it was entirely lost. So, after a few months of absence, my blog has returned! So much has changed, including a sudden increase in free time, so expect more frequent updates to my personal and projects blogs in particular.

Ah, it's good to be back.

~~ Alex

Ok, if you haven't seen this shopping network slip-up, it's worth a viewing:

This goes hand in hand with this entry in my photo blog.

That is all.

~~ Alex

~~ Alex

I heard an ambulance off in the distance as I was driving to work earlier today, and started thinking about the evolution of our five senses. In particular, I think hearing is quite impressive, and often taken for granted. Consider that we as animals have the ability to detect and roughly pinpoint, in three-dimensional space, the location of an event occurring a great distance away and outside of our visual range, entirely by perceiving vibrations in the air. Not only that, but we are also able to deftly isolate specific auditory events from a cacophony of sounds, still isolating both the content and location. That means, given a torrent of vibrating air hitting our ears, we can separate out specific voices and sounds, figure out where each one is and specifically listen to one of them... That's pretty cool. Just saying.

~~ Alex

Well, I officially have this blog set up to use Google Analytics! This way, you see, I can readily confirm that nobody is reading this. Indeed, nobody is! I suppose that's what I get for being a bore, really. Oh, and for having a website that I simply didn't update for years at a time. Doesn't really build much of a following...

In other news, quite unrelated, I've been channeling my boredom through Photoshop in the last couple of days. The pictographic representations of my boredom can be found on my photo blog, though I can't promise much about them other than the fact that they have pixels.

Not much else is going on in my world, especially since that wonderful drug I'm on (Cipro) makes me allergic to sunlight. Did I mention that we're having some of the nicest weather we've had in quite a while? No fair! Well, that's OK, it's not like I exactly live outdoors normally anyhow. I'll just enjoy the AC in my apartment .

Well, happy weekend to all!

~~ Alex Broadwin