PixlBit

Sucks about rent. I'm a week behind myself, and I have a job. It's not the best feeling in the world, I must say.

 Also, I used to adore Doctor Who, but can't stand it now. Like, it really seriously irritates me.

They changed writers, or I think that's what happened. That makes a huge difference with some shows.

I'll be cheering you on as you train and do the snowshoe race thing!  Good luck!  I bet you'll do great!

Thanks, Cary! I'm really excited. And I know I won't be the last person over the finish line now, my friends from NJ signed up, too, and they haven't done anything outdoorsey since before they had kids, and their oldest is 28. If I do ok in this race (finish and not be too sorry afterwards), I'll sign up for the second race, it's a mile longer, and then if I do ok in that race, then I'll sign up for the last one, which is 1.5 miles longer.

Sometimes having less is a good thing. I'm reading Thoreau's Walden right now and it's all about that.

I thought Thoreau was cool until I learned that he went home to mommy for meals and had her do his laundry.

Yea, he did that. It's not exactly Into the Wild is it.

Nope. But the concept is fantastic, even if the execution was lacking.

Right now (and I go through various opinions while I'm reading something) I'm thinking he's a reactionary and just can't stand what the Industrial Revolution has done to society. Maybe he's right to rail against it though. I'll read on.

not a lot of snowshoe races out here, which is unfortunate.  

Glad you're having a folky xmas.  I've been listening to this classical xmas station on a WQXR stream that plays a lot of sacred music and stuff not so sacred as well.  But there's no pop music, thank god.  

That station sounds good. Is there a URL you'd like to share with the rest of us?

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/

the different streams are at the top of the page.  I usually listen to Q2, but the holiday channel is what u want.  

or just 

wqxr.org

Cool! Thanks, Matt! Listening now.

My wife & I are mainly playing Dragon Age 3 (360).  She also has me watching Heart of Dixie and Gilmore Girls with her.  I'm actually enjoying those shows. 

Nothing wrong with that, James. I promise not to let anyone revoke your man card.

Thank you.  Lately, I'm barely holding on to it.  I got my wife hooked on rpgs and she returns the favor by getting me hooked on these evening dramas. 

Also, now I don't feel so bad about watching The Vampire Diaries, lol!

I hadn't seen The Vampire Diaries yet.  My wife did watch True Blood.  She still has to watch the last season.  Last year, she watched all of Buffy and Angel.  Buffy was ok.  I enjoyed Angel a lot more.  

The Vampire Diaries is of teenish and angsty. I started out watching it to get more of the backstory for the characters in the spin-off The Orginals, and now I kinda want to know what happens next. As for Buffy and Angel - I always liked Buffy better.

Running is fun if you do it with friends. Running alone for me feels miserable, like I'm intentionally putting myself through pain. With others, it's like the pain is shared, and it's more bearable. I'm gonna run a 5k or 2 when the weather gets nicer and I can go out with some friends.

From what my serious(ly crazy) runner friends are telling me, if there's pain involved, you're doing too much too soon. I tried cross country in college and was miserable the whole time. It really soured me on running, and led me to believe that I wasn't a runner and shouldn't be. What all the research I've been doing and what my friends (who are crazy and run ultramarathons) keep telling me is that everything I previously experienced was a) bad and b) wrong. But if things go well, I may be joining them for group runs in the spring. We'll see.

And Oh, hey there, Sidd! Good to see you!

Good luck on the snowshoe thing and job search.

I've been volunteering for forest preserve restoration lately, removing invasive plant species in the woods in my area. I also signed up for what they call Trail Watch training.  Made me think of you and your rangering. I feel quite suited for working in hostile weather conditions and wild terrain. I get off on it, actually, like its some Viking test of will or something.  There is something primeval and even spiritual about it. Well, not during the peak of summer, which I find oppressive.  I'm thinking I wouldn't mind doing stuff like this for a living in cold country.

Thanks.

What part of the world are you in and what invasives are you dealing with? Around here, the big ones we deal with are Eurasian honeysuckle, bittersweet, Japanese barberry, multiflora rose, and Japanese knotweed.

I love working outside in the winter. I feel more alive, more alert, more in tune to what's around me, and yes, it does feel more primeval and spiritual.

Illinois, Chicago and surrounding burbs. We go in to cut down and burn buckthorn, which the preserves near my home are overrun with. I signed up for some other woods further away, maybe they offer up some other varieties. I'll know in two weeks.

Good luck in the snowshoe race.

I won't really be racing, I just want to see if I can do it. I figure I'll be last or pretty close to last. Actually, I know I can do it, I'd just like to not walk it.

The snowshoe race sounds interesting especially since it doesn't happen around my parts in what is currently overcast and "cold" Southern California. 

I see that a lot of people are into Dr. Who so I tried to watch an episode...and fell asleep. To be fair it was late at night, and I might try to watch it again. Good luck on the job hunt! 

I still need to play my copy of The Raven. Been too busy with my other XBox 360 project to free up HDD space.

Enjoy what you can with the newest Doctor Who series. Just a forewarning though: After Matth Smith it goes downhill from there =P