I need to raise some money to get my solar panels reinstalled on my roof, so I'm clearing out a fair portion of my video game collection. (Learn from my mistake: do not get new solar panels installed on an old roof. And get critter guards! Blasted raccoons took my re-roofing costs over-budget, hence my being short on the solar panel reinstalls.)

Prices based on current market value. Let me know of your interest, and I'll contact you privately.

PS1-
Dune 2000 - $23
Asteroids - $13
Panzer General - $23
Harvest Moon: Back to Nature - $50
Kartia - $90
Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen- Limited Edition (w/ Chart) - $180
Civilization II - $35
Command and Conquer Red Alert: Retaliation - $30
Star Ocean: The Second Story, Prima Strategy Guide - $35-ish
SaGa Frontier - $40
Final Fantasy VIII - $28
Final Fantasy VIII Guide - $20-ish

PS2-
Rampage: Total Destruction - $15
Champions of Norrath - $38
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - $9
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $7
Dynasty Warriors 4 - $14
Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland - $14
Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones - $10
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (Greatest Hits Edition) - $10
God of War 2 w/ Special Features DVD (Greatest Hits Edition) - $17
Kingdom Hearts 2 (Greatest Hits Edition) - $9
Final Fantasy XII (Greatest Hits Edition)- $8

Last year, at the end of fall, my gas lawnmower broke. The entire front left wheel assembly fell off. Yes, fell. Yes, off its welds. Yes, welds.

So I bought an electric mower, because my neighbor two doors down loaned me his and it was amazing. But it didn't come with a battery, so I ordered one over the Internet and put it on the charger over the entire winter.

I didn't notice that the "charging" light never turned from red to blinking red to green. It was a dud battery.

So I borrowed a battery off the two-doors-down neighbor and mowed the lawn. It was light and quiet and easy to handle and worked beautifully.

Fast forward two weeks. I start the mower to mow the grass again. Ten steps later, it shuts off. And won't restart. Troubleshooting, check. Battery, safety key, and mulching plug securely in place? Check. Battery fully charged? Check. Mower still dead.

The nearest repair shop for it is 100 miles away, and the mechanic there said it didn't sound like something that could be quickly repaired, so I'd have to leave it there until he got around to it, then make another 4 hour round trip to pick it up.

As a final Hail Mary, my one-door-down neighbor offered me his lawnmower. Which he hasn't used in five years, and which has been sitting outside for that full time, because he uses a lawn service.

I poured gas into the empty tank.

It poured right back out the bottom.

...

*@#$@%.

I went inside and made dinner. Screw the lawn.

HOLY ****ING **** THIS MOVIE IS AMAZING GO SEE IT RIGHT NOW.

Let's all just enter this year slowly and carefully. No sudden movements. Don't touch anything. Check behind the door before going further. Don't forget to look UP and DOWN as well as behind, to the sides, and ahead.

Just wanted to let you all know that today I'm happy. :) It's been a rotten year, so I'll take hold of the little victories.

“Remember today, little brother. Today, life is good.”

To all of you who are dealing with hate-filled "Christians" trying to bludgeon you with their ignorance, bigotry, and hypocrisy, I am so, so sorry. I abhor what they're doing, and I do what I can to fight them. That is -not- love, the first and greatest commandment. I am ashamed that they are the faces you see when you think "Christian". I am so sorry. It kills me how lost they are, how hooked and addicted on their own pride.

I'm so sorry.

No comments, please.

The "project that won't stay completed" I mentioned in my (tableflip) journal two months ago? Still won't stay completed. Three days of almost no progress because I couldn't get two tables of data to want to dovetail together. ARRRRRGH.

Round and round and round we go...

Raccoon damage to my roof's solar panels, shingles, and structure. (Not to mention raccoon crap all over.)
A work project that won't stay completed, because the client keeps changing how they want it done.
And now Micro$oft broke the 3rd party Minecraft launcher I was using, and theirs wants me to buy Minecraft from them. Again. AGAIN. (As in, for the third time.)

Have I mentioned insurance "doesn't cover vermin damage"? (Direct quote from previous experience with the insurance company)

It's raining!
It's pouring!
And my roof is leaking!

Yaaaaaay.

The insurance people don't get here until the 7th.

Yaaaaaaaay.

It's supposed to rain today, tomorrow, and Saturday, and it rained most of last week, too.

Yaaaaaaaaaay.

So freaking bored.

People around town are picking up pieces of the Amazon warehouse's roof (40 miles away), but we're okay here.

TL:DR-  Gen's stream of An Artful Escape sent my brain on a ride on the Crazy Train. And I think I liked it.

---

Last night, I watched Gen's livestream of "An Artful Escape". Then I went to bed. Apparently, Enigmatic Gen, you signaled my brain that it was time for a defrag.

I have never dreamed myself into an original anime musical before. (Good production value, though. Way to go, brain?) Switching between live action first person and painstakingly animated third person was impressive, too. River running in an olympic-opening-ceremonies-style flag parade on top of the water at dusk with glowing water wakes, exquisite silken flag themed costumes and a full orchestra, a soul dance competition in an old train wheelhouse refurbished into brick dance halls, happy robots, touring students hip-hopping down main street, a drag queen, my old tai chi/kung fu instructor leading open-air weapon classes...

Seriously, Gen, What Subliminal Madness Was In That Game?

If you're the praying type, prayers for healing would be appreciated. Kidney stones are a serious pain in the gut.

A friend of mine is working on an RPG stage design and asked, "What are some good rooms that one might find in the Flying Citadel of an ancient magical supercivilization (Rome themed) run by bird people." He'd originally planned on wing-arm bird-people, but the model builder software he used only had shoulder wings, so consider both, please.

Further details: "This flying fortress was an army base used by the Flying Legions, although this was one of the ones used to hold a garrison rather than the bigger ones used as staging grounds for conquest."

So far, I have:
-water cistern
-water pump
-grain silos
-windmills
-mist nets for harvesting water from clouds
-weather monitoring/prediction/control room (depending on their level of magic) so the citadel doesn't get smacked by a thunderstorm
- floorless courtyard

43.

Three cheers for vaccines! Woohoo! (Happy Kitty Dance!)

I came home yesterday to discover that Contessa had... slightly missed her mark at the litterbox. It smelled. Bad. Fortunately, I just so happened to have an extra disposable face mask or two lying around, and a bottle of Old Spice aftershave. Old Spice was my Grandpa's favorite, and has a well-known reputation for being able to out-muscle smells when added to a face cover. I dotted the mask liberally, put it on, and drew breath to prepare for battle with The Litterbox Mess.

It was at that moment I knew... I'd [messed] up.

I had -severely- underestimated the power of Old Spice aftershave. This was not something to dilute and cover an odor. This was the scent that bestrode the Pacific Ocean in my grandfather's shaving kit during World War 2, launching rockets off of pickup trucks on Okinawa. This was the scent he wore when he came home, punched his PTSD nightmares in the face every night, and strode side-by-side and arm-in-arm with my grandmother through a love-filled marriage that is still my paragon of that institution to this day. This was the scent that my grandmother had kept a bottle of as a keepsake, and then sent to me as a moving-in present.

And I had just spread it carelessly across a surgical mask and strapped it to my face. It took one glance at the kitty litter smell I had dared to think it "might" help with, and declared all-out, full-mobilization war.

My sinuses immediately signaled their full and unconditional surrender.

My lungs went into panic mode as fiery artillery seared the back of my throat.

I asked God to either have mercy on this poor screw-up sinner or else take me home right now.

The mess was cleaned up, the house aired out, and the wheezing finally stopped an hour later. The mask was (very!) respectfully laid to rest and thanked for its service.

And the Old Spice aftershave went back on the shelf.

Oof.

I found this on Failblog, and it made me laugh so hard my ribs ached for hours from pure schadenfreude. (The 'so glad that's not me!' kind of funny.)

https://cheezburger.com/13585669/du.....as-leak-ensues

I'm amazed that I haven't yet been able to find fanart of the new Gunfire Reborn boss, Aeolus. I figured a lithe, muscular dragon/sabertooth hybrid with tornadic wind powers would be a shoo-in for the 'gotta draw this!' instinct.

Fun game, with cool characters.

This morning was rough, but at around 3 in the afternoon, a potential "great name for my next cat" popped into my head. Yes, "My next cat" was in the thought. No, I'm not going to tell you what the name is, for two reasons:
-The name only fits a particular type of cat, and I don't know if God will send that particular type of cat to me or if He's got another one in mind.
-Just like Cathy's, it's an egregious multilayered pun/reference and, if it works out, I want to savor the groans at maximum concentration. 😉

Then, when I came home and my eyes landed on the Cathy-shaped hole on my end table by the door, she was smiling.

There is a hole.
There is a hole on the end table by the front door, waiting to greet me when I come home.
There is a hole in the attic, jingling down the stairs from her personal, queenly domain.
There is a hole at the scratching post, looking at me to make sure I saw that it wasn't the couch (or the chairs or the bed), so treats please.
There is a hole on my computer desk, trying not-very-hard not to lie on the keys, back slightly arched and all four paws lightly stiff-legged against my chest.
There is a hole on the cat stand, waiting for me to turn on the webcam so she can start licking herself behind my back with my theater group watching.
There is a hole at the back door, asking to go outside, watching the birds as they flit by.
There is a hole between my feet, chirping and dancing when I pick up her harness because she knows she's getting to go somewhere.
There is a hole under my hammock, chewing the grass while we both relax and enjoy the sun.
There is a hole on the edge of the bathroom and kitchen sinks, asking me to turn on a trickle to drink from instead of the full bowl of water already laid out on the floor.
There's a hole down in the basement, yelling up at me that I forgot to change the damn kitty litter again, and to get off my fat ass already and do something about it, OR ELSE.
There is a hole at the bottom corner of my bed, scaring away the nightmares with her emerald-topaz gaze.
There is a hole on my cheek where her paw would rest to wake me when one got past her, and one at my neck where her head would press to soothe me until my heart stopped racing.
There is a hole on my chest when I go to sleep and when I wake, gently nuzzling and kneading as scritches are soaked up, nestling in under my chin with a happy purr.
There is a hole in my arms, cradling her and telling her how much I love her and how special she is to me. Telling her how grateful I am that God sent her to me for the few years I had her.

There is a hole.

God, it hurts right now. I'm just glad I know that it won't hurt forever.

When I came home for lunch today, I found Cathy crouching on the kitchen floor, panting audibly. By the time I had put her in her carry case and let my boss know I was taking her to the vet, the pained meowing had started. On arriving at the vet, she was hustled in for examination. The vet said that her lungs were full of fluid, and that she had next to no chance of survival.

Cathy was put to sleep at 12:32 PM with a dose of sedative directly to the heart. She did not suffer. I was there, and held her to the end. Thus ends the reign of Her Imperial Highness, the Empress Catherine Montaigne Chandler, Protector of Dreams, Slayer of Nightmares, Traveler Extraordinaire, Sent by God, Angel of Love, Because the Naming of Cats is A Difficult Matter. She was 5 years old.

Godspeed, my beloved.

“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.”
― John Galsworthy

In the interests of efficiency, earlier this year I signed up to get solar panels installed on my house. I had some misgivings about my ability to pay for it all, but my math looked right and the sales pitch was solid. The solar panels got installed, and the internal hookups are due next week.

Then, last night, Mom went over my numbers while visiting and found I'd left out a calculation, one that puts me firmly in the red. I don't know what to do. Do I back out of the deal? The solar panels are installed- they can't be put on a new building and retain their warranty. Do I push ahead, hope the solar generation will cover the price of the loan, and look into getting a part-time job? Do I sell my recently-new car and buy a used one that can be paid off with the sale, thus eliminating my car payment from the calculation? Do I start a GoFundMe and try to pay off the solar loan that way? Am I missing another option? I don't know what to do. I have 14 months to figure this out before the solar company stops making payments on the loan for me.

I haven't been able to afford a convention in years, I'm getting older, and money's gone really tight lately. I could really use some advice on how to auction/sell off such articles as General Bridgebane's spear (a Heather Bruton original artwork with personally-created carry case), and the Dread Pirate Robert's replica rapier and microsuede vest.

Would Furbid be best, or is there somewhere else I should try? I've never done this before.