After, in the dark...

Post the 2nd:

One second... Right, good- the USB powered flexible fan that now acts as my lappy's primary cooling system is plugged in and jammed up against the cooling intake on the underside of the machine. Demons of heat and frustration: 0, Chris: 1

So, as I tried to say yesterday; welcome to my blog!

A few quick notes about what I hope to accomplish here and why I'am bothering.

Most of the people I speak to on a day- to- day basis don't get me. They're friends, sure, but they don't, by and large get me. They like football and clubbing and 'Britain's Got Talent'. They're pretty normal in fact, and that's the problem. They're the kind of people who would say 'dice' instead of 'die' and then be decidedly put- out when the proffered item has anything other than six sides. They don't know how to play files on their PC's through their Xbox 360, come to think of it they dont know how to get those files in the first place. They don't know the difference between an Ork and an Orc. They don't know who Yoko Kanno or Bear McReary are (tracks by both of which have been spun out by my whimsy- making mediaplayer since I started writing this). I dont resent them for this, it's just that well, they don't get me. They're not my people.

My people know these kind of things. They know the name of the only rebel pilot to survive all three original Star Wars movies. They know how he's related to Ewan McGregor. They know the words of power that must be spoken before lifting the Necronomicon Ex Mortis. They include Sisko in their discussions about the best Star Trek captain. They know the best way to use a towel to escape the ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal.

My people are geeks.

Years ago all my friends were geeks. I surrounded myself with them and felt pefectly at ease amongst them, back in the days when it seemed a perfectly good use of an evening to stock up on foodz at the 24h Tesco (when it was the 24h Tesco, before they all were) LAN up a bunch of PCs and play Aliens Vs. Predator on the commandeered Univercity front projector. Happy days.
They were certainly some of the happiest, most carefree days of my life (perhaps a little too carefree; I really should have gone to some lectures between slacking off) and through those days one thing was constant- I always carried a sketchbook with me. Everywhere.

I've lost touch with all those friends now, well, not exactly lost touch. They're mostly on my Facebook, which I hate. I hate Facebook. It seemed like such a good idea- never lose touch with your friends! Always know what they're up to! The sad fact however is that if you're anything like me you suffer from Facebook overexposure. So many status updates, so many phototags, invitation after invitation after invitation. Its just too much. These days I mostly check Facebook through the app on my Blackberry, which provides just about the right level of information for me to handle, but I actually fear logging in on my laptop. The sheer deluge of information can overwhelm me in seconds with the upsetting effect that I find myself ignoring people I really shouldn't be- if I talk to him I'll have to talk to him too... It's horrific that anyone should think that but thats what Facebook does; it gives you so much that you're forced to pick and choose, or become a slave to the bastard 'F' logo.

In recent weeks I've realised that I currently know more about whats going on in Wil Wheaton's life than I do in some of my once- close friend's. Wil Wheaton, for any of you who don't know played Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: TNG. If you haven't read his blog try to find the time to do so, its a very surreal experience to discover how much like you he is. He loves real ale, he remembers playing video games at an arcade as a kid. He plays Warhammer 40k. He spent his childhood roaming the decks of the Enterprise-D... ok, so he's not exactly like you.
The fact is I found myself taking far more interest in his writings because they were there for me to read if I felt like it and not jammed down my throat, Facebook style.

That's the crux of it. I don't for one second expect anyone to take half as much interest in my inane prattle as they might take in Mr Wheaton's writings (they are really very, very interesting you know) but I'm hoping to maybe coax one or two of those friends back and start chatting again about stuff that I actually like to chat about at a level that leaves most people zoneing out and begging for a tactful exit.

I'm going to be following a 'pic of the day' format following specific themes or taking a tangent, whatever takes my fancy. Feel free to make requests if there's any specific piece you'd like to see from my back catalogue.

Yes, I will be posting the Tales From the Darkside.

Peace out, y'all!