tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-194386992012-05-30T07:48:44.096-07:00All the other stuff I do in my weird and wacky lifeJeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-34468979292627119802011-11-24T11:15:00.001-08:002011-11-24T11:15:55.655-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I've had to stay home while my wife and son go up to her parents' place for the holiday, because my cat is sick, we don't know exactly with what, and he needs an eye kept on him. I miss my family but I will be okay, gonna have dinner with friends here in LA. Which brings me to today's thanks... 21. I'm thankful for all the fine people in Honda's automotive and

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-8495377252891953132011-11-20T11:53:00.001-08:002011-11-20T11:53:30.095-08:00

18. I'm thankful for the last 500 years of steady advance in communications and the spread of information to larger and larger percentages of humanity. From printing to broadcast media to the Internet, the number of people who have access to can learn and know things has gone from a tiny priveleged few to something like 75% of everyone. That has changed everything and hopefully has permanently

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-17517643472809686442011-11-17T11:28:00.001-08:002011-11-17T11:43:28.395-08:00

14. I'm thankful that I'm neither heavily addicted to materialistic stuff nor completely opposed to it. I've been able to collect some nice stuff over the years, some of which is intrinsically valuable and some of which is more sentimental, but I feel like I've got just about the right amount of it (my wife might not agree). It's not as organized as it could be, but we're working on that. 15.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-34628431568639168942011-11-13T21:18:00.001-08:002011-11-13T21:35:40.703-08:00

Yeah it's a little hard to actually post every day, but still I've got plenty of thanks here... 9. I'm thankful for the talents and skills I've been able to develop, which I'm very thankful I'm able to put to good use and make a living and help support my family. 10. I'm thankful for my innate stubbornness, which has kept me from giving up on going after non-mainstream career choices. 11. I'm

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-18437133411900568602011-11-08T20:36:00.000-08:002011-11-08T20:36:14.289-08:00

8. I'm thankful for my son. Period.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-1852722837953745572011-11-07T10:38:00.000-08:002011-11-07T10:38:01.366-08:00

7. I'm thankful for my wife, because I really don't know what the hell I'd do without her. In so many important ways, she's just by far a better human being than I am. She sees me at my worst and still believes in me even when I really, really don't.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-18503076587171506242011-11-06T15:00:00.000-08:002011-11-06T15:00:03.340-08:00

Busy last few days, so now to catch up: 4. I'm thankful that my parents (and the rest of my immediate, blood-related family) are inherently decent, good people who tried their best to be good parents. 5. I'm thankful that my parents did not try to raise me in any sort of dogmatic milieu (i.e. religious, political, intellectual, cultural/philosophical), instead giving me access to as much

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-18079632779774951432011-11-03T22:19:00.000-07:002011-11-03T22:19:27.558-07:00

3. I'm thankful for being born a male caucasian American in the latter half of the 20th century. The sheer bulk of the mountain of luck contained in that set of circumstances is staggering, and it should really humble the crap out of every person who shares those circumstances. Sadly, that's not generally the case.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-75136412871670288212011-11-02T12:36:00.000-07:002011-11-02T12:36:12.739-07:00

Taking a cue from the inestimable John Scalzi, I'm going to copycat him and post every day this month of November something I'm thankful for. I haven't counted my blessings for a while, so it's a good time to do that. Have to post two today since I missed yesterday... #1. I'm thankful that I'm alive and healthy. Pretty much everything starts from there. #2. I'm thankful that I'm a human being.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-53605344629931567222010-10-13T21:57:00.000-07:002010-10-13T21:57:09.725-07:00

I am banning myself from the Internet apart from email, work-related functions and my ArtBlog (I'll be putting up stuff that I'm working on when I can) until further notice - for at least a month, maybe longer. Time is something I have very little of these days, and I can't afford to waste any of it at the moment. I have way too many things to do and to deal with, so I have to cut out everything

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-87234557628701834202010-05-23T21:23:00.000-07:002010-05-23T21:23:22.353-07:00

You are in the Bedroom. It's about 10' square. There is a large bed, a chair, and a closet. There is a door to the south. There is a baby here. >Look baby The baby is probably quite cute, but at the moment he is crying loudly and unhappily. >Get baby You are now carrying the crying baby. >S You are in the Hallway. There are doors to the north and south, while the passage goes on east and

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-59038706647252867372010-03-15T11:36:00.001-07:002010-03-15T11:44:23.861-07:00

This blog is now located at http://lifeblog.jeffzugale.com/. You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here. For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to http://lifeblog.jeffzugale.com/feeds/posts/default.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-38565989386755252562009-10-05T16:48:00.000-07:002009-10-05T21:26:24.421-07:00

This past Saturday I met a man who is a member of one of the smallest, most special groups of people on earth. He has truly been where no human being had been before, and was one of the first people to do this extraordinary thing. This guy has been one of my heroes for pretty much literally as long as I can remember, and I've wanted to meet him (and his fellow travelers) ever since.So here I am

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-76754895872460495792008-10-13T18:21:00.000-07:002008-10-13T18:41:05.775-07:00

All's well so far! I've been taking the time to work on cleaning up my apartment and getting rid of old stuff that I don't need anymore, mostly. I've done the unemployment application and paperwork so that's all set. In the process of reducing expenditures by cutting out nonessential bills. Goodbye, land line long-distance service! Goodbye, housekeeper (that's a sad one). Once I'm finished

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-22458046458490010712008-10-07T12:51:00.001-07:002008-10-07T15:12:30.947-07:00

It's a beautiful day here in Los Angeles, maybe a bit warm, but not too uncomfortable. It's sunny and the sky is clear and blue.It's a nice way to start my first full day of unemployment. Yep, I've been downsized. Well, not exactly, it really wasn't a planned thing on the part of my company. Unfortunately, one of the two games we were working on got cancelled abruptly, and they haven't lined up

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-63163731161381712002008-08-25T14:00:00.000-07:002008-08-25T14:04:05.420-07:00

Right, so starting right now I'm going AFK for a couple of weeks for my vacation. I'll be in Cabo somewhere, in a pool that has a bar in it, with no internet access and no computer. It remains to be seen whether I can survive under such circumstances, but I believe the proximity to the bar will help a bit.The comic will update as usual!I will miss my hunny very very much. :\Have funs everyones...

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-83962215296671022232008-08-14T21:15:00.000-07:002008-08-14T22:01:58.506-07:00

Well, yes it's been a while since I did any life-blogging. This is because I've been very very very busy with many many many things, and also because in general, life has been kind of going along in a steady fashion.Of course, that means lots is happening. However, a lot of it I can't really talk about for a number of reasons, so those items will have to wait. Meanwhile, there's some important

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-51863599391311851722008-05-28T07:54:00.000-07:002008-05-28T08:03:31.624-07:00

OK, I know this isn't going to be a big deal to anyone, but it's something of an achievement for me, something of a milestone really, so I'm writing about it.This morning, for the first time EVER in more than 20 years of playing the game, I finally, finally, FINALLY managed to get 200 lines and reach level 20 playing Tetris, in the DS version, thus actually finishing the game and seeing the end

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-77806975941848166822008-04-21T18:41:00.001-07:002008-04-21T18:51:03.149-07:00

Apparently I am no longer able to sleep more than about 5 hours per night, even with the help of melatonin. I don't know if that's a healthy thing or not - I'd better start monitoring my blood pressure again, and it sure wouldn't hurt to start exercising. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Wii Fitness, which should help.The positive result of not needing 8 hours of sleep every night is that I

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-80669730662657805992008-04-11T10:50:00.000-07:002008-04-11T10:52:57.955-07:00

I now have a nephew. His name is Kevin. He weighs 7 lbs 12 oz.Woo hoo!!! Congrats to sister-in-law Lauren and brother Dan. :)

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-8890357181999042992008-04-02T11:35:00.000-07:002008-04-02T12:16:49.800-07:00

I'm now on Twitter. You can find me at: http://twitter.com/jeffzugale. I'll try to be interesting, but lately I've been kinda grumpy. Perhaps an instant venting ability will help! :)Look, it's even over there in the sidebar. On the right, below my links.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-45348079094503777082008-04-01T10:18:00.000-07:002008-04-01T10:19:38.755-07:00

I'm not doing anything for April Fool's Day.Yeah, I'm boring. I'm feeling somewhat curmudgeonly today. So sue me.No, don't sue me. I can't afford it right now.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-81488876532323194312008-02-25T16:40:00.001-08:002008-02-25T16:46:43.541-08:00

Went to the NASCAR Auto Club 500 with dotsara yesterday. Sadly there was much rain and most of our time there was waiting for the track to get dry, but we saw some good racing in the few laps that actually happened. I took some photos and put them up on my Flickr page, for any NASCAR fans out there. Dot showed me that you can take pictures thru binoculars, so I got some pretty decent close

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-71211615559148329542008-02-13T18:23:00.001-08:002008-02-25T16:48:10.099-08:00

SF writer and Real Cool Guy John Scalzi recently wrote a blog post about advice for New Writers, which deals with some practical things about trying to be a writer for a living. It's worth a read. I think it applies to anyone who's trying to do some creative thing on their own, like artists or musicians or even programmers. One thing he talks about is that unless you have a really good reason to

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19438699.post-86889927445960897602007-11-21T13:56:00.000-08:002007-11-21T14:03:23.274-08:00

...what I had for lunch today, here it is:Yummy udon with beef and a big fat California roll. But I had to suffer with a Pepsi. Sigh.Why am I sharing? Well, since I got my new camera, I have to retrain myself to carry it everywhere and take some damn pictures already. I'm a pitiful excuse for a shutterbug, I need practice.

Jeff Zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03208793232384147634noreply@blogger.com0