Thanksgiving was great. I didn’t get Chinese food the way I thought I was going to because the place was closed, so I ended up with Lloyd’s Barbecue Beef, which is an excellent second choice.

Jenn, of course, was at her grandma’s house, so I had the place to myself with the cats - some great time for a San Andreas visit. Over the course of the four-day weekend, I’ve now collected everything (all the horseshoes and oysters and everything else they make you collect) and have nearly finished the standard string of missions. I haven’t yet stolen all the cars or done all of the sub-missions (mining at the quarry, etc.), so I’m still not close to 100%, but I’m on the way.

We had three hockey games to go to, none of which really, truly held my interest. It’s like watching a battle of mediocrity on the ice. There’s competition, there’s scoring, but it’s not exciting like it’s been in past years. Sometimes the opposing team is good and makes some nice plays, but by-and-large, this hockey season (for almost all the WHL teams) has been more for those folks who like low (or no) scoring games and a lot of battle without much fruition. I’d rather have a higher-scoring game with lots of cool plays and a couple of fights. If the team can’t connect a pass, though… I dunno.

Going to three games in a week is a drain, especially when you’re watching hockey like this. It makes me not want season tickets. The only redeeming factor left is that we sit with friends, and I like seeing them and hanging out, so we still go. If we sat next to crummy people, I’d probably skip next season.

Saw The Day After Tomorrow last night. Eh. The effects were cool, but the plausibility of the story was iffy at best. I was expecting utter trash after I talked to some folks, but it wasn’t that bad. It didn’t cost me anything, and I didn’t feel like it was just two hours I’ll never get back. That said, I really didn’t care much about the characters and there was no way they’d have survived that cold, so the suspension of disbelief just wasn’t there for me. Plus, I’m not big on natural disaster films. I give it two or three out of five.

And so, back to work. I’ve got my Christmas music on my iPod and I’m ready to go. It wouldn’t have hurt my feelings to have won the lottery this weekend, but I guess since I gotta pay the bills, I’ll go to work. Work’s sorta like hockey in that sense - if I was surrounded by crummy people, I’d consider bailing. But I’m doing some good stuff there, learning new ways to do things, and I’ve got some good friends there, so if I gotta work, it’s a good place to be.

Some folks get their 15 minutes by starring in movies, writing books, or singing songs. In my circles, you get your fame from being featured various spots on the web.

My good friend and co-worker, Greg, got himself featured on Engadget this morning. It’s cool to see folks you know, particularly friends, with their name in the proverbial lights.

I don’t get much in the way of web-based fame. I think my link on the CodeRush community site is about the closest it gets.

Maybe I’ll have to work a little harder at that.

I got my San Andreas shirt delivered yesterday, and I’m proudly sporting it today. Didn’t hurt at all that it came with two six-inch-square San Andreas logo stickers and an 18-inch-square San Andreas kerchief. It is, for lack of a better word, the bomb. Had I known all the extra stuff came with it, I’d have ordered sooner.

A note to people designing web sites: Users can see the URL line.

I entered a sweepstakes and, after entering (and losing) I get a form that asks me if I want to notify my friends of the ability to enter. The URL looked like this:

something.something.com/index.tbapp?page=viral_form

Viral form?!?! You’d think the site designers would have thought of some less aggressive name for the thing.

I got a catalog in the mail this weekend for “The Noble Collection.” Normally I’m not too into the whole “collector’s reproductions of movie crap” thing, but this stuff rocks. They have a great section on Harry Potter as well as a really cool section on Lord of the Rings.

I didn’t even like Lord of the Rings, but I have to admit, I must have the 18K One Ring. Like, to the point that… well, I don’t wear jewelry of any nature, but I’m considering getting the sterling silver version of the thing, just to see how I like it (and to see the quality of the stuff these folks sell).

I also think the revolving elvish script ring is pretty cool.

And to answer my dad’s question from this weekend: No, Liv Tyler does not come free with purchase of Arwen-related items, nor does Cate Blanchett come with Galadriel items. Sorry.