Dozing at the Dozen.

As of today, Ghost in the Machine is 12 years old. [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 11] Like its venerable ombudsdog, this site is mostly characterized these days by short bursts of frenetic activity followed by long periods of slumber. But, in its own way, the ghost is still keep-on-keepin’-on. If you’ve been here for awhile or just got lost on Google today, thanks, as always, for stopping by.

Half- and Half-Man Marathons.

To follow up on items mentioned here:

Two weeks ago, I did in fact finish the Baltimore Half-Marathon: Total running time was 2 hours, 3 minutes, 35 seconds, so I clocked in at just under nine and a half minute miles. I’m totally fine with that, especially given that I only got in six weekend-warriorish weeks of training beforehand. And, other than not being able to walk so well for a day or two afterwards, no serious damage done – I may be up for another long race as early as December. (This is quite a contrast with my failed attempt to run the DC Cherry Blossom ten-miler earlier this year: Then, my feet fell apart. I’m now an enthusiastic convert to the Vibram toe-shoes.)

Also, after a slog through A Feast of Crows in particular, I am now totally caught up with George R.R. Martin on A Song of Ice and Fire. And, well, there is a definite drop in quality after the first three books: Four and five are far more meandering (Martells and Tyrells? 1100 pages and Tyrion still hasn’t met up with Dany?) and repetitive (drink every time somebody says “words are wind“) than they need to be. Still, I’ve read worse: Count me in for Winds of Winter, if and when it ever drops. In the meantime, I’ll be ensconced in Steve Erikson’s ten-tome Malazan Book of the Fallen.

What’s the Frequency, Kevin?

And quiet ’round here once again. Several reasons this time, including an end-of-recess vacation to lovely Kauai, and a hugely busy work push upon my return. Also, I’ve been spending my off-hours reading the Game of Thrones books (yes, I succumbed — I’m currently 700 pages into Feast of Crows) and training for the upcoming Baltimore half-marathon (a.k.a. getting back into even a modicum of running shape.)

So, plenty busy. Plus, coming up on twelve years of doing this, I do find myself questioning the point of it all. I can’t really comment at length on the (dismal) political scene at the moment, due to the overlap with my day job. And, at the end of the day, does the world really need yet another web outlet for long-winded movie reviews and the other random items that get posted here? Judging from the years of dwindling hits and lack of comments: No, no it doesn’t.

Of course, if trying to “make it” as a blogger was my main motivation for GitM, I probably would’ve quit 8-9 years ago. Still, spending hours posting copy here that just molders away unread seems like less a good use of my free time than it used to. Sorry, bitching is unsightly, I know. But, you might as well know why this site has been back-burnered for the past month. I’m not planning to officially quit or anything — this too will pass, I’m sure — and I expect my collector’s OCD will compel me to keep up with the movie reviews, if nothing else. But, in all honesty, I just haven’t been feeling the spark of late.

The Biggest Wheel of Industry.

“Grabbing a microphone and cane while donning a black top hat, the evening’s ringleader, Napoleon Dynamite, announces to the audience: ‘We’ll perform songs about love! Songs about sex! Songs about death and songs about dancing! But not necessarily in that order.’“

Notify your next-of-kin: This wheel will explode! Elvis Costello and the Imposter’s Spinning Wheel Tour was in the area this week, and I got the chance to catch my third Elvis show. Here’s the setlist, as half-determined by random spins of Elvis’s big carnival wheel:

Encore 1 (acoustic): A Slow Drag With Josephine | Jimmie Standing in the Rain | Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

Encore 2: Spin 9: Greenshirt/(Angels Want to Wear My) Red Shoes/Purple Rain | Honey Are You Straight Or Are You Blind? | What’s So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding?

So, as you can see, over thirty songs in there, and Elvis was in his usual top form. I could see “the wheel of songs” being more fun in theory than in practice, if luck hadn’t been such a lady to those of us at Wolf Trap — Granted no “Almost Blue,” “Man Out of Time,” or “Shipbuilding,” but any night you hear Elvis sing “Beyond Belief, “Indoor Fireworks,” “Alison,” “So Like Candy,” and especially “I Want You” (chosen by a contestant on a pick-any-song-you-want joker spin, and bless her for it) is a good night. If the wheel rolls ’round your way, definitely think about going. (Pic via here.)

Bicycle! Bicycle!

“The popularity of the program is due to the attractiveness of the sturdy red bikes–every distinctive Capital Bikeshare vehicle on the street is a rolling advertisement for the program–and its incredible convenience. The system is very easy to use, and riders may pick up a bike at any station and drop it off at any station, perfect for short, one-way trips. The first 30 minutes of each trip are free, making a year’s membership a bargain for $75 if one uses the bikes for in-city commuting and errands.“

Bicycle sharing is coming your way, so forget all your duties, oh yeah… From Kevin Spacey to Fratty McFrattersons, Kaid Benfield briefly surveys the rise of DC’s Capital Bikeshare in The Atlantic. “‘Capital Bikeshare’s success right out of the gate has far exceeded our expectations,’ said program director Terry Bellamy.” (LivingSocial helped.)

I joined in March after my crappy Target bike was stolen, and, while it definitely has logjams at the morning and afternoon rush hours (hopefully soon alleviated by 25 more stations), it mostly works out for my daily commute. Now if only they could get users to wear helmets.

(Belated) Love Songs, ’11.

“So baby don’t worry, you are my only, You won’t be lonely, even if the sky is falling down, You’ll be my only, no need to worry, Baby are you down down down down down?” One of the unfortunate casualties of the work-bomb and accompanying radio silence the past ten days was the annual Valentine’s Day music post (’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09. ’10.) D’oh!

To rectify the V-day oversight in part, below are a few peppier-than-usual ditties to help winter ease into spring. If, like me and the ladyfriend — yes, I’m very happily un-single these days! — you’re a fellow Dance Central enthusiast, or for that matter just a proponent of #gettngslizzard, you’ll recognize several of these.

“Poppin’ bottles in the ice, like a blizzard…“

“Push me, and then just touch me, tll I can get my satisfaction…“

“Fear and panic in the air, I want to be free from desolation and despair…“

“I get my kicks on channel Six. I get my kicks on channel Six…“

And, until next year…

Happy belated V-day, y’all.

Silence of the Hares.

Apologies for the recent quiet ’round these parts — work has been kicking mighty hard of late. I feel bad about not keeping up-to-date here on recent events in the Middle East and Middle West. I feel bad about being several reviews behind on the movie front. But, more than anything, I just feel bad about letting down the bunnies.

Sigh…anyway, I hope to rectify in the days and weeks ahead. (Besides, after the under-reported fiasco that happened here last week, I may well find myself with more time than usual on my hands come March.) In any case, thanks, as always for coming by. (Disapproving rabbit via Cute Overload and, um, Disapproving Rabbits.)

Silent Knight.

Cheer up, Bruce, it’s Christmas! Happy holidays to you and yours, from Berk, Bats, and GitM.

This used to be my Playground.

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake…On its 6th anniversary, and a little over two years after Wrath of the Lich King, the World of Warcraft is shattering into pieces this morning to make way for Cataclysm on December 7th. [Cinematic.] In other words, the original 2004 release is being completely revamped and updated, and the Old World that I and 12 million other people have been traipsing about in for the past several years is disappearing forever.

(This posed a poignant question for long-time players last night — Where do you go when the world ends? I myself parked my undead rogue on the grave where he was “born” four years ago, atop a hill in Tirisfal Glades, so he could watch the decline from a hazy distance.)

As usual, I’ve got a lot of games on my plate at the moment — CoD: Black Ops, Fallout: New Vegas, Civ 5, Starcraft 2, and DJ Hero 2. I’m still only halfway through Red Dead Redemption, and everything I’ve seen from the Kinect (and particularly Dance Central) suggests it’s a game-changing device in its own right. Still, for what hours I consign to gaming, I usually just keep coming back to WoW. It’s a quality production, through and through.

Microphone Check, Micro-Microphone Checka…

Another long stretch of quiet ’round these parts, I know, and in terms of post count, this September has been the quietest month in nearly 11 years of blogging. (Hopefully the handful of remaining regular readers are checking the Twitter feed.) But, busy workdays notwithstanding, the Ghost lives! So if you’re still swinging by these parts, pardon the interruption, and thanks, as always, for dropping by.