Two weeks ago, the application drive in my main machine got corrupted. In the process of checkdisking it, the OS drive got problems as well. I ended up losing the data on the OS drive, which meant a couple weeks of save games. I got a new SATA drive to replace them.

On Monday I got to a trade show in Chicago to discover that my laptop drive was damaged. Checkdisk could not get past 43% on checking file data. I had to swap in my old small drive which I'd replaced in September.

A couple days ago the on-board network in my main machine just up and died. It actually shut down my computer. Until today I was running it with a USB wireless adapter.

Today I picked up a PCI network card. I installed it and now my computer won't boot. The fans spin and that's it. Removed it, same thing. It does not react to the power or reset buttons.

It seems that my very presence has now become harmful to hardware. And I am very fucking pissed about it.

World of Goo is probably the only Wii-to-PC port I've ever played. As a port, it's basically seamless. Maybe too much so. It's effectively identical to the Wii version, which includes the complete lack of options such as resolution or volume control. (These are possibly accessible in an ini file; I haven't checked.) The precision of the mouse control was a welcome feature. The game on the Wii is fun despite the shaky wiimote control.

The game just oozes atmosphere. Gameplay and level design are clever. My one disappointment is now it's over! I suppose I'll have to try for all the OCD achievements (each level has an additional set of requirements to achieve an OCD award, such as a higher minimum number of goo to save or a time limit).

Okay, so far it's been a really crappy year. Worst ever! But hopefully yesterday and today are the turning points. Out with the old, in with the new. Or in the case of today, out with the new, in with the old?

Daisy fought hard and we fought with her. But sometimes there are fights you just can't win. We were so hopeful after her kidneys started working again after the surgery. And then her levels started to rise again and she became anemic. Lethargic, not eating, and in some distress, she was deteriorating so we brought her in to the vet again today. They couldn't figure out what was causing her new issues. They couldn't give us a positive prognosis and we couldn't bear to continue her suffering.

Daisy was very shy due to her early time as a stray. Once she got to know someone though, she was the absolute sweetest kitty. She was so gentle and affectionate that anyone who got to see the real Daisy fell in love with her.

No one should be forced to bury two beloved pets in one year.