�Popcorn� My brother is back in town again. He just returned from a trip to Mexico where he volunteered to help build a house for a poor family. He told me a lot about the family. Despite their hardships, they remained very positive and loving people. One story he told me really got to me and made me re-realize how out of whack my views often are. The family has a young son. One day he got a bag of popcorn, which was a real treat for him considering his family�s circumstances. Even though treats like this are few and far between for him, he happily ran around to all the volunteers, asking them to share some of his wonderful popcorn. Although I never met this kid, I�m amazed and touched at his generosity and ability to keep his spirits high. I know I�m wussy, but I�m having problems typing this story without tears. Hearing about this boy makes me so angry with myself for making my �problems� more than they should be. This boy currently lives in a house made of spare parts and whatever else somebody threw away. Yet when he had something to share, he was happy to do so. It�s sad that it takes something like this to remind me of all the amazing things I have, and I hope I never forget about this kid, so I never take these things for granted. I hope I can share what I have as freely as he does. I love my brother. I�m so proud of him for giving his time to a worthwhile cause and an amazing family. I�m so happy he shared his stories of the family he worked for with me. I don�t want to ever forget them. I guess that�s why I�m writing this now.

�Viva Las Vegas part II� or �Nelly Furtado must die� Just got back from Vegas. I love that city. Feels like I haven�t been there in a long time, but it has only been three months. I guess that�s what happens when you�re used to going every month. It was definitely a good time, and it was good to get out of San Francisco. Here are some interesting tidbits from the trip: --I ended up $193. Although it was good to leave up, it felt weird. I�m used to winning or losing a lot more. My gambling was more conservative than usual since I don�t have a real job right now. I stuck to really smart games: single-deck blackjack at Binion�s, BJ Blitz at The Rio, and full-pay video poker at Caesar�s. --Nelly Furtado played a big part in my schedule. On Friday I spend 1.5 hours at the pool until her stupid �I�m Like a Bird� song played. Saturday it was two hours at the pool until that damn song. Sunday that freaking song was playing as I left Caesar�s. I really hate that song. --I was rewarded for being a dopy romantic. I saw this cute fountain as I was leaving and I wanted to throw a coin in and make a wish, but I didn�t have any change. So I put a dollar in a slot machine for one spin and the extra quarter. It ended up hitting for $50. --As much as I love my sunglasses, they�re starting to make look silly. I�m developing a raccoon tan since my eyes are always covered when I�m outside. This was the first time I�ve been to Vegas since that debacle with Diane (see March 30th blog). I didn�t realize how much I missed it. I totally have the gambling bug right now. Hopefully I can get enough freelance gigs so I can maintain a monthly schedule. I love Las Vegas.

�Serving man� or �Respect� The other day I was talking to another freelance writer about why we do what we do. We have major philosophical differences in regards to the way we approach work. He�s most interested in the aesthetics of the pieces he writes. He wants every piece to be entertaining and technically sound. I�m more concerned about serving an audience. To me it doesn�t matter how interesting or witty the writing is. If it doesn�t help the reader make a purchasing decision or get the info he/she needs then I�m not happy with the job I did. One friend told me that I seek validation through my writing, and I guess that�s true to an extent--I just like feeling useful. This other writer suggested that I don�t treat my profession as an art, and to a certain extent that�s true too. What am I really doing? I�m writing a critique about someone else�s creation. There isn�t really anything artistic about that. Writing game reviews isn�t an art at all; it�s a skill. This whole view extends deeper than that though. I started thinking about the kinds of comics I want to write. I don�t have any aspirations to be one of the elite writers like Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, or Alan Moore. I want to make stories that make people smile. Awards and acclaim are secondary. If I can make a reader laugh out loud or have a heartfelt moment with a character, that�s really the best thing I can do. I don�t care to write a timeless story, just a story that makes someone happy for a time. Before this silly debate came up, I had a long talk with a good friend. It was really weird. We�re probably better friends for it, and certainly we understand each other better. An unfortunate and peculiar byproduct of the conversation is that I�ve lost some respect for my friend. I really feel rather guilty about it, but it�s the truth. I just found it so unusual that the same talk brought us a bit closer together, yet irrevocably made me think less of him/her.

�Anti-virus programs are for suckers� or �Anti-virus programs are for suckers� I should have known better. Really, I should have. Against my better judgement I installed McAfee VirusScan on my PC. Never mind that I got the software for free. I just should never have put it on my PC. It added way more problems and slowed my stem down a tad (ten percent is certainly enough to irritate me). Putting this stupid program on my system goes against many of the things I learned while working at PC Magazine Labs. Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! Let this be a lesson to all of you. So long as you�re mindful of what you�re downloading and the files that others give to you, there�s no reason to run an anti-virus program. It makes PCs unstable and slows down your overall system performance. McAfee�s anti-virus isn�t nearly as draining and obtrusive as Norton�s (I ran the numbers at PC Mag), but it�s still unnecessary. I wasted five hours troubleshooting my PC over the weekend because of this stupid program. Lesson re-learned. So please, unless you use your computer like an idiot, don�t buy into the hype that are anti-virus programs. If you�re still paranoid you can check files by emailing them to a Yahoo! Mail account. That way you still have peace of mind, your system resources aren�t drained, and you save money. Network Associates can take their McAfee junk and�.