This morning I woke up to find this orange lightning bolt indicator on my laptop going nuts. My still half-asleep mind immediately began pondering its meaning:

Is my computer trying to summon the Flash? Does Freakazoid require my help battling Cybermen somewhere in the Internets? Did Windows download an automatic update that gives me advance thunderstorm warnings?!

Not really, of course -- it was pretty obvious that something was up with the battery -- which became even more apparent when the computer died as I went to check the connection to the adapter. So after I plugged it back in and lamented the loss of my Spider-Man and Transformers personality quiz results (I got Doc Ock and Trailbreaker, respectively), I turned the laptop back on -- whereupon Windows informed me that the battery was IRREVERSIBLY DECEASED (or something similarly distressing and in all capital letters). So yeah, my laptop battery is dead -- not that I ever used it all that much anyhow.

I'd still like to get a new one, though, if only so that I don't have this gaping hole in the bottom of the machine that oh-so-conveniently happens to include the area where one of the four rubber feet used to be and leaves the machine lightly balancing on three prongs. (Of course, I could rectify this problem by just leaving the dead battery in, but then I'd run the risk of the machine trying to eat my brAAAiNsssss. The constantly flashing thunderstorm warning was also pretty bloody annoying -- before I finally removed the blasted thing I took to covering it up with a package of chewing gum.) Unfortunately, in addition to costing $165.99, the only Dell battery available for my laptop has absolutely horrible reviews. Seriously, go look -- they're horrible. Shit, even the power adapter got horrible reviews. How do you even make a horrible power adapter? Seems like that should be a pretty straightforward product to me.

Ideally I'd buy a better third-party battery, except Dell doesn't recommend using any batteries other than Dell batteries. It doesn't necessarily mean that other batteries wouldn't work -- they probably would, and I wouldn't get one unless it mentioned my model anyway -- but it does mean that I couldn't bitch at Dell if it exploded in my face or something. Not that I'd necessarily be alive to bitch if it exploded in my face, but yeah. (Then again, if Nathan Petrelli can be at about ground zero when a WMD goes off and survive, who knows? ) There would also be the problem of the missing rubber foot, which I'm guessing only Dell batteries made for these laptop models have. There is absolutely no reason to have the goddamned rubber foot on the battery.

Dell is totally fucking with me.

Despite sincerely believing that I was satisfied with them before, I keep redoing the bases on the blasted Lego Daleks. Trying to decide which color I want is bad enough, but the base thing is really downright maddening. I mean, the one design (which is identical to the previous one from an outside perspective, but has been partially redone to increase sturdiness) is a bit blocky, which isn't ideal but is completely in keeping with the blockiness of the Lego Dalek body itself.

And then there's the all-new, sleeker base, which is appropriately less blocky but also leans towards the narrow side and largely fails to match the blockier aesthetic of the rest of the Lego Dalek. It's also roughly 50 cents cheaper -- at least before the addition of the extras -- which is a big plus in my book. Granted, the extras push it up another 80 cents, but since the other one can't support them it would be more economical to go with this one if I decided I could make due.

Read on...

So Transformers aren't the only toys I've been buying lately -- I've also been ordering the occasional Doctor Who figure from Who North America. I've had the 10th Doctor figure on the far right for a while, but the other Tenant and two Ecclestons are relatively recent acquisitions. I didn't really want all of them, mind you -- I would've been satisfied with just one Doctor -- but I ended up getting the other ones because Character Options just kept rereleasing and remaking Doctors. Bastards! Read more...

In other news, I think I've finally perfected my Lego Dalek model (see previous versions here) -- or at least come as close as I'm going to get to it. I still haven't ordered the pieces to make one, namely because I've rightly assumed that I'd keep coming up with new improvements as I revisited the model over time. For example, in recent versions, I've embedded the eyestalk farther into the dome so it doesn't stick out quite so far and added some pieces to the front in order to improve the "slope" of the slats. I also completely redid the base so that it shows a lot fewer connecting pegs.

But by far, my favorite improvement is the use of hinged parts for the limb connectors, effectively giving the Dalek limited articulation. It also helps to fix the gun, as I'd been rather dissatisfied with the size and appearance of previous versions. I'm not all that keen on the new shade of grey -- the limited colors available for certain pieces in the Lego Digital Designer necessitated that I switch to a darker grey in order to pull it off (though, as you'll see, the piece is also available in red) -- and I'll likely switch the eye and the "ring" piece to white in keeping with the duller scheme of this Dalek, but that should do it... at least for this particular version.

Of course, there's also the problem of deciding which color scheme to order! The red one does look quite nice, but the darker grey one would be more in line with the Daleks' appearances in some of the classic black and white episodes. I definitely would've gone with the blue bumps before, but I don't think they quite work with the darker grey. Hmm.

Anyway, here are pictures of some of the other Lego Daleks that I've made -- holdovers from an old draft that I never posted. Read more...

Anyway, that's all for now! Next time (or not, but definitely at some point), I'll discuss my thoughts on television this season and whatnot. Until then, suffice it to say that I am not at all disappointed by the fact that the WGA strike has resulted in a truncated "Heroes" season! That show is sucking hardcore these days.

For some reason I was under the impression that the free taco giveaway at Taco Bell took place during the first week of November, but apparently it was on Tuesday, October 30. Not that that's particularly important -- I only mention it because if I'd realized that earlier I would've written about it first rather than Halloween. Read on...

So I haven't posted since before Halloween -- here's hoping y'all had a happy one. Nothing much to report on my end, but my Halloween "costume" is pictured behind the cut. It's not so much a costume as me not cutting my hair or shaving and simply popping on a hat that came with a bottle of coconut rum, but yeah.

This is so not a real costume.

If all bottles of rum came with hats, rum would be my new drink of choice! As it is, I've been drinking tequila lately -- namely because in the aftermath of Halloween I picked up some discounted "skin and bones" (or some similar-sounding themed title; it is so named because it is a diet mixer) margarita mix. But while I use the term "drinking" loosely because I tend to have maybe one or two drinks a week -- if that! -- I have been overdosing on sugary sweetness since the night of October 31. I finished off the last of my candy stash today, though, and quite frankly I'm glad to be rid of it. I got sick of those caramel Reese's peanut butter cups roughly two days after I bought them -- caramel and chocolate and sweetened peanut butter is pretty much overkill. Remind me never to get those things again.

I have more to write, but I think I'll go ahead and include it in another post for no significant reason at all. This is the 777th blog entry (at least according to the internal count), btw.