~count-zero-overdrive

I can’t remember the last time I was completely sober. It hasn’t been too long, but it’s enough for me to be unable to pinpoint how long it’s been.
Regardless, I have a recollection of the last 3 days, for what it’s worth.

The day 3 days ago:
Three beerholics meet up to go hiking and eat pizza on the mountain. We hiked around 7-9 minutes due to my friend’s poor choice of shoes. Ate the food, drank the beer, killed some spiders that had a tendency of stalking me, until it all turned into a roleplay with a Beirut alcoholic, an urban ballerina, and me - the hyperactive child.

The day 2 days ago:
I got wasted on a bus ride to a town somewhere with my friend. By the time we got there, we were fairly tipsy. What followed was a camp fire in pitch darkness up on a mountain, with the one of the most beautiful skies I had seen. Now I know how a thousand diamonds strewn across a blue blanket look like. And then on some electro party on the same mountain. I just know I strolled around with a beer and a Gauloises in my hand singing “..up on a mountain.. beyond electric dreams..” by Bad Religion.

The day 1 day ago:
I remember having breakfast at our hosts in the town far far away. I remember walking around that town while my friend (also mentioned as the urban ballerina and the person getting drunk with me on a bus) was trying out wedding gowns in stores, pretending she was getting married. And then, I recall some book reading while some hornets are flying around and some 10 year old kids that look like born and raised in Texas are shooting an air-gun near by. And a bus ride back home.

Today:
I just took a shower. Now I have to go to some meeting. I’ll drink more beer. I should cut down on my cigarettes though.
And I don’t think I can remember a lot more than that right now.

The murky day outside seems perfectly matching with my dim mood today. The mood trigger happened last night, I was working late in the office and I got an email from a friend: "You heard about Clarke?".
And then a text message from another friend "rip A.C.Clarke :'( "
And with fingers slightly trembling, I checked the news. Sir Arthur C. Clarke, one of the fathers of science fiction, passed away on the age of 90, in his home in Sri Lanka.

Thing is, my sci-fi respecting friends, and all the people that encountered this genre are most likely stressed out a tad about this unfortunate event and loss of a grand literary icon. As for me, I lost my childhood hero.
I can still perfectly recall the cover of the first book I read by him when I was but a child, and how I accidentally found that book and picked it for the space ship on the cover. It was the first real SF book I read.. And it felt like I found a whole new world.. I found the gateway to Atlantis, a wormhole to an alternate universe, my personal Narnia in my closet.
So I hold a great deal of respect to this man. And I find my mourn to be in prefect order, after all, I have spent such a great deal of time with his books and thoughts.

And to all that haven't heard this name, or encountered his work, you have my warmest recommendations. After all, he had made the groundbreaking "2001: A Space Odyssey" book and movie along with my favorite director Kubrick. He has been a part of quite a few astronomy and astronautic enterprises alongside with NASA. He had set the concept of geostationary communications satellites long before scientists started considering it. He is undoubtedly and unequivocally, a person that should be remembered.

Here is a list of my favorite A.C.Clarke quotes, sneak a peak into this man's mind:

"I'm sure the universe is full of intelligent life. It's just been too intelligent to come here."

"Two possibilities exist: Either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying."

"I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her. "

"I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical."

"It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars."

"There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum."

"The best measure of a man's honesty isn't his income tax return. It's the zero adjust on his bathroom scale."

"Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading sex manuals without the software."

Clarke's Laws:
*Clarke's First Law: When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
*Clarke's Second Law: The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
*Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.


Also... My PC is named HAL 9000.

Somewhere between approaching exams and impending disaster, with a deficit of socialization due to studies, my inner nerd found the reason to blossom.
And a few links to share with you wonderful people:

*How many fiveyearolds could you take in a fight? Answer, here: [link]

*Man Vs. Wild on Discovery channel is a fluke (what's next, Orange Country Choppers don't make real choppers?): [link]

*and pro'lly one of the best gaming blogs I have read so far:
[link]

Knock yourselves out.