Clang, Clang, Clang, Ka-Clang, Clang.

That's a sound you never want to hear your hard drive making. But I was treated to it this weekend. Yup--Priss, the two-and-a-half year old hard drive that came with my beloved VoodooPC computer, bit the dust on Saturday, taking with it a whole slew of things--.wav files from soundtracks I was in the process of recording (goodbye, Sonic Jam and BTVS: Chaos Bleeds), bits and pieces of projects I had worked on, and worst of all, about two dozen unpublished Buffy CCG The Chosen-Themed Dream Cards (including my beloved rendition of Dark Tara.) The only thing that escaped unscathed is my emulation software and peripherals, which I had burned off onto DVD a month or two back, but it was small consolation.

All in all, fairly depressing turn of events. Thankfully, Nikki suggested we go out to pick up a pair of replacement drives and she installed them and had my computer back and running better than ever within a matter of hours, for which I'm very thankful...

Now to see if I can whip up a batch of cards from scratch in time for tomorrow's Chosen goodies update...

There are some text messages you expect to receive on your phone, like "Wuv" or "Miss you" or "What's for dinner tonight?"

Then there are bizarre, random messages that get sent to you by accident. Text messaging is a tricky thing; it's not like a wrong number where you can confirm that you've reached the right place before speaking your piece. I received this random message the other day on my cell phone.

"I'm over it. You over it. You love me? I still crave you and accept it. Don't be stingy with your shit. ! I need it in m"

What's better, it came with a full name and a phone number of who sent it. I wasn't able to summon the courage (or brass) to write them back and ask them exactly how much they craved my shit in their m...

One fish filet taco, please.

We recently discovered a combination Long John Silver's/Taco Bell joint in our area. It was decorated pretty much like you might expect, if you expected the decorator to be on something when he did his work. The railings and metal bits throughout were carved with alternating images of fish and bells; three strange, Picasso-esque paintings depicting Taco Bell in various ways hung on the walls; the entire place was done in an odd combination of almost fluorescent colors; and since it was Christmas, there were those additional adornments as well. As Captain Murphy (RIP) might say, "It's like a Mexican pirate crapped a snowstorm in my brain."

But it seems the universe loves its balance, for while I had my first taste of Long John Silver's in many a year (mmm, delicious), the local steak delivery place, Off the Grill, closed its doors. That location is no longer listed on the Off the Grill website, and I hope it's not an epidemic. Either way, if you're in one of the 10 local areas still serviced by them, consider giving them a call and having a steak delivered tonight. Oh, prime rib, how I'll miss you...