Hey, in celebration of Valentine's Day, they're giving away free shots at Starbucks.

Of espresso, I mean. If you find out where they're giving away free shots of Jäger, let me know.

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Another reason I like Steve Nash (yes, it's a man crush): He's got a new Nike shoe coming out. It's made from factory scraps. It's called the Trash Talk.

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I am a song binger. Current binge is a two-song loop of I Was Wrong (Social Distortion), and Infected (Bad Religion), with a bit of snacking on Los Angeles Is Burning. How's that for romance?

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A lot of ants died last night. Baited traps seemed to do a pretty good job. I'll lay down some more today to let them know I'm serious. I am serious.

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At most of the martial arts schools I've trained at, it's considered a no-no to ask when you're going to learn or do a particular thing. You're supposed to be patient and concentrate on what you're learning now, not what you're going to learn later. Be respectful of your current material. So I've been trying to be subtle about asking my fellow students when we get to start sparring.

At my Shaolin Kenpo school, we started sparring at orange belt (the third rank). At my old Kung Fu school, we started sparring on our second day of class. At my new Kung Fu school, apparently, we start sparring at fourth level.

I'm a first level.

I CAN'T WAIT THAT LONG TO SLAP A PUNK!

I'm just kidding. Mostly.

I really do miss sparring.

I know next to nothing about the Japanese marionette sci-fi show X-Bomber (syndicated in the UK as "Star Fleet"), but I've always liked the cover of the theme song done by Brian May and Friends. If you're Brian May, and your friends include Eddie Van Halen, and your video includes footage of puppet spaceships and giant robots, you will have me before you've even plugged in your guitar.

ETA: This fan video comp includes some tasty guitar stuff left out of the official-release video.