So there’s those new high-tech scanners that make a 3-D image of your naked body, right? I guess they’re coming to the local airport right now so I’m seeing discussion in the papers of whether such an invasion to personal privacy is worth it for that security. It sometimes seems like I am supposed to hold the opposite view considering all my other beliefs, but I really don’t consider those scanners all that bad. Sometimes I think that people are a little too reactionary when it comes to “Orwellian” stuff like this. In 1984 the fact that Big Brother Is Watching seemed much less evil to me than the fact that Big Brother was lying to the populace and suppressing thought and actively manipulating minds and torturing and all that. Now I’m not saying that the government should be tapping everyone’s phones and have flying cameras peering into their windows, but being scanned before you get on a plane does seem perfectly reasonable to me. I guess people consider this one of those situations where we’re on the slope and in danger of falling further, but it just doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.

The only compelling argument against it I’ve seen is the people who say it wouldn’t really make things that much safer. But even then as someone who has been patted down and had his bags searched and all that, I’ll take the scans just for the expediency it seems to offer against our current system that also doesn’t work.

Of course, as always, my preferred method of making air travel safer would be to try to make a world where people don’t see blowing other people up as preferable to the lives they have to live. But that might be a bit more work.

Usually Patrick D Ryall does not make New Year’s Resolutions. This year, he is going to go against that trend. This year: Patrick D Ryall is making a New Year’s Resolution! Alert the newsmedia! Do it quick!

Are you prepared?

You had better be, because here it is:

This year, Patrick D Ryall is not going to buy ANY nails! None! At all!!!

THIS YEAR, I WILL NOT BUY ANY NAILS!

You may be in shock. Probably you are. Just take a deep breath and sit down for a while. Remain calm.

So, another year is over and the Dark Lord Char’Nagh is handing out guns to those thoughtful enough to leave him sacrifices. Truly a festive time. And in the end, I would say that as years go, 2009 wasn’t all that bad to me. Sure, I didn’t travel as much as I would have liked, but I made it to Winnipeg and that’s a place I’d never been before. And sure I’m still in the same Worthless Job I’ve been in for so long, but at least I continue to abhor it and don’t simply accept the world as it is. So, I’ve got that…

Plus, this is the year I finished Adventure Dennis. Perhaps it isn’t something that should have taken five years to finish, sure, but at least it is done. I have way too many ideas in my head. I start something, then lose focus and lose interest and start something else. It means a lot to me when I actually finish a project and can finally put it behind me and have a little bit more room in my head for all the other things I must focus on. Let’s see if I can’t finish a few projects this coming year as well.

Yeah, this is also the year I was nearly done a book and lost it all when my computer died, but I’ll focus on Adventure Dennis for now.

It has been some time since last time so this time I’ll take the time to… uh… post.

Anyway, I’m like really close to finishing Adventure Dennis. Like really close. So all you fans who don’t actually exist need not wait much longer.

In other news, I have not yet received any powers from aliens or wizards or the Secret Government. So… That’s about all I have to say.

Sometimes I feel like I am bad at being a comics reader because I don’t read enough Batman. I mean sure, I loved the Batman Animated Series and I have enjoyed probably more Batman movies than I haven’t. Oh, and the Adam West Batman Show is right up my alley as well, but as for comics I had read pitifully little.

Well this week, I got Batman: False Faces a collection of Batman Stories and Batman-related Stories by Brian K. Vaughan author of such wonderful comics as Runaways, Y: The Last Man and Ex Machina. These Batman tales were found by me to be perfectly adequate. I guess I’ll throw them a Three and a Half Out Of Six Pieces of PDR’s Reviewing System Cake. Nothing epically amazing. I did like that every story in the collection dealt with Batman villains I was familiar with but who is not one of the really big names among Batman villains. Batman really does have a great collection of villains, doesn’t he?

In other news, I managed to get another Adventure Dennis Level done since my last post and I am currently working on the Last Level! Hooray.