So, going back as far as the old Geocities site, I have been linking to this one site where clicking on these icons they’ve got is supposed to help raise some money for some worthy causes. Apparently a bit of money actually does go to those causes, so I keep clicking. I think there was only three or four causes back when I started, but just the other day I noticed a new one, for helping homeless veterans. It seems like with this new edition it is as good a time as any to comment on something which has been bothering me for a while.

When you click on a cause’s icon it, as with any website in this day and age, shows how many people have “liked” it on Facebook. Each cause apparently having its own Facebook page, they each have their own numbers of “likers” and the numbers for each cause goes as follows:

Hunger: 67,871
Breast Cancer: 409,396
Animals: 368,019
Veterans: 4,765
Child Health: 24,292
Literacy: 24,626
Rainforest: 36,122

Okay, Breast Cancer is winning. I am not really surprised by that. For some reason breast cancer “awareness” has been a thing people have been concerned with for forever. Obviously I’m not pro-breast cancer or even cancer in general, but I’m going to complain about raising “awareness” for things that probably nobody is unaware of at this point. But here’s the thing: Apparently it worked. Almost half a million Facebookers bothered to like that page on the site (which actually sends money toward mammograms rather than just raising awareness, for the record). I mean, excepting the Animals one, the other causes don’t add up that high combines. People are aware.

Veterans comes in last place, but hey, it’s only a few days old. Next to last? Child Health and Literacy. I really would have thought that a lot of the people who would bother “liking” the page for Animals would also “like” the Children one. They’re both cute, aren’t they? And, just from my point of view, I would think that improving the health and literacy of our children would go a long way towards not only fighting breast cancer, but a lot of other problems by raising a generation well equipped to deal with them. I say we get some “Raise Better Kids Awareness” campaigns going maybe and try our hands at making a difference at it.

Of course, in reality it is entirely likely that people who “liked” the pages on Facebook just “liked” one as a means of “liking” the group, or even just “liked” one because somebody sent them a link and they’ve never even bothered going to the page. Basically, it isn’t a highly scientific way of me getting my informations, but hey, I’m just brainstorming here. Lemme alone.

Last year I accidentally started a tradition I will continue this year. To cut down on how much I spend on books, I will only put in one order online for books a year and that occasion will occur when John Swartzwelder puts out his newest novel. Well, it turns out that this time is coming soon because I am now seeing the announcement that “The Fifty Foot Detective” a new Frank Burly novel, is due out sometime this Spring. The absurd and gloriously stupid adventures of Frank Burly are good, but now that I’ve ties it to my only book-ordering event of the year, it will be like a holiday. I am already trying to make a list of books to order so that on the very day the Fifty Foot Detective hits Amazon, I am going to declare it National Bookorderin’ Day in the Nation of PDR.

In less happy news, I feel like I should also mention that Dwayne McDuffie died this week. He was the first comic writer I ever sent an email to with this magic Internet thing and he was nice enough to answer it and everything. It’s a shame he died so young, while he was still contributing so much because now we’ll never know what else he may have given to comics and animation.

For years now I’ve done the bulk of my watching television at the Comedy Network website. Home to the Daily Show and Colbert (because in Canada we’re not allowed to watch those shows on their actual websites). For years the Comedy Network website has been pretty crappy.

The video system had always been sub-YouTube in quality. I spent as much time with buffering and waiting for the clips to load as I actually did watching. Even if I were to pause the clip and walk away from the computer for a while it would only load up a minute ahead of where I was paused and just stop. If I let it load for an hour while I did other things, I’d would come back to a minute’s worth of a clip and then more waiting. And at least twice a day the clips would just give up and kick me out of the video thing and would not only stop loading the clip, it would also lose the place where it was. Combine this with the problems my computer has anyway, it made watching my stories unnecessarily large.

Well today I woke up to find a new type of clip viewer on the site. And today, no long waits and stuff. I guess I have to thank the Comedy Network. If you’re going to force me to watch the shows on your site instead of those of the actual people whose shows I want to see, I’m glad you seem to actually be making it easier for me.

So we’ve reached the end of the PDR Museum and there’s still so much more I could post about. I tried to think of the quickest way I could get a bunch of PDR-related information up in a single post and it occurred to me, “those email surveys people send and then you’re supposed to send to other people!” I could find an old one of them in my email and fill it out. And then when I didn’t think of a better idea I went to my old hotmail account and found one from years ago. Taking out the questions about who I am sending it to and stuff, here I go:

What time is it? 5:45 pm.

Full Name? Patrick David Ryall.

How many candles on your last birthday cake? Two.

Birth date? July the Eighteenth, 1981.

Zodiac Sign: Cancer.

Siblings? One brother.

Height? 187 cm, if I remember correctly.

Pet(s): Not at the moment. Over the course of growing up I had cats, fish, and a dog. And a cockatiel who still lives with my father.

Hair Color: Brown.

Are you single? I’m the singlest.

Piercings? Nope.

Tattoos? Nope.

Where do you shop the most? The Superstore downstairs, I guess.

What are you most scared of? Society in general.

What are the ugliest names? I don’t know. I doubt I’ve ever put much thought into it.

Nail polish colour? Last time I wore nail polish, it was black.

Do you love your job or jobs? Haha! No.

Favorite Movie? I have far more than one.

What Did You Watch Last night on TV? I didn’t last night. Last time I did watch TV programs was Frasier, I think.

Favorite TV show? I don’t know. There are plenty.

Ever been in the hospital? Sure.

Were you named after anyone? I was named after most people born before July 1981.

What type of house do you live in? The kind that is an apartment.

Favorite magazine? Well, the only one I read is National Geographic, so that I guess.

What is the first thing you think of when you wake up in the morning? I remember this one time my first conscious thought of the day was “You’ll be dead someday” and that kinda sucked. Typically it is more like “Well, time to go on the computer”.

How many rings before you answer your phone? Depends how quickly I get to the phone. Two is probably average.

Most important thing in life? I guess something like Helping Each Other.

Chocolate or Vanilla? Both are strong contenders. I see no reason to exclude one.

Do you sleep with a stuffed animal? Sadly, no.

Favorite alcoholic drink? I’m a teetotaler.

Do you eat the stems of broccoli? If I’m eating broccoli I do. If I’m not eating broccoli… I don’t.

Is the glass half empty or half full? It’s just half a glass people. Be reasonable.

Do you type with your fingers on the right keys? Not if I accept what other people call the “right” keys as actually being right. I stick my fingers where they feel good to me and it seems to work.

Where would you go on your dream vacation? Oh man, I don’t even know. I have so much travelling I would like to do.

Do you wish on stars? I just looked out the window and wished for super powers on the first one I saw.

When did you last cry? Some years ago I am sure. Probably too long ago.

Do you like your handwriting? Do I like it? I don’t know. I mean, it’s terribly messy but I don’t care. It gets the job done.

What is your favorite lunchmeat? Chicken I guess? How is a lunchmeat different from regular meat?

What is your most embarrassing CD? Man, I can’t get embarrassed by owning a CD. If I am allowed to include cassette tapes, I have the New Kids On The Block Christmas Album around someplace. That is probably my oddest one.

Do you have a journal? I have the Book of PDR.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? I don’t know. Not a lot, probably. On occasion.

What are your nicknames? Read this. Since writing that I got called “Patillac” once. I liked that.

Would you bungee jump? Depends who was attempting to talk me into it, but mostly I don’t see the point.

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Depends which of my two pairs of shoes it is.

You are strong? Nope.

Favorite ice cream flavor? I don’t know. It varies, I guess.

Shoe Size? Thirteen.

Red or pink? Which is better? I don’t know. They’re both good.

What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My general suckiness. My more specific problems have endeared themselves to me.

Who do you miss the most? I miss everyone. I’m quite sentimental.

What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Blue jeans. Not wearing shoes.

What are you listening to right now? Ziggy Stardust.

What was the last thing you ate? Slice of pizza.

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? How would I know? I guess some sort of pale pinkish color, since that is what I am mostly.

What is the weather like right now? Looks nice. Clear sky, so I can see that star. Snow on the ground. I’ve got my window wide open, so it isn’t too cold, I guess. You meant the weather here, right? Not like… everywhere?

Last person you talked to on the phone? Does the robot lady you call for bus schedules count? Because I did talk to her.

The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? That they aren’t male.

Favorite Drink? Water. Citrus juices. Apart from milk, those are pretty much the only things I drink.

Favorite Hair Color? Ummm… I have no idea. I like afros, and the best of those are black, but you mean, like, in a potential mate probably, right? I don’t know. Of the women I’ve had a thing for, I don’t see a pattern. Brown and blond apparently.

Favorite Eye Color? Ditto the hair thing. Blue or brown apparently.

Do you wear contacts? Nope. And if I had to wear corrective lenses, I’d go with glasses because I like them better.

Favorite Food? Hmmm. I love the chicken club sandwich at Freemans quite a lot. But there’s plenty of other stuff I like too.

Last Movie You Watched? If you mean in theatres it was True Grit. I caught most of First Blood on the TV a few days back.

Favorite Day Of The Year? I don’t think I have one. Halloween appeals, though.

Scary movies or Happy Endings? I see no reason for those two things to be mutually exclusive.

Summer or Winter? Summer. Though the real quality season is Autumn.

Hugs Or Kisses? I do like hugs.

What Is Your Favorite Dessert? I don’t know. Do people really have so many favorite things? Why limit yourselves? I guess I buy these strawberry/yogurt/oatmeal parfait things from the Superstore a lot.

What Book Are You Reading? I am currently in the middle of Raptor Red, a book about dinosaurs.

What’s On Your Mouse Pad? Blue.

What’s in your CD player? My what? (I did mention this survey is like six years old, right?)

Favorite Smells? I don’t know. When the bread place up the street spreads its aroma over the neighborhood, that’s pretty sweet. Probably I have some good memories linked to smells I can’t remember just now.

Favorite Sounds? Does… does music count?

Rolling Stones or Beatles? Why choose? Both are awesome.

THIS OR THAT!
Night or Day: Night.
Chocolate Chip or Mint Chip: I’ve eaten chocolate more often.
Ocean or lake: Like for being in? Probably a lake in that case.
Chocolate or vanilla: Didn’t I answer that already?
Lion or tiger: Lions maybe. Though with Ligers and Tigons, does it matter?
Love or lust: Love is all you need.
Silver or gold: Silver is better against werewolves.
Pencil or pen: Depends what I’m doing.
Skirt or jeans: I’m a pretty big jeans wearer.
Rose or tulip: I… don’t even think I know what a tulip looks like.

IN THE PAST 48 HOURS, HAVE YOU…
Cried: No, or I would have mentioned it when you asked above.
Bought something: About forty hours ago I bought the pizza that was to feed me all weekend. That’s it.
Worn a skirt: Nope.
Gone for a walk: I’ve walked, but not with walking being the primary purpose.
Gone for a drive: Again, I’ve ridden in cars, but not just “to go for a drive” it has been to get to work.
Gone out for dinner: Yes.
Taken a test: This isn’t a test is it? Then no.
Talked to an ex: Ex what? Ex-president? I wish!
Missed an ex: I miss Jimmy Carter.
Watched a favourite movie: Nope.
Given someone a present: Nope.
Missed someone: Wait, this seems redundant.
Hugged someone: I don’t think so.
Kissed someone: Nope.
Danced with someone: Nope.
Had a nightmare: Nope.
Fought with your parents? Nope.

Have you ever missed school because it was raining: I don’t remember that ever happening.

Have you ever put a body part on fire for amusement? Well, I once set fire to a gauze bandage on my arm and it was amusing, but I didn’t do it for amusement. I did it because I am apparently an idiot.

Have you ever been hurt emotionally? Sure.

Have you ever had an imaginary friend when you were young? I probably should have, but I didn’t.

Lace or satin? I doubt I could even tell one from the other.

Do you believe in Santa Clause? Sure, that was that Tim Allen movie, right?

Do you believe in ghosts? Ghosts are awesome. That’s all that really matters.

Do you believe in UFO’s? Anything that flies and you don’t know what it is is a UFO.

How do you release anger? I don’t believe in the whole catharsis thing that says emotions need a physical release or they become “bottled up” so I just try to feel my emotions not “release” them. That said occasionally when I have felt particularly helpless, rather than angry, I have thrown things or punched walls, but I try to cut down on that.

Do you trust other easily? I don’t know. Kinda, I guess.

What time did you finish this? 6:26. That’s a long survey.

Patrick D Ryall has been on the computers for as long as he can remember. Starting with gaming on a Commodore 64 in the 80s I was at the forefront of the technological progress all the way to the present day. I was never doing much at the front line. Just standing around. But I was there.

And so I was on the Internet back when it was still pretty small. Not like super-small, but pretty small. I can remember those days when it was actually hard to find information on a topic you were looking for. Last week I searched Google for “show about a kid in a coma” and I totally found what I was looking for! As easy as that! In the olden days it was not that easy. I feel like I spent years going through Yahoo categories.

But in the end I never used my connection to the Internet to its full potential. If I’d known ahead of time I’d end up trying to create a website with comics and crap, I would have started early and built a fanbase and stuff. Instead, my time on the Internet was spent just looking at stuff that interests me and interacting with people as little as possible. Much like life in general.

The first time I remember joining a forum and participating in conversations and stuff was a board devoted to Quest for Glory Five, while it was in development. Wikipedia tells me that the game came out in 1998, so I figure my time on those boards was 1997ish. When the game finally did come out (not as good as its predecessor it has to be said. QfG4 ruled!) I moved on and left that forum behind. But it was around that time that I was combining my interests in World War Two with Superheroes and I ended up finding a website about World War Two-era Superheroes. Though there I found a link to some comic book message boards where I participated in conversations and became a small part of an online community. To this day, though I don’t post often, I still make sure to check the boards regularly and keep in touch with several people there.

That held me for a few years. But eventually my desire to be online more grew! I teamed up with my peeps and we needed a website! I remember at some point we came into owning LittleChoy.com but I have no idea how. And we never did anything with it, really. Oh well. Then came the Adam West Batcave on Geocities. That lasted for a while, but it was not enough. On Tuesday June 4th 2002 Contains2.com was launched. The Official Nonsense Homepage. There we could write about whatever we wanted and make stupid drawings and all that stuff. And so that is what we did. For a couple years. Eventually Contains2 started to die and I couldn’t hold it together myself so I came to this site, the Book of PDR making my first post on Friday April 28th 2006. And since then I have been here. Very here.

I avoided the Myspace thing, and probably some other social networking things, but I did end up on Facebook around Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 where, for my profile, I described myself as follows: “I’m kind of a weird loser with an immature attitude and delusions of grandeur. I claim to hate humanity, but it’s only because I love them and want them to grow up. I have a high opinion of myself, but no self esteem. I’m a goody-two-shoes that refuses to play by the rules. And I’m also kinda dumb.” and I have not changed it since. While I don’t do that much with Facebook, I am still there and like it.

So what does it all show? Not much. I guess it just proves that my history on the Internet is not all that interesting. So… History Post Done!