Author: anthony Page 21 of 72

Thunder(cat) is back home and mostly back to his old self. He’s not quite as quick when running around the house, but he’s jumping on things and intensely observing the neighborhood.

He’s also back to his old approach to belly rubs. When he was sick, he was too tired to put up any kind of response to contact and would pretty much just lay there.

Now, though, we’re back to the danger zone. The belly rubs must be carefully timed. Too much, and he wants to end it. Too short, and he wants it to continue. Either way, the claws come out to enforce his will and my reflexes are no longer up to par.

He’s nailed me a couple times – enough to draw blood. Not a lot, mind you, and a little cleanup with soap, water, and hand sanitizer gets me back in the game.

Jim thinks my cat and I are co-dependent, I think that Thunder is just a cat and that’s how he rolls. Either way, I’m glad my little buddy is better – even if it means he’s more dangerous.

——————

While Jim was on vacation and then when I was home with Thunder, I kept myself busy with a number of small tasks. These were things I had been putting off for no real reason and I got a great deal of satisfaction in getting them done. Even if none of them amounted to much. Did some filing, cleaned and re-arranged my living room. ripped some CDs, etc.

It reminded me a bit of being on the switchboard for the university. Each of the calls is like a little task. Help one person with their question – move on to the next.

You find the fun, and Snap! the job’s a game… wait, no, not really. But it does feel good to accomplish things – even small ones.

I also took a little time to make some flowers for Jim and an origami appreciator at work. Roses, six each, on some cheap-ass plastic stems. The roses don’t really work on their own and usually require soaking in water to hold their shape – plus some hot melt glue and a stem. I’ll post a pic one of these days – I think they turned out well.

———————

Last week, I picked up Destiny for the playstation 3. It’s a First Person Shooter (FPS) set on different planets in our solar system far in the future. The plot is a little thin and there’s quite a bit of grinding to level up – but oh my gosh is it fun. Fast paced, lots of evil aliens and robots to be smacked down, and LoooooooT!

Added bonus – you can get teamed up with other players and not have to listen to them talk! I was in a team up earlier today and after a terrific battle I had my character do a little dance.

The other two players had the “…” above their heads – signifying they were looking at their menus. It was the equivalent of hitting a home run, rounding home plate, and having all the rest of the players looking at their phones.

Ah, well, I had fun.

It hasn’t creeped into my dreams yet, fortunately. Only a matter of time, though.

———————

And it’s also time, I think, to get in a couple quick rounds before heading to bed. Somebody’s got to save the solar system and I think I’m the man for the job.

Thunder and I had a nice long weekend and he kept me company as I did a little house cleaning and worked on some projects. He enjoyed the open windows and spent a lot of time running around and jumping on things to see out at various heights.

On Tuesday morning, however, he didn’t see me off when I headed off to work. And when I got home, he didn’t greet me at the door. Not even a hearty “Thunder Cat!  Hoooooo!” would summon him.  I finally found him in my room laying on my bed and he just sort of regarded me instead of being happy to see me.

As the evening wore on, I realized he hadn’t eaten any food that day and wasn’t doing any running around. He would walk carefully and slowly to a spot and then lay there. He was being really lazy – even for a cat. When I saw him hesitate to jump up on the couch, I got worried. I kept an eye on him and he didn’t improve. When I went to bed, he lay on the landing of the stairs and stayed there all night. I checked on him a few times in the night and by morning I was convinced he needed to go to the vet.

I stayed home from work and waited with him for the vet’s office to open up. Except, they were booked up all day. So, I called an Emergency Vet and made plans to take him in.

He didn’t want to use the litter box before he left, but eventually did. And he really didn’t want to get in the carrier, but I eventually wore him down.

He yowled the entire car ride. Like a freaking banshee in the backseat – the little dude really hates car rides. I mean, a lot.

We got to the ER, got him checked in and I filled out some of the dumbest paperwork I’ve ever seen.

And then I waited while they checked him over.

Then they took me to another room and I waited some more.

All the while, I’m pouring out so much worry it might as well have been a physical manifestation. Like I could have sent eddies of it drifting away if I moved my arm.

Finally, the vet came in and gave me the news.

Thunder has a high fever and it’s making him miserable. Hence the not eating or jumping. They wanted to do some bloodwork and put him on an IV – and keep him overnight.

The vet said he was the sweetest cat and they had trouble listening to his heart because he purrs so loud.

The brought him in so I could see him before I left and I just rested my hands on him and petted him gently.

He was purring for me and just seemed… so tired.

I left him in good hands, put down the deposit on his treatment, and headed into work.

I teared up a bit in the parking lot, though. Not afraid to say it. He’s my LFB – Little Furry Buddy – and I worry about him and already miss our occasionally violent co-dependent relationship.

I’ll check in with them later today and see how he’s doing. And hopefully bring him home tomorrow – healthy and back to his regular self.

There’s a restaurant Jim and I like to go to in Canton called Danny Boys. It’s a sort of rat-pack themed place with Italian food – and it’s pretty popular in the area. We were there a few weeks ago on a busy night and got seated at a tiny table off to the side. The walls were covered with old records and posters of Frank Sinatra – and right next to me was an old cigar box fastened to the wall. It had a hinge and clasp on the lid so, naturally, I opened it up to see what was inside.

Good thing I’m not Pandora.

Anyway, the box was empty – which was a little disappointing. So, since I had paper with me (and I always have paper with me), I quickly folded three green dragons. I slipped them into the box, closed and fastened the lid, and no one was the wiser. Except for Jim, of course.

Now, it’s not unusual for me to leave behind origami – I call it “creative littering” – but it is unusual to find out what happens to them.

Turns out, someone that we know that works there found them and knew it had be me. She texted Jim to confirm and was delighted to have found them. But, we discovered, she only checked the box because she once found a dollar there that someone left as a tip.

So, I guess I wasn’t quite as clever as I thought. Still fun, though.

—————————-

A couple of weeks ago was the graduation event for UA. I had signed up to be an associate marshal – a task that involves guiding the graduates through the venue. Seemed like a good way to volunteer, but the training meeting had me worried.

The guy running the show had been doing this since 1992 and he glossed over, well, everything. I left the meeting with a sense of knowing less than I did beforehand.

And heavy feelings of dread and anxiety.

Now, I don’t really get that anxious very often. I recognize that there are usually many ways for a situation to play out and lots of right answers – so, I just kind of roll with with things.

This, however, was different. I was going to have hundreds of people depend on me, on one of the biggest days of their lives, and I had no idea what I was doing. My only saving grace was one guy who showed up late to the training and proceeded to ask some of the dumbest questions imaginable. I was hoping that whatever disaster he caused would be worse than anything I could do.

On the big day, I got up early and got to the venue early. I downed a can of soda and a doughnut – which, in hindsight, was perhaps a sugar-fueled mistake – and got on my silly looking robe and hat.

Then we did a final walk-though and I realized I was going to be fine. The students in my row came to me and I check them off my list. We followed the row in front of us through the building and got them seated. Then followed again when the went up on the stage.

It was basically follow the leader + a clipboard.

I was vastly relieved, no one fell off the stage, and everyone was happy.

And now that I know, I might volunteer again. Though those robes… man, no way to be dignified in those. Might as well have worn a clown wig too.

———————-

I get some weird email at work and today was no exception. There was an email from  – I kid you not – Princess Brittney [redacted], the CEO and Founder of a “girl power” organization. And I quote:

“an organization passionately dedicated to achieving gender equality for women and girls through collaborating with successful men.”

She was trying to get us to host an event with a speaker of dubious academic credentials and I’m pretty sure we’re just going to ignore it, but… What the actual F?

How is that “girl power”, princess? Women will be equal if they cozy up to powerful men? Really? REALLY?

I wasn’t sure if I should be amused or nauseous – and I eventually settled on the latter.

Just… what kind of a lesson does that teach young girls? “You can’t excel on your own, you need a successful man to give you the opportunities.”

I don’t know how you end up at “equality” after that. When I eventually forward the note, I’ll need to figure out the right department. Most likely it will go to – and be rejected by – Student Life.

Really, though, I want to send it over to Women’s Studies so they can try to pull Princess Brittney out of the dark ages.

Yesterday was the Wayne County Maker Faire. This is an event where people get together and show off what they can make – from knitting to robots, wordworking to drones – and all kinds of things in between.

I got up at 6, loaded up my car, and was at Wayne College by 7:15. Unloaded the car, got everything set up, and was ready to go half an hour early.

Which was good, because people started showing up at 9:30. And from then until 5:03 pm, I folded paper and taught people – mostly kids – how to fold things as well.

We did cubes, triangular shapes, and cranes – lots of cranes.

It was a steady stream, usually 2-3 kids at a time, all day long.

Jim stopped by and brought me a drink shortly after we officially started. And my folks came up for a visit and brought me a sub which I ate while I was folding. I unfortunately didn’t have much time to visit with them – the kids were relentless in the nicest way possible. Dad did give me a quick break to run to the restroom and then it was back to it.

I was wrapping up a crane with a couple kids at 5 and there was one little girl waiting to fold something too. So, because I had to pack up and go, I gave her the crane I’d been working on as a sort of consolation.  She was cool with that.

With the car loaded up, I headed out and I met up with some friends for dinner and games. Then, shower and bed.

I was exhausted.

Not just physically tired from a day’s worth of activity, but mentally tired. Each piece I do, no matter how well practiced, takes a sliver of concentration. When I’m showing someone else, especially a novice, that takes more attention. Showing multiple people of different skill levels takes far more to track where everyone is and how much intervention is needed. This is especially true with very little kids – they want to do the whole thing, but there is some degree of precision needed or the folds don’t work

And then multiply that by the number of different projects going at once. Several times, I had a couple kids working on cranes, two others building cubes, and a little girl that hung out at my booth that wanted to make an 18 piece wreath.

Human beings can’t really multi-task, but we can switch tasks really quickly – and I think I hit my limits on that one.

I’m still worn out today and might actually take a nap in a bit here. Not sure I want to tackle an event like this again… and yet…

—–
There’s a moment, right at end of folding a crane, when it suddenly looks like a bird. All along, it’s just paper with a bunch of folds that don’t mean anything and suddenly – crane.

The last step is the hardest. You grip the crane from the front and the tail and pull straight apart. It takes some effort – just the right amount of effort. Not enough, and nothing happens. Too much, and the paper will tear.

But when it works, the bird will take that first tentative flap of its wings. And from there, the wings will flap with ease.

And in that moment, when everyone’s attention is focused on the crane, there is delight. Eyes get wide, smiles get huge, and there is simple wonder.

For a kid to see that transformation and to have a hand in turning a piece of paper into something… well, magical…

That’s pretty awesome.

I got a notice from the gas company that I needed to have my indoor meter checked. I needed to call and schedule an appointment prior to the end of May – or my gas would be cut off.

I was cross about the threat – and then worried when I misplaced the notice and phone number before I called. I got a second notice, made an appointment with the most disengaged customer service I’ve even encountered, and planned to be at home on the day of the appointment. Which was yesterday – from 4 to 8 pm.

I left work a little early so I’d be there in case they actually showed up at the beginning of the window – and started waiting.

At 6:20, I finally got the automated call that they were on their way over. At 6:30 the technician arrived. I met him at the door and escorted him to the basement with the well lit and cleared path to the meter.

He had a box with a sensor wand on the end that he waved around the meter for about 45 seconds before he declared it done. I walked him back upstairs and he was on his way.

So, 2 and a 1/2 hours of waiting (could have been much more, i guess) and then 45 seconds of actual work. Is this really the best system for this? Really?

Sigh.

——————————–

Thunder(cat) has been enjoying the open windows and the increased duties as a neighborhood watcher. He’s been a bit more playful and I decided to give him a treat. About 2 minutes after he scarfed it down and determined that he wasn’t getting a second one, I found him in the living room trying to turn himself inside out.

Now, having a cat as a room-mate involves a certain amount of vomit. I accept that it happens – either food or hairball (thankfully, those are rare), but something about that tiny treat did not sit well with him and he put his whole body into throwing that up – along with perhaps everything he’d ever eaten.

It looked really painful and was a horrible sound, but once he got that treat up he was pretty much okay. I cleaned up the mess and although he doesn’t know it yet – that was his last treat.

Sorry, bro.

———————-

I have decided that databases are dumb. They mostly work when you are trying to catalog things – like books or widgets – but they have trouble with the very changeable human element.

I’ve been getting letters from the Human Right Campaign at my house – with Jeff’s name on them. I’d let my membership lapse a while back and somehow their database mixed my address with Jeff’s name.

It’s not a big deal, I guess, but it makes me a little sad every time one of these come in. Today, I went to their website and tried to find a form that would match the situation and failing that – finally tracked down an email address.

I sent the note, got the automated “we’re working on it” response, and moved on.

Again.

I still think about him often and it doesn’t hurt so much anymore – just, you know, kinda sad.

Once this mailing list is cleared up I’ll consider renewing my membership again. I kinda doubt the effectiveness of the organization, but it seems like the thing to do.

—————-

Time to get some dinner and run some errands. And maybe sit outside and read if the wind settles down.

I have a couple of examples of emails I’ve gotten recently that make me question the very nature of human communication.

The first was a message sent to the webmaster@uakron.edu email via the Contact Us form:

“looking for in working with our stem students in the cleveland ohio please contact via email”

Plenty of English words there, but perhaps not quite enough. Throw in “help” and “area” and you get close to a sentence. Though what kind of “help” this professor from another college was asking for was still unclear. Yes, we looked him up.  And no, his follow up emails didn’t make any more sense.

The next was in response to the email announcing to the undergraduate students that their student government constitution ratification ballot was now open:

“ok thank you passed late me if need us be done or sing up ilove to ass will hlape polpe ok halpe aorn ohio ”

I did not respond to this one.

With some work, a few words may be translated. “sing up” suggests “sign up”. “hlape polpe” could be “help people” – and then “ok halpe aorn” could be “or help Akron”

The rest… I’ve got nothing. Even the most egregious of texting errors can’t fully explain this note from a student at 9 am on a Monday morning.
Now, I’m sure you could find plenty of errors in my communications – but none so far as to render the message unobtainable.

I printed out the second email as “the least comprehensible email I’ve ever gotten – including spam” and it will serve as a reminder that some things just make no damn sense.

———————-

I think I’ve mentioned before that my house it somewhat dry and I frequently build up a static charge. To protect my electronics, I’ve taken to touching the pull chain from my ceiling fan in my living room to discharge the lightning before touching the playstation controller.

I was watching a DVD today and got up to check on dinner. I reached up to the pull chain, anticipating the zap – but this time, in addition to the lightning bolt at my fingertip, I also felt a tingle down the back of my leg.

And, several feet away on the arm of the couch, my playstation controller paused the DVD.

I didn’t touch it at all and wasn’t even near it. But I affected it when I grounded myself from across the room.

Weird.

It’s a good thing I didn’t shuffle my feet or I might have killed my next door neighbor.

And, knowing me, I’m going to end up a super-villain. So, sorry, in advance.

Not long after I got out of college, I moved into a house with a fraternity brother and his friends. I didn’t have a lot of furniture and my fraternity brother offered me the use of a dresser while I was there. It wasn’t fancy but I didn’t need much and it did the job. He let me take it with me when I moved out and I kept it years – moving it with me from apartment to apartment and finally to my house.

My house has plenty of space and storage and I found I didn’t really need the dresser anymore. It was still in okay shape, but turned into a catch-all in my office and was taking up a lot of room.

So, I decided to get rid of it on Wednesday evening.

In the cities I’ve lived in, setting out items on the curb on trash night puts them at fair game for the folks that drive around and gather those things to either re-use, re-sell, or – sadly – add to a horde somewhere.

The dresser was on the second floor of my house and after taking the drawers out, I slowly and carefully moved it into the hallway, down a half-flight of stairs, around a corner, and then down the rest of the steps, across the living room, out the front door and onto the porch, then down the concrete steps and across the yard and out to the grass at the curb. I set it on an old towel on the grass, put the drawers back in, and put a “Free” sign on it. Then I took out the rest of the trash and finished mowing the lawn.

A little later, while I was eating dinner and watching a DVD, I heard a noise and realized my neighbor was out by the dresser looking it over.

I went out and confirmed that “yes” it was free. And that I’d be happy to help him move it over to his house. He said that he’d been looking for a dresser for his son’s room and this would be perfect.

We took the drawers back out to move it, then carried it over to his garage – he said his son would help take it inside later. As I brought the last of the drawers over, it started to lightly rain – which wouldn’t have been good for the dresser and made it less useful.

So, just the right amount of timing and coincidence and the dresser I didn’t need anymore got re-purposed and put to good use.

———————-

I had to work a little late yesterday – something that rarely happens in my job. The Graduate Student Government elections were set to close at 5, so I stayed late to shut down the online polls and tabulate the results.

Such as they were.

The elections were supposed to be for a President and Vice-President and a Treasurer. There was one set of Pres/VP running and no one for Treasurer. So, it was something of a moot point. Provided that the presidential candidate voted for himself, they would win.

I think this is the point that the current president was trying to make when she suggested that she just appoint her successors instead of having an election.

She was over-ridden by the graduate school and the office of student life – to my relief. It troubled me that an election process could be subverted by… disinterest.

If that organization no longer needs to exist, then so be it. It should be dissolved by the decision of the student body. If they want to change the parameters so that the president appoints a successor – then again, the student body should decide that.

In the absence of those decisions, we had our ballot and our election. And I followed the parameters of the election as carefully as I could – because I think it matters.

A few weeks ago had been the Undergraduate Student Government elections and next week will be a vote on their revised constitution.

—————-

In lighter news…

Jim and I were out getting some dinner and running errands last evening – and I knew he had been struggling with a rough week.

So, hoping to cheer him up, I told him about a new word I had accidentally made up.

I had been trying to explain the behavior of some of our users to one of my colleagues at work and was trying to come up with “shenanigans”

However, it got hung up in my head and the word “anagram” nearly came out. At the last moment, I inadvertently mixed the two and what emerged was:

“shenaniganagrams”

Which is awesome. Go ahead and say it out loud.

My co-workers didn’t really catch me say this and we moved on. I tried to share this with Jim, but I cracked myself up and as soon as I got this new word out I started laughing so hard I wasn’t making any noise and my eyes started to water.

While I struggled to get control of myself, Jim looked around to see if anyone was watching – or perhaps he was looking for the exit.

Well, at least I enjoyed it.

shenaniganagrams

Feel free to work that into your vocabulary. By the way, you should google anagram – the “did you mean?” is pretty silly.

—————————

It’s been a quiet day here and I think it’s time to crack open a new book and maybe work on some laundry.

I had a dream the other night that I was at a conference with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. She was presenting a resolution to the UN suggesting that people that had committed murder or other violent crimes in their home country should not be allowed to be an ambassador to the UN.

After her presentation, she came over and asked me what I thought. I replied,

“Well, I would like to think that if a person had paid their debt to society they should then have the same rights as any other citizen, but I see your point about them having questionable judgement – so, I guess it’s given me something to think about,”

She nodded. “And that’s really what I was hoping to do – give people something to think about,”

And then I woke up. No idea what prompted that dream or what it was about – but she seemed nice.

———————–

I’ve finally gotten around to reading Stephen King’s “Under the Dome”. It was… ok. I kind of expected more from the 1,072 pages, but it less about the horror of the situation of being trapped in a dome and cut off from the world – and more about how quickly people can go from “kinda of an asshole” to “full blown assholerly”. And that’s really what it mostly about. A few good people and bunch of assholes led by an even bigger asshole.

Hmmm… where have we seen that before?

Anyway, it was okay but I’m not likely to read it again. It’s going on the “sell to half-priced booked for a pittance, but at least feel good about putting a book back into circulation so other people can enjoy it” pile.

I have very specific piles and shelves for my books.

—————————

I was at my computer in my office at home last evening and looked out the window to the roof over my patio in my backyard. I noticed some birds hanging out near the edge, then one of them vanished and came back up in a splash of water.

Ummm… yeah, gutters aren’t supposed to work like that.

I went out to investigate and sure enough, the gutter was full of leaves and water – and the opening to the downspout was blocked.

All the rest of the gutters on the house have a cover – except, oddly, the one that is easy to reach. If you’re going to cover the gutters, why not just do all of them?

So, I got some gloves, a bucket and a ladder and got the gutter cleared out before I lost the light.

Even though the leaves were kinda gross and decayed – and the water smelled pretty bad – I didn’t really mind doing the job of cleaning it out. It was a simple job and easy enough to do – would that all our tasks were that straight-forward and easy to resolve.

I sprayed it down with a hose for good measure and checked to make sure the water was draining to the street properly before I put my tools away and headed inside.

This evening I stopped at Lowe’s and got a plastic mesh cover that should do the job and I’ll get that put in place one of these days.

———————————
It’s been a quiet evening and the windows are open to cool breezes. Time for a cup of tea and good book on the porch.

Waaaaay back in the day, when I was still a student assistant working for the UA Telecommunications department, I worked with a woman named June. Her husband Rod was the director for IT at the time and Telecom was an auxiliary that worked closely with IT. It made for some confusing org charts at the time, but it was notable that the manager for Telecom didn’t really get along with June. It was one of those things, you know?

Being a helpful person, I made it a point to help keep June on track and smoothed over any friction between her and the manager. It made her work days a little easier and I think she appreciated it.

Having an interest and aptitude with computers, I applied for a full time position with IT on the HelpDesk. On the day of my interview, Rod called me up and asked if I wanted a ride across campus from the Lincoln building to the Computer Center. I thanked him, but said I was planning on just walking over – no need to make a special trip.

“How about I give you a ride anyway?” he said, and I shrugged (which he couldn’t see on the phone) and agreed.

On the ride over, he told me who I would be interviewing with, what questions to expect, and advice on how to handle the trick questions that one of the managers was sure to spring on me.

I was a little surprised by this, but realized I’d already gathered a good reputation with IT while still a student – and he wanted to see my succeed. I suspect his wife put in a good word for me as well.

The interview went well – and I picked a different route with the trick question and still did okay. And thus began my full time job with the computer helpdesk for the University of Akron.

A few years later, Rod was re-organizing the computer center and called me up. I’d worked in a couple different areas and he asked me what I wanted to do next.

“Well,” I said, “I like working on the website, so maybe the webteam?”

And, like that, I was on the webteam. My new boss was a little skeptical, but I soon found my niche and became a productive part of the team.
Fast forward to today and we’ve got a gap in the switchboard schedule this morning. I’m in a dress shirt and tie for the Service Awards this afternoon and answering calls for the university solo from the switchboard office in the Lincoln building.

A call comes in and has Rod’s name on the display. When I answer, I recognize June’s voice when she asks to be transferred to Benefits.

“Is this June?” I ask and when she says yes – with some puzzlement in her voice – I identify myself and ask her how she’s doing. She recognizes me and we chat for a moment before I transfer her call.
How strange that, on the day I get my 20 year service award, I talk to one of the people who helped me get started? June and Rod have both long since retired and it was so random that she would call today and I’d be on the phones for that one hour to answer.

Humans tend to made connections and associations even when there is no correlation. But it was a neat little circle there and I’m glad that connection happened.

I got my certificate later in the afternoon for 20 years – and surprised myself with being a bit nostalgic.

I got a request from my cousin not long ago to participate in a project for her daughter’s second grade class. They are learning about the “50 Nifty States” and she asked if I could write about Ohio.

Of course, I said yes.

I got the letters from the teacher – and one of my favorite second graders – a couple days ago and set to work. They wanted to know interesting things about Ohio, our weather, and what crops we grow here. I did a little research and put together a response. I’ll drop it in the mail tomorrow morning on the way to work, but I have a link to an online version.

It was fun to do and I hope they enjoy it.

————————

I’m often referred to as weird, silly, eccentric, or – my favorite – whimsical, but when it comes right down to it, I’m actually really practical. Especially when it comes to large purchases. Ok, yes, I did buy a pointer hand today when I was at Staples, but the comedy opportunities are well nigh endless and I couldn’t pass it up. I mean, you start with nose-picking and go from there – the sky is the limit.

But the big stuff always gives me pause.

I really “want” a laptop. Just think, I could blog FROM ANYWHERE! Well, anywhere with WiFi. But I don’t really “need” a laptop. I have a very nice desktop in my office at home – and a somewhat crappy desktop at work. I don’t need another computer.

I also really “want” a playstation 4. I really don’t need this – I mean, I really don’t need this. My playstation 3 works just fine and while I’m more of a PC gamer at this point it also plays movies just fine. But, oh, a playstation 4… I just want to rub up against one. But not in a weird way.

So, conflict in my head. A lot of conflict. I’ve price shopped and compared features on both of these many times – but haven’t gone ahead with either. The practical side will keep winning until the parameters change – i.e. my playstation breaks or I get a syndicated writing column and/or my desk computer breaks. Eh, two of out of three…

And while that practicality is kinda boring, my bills are paid. And that feels pretty good too.

Not as nice as rubbing up against a new playstation 4 – again, not in a weird way – but still pretty nice.