Fellowship of the Rings WoW Style!

Barry Bonds, The New Home Run King

Barry Bonds did it, and all I have to say is

THANK GOD IT IS OVER!!!

'nuff said.

Happy 2nd Blogday To Me!

Seems like August is when I feel like blogging the most. Last year around this time I came back and started posting again, and the previous year I started the blog.

Well not alot of posting in the last year, but I did still have a busy year.

On the work side of things, I continued working at the location of my old job until November, then finally got to move premanently to the new building. Also I had a very bust 2007 so far with two major networking upgrade projects that are thankfully now finished because.....

On the home side of things it also has been a jammed packed year. We did had more work done on the house. We replaced the patio door downstairs as well as a few windows, replaced the moldy wall, put laminate flooring in the spare bedroom and repainted it because....

We have a baby on the way anytime now. We have a beautiful room ready for when the new addition to our family comes. It has been a long 9 months (longer for my wife for sure) but I think we are ready for this new direction in our lives. Now how our cats will feel about losing our sole focus will be another thing!

Lastly on the entertainment front, this last year brought a change from Charter cable to DirectTV. While the move at times brought alot of issues, once we resolved everything we have been very happy with it. Having a DVR in HD is always wonderful, and having one in both rooms allows us to have less conflicts in recording. New TV additons to my watching schedule include Heroes on NBC, Eureka on SciFi, and Psych and Burn Notice on USA (Gotta love Bruce Campbell in anything!)

Here's hoping for another great year!

Blog Posting Beyond

So I have been watching Batman Beyond on DVD the last couple of weeks. Batman Beyond takes place about 50 years after the typical Batman time, about how long it has been since I last posted. It was always I show I liked, but it suffered from whatever TV station that showed it would randomly air the show and I never caught it consistently, and usually when I did it was one of the handful I had already seen. But with only a couple shows left to watch, I am amazed how good it has been. What also has amazed me is the list of stars that have done voices for it. So I decided to list the ones I at least recognized:

Teri Garr, Seth Green, Michael Gross, Stockard Channing, Linda Hamilton, Robert Davi, Laura San Giacomo, Olivia d'Abo, Ian Ziering,William H. Macy, Cary Elwes,Ice-T, Stacy Keach, Michael Rosenbaum, George Lazenby, Miguel Sandoval, Daphne Zuniga, Henry Rollins, Tim Curry, David Faustino, John Ritter, Michael McKean, Andy Dick, Ed Begley Jr., Mitch Pileggi, Robert Patrick, Adrienne Barbeau, Mark Hamill, Wayne Brady, Christopher McDonald, Clancy Brown, and Diedrich Bader

Weekend at the Con - The Good

Seeing the last post you may have thought it was a bad weekend, but in reality it was a great time. Despite all the problems outside of our control there were great moments all weekend:

The two games we ran went without any cheaters or Dieters and actually we had one player who played two games at Little Wars with Dieter and agreed with our assessment of him. There was also the best run by any Imperial force up to this point on our Saturday game. Also the game is always well received, the sign ups sheets more than filled, and there is a buzz in the air afterwords. LOG did an amazing job and everyone involved should be proud.

We also got to play in a couple real cool games run by Trent. One on Friday night with WWI airplanes, and one Saturday morning with the same rules but in a Star Wars setting.

We had tons of good food and lots of beer. Next door to the Hotel was the Raccoon River Brew Pub. We ate there two days and got a couple of growlers of their Pils and Oktoberfest. Nothing better than great beer! And even more fun was the fact that Chad couldn't remember the name of the jug of beer and kept calling it Rumbler, Grumbler, Rambler, anything but it's actual name.

Most importantly we just had a great time hanging out with each other. The endless amount of picking on each other, mostly towards Seth, cased many laughs! Recalling past glory, both in gaming and in Lodi. And just not letting the negative things of the weekend affect us.

Weekend at the Con - The Bad

This weekend was a trip to Fields of Honor. We were running the Star Wars game from Little Wars. Here are the "Bads" of the weekend.

I had a little bad luck that started the night before we left. My Wife and I went to look at new cell phones but hadn't both made up our minds 100% on the models we liked the most so we decided to put it off. We were driving to get some food when the driver's side rear tire started making a weird noise. I had run over a huge stick and it punctured the tire. After changing into the donut tire it was getting late so we started driving to all the tire places we could find that could change the tire that night. Eventually we found a place and got it changed and got home in time for my wife to leave and make it to work on time.

The morning went off without a hitch and we made past Iowa city and about an hour out of Des Moines when we get the call that the store bus that our Star Wars game was on broke down. Actually their transmission lost overdrive so 3rd gear was the max gear they could use. So a back track to Iowa City to stop at a transmission place was needed. Knowing that we were running the game at 7 and time was running out, LoG (including myself as the groupie) decided that we needed to rent a U-Haul. The gaming store owner wanted to do the same to get his merchandise there to try and make a little money for the weekend so we decided to go into it together. However we got screwed because he wanted to split the cost, despite the fact that our stuff took up less than 20% of the truck.

OK so we now have half the U-Haul (in price at least) but we have a whole gaming store bus to unload and reload into the U-Haul. We did the human chain thing and manage to move everything to the new truck in under an hour. Next came the fitting a thrid person in the back of my car, which it really isn't designed for. But you do what must be done. And of course we had to help unload the U-Haul when we got there because we had to get their stuff out to get our stuff out.

Tied in with all of this is the end of the weekend drama. The reason we drove seperate was because for us four it was a vacation and a time to have fun. Two of the people that came with worked part time for the gaming store and they weren't there to work. One aspect of driving ourselves meant that we could leave when we were ready. Well the owner of the store had a group talk with his staff (not us) on Saturday night and came up with the plan that with our help, he could pack up all of his stuff into the U-Haul quicker, have one of us drive the U-Haul back to Madison and turn it in, plus drop someone back off at the bus, and probably unload the U-Haul as well. Add in that they would have left about 3 hours later than we were planning. Things got kinda tense after we told them that we weren't doing that which caused some more angst, but we all agreed it wasn't going to happen.

So other random bad things:

Hotel Bar closing early, poor bartenders, running out of stock, and over charging us for alcohol above their listed price.

We ate at various places during the weekend and had generally poor service.

Old Chicago had a horrible pizza buffet. I am a picky eater so leave me the pepperoni pizza and I am happy, but even everyone else eating with me was confused by the choices we had out there. There were combinations of stuff I had never even thought of and no one else in the restraurant was eating them either.

And the absolute worst was being in Iowa for a whole weekend!

White and Nerdy....My Theme Song?

Knowing that Weird Al had a new album coming out soon my wife and I were looking online and found Weird Al's Myspace page. He had his new song "White and Nerdy" on there. His new Album comes out on Tuesday.

More Blogs to Not Post On

Kartunes added me to Boundaries of the Imagination, to be able to post there. This blog is about keeping track of coincidences, big or small.

A Second blog I have created is The Dream of Scorpio. It is a blog detailing my dreams from the previous night.

Both links have been added to my sidebar.

Happy Blogday to Me!

Today is the one year anniversary of this blog. One of the big things at this time last year was my "At-risk Notice" that I received. Happy to report that I was offered a new job in Feb, and then immediately taken off notice. I took the new job, for more money, but ended up back here at my old job 80% and my new one 20%. Supposedly for not too much longer though and I can enjoy my new desk at the new building.

Other than that the last year has lead me to Oklahoma for my Nephew's Wedding, A one year anniversary trip to New York, and some home improvements this spring with a second one to come in the next few weeks. (Thanks to Sami who actually puts all of this stuff on her blog so I can link to it after the fact.)

All in all a pretty good year, even though at this time last year it held alot of questions. Here is to the next year and everything that can happen!

Cold Case Joker in Frogtown Returns

I am back after my month off of Blogger. I gave it a rest because everytime I would do a post Blogger would be down. Then I went to New York. Then I just didn't feel like posting. Anyway here is what I have today.

Break in Madison Cold Case

Local investigators may have unraveled a 45-year-old mystery, reported WISC-TV.

The mystery is over what happened to two men who vanished in 1961. News 3 learned that the vehicle the two men were last seen in was found in Lake Waubesa on Friday.The vehicle was discovered by a local man who was out on the lake. It's not known what has been found in the vehicle, which remains under water. Detectives told News 3 they don't believe the missing men are victims of foul play. According to WISC-TV, Carl Stolz, 21 and Ronald Wick, 20, have been missing since a night out in Feb. 1961.Divers have spent years searching the Madison area lakes for traces of the men. Most of the focus has been on Lake Monona.In recent years the case was so perplexing that investigators enlisted the help of a world-renowned psychic, who also failed to yield any clues.But the public may soon know more.

The Sheriff's Department will hold a news conference Tuesday to announce the details in the case

The Next Joker

According to multiple sources reporting to Newsarama, including Warner Bros. itself, the next villain to face Batman in the revived film franchise will be the Joker, and he’ll be played by Heath Ledger, proving many early reports of the actor picking up the role true. Assumedly, the sequel will re-tell the origin of the Joker, although which origin will surely be a topic of speculation.

Batman Begin director Christopher Nolan will return to direct the sequel which will simply be called The Dark Knight. According to earlier reports, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman signed multiple picture contracts and will be returning for The Dark Knight as well as a possible third Bat-movie. Morgan Freeman and Katie Holmes are expected to return to their roles as well, although tabloid scuttlebutt has had Holmes retiring from film work, or not returning to Batman at least.

The film will be written by Nolan's brother, Jonah, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer. Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan will produce.

Star Trek Vs Star Wars

Have you ever wanted to see The enterprise go up against a Star Destroyer? Now you can!

New Star Trek?

What would a all new Star Trek series be like, ignoring all the previous things down and starting in a new universe. Including all the good things already done and ignoring the bad? Throw in J Michael Stracynzki (Babylon 5) and Bryce Zabel (Dark Skies) and this is what it could have been.

I for one would have watched it.

What I Was Watching - Season in Review

Early October I did a Pre-Season write up and in December did a Mid-Season write up, so I thought I should round it up with a post-season review.

Monday

How I Met Your Mother
I still thought this was an OK show. With DVR worth spending the 20 minutes. Good enough to watch until....

Two and a Half Men:
This was one of the best finds of the year and is staying for sure on the DVR next year.

Out of Practice:
Buh Bye. Funny at times but don't miss it.

New Adventures of Old Christine:
Basically Elaine as a mother. Funny moments but I doubt it is coming back.

Medium:
I was iffy on this show. I like it, usually enjoy it, but I think it could be better. It will stay on DVR though.

Wednesday

Lost:

Seemed like the show lacked some focus for awhile, but they brought things together well towards the end of the season and I am looking forward to some answers and probably more questions next year.

Invasion:

Another show that is cancelled. The show crawled at the beginning of the season but got really good at about the halfway point. If they had started out that way sooner it might have made it. If the new CW picks it up I will DVR it there.

Thursday

Smallville:
The season kinda wandered towards the end of the season after a strong start. The death of Clark's dad was good though. It has another year at least on the new CW so it stays on DVR.

My Name is Earl:
This and 2.5 Men are my two favorite comedies. I thought that maybe the premise would get old, but I never felt that way. Jaimie Pressly is awesome as Earl's ex wife.

The Office:
Such a low key humor at first made me iffy on it, but it grew on me quickly and is staying ont he DVR for sure.

Friday

Nothing network wise, but Sci Fi channel starts up Sci Fi Fridays again in July for the Stargates (SG1 and Atlantis) and Oct for Battlestar Galactica. I will say this again, Battlestar Galactica is one of the best shows on TV, on any channel. Get the first two seasons from Netflix on DVD or from Blockbuster or wherever, but do it!

Sunday

Desperate Housewives:

Good Show. Probably slipped a bit this season. It will remain on DVR though.


Next year one more show for sure gets added on and that is 24. Been catching up on DVD and I will make sure my DVR catches the next day in Jack's crappy life. Also of course I will still watch Monk and Dead Zone on USA whenever they come back.

More Than Meets the Eye!

Here is a test CGI clip for the new Transformers movie coming out July 4, 2007!

I have to say that clip is hightening my anticipation for the movie!

Of course Bernie Mac is in it so my hopes are dwindling like it did when I heard the Dungeon & Dragons movie has a Wayans Brother in it.

Little Wars Day 3

Today we got up and went for some breakfast at IHOP. The Geese almost got me there. But they will have to wait for another year to pass for their next shot at me.



I also got to play some Hydro Thunder in the Hotel's game room! Been along time since I played that last.

The ride home consisted of ideas for next year's game that LOG would run, oh and making fun of Dieter of course.

All in all a great weekend and many more stories that will turn into legends for future Little Wars. Seth not having his figs done until the night before, Cole spending the baby's food money, Dieter, a Markgraf wrestling match. Not to mention the pig story and the three fingered handshake. 'Nough said about that.

Little Wars Day 2

Today LOG had a game at 9am so another early morning to get going. This time around the game had a problem, Dieter.

He was muttering often how the game sucked, and whining how his troops got routed scraping their knee. After a talking to though he shut up pretty much much the rest of the game. So now Chad is adding to the beginning of his introduction, "No Cheaters or Dieters". He definately was the tool of the weekend.



Here are a couple games that looked great:






And then there was this one. Hey guess what...its under $20. Really?




After that though we hit the swap some more, had some con food, and some more beers. By dinner time we headed to Hooters for some wings (Grilled cheese with pickle rubbed on top for Seth) and just hung out for the rest of the night.

Little Wars 2006 Day 1

First day of Little Wars started off early so we could get there in time for LOG's (League of Ordinary Gentlemen) first game at 2PM. To the left is Karl, Chad, Tom, Ray, Seth and Cole.

They were running a game from the opening scenes of New Hope. They recreated the Corellian Corvette.
It comes apart in 4 different decks that are run at the same time. The players can send their troops between levels. It was safe to say that everyone had a great time.

Here is a picture of Leia's secret room. Wookie porn anyone? Poor Chicken!





After the game was over we did some bargain hunting in the swap shop and vendor area, then heading for dinner at BD's Mongolian Barbeque. We go there every year and it never disappoints. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a warm night drinking cold beer.

House Update

I thought I would update the progress on the home remodel while my wife is away for the weekend with the female half of my family.

Denny and Ryan finished laying the Durock today as well as taping the seams and mudding it


My brother Tom came over and filled in the hole where the half wall was connected to the main wall



And I finished up painting the kitchen from what was started yesterday



I have some more painting to do tonight before Denny and Ryan come tomorrow as well as watching Battlestar Galactica on Sci-Fi Friday.

ZZZzzzZZZZzzz

Ok, as most of you are aware, we are redoing the floors in our home. My wife has posted pictures on our progress. It is safe to say that this is wearing me out. Not used to all that physical labor!

Added to that is the fact I started a new job last week and Tuesdays are early days. I am not really sure why they ask what hours you want to work then schedule recurring weekly meetings before that time.

Of course I could just quit the crack I am doing and go to bed earlier but whats the point of that?

I added a couple of new blogs to the right, one new, one long overdue.

Half A Donut
The Inebriate Grape

Mangravy, Man Gravy, or Man-gravy?

The 18th annual Welcon was this weekend, the second one that I have been able to make. This is a weekend of gaming, friends, and food at the host's house.

On Friday I was privileged to play in a Star Wars miniatures battle system game, with and I quote, "No Stinking Plastic Figs". This is always a fun game to be in and this time was no exception. My team played the imperials and I think we killed as many Rebels (read terrorists - how many civilians did they kill in those movies?) as we killed our own troops for losing morale. Grossman is a hard commander to serve under.

On Saturday we resumed a WWII Champions game from 2 years ago. The fun part of Champions for me are the disadvantages. The hero I played is called Major Victory who has an under confidence disadvantage. There were a lot of laughs in that game including....

MAN-GRAVY

This was the word of the weekend. Credit for the word is given to Steve K. The question of one word or two and is it hyphenated came up and above I made that decision. Anyways the good man-gravy quotes of Saturday night were:

"I'm going to try and get out of the man-gravy but I am not sure I can do that"

"I have man-gravy stuck in this part of my brain and I can't get it out"

"If you get shot in the head with man-gravy you are bound to get some in your mouth"