Thursday, March 29, 2012
Africa by Relient K
This was played on the Morning Stream a couple of days ago and I really loved their cover of Africa. So take a listen and see what you think.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Exercise and stuff
I managed to walk 3 miles today and really didn't break a sweat doing it. I'm fairly confident that I couldn't have done that 2 months ago without being a total mess afterwards. So hooray for me I guess.
I also grabbed one of those old style comic three packs from Family Dollar for .62 cents on my adventures. I really miss those from my childhood.
I also grabbed one of those old style comic three packs from Family Dollar for .62 cents on my adventures. I really miss those from my childhood.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Weekend Roundup...
Quite a busy weekend for Kelly and I this week. The weather couldn't make up it's mind on if it wanted to rain or not and if it wanted to be cold or not. So that was a little bit of a bummer.
Saturday we headed to the Northstar Cafe to try their breakfast. Kelly got the sweet potato turkey hash which she really enjoyed and I went boring and got bacon and eggs. We both really enjoyed our meals and while it was a little chilly, we did eat outside in front of a fire which was really nice. I'm really looking forward to getting a second shot at their breakfast menu, I think I enjoyed it more than the dinner menu.
We drove up to Alum Creek afterwards but it was a little too cold to do anything. But the journey was nice and we had an enjoyable morning.
Sunday we went and say the Hungry Games at the Movie Tavern. If you haven't been to the movie tavern, it's a restaurant/movie theater. You go in, watch the movie, sit at tables and you can order food. It's kind of neat and it made going to the movies feel like an experience again. It kind of felt like being a kid again when my parents taking me to the movies was a special event.
The movie itself was okay. I've read the book which made the movie understandable. The movie leaves out a lot so if you're considering seeing this, I would recommend the book first. I feel like I would've been lost on several fronts if I didn't have the book to fill in the blanks. Kelly, who also read the book, even asked me at a few points about details of the book because I had read it much more recently than her.
We also got out and exercised in the evening a bit. Kelly rode her bike around the neighborhood a couple of times and I did my usual 1.5 mile walk. I'm thinking about upgrading to a 2 mile walk soon.
Kelly also bought a Kindle this weekend. We were at Barnes and Noble Friday night and she got really disgusted with the price of hard cover books. There were 3 she really wanted to read and realized it would cost her over $60 to just buy those books. We talked about it a bit and while at Wal-Mart on Sunday she bit the bullet and bought one. She got those same 3 books for about $25 total on her Kindle. She seems really happy with her purchase.
Saturday we headed to the Northstar Cafe to try their breakfast. Kelly got the sweet potato turkey hash which she really enjoyed and I went boring and got bacon and eggs. We both really enjoyed our meals and while it was a little chilly, we did eat outside in front of a fire which was really nice. I'm really looking forward to getting a second shot at their breakfast menu, I think I enjoyed it more than the dinner menu.
We drove up to Alum Creek afterwards but it was a little too cold to do anything. But the journey was nice and we had an enjoyable morning.
Sunday we went and say the Hungry Games at the Movie Tavern. If you haven't been to the movie tavern, it's a restaurant/movie theater. You go in, watch the movie, sit at tables and you can order food. It's kind of neat and it made going to the movies feel like an experience again. It kind of felt like being a kid again when my parents taking me to the movies was a special event.
The movie itself was okay. I've read the book which made the movie understandable. The movie leaves out a lot so if you're considering seeing this, I would recommend the book first. I feel like I would've been lost on several fronts if I didn't have the book to fill in the blanks. Kelly, who also read the book, even asked me at a few points about details of the book because I had read it much more recently than her.
We also got out and exercised in the evening a bit. Kelly rode her bike around the neighborhood a couple of times and I did my usual 1.5 mile walk. I'm thinking about upgrading to a 2 mile walk soon.
Kelly also bought a Kindle this weekend. We were at Barnes and Noble Friday night and she got really disgusted with the price of hard cover books. There were 3 she really wanted to read and realized it would cost her over $60 to just buy those books. We talked about it a bit and while at Wal-Mart on Sunday she bit the bullet and bought one. She got those same 3 books for about $25 total on her Kindle. She seems really happy with her purchase.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Down and Out...
My laptop started freaking out after the storms on Sunday and was mostly useless this week. So I missed posting yesterday as it would boot and then immediately blue screen on me. Oh the joys of computers. Got it fixed up though.
People are always impressed by my computer skills. I've fixed some really tough problems and people look on me as a computer genius over some of the problems I've fixed. Honestly, I'm good with computers but I'm no genius. I'm just smart enough to look up the problem on Google and then know enough to execute it on a computer. I've been told by IT people that I shouldn't say that because I'm giving away trade secrets.
Oh well, that's my secret at least.
People are always impressed by my computer skills. I've fixed some really tough problems and people look on me as a computer genius over some of the problems I've fixed. Honestly, I'm good with computers but I'm no genius. I'm just smart enough to look up the problem on Google and then know enough to execute it on a computer. I've been told by IT people that I shouldn't say that because I'm giving away trade secrets.
Oh well, that's my secret at least.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
World Championship Wrestling 1-21-89
A shortened TBS show this week. Only an hour instead of two.
Results:
Michael P.S. Hayes pins Russian Assassin #2 with a roll up
Butch Reed pins George South with a top rope clothesline
Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotunda d. Randy Hogan and Gene Miller when Rotunda pins Miller with a double arm suplex
Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Steamboat d. Barry Windham and Ric Flair when Steamboat pins Flair with a cross body block
The big news on this show is of course Ricky Steamboat coming back and pinning Ric Flair in his first match back. This will shape the first 4 months of the year. Steamboat ultimately kind of fails at the top but it produces some great matches along the way. Steamboat's family man angle seems forced, even on the first episode.
Hayes/Assassin was a surprisingly watchable match. I was really dreading it but it was a fun 6 minute match. It had a pretty quick tempo and some decent action.
They laid a little groundwork last week but this week has them starting to push the Road Warriors vs. Varsity Club as a feud. I don't know where that leaves the Road Warriors. Are they faces or heels? Don't really know. Those will be bad matches but the buildup should be good and the fans will buy into it a lot.
Results:
Michael P.S. Hayes pins Russian Assassin #2 with a roll up
Butch Reed pins George South with a top rope clothesline
Kevin Sullivan and Mike Rotunda d. Randy Hogan and Gene Miller when Rotunda pins Miller with a double arm suplex
Eddie Gilbert and Ricky Steamboat d. Barry Windham and Ric Flair when Steamboat pins Flair with a cross body block
The big news on this show is of course Ricky Steamboat coming back and pinning Ric Flair in his first match back. This will shape the first 4 months of the year. Steamboat ultimately kind of fails at the top but it produces some great matches along the way. Steamboat's family man angle seems forced, even on the first episode.
Hayes/Assassin was a surprisingly watchable match. I was really dreading it but it was a fun 6 minute match. It had a pretty quick tempo and some decent action.
They laid a little groundwork last week but this week has them starting to push the Road Warriors vs. Varsity Club as a feud. I don't know where that leaves the Road Warriors. Are they faces or heels? Don't really know. Those will be bad matches but the buildup should be good and the fans will buy into it a lot.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Well...
No tornado but the house got hailed on pretty hard for quite awhile. Guess I'll be getting the roof checked on later this week.
NWA 1989 Recap
The first week of 1989 was a recap of 1988. They showed the 45 minute Sting/Flair draw from the first Clash of the Champions. Luger, Flair, Cornette and Dangerously all had interviews to set up things for 1989. This is the first week of new action.
The week of 1-14 was back to regular action and featured two main events. In the first one Barry Windham defended the U.S. Title against Eddie Gilbert and lost by DQ. In the second Rick Steiner defended the TV Title against Mike Rotunda and won by DQ. Both matches were fun and watchable but they weren't super memorable or anything.
The big angle this week was Eddie Gilbert challenging Ric Flair and Barry Windham to a tag team match on next week's show. Gilbert has a mystery partner that I won't reveal in this post. But if you have any familiarity with the main feuds of this year, you'll already know who it is.
Random Thoughts:
The Road Warriors are still heel here. It's a total failure as the fans don't want to boo a couple of crazy ass-kickers. You can tell the heel turn had already failed by this point but the bookers haven't given up on the idea yet.
The Varisty Club is awesome. Right now the group is Kevin Sullivan, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Mike Rotunda. Just a group of relentless monsters and they make for a fun mid-card act on the show.
Michael Hayes might be the most boring face ever. He's brilliant as a heel and with the Freebirds but he just is too bland as a wrestler to be a singles face wrestler.
Overall Results:
NWA United States Title Match: Eddie Gilbert d. Barry Windham (c) by DQ
Michael P.S. Hayes pinned Paul Lee with the DDT
NWA United States Tag Team Champions Kevin Sullivan and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams d. Randy Hogan and Mike Collins with the Oklahoma Stampede
NWA World Tag Team Champions Road Warriors d. Dale Laparouse and Mike Jackson with the Doomsday Device
The Original Midnight Express d. Trent Knight and Bob Emory with the Human Cough Drop
Larry Zbyszko and Al Perez d. George South and Curtis Thompson with the Alicopter
Dick Murdoch pinned Eddie Sweat with the Brainbuster
Midnight Express d. Keith Steinborn and Gary Royal with the Veg-O-Matic
NWA Television Title Match: Rick Steiner (c) d. Mike Rotunda by DQ
Lex Luger and Sting d. Agent Steel and Bob Holiday with the Scorpion Deathlock
The week of 1-14 was back to regular action and featured two main events. In the first one Barry Windham defended the U.S. Title against Eddie Gilbert and lost by DQ. In the second Rick Steiner defended the TV Title against Mike Rotunda and won by DQ. Both matches were fun and watchable but they weren't super memorable or anything.
The big angle this week was Eddie Gilbert challenging Ric Flair and Barry Windham to a tag team match on next week's show. Gilbert has a mystery partner that I won't reveal in this post. But if you have any familiarity with the main feuds of this year, you'll already know who it is.
Random Thoughts:
The Road Warriors are still heel here. It's a total failure as the fans don't want to boo a couple of crazy ass-kickers. You can tell the heel turn had already failed by this point but the bookers haven't given up on the idea yet.
The Varisty Club is awesome. Right now the group is Kevin Sullivan, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Mike Rotunda. Just a group of relentless monsters and they make for a fun mid-card act on the show.
Michael Hayes might be the most boring face ever. He's brilliant as a heel and with the Freebirds but he just is too bland as a wrestler to be a singles face wrestler.
Overall Results:
NWA United States Title Match: Eddie Gilbert d. Barry Windham (c) by DQ
Michael P.S. Hayes pinned Paul Lee with the DDT
NWA United States Tag Team Champions Kevin Sullivan and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams d. Randy Hogan and Mike Collins with the Oklahoma Stampede
NWA World Tag Team Champions Road Warriors d. Dale Laparouse and Mike Jackson with the Doomsday Device
The Original Midnight Express d. Trent Knight and Bob Emory with the Human Cough Drop
Larry Zbyszko and Al Perez d. George South and Curtis Thompson with the Alicopter
Dick Murdoch pinned Eddie Sweat with the Brainbuster
Midnight Express d. Keith Steinborn and Gary Royal with the Veg-O-Matic
NWA Television Title Match: Rick Steiner (c) d. Mike Rotunda by DQ
Lex Luger and Sting d. Agent Steel and Bob Holiday with the Scorpion Deathlock
Woot
The sirens are blaring because there's a potential tornado and I'm hiding in the basement. This seems to be a fairly common event the last few years. Last year around this time Kelly and I were awoken to sirens at about 2:30 in the morning. We didn't do a good job of getting to the basement quickly that time and I did a pretty poor job of it this time. In fairness to me, I did have to drag a bunny in his cage down to the basement with me. That seems stupid but the rabbit is part of the family afterall.
Weekend...
Kelly and I went to a local park yesterday and walked around for awhile. There was a covered bridge that we walked to and we also walked down to a little lake and sat for awhile. Kelly and I love parks. We love exploring a little and we like sitting by a body of water and just talking and enjoying nature a bit.
There was also some woman there that was freaking out on her family for actually having fun. I even commented to Kelly "why bring your family here if you're going to get mad at them for having fun." Granted, they could have been misbehaving or whatever but I doubt it was bad enough to warrant just how bad she was completely freaking out on them.
Speaking of families, my wife and I ate at City BBQ on Friday night and there was this group of adults that were just letting their kids run around the place like little hooligans. I mean, completely, 100% just ignoring what their kids were doing. It's a restaurant not a fucking playground. Just because you've learned to ignore your kids doesn't mean every other damned person in the world has. And just because you're a bunch of self centered dickbags doesn't mean that it's okay to let your kids run around getting in the way of other customers and generally being annoyed. Okay... rant over there.
I ordered Kelly some equipment for her new bike for our anniversary and some of it arrived yesterday. She's really excited to get out there and bike now.
I've also started writing my other blog again. It's a blog where I started reading the Marvel Comics universe from the very beginning. I've been bad about keeping up with it over the years but I really enjoy it as a project. You can check it out here:
Mighty Marvel Reading Project
And in awesome news. Diablo III is 5/15/12. And my preorder has been in and waiting for that bad boy.
There was also some woman there that was freaking out on her family for actually having fun. I even commented to Kelly "why bring your family here if you're going to get mad at them for having fun." Granted, they could have been misbehaving or whatever but I doubt it was bad enough to warrant just how bad she was completely freaking out on them.
Speaking of families, my wife and I ate at City BBQ on Friday night and there was this group of adults that were just letting their kids run around the place like little hooligans. I mean, completely, 100% just ignoring what their kids were doing. It's a restaurant not a fucking playground. Just because you've learned to ignore your kids doesn't mean every other damned person in the world has. And just because you're a bunch of self centered dickbags doesn't mean that it's okay to let your kids run around getting in the way of other customers and generally being annoyed. Okay... rant over there.
I ordered Kelly some equipment for her new bike for our anniversary and some of it arrived yesterday. She's really excited to get out there and bike now.
I've also started writing my other blog again. It's a blog where I started reading the Marvel Comics universe from the very beginning. I've been bad about keeping up with it over the years but I really enjoy it as a project. You can check it out here:
Mighty Marvel Reading Project
And in awesome news. Diablo III is 5/15/12. And my preorder has been in and waiting for that bad boy.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Day Off Parade!
As I've gotten older daylight savings time has really started to screw me up for weeks at a time. This time was particularly bad and I ended up being so sleep deprived from Saturday to Wednesday that I just decided to take Friday off. I slept in till 9 today and it was amazing. I really don't get to sleep in that late anymore because of the dog and because Kelly and I usually have a lot to accomplish on the weekends.
I took the dog for a walk today and logged in another mile which brings the weekly total to 4. I also hit 15 lbs. lost mid-week. I'm starting to see a different person in the mirror looking back at me. My hips have narrowed in a lot and my stomach has receded quite a bit. I have a long way to go still but I'm really happy with where I'm at currently. Of course, no one but my wife has noticed.
Kelly and I wandered the local Giant Eagle last night. You never realize how much junk food there is at the store until you're actually trying to watch what you eat. Same thing happened when Kelly and I got rid of cable in favor of Netflix and Hulu last year. You never realize how much people just talk about tv until you aren't watching what they're watching.
Think I'll spend the rest of the day catching up on some comic books and maybe take a nap on the couch.
I took the dog for a walk today and logged in another mile which brings the weekly total to 4. I also hit 15 lbs. lost mid-week. I'm starting to see a different person in the mirror looking back at me. My hips have narrowed in a lot and my stomach has receded quite a bit. I have a long way to go still but I'm really happy with where I'm at currently. Of course, no one but my wife has noticed.
Kelly and I wandered the local Giant Eagle last night. You never realize how much junk food there is at the store until you're actually trying to watch what you eat. Same thing happened when Kelly and I got rid of cable in favor of Netflix and Hulu last year. You never realize how much people just talk about tv until you aren't watching what they're watching.
Think I'll spend the rest of the day catching up on some comic books and maybe take a nap on the couch.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wrestling!
I have a lot of wrestling DVDs sitting around the house. I mean literally hundreds of DVDs sitting around the house. I've got all sorts of stuff. I have the entire television run of Smoky Mountain Wrestling, years worth of WCW television, All Japan, New Japan, Chikara, etc. You name a fed, I probably have several DVDs worth of footage. And if I'm missing it, it's probably sitting on my external hard drive. I can safely say there's at least 2000 hours worth of footage in my possession.
I was a bit of a late comer to the wrestling scene. I was aware of the big Hulk Hogan run in the WWF and I was aware of the players around him as a kid. I just never really watched. Then on some random day in 1997 I tuned in to WCW Monday Nitro.
This would be the first episode I watched. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I came back the next week and then the next. Then after a month or two of Nitro watching, I discovered the weekend shows. A whole new world was opened up to me then. Now instead of waiting a week for my wrestling fix, I got an entire weekend of programming to get me hyped up for the big Nitro shows.
WCW, sadly closed in 2001 due to mismanagement and my fandom never was really the same. I never liked the WWE like I did WCW. WCW was my true love so to speak with wrestling.
Thankfully as the 2000s progressed more and more footage became readily available for purchase or download and my collection slowly grew from there. Okay... so my collection got out of control quickly if I'm being honest.
This year my goal is to watch the entire 1989 run of WCW television. If you're a fan, you know this is spoken of as one of the best years for WCW in every aspect. Great matches, great angles and just all around fun. I've never gotten to see the year from start to finish and it's always been my goal as a fan to watch this year. Well, that's what I'm doing in 2012. I'll probably post highlights on here as I progress through the shows.
I was a bit of a late comer to the wrestling scene. I was aware of the big Hulk Hogan run in the WWF and I was aware of the players around him as a kid. I just never really watched. Then on some random day in 1997 I tuned in to WCW Monday Nitro.
WCW @ Sacramento, CA - Arco Arena - February 24, 1997
Monday Nitro:
Public Enemy defeated Jeff Jarrett & Steve McMichael
Jim Duggan defeated Galaxy
Hugh Morrus defeated Joe Gomez
Ice Train defeated La Parka
The Barbarian & Meng defeated WCW US Champion Eddie Guerrero & Chris Jericho
Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated Juventud Guerrera
WCW TV Champion Prince Iaukea defeated Pat Tanaka
The Ultimo Dragon defeated Dean Malenko via disqualification
Diamond Dallas Page defeated Dave Taylor via count-out
This would be the first episode I watched. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I came back the next week and then the next. Then after a month or two of Nitro watching, I discovered the weekend shows. A whole new world was opened up to me then. Now instead of waiting a week for my wrestling fix, I got an entire weekend of programming to get me hyped up for the big Nitro shows.
WCW, sadly closed in 2001 due to mismanagement and my fandom never was really the same. I never liked the WWE like I did WCW. WCW was my true love so to speak with wrestling.
Thankfully as the 2000s progressed more and more footage became readily available for purchase or download and my collection slowly grew from there. Okay... so my collection got out of control quickly if I'm being honest.
This year my goal is to watch the entire 1989 run of WCW television. If you're a fan, you know this is spoken of as one of the best years for WCW in every aspect. Great matches, great angles and just all around fun. I've never gotten to see the year from start to finish and it's always been my goal as a fan to watch this year. Well, that's what I'm doing in 2012. I'll probably post highlights on here as I progress through the shows.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Final Fantasyings...
Kelly and I took the dog for a walk. We logged 1.5 miles on a wonderful evening. This was really the perfect night. Good temperature, not too windy and no rain. Tomorrow I'm going to pull out the grill tomorrow and do some Jumbo Hebrew National hot dogs. The best hot dogs out there if you ask me. With some odds and ins out of the way, it's a list time. This time I'm going to list my favorite Final Fantasy games.
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy IV
3. Final Fantasy X
4. Final Fantasy V
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Final Fantasy VII
7. Final Fantasy III
8. Final Fantasy
9. Final Fantasy VIII
10. Final Fantasy XIII
11. Final Fantasy II
I have not played played Final Fantasy XII or XIV yet. I have played XI but I have a really hard time rating it against it's peers.
1. Final Fantasy VI
2. Final Fantasy IV
3. Final Fantasy X
4. Final Fantasy V
5. Final Fantasy IX
6. Final Fantasy VII
7. Final Fantasy III
8. Final Fantasy
9. Final Fantasy VIII
10. Final Fantasy XIII
11. Final Fantasy II
I have not played played Final Fantasy XII or XIV yet. I have played XI but I have a really hard time rating it against it's peers.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Rainy Monday Musings...
I read issue 7 of the new Swamp Thing series this weekend. The actual Swamp Thing finally showed up this issue. Don't get me wrong, I've really been enjoying this series. I just get annoyed at the decompression that goes on with modern comics. If it's a standard superhero fare book, I expect to see the hero before issue 7. That complaint aside, the new Swamp Thing is really good. It ties in with the old Alan Moore run on the book in the 80s. It's been a very pleasant surprise since the reboot.
The new DC 52 has been kind of a disappointment overall though. The diversity in the DCU has really taken a nosedive in this new series. Every character feels like the same archetype now. No one's married, the heroes seem to either be teenagers or twenty somethings. And characters that were unique like Amanda Waller and Barbara Gordon have had their unique aspects taken away. It kind of feels like those old Silver Age books where the only difference characters had were their power sets.
I've been slacking on my reading a little though. People have been raving about the Court of Owls storyline in Batman and I have yet to get to those. I've been meaning to but I always seem to end up reading something else. The Court of Owls is supposed to lead into the first big 52 crossover. I have to say, despite my DC complaints, I do find this crossover to be interesting.
We took Kelly's niece to the Tractor Supply Company with us over the weekend. They have baby chicks for sale and she proceeded to spend the rest of the day convincing us she needed a pet chicken. Kelly's niece is always scheming for a new animal of some sort. Before the chicken, it was a goose and before that it was some $2000 parrot. I'm sure next time we see her she'll have a new most wanted animal.
It was a warm but rainy day in the city today. I was hoping to get a walk in tonight but that just wasn't in the cards. Gym tomorrow. Going to hit the weights and some cardio. The march to 15 lbs. begins!
The new DC 52 has been kind of a disappointment overall though. The diversity in the DCU has really taken a nosedive in this new series. Every character feels like the same archetype now. No one's married, the heroes seem to either be teenagers or twenty somethings. And characters that were unique like Amanda Waller and Barbara Gordon have had their unique aspects taken away. It kind of feels like those old Silver Age books where the only difference characters had were their power sets.
I've been slacking on my reading a little though. People have been raving about the Court of Owls storyline in Batman and I have yet to get to those. I've been meaning to but I always seem to end up reading something else. The Court of Owls is supposed to lead into the first big 52 crossover. I have to say, despite my DC complaints, I do find this crossover to be interesting.
We took Kelly's niece to the Tractor Supply Company with us over the weekend. They have baby chicks for sale and she proceeded to spend the rest of the day convincing us she needed a pet chicken. Kelly's niece is always scheming for a new animal of some sort. Before the chicken, it was a goose and before that it was some $2000 parrot. I'm sure next time we see her she'll have a new most wanted animal.
It was a warm but rainy day in the city today. I was hoping to get a walk in tonight but that just wasn't in the cards. Gym tomorrow. Going to hit the weights and some cardio. The march to 15 lbs. begins!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Cartman sings Poker Face
Watching this episode of South Park. I think this is a great cover of the song.
Family Adventures
Kelly's niece turned 10 last week and her party was this week. It was a fun time though she wanted chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Blech... not a chocolate cake person at all. Kelly isn't either. Cake really isn't my thing in general honestly.
We went to a park of sorts nearby that's really cool. It has big gardens, a duck pond and peacocks that roam the grounds. It's always a good time. Her niece fed the birds and we walked around a bit. It was a really nice day out and I was glad that we could get out and about and enjoy the sunshine.
The evening ended at Golden Corral. Not a fan either. Actually, felt kind of ill afterwards. Earlier this year I was suffering from an ulcer and food was a really tricky thing. I would feel ill if I got into certain food. I've been better since mid January but food has still been a touchy subject to me. Fried foods especially are something I tend to avoid now. I think Golden Corral is just giving me bad flashbacks to those days.
Kelly and I aren't buffet people. We tend to go a lot because her family is a buffet family so we end up at them quite a bit. A typical buffet trip for us involves one plate and then maybe dessert and that's that. After that, we sit and think about how we probably didn't get our $10 out of our meal. Buffets are even less desirable to us now that we're trying to lose weight. My biggest issue with buffets is I just don't like people pawing at my food. A really busy buffet and all I can think is "wow, there are a lot of people digging through that chicken I want".
Weighed in this morning and I'm now down 14 lbs. overall this year. Feeling good. Kelly's down 14 as well.
We went to a park of sorts nearby that's really cool. It has big gardens, a duck pond and peacocks that roam the grounds. It's always a good time. Her niece fed the birds and we walked around a bit. It was a really nice day out and I was glad that we could get out and about and enjoy the sunshine.
The evening ended at Golden Corral. Not a fan either. Actually, felt kind of ill afterwards. Earlier this year I was suffering from an ulcer and food was a really tricky thing. I would feel ill if I got into certain food. I've been better since mid January but food has still been a touchy subject to me. Fried foods especially are something I tend to avoid now. I think Golden Corral is just giving me bad flashbacks to those days.
Kelly and I aren't buffet people. We tend to go a lot because her family is a buffet family so we end up at them quite a bit. A typical buffet trip for us involves one plate and then maybe dessert and that's that. After that, we sit and think about how we probably didn't get our $10 out of our meal. Buffets are even less desirable to us now that we're trying to lose weight. My biggest issue with buffets is I just don't like people pawing at my food. A really busy buffet and all I can think is "wow, there are a lot of people digging through that chicken I want".
Weighed in this morning and I'm now down 14 lbs. overall this year. Feeling good. Kelly's down 14 as well.
Friday, March 9, 2012
TGIF...
I apologize now for the hack title to this thread. What rhythms with Friday though or starts with an F? Guess I'll be giving that some more thought for the future.
The wife and a co-worker went to see the ballet version of Sleeping Beauty so I had dinner with them. We went to Tip-Top Columbus. It's a bar downtown that has a very old style about it. You kind of feel like you're walking into the past when you enter Tip-Top. I got the pot-roast sandwich. It comes on a pretzel roll which makes it even more awesome. So if you ever find yourself on 4th and East Gay Street, take a right turn and check out Tip-Top Columbus.
Shameless shilling thy name is me...
After I got home I decided to hit up a B movie that I've been itching to see for months. The Monster That Challenged the World was on the docket for the night. This is available on Netflix Instant if you want to give it a quick glance. It stars Hans Conried who you might know as the voice of Captain Hook from the Disney Peter Pan and Snidely Whiplash on Dudley Do-Right. He was also the voice of Thorin on a personal favorite the Hobbit.
Anyways, the military gets terrorized by I guess a giant larva of some sort. It's a pretty standard "monster reeks mayhem on some scale". You know, as far as 50s and 60s B movies go... it was pretty competent. I doubt this is something you would see on MST3K for instance. It was shoot well, the plot was pretty sound and the effects were low budget but not ridiculous. The acting was even acceptable.
I would recommend this to anyone that loves catching old monster movies from the 50s and 60s.
The wife and a co-worker went to see the ballet version of Sleeping Beauty so I had dinner with them. We went to Tip-Top Columbus. It's a bar downtown that has a very old style about it. You kind of feel like you're walking into the past when you enter Tip-Top. I got the pot-roast sandwich. It comes on a pretzel roll which makes it even more awesome. So if you ever find yourself on 4th and East Gay Street, take a right turn and check out Tip-Top Columbus.
Shameless shilling thy name is me...
After I got home I decided to hit up a B movie that I've been itching to see for months. The Monster That Challenged the World was on the docket for the night. This is available on Netflix Instant if you want to give it a quick glance. It stars Hans Conried who you might know as the voice of Captain Hook from the Disney Peter Pan and Snidely Whiplash on Dudley Do-Right. He was also the voice of Thorin on a personal favorite the Hobbit.
Anyways, the military gets terrorized by I guess a giant larva of some sort. It's a pretty standard "monster reeks mayhem on some scale". You know, as far as 50s and 60s B movies go... it was pretty competent. I doubt this is something you would see on MST3K for instance. It was shoot well, the plot was pretty sound and the effects were low budget but not ridiculous. The acting was even acceptable.
I would recommend this to anyone that loves catching old monster movies from the 50s and 60s.
20 Life Defining Moments
1. Getting married
2. Buying my first house.
3. Working at Camp Otterbein in the summer of 2001.
4. Eating a giant turkey leg at the Renaissance Festival in 2010.
5. Listening to Howard Stern for the first time in 1997 and then later finding Opie and Anthony in 2000.
6. My first Presidential Election in 2000. Hey, not many people get to vote for the first time in such memorable fashion.
7. Working at Wal-Mart and meeting Alex and Mike. This led to meeting J and Ben and a whole group of friends.
8. Getting a reply to a personals ad from a cute little lady named Kelly. Gee... I wonder how that one turned out. ;)
9. Sitting in the emergency room with my wife last year and worrying that she might be dying of a heart attack.
10. Meeting my best friend Jonathan in 2002.
11. Moving out of my parents house in 2001 and moving to southern Ohio for about 2 years.
12. My best friend Adam moving away my freshman year of high school.
13. Finally saving up enough money and bringing home my NES at some point in the 80s.
14. Playing the original Legend of Zelda game. It blew my mind at the time.
15. Playing Final Fantasy at Dan's house in junior high for the first time. That changed my entire video game playing lifestlye as RPGs suddenly became the staple of my game playing instead of platformers and shooters.
16. 9/11, it's stuck with me since it happened and has effected my worldview greatly.
17. Getting the internet for the first time in 1996.
18. The Columbus Blue Jackets coming to town in 2000 and the heartbreak they've continued to cause through constant suckage.
19. WCW closing it's doors for good in 2001.
20. Discovering the comic strip of Calvin and Hobbes when I was around 10 or 11 years old.
2. Buying my first house.
3. Working at Camp Otterbein in the summer of 2001.
4. Eating a giant turkey leg at the Renaissance Festival in 2010.
5. Listening to Howard Stern for the first time in 1997 and then later finding Opie and Anthony in 2000.
6. My first Presidential Election in 2000. Hey, not many people get to vote for the first time in such memorable fashion.
7. Working at Wal-Mart and meeting Alex and Mike. This led to meeting J and Ben and a whole group of friends.
8. Getting a reply to a personals ad from a cute little lady named Kelly. Gee... I wonder how that one turned out. ;)
9. Sitting in the emergency room with my wife last year and worrying that she might be dying of a heart attack.
10. Meeting my best friend Jonathan in 2002.
11. Moving out of my parents house in 2001 and moving to southern Ohio for about 2 years.
12. My best friend Adam moving away my freshman year of high school.
13. Finally saving up enough money and bringing home my NES at some point in the 80s.
14. Playing the original Legend of Zelda game. It blew my mind at the time.
15. Playing Final Fantasy at Dan's house in junior high for the first time. That changed my entire video game playing lifestlye as RPGs suddenly became the staple of my game playing instead of platformers and shooters.
16. 9/11, it's stuck with me since it happened and has effected my worldview greatly.
17. Getting the internet for the first time in 1996.
18. The Columbus Blue Jackets coming to town in 2000 and the heartbreak they've continued to cause through constant suckage.
19. WCW closing it's doors for good in 2001.
20. Discovering the comic strip of Calvin and Hobbes when I was around 10 or 11 years old.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
I use ... in my titles a lot...
This week has felt like an eternity. No real reason or anything. Monday just feels like a lifetime ago in some regards. Today marked month 16 at my "new" job. Which is amazing to me in some regards because it really feels like I've only been at this job maybe 3-4 months. But time seems to go by quicker when you actually enjoy your job.
I guess some of my backstory. I worked in warehouses for the first 5 years of my professional life. Now, if you've done that kind of work, you generally know how it is and the type of co-workers you have. Needless to say, I grew to hate it quite a bit and my last place of employment especially. I was at the point where I was pretty depressed and my body was starting to show the wear and tear from my jobs. I had severe back spasms at one point and it took me months to feel even remotely normal again.
When you work a blue collar job, you tend to think that's what your life is and is going to be. Most people working in those conditions either don't want to work in an office environment and don't think they can. I was pretty determined to get out and into a white collar job.
I tried off and on over the course of a few years. Unfortunately, the economy went bad and I got laid off twice in a six month period. Most places, treat you like some kind of a caveman if you're trying to come work in their office with warehouse as your primary experience. I don't necessarily blame them for that, though it sucks when you have to sit across a table from someone in an interview and know they're writing you off because of it.
I applied to several places, got a few interviews that went nowhere and then heard about a job from a friend. I applied to that job and gave the interview of my life. I'm not the best interview but for some reason, I really came out of my shell that day. They seemed to like me and I was feeling pretty good about my chances.
Fastforward to the future and my cell phone rang at work...
I got the job! I almost fell to my knees at the news. I was free. I didn't have to stand on my feet all day, I didn't have to destroy my body anymore. I didn't have to work with ex-convicts anymore. I was going to a nice office, I was going to sit at a desk all day and I was going to be happy.
16 months later, I still love my job and I'm still happy.
I guess some of my backstory. I worked in warehouses for the first 5 years of my professional life. Now, if you've done that kind of work, you generally know how it is and the type of co-workers you have. Needless to say, I grew to hate it quite a bit and my last place of employment especially. I was at the point where I was pretty depressed and my body was starting to show the wear and tear from my jobs. I had severe back spasms at one point and it took me months to feel even remotely normal again.
When you work a blue collar job, you tend to think that's what your life is and is going to be. Most people working in those conditions either don't want to work in an office environment and don't think they can. I was pretty determined to get out and into a white collar job.
I tried off and on over the course of a few years. Unfortunately, the economy went bad and I got laid off twice in a six month period. Most places, treat you like some kind of a caveman if you're trying to come work in their office with warehouse as your primary experience. I don't necessarily blame them for that, though it sucks when you have to sit across a table from someone in an interview and know they're writing you off because of it.
I applied to several places, got a few interviews that went nowhere and then heard about a job from a friend. I applied to that job and gave the interview of my life. I'm not the best interview but for some reason, I really came out of my shell that day. They seemed to like me and I was feeling pretty good about my chances.
Fastforward to the future and my cell phone rang at work...
I got the job! I almost fell to my knees at the news. I was free. I didn't have to stand on my feet all day, I didn't have to destroy my body anymore. I didn't have to work with ex-convicts anymore. I was going to a nice office, I was going to sit at a desk all day and I was going to be happy.
16 months later, I still love my job and I'm still happy.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
My Favorite Obscure Comic Titles...
I seem to have a habit of latching onto books that don't find an audience. Strangely enough, this happens with television a lot too. I thought for my own amusement I would travel through some of my favorite failed comic book titles. For my purposes, obscure means a short lived title or a title that wouldn't necessarily get a lot of talk these days.
Mutant X: This is not to be confused with the television show of the same name and had nothing to do with this series. Havoc dies and ends up in an alternate reality. He takes over for the dead Havoc in that Universe and leads a team known as the Six. I will admit, this book was strange for me to like. I'm not a huge alternate reality fan but there was something about this title that kept me coming back for it's entire 32 issue run. I think you can find this series for pretty cheap.
Ren and Stimpy: You have to understand that I was smack dab in the middle of the demographic that Ren and Stimpy were aiming for when they hit the scene. I loved the cartoon and I came to love the comic book. Dan Slott was the writer and he's gone on to have quite a career with Marvel Comics. I was younger when I was getting these so I'm not sure of the quality. I've wanted to revisit these as an adult and see how it holds up. This one ran for 44 issues and had numerous specials.
Shadowpact: This one came out of DC's Infinite Crisis and One Year Later events. It was a magical super team of sorts. More like a rag tag group of misfits. I really enjoyed the vibe of this book. It didn't take itself too seriously and that's been a rarity at DC since the OYL event started. The series lasted for a mere 25 issues. I was sad to see this one go as it was probably my favorite title at the time.
Mage: Okay, in fairness the obscurity of this title is questionable. I remember it got quite a bit of play in Wizard at the time in the late 90s but I've never really heard it mentioned on a podcast or by other comic fans that I know. This is about modern day reincarnations of mythological heroes, all of them. King Arthur is in there and Hercules, etc. This has had two 15 issue series and a third is planned but no word of when it's actually coming out. It's been 15 years since the last series so I hope soon.
Tellos: I'll be honest, I don't remember a ton about this one. I know it was a fantasy title but not much else. I do remember that my friend Justin and I would eagerly await each issue coming out. I should probably revisit this one as an adult. This one was 10 issues and I think a bunch of specials and one shots followed.
Captain Marvel: Volume 3. I was in Spanish Club my senior year of high school and we went to Costa Rica for our trip. On a long layover my friend Justin and I had wandered into the newsstand in Dallas or Miami. We were looking for things to read and I grabbed a copy of #5. It's safe to say that I was pretty hooked on this series after that. Peter David was the writer and I just got a kick out of this book. The dynamic between Rick Jones and Genis-Vell was humorous and fun. I was said when this book got the boot. I think this one lasted 35 issues.
There you have it. Some of my favorite books that were a little more obscure. You can find Mage and Tellos on Comixology. Check them out.
Mutant X: This is not to be confused with the television show of the same name and had nothing to do with this series. Havoc dies and ends up in an alternate reality. He takes over for the dead Havoc in that Universe and leads a team known as the Six. I will admit, this book was strange for me to like. I'm not a huge alternate reality fan but there was something about this title that kept me coming back for it's entire 32 issue run. I think you can find this series for pretty cheap.
Ren and Stimpy: You have to understand that I was smack dab in the middle of the demographic that Ren and Stimpy were aiming for when they hit the scene. I loved the cartoon and I came to love the comic book. Dan Slott was the writer and he's gone on to have quite a career with Marvel Comics. I was younger when I was getting these so I'm not sure of the quality. I've wanted to revisit these as an adult and see how it holds up. This one ran for 44 issues and had numerous specials.
Shadowpact: This one came out of DC's Infinite Crisis and One Year Later events. It was a magical super team of sorts. More like a rag tag group of misfits. I really enjoyed the vibe of this book. It didn't take itself too seriously and that's been a rarity at DC since the OYL event started. The series lasted for a mere 25 issues. I was sad to see this one go as it was probably my favorite title at the time.
Mage: Okay, in fairness the obscurity of this title is questionable. I remember it got quite a bit of play in Wizard at the time in the late 90s but I've never really heard it mentioned on a podcast or by other comic fans that I know. This is about modern day reincarnations of mythological heroes, all of them. King Arthur is in there and Hercules, etc. This has had two 15 issue series and a third is planned but no word of when it's actually coming out. It's been 15 years since the last series so I hope soon.
Tellos: I'll be honest, I don't remember a ton about this one. I know it was a fantasy title but not much else. I do remember that my friend Justin and I would eagerly await each issue coming out. I should probably revisit this one as an adult. This one was 10 issues and I think a bunch of specials and one shots followed.
Captain Marvel: Volume 3. I was in Spanish Club my senior year of high school and we went to Costa Rica for our trip. On a long layover my friend Justin and I had wandered into the newsstand in Dallas or Miami. We were looking for things to read and I grabbed a copy of #5. It's safe to say that I was pretty hooked on this series after that. Peter David was the writer and I just got a kick out of this book. The dynamic between Rick Jones and Genis-Vell was humorous and fun. I was said when this book got the boot. I think this one lasted 35 issues.
There you have it. Some of my favorite books that were a little more obscure. You can find Mage and Tellos on Comixology. Check them out.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tuesday Night Walk.
It was a fairly nice evening so the wife and I took our little dog for a walk. We walked about 1.5 miles and our little dog still wanted to go longer.
But that's not really my point. I've come to see that walks are good for a marriage, well mine at least. We walked for 38 minutes and you're with each other, sharing an experience and you'll end up talking to each other due to the social experience of walking. I always come back from one of our walks and feel like we had a really good conversation. I also feel that our bond as a couple to be slightly stronger.
I decided to Google this and low and behold... an article!
Walking Together
You should try it some time. I really think it's some of the best quality time that I get with my wife.
But that's not really my point. I've come to see that walks are good for a marriage, well mine at least. We walked for 38 minutes and you're with each other, sharing an experience and you'll end up talking to each other due to the social experience of walking. I always come back from one of our walks and feel like we had a really good conversation. I also feel that our bond as a couple to be slightly stronger.
I decided to Google this and low and behold... an article!
Walking Together
You should try it some time. I really think it's some of the best quality time that I get with my wife.
I must have been bored...
The Presidential primary came through Ohio today and speaking of Mormons, one of my wife's favorite shows is Sister Wives. If you haven't seen this show, it airs on TLC and it's about a family of polygamists. It's your typical reality television show past that. If you've seen any of the TLC reality shows, you'll understand the format to this show.
My wife enjoys it for mostly the train wreck aspect of the family. I watch it passively like I do a lot of shows. So I miss episodes here and there and I don't always pay attention to an episode when it's on. But I've grown to find the family itself to be pretty distasteful. I like lists so I decided I was going to write out my problems with the family itself in list form...
1. Kody Brown is kind of a douche. Now, understand that bigamy is illegal in most places in the United States. So this family is breaking the law with their current setup. In his hunger for publicity and attention he's opened himself up to prosecution and having his family broken apart. Now, he'll remind you of this about a thousand times an episode but he never puts any responsibility on himself for creating the situation. Getting some spotlight ultimately seems more important to him than his family.
2. The women all seem miserable. Their moods all vary from episode to episode but they all seem to slip into some bout of depression. You see, Kody is married to 4 women and he has to split his time between the 4. So 3 will get him 2 nights a week and 1 gets the shaft and gets a single night. Ultimately, they all want to spend more time with him and it's just not possible. Honestly, 3 wives seems more workable when you do the math. That's at least the opinion my wife and I share on the situation.
3. The family is hyper judgmental. There are several episodes where the family gets on their high horse about how society should be more open minded towards their lifestyle. But when you get them into any real situation, they are extremely judgmental of other people. They come across like hypocrites a lot.
4. They don't get it. There seems to be this weird disconnect with the family. I'm not a Mormon but I understand why your average Mormon just trying to live their life would be pissed at the Browns. They come on television every weekend and make you look like a fool and like a bigamist.
Now, outside of that. They seem like okay people. Well, not Kody, he really is a douche. The women at least are doing the best to raise their kids as best as they can. Each of the 4 seem likable in their own ways. Honestly, I think my biggest problem is I kind of feel sorry for them for being saddled with such a dunderhead of a husband.
Yeah, I think I just put way too much thought into that. Oh well...
My wife enjoys it for mostly the train wreck aspect of the family. I watch it passively like I do a lot of shows. So I miss episodes here and there and I don't always pay attention to an episode when it's on. But I've grown to find the family itself to be pretty distasteful. I like lists so I decided I was going to write out my problems with the family itself in list form...
1. Kody Brown is kind of a douche. Now, understand that bigamy is illegal in most places in the United States. So this family is breaking the law with their current setup. In his hunger for publicity and attention he's opened himself up to prosecution and having his family broken apart. Now, he'll remind you of this about a thousand times an episode but he never puts any responsibility on himself for creating the situation. Getting some spotlight ultimately seems more important to him than his family.
2. The women all seem miserable. Their moods all vary from episode to episode but they all seem to slip into some bout of depression. You see, Kody is married to 4 women and he has to split his time between the 4. So 3 will get him 2 nights a week and 1 gets the shaft and gets a single night. Ultimately, they all want to spend more time with him and it's just not possible. Honestly, 3 wives seems more workable when you do the math. That's at least the opinion my wife and I share on the situation.
3. The family is hyper judgmental. There are several episodes where the family gets on their high horse about how society should be more open minded towards their lifestyle. But when you get them into any real situation, they are extremely judgmental of other people. They come across like hypocrites a lot.
4. They don't get it. There seems to be this weird disconnect with the family. I'm not a Mormon but I understand why your average Mormon just trying to live their life would be pissed at the Browns. They come on television every weekend and make you look like a fool and like a bigamist.
Now, outside of that. They seem like okay people. Well, not Kody, he really is a douche. The women at least are doing the best to raise their kids as best as they can. Each of the 4 seem likable in their own ways. Honestly, I think my biggest problem is I kind of feel sorry for them for being saddled with such a dunderhead of a husband.
Yeah, I think I just put way too much thought into that. Oh well...
Monday, March 5, 2012
Podcast Roll Call...
Art of Wrestling: Hosted by professional wrestling Colt Cabana. He has a different wrestler on every week to share their life story and shoot the shit in general. A must if you love wrestling.
Baseball America: This is for uber baseball nerds like me. This is about the minor leagues and prospects. A good listen and a great way to find about the stars of tomorrow.
The Boxing Truth: The name says it all here. Boxing!
Comic Geek Speak Podcast: Mostly a comic book podcast but they dive into other subject matter from time to time. I would call this the premiere comic book podcast as far as quality goes.
B.S. Report With Bill Simmons: This is mostly a sports podcast but Simmons also dives into reality television and pop culture. An entertaining listen on a weekly basis.
Fear The Boot: RPG podcast. A great resource if you play any table-top RPGs.
The Geekbox: This is really about anything that would be considered geeky. A lot of video games, comic books and Burn Notice. This is probably my favorite overall podcast.
Relic Radio: I listen to two shows off this network. The Horror and Strange Tales. Both are mostly of the horror genre of radio. These are old time radio programs from the 30-50s. I love this show as it's amazing to get such an indepth look at the popular culture from a different era.
The Morning Stream: This is mostly formatted as your typical morning radio show. Popular culture, technology, fitness, etc. They touch on numerous subjects.
The Weekly Longbox: Another comic book podcast. Deals more with the week to week releases.
Retronauts: This deals with old video games. A good stroll down memory lane for a veteran video game player like me. Always interesting.
Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe: Mike Quackenbush and Clayton Morris talk about just anything every week.
This is the list of podcasts I subscribe to and listen to at work on a daily basis. It helps to keep my brain engaged when I'm doing some monotonous tasks. If you're allowed to wear an Ipod at work, check some podcasts out. It makes the workday a lot easier.
Baseball America: This is for uber baseball nerds like me. This is about the minor leagues and prospects. A good listen and a great way to find about the stars of tomorrow.
The Boxing Truth: The name says it all here. Boxing!
Comic Geek Speak Podcast: Mostly a comic book podcast but they dive into other subject matter from time to time. I would call this the premiere comic book podcast as far as quality goes.
B.S. Report With Bill Simmons: This is mostly a sports podcast but Simmons also dives into reality television and pop culture. An entertaining listen on a weekly basis.
Fear The Boot: RPG podcast. A great resource if you play any table-top RPGs.
The Geekbox: This is really about anything that would be considered geeky. A lot of video games, comic books and Burn Notice. This is probably my favorite overall podcast.
Relic Radio: I listen to two shows off this network. The Horror and Strange Tales. Both are mostly of the horror genre of radio. These are old time radio programs from the 30-50s. I love this show as it's amazing to get such an indepth look at the popular culture from a different era.
The Morning Stream: This is mostly formatted as your typical morning radio show. Popular culture, technology, fitness, etc. They touch on numerous subjects.
The Weekly Longbox: Another comic book podcast. Deals more with the week to week releases.
Retronauts: This deals with old video games. A good stroll down memory lane for a veteran video game player like me. Always interesting.
Grizzly Bear Egg Cafe: Mike Quackenbush and Clayton Morris talk about just anything every week.
This is the list of podcasts I subscribe to and listen to at work on a daily basis. It helps to keep my brain engaged when I'm doing some monotonous tasks. If you're allowed to wear an Ipod at work, check some podcasts out. It makes the workday a lot easier.
Monday Morning Musings...
We went to dinner with several members of my wife's family on Saturday night. Her grandfather is an old school southern gentleman and acts that way in public. It was an interesting dynamic to observe considering how rude people can be more often than not.
Mondays are going to be a little different for me. I now go into work later on just Monday. So trying to figure out if I want to sleep in or get up at my usual time and just bum around for a few hours before I go in.
I had a pretty good day at the gym yesterday. I've moved up 20 lbs. on all the machines so I don't feel like a total weakling anymore. I hit the cardio pretty good as well. There's nothing quite like a good work out. You just feel so happy with yourself.
On a side note to that. The wife is considering biking to work once a week. It's going to be a roughly 10-15 miles trek depending on how she approaches it. She's doing some testing on the exercise bikes. She managed a little over 2 miles in 10 minutes. So I think she's off to a good start. I'm interested to see her progress in her training for this.
I got my Dwarf Hunter to lv. 30 in WoW last night. I really slowed down over the last few days because I'm in Duskwood. The Duskwood quests really suck. It feels like you get 2 or 3 quests, complete those and then get the exact same 2 or 3 quests that are just in a different place. Kind of frustrating and I've been pretty bored with the area. I'm hoping that I can move on to a new area fairly soon.
Dear Marvel Comics,
You're killing me with the constant double shipping of titles every month. I'm on a very tight budget for my comics that buys me about 10 issues a month. I would really like to buy 10 titles a month but that's not working out because usually 5 of them ship two issues. You are making me decision very difficult and 3 months into collecting again I'm already looking to drop titles. X-Factor, I love you but you might be the first to go if the double shipping keeps up.
Sincerely,
Me
Voting tomorrow. I didn't think things could get worse than having to choose between Obama/McCain in 2008. Now I have to choose between Obama or Romney/Santorum. Just shoot me...
Mondays are going to be a little different for me. I now go into work later on just Monday. So trying to figure out if I want to sleep in or get up at my usual time and just bum around for a few hours before I go in.
I had a pretty good day at the gym yesterday. I've moved up 20 lbs. on all the machines so I don't feel like a total weakling anymore. I hit the cardio pretty good as well. There's nothing quite like a good work out. You just feel so happy with yourself.
On a side note to that. The wife is considering biking to work once a week. It's going to be a roughly 10-15 miles trek depending on how she approaches it. She's doing some testing on the exercise bikes. She managed a little over 2 miles in 10 minutes. So I think she's off to a good start. I'm interested to see her progress in her training for this.
I got my Dwarf Hunter to lv. 30 in WoW last night. I really slowed down over the last few days because I'm in Duskwood. The Duskwood quests really suck. It feels like you get 2 or 3 quests, complete those and then get the exact same 2 or 3 quests that are just in a different place. Kind of frustrating and I've been pretty bored with the area. I'm hoping that I can move on to a new area fairly soon.
Dear Marvel Comics,
You're killing me with the constant double shipping of titles every month. I'm on a very tight budget for my comics that buys me about 10 issues a month. I would really like to buy 10 titles a month but that's not working out because usually 5 of them ship two issues. You are making me decision very difficult and 3 months into collecting again I'm already looking to drop titles. X-Factor, I love you but you might be the first to go if the double shipping keeps up.
Sincerely,
Me
Voting tomorrow. I didn't think things could get worse than having to choose between Obama/McCain in 2008. Now I have to choose between Obama or Romney/Santorum. Just shoot me...
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday Night Adventures...
I had the urge for getting out and about a bit tonight and my wife decided to humor me. We headed to McDonalds, it's our mutual food vice among others, and got some dinner. I really didn't know what I wanted to do so we ended up at Giant Eagle.
We needed a few odds and ins and we somehow ended up in the health drink section. We found Vita Coco which is a flavored coconut water. Coconut water according to fitness blogs is supposed to be the greatest thing ever. So I bought Tropical Fruit and the wife decided on Pineapple.
The wife took about one sip of her's and was done with it. I tried the Tropical Fruit, it was pretty gross. I tried the Pineapple and it was okay. Definitely going to take a little getting used to but it didn't make me hate my life like Tropical Fruit did. It's kind of a weird texture though. Kind of like a watery milk feel to it. It also needs to be cold, really cold. I drank mine as soon as I got home and it was chilled but it could've used some fridge time. I'm wondering if I should just try the regular coconut flavor.
I have a lot of problems with leg cramps and such so I think the potassium content will be good for that.
We also wandered over to the nearby K-Mart on a whim. This particular store is closing down and things are 10-50% off depending. I was surprised to see so much stuff left, they've been advertising the closing for like a month. It's your usual store closing. Some good buys, some things marked up 50% so they can mark it down 30%. You really had to know what you were looking at though.
My wife was thrilled because there was some gear for her bike cheap. Her niece's birthday is coming up and they had a new copy of Pokemon White for 40% off so I might get her that.
We needed a few odds and ins and we somehow ended up in the health drink section. We found Vita Coco which is a flavored coconut water. Coconut water according to fitness blogs is supposed to be the greatest thing ever. So I bought Tropical Fruit and the wife decided on Pineapple.
The wife took about one sip of her's and was done with it. I tried the Tropical Fruit, it was pretty gross. I tried the Pineapple and it was okay. Definitely going to take a little getting used to but it didn't make me hate my life like Tropical Fruit did. It's kind of a weird texture though. Kind of like a watery milk feel to it. It also needs to be cold, really cold. I drank mine as soon as I got home and it was chilled but it could've used some fridge time. I'm wondering if I should just try the regular coconut flavor.
I have a lot of problems with leg cramps and such so I think the potassium content will be good for that.
We also wandered over to the nearby K-Mart on a whim. This particular store is closing down and things are 10-50% off depending. I was surprised to see so much stuff left, they've been advertising the closing for like a month. It's your usual store closing. Some good buys, some things marked up 50% so they can mark it down 30%. You really had to know what you were looking at though.
My wife was thrilled because there was some gear for her bike cheap. Her niece's birthday is coming up and they had a new copy of Pokemon White for 40% off so I might get her that.
Doggy Dangers
I cooked lunch today. Our little 12 lb. dog decided that under my feet was a great place to spend that time and almost tripped me about 4 times. Ah, the joys of little dogs...
Dungeon Village hits my Droid
I'm a sucker for the Kairosoft style games. The first of these to come out was Game Dev Story. In this game you took a newly opened video game company and managed them to the top. I had patiently waited for the game to get ported to the Droid platform and eagerly threw down my $4.99 for the game. That night, as my wife lay snoring next to me, I stayed up till about 1 am just making new games. I had been playing for well over three hours at that point. Needless to say, I was hooked on that style of game and Kairosoft was kind enough to indulge me with a new game about every other month. Grand Prix Story and Epic Astro Story are two of my other favorites in the series.
Dungeon Village showed up in the market place about a month ago, the Japanese version at least. I was excited, I had heard this game was out there and it was the one I wanted the most. I checked the Market almost daily to see if they had released an English version of the game. Yesterday, was the big score... Dungeon Village could be mine for a mere $4.99.
The idea behind Dungeon Village is you run a town. You build shops and houses and it attracts adventurers to your town. These adventurers then go out and kill monsters, explore and do hero type stuff. As your reward, you earn a little money and they bring you back new items to sell in your stores. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it?
I got about an hour of playing in this morning and like it's brethren it's a tough game to put down. You want to send your heroes on just one more quest so you can get a little more money or a new item. I don't know where to rate this vs. other games in the series because it always takes 3 or 4 hours of playing to really get a feel for the quirks of that particular game. But so far I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
Here's a Youtube video of the game:
Dungeon Village showed up in the market place about a month ago, the Japanese version at least. I was excited, I had heard this game was out there and it was the one I wanted the most. I checked the Market almost daily to see if they had released an English version of the game. Yesterday, was the big score... Dungeon Village could be mine for a mere $4.99.
The idea behind Dungeon Village is you run a town. You build shops and houses and it attracts adventurers to your town. These adventurers then go out and kill monsters, explore and do hero type stuff. As your reward, you earn a little money and they bring you back new items to sell in your stores. Sounds pretty simple doesn't it?
I got about an hour of playing in this morning and like it's brethren it's a tough game to put down. You want to send your heroes on just one more quest so you can get a little more money or a new item. I don't know where to rate this vs. other games in the series because it always takes 3 or 4 hours of playing to really get a feel for the quirks of that particular game. But so far I'm enjoying it quite a bit.
Here's a Youtube video of the game:
The Daily Grind of Weight Loss
Over the course of the last year, the wife and I have talked about the possibility of trying to have a kid. We waffle back and forth by the day usually. I have been a little more anti-child lately but I think that's because of all the shitty parenting constantly going on in the public eye. A good tantrum handled poorly by a parent usually has me thinking "fuck that, we don't need the headache". Granted, that's a silly thing to think. The parents in those situations are almost always to blame for the situations we see. A kid is a kid, the adult has to guide them and show them social barriers. Sure, a good parent will have a kid throw a tantrum in a store but I think it is less likely to happen by a lot. My point being, my wife and I won't be those shitty parents so I shouldn't judge potential parenthood by what idiots do on a daily basis.
But wait, I thought this was a weight loss post. It is, the point of the above paragraph is at some point last year my wife and I had a talk about considering having a kid. We went over the pros and cons and things that we needed to do before we tried for a kid. One of the things on that "to do list" was weight loss. Last spring we set out on a mission to lose weight on a large scale. My wife's goals are clearly stated and I won't repeat them here, my goal is pretty simple. Reach 200 lbs.
After three start and stops due to illness, last year was a lot of illness, we got a new start in the second week of January. My wife started one week and I started the next. Currently Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday are "gym days". We come home, cook dinner and then head to the gym about 6:30 at night.
The gym is a weird place. You have people there to workout and you have people that don't. I'm always baffled by the people that pay gym fees and then go and treat the place like a social club. My wife and I often have to mold our workouts around these people. They usually decide to station themselves on a machine and then proceed to talk on their phone, talk to their buddy or just otherwise take up space. There's also what is known as the "gym rat". With these guys, you can go on any day at any time and they'll be there... and on the same machine to boot. After about three weeks of this, you start to wonder if this person has a job, a home, a life in general really.
As for our workouts. I've lost 12 pounds since the third week of January. We haven't been derailed by a serious illness thus far. My wife has had similar successes so far. She's even starting to move down a size in pants and is absolutely thrilled with it. We aren't doing anything super special honestly. We're doing some weight training, hitting the treadmill and bikes plus watching what we eat.
12 pounds down and a whole lot to go.
But wait, I thought this was a weight loss post. It is, the point of the above paragraph is at some point last year my wife and I had a talk about considering having a kid. We went over the pros and cons and things that we needed to do before we tried for a kid. One of the things on that "to do list" was weight loss. Last spring we set out on a mission to lose weight on a large scale. My wife's goals are clearly stated and I won't repeat them here, my goal is pretty simple. Reach 200 lbs.
After three start and stops due to illness, last year was a lot of illness, we got a new start in the second week of January. My wife started one week and I started the next. Currently Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday are "gym days". We come home, cook dinner and then head to the gym about 6:30 at night.
The gym is a weird place. You have people there to workout and you have people that don't. I'm always baffled by the people that pay gym fees and then go and treat the place like a social club. My wife and I often have to mold our workouts around these people. They usually decide to station themselves on a machine and then proceed to talk on their phone, talk to their buddy or just otherwise take up space. There's also what is known as the "gym rat". With these guys, you can go on any day at any time and they'll be there... and on the same machine to boot. After about three weeks of this, you start to wonder if this person has a job, a home, a life in general really.
As for our workouts. I've lost 12 pounds since the third week of January. We haven't been derailed by a serious illness thus far. My wife has had similar successes so far. She's even starting to move down a size in pants and is absolutely thrilled with it. We aren't doing anything super special honestly. We're doing some weight training, hitting the treadmill and bikes plus watching what we eat.
12 pounds down and a whole lot to go.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Expanded Baseball Playoffs
I posted on a message board earlier today. This is my general thoughts on having 4 wildcard teams and have a 1 game playoff to determine who progresses:
I'm iffy on the idea. I'm sure I would suddenly love it the second it got the Reds into the playoffs one season.
I'm fine with it as long as this is as far as it ever goes. A third of the teams is still better than most leagues and really, a play in game isn't so bad. Let's look at how it would've effected the last few seasons:
2011: Boston vs. Tampa Bay in the AL and St. Louis vs. Atlanta in the NL. Honestly, I thought the way the season played out on the final day was more satisfying as a fan with this group.
2010: New York vs. Boston in the AL and Atlanta vs. San Diego in the NL. NL game would've been great. The media would've been jerking off to that NY/Boston game. Kind of falls apart here as you're making a 95 win team play an 89 win team to get into the playoffs.
2009: Texas vs. Boston in the AL and Colorado vs. Florida in the NL. Really weak play ins here. Two 90+ win teams taking on 87 win teams. Plus, Boston and Colorado were clearly superior teams this year. It would've really sucked if one of them got knocked off by the inferior team.
2008: New York vs. Boston in the AL and Milwaukee vs. New York in the NL. Again, media would've been jerking off to both New York teams being in. The NL match up would've been decent. But on the other end you have 95 win team facing an 89 win team. Just seems wrong.
On second thought to this. I'm against it. Out of 4 years worth of this, most of the games were mid 90 win teams having to waste time on a high 80 win team. That just doesn't cut it for me. Not enough teams get enough wins consistently for this game to not fuck over more deserving teams on a consistent basis.
If you go out there and you win 95 games over the course of 162 games. You went out there and you won a majority of your games. Now, MLB is punishing teams that excel and risk their entire 162 game season on 1 game where most of the time it's going to be a mediocre 87 win team that did a little better than average. That feels kind of fucked up.
I'm iffy on the idea. I'm sure I would suddenly love it the second it got the Reds into the playoffs one season.
I'm fine with it as long as this is as far as it ever goes. A third of the teams is still better than most leagues and really, a play in game isn't so bad. Let's look at how it would've effected the last few seasons:
2011: Boston vs. Tampa Bay in the AL and St. Louis vs. Atlanta in the NL. Honestly, I thought the way the season played out on the final day was more satisfying as a fan with this group.
2010: New York vs. Boston in the AL and Atlanta vs. San Diego in the NL. NL game would've been great. The media would've been jerking off to that NY/Boston game. Kind of falls apart here as you're making a 95 win team play an 89 win team to get into the playoffs.
2009: Texas vs. Boston in the AL and Colorado vs. Florida in the NL. Really weak play ins here. Two 90+ win teams taking on 87 win teams. Plus, Boston and Colorado were clearly superior teams this year. It would've really sucked if one of them got knocked off by the inferior team.
2008: New York vs. Boston in the AL and Milwaukee vs. New York in the NL. Again, media would've been jerking off to both New York teams being in. The NL match up would've been decent. But on the other end you have 95 win team facing an 89 win team. Just seems wrong.
On second thought to this. I'm against it. Out of 4 years worth of this, most of the games were mid 90 win teams having to waste time on a high 80 win team. That just doesn't cut it for me. Not enough teams get enough wins consistently for this game to not fuck over more deserving teams on a consistent basis.
If you go out there and you win 95 games over the course of 162 games. You went out there and you won a majority of your games. Now, MLB is punishing teams that excel and risk their entire 162 game season on 1 game where most of the time it's going to be a mediocre 87 win team that did a little better than average. That feels kind of fucked up.
Wolverine and the X-Men #6
The two fairly constant hobbies/obsessions in my life have been comics and Transformers. Comics in particular have been one of my favorite hobbies. Reading about the X-Men or Spider-Man is kind of like catching up with an old friend. Plus, if you've read my other blogs, I've done a lot of comic stuff.
That brings us to what I read today. Wolverine and the X-Men #6 arrived in the mail with my monthly shipment of comics yesterday. I eagerly grabbed this first and got caught up on the X antics for the month.
Kitty Pryde has been infected with microscopic Brood while Wolverine takes Quinten Quire into outer space to help him earn enough money to keep the school open. That's the basic premise and that's all I'm giving away. This post is more about praising the quality of the book.
In this day and age, it's really hard to find comics that aren't "written for trade". That means that the writer does a 6 part story that's super decompressed so that it will neatly fit into a trade paperback that the company can later sell for $19.99 a pop. As a reader of individual issues, it sucks... hard...
You go to the shop and spend your $2.99 or $3.99 on a book and you get home and you've finished reading it in 5 minutes. I remember just after Christmas sitting down and reading the first 4 issues of the new Justice League series. Took me 20 minutes to finish my $16 investment.
But Wolverine and the X-Men is different. The issues are just filled with stuff going on. There's usually several storylines going on at once and the writer Jason Aaron isn't afraid to go a 2-3 part story. Most of the 52 DC titles are 6 issues in and haven't completed a story. Wolverine and the X-Men is on issue 6 and we're on the third storyline for the book.
Plus the book is just good fun. It doesn't take itself too seriously. I've found myself laughing at each and every issue and I always want the next issue. There's nothing ground breaking going on or anything. It's just some good clean fun issue after issue.
So check it out if you're at your local comic book shop.
Ooks of Hazzard cover Kids by MGMT
I heard this at work while listening to The Morning Stream by Scott Johnson and Brian Ibbott on my Ipod. I thought it was an enjoyable cover of the song.
Allow me to introduce myself...
My name is Brad. I live in Columbus, Ohio. I work a white collar job downtown. I'm married, no kids. I own a house. I have a spoiled little dog with anti-social tendencies. I also have a rabbit that I bought off the clearance rack at a pet store.
I'm a WoW player. I own tons of video game systems. I love comic books, I read as much as possible. I'm a big sports fan. I love pro wrestling more than any adult should. I played D&D at one point in my life. I have tons of friends that I never see due to my lazy and anti-social tendencies.
Hello, I'm a geek and this is my life.
Enjoy...
I'm a WoW player. I own tons of video game systems. I love comic books, I read as much as possible. I'm a big sports fan. I love pro wrestling more than any adult should. I played D&D at one point in my life. I have tons of friends that I never see due to my lazy and anti-social tendencies.
Hello, I'm a geek and this is my life.
Enjoy...
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