Galaxies, Universes, and Things That Spin

New Title and Position

2010-08-02T13:56:00.001-07:00

It's an unnerving thing when you discover that you are no longer employed. Nor does the situation improve much when you make the leap from unemployment wages to being a "green pea" at a car dealership during a recession (or depression, depending on who you believe). Finally, after two and-a-half long months of extreme heat and little business, I have managed to find work again. I won't say that I've finally found a real job, because car sales IS a real job. It's just not one that I find compatible with my personality or training.
For everyone who heard from me during these two and-a-half months.
1) Thank you for the prayers and the encouragement.
2) Sorry about the attempts to get you into the dealership so that I could try to sell you something
3) Thank you for considering me for employment if you received one of my applications or resumes.

It is over, and a new stage of my life has begun. All signs point to this being a great one.

Vbama

2009-11-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

I sat down and watched the new V series last night and watched as eerily similar circumstances to our current Resident (ooh, sorry, meant "President") unfolded. The strikingly beautiful and charismatic Visitors promised hope and change in return for our devotion and resources. Did you notice the bit about choosing who would portray them in a positive light? Yes, there was one anchor that was chosen to interview them (it's too bad he didn't raise a stink about the other networks not being included) as long as he neglected to ask questions that would portray them in a negative way. Fox had about a snowball's chance to get in on that one.
Then there was the revelation that Universal Health Care would be provided to the people of Earth.
One particular dialog that caught my attention was between Father Landry (Joel Gretsch) and Father Travis (Scott Hylands): "The world's in bad shape, Father. Who wouldn't welcome a savior right now? Under the right conditions and with enough time, gratitude can morph into worship."
Whoa. Sound familiar?

Greetings from the Ether.... er... the Author

2009-10-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

Years passed, and the cosmos swirled, as cosmi often do. And as the cosmos swirled, and the stars were born, and died, and had soirees and conceived baby stars in candlelit rooms, the Book sat alone. But the Book was not forgotten-- it was merely alone.

For the Book had not a cover. Neither front nor back cover had the Book, and the Book was forsaken by others of its kind (those that had covers, anyway). And the Book gathered dust.

Until finally (and not just a little suspiciously), a breeze from an errant butterfly caused the dust to be lifted from the Book, and the Book was discovered, and gathered to its author's breast. This seemed an appropriate place to gather one's forgotten work, but once it had been held there a short while, the Book was relocated to the author's desk, then car, then back to his desk, to the nightstand, and finally back to the desk.

"Behold!" said the author, feeling a bit silly, because the word "behold" was an archaic word that fell out of usage some years ago, when Olde English begat the New English, and "begat" was forgotten as well.

"I think I shall get thee a cover!" said the author, still feeling silly, for the reasons mentioned above. And a Cover was found. And the cover was awesome, which was great, because "awesome" was a word that was indeed still in fashion. And the author owed many thanks to the artist, who had fashioned the Cover.

This great Event caused the author to consider what would happen if he were to acquire an ISBN. And it was acquired. And the first day the author sold Two Books, which was a remarkable thing, because this particular author had never sold Two Books before, much less One Book.

And so, as the Book finally found itself with Cover, and with ISBN, it too found itself a url, where those who wished to purchase the Book might find it. And the url was a nice, tidy link that looked like this https://www.createspace.com/3404888 somewhat. It was blue, which was a nice color for a link. It also had a fashionable underline, for the author hoped that this fashionable blue underline would draw attention to the Book.

I've Got a Fever

2009-08-24T10:57:00.001-07:00

The fever hit me kind of late this time around. Summer is winding down, and I'm just now starting to feen for a personal water craft, aka jet ski. More likely, this is just a case of withdrawal that has been going on now for about twelve years, since the fateful day that I sold my Yamaha Wave Raider 1100.
The cause of the problem is two-told: (1) I was not yet ready to sell it when I did, but I needed a reliable vehicle, and the Camaro was not it. Add the Yamaha to the trade, and now you're cookin'.
(2) I went geocaching on the reservoir with my friends Lee and Chris Saturday. There were numerous boats on the water, including about half a dozen PWC's kicking up spray.

Now it's all I can do to keep my mind on whatever task is at hand. I've checked out a couple of websites to price current watercraft. Is it just me, or have they become more expensive in the last few years? The one I want now is about twice as expensive as my old Raider.

Here's a pic someone took of Jace, Jeff, and me on our respective craft (We were part of a larger group we called the "Doo Crew," even though I didn't have a Sea-Doo. The group was dominated by Sea-Doos, though, and I guess the name was inevitable.

I still want a Yamaha, though I wouldn't turn down a Sea-Doo if someone offered it to me.
Purty, ain't she? Check out this video: FX-SHO

Now you've got the fever. See you next summer on the rez.

Twitter Goes Down

2009-08-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

So. Apparently some hackers brought Twitter to its knees today. When one of my co-workers asked me why I hadn't heard it was down, my reply was "How was I supposed to know? I didn't get a Tweet."

A Haiku

2009-08-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Toad stools in the yard
Remind me I haven't mowed.
Time to get out there.

Out of the Box - 28 July 2009

2009-07-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Lately, it seems like there's been a lot of talk around the office of babies, which inspired this strip.
As an added bonus, I've included a video of that fellow on the left, James. I am only doing this to embarrass him. Enjoy...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

War of the Words

2009-06-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

Fan Boy

2009-05-22T06:26:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm a fanboy. No, that's not a yamaka I'm wearing. It's my ever-widening bald spot.

Out of the Box

2009-05-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I have begun a series of comic strips based on the "adventures" of my co-workers. Originally conceived as "The MIS Zone," and then "The IT Zone," I finally settled on "Out of the Box." In my opinion, the artwork is rather elementary, as I've had no art training. I just kind of go with it. I've been able to draw a strip semi-daily, which basically means "when I feel like it."

Thanks to Vern for inspiring fear, or the approximation of it, into James, our culinary exhibitionist. What he actually exhibits is usually the worst lunch each day. James made the mistake once of telling Vern that he could punch him whenever he said something stupid. He may be regretting that arrangement these days.

Yeah, the guy with the bald spot is me. I don't actually have OCD, but I have donated plasma.

For heaven's sake, don't get Wade riled up! He'll pedal his tail off to get his point across. And with that banana colored spandex he wears, you may wish you hadn't upset him when you cross his path.

Okay, I'm the guy with the miner's helmet down in the hole. I'm one of three geocachers in the office, but I've been doing it the longest. I don't really know who the dude with the comb-over is. He's just an extra, I guess.

I never actually witnessed the coffee grounds incident, but there are emails all the time reminding people not to wash their coffee filters out in the ice machine or some equally inane thing. The Jean-Luc Picard-looking guy is also an extra. No one like him works here. Really. Not even Rolan.

We would all rejoice if this actually happened.

James, aside from being our resident culinary specialist, is also a wooter. Woot.com exists. It is the glue that binds.

I'm anticipating an exhilarating round of golf this afternoon, which inspired this comic featuring Vern and Lee, our golfers. They plan to laugh at me while I attempt to look like a golfer.

Mission to Meridian

2009-02-19T08:34:00.000-08:00

Monday, President's Day, was spent on the road, my Blackberry tethered to my laptop, and my Garmin eTrex H dangling from my wrist. My geocaching buddy, otherwise known as yamfjr, was driving. I had the duty of selecting coordinates and plugging them into the gps.

We stopped first at a cache he had previously visited and I logged a quick find. Back on the road, we slid over the Mississippi/Alabama border and picked up an easy one so that we could each have a cache located in another state. It was a multi-function cache. You can see here what its dual-purpose was.

Our next point-of-interest was for a cache located on a back road near the border. We headed the way to find it, but found a hobo parked right on top of our coordinates in a tent. Not desiring to give away the cache location to a "muggle," or non-geocacher, we abandoned it, a bit perturbed that we had to.

We hit a rest stop/welcome center on the way back and picked up another quick find before shooting towards Meridian.

Our attempts at the Bonita Lakes were mostly foiled. By 2:00 PM we only had five finds each. Not so good. We decided to get out of the woods and hit the urban caches. This was a good idea. By the time we packed it up for the night, I'd logged a total of 22, a new personal record for one
day's searching. I'd still like to return, though, to pick up those caches in the woods.

I'd Have Drowned Already

2009-01-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

On the third try, I still can't find Noah's Ark.

I know the cache is still there, because someone logged it yesterday, while I was at work thinking about where in the world it could be. I have the coordinates. The clue is permanently inscribed upon my brain. After visiting the site alone twice, I took a fellow geocacher on the third visit, but we still could not locate our treasure. I put my hands on everything within ten feet of the coordinates.

I'm running out of change for the meter.

So how about it, Round Dancer? Care to point me in the right direction?

The Rhino Graveyard

2009-01-13T11:14:00.000-08:00

Yamfjr (as he is known in certain circles) and I went hunting during lunch today to find the elusive rhino.

Sort of.

The Rhino Graveyard geocache, as posted by bone1977 & Keybdkidd, led us to
N 32° 19.208
W 090° 12.981
a cemetery, and then to a bald spot of earth. After half an hour of searching, we found the cache, 200 feet from the given coordinates.

Our treasure was nestled near the back side of the rhino pen of the Jackson Zoo. Inside the Tupperware container were a few small childrens' toys, a Boy Scout patch, and a water-soaked log. It was in a Zip-Loc baggie, which unfortunately, was not sealed. It can be hard to remember to seal them when it hasn't been raining for a while, right?

Seal em up, people.

Geocaching

2008-12-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

Today I found two geocaches while taking a break, using the Garmin eTrex H my in-laws gave me for Christmas. One cache just up the street, and the other was right in front of the building!

My first coordinates led me to the Heroes Wall (see pic) and a mostly-buried match safe that contained the rolled up log that geocachers sign when they find their treasure.

The second cache was a little more difficult to find, but was fun nonetheless.

Check out www.geocaching.com if you want to find out more about geocaching.

Biognome

2008-12-16T07:28:00.001-08:00

A doodle that I freehanded, scanned, and colored.
It is the Biognome.

Real Men Sit and Wait

2008-11-25T16:54:00.000-08:00

Once again I find myself sitting alone in a tree stand, waiting, nay, begging for the opportunity to lay eyes on the ever-elusive deer. I really don't care if it's a buck or doe. I just want to put some venison in my freezer. I'm not about the sport, you see. Sitting still in a tree for hours on end freezing off parts of my anatomy I'd rather stay put? No thanks.
Today I happen to be doing time near Sartartia, MS, courtesy of a co-worker whose family owns property here. I'm about bored out of my skull, too, although I really couldn't have asked for a prettier day.
The wife asks that if I do happen to bring home a deer, I convert some to summer sausage. Myself, I'm all about the tenderloin, though I do love to make Deer Joes out of the ground meat. Perfect on the George Foreman grill!
Perhaps I just bore too easily. Well, back to acting like a tree!

Avengers Assemble!

2008-05-06T07:20:00.001-07:00

Since moving to Brandon, the missus and I finally got to go see our first theatrical production in a darkly lit room with stadium seating. Immediately following work on Friday, we joined up with the forces of tech from MIS and caravaned to Tinseltown in Pearl, where we witnessed Iron Man beat the everliving, four-color, textured poo out of a bunch of terrorists. I was suitably impressed. So much so that we're going to go see it again tonight, it was so good. I can't wait till this comes out on DVD, so I can add it to my collection. Of course, by the time this one is released, we'll have a new television, and possibly a Blu-Ray player.

Yes, I know I'm slightly behind the technology curve, but that stuff is expensive!

There is a possibility that the first Blu-Ray movie in our collection will be Iron Man.

By the way, if you haven't sat through the movie yet, do so. And stick around until the end of the credits. You'll be glad you did.

A Limerick

2008-02-12T03:47:00.000-08:00

T’was a woman who started a bout,

lost in the first round to the lout.

Now spoiled and ashamed of her nose,

Went to a vet, specialty: those.

And went home with a handsome new snout.

Market Slump? What Market Slump?

2008-01-30T06:28:00.000-08:00

Ran into my one reader at Kroger this weekend. This post is for you, Lihwa.

The wife and I finally decided to get off our keisters and put our house up for sale. We both know the market is supposed to be real bad for sellers, but the cost of driving back and forth to Jackson every day is eating us alive.

After a rigorous cleaning and making a few minor fix-its to the home (a little paint here, a little vinyl there), we got it listed on Saturday with Vicksburg Realty, LLC with help from our realtor friend Robert Peters.

Monday afternoon we arrived home from work to discover that an agent from another local realty had left a message, wanting to bring a prospective buyer to look at the property. So we arranged a time when we could get the dogs out of the house.

Long story short: as of Tuesday, we've already had an offer and made a counter-offer. Only two days on the market and we're just about ready to sign a contract! I predict we'll be in another home by March 5. I just hope we're not packing boxes during the Superbowl!

New Job

2007-08-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

It's been two days since I received the call that I am the newest Network Engineer for a company in Jackson, and it still feels like a dream. It hasn't really sank in yet.

It'll be difficult leaving a job I've been in for almost 8 years, because I've made lots of friends. On top of that, it's a job I've really enjoyed.

My last day here is August 29th, and then I'll start carpooling with my wife. I'll work just across the street from her, which means lunch will probably be in her building. This new position means a whopping raise for me, which could not have come at a better time.

Yay!

Level Up!

2007-06-02T05:39:00.000-07:00

Today's the day, folks! It's the day I level up! Level 36, to be exact. It's my ding-day! Thirty-six years ago today I went from a pixel in my dad's eye to living, breathing construct. Wonder if I'll get a new power?

R.I.P.

2007-05-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

It feels like this town is dying a slow, painful death.

It hasn't been that long since our only theater closed its ticket booth for their last matinée. How could they? I saw Back to the Future there back in 1985. Of course, when you don't put any money back into the business, and fail to keep out the riffraff, this is what's going to happen. I don't miss the tiny, four-screen cinema, since I was already driving as far as Pearl to see a decent movie. That's 50 miles, people. Too see a movie.

The Vicksburg Post recently ran a story about Red Carpet Lanes, the city's only bowling alley. The 48-year-old business closed this week. According to the paper, "A steady drop in business, antiquated equipment and the old structure itself have led to the lanes' closing."

Driving by the Krystal restaurant the other day, I noticed that Krystal has been replaced by Bubba's something-or-other, which, incidentally, does not serve anything even remotely resembling Krystal Burgers, Krystal Pups, or Krystal Chiks. Why is it every time we get a decent fast food joint it either burns down or goes out of business?

I'm moving! Well, eventually. As soon as I find a job.

Somewhere else.

Congratulations!!

2007-05-02T06:13:00.000-07:00

Early this morning, our dear friends Dave and Sue welcomed into the family a new baby girl, who weighed in at 6 lbs, 8 oz. As of yet, her name has not been chosen. She could not have been given to a more deserving couple. Liz and I are thrilled for our friends, and hope to visit soon.

Congratulations!

3rd Anniversary

2007-04-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

The end of April marked the third anniversary of the popular online game City of Heroes (if I'm not careful, I'm going to have to re-theme my blog to C0H). To celebrate, the team at NCSoft threw a party at Pocket D, complete with live DJ's from w00tradio.net. VIP attendees included Positron, War Witch, Back Alley Brawler, Ex_Libris, and Lighthouse, City of Heroes game developers (Hey, Statesman! War Witch says she wants hair that bounces!)
There was dancing, bongo-playing, and costume contests (I won one for my outstanding alter-ego costume, my tux with tails), as well as trivia contests broadcast over w00tradio.
Back Alley Brawler entertained in the ring against hordes of Rikti monkeys and clones of himself. For those who wished to brave the maze, w00tradio sponsored the W00t Radio Maze of DOOOM! And for those whose interests were more outdoorsy, Positron opened up the Ski Chalet, which floated outside Pocket D, protected by a giant rotating force field.
As many as 8 Pocket D's were open at one time, to accomodate the multitudes of superheroes and villains.

So You Want to be a Comic Book Superhero?

2007-04-06T09:35:00.000-07:00

Too late. At least, it's too late for you to be a superhero in the comic book I submitted to the City of Heroes Comic Book Creator contest. You'll have to go make your own comic. Creative Labs is sponsoring the contest, which consists of taking in-game screenshots and then using them to tell a 3-7 page story in a comic book format. For those who don't have Comic Book Creator, you can get a trial copy at Hypercomics.com. And if for some weird reason you're not already playing City of Heroes, well, hie on over to plaync.com for a 14-day free trial. You'll be wearing tights and a cape in no time at all (assuming you can decide on a costume, out of the literally millions of combinations).

Built-In Alarm Clock

2007-03-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

My cat, Vader by name, is the perfect alarm clock. Each morning, one minute before my alarm clock is set to go off, he does. There are just a few things that still stimulate this 22-pound, solid black, yellow-eyed, furry beast: hunting crane flies, swatting the plastic bookmarks that I use to mark my place, scratching his hind quarters just above the base of his tail, and feeding time. If I ever forget to set my alarm clock, I'll have no excuses to be late for work, because he's doing his duty (and getting fed besides).
For such a large cat, Vader's voice is surprisingly small. In fact, he's almost squeaky. It's this persistent, squeaky voice that arouses me from slumber with such ease. Of course, there are drawbacks. I don't get to sleep in on weekends, and I lose about 5 minutes of sleep a week, due to his 1-minute-before-scheduled-wakeup policy.

Do-it-Yourselfer

2007-03-07T06:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a handyman, I'm afraid. My talents lie in other places. However, the wife bought a new Frigidaire electric smoothtop cooktop, and I was determined not to spend extra for the installation. I did end up buying a Skil jigsaw, but every man's gotta have one of those, right? Anyway, I still ended up saving money on the installation, and I've got a new power tool to boot.
All in all, I think I did a bang-up job on the installation. It looks just like a professional did it. You'll have to forgive me for being proud of myself. It's the first time I've ever installed a cooktop by myself.

An Impromptu Haiku

2007-02-15T09:25:00.000-08:00

The trick to poems

Is to say what you need to

In the space allowed.

Superbowl Sunday

2007-02-05T04:08:00.000-08:00

The wife and I traveled the eight miles to her parents' house last night to watch the Big Game, which I felt was just about as big a yawn-fest as this year's batch of commercials. She and her dad both kept nodding off during the action, and I was tempted to power up the Wii at one point. I suppose it would have helped if I had actually favored one of the teams to win, but as it was, I had to pick one just before the game started. Since I've been cheering for LSU for the past eight years, Joseph Addai's presence on the Colts' team was my only reason to root for them, so root for them I did. My father-in-law rooted for the Colts as well, since the Bears shut down the Saints.
Even the half-time show was lacking, I felt. Sure, Prince was big in the 80's. Is he making a comeback? I wasn't aware. I will say this though: he is a fabulous guitarist. To pull off a show like that in a downpour attests to the man's talent. The two hotties cavorting around the stage were good eye candy, but detracted from the overall performance.
When the game finally ended, we didn't even wait around to see who received the MVP award.

Level Up!

2007-02-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

After just 5 days (I could have done it in less, I suppose), my City of Heroes character, Polonium Patrician, is up to security level 20. It's at this level that you can visit a tailor and receive, in exchange for services, a new costume. And receive a new costume is just what I did. Now decked out in my Iron Man-esque armor, complete with comsat gear protruding from my helmet, I look like I could do some serious damage. Bad guys beware! I was thinking about donning a cape, but I think it would detract from the image.
I've been playing again, thanks to the 14 day trial key I received from FileFront's download area. After that, there will be another two week lull before I can achieve sufficient fundage to fully reacquaint myself with the MMORPG experience.

Common Cold Encourages New Superhero

2007-01-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

I woke up Friday with a nasty headache and a sore throat, not to mention a few of the other symptoms that get bundled in the package known as the "common cold." So I stayed home from work and rested that day. When evening arrived, I received a message from my best friend that City of Heroes was having a 14-day free trial. "Hey, cool!" I said to myself (because I do talk to myself from time to time), "This just happens to coincide with Double XP Weekend! Not only that, but I've already reloaded my City of Heroes software, in anticipation of playing again possibly in a month or two!" (Sometimes I get really talkative)

Saturday morning arrived bright and early (that's 8:00 AM when you're sick, 5:30 when you're not), and I found myself in front of the computer, running updates on the client, which only took fifteen or so minutes, since I had previously run updates. After entering the trial code, I was up and playing. My new character, The Polonium Patrician, is a science blaster archetype, and quite possibly the fastest character I've ever taken up to security level 10. After a weekend of double xp, and another sick day, I had him up to security level 18, with mostly solo missions.

Today I'm still sick, but out of leave, so CoH will just have to wait until I get home, at which point the wife will probably want me to do some chores around the house (seeing as how I was well enough to go to work).

Strange Dream

2007-01-25T05:10:00.000-08:00

The other night I had one of my strangest dreams ever. Well, in a long time, anyway.
Apparently, my brains were growing through a crack in my skull, and to remedy the problem, my best friend (who is not a doctor) had me lie down in my parents' driveway (at their old house), which is at an incline. This way the blood would flow downhill and not pool up under me while he was working. For some reason, he had to park a truck over me. Perhaps this was to keep birds from flying over and de-sanitizing his "clean room"--I really don't know.
After everything was laid out to his satisfaction, and I was ready (not even given a local anesthetic), he took out his dremel saw and commenced taking off the top of my skull. I remember bits of brain matter going into an aluminum dog food bowl that he had commandeered for the surgery. When the skullcap was off, he excused himself, stating that he had to go "bone up." I followed him to the carport, where he took out a medical journal and began to read. I was a little upset that he hadn't done this before the surgery, and it was about this point that my dream faded and I found myself lying in bed. The strangest part about dreams like this is when you wake up and can imagine little vestiges of the dream remaining. This time, I can remember feeling like there was a big empty space behind my forehead.
Analyze this, Freud!

A Rainbow to Go

2006-12-12T08:54:00.000-08:00

I let a Rainbow representative into my house last night. *Gasp!* Yes, I know this goes against everything I believe in, except for one thing. Free stuff was promised. Let's back up just a bit.

A couple of months ago, the wife worked a booth at the State Fair. On her break, she signed up to win a Rainbow vacuum in a drawing. She didn't win, but Friday night we received a call from a rep who wanted to give us a demonstration of their filterless air filter, which, like the vacuum, uses water to catch the bad stuff. In return, he would give us one. So, I "aqua-esced" and we set up a time for Monday night.

In return for watching a product demo on the air filter, he did indeed give us the filter. We were also treated to a demonstration on the newest e-series Rainbow vacuum, which, he understood, we are not in a position to buy at the moment. The wife and I already know how great these things are, as both sets of our parents have one. We've used them. If we had the money, we'd have one yesterday.

It was a low pressure sales pitch, and the representative and his fiancée were both very likable. He's been selling the systems for at least four years (he sold my parents theirs), and I have a feeling that in about a year and a half, he'll sell us ours, after the wife has finished paying off her student loans.

What I've Got in Common With Hilary Duff

2006-10-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

What do I have in common with Hilary Duff?

Very little, really. Although I can sing, I'm not a chart-topping recording artist. I've only been in one movie, and I was an extra with no lines. And although I do love animals, I can't stand certain ones, like chihuahuas, for instance. Sorry, Hil.

We both, however, make appearances in video games. She and Lola (the infernal chihuahua) are both available from ea for download into Sims2 with the release of the latest expansion pack, Pets. I have a character in Silver Style Entertainment's title The Fall: Last Days of Gaia, which somehow never was released in America, despite the publisher's assurances that developments with a North American distributor were going as planned. Long story short: if you can understand German, Spanish, or Polish, you can get yourself a copy of this game and meet me in the virtual wasteland of The Fall. If you happen to run across me, snap a screenshot and post it somewhere, so I can see if they did my character justice.

Getting Off On the Right Foot

2006-10-13T05:33:00.000-07:00

How do you know it's going to be a good day? When you have a choice between bacon and sausage on your Whataburger breakfast platter, you order bacon, and when you get to work, you discover you were given both! Not to mention the lid on the cup of gravy for your biscuit has stayed secure. Then you remember it's Friday, and tomorrow you're going fishing with your dad, who has an 18-foot Tracker, and he's supplying all the tackle. Then you remember that your best friend is coming to town for a visit this weekend, and there will be free eating at his mom's house. Yep. Goin' to be a good day.

Fare Thee Well

2006-10-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon the church said goodbye to Anthony O'Neal and his family. Anthony has taken a position at another church in North Carolina. There was a nice reception and time for fellowship in the Fellowship Hall for Anthony and his wife, Amy, and their four children, Mark Hudson, Vivian, Sophie, and Josiah. We wish these wonderful people all the best, and our love goes with them to their new home. Anthony served at Highland Baptist Church as Associate Pastor and Minister of Education.

Dubya Comes to Jackson

2006-09-29T05:22:00.000-07:00

Last night the wife and I drove to Jackson to hear "Dubya" in concert.

No, not the Pres.

I'm talking about Michael W. Smith. We sat right on the second row, where we had an excellent view of the performance, which was what he described as stripped down, where he could change songs or directions mid-set. He brought with him only two instrumentalists, Christa Black on violin, guitar, and vocals, and Jim Daneker on keys and vocals. Smitty surprised Christa mid-concert by requesting she play a tune she wrote, which is nearing release. You can find her myspace page here. Michael also has a blog, which is here.
Michael and company are playing predominantly churches on this tour. He took the opportunity to plug his forthcoming album, Stand, which will be on shelves November 7. You can hear samples from the album here. I'll definitely be buying this. Of course, my wife will be taking it away from me as soon as I get it, and it'll never find its way out of her CD case again, but she'll at least let me listen to it when I ride in her car.

We managed to squeeze in next to Samuel and Jennifer, a couple of friends from church, which was an unexpected treat.

Exit from Star Wars Galaxies at Light Speed

2006-09-08T05:48:00.000-07:00

My last post details how I started playing Star Wars Galaxies again after a long hiatus. Those of you who actually read that post may have gleaned from it that I was a little disappointed in the changes that had been made since I last logged off. Incidentally, the reason I quit playing the first time around was because all of a sudden my frames per second dropped to 1 or less and stayed there, and customer support was less than supportive. I wasn't actually ready to drop SWG just yet.

This time around, nearly two years later, I dropped SWG like a hot potato. What was once a fantastic MMOG has turned into a mediocre experience, due to changes in the way the skill system works, nerfed professions, and a gimped combat system.

I quit playing about a week ago and haven't looked back.

Currently, I'm filling my MMOG void with the Matrix Online. Ya can't miss me: red baseball cap, black shirt, black pants, and the totally lost look.

My Return to Star Wars Galaxies

2006-08-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

Those who have been playing Star Wars Galaxies will find no surprises here. This article is for those who quit playing, like me, a couple of years ago, and also for those who have nothing else to do and just need some drivel to read.

Yesterday I signed back on to Star Wars Galaxies for the first time in almost 2 years. A lot can change in a mere 2 years, lemme tell ya.

The first thing I noticed was that there are now two new races and two new professions from which to choose since last I logged in. It was at this point that I decided to create a brand new character and conquer the learning curve, rather than use an old character and get beat up quickly (No telling where I logged off). The two races new to SWG were the Sullustans and the Ithorians. As for professions, Jedi and bounty hunters are now playable. Back in the day, when I was playing my...what was he?... my entertainer/medic/harvester, Jedi was a profession that had to be unlocked, and bounty hunter wasn't even available. It was talked about in the forums of course, but in those days, those were just dreams.

After I chose my race and profession, I was whisked away to a space station that was under attack by Imperial forces, where it was explained to me by Han Solo himself that I had to help him get me off that station by jumping up in the turret and nailing anything that moved. So I pummelled a few slow-moving TIE fighters (Twin Ion Engines for the non-Star Wars Trivia buffs) and Hans, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C3P0, and I all made it to relative safety, where I learned that the skills ladders were not the skills ladders of yesterday. In the old days (I sound like Gramps) as soon as you earned enough experience relative to what you wanted to learn, you could pick and choose what skills you wanted. Now, they're chosen for you at every fourth character level. As far as character customization goes, you better hope dressing your character in what you want him to wear fulfills that need for you, because you won't get to tweak his stats or skills. Of course, I haven't yet played one of the other professions, so it's possible that the ladder skill system still exists.

While there are still plenty of people to play with on the servers, I have noticed that there appear to be considerably fewer than once littered the streets of various places like Mos Eisley ("a wretched hive of scum and villainy") and Anchorhead.

Finally, at the time of my departure from SWG, the expansion pack "Jump to Lightspeed" was about to hit the shelves. Since that time, Sony has made it available to everyone as part of the standard gaming experience. The other two expansions, however--The Trials of Obi-Wan and the Rage of the Wookiees--still need to be purchased to be enjoyed.

Stan Lee Presents - Part 2 of 2: Who Wants to be a Superhero?

2006-07-28T05:28:00.000-07:00

While the production I wrote of yesterday, Lightspeed, was largely a miss in a hit-and-miss industry, it seems that Stan "the Man" Lee has ventured into the world of reality television and survived round one, with "Who Wants to be a Superhero," a six part weekly series.

Having interviewed thousands of would-be superheroes, Stan Lee chose eleven finalists who would compete for immortality through the opportunity to become a real-life superhero (that is, the winner would get their own comic book). The contestants were gathered together and transported to Mr. Lee' s mansion, where he appeared to them via remote feed. Then they were moved to what was to be their new secret lair, a warehouse in a run-down part of the city, whereupon it was discovered that there was a spy in their midst. Rotiart (traitor spelled backwards) revealed himself and the footage he had taken of the fledgling heroes revealing characters flaws. Three heroes were singled out: Levity, Creature, and Iron Enforcer, and Levity was told to turn in his costume.

The next day, the super acquaintances met to undergo their first mission: to change in public without allowing themselves to be seen, and to race through an archway to the finish line. Stan told them to do so in a manner befitting a true superhero. Unbeknownst to the heroes, he had planted a "lost child" near the finish line. Only four of the heroes stopped to help her, and of those four, only one actively called out to the crowd, trying to find her parent. On a darkened rooftop, Stan again singled out three heroes, one of which would be turning in their costume and going home. Again, Iron Enforcer was selected. Nitro G and Monkey Woman were also selected. After hearing reasons why they had ignored the child's pleas for help, Stan sent Nitro G home.

I have written before that I am not a fan of reality television. However, once in a while, something comes along that grabs my attention and won't let go. In a broad stroke of genius, Stan has mixed "reality" with pop culture and turned out what promises to be an entertaining show. I'm really looking forward to seeing the heroes on this show grow.

Stan Lee Presents - Part 1 of 2: Lightspeed

2006-07-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

When I first heard that Stan Lee had a new series coming to Sci-Fi, I knew without a doubt that I had to watch it, being the comic book fan-boy that I am.

I should have known better. Stan Lee's last attempt at live-action television superheroism was Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, starring David "Don't Hassle the Hoff" Hasselhoff, way back in 1998, and it sank beneath the waves of inferiority.

Lightspeed was not much better. One thing that really irritated me about the production was the quality of the special effects that were used. Watching this show was akin to traveling back in time and watching TV in the 80's, although I have to admit that the effects in the Greatest American Hero were slightly more believable.

Lightspeed's powers, although extraordinary, were run-of-the-mill. DC Comics has had a character for years and years and years with the same ability. His name is the Flash, and he had a television show in 1990, starring John Wesley Shipp as Barry Allen, aka the Flash. Somehow, while that show was worthy of multiple seasons, it only aired for one (I hope Stan Lee didn't overlook this).

The acting was mediocre, as was the writing. The cast consisted of mostly little known actors, except for the now 67 year-old Lee Majors (Six Million Dollar Man), who at the end of his distinguished career in leading the GHOST squad, has decided to have a little fun a "kill a few hundred people."

Daniel, aka Lightspeed, upon discovering his newfound ability, runs to Academy Sports, where he slyly mentions to the clerk that he's trying to break the land speed record with a jetpack, and that he needs "a suit." The clerk finds him an ensemble in the back (I guess all the superheroes shop at Academy Sports).

Having looked up Lightspeed on Wikipedia, I found that this character is not the first in the Marvel universe to be attached to the name. Her first appearance was in 1984, in Power Pack #1.

Tsk, tsk, Stan.

With all the money you saved on big name actors and special effects, you could have at least hired a decent writer.

Watch Naruto, Dattebayo!

2006-07-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching the first 194 episodes of Naruto. I was hooked after perhaps the first five. Looks like I'll just have to keep watching. Thanks to the guys at naruto-kun.com for hosting the fansubs, provided by Dattebayo and AnimeOne. ANBU is the producer of this series if I'm reading that right (Interestingly, ANBU is also the name of a ninja organization in the Naruto series).

It's been a long time since I've watched any anime. Wish I'd known what I was missing. The characters in this series are wonderful.

Incidentally, these are showing on Cartoon Network now, but you miss out on the full flavor of the characters with the English-dubbed versions. Go with the subtitles, and you may even pick up a little Japanese, dattebayo!

Back to the Movies

2006-06-13T15:11:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since a game came out that I've been overly excited over, so I've gone back to one that I didn't give enough time: The Movies, by Lionhead.

After about four hours of scripting, filming, editing, crashing, reloading from the autosave, re-scripting, re-filming, and re-editing, I finally finished my latest masterpiece: Why Chucky Crossed the Road, an action/comedy/romance.

New Shades

2006-06-09T04:58:00.000-07:00

Remember Gargoyles? I had several pairs of these back in the 80's and early 90's. Several, because I kept losing them--usually while riding a jet ski. I even wore one of those bands that are supposed to hold them onto your head. Anyway, I digress.

I ordered a new pair, and they arrived yesterday. Man, they are sweet! They are in the G Force line. My set of Thunder shades are burgundy with red mirrored lenses. The photo shown here makes them look kind of splotchy, but they are a solid color. Might I add that they're significantly less expensive than Oakley's?

Got 'em at technical-gear.com.

Last Day - My Best Friend is Escaping

2006-06-09T04:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the final day. My best friend and his family have escaped the town that can't be escaped. As soon as the movers get the last of their stuff loaded into boxes and onto the truck, they're leaving Vicksburg.

Who can blame him? I certainly can't. The offer he got from his new employer was just too good. Not only will he make a much higher salary, but his family is being put up rent-free for two months in an apartment while they look for a new home, plus they are being given all their meals. That doesn't even count the sign-on bonus he received.

We've been best friends since we were eleven, so three and a half hours worth of driving distance between us certainly isn't going to change that. It still feels like I'm never going to see him again, though. It's not like he's moving to another country.

The Pintail

2006-06-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

While at Jeff's wedding party Saturday, one of the bartenders and I concocted a drink for the occassion. Since we were aboard the Duchess of Pintail, it was named after her. Thus, the Pintail was born. Here follow the ingredients:

The Pintail:
Crushed Ice
Parrot Bay Rum
Triple Sec
Pineapple Juice
A Splash of Orange Juice
One Maraschino Cherry

By the end of the cruise, it had grown a sizeable following of fans.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. And Rockets. And Spaceships.

2006-06-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

I would be remiss if I went to Baltimore for 5 days and didn't at least mention it here. Especially after having the time of my life. Our primary reason for going was for the wedding of one of my two best friends, Jeff.

A trip that is roughly 1100 miles from start to finish, once the plane was boarded, it only took about 2 hours to arrive at our destination, BWI Airport. From there we boarded a taxi and made a short jaunt to the Holiday Inn Inner Harbor. Across the street from this is a large clock tower, which makes it easier to find the hotel if you're lost. This photo was taken from our room on the 11th floor.

The wife and I explored the Inner Harbor on foot Wednesday, and hit sites such as the Aquarium, where we saw a great dolphin show and an Australian wildlife exhibit. For lunch we dined on sandwiches at Burke's Restaurant on the corner of Light and Lombard. If you're looking for sweet tea in Baltimore, the waitress here will make it for you, and get it right.

Thursday was another day of sightseeing, and it was hot! We attempted to take shelter from the heat by dining in the Hard Rock Cafe, but the air conditioner was out. If you're ever in the Inner Harbor area, make sure to visit the U. S. S. Constellation, the last Civil War sailing vessel still afloat. It's been restored and kept in a state of fine repair. There is a self-paced tour that must be seen. Also interesting to see is the Sports Legends Museum at Camden. When we came out of that museum, my significant other bought a ticket to the baseball game that night since I would be at Jeff's bachelor party at Edgar's. The Orioles were playing Tampa Bay. She left after four innings because of rain, while I was safe, snug, and happily playing pool at Jeff's last hurrah. Jeff's party lasted until midnight. I scored a glass with Edgar's logo on it.

Friday-- more sightseeing and the rehearsal dinner. Lunch was eaten at Legal Seafood, located on Pratt St. Friday was also my 35'th birthday (Yay!)

Some rehearsal dinner pics:

That's Jeff on the left, speaking to me, as I try to stifle a small burp. (The food was great!)

The gentleman on the left is Ben, Jeff's best man. He's a solid guy.

That's Tommy on the left. He's not pointing fingers. On the right is Captain Horace, Jeff's dad.

Here we are, the best of friends, me, Jace, and Jeff, from left to right.

Saturday was our trip to Washington, D.C., where we made a whirlwind tour of our nation's capitol. We arrived by train at Union Station, where my wife was approached by a stranger and given a very-tightly folded 100-dollar bill. You really should watch out for pan handlers here. They don't seem to have begging all figured out yet.

I couldn't resist. I had to have a picture next to the Enterprise model, used in the original Star Trek series. This can be found in a gift shop of the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian, downstairs.

A view from beneath the starboard side of the Enterprise's saucer section.

We saw the new WWII Memorial as well.

This place certainly feels like hallowed ground.

Here we are, posing in front of (or behind, I think) the White House, in Washington D.C. My feet...

A Buddhist, I think? Protesting Violence. This was in front of the White House, on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Peace Vigil. This is the sign that the Buddhist protestor had with her in front of the White House. Won't she be surprised to see her handywork on the Internet!?

We don't advocate what these guys are doing, but Liz had to have a picture taken. She makes friends everywhere.

More of Liz's new friends.

Sketchup 3D Warehouse Limitation

2006-05-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

Although I've been amazed at the ease of producing 3D models in Sketchup, the 3D Warehouse portion of it leaves me a bit underawed. My first upload was a stapler (yeah, I know--real original work, but I needed something simple to do). When I finished it, I moved on to bigger and better things. In this case, a tape dispenser. Upon uploading it, however, I discovered that there was a problem. It replaced the stapler in my uploads. For those who wish to download a really snazzy stapler, they now no longer have the choice to download mine. But they can download a very nice tape dispenser. Apparently, users of the free version can have only one object in the library at a time. Sheesh.
For those interested in playing with Sketchup, you can download it for free here.
You can upload and download models from Google's 3D Warehouse, and also attach them to Google Earth. Here's a pic of my finished product (which used to be a stapler):

Lesson Learned the Hard Way

2006-05-23T04:13:00.000-07:00

I don't have a monster-sized gas grill. It's about the size one would expect to see in a quiet suburban neighborhood, which is exactly where it's located, behind a quiet suburban house, where two cars are parked in a suburban fashion, and suburban dogs wander the suburban streets and piss on the suburban tires. You get my point. The grill is big enough to cook six or seven burger patties comfortably. Since I don't throw huge parties, I've been quite successful cooking on it.

Except the one time.

No, I've never singed my eyebrows starting it up, although I have lost some of the hair from my knuckles from time to time. Accidents don't follow me around, usually, and I count my blessings for that. It's hard enough to be semi-geeky, let alone a geeky klutz.

The episode to which I refer was the first time I cooked on the grill on the backyard patio, which is really nothing more than a concrete slab. For some reason that day I decided that I wasn't going to pull the grill away from the house any further than a foot or so. The burgers turned out just as good as usual, and everything seemed business-as-usual, until the following day I noticed that a section of vinyl siding on the back of the house was warped out of shape enough to reveal what lay beneath. Yeah, oops. Want to guess where the warped spot was located? That's right. Directly behind where the grill was. Now I pull the grill out quite a bit when I'm cooking.

2 More Days of Bachelorhood

2006-04-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

The end is in sight. For me, at least. The wife is returning home Friday from a stay at the hospital following a total knee replacement. I can't say I'm not relieved, either. All the traveling back and forth from the hospital has been less than enjoyable, not to mention a bit hard on the gas (Don't get me started on that topic).
She has three more weeks of home rest until her knee heals suffiently for her to return to work, at which point she'll hand in her resignation and start a brand new job. Huzzah! I just wish she could get herself in a job a bit closer to home (gas again, dangit!).
Wish me luck.

Here's Your Sign...er...Photo

2006-04-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about having seen the mighty Bill Engvall in concert. Not only did the wife and I get seats at the very front, next to the stage, we were able to meet the man himself afterwards. He signed our tickets and we got our picture taken with him.

Yesterday the photograph finally arrived, in the form of an 8x10 glossy. Boy, was I surprised. Since the picture was taken with a digital camera, I had just assumed that we would be mailed a digital copy.

So, without further ado, here's your photo...

In Hunt of Gilded Horn

2006-04-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

Far away, far, far from here,
A boy and his unicorn
Rode swiftly 'cross the plain
To seek the gilded horn.
'twas lost in blackest storm of night.
Boy and steed mustered up their might
And rode swiftly 'cross the plain,
And rode swiftly 'cross the plain.

Quests aplenty did they take,
Crushing evil in their wake,
In hunt of gilded horn,
In hunt of gilded horn.

Boy grew old and quit the chase,
Yet unicorn kept quick pace.
Now riderless and lone
It searches on its own.
Around the world in mighty strides,
The unhorned equine boldly rides,
And rides swiftly 'cross the plain,
And rides swiftly 'cross the plain.

(c) Dale Allen, 2006

Under the Knife and Out Again

2006-04-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the wife and I drove the six miles to the hospital this morning, where she underwent surgery to get a new knee. Two hours after we arrived, checked in, and got her all checked out properly, she went into the operating room, where she was given a spinal (she had to stay awake during surgery due to her complications with rheumatoid arthritis) and opened up. A little over three hours later, her surgery was complete, and she was wheeled into a private room on the fourth floor, where she was hooked into an IV that gives her some sort of pain medication I can't pronounce.

She's pretty loopy. She asked me the name of her nurse on three occassions, and once asked me to call her just minutes after she herself pressed the call button.

For the next two weeks she'll be receiving therapy, beginning tomorrow, where she will be using the aid of a walker with platforms, putting only partial weight on her new knee.

All that waiting, then staying with her for five hours after the surgery was done-- I'm exhausted.

Treasure Hunt

2006-04-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here's something new I've decided to try, and I don't know if it's been done before.

It's my own little treasure hunt. I'm going to list twenty items, and when I receive one, I'll put a link next to it, pointing to the blog of the person who sent it to me. Also, I'll put you in my brand new Blogroll in the sidebar. Don't worry... I'm not going to list things like Lamborgini Diablos, although I would love a Delorian! (Wouldn't we all?)
If you decide to participate in the fun, leave me a comment, and I'll send you my snail mail address (You may send more than one item if you wish). For those items below in red, seekers will get their links blogrolled in red, so that they will stand out from the others.

Here is the list of hunted items:

Post-It with a smiley face drawn on it
postcard of your town
bobby pin
stress ball
comic book
old key
picture of Scooby Doo
Master Caster (Used to have one of these, and loved it!)
Koosh ball
rubber band
baseball cap
postage stamp
wheat penny
canadian coin
Smurf figure
Whistle pop
paperback book
a favorite recipe on an index card
a bendy straw
a dried and pressed flower

Have fun with this!

Dreams of the Ultimate MMORPG

2006-04-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

For the past 6 months I have been in the process of envisioning the Holy Grail of online RPG's (role-playing games). It will sport several new features that, until now, have never been implemented in any MMOG published. I'm giddy. I'm ecstatic. I've been working my tail off on this, getting the system worked out. Will I tell you what these features are? Heck no. Not if I want to do it first.

Unfortunately, in the gaming community, you can't sell an idea to a venture capitalist. Nor can you get a loan unless you have a working product or are an established company with a proven track record. According to Chris Kramer, director of corporate communications at Sony Online Entertainment, "We're at a point now where the development of a triple-A MMO is way north of $20 million." (PC Gamer, October 2005, pg 28) Herein lies my problem. The only computer skills I have to speak of is the ability to repair one that's gone south. Programming and I don't mix, although once upon a time I knew my way around BASIC like my own backyard. Nor am I an artist, so designing my own concept art is out of the question. I make stick figures look bad. Sadly, my biggest hurdle of all is the 20 million dollar one. I have trouble with $100, much less 200,000 times that amount.

What my game needs is a team who would be willing to work pro gratis until the game is at a point where it can be shown to investors. This team would be composed, at first, of concept artists, 3D artists, programmers (I have no idea what languages would be involved, so if you have an idea, let me know), and audio specialists (one is already on board). The team would have to use, as much as possible, equipment and software they already owned, or that was available at a no cost.

Keep dreaming, right? Maybe. If I can fight the right group of artists, who are willing to join me on an expedition into this vision, I think it'll be possible to deliver a product unlike any the MMOG community has ever known.

I'm looking primarily for talent that needs to work on their portfolio. Let me know if you're interested. I'd love to see this project take wing.

Spring is in the Air - Pass the Tissue

2006-04-05T08:16:00.000-07:00

Ever thought about the expression "Spring is in the air?" I've had reason to, as today was the day my allergies decided to kick in and try to expell from my sinus cavities all the particles of pollen that migrated there courtesy of the air delivery system.

It is a bit less intrusive this season than it normally has been. I started a round of allergies shots last spring. Although I was supposed to take them for a year, I quit after five injections. They incurred a bit more cost than I had been expecting. The five shots I took do seem to have helped a bit. My eyes are not itching, and for the most part, aside from the sneezing and mild congestion, I am comfortable. Still, though, I've got my Kleenex tissue close at hand.

Here's a haiku to commemorate the season:

Spring is in the air.
I think I need more Kleenex.
I hate allergies.

Darn That Sudoku

2006-03-31T05:52:00.000-08:00

It seems I've lost precious hours of my life that I'll never get back. All for the crazy addiction to an overgrown tic-tac-toe board. I just keep staring at it until my eyeballs dry up and threaten to fall out of my head. I know that when I get older and blindness overtakes me, Sudoku will be to blame.

I would never have tried the game if it hadn't been for Blogexplosion's constant addition of new features (gee, thanks, guys). They're releasing another new game soon, called Blog Tycoon, but that's a story for another blog.

At night, when I'm resting in bed, trying to jounrey to the lands behind wakefulness, the Japanese puzzle game intrudes upon the images in my mind's eye, and I'm left trying to solve puzzles that shift mercilessly as my imaginary numbers fill in the rows and columns of Dream Sudoku.

This can't be happening. I'm a hard-core gamer, darnit. This game has no graphics, no special effects, no audio to let a gamer know that he's defeated the boss at the end of level 20--just 9 rows and 9 columns, arranged to allow the precise placement of the numbers 1 through 9.

If you are facing similar addictions, let me know. Right now I'm off to slay the evil Sudoku monster.

Red Sovine Trucks On

2006-03-28T06:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not much of a country-western music fan, but I do like some of the old stuff. Honky-tonk. Cowboy music. Johnny Horton, Eddie Arnold, and Marty Robbins are among my favorites. My dad listened to these as I was growing up. Before I ever got my first taste of rock n' roll, the patterns of cowboy listenin' were ingrained upon my noodle forever, aided by the ministrations of the 8-Track and the reel-to-reel. Songs like "Cool Clear Water," "Whispering Pines," and "Tumbling Tumbleweed" I will never forget, even when I'm old and senile.

Thanks to eBay, I recently won a bid for Red Sovine's Greatest Hits on LP. Never mind that I don't even own a turntable any longer. A coworker has a device that will allow him to convert his LP's into wav files and transfer them to CD. Once he has done this for me, I will convert the wavs into mp3 files and put them on my hard drive. Mind you, I am doing this for my enjoyment only.

Red Sovine was most noted for his balladeer-style recitations that took place in the cab of a rig as it hauled its cargo cross country. His biggest hits included "Giddy-Up Go," "Teddy Bear," and "Little Joe," a song about a blind trucker and his faithful canine companion.

Sovine died from a heart attack in 1980, while driving his van, but his music trucks on, oblivious to the passage of time.

The Big, Bad Short Story Challenge - Part 2

2006-03-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

The Big, Bad Short Story Challenge is back!

I've posted a couple of paragraphs of a new short story that I have started, and ask that volunteers finish it. Here's the way it works:

1) I post my couple of paragraphs.
2) Volunteer No. 1 puts the next couple of paragraphs on his blog, and leaves a link in the comments of this post.
3) After the link is posted in the comments, I will edit my blog and post it here.
4) Volunteer No. 2 follows the link to the next blog and picks up where Volunteer No. 1 left off.
5) This continues until the story is finished.

Each time the story gets updated, I'll repost it with a current date. Also, be sure to check out the other challenge: "The Corpse of Danny Kilgore."

Cheers!

The Dig

Dusty Chambers looked up from his work just in time to witness the last sliver of the deep red sun disappearing into the horizon. As if on cue, the quartz halogen lights set up around the excavation site came to life, illuminating his find once more. The buzz that the lamps emitted bothered him no more than the cold that swept in to replace the sun's fading warmth. Dusty had been digging all day, patiently scouring away striated layers of packed dirt. He had worked through lunch, such was his concentration on the task.

Over the course of the past few weeks, Dusty and his crew of archaeologists had meticulously uncovered what they had thought would be a Native American village, but instead had been rewarded with something completely different. The entire top floor of a steel building now lay exposed to the elements. Dusty had earlier walked the perimeter of the structure, expecting to find a broken window through which he could enter, but found none. Intrigued, he researched the coordinates of his find, hoping to discover the nature of what had once been located here. Finding no information on the building, he continued the dig, wondering what circumstances would bury a building without raising reports of its disappearance.

EDIT:
Read Part 2 at Just a Girl, by Jean.
Part 3 at One Paradise View, by Greg Stewart
Part 4 at Pure Simplicity, by Earadriede
Part 5 at Life My Way, by Bozette
Part 6 at LunaStone's Celtic Rainbow, by LunaStone
Part 7 at The Blair News Project, by EthanM
Part 8 at Artistic Bytes from the Third Eye, by Jayne
Part 9 at Texas My Texas, by Texasbunch1

Jean has offered to keep the entire story on her site. Read the story from beginning to its current state by clicking here.

Bill Engvall in Concert

2006-03-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

Oh, yes.

The man is funny. Never mind how stressed I was when I got there, due to the backup on the Interstate. When the wife and I left the Bottleneck Blues Bar, I was totally unknotted.

Lucky for us, the wife knew one of the coordinators, and we were seated in the front row. We were right there, within spittin' distance of the King of "Here's Your Sign,"Mister Bill Engvall himself.

For an hour and a half he delivered his comedy goodness, and I made an all-out effort not to snort Coca-Cola out of my nose.

The best part, though, was meeting him. That's right. I said it before: my wife knows one of the coordinators. Not only did he sign our tickets, but we had our picture taken with him. We'll be getting that via email probably tomorrow. Liz has to call to give them our email address.

Constitutionalizing Rosco

2006-03-24T05:56:00.000-08:00

Each day it gets a little harder to rouse Rosco the wonder mutt, our half beagle, half basset hound. He gets out of his doggie bed with the grace and speed of continental drift.

You can't just pick him up and tumble him out of bed, either. There is a reason you let a sleeping dog lie. I tried this method once, and was rewarded with bared teeth. Not desiring to let my wife's dog taste my precious blood, I abandoned the pick-up-and-carry-him-outside technique. My ways now are more elaborate, and are becoming quite the morning ceremony.

The methods I have in rotation (because they weaken the more you use them) include the following:

Ring the doorbell. He likes to bark at strangers. If he thinks a stranger has come to our door, he'll get up and investigate, chuffing on his ponderous way to the front door.

When ringing the doorbell quits working, we advance to ringing the doorbell coupled with knocking on the wall. Somehow, he thinks this might be a more persistent stranger, I guess.

Trail of cookie or bread crumbs. This hardly ever works, but once in a while, we get lucky.

He hates brooms, the sickle I use for Halloween, and the extend-o-grabber my wife uses to get bottles of the top shelf. If I feel particularly malicious, I'll get one of these out and intimidate him out of bed. He hates this, I feel guilty for doing it, and it makes a lot of noise. He still bares his teeth, but he's not doing it directly at me.

A new method I discovered a few days ago seemed to work particularly well. Canned air. You know--the kind you use to clean dust out of your electronics. He doesn't like it and he'll move rather quickly to get out of its way. He retreats to the open space under the bed, where I blast him with the air again, and he's headed for the door.

This morning air alone did not work. He went as far as the bed. The trail of cookie crumbs that hardly works alone did the rest of the job from this point. Once he was out of the relative safety of the bedroom, he was perky and ready to visit his watering checkpoints.

I don't understand his lack of enthusiasm over going outside in the morning. Our other two dogs are quite happy to be let out (incidentally, when the wife and I are discussing whether or not to let the dogs out, and don't want to tip them off that that's what we're talking about, we use the word "constitutional," as in, "Have the dogs had their constitutional?")

What Would You Do?

2006-03-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

Before the movie last night, my wife and I had to stop to get some money out of the ATM machine (Heaven forbid if we went to an eight-dollar-a-ticket movie and didn't eat the expensive snacks). Ten dollars was the amount we needed, so ten dollars was what I punched into the machine, along with the proper PIN.

What the machine spit out was ten dollars wrapped in a twenty and a five. When this happens at an ATM, your first instinct is to shout, "Hurray!" and drive away. But then you remember that there's a camera on the ATM.

I couldn't drive away with the money. It was after bank hours, but fortunately, the bank tellers had just finished balancing their tills for the night, and were walking out the door. I knew one of the tellers, so I approached her, told her what happened, and gave her the extra cash.

Good thing I wasn't expecting a reward. Banks don't do that.

Has this ever happened to you?

The Wachowski's Do it Again

2006-03-18T05:36:00.000-08:00

These guys really know how to spin a yarn. From start to finish I was captivated by the brilliance of the movie V for Vendetta. The plot was tightly wound, the characters were real, and the dialog was no slouch either.

Hugo Weaving's portrayal of Agent V was absolutely wonderful, the kind of acting only Mr. Weaving can pull off. Although we never see his face, he is able to convey feeling and emotion in his body language and never take off the mask.

Stephen Rea's role is similar to that of the one he played in Michael Collins, an English policeman named Ned Broy, who is seeking to capture the leader of a group of dissenters.

Ah, the lovely Natalie (Hershlag) Portman. We see her character grow from a scared girl working for a television news service to a woman who has conquered her fears of death. But it's not the destination, as it has been said: it's the journey that matters.

After the credits rolled last night, my wife and I walked to the car, got inside, shut the doors, looked at each other and said simultaneously, "We're buying that movie."

Funny Hat Night

2006-03-17T06:14:00.000-08:00

If you were chatting on BlogExplosion's shoutbox last night, you may have seen some odd things.
Here's one of them:

One thing led to another, and Funny Hat Night was born. From left to right, that's lindseymitchell, me, dswatik, and buddyfoote. Luna showed up later, hatless but with a cam and joined in the mischeviousness. Other users were online, but off cam. Who knows if they were wearing their hats or not? We'll just have to take their words for it, right?
Myself, I couldn't settle on the safari hat, my stocking cap, or the coolie. At one point, I wore all three at once. Ya had to be there. Especially as our chat session was dj'd by dswatik. He was rollin' out some great tunes!

Had a great time, guys!

Oh No! I've Been Tagged!

2006-03-16T16:00:00.000-08:00

And by a redhead, no less! I must respond. My weakness has been identified!

Here goes:
The rules:
List seven songs you're into right now. No matter the genre, whether [or not] they have words, or even if they're any good, they must be songs you're really enjoying right now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs, then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

My List:

Alice in Chains - Whale and Wasp
Blessed Union Of Souls - Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)
Dexter Freebish - Pretty People
Eagles - Pretty Maids All in a Row
Dar Williams - The Babysitter's Here
Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
Mike Cross - The Scotsman (funny!)

Who I'm tagging:

ParaTed2k
KizzyKim
Catseyes
Fofusa
SamRyan
bozette
dswatik

Have fun everyone! And as these things always go, let me know when you've finished.

The Old Switcheroo

2006-03-16T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ah, much better...

Since I walked into work this morning, my system fan has been giving me grief.
But no longer! After 3 and a half hours of constant buzzing, rattling, and just general irritating noise, I gave in to temptation and pulled it out of my PC.

Next time my co-worker comes into work, he may notice that his system fan is really noisy...

Them's the breaks when you're a part-timer.

Thursday Hide and Seek

2006-03-16T05:28:00.000-08:00

Thursdays. What was it that Arthur Dent said about them?

Oh, yes.

"I never could get the hang of Thursdays."

Rightfully so, I think. This morning I searched the house for the USB cable that goes to my Fujifilm Finepix 3800 digital camera, but to no avail. I searched every conceiveable place it could be. Then, when I went to work, I searched there too. Now I have to search every inconceiveable place. What good is a camera if you can't get the pics off of it?

I hope I don't have to buy another one. I've got tons of USB cables sitting around, but Fuji cameras use a cable that has a USB mini B male connector on one end. It's the only cable like it I own. I don't relish the idea of plunking down money for a cable I already own. Somewhere.

At least they're cheap.

Beware the Ides of March!

2006-03-15T06:21:00.000-08:00

Originally, the Ides of March was on the 15th day of Martius in the Roman calendar. After the Roman calendar fell out of use by the modern calendar, the phrase "the Ides of March" continued to be used. The most famous use of the phrase was in Julius Caesar, the play by William Shakespeare. Caesar was assassinated on March 15 in the play.

Actually, the Romans had names for 3 specific times of each month. They were, according to Wikipedia:

Kalends - first day of the month, from which the word "calendar" is derived. Interest on debt was due on Kalends.
Nones – depending on the month, could be the 5th or the 7th day; traditionally the day of the Half Moon
Ides – depending on the month, could be the 13th or the 15th day; traditionally the day of the Full Moon. An auspicious day in the Roman calendar.

I am Spider-Man

2006-03-15T06:06:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well. After all these years of wondering who Spider-Man is, it turns out to be me!

I would have thought I'd end up being more like a different hero, but Spider-Man is okay, I guess. After all, he was one of my favorite heroes when I was just a wee lad growing up in the suburbs of a medium-sized town in Mississippi.

My first encounter with the red and blue-clad hero was when my next door neighbor's son (six years older than me) sold his comics in a garage sale, and I got the lot of them cheap (Still have 'em, too). This was a defining moment for me. I had discovered comic books and Spider-Man.

Who are you?

Your results:
You are Spider-Man

Spider-Man		80%
Superman		80%
Green Lantern		65%
Supergirl		60%
The Flash		60%
Robin		55%
Wonder Woman		55%
Hulk		45%
Batman		40%
Catwoman		35%
Iron Man		35%

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Free Ribbon Hunting

2006-03-15T05:47:00.000-08:00

Any of you who have gone blog surfing have probably seen the little ribbons up at the top corner of someone's page. It may proclaim things like "Open-Minded" or "Impeach Bush!" or any number of things.

I'm looking for one of those ribbons, assuming, of course, that's it's free.
No, I'm not looking to become controversial. I don't feel like our President has done anything to merit impeachment, although he has made some grave mistakes. And exactly what does "Open-Minded" mean, anyway? That I could let my dog go poop in the front yard or the back yard, because it doesn't really matter to me?

I'm just looking for a banner that I can customize, hopefully, and put in the text "Best viewed at 1280x1024 resolution." HINT, HINT: those of you reading this who have not already adjusted your resolution may wish to do so, at least to 1024x768, for goodness' sake! Then you can cram even more icons onto your desktop, like games, more photo editing software, solitaire... You get the picture.

Well...

I'll keep looking.

Playing With Template - Technical Difficulties May Arise

2006-03-14T06:59:00.000-08:00

A special thanks to T.Marie for sending me a copy of her template. I am attempting to incorporate its layout into my own webpage, as I'm getting tired of my own messy layout. Unfortunately, as I haven't had much experience with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), this may take some time.

A special thanks also to Sean Wilson, who did the character art for the page.OASAASLLS!

With the aid of NVU, a free multi-platform web editor, I have been tweaking a working copy of my own template, copying bits of hers, bits of mine, pasting them in where the bits seem most appropriate, and hoping for the best. Generally, the layout looks good, but it's still not where it needs to be before it can be published for all to see. One of the nice things about NVU is that you can copy whole elements and move or paste them into other parts of your page. Another is that you don't have to know any HTML to make pages. You can do it all graphically if you want.

Fate only knows when I'll be done, though I feel like once it's there, it'll be a lasting design.

EDIT: It's done! Thanks, T Marie!

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

2006-03-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

Take two shows that were popular in the 80's and add to it a smidgen of popular TV from the 60's, and you've got my dream from last night, complete with plot and theme song.

As the General Lee is racing down the dirt roads of Hazzard County, I've got a view of the passenger seat from above and outside the famous orange Dodge Charger. Of all people to be seated there, elbow propped up on the window, I didn't expect it to be Mister Spock. Nor did I expect him to be speaking the Southern dialect of English, with a few "ain'ts" and "y'alls" thrown in. Waylan Jennings was singing in the background, "Just the Good 'Ol Boys." When did Spock become a good 'ol boy?

Spock and Bo Duke return to the house to find it ransacked and in a very poor state. Even the floorboards were smashed. Change scenes to find Boss Hogg, Rosco P. Coltrane, and his cousin, played by Dick Sargent (if you'll remember, he played in 2 episodes of the Dukes of Hazzard, but he wasn't really Rosco's cousin), talking knowingly about it. It's obvious to me who did such a dastardly deed. Switch back to find Uncle Jesse reminding Bo, Luke, and Spock that this house, fortunately, is not where they live anymore, and that they live in the big, new house in the woods. How could Rosco not know about the big, new house? I dunno, but what's important here is that for some reason, the Dukes are now unable to deliver their batch of shine on time. How do I know this? Waylan Jennings told me in his Balladeer narration, of course.

That's when I show up with a solution that saves the day (I'm always the hero in my dreams). Consulting with Alf (yes, the furry, brown alien), I conclude that the best way to get that shine delivered is to use the Enterprise's transporters to materialize the moonshine onto a stolen 18-wheeler. Then the Dukes can get it to their buyers on time, and everyone will be happy.

Roll credits.

Strange, eh?

I Want You to Be Happy Day

2006-03-03T05:31:00.000-08:00

No kidding.

Today is I Want You to Be Happy Day. I didn't make this up, although I did make up a bunch of holidays for kicks once in high school. One such made up holiday I remember was Talk to a Shrub Day.

There is some speculation that I Want You to Be Happy Day was created by a greeting card company. Regardless of who started the "holiday," the intent is for reminding people to be thoughtful of others. It's sort of a Practice-the-Golden-Rule-Day. You don't have to go out of your way for someone, but show them how much they mean to you with simple, thoughtful gestures.

Here are some simple things you can do to make someone happy:

Send a card or flowers
Call them on the phone for a chat
Cook them dinner or take them out to eat
Buy them a cup of coffee
If it's a family member, tell them you love them. We often forget this in our busy society.

I hope YOU have a happy day!

Leave a comment, and I'll be sure to visit your site!

Muddy Template Design

2006-03-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Once, not so long ago, I felt the need to get away from that bland template that I chose when I first started blogging, so I changed a few things in my blog template, and was satisfied.

For a while.

Now I am no longer happy with the way my blog looks. It just looks crowded. Jumbled up. Muddy.

My HTML skills are not phenomenal. I suppose if I really wanted to, I could muck around for a while and come up with another design, but it would most likely be worse than what I already have.

My question for you is this, then: is there some software package out there (preferably freeware) that I could use to easily create my dream template? If not, can I implore you to be a web philanthropist and create one for me at no cost? I know that's a tall order, but I'm a poor, starving blogger who must spend what little money he has on coffee and Coke to stay awake at work so that he can blog while he thinks no one is looking. Heck, you can even put your name on the blog somewhere, stating that you designed it, and that I couldn't script my way out of a wet paper sack!

Texas Independence Day

2006-03-02T03:51:00.000-08:00

On March 1, 1836, a committee consisting of George C. Childress, Edward Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney were appointed to draft a document to declare the declaration of Texas' independence from Mexico and to become a free republic. Due to the urgency of their need, that document was literally drafted overnight, as the Alamo was under seige in San Antonio.

This did not mean that Texas was part of the United States, however. It was feared by some that several slave states would be created from the Texas territory. Texas did not join the United States until 1845, under the Presidency of John Tyler, the 10th President of the United States.

The Significance of Today

2006-03-01T04:23:00.000-08:00

March 1 is the 60th day of the year, using the Gregorian calendar.

Today is Law Day, Loyalty Day, and May Day, all wrapped up into one. Today also begins Astronomy Week, Health Care Administrator's Week, Be Kind to Animals Week (after all, yesterday was Spay Day), Safe Kids Week, National Safe Drinking Water Week, Suicide Awareness Week, and Teacher Awareness Week.

One would think that with all the attention today was getting, it would be a holiday and we could take off work!

Jump ahead or backward exactly two years in time, and this would be February 29th, because 2008 and 2004 are leap years.

In 1845, President John Tyler signed a bill that authorized the United States of America to annex the Republic of Texas.

In 1912, on this day, Albert Berry made the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.

On March 1, 1936, the Hoover Dam was completed.

Celebrating birthdays today are Ron Howard, Javier Bardem, David Niven, and Harry Belafonte.

Today would have been Johnny Cash's and June Carter Cash's anniversary.

Bruce Willis' movie 16 Blocks opens today in the Phillipines. Sorry, USA, you have to wait two more days to see it.

Finally, if you're a Harry Potter fan, today is Ron Weasley's birthday! Why not celebrate by eating some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?

Spay Day

2006-02-28T05:29:00.000-08:00

Today, February 28th, is Spay Day. Spay Day USA is a national campaign begun by the Doris Day Animal Foundation in order to save the lives of homeless animals through the spay or neuter of our pets and feral cats.

Spay Day was first kicked off in 1995, and since then has saved millions of animals' lives.

This year Spay Day is partnered with Pets911, and is sponsored by Build-a-Bear Workshop, Natural Life Pet Products, and Datemypet.com.

Spay Day USA 2005 events were held nationwide in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

As if potentially saving an animal's life were not enough, prizes will be awarded for both event organizers and individuals. These prizes include items like AVID microchips and a scanner, a collection of Doris Day movies, artwork by David Chance, and a $500 shopping spree at the Pampered Pup, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

If you have no pets to spay or neuter, or have done so already and wish to donate to the Doris Day Animal Foundation, you may click here for details.

Read Me Week Begins

2006-02-27T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well, folks, it's a day that you probably haven't been waiting for on pins and needles, but it's here nonetheless. Today kicks off Read Me Week (which really lasts only until March 3rd, so it should be called Read Me for Five Days).

Read Me Week is an event sponsored by a non-profit organization in Nashville, Tennessee called Book 'Em, in which volunteers are asked to read to children in schools, in order to teach them that reading can be fun. This year Book'em is partnering with Nashville Ballet with the theme "Baile con Libros," which translated from Spanish means, "Dance with books."

Click here for an application.

Scratch 'N Sniff

2006-02-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

Give me a pat on the back, folks! I've devised a Scratch 'N Sniff sticker for the web, and it really works! You can get it right here, and it won't cost you a red cent, either! So scratch your monitor above the image below, and smell the image. I promise you won't be disappointed, because what you smell will smell exactly like the image you scratched!

My Blog is Worth What!?

2006-02-27T06:07:00.000-08:00

Today I followed a link from Google to the Business Opportunities Weblog to find out exactly how much my blog is worth in dollars. Surprise, surprise! It's worth $2,822.70! Bidding will start at $1,000. Buy it now for $1,500.00

My blog is worth $2,822.70.
How much is your blog worth?

Please Pray for this Girl!

2006-02-05T05:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Liz and I were blessed with the opportunity to meet a wonderful Mayan Indian family that is staying for a while with friends of ours in Pearl. Rafael Ku is the pastor of a church in Belize. He studied at seminary at RTS in Clinton, Mississippi, and graduated in 1987. He and his wife, Sagri, have three daughters, Shellie, Sullie, and Kristen.

Sullie, aged thirteen, has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, the treatment of which is unavailable in Belize or Guatemala. Kristen, who turned seven just last month, has been approved as a marrow donor. The process of taking bone marrow, as you’re probably aware, is very painful. Assuming that the procedure of transferring the marrow to Sullie is successful, the chances of recovery are still only 70 to 80 percent. Without the transplant, Sullie has only a single-digit chance of surviving five more months.

I ask you to please pray for these girls and for their family. Sullie’s first office appointment with a U.S. doctor is tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM at University Medical Center. She will have surgery in approximately three weeks.

Also pray for the physicians and health care providers who come in contact with this family, that those who don’t know Jesus may come to know Him through them.

In Christ,

Dale

UPDATE!
I found out today (Feb 15) that Sullie has a website where you can get to know her and her family. Additionally, it shows the progress made so far for earning the $200,000 she needs for her medical expenses.
If you are able, I urge you to donate.
http://mysite.verizon.net/sullieku/index.html

Body for Life

2005-12-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend I decided to clean up some of the junk I've accumulated over the years. Among the stuff I found was a book I bought some time back by Bill Phillips called Body For Life. I dusted it off and started to read. The more I read, the more motivated I became (and I'm not one to get excited about exercise).

For a while now I've been looking in the mirror wondering, "Who is that guy? That's not who I am." The before and after shots shown on the inside cover of the book are nothing short of amazing. So I decided to start the program and see what it could do for me.

Of course, if you tackle a new weight loss program, you've got to do it all. You can't just do the diet, or just do the exercise, and I was kind of worried at first that the diet part of it was going to be limiting. What I found, though, was that you get six meals a day, rather than the standard three, and all you have to do is pick a portion of carbohydrate, a portion of vegetable, and a portion of protein for your meal. Each portion is the size of your fist or palm, and you only eat veggies for two of those meals.

The exercise is based on intensity levels from one to ten, five being about the intensity of a walk, and ten being an all-out effort.

I started this program three days ago, and I've already lost five pounds. I feel more focused as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing how much my body has improved over the next few weeks!

Free XBox 360

2005-11-22T12:51:00.000-08:00

With the new XBox 360 so hard to get right now, I figured that Freepay.com's offer was too hard to refuse.
To get your own free XBox premium system, with the following:

20GB detachable hard drive
Wireless controller
Wireless Xbox Live headset
HD game displays on HDTVs
High-definition AV and Ethernet cables
Xbox 360 Media Remote Control
Detachable faceplate
Xbox Live Silver membership
Stream media from portable music devices & Windows XP PCs
512 MB of GDDR3 RAM
3 symmetrical cores - 3.2GHz each
500MHz ATI graphics processor
12x dual-layer DVD drive that supports: DVD, DVD+-R/RW, CD-R/RW, WMA & MP3
Built-in Ethernet port
2 memory unit slots
3 USB 2.0 ports
Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, b & g

click here, sign up for one offer (easy!), and refer eight friends. Nothing to it, especially, since this is a brand new offer, and everybody and their monkey's uncle haven't signed up yet. Go get it!

Incidentally, if you're worried about receiving spam, just go set up a spam-catching email account someplace like hotmail, excite, yahoo, or mail.com.

Be a Part of the Next Big MMORPG

2005-11-16T14:34:00.000-08:00

I'm going to ask you for a favor.
Here it is: would you give me just a few minutes of your precious time to answer a few questions?
I am planning to start a software company from scratch, and I have some questions that only you can answer. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Have you ever played an MMOG? If so, which one(s)? This would include games like Everquest, City of Heroes, Guild Wars, and Star Wars Galaxies. If you answer "no," please skip to question 5.

2. For how long did you play?

3. Are you still playing? If not, why did you quit?

4. Was there a monthly fee? If so, how did you feel about it? Did you feel it was too high, or were you happy to pay it because you knew that it meant occassionally getting new content? Or was the price just right?

5. If you knew of an awesome new online computer game that was on the horizon (four years, say), would you be willing to pre-order it? (I'm sorry. I can't give specifics right now about the game, other than that its scope is very, very vast. Know that one is being developed, though)

6. What if you would receive exclusive content that nobody else would ever get? This would include things like ring tones, pewter figurines, behind the scenes footage, your likeness on a character in the game, and a signed copy of the software. Would you pre-order it now?

7. Is there something you feel online games are missing that you would like to see included in this game?

8. If you are currently playing an MMOG, what do you enjoy most about it?

9. If you could change something about online gaming, what would it be?

10. Are you a professional in the computer games industry who would like to be a part of this team? If so, would you be willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement?

Those are all the questions I have for now. I am not currently accepting pre-orders. This is merely the data collection stage. If you would like to contribute anyway, please click the PayPal button on the left margin and donate. We're starting from nothing to bring this game to you, and we'd like to do so without involving any investors (They tend to take over).

Ha, Ha, and Ha Again, I Say!

2005-11-15T11:41:00.000-08:00

Michael Newdow, I scoff in your general direction. In fact, I scoff twice!
Folks, in case you haven't heard, Newdow is supposedly America's best-known atheist. What's he whining about this time? "In God We Trust." That's right. It's on all the legal tender and he's afraid it's going to rub off on him or something.

"The key principle is that we're supposed to treat everybody equally especially in terms of religious belief," Newdow told KWTV in Oklahoma City. "Clearly it's not treating atheists equal with people who believe in God when you say 'In God We Trust' or we are a 'nation under God.'"

"People say, 'Are you an atheist activist?' And I'm not," he continued. "I couldn't care less what anyone believes. I just care that our government treats everybody equally."

Alright, Mister Newdow, I have three questions for you:
1. Do you honestly feel like you will be treated differently when those four words come off our money?
2. What about my rights? Have you ever considered that you might be violating mine?
3. If you're an atheist, why do you care if "In God We Trust" is on the money anyway?

Personally, I am tired of having my rights battered aside because of a few loud-mouthed activists in the minority. This nation was founded as a government for the people, by the people, and of the people, and most of us happen to still believe in God.

My Very First Movie Upload

2005-11-11T16:42:00.000-08:00

Two days ago I acquired a copy of Lionhead's The Movies, a sim/tycoon hybrid computer game that is capable of so much that it'll take me ages to finish playing it.
Since I had today off for Veteran's Day (a holiday I actually do think about our returned heroes), I sat down and made a movie, a three minute presentation that took a stab at the horror genre.
You can check it out here: my first uploaded movie.
Enjoy!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

2005-11-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

Last night my wife and I joined friends in Jackson for the most amazing concert either one of us have ever attended, and she saw Pink Floyd in Munich!
As you can guess from the title of this article, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra was in town for their annual Christmas tour. I have never before had the opportunity to see them live. If you have never seen them, it's worth every penny you can spare to go to their show.
Their music alone would be worth the price of admission, but the sensory input does not end there. Accompanying the outstanding music was the most maniacal light show ever assembled in the entire South. There were lasers, smoke, racks and racks of auto-positioning lights, snow machines, and pyrotechnics that would knock you on your keister.
Those of you who have never heard TSO before can check out their website. There are several complete songs on their site for your listening and viewing pleasure. Yes, there's also video!

Lights, Camera, Action!

2005-11-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Only five days to go until Lionhead releases their new sims/tycoon hybrid, The Movies. To say I'm excited about it would be a gross understatement. I've been counting down for months, and it's making me crazy!
In The Movies, you'll be able to manage a movie studio, starting around the year 1920, and playing until the present time. During this time, new advances in movie making will become available, as well as props and sets. The game doesn't end at the year 2005, however. That's just the point at which all the advances are unlocked.
One nice feature that was written for the game is the ability to record your own voices into the movie, and have your actors "lip sync," matching their facial movements to your own narration.
For those who want to get a "head start" on the movie making, you can preorder a copy of the game. Those who preorder will receive a copy of StarMaker. With this handy little piece of code, you'll be able to design your star or starlet's face, and assign attributes like how thin they are, how good looking they are, what their tolerance to food and drink are, and how big their chest is. Themoviesplanet.com has a download of the StarMaker tool. You may have to register to download it. Registration is free.
The ultimate kicker to this game is that you don't have to play it as a game at all. You can play in sandbox mode, in which all items are unlocked, and create your own movie from scratch, which you can then upload to the Movies community, where it will be rated by your peers. The higher your rating, the more virtual cash you'll receive with which to purchase more props and sets for your studio.
With the appeal this game will generate, there's no doubt that expansion packs will soon follow. If you're reading this, Tim LeTourneau, I'd really go for an expansion pack that will include child actors and more animals.
In the next few days, I'll be digging up some old short stories I've written. I've got a director's chair at home that'll be replacing the executive office chair, as well. Roll 'em!

Our Government Goes Too Far This Time

2005-10-26T04:47:00.000-07:00

The following is from an email I received from my father this morning. I hope that not just all Christians who read this, but all U.S. citizens concerned about their rights, will sign the petition linked below. We cannot allow this injustice to stand.

Christian chaplains are being told NOT to pray in the name of Jesus! For more, read below from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ):

A pattern of hostility to free speech - specifically the rights of Christians to pray - is on the rise in our country.

We saw it in our nation's public schools ... where prayer was officially banned. We have seen it in our workplaces.

Now, our United States military seems to have ''jumped on the bandwagon'' ... with Air Force leadership recently releasing proposed guidelines that will restrict how Air Force chaplains can pray.

If approved, these guidelines may well be implemented throughout the entire Armed Forces.

Already, it is documented that chaplains are ''feeling the heat'' to restrict their prayers and mask their faith.

Christian chaplains are being told NOT to pray in the name of Jesus!

For many Christian chaplains, praying in the name of Jesus is a fundamental part of their beliefs. To suppress this form of expression would be a violation of their constitutional rights and religious freedoms.

Furthermore, to censor Christian chaplains is a disservice to the thousands of Christian soldiers in the military who look to their chaplains for comfort, inspiration, and support ... just as military soldiers of other faiths look to their chaplains.

Again, we cannot allow these proposed guidelines to be passed. We cannot sit idly by while our honored Christian military chaplains are singled out and silenced.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has assembled a senior legal team, including a 20-year military veteran who worked at the Pentagon. They are drafting a legal analysis and comments to be used in this process.

Thankfully, a group of Congressmen has joined together to call on the President to protect by Executive Order the constitutional right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith.

To sign a petition to help prevent these restrictions from being imposed on Christian chaplains, you can sign the petition at the link below:

Sign here

Ride the Mule!

2005-10-20T13:42:00.000-07:00

What's going on? I invite you to my brand new blog site. Once there, you're free to speculate about it as much as you want, but I'm still not going to tell you what it's all about. Ha!

The Mississippi State Fare

2005-10-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a typo in my Title.

Liz and I attended the Mississippi State Fair this weekend. We'd spent 15 bucks before we were even through the gate. Five dollars for parking and an additional ten for admittance (5 apiece). Once you're inside, there is nothing you can do that doesn't cost you money (except maybe to visit the bathroom, but I didn't visit one while I was there, so who knows?). Each ride requires you to use coupons, which are available at ticket booths, spaced about 20 feet apart from each other for easy access. These coupons sell for $1 each, and a decent ride goes for at least four coupons.
After getting into the fair, buying a candy apple, a chicken-on-a-stick, a root beer, and a plastic green alien full of fruit punch, we'd spent $31. All this was under ten minutes. We decided very quickly that we weren't going to ride any of the rides. The ones we wanted to ride were 5 coupons, so for the two of us to ride one two-minute ride, it would have cost us ten bucks.
We did go see "the world's smallest horse" and the "elephant skin dog," however. At 50 cents to see each one, we figured we were getting a deal. The horse was actually a dwarf pony, and the dog was a breed of dog known as a "Xolo," or "Pila." We also observed the zedonk, a hybrid cross between--you guessed it--a zebra and a donkey.
We spent our remaining fair funds to see a movie. We would never have made it through 2 more hours at the fair with what we had left.
Incidentally, I did manage to win Liz a stuffed animal. It only cost twice as much to win it as it would have cost me at Toys R Us.

You're About to be Eaten by a Grue

2005-10-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

Ever wanted to write your own text adventure? The first text adventure I ever played was a game called Zork. You've no doubt heard of it, as it's probably the most well-known text adventure ever compiled. It was written by Dave Lebling and Marc Blank of Infocom, and released in 1980.
By the by, you can download the first three Zork games at Infocom's website, for Mac or Windows.
For those of you who think you can write a better game, or at least want to try it out, there are a number of open source tools scattered around the Internet for doing just that. One that I've been playing with is called Text World, a freeware utility that enables you to create simple text adventures with as many as 500 rooms, and four items per room. The space allowed for describing objects and rooms is a bit limited, but by limiting your creative juices a bit, you can most likely get all you need to fit inside the space alotted.
Text World was created by an entity known as White Divine, though some suspect that this person may really be Mickey Crocker (the copyright holder).
White's utility resides on a site run by a fellow named Bryan, who keeps a pretty constant blog. He also has an extensive collection of text games and utilities, if you're looking to kill some time with the grandpappies of modern gaming.

Belated Blog Update

2005-09-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

I have been unfaithful to my blog and to my blog readers, what few I happen to have. To you who painstakingly check back to read my drivel, I apologize for my misconduct.

It has only been three weeks since our last monster hurricane, and already we are bracing for yet another. Rita is supposed to slam our coastline tomorrow, and already New Orleans is flooding again. After all the death and destruction, I cannot help but compare them to ones of Biblical proportion.

Dad has bought himself a generator, after years of talking about getting one. I just helped him unload it from the back of his truck. It's big enough to power his entire house, as well as the air conditioning. I guess Liz and I won't suffer from power outages too badly, as we live only about a mile from my parents.

I am enjoying the cool front that's been caressing the state today, however I am not forgetting the danger that's churning behind it. I pray for those who choose to remain in Rita's wake, and for those who lack the means to escape her.

The insurance company still hasn't sent a check for roof repairs, but that's understandable, considering the amount of work with which everybody in the industry is involved. My house is habitable, with roof damage only over the portion of roof that extends over a covered porch area. There is also a small hole toward the apex of the roof, punched through by a fallen limb. It's covered with a small tarp, and we'll get by until our check arrives. The only damage that really worries me is the section of fence that was flattened by a heavy limb (Doesn't it seem like we're always working on that darned fence?). I can't remove the limb, because the dogs will be able to jump over the fence. Therefore, the limb stays until the money comes.

Liz is taking her LSAT a week from tomorrow. She's scared silly about it, but I've been really encouraging her. I know she can do this; she's got real "sticktoitness" when it comes to being prepared for her tests. That won't be the real test, however. The real test will be making sure all the bills are getting paid while she's at school. That's what I worry about. That, and how we're going to cover the time she's off work because of knee and hip surgery.

In the Aftermath

2005-09-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first chance I've had to get to the Internet since Katrina wiped out the power in Vicksburg. There were trees and power lines down. We had a transformer that got wiped out by a falling oak tree two houses down the street from us. The claim from our last tree limb was still pending when a second limb, broken by Katrina's winds, fell on our house, during more extensive damage to the front porch area. We also have a small hole punched into our roof, as well as a section of fence down in the back yard.
Many homes in Vicksburg are still without power or phone. We somehow managed to keep our phone service throughout the ordeal, although we are the last house on the street with it.
I can't stress enough how fortunate we were. I received an email from a friend who lives in Biloxi yesterday. His home was located just off of Pass Road. It and everything he owns is now in the Gulf of Mexico. He worked at one of the casinos, and it is now gone as well. His family evacuated to Alabama before the storm.
I'm still hoping to hear from other friends who live in Biloxi and New Orleans. I worry for their safety, as I don't know whether or not they made it to safety.
Gas here is incredibly hard to get. There are lines as long as a mile as far away as Tallulah, Louisiana.
Home Depot opened its doors at 8:00 AM Tuesday morning, running their cash registers, credit card readers, and minimal lighting off of generators. They sold over 100 generators in the first half hour they were open.
I've heard reports of violence escalating in Hattiesburg, Biloxi, and New Orleans. My co-workers brother in Hattiesburg is afraid to leave his home, due to looters. One man shot his sister in the head there in a quarrel over a bag of ice. Of course, it's much worse in the coastal areas. I pray that this does not reach us here.

안녕히 가세요

2005-08-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

안녕히 가세요. That's how you write "goodbye" in Korean. I have no idea how to pronounce it, but that's how it looks when it's put to paper. Bear with me, I have reason to make you aware of this. Another word you should know is 쓰레기, which means "crap," or "junk." Actually, I do have a few friends who could read this.

Why am I telling you this? I have reason to celebrate.

You see, the Daewoo is no more. I traded it today for a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire. I've spent the last five days haggling over terms, and I feel like I've definitely come out ahead of this deal. We refinanced our Saturn Ion, getting our payment low enough that we could afford to scrap the Daewoo and get something more dependable.

For all I care, the Daewoo can burst into flames and roast slowly. It's not my problem anymore.

New/Old Sim

2005-08-18T06:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an event 20 years in the making. For all of you out there who went to high school in the 80's, then you may remember a certain fad: the Coca-Cola rugby jersey. Yesterday I created a custom skin for Sims2. After finishing, I was astounded at how much it looks like what I did back in in the mid 1980's. Complete with blue jersey with red logo, stone-washed 501's, and a pair of Nikes, this skin is sure to put a little retroactive enjoyment into your game.
And in case you play the Sims2 and decide you want it, here's the link: Coca-Cola Rugby Jersey

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

2005-08-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

I've kept one ear on the phone all day, anticipating a call from the insurance adjuster, regarding Saturday's "Tree vs Roof" match. It's almost 2:00 Central Standard Time, and it's making me a bit antsy.

Or that could be all the Cokes I've been drinking.

I was promised a call today, between the hours of 7:30 and 4:00, and so far, nothing except the usual calls for tech help. I even told my boss I might have to leave early, in case the adjuster wanted to view the damage. You know, when you tell your boss you might have to leave early, you kinda hope it happens. I don't like to waste potential time off the job. I could be standing in my front yard, hands in my pockets, saying things like, "Yep, sure is a beaut, ain't it?"
Or, "Reckon we could get a whole new roof out of that?"
(You hear the Southern accent poking through?)

Of course, there's always tomorrow. If I had my pickin's though, I'd choose Monday or Tuesday for a little mini-vacation.

Today's Haiku

2005-08-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

Walked to work this morn.
It was two miles exactly.
This afternoon too.

Sawing Logs, But Not Sleeping on the Job

2005-08-14T06:34:00.000-07:00

Every blog artist knows that there are times when the ink well runs dry, either due to a sudden stop of the flow of creativity, or because the events in their life become the mundane sort of things that happen to everybody. This is not the case today.

Last night, at approximately 7:58 pm, as I was playing the Sims 2: University on my PC, there was a sound outside my window. As sounds go, it was not a horrific sound, nor was it a scary sound.

But it was out of place.

It sounded as if someone was dragging a very heavy garbage can across the street, neglecting to use the wheels, and then slamming it to the ground.

It actuality, it was a large tree limb becoming detached from the oak tree in the front yard and glancing off the roof, causing enough damage to warrant a call to my insurance provider.

Although the limb covers the entire front yard, we were fortunate in that there were no downed power lines, crushed cars, injured people or animals, or the like. For a limb that big to fall, we were extremely lucky that it chose to merely glance off the roof, rather than land fully upon it.

This afternoon begins the cleanup. I'll be visiting my dad after church to get the chainsaw.

The Once and Future King

2005-08-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

I'm reading a book I should have read long ago. It's been sitting on my bookshelf for years and years, having been passed on by my mother, but I've never taken the time to dust it off and crack the pages. It's called The Once and Future King, and it's the story of King Arthur. I've barely made it past the third or fourth chapter, but already I'm enjoying it immensely.
Incidentally, you may have seen Magneto reading this while enjoying a stay in his plastic prison in the movie X-Men.
Arthur, nicknamed "Wart," has ventured out with Kay to go hawking after a day's work in the hay fields. Kay is Arthur's older brother, and a legitimate son, while Wart is illegitimate. Kay, in his impatience to hunt, does not properly handle the hawk, and the bird escapes. In a huff, Kay goes home, leaving Wart to retrieve the bird alone. Wart spends a night in the forest, and the next day meets Merlyn and Archimedes, Merlyn's talking owl. Wart spends a wonderful breakfast with the old magician, and learns that he is going to be tutored by him.
I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the story. It is obviously well-written, and humorous as well.