Pics from Eldest's High School Graduation

Pictures Here

My eldest child is now a high school graduate! I'm very proud of him. My youngest is now a kindergarten graduate. I'm very proud of him also. He had a tough first year of school.

General Update 3-1-12

Hello.

 Yes, it's been a while since I've posted anything. Guess I just haven't had much to say. Or things just haven't been that different. Whatever. I mean, the GOP candidates are still clowns, though I'm saddened by how well Santorum is doing. I think the GOP is holding the candidate they actually want to run for President in reserve for 2016, since they believe that Obama will win this one, so they're just making noise right now with the class clowns.

I'm still exercising pretty regularly, though my cardio has taken a hit. My L5S1/sciatica is starting to get bad again, but I've got some time before I can get more shots. Both the elliptical and stationary bike aggravate it a bit, so I've had to cut down. I'm hitting some issues with weight lifting based on equipment. I've got a total of 55 pounds in weight plates, which means I can only load the dumbbells with 27.5 if I'm using both. So I need to pick up some 20 lb plates, but damn, they're almost $20 each. So progress there is stalling a bit. I'm trying to pick up the slack there with the machine, but it just doesn't have the range of exercises I need. That, and the only bench I have is a wooden one that I occasionally worry is going to collapse under me when lifting (I'm 235 pounds without the weights in hand). Fucking weight benches are expensive. At least ones that have a weight capacity greater than 300 pounds total (and that isn't really going to work for me).

Still, I'm seeing gains in my chest and shoulders (as in, hey, look, I actually have muscles in my shoulders!). I'm not seeing the gains in my arms that I'd like, and it seems my left side is still very underdeveloped compared to my right. I'm working on that with extra sets on the left side, but gosh, it's slow going.

I haven't run a game in a few weeks now. Shit seems to keep getting in the way again. I was going to run a short Babylon 5 game but one player vetoed it, and I don't want to run something that everyone isn't on board with. So now I'm working on a Weird Western, but getting everyone together is proving difficult.

We had a death in the family recently (on the woman's side, not mine) – 2 days after my birthday (I turned 39 last week), so things have been kind of down around the home.  That's been on top of work-related stress for the woman, and ongoing financial stress for all of us (Hey, have any of you had to deal with NCO Financial Systems for collections? If so, flip me a comment with details on any problems they gave and any solutions you found, aight?)

On the plus side, my oldest child, who tends to express his love solely through spending time, suggested that he and I start on a couple days a week, re-watching Babylon 5 or The Pretender, so that's pretty cool. Especially since I've been in the mood to watch those again (especially since I still have seen the 2 TV Pretender movies).

I've started vaping (you know, e-cigarettes). I don't hate it. And while I still prefer an actual cigarette or two when I wake up and after eating, it's got me down to 5-10 cigarettes a day (from 20-30), and as I get more used to it, hopefully I'll phase actual cigarettes out within a month or so. Which is good, since I think my lungs are growing ever more compromised by the smoking every day. But I am coughing less in the mornings and such already, and that's nice.

The weather has been pretty "beautiful" around here lately. Spring-like you could say. Which is great, unless you're like me, and look forward to winter as the time of year when your allergies take a fucking break (I'm allergic to just about everything nature has to offer according to the tests). So while we haven't had much in the way of ice or snow, I've been cheated out of my allergy free time this year, and that blows (snot, out of my nose, every 10 fucking minutes).

I live in a state that's jumped on the Personhood/Ultrasound/Anti-Abortion Bandwagon of Whatthefuckery. Near as I can tell, at this point, they're trolling the system mainly because they can, mixed with election year pandering to their fringe base. I assume all of this bullshit is the desperate flailing of a party that sees their relevance dwindling rapidly, so they're trying to scramble for what they can while they can. Death throes, if you will. Still, I think things are going to get worse with their antics before they get better. Time will tell I suppose.

Well, I don't really have much more to say right now, so I'll go.

Be well.

Arkham Knights S1E9 - And So It Begins write up

Here is the episode write up for the mid-season break episode of Arkham Knights. . . 
Season 1 Episode 9 (mid-season break) And So It Begins

Chuck versus the Goodbye (Series Finale)

So tonight, the SO and I finished Chuck, with the viewing of Chuck versus The Goodbye. The last episode of what was a pretty fun show to watch. Goofy at times, sweet at others, but pretty much always fun to watch.

A little disclosure. My favorite series finale, bar none, is the last aired episode of Babylon 5, Sleeping in Light. I seriously doubt anything will ever top that for me. Luckily, I don’t expect SiL from any other show, and I didn't expect it form Chuck. This is a good thing, because every other show would then disappoint me.

This wasn't the best episode of Chuck ever. Wasn't the most action-packed, or funniest. That's okay. It was heartfelt, and hit the emotional strings nicely. It seemed a bit meandering – I think the pacing could have used some work. But I think they blew their entire pacing wad in Chuck vs. Sarah, the previous episode. This was clearly a wrap-up episode, especially with the way they crammed in a bunch right in the last few minutes.

And that's about the only negative thing I have to say about the episode.

Now on to what I liked about it:

Jeffster saved the day! I was surprisingly worried that Jeffster wouldn't get another appearance before the show ended, and was quite pleased when they showed up. Especially since I really didn't see it coming. I enjoyed the fact that even though Jeff's mind cleared up, he and Lester were able to remain the best of friends (after a bump or two). I think it's clear that they are more dangerous now than ever before though. Luckily, all that danger is going to be in Germany where women and men will love them! For a moment, I thought Lester was going to decide to stay in the Buy More.

The Subway plug. . . New owners indeed. I hope Subway score a lot of extra business from Chuck, because they plugged the holy hell out of that franchise. Bravo on the final plug.

Casey's hugging of Chuck was terribly sweet. It felt like a genuine hug of affection between the actors, and I found it really touching. I also liked that they worked in Casey's dislike of the Russians into it. On the Right all the way to the end. Casey leaving, even though I understand why, made me sad. As did knowing that Ellie and Awesome were leaving (understandably). But that kind of thing always makes me sad.

Morgan's speech to break through to Casey was one of the character's shining moments I think (after banging Bo Derek of course). I love the development of that relationship in the show. I think it was very nicely done. I liked Casey's non-expressive expressions of emotion towards Morgan.  

I was incredibly pleased that, at the end of the day, Chuck got the Intersect back. It belongs in him. Will he keep it? Who knows? Taking on the Intersect again, in the face of forever losing the love of his life, in order to save others epitomized the character of Chuck. He was a hero. I think, even if the Intersect had never initially made its way to him, even King of the Nerd Herd Chuck would have found ways to be the hero that he was. I will say that I really liked Chuck's non-Intersect fight choreography.

I really did expect that a single magical kiss would somehow restore Sarah's memories, in a "Flash"-like flashback segment. I'm pleased they didn't go that route though. It was clear when she and Chuck were on the beach that while she might not remember the details, she still loved him (she just needed a push to access that feeling again). I had a short fear that they would pull a tonal shift on us, and Chuck and Sarah weren't going to work out. But I think it's safe to day that they will.

I've seen quite a few people who didn't like the finale because of something like the Sarah we've come to know and love being gone, or, more common, that it just didn't have the happy ending it should have had.

It ended with Chuck and Sarah, together on a beach, reconnecting, still clearly in love, even if her memories were gone. There was no threat to the world or to their safety. There were no villains lurking in the shadows. No "last mission" to go on. Just them finally being together without the weight of the world on their shoulders. The only obstacle in their path was a bright and shining future full of joy and love.

It was what they dreamed of happening. Maybe not the way they imagined, but it was what they wanted.

It was absolutely a happy ending, and one very appropriate to the show.

So endeth Chuck. . .

I’m going to miss this show. I offer thanks to everyone involved in bringing us five years of the lives and adventures of Chuck Bartowski, Morgan Grimes, Sarah Walker, John Casey, Ellie Bartowski, Captain Awesome, Big Mike, and Jeffster.

General Life Update (Feb 1, 2012)

Okay. I know most of you won't care, but it's my blog, so bugger off.

Computers

For quite a while now, my computer performance has been slowly degrading (yes, I keep it updated, regularly scan for viruses/malware, clean registry, etc). But more and more, programs that use to operate easily take more CPU power to function, interfering with other programs (used to, I could listen to music while doing things like using the internet – not, when I change pages, it interferes with the CPU going to my media player and audio). So it's been slowly going downhill. I have frequent, but brief "Not Responding" messages on all kinds of programs (from Firefox to Acrobat to WMP). If I have multiple applications open, I get a graphics bleed through (i.e., I’m checking out Facebook, and all of a sudden, part of Windows Explorer or Media Player is suddenly visible and in the way). I can't play any good video games because my onboard graphics won't handle them, and my PSU isn't powerful enough to push even a mid-level graphics card.

Recently, somehow, my printer cable, plugged into a front USB port (as part of a card reader bank) was snapped out, which physically broke the USB port. That seems to have taken the entire card reader bank with it (which sucks, since I like to take a lot of pictures, and now have to try and make my network copy them to my computer, and my home network is very slow sometimes).

On the upside, someone gave me a slightly more powerful PSU, so I installed that. Not a big deal, but it opens the door to being able to put in a semi-decent card so maybe I can play some games. Woot!

I have two other front USB ports right next to the audio ports. So it's annoying, but at least I can still do USB stuff. So I go put in a flash drive to copy some files. Takes about 3 tries before the drive registers in My Computer. Well, shit, that isn't a good sign. A couple days later, I put the flash drive in, and I just cannot make it register. And my wireless USB mouse stopped working also. Hiho internet! Away to troubleshoot! Has to be a hardware failure, because as far as things like Device Manager is concerned, the USB drives are there and functioning normally. The audio ports, at least the headphone jack still works though.

So now, all of my front USB ports are dead, as well as flash card readers. Sure, I could try and use my rear USB ports, but those are currently occupied by external hard drives. Well, this sucks mightily.

Yesterday, as I was looking over a fascinating thread on RPG.net, I was scared nearly to death. Why? Because out of nowhere, there was a loud "POP" from inside my computer, and then I was left with a No Signal message on my monitor. The computer power light was still lit however. So I jump up to look inside the case. I don't see any sparks, melting, or smoke, but it smells like a firecracker inside. So I hit the power button, and just to be safe, flick the rear switch to the Off position as well. After giving it a few minutes, I flip the switch back to On, and hit the Power Button. The computer powers up, and boots normally (which is pretty odd in itself, since I usually have to toggle the rear switch and hit the Power button a few times to get it to boot up – normally, the fans come on but the system does NOT boot up; note it has done this over two different Power Supply Units). Well, that's a good thing, because I like having access to my computer. I get everything going again, try to troubleshoot what might have happened (no luck), and carry on as normal. For some reason, though, the heat sink and rear fan are going full tilt, without slowing down once.

I notice several hours later, after everyone has gone to bed, so there is less ambient noise, that I can still hear the fans going full bore. So for whatever reason, the fans are going full speed all the time, working way harder than normal. I cannot find any additional or excess heat being generated by the system though. What I also notice in the quieted house is the sound of my hard drive. It's accessing frequently, with a low growly, grindy sound. That can't be good. I say that because before the POP event, the hard drive did not access that frequently, and it sure didn't make that sound.

Fuck.

Meh. And I'm in no position to replace this computer anytime soon. So, if you ever check them out, both my Facebook and my web page have links where you can donate money to my computer fund via PayPal. Thanks in advance!

Finances

As I noted, I cannot afford to replace my computer. Because we're typically pretty broke. I didn't realize how broke until the last couple of weeks. Growing up, no one ever taught me much about finances, other than how to write a check in Jr. High Home Economics class. So a piece of advice I could have used would have been something like "Keep every god damned receipt you get for everything for like a year at least!"

Why?

Because I've spent the last week and a half trying to round up documentation to present in a record review hearing in order to get a possible wage garnishment reduced from the 15% they want to take (the most they can take) under the reasoning that it would be an extreme financial hardship.

Great Caesar's Ghost, that requires a lot of documentation that it never occurred to me to keep. Grocery receipts? Gas receipts? Hell no. So I've been scrambling to gather all of that so that when I finish filling out the form, when I get to the part that says

"Based on the above, I feel I can afford to pay $_____ per month"

I can respond with "$50. If you send me $300 per month, then I might be able to afford to send $50 of that back to you"

I've always known we were real tight on the cash by the end of the month. I didn't realize that we're actually in the negatives by the end of the month. Every month. Explains a lot though.

And as it stands, we might miss the deadline for submitting the forms (is that 15 days from the date on the letter, or 15 days from the date I received the forms? I guess it's a mystery for the ages).

Fuck.

Suffice it to say, trying to get this done while generally managing our finances has upped my stress level quite a bit. Luckily, I have some stress relief outlets. Like playing guitar. I have a spiffy Tone Port that plugs into my computer and allows me to change amp sounds, record, etc. It's really cool. Oh. That's right. It's a USB device. I can't use it right now. Well, I still have my weekly role playing game that I run.

Gaming

So for the last 3 weeks (or is it 4?), gaming hasn't worked out. On at least 2 of the game days, things at the house combined with some issues I've been having with the game triggered my depression, which left me in no position to run a game. The most recent session, we got started (after I got news about gaming that left me less interested in running anyway), but nothing actually got done. One player was unavailable, and I’m pretty sure most of the other players were actually doing other things at the same time (we play mostly on line because these days, I can't seem to get anyone to actually come over to play), so no one (except one person) really seemed to be paying attention. And if they aren't paying attention, why the fuck should I bother to try and make the game fun? So I ended the session early, angry and depressed about it. Because it really is my main stress relief and it's failing me miserably right now.

Back in the day, we played like everyone else. Everyone came to the house and we got it on baybee! One player and good friend moved across the country, and so I didn't get to play with him for years. Then another player (and good friend also) moved across the state. So we were down him as well. Well, we kept on chugging on, still having fun for the most part.

Then I discovered Maptool. A spiffy, very customizable virtual tabletop program. It's free and has a damned helpful community. So after years of playing without 2 of my favorite people, I was able to get them back into the game. Sweet fucking deal IMO. So every week, the local players would come over, we'd hook up the laptops, and us, and the two far away players could create tales of dashing heroism again. It was really nice. Sure, there were some minor issues, like players doing other things on the computer if it wasn't their turn or something, but honestly, that wasn't much worse than pre-laptops, when they just had their stupid cell phones to mess with, as well as people who would text them and expect an immediate response, even if something was going on. But we were back up to a full group size, and it was basically good.

Then one player had to stop playing because of job issues and such. Then one had to stop playing because of school and relationship issues (of which problems with gaming was only a symptom, believe me). At this point, there were only 1 or 2 players actually physically coming over to the house. Then one player was reactivated so he could go to Afghanistan. I guess his tours in Iraq just weren't enough for Uncle Fucker – I mean, Uncle Sam. And then one player. . . I don't know. Lost his fucking mind or something, but he just dropped contact with everyone for a while.

Slowly, I've managed to get us back to me + 4.5 players (The .5 is the guy who dropped contact – he's still flaky about actually being available). But even though 3 of those players are local to the city, they don’t' come over here. They just want to do it on the computer. In one case, it's because the guy works all day every other game day, so he's actually playing from work. So on those days, I understand. And one player is, due to family things, I think lucky to even get to play at all, so for now, I accept that person is unavailable in person. I hope that changes in the future. The other guy? I don't know why he doesn't get his ass over here.

But I really, really don't like being the only person playing the game who is at my house. Part of why gaming is a stress reliever is because it provided face-to-face social contact, bullshitting and all of that. I can honestly say, after some thinking, that it just isn't nearly as fun for me if no one else is here to play.

To make things even worse, since my USB ports died, I can't even communicate via voice with the players. So all of my interaction is through typing. So the general socializing component seems (feels?) almost completely missing. And without that (combined with other issues in the group), it just isn't being very much fun for me right now, and in fact, every week, seems to be ADDING to my stress instead of helping to reduce it.

Fuck.

Fitness

I took last week off from weight training. I try to take a week off every couple of months for general recovery, plus I was showing symptoms of overtraining. In the middle of the week I got sick. I didn't enjoy last week at all.

Monday, I started working out again. Every time I take a week off, I revise my routine when I get started again, change things up a little bit, keep my body guessing. So this new routine is 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. So I'm moving to lifting 4 days a week instead of 3. Okay.

Ack.

Today is the first off day. And oh my, can I feel that I worked out. Hopefully, I'll adapt pretty quickly. And with a 4^th day added, maybe get stronger and more fit even more quickly. If I can ever afford to buy a good, convenient source of protein. Because I'm sure as hell not getting enough protein right now to properly build muscle. I'm not sure I'm even getting enough calories in general.

Because I'm too poor right now to buy the food I would need.

Fuck.

Positives

The above is all pretty negative, I know. You're probably wondering why I'm trying to depress you.

Because I can.

But here's some positive stuff.

The youngest seems to be doing a bit better in school, in terms of interacting with the other children in a socially appropriate manner. That's cool.

Despite all the stresses of finances and my mental illness, I think the woman and I are doing pretty good (all things considered). I hope so at least!

We just finished watching all of The Adventures of BriscoCounty Jr. That was a really good show. It's a shame it only got the one season. I think my favorite character is still Pete Hutter. I love that guy. The actor (John Pyper Ferguson – also was in Jeremiah, one of my favorite shows; he should always be dressed as Pete, regardless of the role) is great. Seriously, Pete rocks!

We're almost done with Chuck (no spoilers). I don’t' want to see this show go away, but frankly, it's been really lucky to have lasted this long. But it's been a fun program to watch, and I am soooo curious what they're going to do with the finale.

I've been entering a lot of contests lately. It kills 20-30 minutes in the mornings before I'm actually functional. Haven't had much luck so far. The only thing I've won at this point is a bright green Robitussen stocking cap that is too small for my big old head. But I’m bound to win something cool eventually, right?

So, despite everything that is going wrong, I’m still pretty sound in mind and body I think, and I know I'm handling things so much better than I would have a year or two ago. That gives me a lot of hope for the future.

And that's pretty damn cool.

Be well.

A Vote for Obama (Or Against the GOP)

I've been trying to stay informed on the GOP race for Jackass for President. It's been both terribly amusing and terribly frightening all at the same time. The candidates are fucking clowns. Period. Try and explain how Herman Cain wasn't a fucking clown. Seriously. Try.  It seems like the GOP is really, really scraping the bottom of the barrel this time around. I'm not sure if that's because the bottom of the barrel is all they have left, or because they know they are likely to lose to Obama, and are holding a "good" candidate in reserve for 2016. I like to think it's the former, though, since that means the party is even closer to collapsing and reforming than I thought. And make no mistake – that is what will happen. They've been working too hard and too successfully at pushing out the moderates and ideologically impure, that what is left cannot hold the center together. It will fall in upon itself and something, hopefully saner, will rise from the corpse.

At the same time, as I said, it's been frightening. Have you been paying attention to what they've been saying? I don't mean the stupid shit like Romney classifying 90-95% of Americans as Middle Class (though that's problematic in its own way as an attempt to maintain the fiction in the minds of the populace that they aren't really poor). I mean things like Santorum's tirades against homosexuals and gay marriage. Newt talking about effectively doing away with child labor laws. Both of them not even bothering with dog whistles and just coming out and saying shit about the black communities. Romney saying that discussion about economic inequality should only be had behind closed doors (Know who gets behind those closed doors? Not the fucking people being crushed by economic inequality).


EDIT: Check what Newt has to say here - 
"I will issue an instruction on the opening day, first day I'm sworn in, I will issue an executive order to the national security apparatus that it will not enforce Boumediene and it will regard it as null and void because it is an absurd extension of the supreme court in to the commander in chief's (authority)."


Seriously, fuck that guy. 

I hate the feeling that there are fewer and fewer people who have a clue as to what America is supposed to be. Seems like more and more, people are trying to turn it into a state that, in another country, we'd lump up on the Axis of Evil. I tire of the narrative that it's bad when they do it to us, but perfectly fine, legal, and Gosh Darn American when we do it to them.

For years after 9/11, continuing to this day, the Right has been pushing the line that if you question them, you must hate America and Freedom. But the actual evidence tells us who really hates America, and who is really scared of a free populace. And those are the people the GOP is trying to front for Presidential Candidates.

Which brings me to the point of this whole stupid post.

Last election, I marked my vote for Obama/Biden. This coming election, I'm going to mark my vote for Obama/Biden again (not that it matters, since I live in the reddest state in the union. Really, it's so red you'd think it was the Soviet Union). Not because I figured Obama would be a great president (I did not), but because I figured the odds were really good that Obama/Biden would be a magnitude better than McCain/Palin. And I still believe that (I also think it's really cool that it was my lifetime when America was finally ready for a black president).

I didn't buy the hype that people tried to build about Obama being some kind of liberal Second Coming. I know a lot of liberals are up in arms and angry about his presidency because he didn't bring all their liberal dreams to life, but it was stupid of them to think he would. He was pretty clearly a centrist at best. As someone as noted, Obama is actually a great Conservative – if we're talking old-school conservative, before the party went insane. But he's pretty damned middle of the road and people need to accept that.

Because middle of the road is still way fucking better than veered off into a ditch with little Bobby flung out a window, which is what we'll get if a member of the current GOP gets the Oval Office.

Look at who they're fielding, and ask yourself, do you really want someone who hates America, hates Freedom, and hates your kids running this country?

I know I don't.

So once again, I'll be marking my vote for Obama/Biden, or, if you prefer, against whoever the GOP shits out on the stage.

You should do so too.

Unless you have the option of a write-in vote, in which case, Weird Al for President yo!

Arkham Knight s1e9 - End of Paradise part 1

We didn't get very far between tech issues and some other factors. 
s1e9 - End of Paradise 
Episode Thus Far