Mashed potatoes are more fun to wear than eat...
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
The Strangerhood News
The Strangerhood News
A couple years ago after Halo came out for the Xbox ... which by the way was a good thing for Microsoft. but PC users completely got shafted on the deal, because it was originally slated for PC. By the time they got around to releasing it for PC, it completely sucked...
umm where was I?
Oh yeah... so after Halo came out, a group of guys made a series of short movies called Red vs. Blue, and it became an instant hit. Their company is called Rooster Teeth Productions, and you can see all the episodes here.
Why am I telling you this? Well, firstly, because they're funny as hell. True, you have to be a gamer to fully appreciate the series, but even if you just enjoy skit comedy, you will enjoy them.
But second, I wanted to clue you in on another series they've started called The Strangerhood. They're using The Sims 2, and it looks just as funny. If you're killing time, this is as good a place as any!
My mom and dad have been here since Sunday, and seem to be enjoying their visit. Of course, as we've already established... they're not here to visit Shelley or myself... we just don't matter anymore. They're here to see their grandson... hehe
We've got some pictures and videos, and I'll get them up as soon as I can. I can't get the video camera to connect to my computer... I might have to call a tech support guy... know anyone?
We went to Battlement Mesa yesterday to play golf, and managed to get 17 holes done before a storm chased us off the course. I shot a 68 ... and did a little better on the back 9... err, the back 8, I guess. As the day progressed, I steadily improved while the parents did the opposite. Well, at least as a team we were consistent.
Ok, got to run. I'm just taking a lunch break and wanted to post something marginally interesting.
... I said MARGINALLY...
Love to all!
A couple years ago after Halo came out for the Xbox ... which by the way was a good thing for Microsoft. but PC users completely got shafted on the deal, because it was originally slated for PC. By the time they got around to releasing it for PC, it completely sucked...
umm where was I?
Oh yeah... so after Halo came out, a group of guys made a series of short movies called Red vs. Blue, and it became an instant hit. Their company is called Rooster Teeth Productions, and you can see all the episodes here.
Why am I telling you this? Well, firstly, because they're funny as hell. True, you have to be a gamer to fully appreciate the series, but even if you just enjoy skit comedy, you will enjoy them.
But second, I wanted to clue you in on another series they've started called The Strangerhood. They're using The Sims 2, and it looks just as funny. If you're killing time, this is as good a place as any!
My mom and dad have been here since Sunday, and seem to be enjoying their visit. Of course, as we've already established... they're not here to visit Shelley or myself... we just don't matter anymore. They're here to see their grandson... hehe
We've got some pictures and videos, and I'll get them up as soon as I can. I can't get the video camera to connect to my computer... I might have to call a tech support guy... know anyone?
We went to Battlement Mesa yesterday to play golf, and managed to get 17 holes done before a storm chased us off the course. I shot a 68 ... and did a little better on the back 9... err, the back 8, I guess. As the day progressed, I steadily improved while the parents did the opposite. Well, at least as a team we were consistent.
Ok, got to run. I'm just taking a lunch break and wanted to post something marginally interesting.
... I said MARGINALLY...
Love to all!
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Sick and wrong...
... and one of the funniest things I have ever read. There's a link under "Blogs I Read" to a website called The Sneeze, and it bills itself as "Half zine. Half Blog. Half not good with fractions.". The writer's name is Steve, and there are currently 8 volumes (posts) entitled "Steve, Don't Eat It!". I found that blog one day (again... don't ask me how I came across it... I just did, ok?), and found it funny enough to link to, but never got around to reading the older posts. If you've got some time, and need a good laugh, check it out.
Other than that, not much more to report. Looks like we'll be going to France sometime in September, and my parents (aka "Nana and Papa"... I can't believe I just typed that) are visiting in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll have a ton of photos for both events, so if you don't already have broadband... I suggest you get it now... hehe
Love to all!
Other than that, not much more to report. Looks like we'll be going to France sometime in September, and my parents (aka "Nana and Papa"... I can't believe I just typed that) are visiting in the next couple of weeks. I'm sure we'll have a ton of photos for both events, so if you don't already have broadband... I suggest you get it now... hehe
Love to all!
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
Sunday, June 12, 2005
I don't remember if I've shared this one or not... it was taken the same day we took Shelley to the Botanical Gardens for Mother's Day
Posted by Scott via Hello
Friday, June 10, 2005
People are Weird...
...and here's the proof.. You have to give this guy credit for having the courage to do this... but you also have to wonder if he's serious or just looking for attention. Either way, Rock On, Daily Dancer!
Ok, time to get you caught up on a couple other things. First, looks like I've found a job. I accepted a position with Hilltop as a PC support/technician, but it looks like there will be a lot more to do than just fix computers. They have a lot of ambitious projects, and I'm looking forward to jumping into the fray with them. Their advertised salary wasn't very appealing, but they offered me a bit more; and the benefits are more than worth it.
I had a couple of other prospects/ideas/dreams that I was considering, but the stability of a successful company has a lot of appeal. Shelley used to work for Hilltop, so she knows the company and says they're good people. She left simply because the county offered more money to do the same job she was doing.
I also had a second interview with Mesa State College, but declined it in favor of the Hilltop position. I have no idea why they called me back for another interview considering that I'm fairly certain I did so horrible on the written exam. I had to go back and check the job description after I took the test... there were about 25 questions, of which I answered about 5 with confidence. The rest of my answers were either WAGs (Wild Ass Guesses) or plain admissions of truth ("I have no idea as to what this question is referring"). There were 9 other people in the room, 4 of which left before I did, so I figured they were either REALLY good... or had even less of an idea than I did... The fact that I was called for a second interview makes me think it's most likely the latter. Or maybe they were just calling everyone back...
Ok, next thing I have to report is that I went and saw Star Wars Ep 3 ... and I can sum it up in one shrug of the shoulders and a simple grunt.
"eh"
It does a fairly good job of closing the gap, I will say that. And needless to say, the effects were simply amazing. Industrial Light & Magic (for those non-geeks that aren't aware of this) is a digital effects company that George Lucas created for the original Star Wars in 1977, and it's been a powerhouse in the movie industry ever since. The list of movies they've done is an endless parade of eye-candy that you nearly go into a sugar coma just looking at it... (by the way, both those links are worth spending some time on... very interesting reading).
Back to my "review" of SW:RoTS. As I said... it just didn't live up to the hype, though I'm not overly surprised. There's simply no way, in my opinion, that it possibly could. I have always said that the problem with the last two (err.. the FIRST two if you're going in order, LAST two if going by release dates) is that by the time Lucas was ready to start working on "The Phantom Menace", the Star Wars franchise had become such an overwhelming behemoth, that it was bound to collapse under it's own weight. Lucas had so many people's opinions that he had to sift through that the result was horrible additions to the SW Universe like JarJar Binks. Some Marketing Moron/Corporate Weasel convinced him that there had to be some cute-talking comedic relief sidekick or the movie would not appeal to a new generation of viewers. We'll never know if that's true, but George Lucas has been quoted as saying that Binks (I refuse to type that first name twice in the same day) has received more hatemail than any other fictional character to date, EVER. Not just in the SW Universe... but spanning all forms of entertainment (TV, Movies, books... etc).
Oops... sidetracked again... hmmm, maybe I do have AADD or ADHD as my wife suspects... At least that's what I think she said, I wasn't really paying attention...
The reasons I wasn't overly thrilled far outweigh the parts I liked.
Watching Obi-Wan kick Anakin's ass (and making Darth Vader's outfit/life support necessary) was perfectly played. You could see the pain on his face. But that was about the only well-acted part. The rest of the acting in the movie was just so ... contrived? stilted? forced?
And there was no shortage of throw-away lines. I've always hated the thought that the robot soldiers had to have "witty" personalities. Notice I quoted the word... they're not at all witty, they're just stupid. R2D2 and C3PO banter I could stomach. A robot sarcastically saying "you're welcome" when he delivers an item to an ungrateful General Grievous (another robot with a biological heart?) is just plain silly. Not cute. Not witty. Not clever. Silly... not good silly either. Just stupid silly.
I still plan on watching all 6 in sequence with Shelley. I mean she wants to spend GEEK TIME with me, so of course I'll take her up that! And when I do, I'm curious if they've used the line "I've got a bad feeling about this" in all the movies. It was used in this latest one, and was as pointless as "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" was in the second Die Hard film. It was relevent in the first one, completely unnecessary in the second. (I don't know offhand... he didn't use it in the third one... did he?)
//disengage ADD mode// :P
So there you have it... my "rambling review". I didn't HATE the movie, I just wasn't thrilled with it. I know that Serenity won't get anywhere near the same attention, but I'll bet there's a lot bigger percentage of people that will be happy with it than this latest installment of Star Wars.
Speaking of Firefly... [pause for your eyes to stop rolling...], there doing another advanced screening. This is the third one, in 35 cities, and they sold out faster than the previous two. I think the message is clear: the fan base is out there... now let's get the movie in the can and start working on the "unexposed" out there... start showing your DVDs to the shattered Star Wars fans ... maybe we can convert them into Browncoats. How shiny would that be?
Love to all!
Ok, time to get you caught up on a couple other things. First, looks like I've found a job. I accepted a position with Hilltop as a PC support/technician, but it looks like there will be a lot more to do than just fix computers. They have a lot of ambitious projects, and I'm looking forward to jumping into the fray with them. Their advertised salary wasn't very appealing, but they offered me a bit more; and the benefits are more than worth it.
I had a couple of other prospects/ideas/dreams that I was considering, but the stability of a successful company has a lot of appeal. Shelley used to work for Hilltop, so she knows the company and says they're good people. She left simply because the county offered more money to do the same job she was doing.
I also had a second interview with Mesa State College, but declined it in favor of the Hilltop position. I have no idea why they called me back for another interview considering that I'm fairly certain I did so horrible on the written exam. I had to go back and check the job description after I took the test... there were about 25 questions, of which I answered about 5 with confidence. The rest of my answers were either WAGs (Wild Ass Guesses) or plain admissions of truth ("I have no idea as to what this question is referring"). There were 9 other people in the room, 4 of which left before I did, so I figured they were either REALLY good... or had even less of an idea than I did... The fact that I was called for a second interview makes me think it's most likely the latter. Or maybe they were just calling everyone back...
Ok, next thing I have to report is that I went and saw Star Wars Ep 3 ... and I can sum it up in one shrug of the shoulders and a simple grunt.
"eh"
It does a fairly good job of closing the gap, I will say that. And needless to say, the effects were simply amazing. Industrial Light & Magic (for those non-geeks that aren't aware of this) is a digital effects company that George Lucas created for the original Star Wars in 1977, and it's been a powerhouse in the movie industry ever since. The list of movies they've done is an endless parade of eye-candy that you nearly go into a sugar coma just looking at it... (by the way, both those links are worth spending some time on... very interesting reading).
Back to my "review" of SW:RoTS. As I said... it just didn't live up to the hype, though I'm not overly surprised. There's simply no way, in my opinion, that it possibly could. I have always said that the problem with the last two (err.. the FIRST two if you're going in order, LAST two if going by release dates) is that by the time Lucas was ready to start working on "The Phantom Menace", the Star Wars franchise had become such an overwhelming behemoth, that it was bound to collapse under it's own weight. Lucas had so many people's opinions that he had to sift through that the result was horrible additions to the SW Universe like JarJar Binks. Some Marketing Moron/Corporate Weasel convinced him that there had to be some cute-talking comedic relief sidekick or the movie would not appeal to a new generation of viewers. We'll never know if that's true, but George Lucas has been quoted as saying that Binks (I refuse to type that first name twice in the same day) has received more hatemail than any other fictional character to date, EVER. Not just in the SW Universe... but spanning all forms of entertainment (TV, Movies, books... etc).
Oops... sidetracked again... hmmm, maybe I do have AADD or ADHD as my wife suspects... At least that's what I think she said, I wasn't really paying attention...
The reasons I wasn't overly thrilled far outweigh the parts I liked.
Watching Obi-Wan kick Anakin's ass (and making Darth Vader's outfit/life support necessary) was perfectly played. You could see the pain on his face. But that was about the only well-acted part. The rest of the acting in the movie was just so ... contrived? stilted? forced?
And there was no shortage of throw-away lines. I've always hated the thought that the robot soldiers had to have "witty" personalities. Notice I quoted the word... they're not at all witty, they're just stupid. R2D2 and C3PO banter I could stomach. A robot sarcastically saying "you're welcome" when he delivers an item to an ungrateful General Grievous (another robot with a biological heart?) is just plain silly. Not cute. Not witty. Not clever. Silly... not good silly either. Just stupid silly.
I still plan on watching all 6 in sequence with Shelley. I mean she wants to spend GEEK TIME with me, so of course I'll take her up that! And when I do, I'm curious if they've used the line "I've got a bad feeling about this" in all the movies. It was used in this latest one, and was as pointless as "Yippie ki yay, motherfucker" was in the second Die Hard film. It was relevent in the first one, completely unnecessary in the second. (I don't know offhand... he didn't use it in the third one... did he?)
//disengage ADD mode// :P
So there you have it... my "rambling review". I didn't HATE the movie, I just wasn't thrilled with it. I know that Serenity won't get anywhere near the same attention, but I'll bet there's a lot bigger percentage of people that will be happy with it than this latest installment of Star Wars.
Speaking of Firefly... [pause for your eyes to stop rolling...], there doing another advanced screening. This is the third one, in 35 cities, and they sold out faster than the previous two. I think the message is clear: the fan base is out there... now let's get the movie in the can and start working on the "unexposed" out there... start showing your DVDs to the shattered Star Wars fans ... maybe we can convert them into Browncoats. How shiny would that be?
Love to all!
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Lots of things to talk about...
I've had a bunch of things to post about, just haven't really made the effort lately. I'll start off with the latest and greatest new:
Shelley won a trip for two to Paris!
She's been talking about this for weeks... and I maintained my usual "realistic" (negative) attitude. The same attitude I was using for the recent Powerball craze... which Shelley and her co-workers dumped about $300 (or more) on...
So I'm over at Matt's house watching UFC on PPV, and I get a phone call from Shelley's phone, and it's Darcy yelling that "Shelley won the trip to Paris"... and I was immediately skeptical. "Yeah, sure she did..." Shelley gets on the phone all out of breath and convinced me that she wasn't lying, and that she had to go because they were taking pictures and doing interviews and stuff. Now she has to go to the radio station on Monday for another interview.
So how cool is that?
Another thing I have to report is a warning to all you unsuspecting Internet newbies. This is a true statement in general, but it's even doubly true on the 'net. "If the offer sounds too good, it probably is...".
One day, around May 10th or so, I saw a banner add for a FREE PLAYSTION PORTABLE! I've been resisting buying one of these for a while, because I just couldn't justify the cost. It truly was nothing more than a toy, and all the little gadgets I already have do the tasks that I was trying to convince myself (mostly) that I could use it for: previewing digital images, portable storage... etc. Even I wasn't convinced; how could I convince Shelley?
So I saw this banner advertisement, and figured I'd just check it out. It works like this: You are shown three pages of several different offers. You must choose 2 offers from each page. When you complete the requirements for each of the offers (buy something, sign up for something, etc), you'll be given the green light and will fill out a "form" to have the gift sent to you. However, at the bottom of the form it states:
I did the math, and with everything I signed up for, the immediate cost is close to $200, and the cost for all the monthly charges that I will incur if I continue to use all the services I signed up for will be over $750. A new PSP costs about $250, and these jerkoffs are already telling me that they "reserve the right" to give me something else if they deem it plausible.
None of the offers that I accepted are things that I wouldn't have bought anyway (Vonage, Netflix), so it's not so much the overall cost that's bugging me. It's the fact that it's already been a month before I "met the requirements", even though 5 of the 6 offers have been reported as completed since the day AFTER I started all this. Only one of them took over three weeks to be "reported"... I'm also extremely bugged by the fact that I may not even get what I was aiming for...
Lesson learned here? Nothing is free...
Well, I had a few more things to report, but I can't think of them right now (too tired), and they probably weren't that interesting anyway... I'll try posting again in a couple days if I remember...
Love to all,
Shelley won a trip for two to Paris!
She's been talking about this for weeks... and I maintained my usual "realistic" (negative) attitude. The same attitude I was using for the recent Powerball craze... which Shelley and her co-workers dumped about $300 (or more) on...
So I'm over at Matt's house watching UFC on PPV, and I get a phone call from Shelley's phone, and it's Darcy yelling that "Shelley won the trip to Paris"... and I was immediately skeptical. "Yeah, sure she did..." Shelley gets on the phone all out of breath and convinced me that she wasn't lying, and that she had to go because they were taking pictures and doing interviews and stuff. Now she has to go to the radio station on Monday for another interview.
So how cool is that?
Another thing I have to report is a warning to all you unsuspecting Internet newbies. This is a true statement in general, but it's even doubly true on the 'net. "If the offer sounds too good, it probably is...".
One day, around May 10th or so, I saw a banner add for a FREE PLAYSTION PORTABLE! I've been resisting buying one of these for a while, because I just couldn't justify the cost. It truly was nothing more than a toy, and all the little gadgets I already have do the tasks that I was trying to convince myself (mostly) that I could use it for: previewing digital images, portable storage... etc. Even I wasn't convinced; how could I convince Shelley?
So I saw this banner advertisement, and figured I'd just check it out. It works like this: You are shown three pages of several different offers. You must choose 2 offers from each page. When you complete the requirements for each of the offers (buy something, sign up for something, etc), you'll be given the green light and will fill out a "form" to have the gift sent to you. However, at the bottom of the form it states:
(company name) reserves the right to: a) substitute any gift item with another of similar functionality
(including a working model that has been used/refurbished) b) substitute any gift item with another of
similar value c) send a member the cash equivalent of the gift item.
I did the math, and with everything I signed up for, the immediate cost is close to $200, and the cost for all the monthly charges that I will incur if I continue to use all the services I signed up for will be over $750. A new PSP costs about $250, and these jerkoffs are already telling me that they "reserve the right" to give me something else if they deem it plausible.
None of the offers that I accepted are things that I wouldn't have bought anyway (Vonage, Netflix), so it's not so much the overall cost that's bugging me. It's the fact that it's already been a month before I "met the requirements", even though 5 of the 6 offers have been reported as completed since the day AFTER I started all this. Only one of them took over three weeks to be "reported"... I'm also extremely bugged by the fact that I may not even get what I was aiming for...
Lesson learned here? Nothing is free...
Well, I had a few more things to report, but I can't think of them right now (too tired), and they probably weren't that interesting anyway... I'll try posting again in a couple days if I remember...
Love to all,
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