Galaxies, Universes, and Things That Spin

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!