The [Real] DreamThief aka dreamthief.com .net and .org

Hrm, new Blogger site

2011-10-18T18:50:00.002-05:00

Wow, I really need to come by more often. Major changes around here and I am caught completely by surprise.

I really only wanted to say a couple of things.

Please visit www.podcasturbia.com

and
KNOCK KNOCK MUTHERFUCKER!

Heheh
heheheheheh...

It makes me laugh.

2011-09-18T19:32:00.000-05:00

Ok, it has been a long time coming, but the podcast is now online!You can find my Pod-Partner and I at www.podcasturbia.comPlease listen in and provide feedback.

Dollar coins are goooood!

2011-09-03T08:23:00.000-05:00

I got an chain-email today talking about refusing the new dollar coins. I am not going to ask you to reprint this if you agree, but If you receive said email, think about the following before you act.
The dollar coin is a great thing we could do to help our economy; the more people refuse them the more damage is done to the recovery of the economy.
Simple facts:
1. A strong economy is built by churn (or transactions). The more transactions the more churn, the stronger the economy.
2. People are far more likely to spend a coin than a bill. Coins go into machines and used ...for coffee... bills stagnate and are collected and traded in to get larger bills which are often just put into the bank.
3. Coins have a longer lifespan and the total cost of life is less. E.g. say it costs 3 cents to make a dollar coin but 1 cent to make a paper dollar. However, the coin will last 3.5 times as long while the dollar is removed from circulation, destroyed, reprinted etc, which actually brings a 1 dollar bill up to 3 cents for the lifespan. Take that into consideration of the dollar bill's 8 year lifespan and the coins 30 year lifespan. These particular numbers are not perfect, but they are a decent parallel.
4. Counterfeit coins, while they do exist, are not profitable for the criminals.
5. If a coin isn't spent, it is often stored away in a jar somehow. Most people, when they collect those jars of coins and trade them in, immediately spend the money they condensed. They have effectively removed currency from the system for a short while, and then caused a transaction.

The EU has proven this with the 1 and 2 Euro coins. The Euro is kicking the crap out of the dollar and this is actually one of the reasons. Yes there are a lot of reasons, but the ability of the currency to force itself to flow and create transactions is good for the economy and the currency.

Brew Review

2011-06-11T22:02:00.000-05:00

I am going to start trying to put down my Beer reviews on here...as much as I can anyway...

This week: Avalanche Ale
http://www.breckbrew.com/beer/avalanche.html

This is my second beer from breckenridge and I am still not convinced. It is not bad, just not really my preference. It is much sweeter than I like, and very light in other flavour.
The aroma is also very generic... I do not really get anyting distinctive.
The colour is very nice, exactly what I expect from an amber.

I will not avoid this beer int he future, but I will not seek it out either. I am hoping the other beers in the sampler I have are better.

MMOs for Dummies: Part one

2011-05-18T10:25:00.002-05:00

Introduction
What is an MMORPG? MMORPG stands for massively multiplayer online role playing game, a type of MMO (massively multiplayer online game). As the name implies MMOS have a massive amount of players on one “world” or server at a time. Some games handle 1500 simultaneous connections, while others such as Eve Online recently set a record of over 64,000 players online on the same persistent world.

A persistent world is just that, a world that is always there. A player can log off and go to sleep but the interactions on the world continue.

Genres, Intellectual Property, and Licensing
MMO genres come in many flavours, the most common being Fantasy (World of WarCraft) and Sci-Fi (Eve Online). They all require Intellectual Property, or IP, as the background. There are strong and weak IPs. Strong simply means that they are more widely known and less of a niche fan base (as in the case of a weak IP).
Strong IPs include Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek,
Weak IPs include WarHammer, DC Comics, Champions, Conan

Billing models
Subscription The player must pay per month, usually about $15. In the western markets there is no limit on time a player can spend online. The Asian markets have “fatigue laws” that only allow a player to spend a certain amount of time online during a given day.
Multiple month subscriptions are often offered with a small discount.

Micro Transaction (MTX). Most often found in the Asian markets, but are gaining ground in the west. Players can play for free, but would need to pay small fees for additional content. This can be access to new races, items, vehicles, or other customizations. Western games are adopting a mixed model Subscription with MTX, with mostly cosmetic options offered through MTX.

Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) introduced the Station Pass in 200x. With this model the subscriber paid a monthly fee of approximately 1.8 times the cost of one game sub ($27). However this pass gave the subscriber access to all of SOEs titles.

Endless Trial. The first tier of levels (usually about 25-30% of the level cap) are free to play indefinitely, but if you want to play the upper tiers, you will need to pay for a full monthly subscription.

The bed is done!

2011-01-11T08:48:00.001-06:00

Immigration Reform: No Free Rides

2010-12-29T18:51:00.000-06:00

Before you get all bent out of shape, please read the whole post before commenting.
I will keep my "solution" as short as possible.
For all the currently illegal immigrants here in the US, they get to stay... BUT they must make a declaration of when they arrived in the US. They must then pay taxes on however many years they have declared. If they have declared 1 year, then they have to pay 1 year of taxes. If 7 Years (the maximum) then they pay 7 years of taxes. The advantage of declaring more years is that once you reach 7 years you can then gain citizenship.

Other ways to gain citizenship would be through service, either Civil or Military. Four years of civil service gains you citizenship (you will, of course been paying taxes along the way).
Military service would be a little different. You would be required to enlist for 4 years, but you would gain citizenship after 1 year (though you would still be required to fulfil your enlistment term or be subject to military law)

I need to come by more often.

2010-10-30T10:39:00.001-05:00

I need to spend a little more time here. If it makes you feel any better, I do not spend a whole lot of time on facebook or myspace either. Not posting is not good considering this is actually the longest running blog I know. I have been "blogging" since before the word "blog" existed.

At some point I want to do a little pice on "The Idea of Blogging". Still kind of working it out in my head of what the contents would be. I have it filed with my "Rules for Men", "IT for Small Businesses", and "Chumpy-Chump" pieces. All three are almost complete but not quite.

I leave you with this.

Madden is evil

2010-09-06T19:38:00.001-05:00

I am not a big Brady fan, but this us just evil!

My new Gym

2010-08-18T14:43:00.000-05:00

Wow.. been awhile!

2010-08-03T09:29:00.002-05:00

I am sorry it has been so long since I posted, I will try and keep it more regular.

I am starting to do a lot of woodworking, I may start using this as my showroom :)

More later.

Old Movies die hard..

2010-05-02T20:09:00.000-05:00

For whatever reason I have been wathcing a bunch of 80s movies lately. Karate Kid 1&2, and Fast Times at Ridgmont High are the most notable.

KK was just bad, KK2 was worse. However, those two flicks were what started the martial arts hype of my generation. Yes, everyone knew who Bruce Lee was and there was a lot of other movies out prior and at the same time. However, KK made people believe that anyone could do it. That all it took was a little time and a lot of heart.

I still belive that KK2 did the same thing for American men's lust for Asian women. Just watch it again.. she was cute.

Fast Times at Ridgmont High. Wow, what a movie. A Classic B move for the ages. The quintessential 80s T&A movie.
It also had one of the greatest soundtracks ever.

Recasting Star Wars: Luke Skywalker

2010-04-21T13:11:00.002-05:00

Recasting Star Wars: Luke Skywalker. What modern actor would you cast for this role if StarWars: Episode IV (A New Hope) were to be refilmed today? Results are posted on my webpage for reference (www.dreamthief.com). Remember one character at a time, limited time per character. If you post another character I will probably delete your post... stay on target!

Recasting Star Wars: Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi

2010-04-21T13:09:00.000-05:00

Recasting Star Wars: Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. What modern actor would you cast for this role if StarWars: Episode IV (A New Hope) were to be refilmed today? Results are posted on my webpage for reference (www.dreamthief.com). Remember one character at a time, limited time per character. If you post another character I will probably delete your post... stay on target!

Ryan L.: I'm going with Sir Derek Jacobi on this one.
Inigo G.: His age never made sense to me, given the prequels. Anyway, I'll vote for Sean Bean. Mike has a really fantastic vote for that role. I'll try to see if he'll post.
Dav C.: I agree, his age is off. But... is it off in ANH or the prequils?
By the prequils he should have been in his mid 50s in ANH (Assuming he is 20 in Phantom Menace)
Dav C.: For whatever reason, I had a couple of ideas. Kenneth Branagh is who I will put out first. More later.
Courtney A.: This choice is the hardest. I have several names in my head, but settling on this one: Terry O'Quinn. My first non-broadway pick!
Courtney A.: Gah! Obi-Wan is my favorite character to recast! Two more names: William Sadler (somewhat obscure, but one of my favorite character actors, should be the right age by now) and James Gandolfini (Don't scoff. Quiet. Powerful. Nuff said?)
Dav C.: My next pick is Morgan Freeman (I told you he could do anything!)

Backup Plans

2010-04-19T15:31:00.002-05:00

Recasting Star Wars: Lando Calrissian

2010-04-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

Recasting Star Wars: Lando Calrissian. What modern actor would you cast for this role if StarWars: Episode V (Empire Strikes Back) were to be refilmed today? Results are posted on my webpage for reference (www.dreamthief.com). Remember one character at a time, limited time per character. If you post another character I will probably delete your post... stay on target!

Carl H.: Snoop Dogg
Ryan L.: Fot this I am torn between Don Cheadle or Harold Parrineau.
Andrea S.: Excellent choice Ryan... I was going with Don Cheadle... but I was busy so I'll come up with another one..
Courtney A.: Taye Diggs
Dav C.: Wow... ok, I will go against the grain here. Jude Law. He can do the smooth talking, card playing, back-stabbing, bureaucrat. I can also see him piloting the Falcon.
I do like Don Cheadle, except I have a problem seeing him as a pilot.
Snoop Dogg... I can see him more as yoda :) Yoda did smoke weed after all. http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/yoda2.jpg
Jennifer M.: Jamie Foxx-- he can do smooth, sly, etc.
Ryan L.: ny man with the iron pair to pull off War Machine could fly the Falcon blind :)
Andrea S.: Will Smith... He'd get jiggy with it!
Inigo G.: Aaron Eckhart would be a pretty good choice.
Dav C.: I like Eckhart... just slimy enough.

Recasting Star Wars: Emperor Palpatine

2010-04-14T19:22:00.003-05:00

Recasting Star Wars: Emperor Palpatine. What modern actor would you cast for this role if StarWars were to be refilmed today? Results are posted on my webpage for reference (www.dreamthief.com). Remember one character at a time, 48 hours per character. If you post another character I will probably delete your post... stay on target!

The discussion is held on facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/THEDreamThief?v=wall&story_fbid=113392812015913

Dav C: BTW, I was thinking the Emperor Palpatine, which means episodes 4-6. I know he technically became emperor in episode 3, but we will recast the prequels later.
Andrea S.: Nic Cage! He's got the eyes AND he could use the money!
Andrea S.: and again for Jeff...
Funny: George Bush Sr
Real: Alan Rickman
Lol, Sean Connery would also be pretty good.
Ryan L.: Two words: Bill Nighy.
Dav C.: The Science Guy?
Ryan L.: That would be Bill Nigh... *shakes head" Bill Nighy you would know as Philip in Shaun of the Dead or Viktor in Underword or, slightly more known, Davey Jones in the Pirates of the Carribean Trilogy.
Courtney A.: Hi, Dav. :) My vote is for Edmund Lyndeck.
Inigo G.: Bill Nighy was also my first choice, but the fun is in the options, so.... My vote: Peter Stormare.
Dav C.: Ok, I am astounded that no one put in Ian McKellen, but a lot of people might be vetoing him due to Gandalf and Magneto.
However, he is not my pick, I just thought someone would have brought him up by now.
Dav C.: @Courtney Welcome and way to go with an obscure pick!
Christopher W.: Christopher Walken, sure not as wrinkled, but evil just flows from him.
Andrea S.: I have to agree on the Christopher Walken one too.. I mean, I still pick Nic Cage cause the guys eyes make me swoon but Christpher Walken was my 2nd choice!
Dav C.: I was getting ready to close this out when a name popped in my head. I don't usually think of him as evil, but he has done evil roles.He could also potentially do several of the roles across the series.
Morgan Freeman.
Dav C.:Ok, I am going to close this oone out a little early. Interesting pick that I never would have thought of. I guess that is what makes it so fun, all the different opinions.

I have taken all the relevant comments and posted on my personal site at www.dreamthief.com. I modified your names as they appear here for privacy reasons.

If you want to continue to discuss this, feel free. However, I am working on another medium for this to allow continued discussions.... See More

I will have the next character up shortly.

Recasting StarWars: Princess Leia Organa

2010-04-12T17:28:00.002-05:00

Recasting Star Wars with modern actors, one character at a time. What modern actor would you cast for a role if StarWars were to be refilmed today? Results are posted on my webpage for reference (www.dreamthief.com). Remember one character at a time, 48 hours per character. Next Character is Princess Leia Organa. If you post another character I will probably delete your post... stay on target!

The Main discussion is happening on FaceBook.
http://www.facebook.com/THEDreamThief?v=wall&story_fbid=110827358947731

Andrea S: Jeff's response is Olivia Munn
Dav C.: Remember, age is a pretty important factor for Leia, she is only 19 in ANH and she should not look any older than who you might cast for her brother. Just things to think about.
Ryan L.: I'd go with Summer Glau. You need someone that looks young but can pull off being wiser than their years.
Side note:
http://img392.imageshack.us/i/oliviamunnleiays3.jpg/
Munn doesn't look anywhere near her age of 30, but she's not a quality actress at all. Hot, but hope she doesn't speak more than 3 lines in Iron Man 2.
Andrea S.: I'm with you Ryan.. But Jeff wasn't having anything to do with listening to anyone that wasn't Olivia Munn.. She is hot.. but I can't picture her pulling off Leia..
Mark XII: I'd have to go with Michelle Trachtractenburg. I think she could pull it off.
Andrea S.: I've got my vote finally... Olivia Wilde... HOTNESS!
Christopher W.: Summer Glau or Morena Baccarin...both could do it well.
Dav C.: @Andrea, I was just telling Ryan last night that I thought Olivia Wilde and Summer Glau look a little alike.
@Mark, Trachtenburg is an interesting pick and I kinda like it!
Inigo G.: This one is actually really tough... Put me down for one Eva Green. Even if she is a bit older, she has serious talent.
Dav C.: The two I had been thinking of have been Amy Adams (maybe a tad too old, but she looks much younger than she is [35] and makeup can do wonders) and Zooey Deschanel (who also looks much younger than she is [30]).
I will also throw in Alexis Bledel just so everyone can yell at me :)
Bryan M.: Since I am going to try my best to avoid actors and actresses that have links to scifi or fantasy, I would have to suggest Lea Michele.

Recasting StarWars: Han Solo

2010-04-10T22:49:00.002-05:00

New game, let's recast Star Wars with modern actors, one character at a time. What modern actor would you cast for a role if StarWars were to be refilmed today? I will post the results on my webpage for reference. Remember one character at a time, 48 hours per character. Starting with Han Solo. If you post another char...acter I will probalby delete your post... stay on target!
The Main discussion is happening on FaceBook. You can find it here.
http://www.facebook.com/THEDreamThief?v=wall&story_fbid=112385032123078

Ryan L. Getting over the accent -- though there were numerous brits in the Empire -- I would actually go with Jude Law. Good looking, cocky, action-capable, not too old.
Jennifer M. I'd go with Robert Downey,jr. He's a bit older than Ford was, but so what! :-)
Dav C So, one of the defining moments of Han Solo (to me) is the scene in ANH on the Millennium Falcon where he says "I've flown from one end of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff". The best person I can see in that scene is Nathan Fillion.
Ryan L. Smidge too old and ruled out, in my mind, because Malcom Reynolds and Han Solo are nearly indentical characters. Not that you've watched Firefly... :)
Carl H. Going with Colin Ferrell. Favorite Han Solo line is from the Empire Strikes Back. The princess tells Han she loves him. He responds 'I know' just before being frozen in carbonite.
Jeff via Andrea T. Paul Bettany.
Inigo G. Wow, good call with Jude Law. My vote would be for Gerard Butler.

Good Stuff everyone! Now for the next character!

Genius...

2010-03-24T10:58:00.002-05:00

"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" from Aaron Paul

I just realized...

2010-03-06T20:32:00.001-06:00

When someone posts a comment on here, I do not get any notification.

I think that is very strange.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a...

2010-02-25T16:25:00.000-06:00

It is a full sized train caboose in that back yard. A little hard to see, but I remember seeing this when I was a kid.

View Larger Map

Uh huh! Blasters on stun!

2010-02-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

Wow... I was more than impressed.

2010-02-08T19:08:00.000-06:00

This young lady did zero for me until I saw this. This is one of my top 5 favourite bands of all time.
I LOVE covers... but this really is not a cover. It is just her singing their song.

Also just as good, though a much lesser known song.

GIIIIIIIIIIIIR!

2010-02-03T14:14:00.002-06:00

Snooooorflt!

2010-01-31T18:18:00.000-06:00

I was Warned about Austin and the allergy season. Apparenly some of the allergies are hunting without a license 'cause we are a few weeks before the season and they are already killing me.

I Picked up Star Trek Onlne. One bad ass game. Very similar to Pirates of the Burning Sea but this one has a much better progression scheme.
GamePlay:
The gameplay is a little clunky as they deal with thousands of online players in the same world. I have not decided on how I feel about the instancing. Basically, everyone is in the same set of servers, but there will be dozens of Earth's StarDock at any time. You can join your friends in the same instance reasonably easy, and it is smart enough to put all members of a shared pary in the same instace. The part I dont know if I like or not is that I only get 1 extra character slot (though a second extra slot (for a total of 3) supposedly does open up later). I often use the extra slots to try different things and get a feel for some of the things I could have tried.
Meh, I dont want to do a full reveiw. If you want a goo dreview, head over to www.gamersplatform.com. I am sure the bouys over there will have a good one up soon.

Cool new stuff!

2010-01-26T08:42:00.001-06:00

In my line of work there is a lot of automation; the idea is to get all the routine tasks performed in a way with little human interaction. It was not a stretch when we got a roomba for the house. It is already seeming to help. If you ever get to see these roombas, they are pretty amazing! We already want a second one to clean the hard floors. Nof if they would just make one to clean the table and wash the dishes...

We met a few of the neighbors and they are all very nice people. There is a little girl next door for Ashlyn to play with. It is still very cold out (temps will flux between 30-65 degrees in a day) so no one is doing yardwork or grilling yet (well, I still do grilling, it needs to be below 40 to stop me).

Hoping to get the bike into the shop this weekend, I miss riding her every day.

The DirecTV got hooked up over the weekend. I am already enjoying the new shows. Oddly, three of the 4 receivers needed to be replaced.

Brewing away!

2010-01-22T15:00:00.000-06:00

The new brew is fermenting nicely and will be ready to transfer into the carboy this weekend.

The new house is coverd in awesomesauce.

Kids are all in school and loving it.

New job is good, still ramping up and still scared half to death.

Star Trek Online rocks... loads and loads of fun.

The ultimate survial kit

2010-01-15T13:02:00.000-06:00

Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

Beer!

2010-01-15T11:05:00.000-06:00

I think I am going to go to the home brew shop at lunch today. I feel like brewing up a batch this weekend.

Problem solved!

2010-01-14T19:54:00.003-06:00

A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. --Thomans Jefferson

2010-01-10T11:43:00.001-06:00

Just in case some of you didn't know this. It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it. A little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts!!!

Our Social Security

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary

No longer Voluntary

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program

Now 7.65% on the first $90,000

3..) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year

No longer tax deductible

4.) That the money the participants put into the independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would
only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other
Government program

Under Johnson the money was moved to The General Fund and Spent

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Under Clinton & Gore Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
away' -- you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, wit h Al Gore casting the 'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

A: Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants who have moved into this country at any age will at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

AND CONGRESS GIVES THEMSELVES 100% RETIREMENT FOR ONLY SERVING ONE TERM!!!

Ever have one of those days...?

2010-01-09T21:03:00.000-06:00

Actually, to clarify, ever have one of those dreams where you are trying to get from Point A to Point B, but you feel like something is pulling your eyelids in 2 different directions, and you are running uphill with a locomotive going downhill behind you with chains attached to the iron suit you are wearing but you still somehow seem to be naked?

Frustration thy name is Internet Service Provider.

FIOS take me away! Begone you DSL demons! (sob, I weep for my FIOS)

Yes, my Internet really is that slow. However, I got wireless bridging up in my house today, along with encryption. the encryption is new because I never bothered before in Virginia. My neighborhood was so bad none of my neighbors could afford computers, let alone wireless or and ISP. I got a little lazy.

However, now I have to protect my assets. My crazy white collar neighbors might rob me blind! I do however have the MOST complex home network of anyone I know. Running at least six operating systems, a full Windows Active Directory Domain, web sites, FTP sites, etc etc. The only thing I am not running (yet) is a VoIP phone system.

Ok, all typed out.

More later.

This is seriously messed up!

2010-01-09T09:46:00.002-06:00

Yes boys and girls, my upload is actually twice as fast as my download.

This is the best thing 2009 brought us

2010-01-08T14:53:00.002-06:00

New Place, more pics

2010-01-05T12:14:00.000-06:00

I totally thought some of these pics were already on here!

I am being teased!

2010-01-04T22:00:00.000-06:00

We got the DSL modem today, but the service still us not up! Three
more days!

Great Commercial!

2010-01-04T16:48:00.002-06:00

New house pics

2009-12-31T08:07:00.000-06:00

Hopefully this works, never tried sending pics to the blog.

Two more days!

2009-12-29T08:05:00.000-06:00

Two more days until we move into the new house. More scares but someone or something is defiantly looking out for us.

There is a way to get pictures on here, but I am not sure how it works. I will keep investigating.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T17:59:00.000-06:00

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Have a safe holiday season!

The Texas Casteels.

Wow! Email/Mobile Posting!

2009-12-23T09:47:00.002-06:00

Now things are going to get dangerous! I can post anywhere! Any time! Muwahahaha! No more inturruptions in service! No more distract... ohh shiny!

Steam Sale!

2009-12-23T09:25:00.000-06:00

For those of you who use Steam (www.steampowered.com)there is a HUGE sale going on right now. Huge savings on premier titles. For example the Eidos collection is only $50 and it includes the recently released and highly acclaimed Batman: Arkham Asylum. Also as of this writing, Grand Theft Auto IV is only $7.49. Check it out, great deals.

A big web-out to Ryan over at Gamers Platform. He graciously gave me Left 4 Dead 2 for the holidays. Run on over to Gamers Platform and check out what he has to say.

Woohoo! We got it!

2009-12-21T07:29:00.002-06:00

We have been approved for our rental! Woohoo! 2400 square feet of spacious coolness! I will try and get some pictures up shortly.

Please pray!

2009-12-19T21:34:00.000-06:00

We found the most wonderful house. Please pray for us as we submit our application today. If it all goes through, I will get some picturs up here shortly!

So painful...

2009-12-17T21:23:00.000-06:00

So very painful! These are the results from the temporary housing we are in.

Not much happening

2009-12-17T11:51:00.000-06:00

Still trying to find a permanent place to live. The temp housing we are in is really nice, we are actually investigating trying to live there (in a different unit up the road).

I'm hungry. Maybe I will go find a burrito.

2009-12-13T19:40:00.000-06:00

Weird, had some DNS issues for a couple of days. Not sure what really happened.
I start the new job tomorrow. I am extremely excited. Oddly, I only work for a week until I get two weeks off for the holidays.

Oh, I also want to post a web-out to the good folks over at GamersPlatform. The guy that runs it is an old friend of mine, and he is starting to ramp up his reviews and commentary. Good stuff, check it out!

Austin

2009-12-11T18:25:00.000-06:00

Here I am! Austin!
Exhausted.

2 Degrees below is a good beer.

More later.

When it rains it snows...

2009-12-05T07:48:00.001-06:00

So, trying to pack etc for the move and it is snowing. Oh, and I am sick and have completley lost my voice.

One good thing, thank you to MarkXII and Jessi-Rose for taking in and fostering Trinity. I know they are big animal lovers (as is evidenced by the pug (akuma) cat(Sgt McLuvin) and rabbit (Name unknows, AKA death vermin).

Thank you guys so much for taking her in and finding her a good home. Perhaps some day she will come out from under the couch.

More later as I feel worse... :(

Holiday fun!

2009-11-28T09:26:00.001-06:00

Ok, we just got back from my brother and sister-in-law's place NC. The kids all had a great time and I think all the adults did too. I am thinking of it as a dry run for the road trip to in two weeks.

Right now I am getting ready to scrub the kitchen and bathrooms in the house. What joys! Today the wet-rooms... tomorrow THE WORLD! Or at least the yard.
I have to say "getting ready" because I am waiting for the allergy medicine to kick in. There is nothing worse than scrubbing under the fridge with a runny nose. As it is, the Zerg-Creep that is under the fridge is pretty scary.

So I am getting really excited about the new job. The opportunity is awesome and I think it will be a tonne of fun.

Workin in a coal mine...

2009-11-21T19:45:00.002-06:00

Starting to clean and pack the house. We have a couple of weeks, but really only about 4-5 full days as I am still going into the office and Kier has the minions to deal with.
Hoping to get a lot done prior to the 2nd. I want the "pre move inspection" (where they come to see how much crap we have) to go pretty easy. Right now we are already anxious to get out of the ghetto and into our new home.

My Austin Project

2009-11-20T08:36:00.003-06:00

So a lot of people have pestered me about my upcoming project. I finally broke down and will tell you. I am going to work as a consultant for the Catholic Church. I will be helping build a new MMORPG. The Tentative title is "Rise of the Apostles".
I actually have some concept art that I will try and get up soon.

Recent Games

2009-11-19T11:03:00.003-06:00

So, I have not been playing a lotof games lately, but one I HAVE been playing a lot of is travian. It is kind of an old school web based Civ game. It is free, but you can pay for some of the features.

Check it out, and if you decide to play, use Server 10 on the .com domain (http://s10.travian.com) It is the youngest server so you wont get killed right away.

I am also playing Evony on server 94. Look me up under the name "SirRhosis"

Maybe more later.

Muisc or Misery?

2009-11-19T10:25:00.001-06:00

What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns or watching violent videos afraid that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands, of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery, and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?
--HF

Austin Bound

2009-11-18T08:55:00.000-06:00

So I accepted the offer to transfer within my company to a new studio. The new studio is in Austin ad I will be moving my family there within the next few weeks.

We are very excited but personally I am very scared. This is huge and I am worried about how difficult it will be and how I will overcome those difficulties.

I do not have any concrete dates yet, but tentatively I will be starting in the new studio on December 14th. I am very excited about the new project... it will be even cooler than the last.

For those of you who are curious, if I display where I work or what projects I have worked on I have to do a lot of disclosure crap with my company. As I don't want to deal with all that you will have to suffer the mystery. Most everyone knows whereI work anyway, so it is not a huge deal.

I will try to get this set up for easier posting, but no guarantees.

Try Try again

2009-11-18T07:23:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I am going to try this again. I have had several complaints/requests about the blog (or lack therof).

For my new readers, please remember that I am a great speller and a terrible typist.

This post will be short as Iam still trying to get everything set up.