Channel Zero

Yup tomorrow is the day. The con gets into full swing on Friday but a lot of us are heading to Atlanta on Thursday. The excitement in our group is reaching fever pitch. So much so that 3 of the folks that were on our flight have decided to go stand-by just so they can get there earlier in the day on Thursday.

I worked up a schedule of stuff Ellanna and I want to do. I doubt we'll make it to everything. The stuff in bold are the things we really want to try and make it to.

Friday
1pm - Spike Hyatt Centennial 2-3

2:30 - An Hour in the Firefly 'Verse" Hyatt Regency VI-VII. Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk

4pm BSG Cast - Marriott Atrium
4pm - Avery Brooks and Michael Dorn - Sheraton Grand

5:30 pm Stargate Cast - Marriott Atrium

7pm TJ's Panel - Cherokee- Hilton

11:30 PM Buffy Once More with Feeling - Sheraton Grand

Midnight Abney Park Hyatt Centennial II-III

Saturday
10 AM Parade
1pm Stargate Cast - Marriott Atrium

4pm Avery Brooks Michael Dorn - Marriot Atrium

5:30 - BSG Cast Marriott Atrium
5:30- Katherine Kurtz Hyatt Fairlie
5:30 Firefly Cast - Hyatt Cent II-III

7pm TJ's Panel - Cherokee- Hyatt

Midnight Cruxshadows Hilton Centennial II-III

Sunday
11:30 AM Anne Mcaffery Hyatt Hanover C-E
1 pm BSG Cast w/o Edward James Olmos Marriott Atrium
2:30 Firefly Cast - Marriot Atrium
11:30 PM Dr. Horrible Sing A Long Hilton Rockdale

Monday

10 am Edward James Olmos - Hyatt Centennial II-III

Every year I have to take a "Health Risk Questionnaire" as part of my insurance coverage at work. It's kinda interesting, they keep track of your responses over the years and tell you what areas you are improving in and what areas need more work. It's pretty much the same for me every year, it tells me I should drink less alcohol and lose weight. Oddly enough I've actually lost weight and started drinking less alcohol in the past year. I knew I had lost weight but I hadn't really thought about the drinking less alcohol till now. I'm getting old. It gives me heartburn now if I drink too much.

One question on the survey made me go WTF?

" Do you think you may need to be admitted to the hospital or go to the emergency room unexpectedly within the next 3 months? "

Well how the heck would I know? I mean, I guess if you had a chronic condition you might have some idea, but really the survery covered that in other questions.

Well three days to go and the excitement is building. Ninsi says that she just needs to take the whole week of Dragoncon off work because she is completely useless that week anyway. That's pretty much how I feel. A project came up at work today they may require travel this Wed-Thurs-Fri. I told them don't even count me in on that project. I don't think its going to happen this week in any case.

I went and saw Deathrace with Phlome and Dre this weekend. That movie is 89 minute of awesome. For a movie about futuristic car racing using cars with guns they pretty much nailed their target audience. The car race starts about 20 minutes into the movie and 5 minutes after the last car race the movie is over. Its like one long action sequence with a few "plot" breaks in-between.

Good Things: CAR WITH GUNS THAT BLOW EACH OTHER UP!

Bad things: Some pretty bloody death scenes; Murderers treated as heroes (though that can be said about almost any action movie)

This makes me want an Iphone.

Yes yes another week with no update. I really gotta get back into this.

Last weekend, Elanna's family came to visit which was nice. WE got to see our nephew and host our first guests in the new house. Unfortunately, it rained quite a bit this past weekend, which is unusual for Dallas this time of year, so we didn't get to spend as much time in the pool as we would have liked. We did get to do lots of other fun stuff like the Dallas World Aquarium, which I can't recommend highly enough if you've never been.

This weekend Elanna and I were supposed to be participating in the Hotter than Hell 100 bike ride. Unfortunately, she has been sick since Monday and still running a slight fever yesterday so I decided it was best that we stay home. She needs to get well because next weekend is DRAGONCON!

Yes we are now at Dcon-6 and everyone here is pretty excited. Ninsi is working on what looks to be a fabulous Zap Brannigan costume for Donut. Phlome is working on his Dr. Horrible outfit, and the Stonecutters will return for a third year!

And now in the Truer words category I give you this quote from Mike Mearls's Blog.

"You never quit playing 40k. You just take long, extended breaks."

And today's XKCD.

I am back home from Milwaukee. Not much to say about that really other than Midwest airlines is quite nice. Both of the planes I rode in had only 2 seats per row and all the seats were the nice big comfy "business class" seats. The folks in Milwaukee said not all the Midwest planes are that way but a lot of them are.

This weekend starts our next period of "no free weekends" This weekend Elanna's parents are here. Next weekend we are riding in the Hotter than Hell 100 Bike Rally. The weekend after that is Dragoncon, and then I go home to see my family. Whew! At least after that I have no plans for a while.

This weekend is actually Gencon, which is THE convention for the game industry. (Game industry as in board games and RPGs not gambling.) Lots of cool stuff comes out next week as a result.

The excitement about Dragoncon is building. Two long emails chains this week making plans for stuff. I expect more are to follow. The can't release the schedule too soon IMO.

Look for an update on the RPG Blog today as well.

Hmm I just realized that there is no link to the RPG blog from the main page, so I guess up until now it was kinda secret. I'll fix that.

Whoops, look at that, falling behind again.... Last week was somewhat busy. Khuul's house, which is my former house, and one i am still responsible for, since he is renting it, had plumbing issues. It was actually a very straight forward problem and repair. Hole in the drain pipe for the kitchen sink. The problem was that the home warranty company, who I have been paying for almost a year now, didn't want to pay for it. The plumber they sent out was a goof that tried to borrow every tool that he needed and then the warranty company tells me they aren't going to pay because the pipe with a hole in it was an "improper install." The pipe was original to the house and had lasted 50 years so I'm not sure how it could be an improper install. In nay case, they didn't pay so they are now fired. I'm unsure if I will get another one, they seem to not pay on a regular basis. I've been reading about them online and they only seem to be worth it if you are expecting some kind of major replacement or repair soon.

I'm heading out tomorrow for Milwaukee, WI for work. Should be a good trip, it's not quite as hot there as it is here.

I was so busy at work today that I didn't have a chance to write a post. As I'm sitting here playing wow though I was reminded of some internet humor that should be recorded for posterity.

The Lamest D&D Monsters Part 1 and Part 2

The Dumbest D&D Treasure

For a weekend where my plan was to do nothing, I ended up doing quite a bit. Saturday we got up and did a 25 mile bike ride out at Grapevine Lake. The trails are nice and while not a loop like White Rock and a little shorter, there are a lot less people.

Saturday afternoon we worked on the house for a bit, assembling shelves for the game room. That night we went to see the Dark Knight with friends. I thought it was pretty good. The plot was somewhat complex, which means I need to see it again. I don't think it's "oscar-worthy" as some have suggested but it was good. Heath Ledger was a great Joker. The "fake-voice" Christian Bale would do when he was Batman was a little odd.

Sunday I got up early and went to go try the "casual" group bike ride at the local bike shop. It wasn't all that casual. I don;t know about the ride being casual but the route certainly wasn't. Lots of big hills hills. I had to work to keep up with the group.

That afternoon we worked on the game room some more and Phlome and Ninsi came over and swam for a bit. After biking, working on the house, and swimming I didn't make it long after 10 pm.

Here's a disturbing link. It shows the growth of Wal-Mart since its founding. They spread like a virus.

I'm all for the geeky stuff but this is disturbing in a whole new way. Go ahead and click it, it's not gross or anything, just very very odd.

I have been looking back through old blog entires and in continuing in my efforts to post more often, here's some updates on things from past blog entries.

I am still in remission from Lymphoma. I had my latest checkup about a month ago and everything was looking good. I will have another CT scan in December to make sure my insides all look okay. I haven't had any symptoms either which is the best sign. Now that I know what it feels like I'll notice any problems before any medical test will.

Mira is doing well. She takes a pill 3 days a week and gets a blood test every few months. Her hair has all grown back and she drinks a normal amount of water. She is a little thin but healthy.

I haven't written about the aquarium in a while. I lost 3 Bala Sharks in the move to the new house, but all the other fish alive, including the "African Leaf Fish" who is now huge. I adopted all of Khuul's fish as well so that gave me 5 more fish, including a very cool clown loach. I'm going by Pet's Mart today to pick up a few more Bala Sharks and an algae eater or two.

Dragoncon is coming up in almost exactly a month. We've got a huge groups of friends going this year and everyone's pretty excited. Last year was the first year I'd not gone in a while and I really missed it.

Okay so there ya go, a blogpost and a trip down memory lane.