Been watching the Olympics the past two weeks and even though they have been real good when you can watch them, I’m very dissapointed with NBC on their coverage. It was almost impossible to go on the net without having some site or other spoiling an outcome since the west coast gets the replay 6+ hours later. What happened to the days where they showed the Olympics all day long? Not this 3-5pm then 8-12. So many missed things I would’ve of liked to have watched.

Then we have the moronic wanna-be politicians in Olympia who basically said to all the residents of this state ‘You people are stupid. You have NO idea what you need, what you want, and what we do. The will of the people doesn’t exist here. So STFU.’ But I won’t get started on that.

Anywho, enough of my bitching.

Movie: Avatar

I had went and seen this Kenny and then again with Meg when I finally convinced her to go. Overall the movie was visually fantastic. There was much left to be desired with the storyline. To me, it seemed like Dancing With Wolves in space. But me, being who I am, will buy it when it comes out.

DVD:

This is another amazing piece of work from the folks at Pixar. It’s interesting that we have come in our culture to a point when so many recently made animated films teach us more about life than many real-action movies designed for that very purpose do. “Up” is no exception. The jaded cynicism that so many filmmakers refuse to let go of has no place here. Instead we have yet another simple, positive tale that makes the most of “the little things” and by so doing achieves excellence.

I will not talk about what happens, but will tell you the first 10 minutes of the film unfolds with a beautiful story and ends with heartache. After this point, the rest of the movie is cleverly humorous, whimsical, and lots of fun to watch. If you have not seen it, I highly suggest it. And if you plan on getting it for your children, I would suggest watching it with them in case they have questions about certain subjects (nothing bad, just lessons of life).

Video Game: Mass Effect 2

In my opinion, this game was alot better then the original. And the original was damn good.

The combat system has been revamped. Graphics notched up a bit. And storyline a bit more intense.

There are some key places where ME2 trumps ME1, and where they do, they turned a great experience into an excellent experience. Don’t get me wrong, you do not want to miss out on the expierence ME1 provides. The whole Mass Effect experience will be compromised if you play these games out of order, as the ME1 decisions do have a substantial effect on your in game experience, if you do not import your saved character.

My only complaint that I can think about right now is the mining. It does get rather monotonous, having actually dozed off a few times during this. But over all, this game is a must buy!

When cometh the day we lowly ones, Through quiet reflection and great dedication, Master the art of karate, Lo! we shall rise up And then we’ll make the bugger’s eyes water.

Just finished up with a homemade batch and they taste sooooo good. I love cooking and didn’t ever think of making these myself. Thanks to Cali over at GeekBrief.tv for the recipe. If you are of the mind to make some, here is the link. Its a two parter, so make sure you watch both. And she has the recipe in the comments section as well.

Other then that, this week hasn’t been much of anything. Back’s been a little sore and missed my massage therapy appt over the weekend due to the insurance companies idiocy.

Saw Avatar with my buddy Kenny. Visual pr0n. Story was so-so.

And went to The Airlock again Sunday and Weds night. I knew I missed playing Battletech, but never realized how much. And I CAN’T wait until Red Planet shows up again, need some Martian Football!!!

If you love the Mechwarrior series and/or played tabletop Battletech, GO CHECK IT OUT! They have most all the basic mechs and even 400+ variants. This is what you have:

I will be there again this Saturday night with some the Enforcers from PAX. So say hi. And if you go another night, tell UglyMan (the owner) you heard about it from me. I don’t get any kickbacks or such, but its nice to let him know where he’s getting customers from.

“Kerensky’s people have returned. They are the Clans.”

Battletech

First, I find out from The Dark Overlord of a new series called Dead Mech by up and coming Jake Bible. Just think of Battletech with Zombies (two of my favorite things!) piloting. You must give it a listen if you like either of those.

There are 7 episodes so far. I will be honest, during the first episode, I was about to stop my Zune because the looped desert wind sound that was being used was quite distracting and getting a bit annoying, but i’m glad I didn’t.

Secondly!

I used to be a Virtual World Addict back in the haydays. I had amassed over 750+ missions and was on my way to my first Order of Burton when it closed. Quite a bit of money I tell you.

Anyhow, I went to VW’s website to just reminisce when I saw something about a possible shop opening up in the Seattle area. That’s when I ended up finding The Airlock. Newly opened. What are the chances?!

They’re running the Tesla two pods with the Firestorm software. Different from what I played on but from what was explained to me, there are about 500 mechs to choose from and the coolant loops and generator load balancing was removed from the game, stuff never in the game or books themselves. And alot of the old players love the new game.

Their located in Kirkland, Wa at 12093 124th Ave NE by Laughs Comedy Club.

Now, if only they get some Martian Football going soon, i’d be in heaven (and the poor house).

How many hangings under the red moon

So Christmas was great this year. Had alot of fun doing the shopping, but the credit card bills starting to roll in now. What ya gonna do?

One thing that showed me it would be a good one was the tree. Meg has had a fake tree for awhile, and we’ve been using it for the past four years and I told her I wanted a real one. After some back and forth on the issue, we got one!

But I ended up with some new clothing, Patriots throw blanket, The Hangover BD, District 9 BD, Left 4 Dead 2, Assassin’s Creed 2 (bought with one the gift cards), Borderlands, DJ Hero (don’t laugh, its fun), & Dragon Age: Origins. And this awesome homemade snuggie that’s alot bigger and warmer then the crappy one’s you get on tv. I’m happy.

Meg. Well, two words. Spoiled rotten. I only have to say two of the things she received, laptop and Kindle. Guess being an only child has its advantages. :p

Upcoming: Cake in concert this weekend!
Have a safe and happy New Year!

A fellow compatriot of mine, Lori, who is an Enforcer (some know what this is, for others Please read this), was diagnosed with an auto-immune disorder known as APS and may possibly have lupus. Because of this, she will have to have one of her legs removed.

Lori, along with her husband, have opened there house multiple times to us Enforcers to just hang out, play games, talk, or be rowdy. And we are now helping give back in what ever way we can to help these two friends of ours out.

Another Enforcer and friend of mine, who goes by the name of Liger, is hand making her own version of the LiveStrong bracelet. Please visit her site and take a look, and please purchase one if you can afford it.

Knitted Steel by Liger

So go go go!

I know its been a few weeks…

ok, more then a few.

But things are going well. Physical therapy is helping alot and I am hoping to get back to work in some form this month. We’ll see after the follow-up with the doc this month. Sitting at home is taking its toll on me.

Only time i’ve really gone out these past few months is for PAX. We had a few friends come in town for a week. Because of my back, didn’t do much at all other then sit. But I did get to talk with Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day. Pics coming soon. You should know who Wil is… if not, you suck. Felicia Day on the other hand is really great. A geek and a gamer, besides being an actress. Check out Dr. Horribles Sing-Along Blog and The Guild if you haven’t yet.

Besides going to PAX, we did some sight seeing. Here are pics of that: http://www.crystaloasis.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=3