Why Buckets of Water Were Invented

I may have mentioned that Jessica's dad, his 'friend' James, Jessica's brother Toby, and Toby's girlfriend Jen were coming over for Christmas dinner. This was the plan, at least. What was not the plan was that James would bring his ex's yippie shit of a dog, Toby. (Not to be confused with Jessica's brother, Toby.) First off, as soon as the little shit (a miniature poodle and some other little shit dog mix) of a dog got in the door, it started yipping and yelping when our dogs were checking him out. Take the finger nails on chalk board sound, add a cat being strangled sound, mix them up, and make the sound ten times mote annoying and you get the sound that comes out of that rat-dog's mouth. I had to take some Advil for my head. Then, the little shit squeezed through our gate keeping our dogs out of the living room and he took a piss on the carpet. I wanted to kick it, but instead I picked him up to take him out and he continued to piss on my hand. It was the first time that I can remember being pissed on. I wanted to kill the fucker. Then, after it pissed on my carpet and pissed on me, James was letting it crawl all over our less than a year old couch without asking if it was OK to let the half crap of a dog be on the couch. We don't let our dogs on the couch, but apparently, James feels he can do what ever the fuck he wants in my house. Our dogs, seeing this little shit on the couch, started jumping on the couch to get to the little shit, so I yelled at them to get down. I thought that might be a hint to prompt James to ask if his "dog" could be on the couch, but no. He just let the piss factory stay on my $1000+ piece of furniture. Needless to say, I was in a grumpy mood because of this. How do you tell your father-in-law's 'friend' to get his half-turd of a canine to get the fuck off the furniture? If only I had a bucket of water and five minutes alone. Dogs smaller than cats should not exist.

Oh The weather Outside is......FUCKING COLD!!!!

0. That was what my car's thermometer indicated. 0 degrees. Shit! We went to my parent's house for the weekend and were hoping that zero was the temp up in the Toledo area and Columbus was a bit warmer. Thank goodness we were right. 3. That is what my car said as we pulled into our driveway. BURR!!!!! Needless to say, the dogs haven't been enjoying the fact that they need to go out to pee and poo.

Anyway, we had a nice time at my parents' house. The kids LOVE going up there. They get to see my parents, who they love, and play with my 20+ year old Transformers and GI Joe toys. We also got to see my brother, his wife, and their baby Will (short for William). Will is cute and very sweet. I played with him for a litle while, which I would do normally (babies make me nervous) and I made him laugh alot. I guess he likes unkie Eric.

The kids were happy to be able to open presents early. Gabe got some Transfomers, Ally got a new doll house that she LOVES, and Noah got an Air Hog romote control plane that is broker already. I told him to hold it in the car, he didn't, an Moose (our dog) crunched it. He also got a PSP game that we plan on exchanging for a Nintendo DS game (we're getting him one of those). All in all, it was a fun trip. Too much food and too much drink. I definately need to diet when the holidays are over.

Stuff

Last night was a fun night. Yes, bowling night. I bowled well, played cards well, and almost won $1000+. The bowling lanes has a 'super strike' jackpot. If you bowl a strike every frame designated on a little piece of paper, you win the jackpot. I had all the striked needed the first game and the second game. And almost all the way through the third game. I needed strikes in the ninth and tenth frames.....three in a row. My ninth frame ball was perfect and solid in the pocket......and it left a solid seven pin. Solid. It sucked. Still I bowled well, 650+. It was also free drink night. Not all of our drinks were free, just one per bowler. We added a shot of tequilla to our usual pitchers of beer. I was then given another free drink coupon, so another shot.

Poker was fun too. I won $80. I am suprised about that since I got beat up on early in the night. I had AA and got my butt kicked by a full house. Then I started hitting hands and winning pots. Good times.

Ever see one of those cartoon falls?

You know, when the cartoon character hits a patch of ice, flies up into the air, and then falls flat on his back? That was me yesterday. Taking Gabe out to the bus stop, I was dumb and forgot about the freezing rain we had all night. I hit the first step outside out front door and went down like a ton of bricks, flat on my back. Needless to say, I am sore today. Really sore.It could have been a lot worse though. The things that helped:

-There are only three steps to our front door, so it was a relatively short trip.

-My momentum was enough to carry me all the way down, so I didn't hit my back or my head on one of the concrete steps.

-My feet went straight out and I didn't have time to react, so both my arms and legs were out of the way. If I landed on one of my arms or if my legs were under me, I could have broken or sprained something. Sure my back hurts, but a blown knee or broker arm would have hurt more.

-Better me than one of the kids or Jessica.

All in all it could have been a lot worse. My back should feel better in a few days. Honestly, when I hit, I thought I was going to be laying there waiting for Gabe to call 911. It was more of a shock than anything. It was hard getting up because I would try to plant my foot and it would slip again. I mean, it was REALLY slippery. Golly, I really hope these pain killers kick in soon.

December? Really???

Not only is it December, it is almost Christmas! Only 17 more day in 08! Time just seems to fly by now that I am getting oldish. It seems like just yesterday I was posting about how happy I was about Spring time and now it is almost Winter. Oh well.

We aren't doing anything too exciting for the holiday season. We will be heading north to see my parents and brother's family. Did I ever mention that I am an uncle now? Anyway, I'm sure there will be too much food and drink there and the kids will have Christmas #1 with my parents. Then, in between our work schedules, we will have another Christmas, this one actually on Christmas day, with Jessica's dad and his 'friend'. We will cook too much food and have too much drink. The fun part, of course, is watching how excited the kids get. It's strange, Ally is already questioning the existance of Santa Clause. She's three, remember? I guess she is scary smart. I'm not sure how she is figuring it out, but she is already skeptical. Weird, right? Gabe is cute though. He wrote letters to Santa for everyone. Yesterday I cut out some trees out of paper for the little kids to decorate. I think they enjoyed it. Gabe made big, more detailed decorations and Ally made little dot ornaments that covered the trees.

Last night was kind of fun. Gabe had a reading assignment to complete, so he read the book to me and then we answered some questions about the book. He amazes me when he reads. He know so many big words. I don't think I could read half as well and he can in 1st grade. I really think that early childhood education is much more advanced then when I was in school.

the Songs that Made The Cut

I can't find the post, but a while ago I asked people for ideas for songs for me to download from ITunes. 80's songs, specifically. Actually, I kind of wanted songs that reminded me of my younger years and were of a 'hair band' quality. You know, those cheesey 80's songs that you hate to love. Well, here are some of the songs that made the cut:

Radar Love - Golden Earring
Wait - White Lion
Runaway - Bon Jovi
We're Not Going to Take It - Twisted Sister
Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Should I Stay or Should I Go? - The Clash
What I Like About You - The Romantics
I Wanna Rock - Twisted Sister
Come on Feel the Noise - Quiet Riot
Love Song - Tesla
Final Countdown - Europe
Round and Round - Ratt
Don't Fear the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
The Way it Is - Tesla
Paradise By the Dashboard Light - Meat Loaf
Every Rose Has Its Thorn - Poison
Foreplay - Boston
Only Time Will Tell - Asia
Talk Dirty to Me - Poison

Questions? Comments? Did I miss any 'must have' music?

Fucked Up Dreams

I don't know why, but I have been having the most fucked up dreams lately. Fucked up. That is really the only way to describe it. Monday night is a bit fuzzy, but I distinctly remember Wayne Brady (from Who's Line is it Anyway and Don't Forget the Lyrics) in a superhero outfit, standing in a heroic pose in a bedroom. The weird part was there was a four post bed and the posts were fallic shaped. He was standing in front of one of them so that the post looked like a four foot tall erection. It was really quite funny, aside from the fact that I dreamed of a black man with a four foot boner coming at me. Now, it was NOT sexual, it was more like watching an episode of SNL.



Last night was the most fucked up dream that I can ever remember. It was kind of a fun dream, but fucked up. It was sort of in the Star Wars universe. Well, there were Jedi and Vader. I think I was one of the Jedi or a Han Solo type guy. We were attacking a Star Destroyer to rescue someone. The fucked up parts were: The Jedi had flaccid light sabres, so it was like they were whipping around rubber hoses. The ship we went back to was commanded and staffed by GI Joes. When we made the rescue and returned to the ship, the shouted "Yo Joe!" And when I returned to my quarters on the ship, there were two hot girls that wanted me to pleasure them.



I know what you are thinking. Both dreams probably have something to do with my sex life. Well, I don't want a black man (much less Wayne Brady) coming at me with a four foot cock. I also do not have problems with a 'flaccid light sabre'. Two hot girls at once would be ok, but I don't see that happening, what with me being overweight, almost middle-aged, and...oh yeah!....married. I guess sometimes a fucked up dream is just a fucked up dream.

Going Bowling

Ohio State is going to a BCS bowl again. I don't know if I am exactly thrilled about the match-up they drew though. Ohio State gets to go to the Fiesta Bowl to face snubbed the Texas Longhorns. Ohio State has done well in the Fiesta Bowl, winning the last three times they appeared. That is probably the main reason why they got the bowl berth. Ohio State fans travel well and generate big television ratings. I don't know if I like their chances of winning though. I always keep the faith and will cheer on the Buckeyes until the last tick of the clock, but the offense has struggled at times. On top of that, Texas should be in the Title game (in my opinion). They beat Oklahoma soundly, but for some reason, Oklahoma got invited to the ball. The Longhorns are going to take out their frustrations on the Buckeyes in a big way. Still, I will remain hopeful. Ohio States two losses came to the two teams matched up in the Rose Bowl and who both could also be considered for the BCS title game.

NetFlix fun

I talked a little about how I can watch netFlix movies and shows on my Xbox the other day. It is a really cool feature of the new Xbox Live format. You have to have a NetFlix membership though. Anyway, I started watching a show called Jericho using this feature the other day. Has anyone seen Jericho before? First, I was a little offended because I thought the show was calling me a ho. J-Eric-Ho. I know. Silly, right? Anyway, I was very suprised by Jericho. I also found the name of the show ironic. In the Bible, God had a beef with the walled city of Jericho and commanded Joshua to lay siege. At least I whink that is how the story goes. Anyway, the show Jericho is about a town that survives a nuclear holocaust. See why the name is ironic now? Not knowing how the whole show goes, I am half expecting the series finale to be called 'The Fall of Jericho.' As you can imagine, people have difficulty coping with the loss of major US cities and the loss of general luxuries (power, food, medicine, etc.) Plus, some of the unsavory people turn to criminal acts and underhanded practices. Like the store owner who startes charging $20 for water, for example. I won't get into the plot too much, but I am really enjoying the show so far. It is on NetFlix's 'watch instantly' list, so watch it online.

Thanks Woody

I have been meaning to use the new Xbox Live interface as a post, but I keep forgetting. His last comment gave me the reminder I needed. I totally missed the announcement that things were going to change for Xbox Live. Actually, I got the email from Xbox about the change the day after the new format was up on my Xbox. I am not too sure what I think about it. It looks like they ripped off the Wii a bit. You get to create an avatar who, as far as I can tell, just stands there while you browse the menu. It is a little strange to be honest. One of the things I am excited about is that I can watch stuff that is available to view online through Netflix on my Xbox. I just have to put some 'view it now' movies into my queue and my Xbox can find them through my network so that I can watch them on my TV upstairs. Granted, it is mostly old movies, but sometimes they have some good TV shows and B movies. Other than that, the new Xbox lay out seems like a whole lot of window dressing for the same old stuff. You can still do all of the same old stuff that you could do on the old interface. Still, it looks sharp and more high tech.

Other fun Xbox stuff is that I bought the new Call of Duty game and another game called Left 4 Dead. The COD game is pretty fun. The solo mission was pretty short, but we first person shooter buffs get COD for the multi player feature. There are some fun maps and neat changes. The best and worst thing is that, after killing seven in a row without dying, you get to call out the dogs. In the previous game, you would call out a helecopter. People can hide from a helecopter. You can't hide from the dogs. The new COD game is also much more graphic. When you hit a land mine, you get to watch your legs get blown off. Gross, but cool.

I got Left 4 Dead because I enjoyed Dead Rising so much. It is a zombie game. L4D is different from Dead Rising. You get to go around killing zombies, but you are limited to guns. No, swords or chain saws.....yet. Another difference is that the zombies in L4D are SCARY. They shamble around slowly, like traditional zombies, but when they see you or hear you, they get fast and run at you like in the new scarier zombie movies. One neat aspect is that you can play online with three of your friends. There are four characters in the game, and you can choose to play as any of them. The game tracks your kills, so you can compare stats with your killin' buddies. Fun stuff. It is a scary game though. I have jumped a few times when getting jumped by the undead.

Happy Turkey Day

I have been off since Monday, so that is why there have been a lack of posts. I just wanted to take a sec and wish everyone a lovely holiday. I LOVE Thanksgiving dinner food. It is one of the best meals ever. Still, it takes all day to make everything, so that must be why it is a one year deal. Still, YUM!

I must be a teen girl

Jessica is a big fan of vampire books and movies. She has read all of those Ann Rice books and has seen the movies. We have been watching True Blood, a vampire show on HBO, and she has also read these 'teen' books that have come out recently. I don't know the author, but the first book was made into a movie and is called Twilight. Jessica has read all of the books in the series that are out and she dragged me to the movie that came out this past week. I was a little sceptical at first, since it was basically being promoted as a teen flick. Still, I kind of like the vampire movies too. All in all, I really liked this film. Yes, it a teen type movie, and there were a few things that we a little lame, but it was entertaining. I liked Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight was pretty much on the same level. It had funny stuff, pretty people, action, drama, good vs. bad......not a bad movie. I don't think it is for everyone, but I think I may start reading the books after all. Jessica said the books are on the same level as the Harry Potter line, so I may enjoy them.

I need help

When I bought Fable 2, it came with a $15 ITunes gift card. Nice, huh? Well, I usually don't download my music, since I decided that I like buying the CD so that I have something tangible to hold on to, so I need to find 15 songs to download. I think I want to make an 80's play list. I like hair bands, nut not enough to really buy a whole CD. Anyway, what are some good 80's songs? I checked a VH1 list of the top 80's songs and was pretty disappointed. Not too much I would consider downloading. I guess there are some OK songs, but I want those songs that you can't help but sing along to. "Tainted Love", for example. So, what do you all think? What are those songs from the 80's that make your foot tap and booty shake? Keep in mind, I have most of the good hard rock songs from the 80's like Rush, GnR, AC/DC, and things like that.

Will there ever be a play offs?

Well, today closes up Ohio State's regular football season. The Buckeyes have had a pretty good season. I see it as only a one loss season, since the loss at USC is really the only true defeat of the season. Yes, Penn State was ahead of the Buckeyes when time expired, but the buckeyes beat themselves that game. No fumble and the Bucks have one loss. Oh well. The Buckeyes will probably go to a good bowl game, possibly BCS, so I will have one more game after todays match up against the Wolverweenies.

I hope that the NCAA will pull its head out of its ass and allow the BCS to die and finally set up a play offs. Granted, OSU would probably miss the cut off this year, but there always seems to be someone on the outside feeling that they should be playing for that crystal football. Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. They could still have all of the money making bowl games, and even incorporate the bowls into the playoff system (8 teams go to 4 BCS bowls, the four winners advance, and so on). If anything, they would be able to make more money with the extra games. I just don't get it.

Well, as previously mentioned, Ohio State plays M*ch*g*n this week. I think the Buckeyes are a 20+ point favorite. This game always worries me because records really don't mean much. The favored teams have lost a plenty of times in the past. I feel confident that Ohio State will win, but I won't start celebrating until the clock reached double zero.

GO BUCKS!!

Blah-ging

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I guess not too much interesting going on. Kind of a 'blah' week. Sure, the OSU vs M*ch*g*n game is tomorrow, but I am having a hard time getting up for the game. I'm sure I've mentioned that already. I am even skipping out on the day long OSU Alumni gig today, Hyper-Friday. Basically, the TBDBITL alum get on busses, get drunk, and play pep bands around Columbus. Fun times. Getting drunk is optional.

Question: is it weird to have a dream about a girl that you dated double digit years ago? I had a weird dream last night about a girl I used to date way back in the college years. Nothing dirty, just hanging out. She had a little girl with her, which was the weird part. I guess after all this time, children would be a possibility. Still, it was weird because she had errands to run and left her kid with me. Other than my kids, I do not see myself as the guy people would trust their children with.

I bowled OK last night. I had a 580 series. I keep hovering right at my 190 average. That is not bad, but I still am pretty frustrated with myself. I am nailing strikes, but missing probably 80% of my spares. That really irritates me. If I leave a split or a hard spare, I am OK, but easy one pin spares should be automatic. I may go to the bowling alley some time soon to just practice spares. I think a large part of it is that I have been throwing my first ball a little differently the past few weeks (slower). Since I roll the ball slower, it breaks more. When I throw a spare ball, I try to roll is straighter, but if it rolls slower, it breaks more.

A so-so poker week. I won $140+ Wednesday and lost $40 last night. Wednesday was a good luck night, last night was bad luck. I started winning early lst night, but lost my mojo when I flopped a flush and lost the hand to a full house on the river. It was about a $80 hand. Still, I played OK and made some good reads. I made my first $20 last several hours and only lost the second $20 because I was irritated and made too many dumb calls.

Stuff

Ohio State won this weekend and moved up into the top ten of the BCS poll. I do not forsee them getting into the National Title game, but a BCS Bowl game would be nice. I just would not be thrilled about a USC rematch. True, the offense is better with Wells back in the game a Pryor running the offense. They are certainly a hot and cold team. They kicked the crap out of Michigan State and Northwestern, but looked flat and weak against Penn State and USC. It is the 'big game' this weekend against M*ch*g*n. The Wolverweenies are having their worst season EVER with 8 losses already, but rivalry games always have a way of bringing the best out of a squad. Ohio State should be OK though. I don't think 'Rich-Rod' gets the rivalry enough to get the motivate the Maize and Spiew.

I bought Gears of War 2 last week. I think I have an Xbox addiction. I finished Fable 2 again. I wanted to take a break from it before starting over again as a bad guy. I was able to find and shoot all of the gargoyles and I bought all of the big properties I wanted to buy. I will play again as an evil person in a while. Anyway, Gears of War 2 is pretty fun so far. It is a shooter, but from the third person point of view. It is a little weird to get used to at first, but is a neat change of pace. The game really makes you feel like you are in it as the main character of a movie. Fun stuff. As with all shooters though, the button schemes are different from every other game, so it makes it hard to play Call of Duty 4. You expect to throw a grenade and reload instead.

Oh Yeah. There's a Game Today

Well, the OSU season has lost some of it's excitement now that the National Title and the Big Ten Title are both pretty much out of the picture. Sure, every team above OSU could lose the rest of their games like last season, but that is highly unlikely. In case you care, my prediction for the title game is Penn State against Texas Tech. Ohio State should go to the Rose Bowl if they can win out, but they would likely play USC again. Yikes. Anyway, today Ohio State plays at Northwestern. Northwestern is a much better team this year than they have been in the past and this game is not a sure win for the Buckeyes. They SHOULD win, with the better talent, but their execution has been weak. Still, I am not a fair weather fan, so I will be watching and cheering on my Buckeyes. GO BUCKS!!

Fun night....mostly

I had a pretty fun night last night. As you may know, Thursdays are made for bowling and poker. It was actually a 'hot and cold' night. First the hot part of bowling. I was hitting my mark from the word go. My first game was a 241. I started out with five strikes and then missed. My second game was better at a 258. Then, (I think it was the beer) I started screwing up. I threw a few splits, missed a few easy spares, and rolled a 165. Nice 90+ pin drop off, eh? I hit my 650 goal I mentioned yesterday, but could have rolled a 700+. It upset me a bit. On top of that, the team we bowled against was HOT. They kicked our asses. They had a new guy on the team and he rolled a 220 average. Yikes. The other guys did really well too and my team was a little off.

Poker went the same way. At first, our usual game was called off because no one had shown. So, My bowling buddies started a little game at the bowling ally. It turned into a decent sized game of 8 players until the bowling ally management asked us to stop. I won $30 there. I then got a call from our usual poker site saying game was on. I went over there and dropped $20. I got terrible cards. Still, all in all I had a fun night. I stayed up too late. I am dead tired now.

good things

Barack won. I think this is cool for us little people. Maybe not so much for huge corporations though. Hopefully he and the new Democrats will make our country what it should be and help out us poor folk. This is the first time ever I was excited about an election.

I really can't say enough about Fable 2. It is like video game crack to me. I thought I was addicted to Halo 3, but this is something bigger. I get lost in the world of Fable 2 sometimes. I crave it other times. It may actually start becoming a problem for me if I can't get it under control. Just kidding. I am getting excited though. There are 50 gargoyles around the Fable 2 world that, if you shoot them all, will give you the 'ultimate reward'. Three of the gargoyles require that you buy pricey buildings in order to find them. So, I would find items on sale in one region and sell them for a gain in another region. It is best to do this with weapons. One blacksmith gave me such a huge discount that I was able to double my money a few times. So far, I have bought two of the buildings and shot 49 of 50 gargoyles. The last one requires that I finish the main game, go back into the world, and buy one last building for $1 mil. I have a half mil in gold now, but am not too sure if I can top the 1 mil mark. Still, I will be excited if I get it. I am not too sure what the 'ultimate prize' will be and how fun it would be to get it after the game is pretty much over. I am playing as a female now. A lesbian though, because I thought it would be weird to flirt with the male characters in the game. I have my girl dressed in a goth outfit with black makeup. I don't know why. This game is crazy fun.

I am still holding my bowling average in the 190s. I has a rough go the first week of rolling my new ball, but the last few weeks I have done well. Currently, my team is in second place and we bowl the #1 team tonight. I am hoping for a big night. I am happy with myself when I hit my average, which means a 576 series. I am shooting for a 650 series this week though. If I get on track early, I should be able to hit it. My new ball is working exactly the way I hoped.

Go Vote

Thank goodness that all of these obnoxious political ads are about to come to an end. Only a few ore days of hearing about the evils of Barack Obama. Sorry John. I'm not buying it. I have heard far too many things coming out of Obama's mouth to believe all the nasty half truths coming out of McCain's camp. I haven't heard anything about how McCain is going to help me other than letting the rich keep getting richer off of the goods and services that my family needs to survive. I don't mean I want small businesses to be overly taxed so that I can save on health care, gas, and food. I mean that the companies that are making billions selling the products I need should be put into check a bit. For example, the financial companies that we are bailing out are still paying out millions of dollars in bonuses to the people that fucked up the economy. That should not be happening. Medical companies ignore some deadly diseases because they are not profitable enough to cure. That is bullshit. Gas companies are posting record earnings while I can only put a half tank of gas into my car. I'm just glad I don't need to drive to work anymore. My meager money would become even more meager. Well, in that nut shell, I am planning on voting for Obama.

I am also voting to pass the Hilliard school levy, and probably voting for the casino in Ohio. The ads of the casino are confusing because they contradict each other. One side say that the casino owner could pay no taxes, the other side say that plenty of money will go to Ohio. My friend Jesse put it into perspective for me though. Honda has a factory in Ohio. Those profits go to Japanese companies. Why would it be so bad for a casino, creating thousands of Ohio jobs, to send its earnings out of state? Ohio is still going to get its $20mil out of the deal. Plus I doubt that law makers would propose a law that would screw the state. There has to be some checks and balances put in so that Ohio doesn't get screwed. Besides, the main sponsor for the ads against the casino are Indiana casinos. They don't want all that Ohio money they earn staying in Ohio. I know that, if the Ohio casino has poker, I probably won't go to the Indiana casinos at all.

What the Hell am I Supposed to do Tomorrow?

It looks like Ohio State has a bye week tomorrow. I hate bye weeks. I guess it is not too bad, considering the heart breaker last week. I guess there are still some good games tomorrow to keep me occupied. I guess I will have to pay attention to my kids or something. I guess there's always my Xbox!

I Screwed a Prostitute Yesterday

Did that get your attention? Well, it's true. Twice. Ok, ok.....it was in Fable 2, the latest game I am obsessed with. I lost some of my character's goodness, and risked my character getting some VD, but thought that the option of hookers in a game was hilarious. Seriously though, if you like games that you can get lost in all day, Fable 2 is GREAT. GREAT. GREAT!!!! Not only are there the main quests that get you through the game, there are side quests that make the game more interesting. Plus, unlike some games where, if you kill bad guys then the area is clear for the rest of the game, bad guys keep popping up from time to time when you are walking through the landscape. There are also fun treasues all over the place. GOSH I LOVE THIS GAME!!!!!

I think I need to get Showtime

I have been watching a lot of shows that have been on Showtime lately. I thought that HBO had the corner on great shows with the Sopranos, butit turns out that Showtime has some really good stuff too.

I started watching Dexter online though NetFlix. It is about a serial killer, named Dexter, who also works for the police and a CSI type guy. He is kind of like a vigilante in that he only kills people that he knows are bad guys. It sounds a bit out there, but it is a really good show.

I then decided to give Californication a try. This one stars David Ducovney of X-Files fame as a writer that moved to LA and is now a sex fiend. It is pretty good too. He hooks up with this really hot girl in the first episode only to find out that she is the 16 year old daughter of his ex-wife's new boyfriend. Oops. It's a funny show.

This weekend, I started watching Weeds online, also though NetFlix. It is about a suburban housewife whose husband dies. In order to support her family, she starts selling pot in her neighborhood and around town. I think I am addicted to this show now. It is kind of funny, kind of crazy, and definately good.

All three of these shows are on Showtime. HBO is OK still and we watch Trueblood on it, so I guess in order to keep my satellite bill the same, I need to drop Cinimax and order Showtime. Sure, I will miss the soft porm on 'Skinimax', but that's OK. :-)

Fuck

OSU lost. They had the game won, fumbled the ball, and lost. Fuck.

Oh yeah, and I'm older now. Fuck.

Big Game Tonight

Ok, the biggest game of the year to date. #3 Penn State is invading the Horseshoe tonight. ESPN's Game Day will be there and this is shaping up to be the game of the week around the nation. I'm not too sure how I feel about this game. It should be close either way. Both teams match up pretty well with great defenses, good running games, and mobile quarterbacks. Penn State might have the edge in the passing game unless Ohio State switches Boeckman in and out of the game. I guess Pryor is doing fairly well passing, but he is still a bit tennative and takes too much time trying to find a reciever. Kick off is at 8:00 tonight.

There are more big games today. #8 Texas Tech vs #23 Kansas, #6 Oklahoma vs #1 Texas, #7 Georgia vs #13 LSU, #2 Alabama vs Tennessee, Kentucky vs #10 Florida. Let's just say that, if a bunch of underdogs win today, Ohio State could be back in the National Title hunt. I'm not sure if that is a good thing, since the whole country (except for Ohio) would hate Ohio State back in the National Title hunt. Still, six teams ranked ahead of Ohio State could potentially lose today. Still, we need to take care of business tonight before looking ahead to bowl games.

Go bucks!

Fable 2

I posted about Fable way back in the day. It is a quest type game where you go around killing bad guys with a sword, crossbow, and magic. I really loved Fable. I played it through three or four times. You can play it to be a good guy or a bad guy and the story changes depending on your choices. TONS of fun. Anyway, Fable 2 is out now for the Xbox 360. I bought it and am loving it just as much. I can play it all day and not notice the time fly by. Though the game is pretty the same as the old version, there are some neat changes.

1. you get a doggie. In the old game, there were treasures buried and hidden all over the place. the same is true in Fable 2, but instead of hunting for the trinkets yourself, you have a dog that sniffs things out for you. It also helps you fight.

2. The game is set 500 years after Fable. Most of the magic is gone from the land and technology is creeping in. Aside from bows and crossbows, you can buy pistols and muskets. I haven't used one yet though because I have a good crossbow that works well.

3. You can get married in both games, but in Fable 2, you can also have kids and go to whores. I think it is funny. If you go to a whore, you could catch a disease, so of course, they provide condoms too. What a great game! I haven't found a whore yet, but since I am playing as a good guy I don't want to partake in the hookers. It might make my good guy status decrease.

4. One negative change is that there are alot more things that your character can do. It sounds good, but in the old game you could assign spells and actions to buttons. In Fable 2, you can access all sorts of things, but you have to press the right bumper botton, select what you want, and then your action takes place. It sucks in a fight when you want to use a specific spell and are hindered by the lack of speed and ease.

All in all, Fable 2 is a load of fun. If you like this sort of game, I highly recommend it.

Plenty o' Posts

I keep thinking of things to post in the evening, but then forget what I want to post about. I think I thought of three things last night, but can only remember one. That's OK though. It is a pretty involved subject. I think....

True Blood is now playing on HBO. You may think, "A TV show, Eric? Not very involved...." When I saw the trailers, I didn't think much about it and doubted I would like it very much. Jessica is really into vampire stories though, so we watched it. Now, I think I am going to call this one of my favorite shows to watch. Of course, BSG, Doctor Who, and some of my other favorite shows are off the air at the moment, so I may just be filling in the void.

True Blood isn't like your every day vampire story. It has some of the same weaknesses and similarities to other vampire stories. Sunlight, fire, and stakes through the heart can kill them. However, they have reflections, no fear of crosses or garlic, and in this story they have come out of the vampire closet, so to speak. They live in the open. True Blood is what they call synthetic blood so they don't need to eat people all the time. This show really has alot of interesting aspects. The main character, Sookie (I know, right?) is able to read people's minds and she falls for a vampire named Bill. Apparently, she can't read vampire minds, so that is a big turn on for her. There are prejudices between vamps and people and a killer on the loose to add to the drama. It's quite interesting. I recommend True Blood if you have the chance to see it.

I almost called this post "I Saw Rogue's Boobies." Anna Paquin plays 'Sookie'. For those of you that remember, she was Rogue in the X-Men movies. She isn't exactly who I would have cast in the roll of the (in my opinion) the hottest X-Man. I had a huge teen-comicbook-fan crush on Rogue in my teen years. My teen-comicbook-fan crush list went Kitty Pryde, Gen 13, Rogue, Mystique, and Jean Grey. If I put them in order, I would make Mystique #1 because she can change her shape. Want a badonkadonk butt? She can do that. Anyway, understanding that I had a teen comicbook crush on Rogue, when Anna Paquin showed her boobies on True Blood, it was interesting for me. There was nothing spectacular about them, other than the teen perve inside me thinking to myself, "I just saw Rogue's boobies!" It was actually a bit suprising to me because I didn't think Anna Paquin would do a nude scene. She was always a bit innocent in anyother films I had seen her in.

New Ball

I went out and ordered myself a new bowling ball yesterday. It was a bit pricey, but there is a mail in rebate for a $100 gas card. You better believe I'm sending that in ASAP. It is called a Brunswick Twisted Fury Solid. I didn't get it online though, because I don't trust them to drill it correctly. I could buy it online and have it drilled at the pro shop, but they usually charge $50 to drill an online ball. They would prefer that you buy the ball in house, which is what I did. I pick it up tonight. I would rather have picked it up yesterday, but they were sold out of the ball I wanted. Plus, for some reason, most people get 15 pound balls rather than 16 pounders. I prefer 16 pound balls. Otherwise I roll the ball too hard. Hopfully, it works out well for me.

Sad Game

Jessica and I went to watch Ohio State look pathetic as if chalked up a win against Perdue. It was a good time, but a boring game. The only touchdown scored was when OSU blocked a punt and returned it for the score. Other than that, Ohio State scored three field goals and Perdue one field goal. With the running talent on the field of Pryor and Wells, there is no way that the Buckeyes shouldn't have run all over the worst defense in the Big Ten. The only thing to hang their hat on is that the Buckeyes defense was pretty impressive, holding Perdue to only three points. I had the best seats of my OSU watching career. We were in B deck, so we were out of the sun for the whole game. Plus there were TVs there so we could see replays and catch other scores from the games around the country. Toledo beat Michigan? Seriously??? hehe.

We took the kids with us, along with my parents, and we all watched the Skull Session. It is the pre-game warn up of the Ohio State Marching Band. the kids seemed to like it. We got there late, so we had to take seats way up in the nose bleed section. I was a little irritated. My parents used to go to every Skull Session when I was in the band. I felt that they should have remembered that we would need to get there sooner to guarantee good seats. Oh well. The kids also got to meet Brutus the Buckeye and hit a bass drum.

A Broken Record

I am repeating post. Well, kinda. Revisiting topics, I guess.

- Another good week of bowling. As previously mentioned, my team has been undefeated so far this season. There is still a long way to go though. Last night we bowled out nemisises (plural nemisis...nemisees?) a team that always takes us to the wood shed. They tried last night. Three of their bowlers had 600+ series (three games of 200+) Luckily, my buddy Jesse and I were pretty hot too and were both over 600 as well. Add in out handicap from our weaker bowlers and we were able to split the night. We won two games, but lost the team series point. We are still in first place by one point. I rolled a 234, 171, and 221. I missed a few easy spares, so I am still a bit miffed, but I was hammering strikes.

-more politics (sorry) - I watched a little of the Presidential debate this past week. I couldn't stomach much of it though, since half of the talking was done by McCain. It made me want to vote Democrat even more. Everything he said seemed to be in avoidance of every question he was asked. His best tactic seemed to be to say, not what he would do in a certain situation, but what Obama would do to make things worse. The most amazing thing he said was in response to a social security question. "How will you fix social security?" or something to that effect. His response was SO wishy washy. Something like, "We know how to fix social security. We always have." He then avoided the question completely and did not answer. When Obama called out McCain in regard to taxing health care and the fact that our $5000 health care crredit would go to insurance companies, NOT us, all McCain could do was sputter "Do the math." over and over. Oh, and if he said, "My friends" one more time, I was going to reach into my TV and choke him. (if the Secret Service read this, I would NOT do that to Mr McCain. It is only an expression.

OSU vs Perdue - I get to go to the OSU game tomorrow. Whoopie!! It is a 3:30 game so I get to sleep in a bit. I love going to OSU games. After the close one last week at Wisconsin, I am looking forward to Ohio State rolling up some big numbers against the Boilermakers. Plus, it is always a treat to see the Marching Band and relive old memories. GO BUCKS!!

A fun weekend

I had myself a pretty nice weekend. Friday started out playing poker. I didn't win anything, but I always have fun playing cards. Actually, it was a frustrating night of cards. There were a lot of hack players there. There's really no way to win against hack players when they get lucky. For example, I flop two pair (AA 7 7) bet big, get called, and the caller hits a better two pair on the turn (AA 10 10). I played it right, had the best hand going in, and got out drawn. Oh well.

Saturday, Jessica's grandpa, his lady friend, Jessica's aunt, uncle, cousin, dad, and dad's special friend were all over for dinner. I grilled some brats, burgers, and hot dogs. I had to drink alot during the OSU Wisconsin game. It was a great game to watch, but stressful. I guess football is a little boring when your team blows someone out, but it is much more relaxing when the game is in the bag. OSU went up first on a stellar run by Beanie wells. Re was on fire Saturday. The game went back and forth, requiring a last minute drive by OSU to pull out the win. It was exciting.

Sunday, we went to campus to watch Jessica's cousin play in a softball tournament. She is Ohio State's center fielder. OSU played three games, but Jessica and I took Gabe and Ally home after the first game. It was actually fun to watch. Brittany (Jessica's cousin) struck out a few times, adanced a runner that would score on a ground out, and then hit a double. Probably the most entertaining part of the game was all of the cheers. When a batter was up, the rest of the team would do a cheer for her. Each cheer was specific for each player. Also, they would razz the other team. If the pitcher threw a walk, the team would do a cheer about throwing balls. It was a hoot. OSU won the game we watched, but I am not sure about the other games.

After the game we watched, we actually too the kids to a nearby farm for a hay ride. We rode on a wagon pulled by a tractor, get to go through a cord field maze ( I kept calling it the maize maze), then we picked out pumpkins. There was also a pony ride that Ally LOVED, weak petting zoo (two cows and two rabbits), and a few inflatable things for the kids to bounce on. It was fun.

Good Night of Bowling

Thursday is bowling night again. Thursdays are great. Anyway, I was on my game pretty well and bowled my first 600 series of the season. 200, 235, and 170. I was a little miffed about the 170, but will take a 600 series any week. I primarily use two balls, a Raging Inferno and a Zone, both Brunswick. On oily lanes, I tend to use my Zone. It seems to break harder on oily lanes. Anyway, I used my Zone last night and it was hammering the pocket. FUN. I still missed a few easy spares, which drives me crazy, but all in all I am please with bowling so far. I am right around a 180-190 average. My team is doing well too. After three weeks we are undefeated and on top of our league. Is it a 26 week league though, so there is still a long way to go. I still might get a new ball this year, but so far my Inferno/Zone duo are doing pretty good.

Circling the Drain

I rarely talk politics. I rarely follow politics. Honestly, I don't understand enough of it and I get too bored by politics to really try to learn, but lately things have been happening that are scaring me a bit. To be honest, I fear that our country is going into the crapper big time. There is the money black hole that is the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, the soaring oil costs making it hard to travel, and now the proposed government buy outs of the banks ond mortgage companies that are in trouble. All in all, 'little guys' in this country, like me, could be looking at some financial issues in teh future. As it is, I have a hard enough time paying all the bills and having enough left over for any 'me' things (movies, bowling, poker, etc.) Now, I don't really know as much as I should to judge the government, but it seems to me like the current administration and the Republicans are in large part at fault. If all of the Democratic commercials stating that this Republican and that one give tax breaks to rich folk (who can afford taxes) and have allowed gas companies and the medical fields to over charge us middle class Americans all these years, I say it is time for a change. When Clinton was president, I broke my arm and paid no money for hospital bills. Noah broke his arm this year (under Bush's reign of terror) and I had to pay over $2000. Oil companies are allowed to break records with their earnings while I am forced to put a quarter of a tank of gas in because I can't afford a fill up. Billions of our tax dollars are going to Iraq, where they have billions of dollars in oil reserves. Seems to me that we should have stuck some kind of deal where they give us some oil for all of the help we are giving them.

I went to my aunt & uncle's house a while back and we saw a political commercial. My dad was there and said he didn't think much of McCain's choice in running mate and my uncle said Obama scared the hell out of him. I have no idea why, seeing as how he has been the only candidate that has said what he is going to do to help America. McCain's adds are all about bashing Obama. I think that my uncle is worried about all of the governemental regulations that Obama would put into place to help regulate big companies and keep them from screwing us poor folk. Well, isn't this govenement buy out of these banks the same thing? the government is trying to get up to pay for the banking blunders of these monster companies. At least Dubya is. Maybe the economy will fall apart, but I feel that these companies and their shadey practices caused this problem. If I lost all my money, would the government writeme a fat check to pay for all of my needs?

I really hope that the rest of America is tired of the Republican shenanigans and vote Obama. I don't see that McCain is going to help us middle class people. Wee need someone that is actually going to change things for the better.

A Few Things

Last night Jessica and I went with our friends, Barb and Brian, to the Movie Tavern to see Tropic Thunder. It has Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr in the main roles, with Tom Cruise and Matthew McConnahay in bit parts. Basically, it is about a group of actors that are kind of has beens and primadonnas shooting a war movie that is about to be shut down. The director gets the idea to put cameras in the deep jungle and maroon the actors in the middle of nowhere to try to get them in the moment. Hilarity insues. It was kinda dumb in some parts, kinda silly in others, and down right hilarious in other parts. It has some fowl language and adult comedy, so it is not a kid movie. Pretty good though.

Ohio State looked good Saturday. They beat Minnesota. Beanie Wells was back and looked good and Terrelle Pryor looked like he is getting comfortable in the starting QB roll. The defense held Minnesota pretty much all game. The Gophers scored twice in the fourth quarter making it seem like the game was close, but the defense was rotating its starters out. It was a fun game to watch.

The Browns won their furst game today. woo-hoo! They beat the Bengals in a battle of the bad. I mean a battle for Ohio. this was not a good game to watch. Yes, the Browns won, which pleased me, but they looked terrible half the game. The Bengals looked terrible the whole game, so it worked out.

Oh Golly. We must REALLY suck

I haven't talked about it, because it makes me a little pissed, but after Ohio State got their asses kicked by USC, I thought to myself, "Wow. Either those guys are REALLY good, or OSU is really not good this season." It was total domination by USC over Ohio State. The dreams of the returning 18 starters dashed in one night. I was able to get over it, eventually, and started looking towards the Big Ten Season. Maybe Ohio State could salvage their season with a trip to the Rose Bowl. Now that the offense seems to be working a little better, maybe OSU is still top of the Big Ten. Maybe. Let's face it though, Ohio State's wins were hard fought and against opponents that they should have dominated. Now, last night happened.

Last night I watched the USC Oregon State game. You remember, USC that kicked OSU asses by 32 points. Well, they lost to Oregon State 27-21. You remember, Oregon State that lost to Penn State 45-7. Guess what, OSU and Penn State meet later this year. If the numbers say anything, OSU should lose to PSU by about 72. This is what I want to know. Did OSU play their worst game and USC their best game and then USC play their worst game and Oregon State their best game? I can only hope that is the case. I think the Buckeyes are on the rise. My only fear is that they win out, got to the Rose Bowl, only to meet USC again for another ass kicking.

Best Star Wars Game Ev'

I went out and got Star Wars: The Force Unleashed last week. I wish, at first, that I hadn't. I was pretty busy and was itching to play. I finally got the chance Tuesday, and IT IS AWESOME!!!! I have played all sorts of Star Wars games on all sorts of gaming systems. I have all three games for the super Nintendo and I have both Knights of the Old Republic games for my Xbox, the Legos Trillogy for my 360, and a few more here and there. I loved the KOTOR games, but my one complaint was that it was not very fluid play. It was like playing Dungeons and Dragons. You get one attack, they get one attack. Then you hope you do more damage than your enemy. TFU lets you tear into sll sorts of Storm Troopers and other bad guys. Even Rancors and AT-STs. FUN. Plus you get to duel with other Jedi and Sith. FUNNER. I am even able to Force grab TIE Fighters and slam them into other TIE fighters. FUNNEST!! Currently I am stuck at a spot in the game, so I may need to get the guide book to see what I need to do. Plus, there are bonus things hidden all over the place. I want to find them.


Even if you are not into Star Wars games, this is one that you should at least rent for a little while. It it the most fun I have had with a single player game since Fable. Oh, but the way, Fable 2 is out in October. Just in case you want to buy it for me.

Got Some Peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Yesterday was a pretty fun day. For a Father's Day/Birthday present, I took my dad and the boys to see the final home game for the Indians. I know I have stated that I am not really a huge baseball fan, but I have been trying to follow the Indians more this season. Of course, like most Ohio teams seem to be of late, they have not done too well. They are one game over .500 for the first time since some time in April or May. Not good. At least not play offs good. Oh well. Anyway, the crowd was pretty big, even for the meaningless game: 36000+.

It was a great day to go to a baseball game. It was sunny, not too hot, and there was a nice breeze coming off the lake. Our seats were pretty good too. We were in the outfield, just down the first base line. It would have been nice if we were a little closer to the field, but we could see everything pretty well and we didn't have to climb into the nose bleed sections. The boys really seemed to enjoy themselves. I think Gabe got a little bored after a while. The best part about it is that the Indians won. They were lighting up the Detroit pitchers. The final score was 10-5 Tribe.

One thing I did NOT like about the game is the same thing that keeps me from going to most sporting events: the insane price of refreshments. A pop = $4, a hot dog = $4.50, beer = $6.75. Luckily, I won playing cards last week, so I had plenty of cash. I am, however, considering suing the Indians for large head discrimination. Adjustable hats don't fit me and I need a large sized fitted hat for me melon head. The souvenier shops did not have my size. Since I was planning on buying a hat at the game, I did not bring one of my own, and now have a bit of a sun burn on my forehead. Still, good times.

The Best Night of the Week is BACK!

Ahh Thursday. How I love thee. Let me count the ways. First, it is the day before Friday, so that is all good. Second, poker is played almost every Thursday at my firend Hasan's house. Some nights are good, some are bad but usually a night out playing cards is fun. The main reasons Thursdays are back on top of my favorite days of the week? You guessed it! My bowling league started up again this week. LOVE IT!! I bowled OK. Pretty average for me, actually. My first game was a little frustrating. I missed some easy spares and ended up with a 150+. The second game was better, a 190+ and my last game was a 200. So, I am starting the year off with about a 180 average. I would love to carry a 200 average, but after years of bowling and not improoving, I don't see that ever happening. Still, I have a blast on bowling nights.

Poker was good too. I started out really rough, going from $30 to $10 in about an hour. I was getting terrible cards and playing even worse. I started getting good cards though and ended up with $130. It was mostly due to getting good hands, but I started playing better too. We play mixed games now, so instead of just playing Texas Hold'em, we play Omaha, 7 card stud, 5 card draw (like in the movie Maverick), and Pineapple (like Hold'em, but you start with three cards. After the flop you discard one). The best hand I got was four threes in a hand of five card draw. I was dealt three 3's, so I discarded my other two cards and was dealt another three and a king. It was hard not to jump out of my skin. The best part about the hand it that someone raised before me. I re-raised, got called, and raked a good sized pot. Fun stuff.

Ike treated us like Tina

Sorry. That is a rather crude way to say that the remnants of Hurricane Ike swept through our area and did a lot of damage. Our house seems to be OK. I need to check out the roof a little better though. I think we may have lost a shingle or two. I'm just not too keen on climbing up there. Our neighborhood was pretty banged up though. Our next door neighbors had a tree knocked over and several other trees in the area were down. Plus, we lost power and our cable services. We were lucky enough that our power came back on after a day. some areas of Columbus are still without power. My cable access is still down though. This means I have no internet and can't work from home. That's right! I'm coming to you like from Nationwide's Rings Rd building. I had to bring my PC to plug into some extra monitors. Fun stuff. I lucked out and found two working monitors with an active ethernet port nearby so that I didn't have to hunt around forever. Hopfully I will be able to return to my work from home status shortly.

Big Game today

Ohio State is a big question mark for tonight's match up against #1 USC. Will Beanie Wells play? As of last night, the answer is 'no'. Will the defense be able to stop a powerhouse offense like UCS? Considering it could barely stop Ohio, I am not sure. Will the offense be able to function without it's #1 running back? Well, this is the kind of game that twenty of last years starters returned to play. They came back to win a National Title. I think that the emmense about of experience will win out here. The veteran defense will shut down the young USC quarterback and Boeckman will pick apart the defense. GO BUCKS!!!

I hate Carson Palmer

I was watching Sports Center yesterday and I heard something that made me hate Carson Palmer. I already didn't like him much sonce he is on the roster of the Browns' in state rival, the Bengals, but now I just down right hate the guy. I would say hate is a strong word, but in this case, it really isn't. Being a UCS quarterback now playing in the state of Ohio, I guess someone interviewing Carson Ass-Plumber abouthis thoughts on Ohio State. His reply was something to the point of his hating OSU and not understanding why Ohioans are so gung ho about the Buckeyes. Hmm...maybe because they are the most talented ans successful football team in Ohio? Yes, I say that the Buckeyes are the most talented team in Ohio, even with two NFL teams in the state and being a Browns fan. OK. that may be a strong statement, but Ohio State has certainly had more success latey than the Bengals or the Browns. That point asside, my message to Carson Palmer is this:

Mr Ass-Plumber, you play for a team in the state of Ohio. Do you thing that, perhaps, maybe some of you fans might also be fans of Ohio State? Stop showing the state that you are a fuck-o and show a little tact. Or at least start winning some titles before bashing the only team in Ohio that has been playing in any title games lately. Oh, AND OSU wins their conference.

PS. You are a dick.

Rough Weekend

It was a rough weekend for my football teams. True, Ohio State won, but they looked like crap and could have easily lost against MAC school Ohio. If it weren't for a fumble recovery and a punt return for a touchdown, we would we talking about the slim chance of a Big Ten title, rather than another shot at a National Title. The defense was pretty good and only allowed OU one score, but the offense without 'Beanie' Wells was pretty pathetic. Honestly, I think that it was a case of the Buckeyes looking ahead to USC and not taking OU very seriously. In the fourth quarter, when the game was in doubt, the Buckeyes turned it up and took over the game. They played like they should have the entire game. The main problem was OU's mobile quarterback. I just hope that USC's guy is a slow pocket passer. One thing about the game that suprised me didn't happen in the game. Lou Holtz was talking nice about the Buckeyes after the game. I am so used to commentators OSU bashing. Lou said they would be fine against USC. Maybe he remembers the but kickings the Buckeyes gave to Norte Dame back when he was coach. Anyway, thanks Lou.

The Browns looked awful yesterday. They let Dallas move the ball at will and the offense was ineffectual. This is supposed to be a good year for the Browns, but if they can't hang with the NFL elite, there is really not much point in going to the play offs. I guess they have a bunch of injuries right now, but their schedule isn'y going to get any easier.

Glad no one esle I know is single...

OK. I'm not going to name any names, but I am most likely going to a wedding this fall. If you are a regular reader and read the blogs of other people I know, you may be aware of this upcoming wedding. In October. The fourth, to be precise. If you are not aware, let me say that I went to school with this person and he is a big sports fan. At least I THOUGHT that he is a big sports fan. I guess could be wrong though. A true sports fan wouldn't plan their wedding on a football Saturday. Would they? Especially on a day that #3 Ohio State plays #11 Wisconsin. Not to mention #1 USC and #18 Oregon. I have dealt with this before. Back when my friend Ben got married, it was on a football Satarday and I think OSU played Illinois. The reception was at a country club and all of the OSU fans were in the bar crowded around the TV. Yes, I will DVR the game and will probably find some way to listen to it on the radio or something, but people should really take into account the Ohio State Football season when planning their weddings, birthdays, baptisms, etc. It is a late game, at least, so I will be able to avoid being one of those guys at the wedding with a mini TV, cheering at an OSU touchdown during the 'I-dos'. Ahhhh. The things one does in the name of friendship.

Big Ten Blues

As expected, Ohio State rolled over Youngstown State 43-0. The defense was stellar, allowing only 74 total yards. The offense did well, but could have done better. Yes, they scored 43 points, but they had to settle for a few fieldgoals after getting first and goal. All three quarterbacks saw playing time, which is great. Boeckman is still the clear starter, but freshman phoenom Terrelle Pryor ran for 52 yards and an 18 yard touchdown. He was also 4 for 4 passing his first drive. Fun stuff. The bad thing is that, Heisman hopeful, Beanie Wells fell lame in the second half with a foot injury. X-rays were negative, but there isn't too much more information than that. Maybe a dislocated toe or something like that...... Hopefully he will be well enough to play in the big game coming up against USC.

I called this post 'Big Ten Blues' because, aside from the powder puff teams that the Big ten school should whomp on, Big Ten teams did dismally. Illinois lost a hich scoring game to Missouri, Michigan State lost a close one to California, and the shocker of the day was Michigan losing to Utah 25-23. Actually, it wasn't much of a shocker to me. I am predicting that Michigan is going to have a dismal season this year. A new coach, new starting QB, new offensive scheme.....it is going to be a long season for the boys in blue. So sad.

Still, even though I have a bumper sticker that states that my favorite two teams are Ohio State and whoever's playing Michigan, the opening week losses by the above stated teams to quality opponents makes the Big Ten look bad. Everyone has been Big Ten hating lately and the SEC and Pac Ten are the conferences to beat. The Big Ten seems to have become a big joke in the NCAA football circles. Unfortunately, Ohio State has contributed to this. The Big Ten's top team has been smoked in the big game two years running. If they go to the big game and lose again, the Big Ten will be even worse off.

Greatest City EVER

As you know, I work for an insurance company. I deal with a lot of people's information (names, birth dates, address, etc) and I just came across the GREATEST city name EVER. I am going to post a link to a map or something, just so you know it is legit. Some of you may not get it, but I'm sure some of you will get a kick out of this. Anyone want to move to Frackville PA? I am going to be tickled by this for hours!

16 hours until kickoff! Woo-Hoo!! GO BUCKS!!!

My Job Sucks Right Now

Want to know what I am doing? I am going through a spread sheet with many many contract numbers on it looking through old paperwork to see if there are little boxes marked on applications. If so, I put a 'yes' on the spread sheet. If not, I put a 'no'. If the box is marked 'yes', I have to look through additional paperwork to verify that it is true, false, or inconclusive. It SSSSSSSUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS! The worst part is that our viewing system (the program that lets me look at all the paperwork that we have on file for annuities) gets REALLY slow on old documents. So, I try to look at something and then sit and wait five minutes for it to open. And we are doing this for every state in the USA that requires specific paperwork to be sent in under certain conditions. My job really sucks right now.

Magic: The Gathering - An Old Addiction

Back in highschool, I was addicted to comic books. I would go with Woody and Moe in the Woodmobile to JC's Comic Stop or the crappy discount comic book place behind JC's and blow all of my hard earned money on my weekly fix of comics. That is what we did. Good times were had by all. As I entered my college years, I started running out of money and cut back on comics. I started working at Friendly's to help fund my lifestyle. I met a guy named Brandon, who turned me on to Magic: The Gathering. I thought comics tore through my money.......DAMN.

If you don't know, Magic is a collectable card game. You buy cards, make decks, and play games against other people. The concept is that you are a wizard and the cards are your spells. You use your spells to conjure creatures and other things to defeat your opponent. To win, you have to get his/her life count from 20 to 0. The kicker is that you have to buy cards to play with. The more cards you have, the more spells you have access to. I bought cards buy the boat load. The makers of Magic, The Gathering really know how to milk it too. Every couple of months to a year, they would release a new generation of cards. The newer cards were more powerful or had different abilities that the older cards could not combat. So, you needed to buy new cards to stay current and competative. I have thousands of cards. Literally. I was starting to look at them as an investment. However, like with every other collectable that is currently hot, the makers flooded the market. Now, they may be worth a little but, but nothing nearly as much as I thought they would be. Oh well.

Anyway, I got all of my cards out over the weekend and went through them. It took a while to go through them all, believe me. I thought about making some decks to play with, but I don't really have anyone to play with anymore. It's not like Magic is the hot game that it used to be. I could probably find some people to play with if I tried, but I would have to reload with newer cards and catch up on all of the new tricks. It could get costly. I guess I could start trading in some of the old stuff, but I would need to research and do procing and a whole lot of work. I should just put them, and all my old comics, on Ebay. More work.

Back to School - yippie!

The boys go back to school tomorrow. The end to a long summer. Gabe is looking forward to it. He really likes school. He's going to be a first grader now. His school has kindergarten and first graders in the same class rooms, so he has the same teacher and room as last year. I kind of doubt that Noah is looking forward to school as much as Gabe is. He said he wants to see his friends, but I doubt he wants to go to classes all day. Plus, he has to be up before 7:00 am to catch his bus. No more lounging in bed until noon.

The only downside for me is that I have to be up early to get Gabe up and ready for school on my days off. Granted, I am usually up early with the kids anyway, but the possibility of sleeping in is better than not having the option at all. Other than that, it will be just me and Ally home during the days. No more bickering to deal with, just one kid to feed, and a much more relaxing atomosphere.

mmmmmmmmm.....veggies

I'm sure Woody would disagree, but the best thing about summer is all of the great veggies I get out of my garden. It has been a pretty good growing season so far. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, zuchinni, cucumbers, green beans, and all sorts of herbs. YUM. I have commented on my gigantic tomatoe plants, but really the most producing plants have been, by far, my zuchinni plants. Last year I planted 4 and this year I planted three in order to reduce my crop. Well, no such luck. I have had SO many that I can't give them away fast enough. Next year I will plant two so that I have more room for green beans.

My favorite veggie is tomatoes. I have maybe six varieties this year. Yellow and red grape tomatoes, and then red, pink, yellow, and orange big tomatoes. YUM!! They are SO much better than anything you can find store bought. My dad starts them and then gives me the plants when they are about a foot tall. I am sure that is why they do so well. Plus, I fertilize and water and take care of them. This year has actually been a bad year for my tomatoe plants. Yes, they are tall, but I think they have a fungus or disease that is making them produce less. I still have had plenty of them for me and the family, with a few to share, but not nearly the amount I had last year.

This year was a first for me. I actually made some pickles and some salsa. The pickles are OK, but I think they needed a bit more dill. The salsa is GOO-OOD. It was really easy to make too. Basically, it was just chopping up tomatoes, peppers, and onions, then adding cilantro, lime juice, salt and garlic. I added one of my hot peppers too for some heat. The first batch, I used a red hot pepper and it about burned my mouth off. I made a second batch today with a green hot pepper (the more red, the hotter the pepper) and it is not nearly as hot. I also have had all sorts of terrific salads and dishes made with fresh yummy veggies. I am sad that the summer is almost over.

Why didn't anyone tell me?

Hey, how come no one told me about FaceBook? I started blogging so that I could keep people up to date with me and so that I could keep in touch with them, but FaceBook seems to work a lot better. Well, at least for keeping in touch. The 'wall' feature seems to make it easier to post quick messages to people and have little conversations. fun stuff. I wa suprised by some of the old AWHS people I found. Some old friends, like Anne Marie, Alana, McNutt.....some people I forgot about too or was never really close with. It's Mona's fault. She prompted me to check out her reunion postings on FaceBook and I needed to join so that I could view what she posted. Now I have another fun little site to play with while I am bored as hell at work. I haven't really done too much with it yet, just put my name up and sent some friend requests, but I will probably add pictures and stuff like that. Are there anymore features I should be aware of?

Anyone watching the Olympics?

The Olympics are a double edged sword for me. On one hand you have the hours of TV programming that is not airing because of this every-four-year sports fest. Nothing but reruns and bad reality TV. On the other hand, you get sports to watch all day. Of course, the sports themselves are another double edged sword. For example, while eating lunch today, we watched Olympics women's team sabre fencing with the USA going for the bronze medal. Seriously? Now, I am all for the thought and spirit behind the Olympics: Nations coming together in sports competitions rather than in war. However, do we really need to watch all of these 'B' competitions? I know I, personally, don't need to watch them, but do they really need to take up valuable air time? If people don't usually watch the sport all year round, why must we be subjected to them once every four years? Is there really an interest in sports like rowing, weight lifting, shooting, synconized diving, and so on? Ok, Ok, there are some Olympic sports that I enjoy. I actually tune into the Olympics when there is nothing on, hoping to catch something interesting. What I like:

USA Basketball - With the talent they have, if they do not win the gold medal, we should quit playing basketball and Lebron should personally pay each US citizen $20. He can afford it.

Phelps - I usually don't like watching swimming, but this guy is amazing. Going for eight gold medals? Are you serious???

Sand Volleyball - I prefer the women to the men, yes I am a perv, but the sport is fun to watch.

Women's gymnastics - I can't believe what these girls can do with their bodies. It amazes me. Not just in a perv way either. I can see Alydia getting into gymnastics. I would enjoy the men's gymnastics more, but they make me feel like a weakling. the arms on these guys are HUGE.

Soccer - I like soccer.

Well, that's my two cents on the Olympics. I like some of it, don't like other parts. Probably the most interesting thing has been the microscope that the Chinese people have been under. They have done some really crazy stuff. Forcing cab drivers to learn English, making female guides with 'unshapely' legs wear dark stockings, and having a 'pretty' little girl lip sync to another 'unappealing' looking girl's singing on live TV..... Craziness.

Where will they go?

I was thinking about the upcoming Harry Potter movie, The Half Blood Prince, and thought about reading the book again. The Half Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows are the only two books that I have not read more than one time. Anyway, I started thinking about the new movie, out in November, and then started wondering about the actors. The kid actors, more specifically. Some of the adult actors, like Alan Rickman (Snape) already have extablished carreers and should be able to find more work. However, after seven movies, being cast in such huge and popular roles, what will these kid actors do with their lives? I'm sure that none of them will be wanting for money, but will they want to retire in their early 20s? Can you see Daniel Radcliffe as any other character than Harry Potter? Or Emma Watson as anyone other than Hermione Granger? Will they be doomed to the child actor curse of falling into depression and a life of drigs after ther carreers are over, like so many child actors before them? Look at the Coreys, Haim and Feldman. What have they done since their childhood glory days other than get in trouble or do bad reality TV? Will Harry and Ron show up in ten years in some mansion surrounded by cameras and young girls trying to win a date with a has been? Will Hermione end up gracing the pages of adult magazines in order to make a buck because no movie makers will put up with her poofy hair and snotty attitude? I guess there are exceptions to the rule. Alyssa Milano was a child star, appearing in Who's the Boss and some movies, and she ended up making a mint with Charmed. But really, how many child actors are out there that made it just as big in their adult careers? I am trying to think of more child star examples, but I guess my point is made by the fact that I can't.

Gonna have a Cook Out

With the upcoming Ohio State football season coming up, Jessica and I decided we are going to have a cook out for the home opener. If any of my faithful readers are going to be in town on the 30th of August, send me an email and I can send you the information. We usually go all out for these things: food, drink, the game on the big screen, games, maybe some poker after the game. It should be a good time. Kids are welcome, of course. Hopfully, they will play out in the back yard rather than tearing up my basement. I can hope, I guess.

Doctor Dark Knight

Jessica and I went to see Dark Knight last night. I have to say , it was a really good movie. Lots of action, a good story line, good effects......no Katie Holmes though. I don't mind that, since she really isn't a great actress, but the girl they got to replace her was like a poor man's version of Katie Holmes. Not really attractive. Anyway, I digress. Heath Ledger was a TERRIFFIC Joker. It's too bad it was his last roll. If the Joker is in any future Batman films, it will be some cheesey actor trying to act like Heath Ledger being the Joker. A few things that bugged me though:

-Batman had a lisp. I think that he had some kind of retainer or mouth piece that made his S's lisp. It really started to bug me. What criminal would be terrified of a Dark Knight with a lisp?

-They keep killing bad guys. This was something that bothered me in the older Batman films. How can you re-use villans when they are dead? I thought that Two Face was going to be the third Batman foe for the next movie. Nope. At least they didn't make the Michael Keaton's Batman error of killing the Joker. The Joker is probably the greatest of the foes.

I wonder who the next villian to go up against batman will be. I hope they keep the stories fresh and non-cheesey. There's the Riddler, the Penguin, Mr Freeze, and of course, Cat Woman. Will there be a Robin? A Bat Girl? If they keep the movies more realistic and less like a comic, I think this franchise will go far.

We also watched the season finale of Dr Who last night. I'm not too sure what I thought of it. I think I need to watch parts one and two again so that I can get the story all at once. I think I am a little miffed by it all. It seems like it was chaulk full of plot conveniences and things happening just because they needed to happen so the Doctor would live to fight again. I am glad they are keeping David Tennant on. I was concerned that a new Doctor might come along to ruin things, like after Tom Baker left the old school show.

What's with the Hate?

I played cards last night, won some money, but heard something interesting. Someone at the table asked, "Have you seen the story on ESPN.com?" Well, I hadn't so I ask what he was talking about. Well, the story stated that, my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes are now the nation's most hated college football team. When did this happen? I guess some good natured hate comes with all of the winning seasons the Buckeyes have been having lately. A bit of jealousy much? Of course, it could be that people (like me) hate seeing the Buckeyes go to the National Championship game and losing two year in a row. I love seeing them go to the title game, HATE seeing them lose. A lot of people seem to think they have a good chance of going again this year. We'll see. Anyway, I know there are OSU haters, even here in Columbus, but when did we become the nation's most hated team? I guess it had to be someone. My guess is that people are tired of hating Notre Lame since they suck so bad lately, and I know not everyone can share my healthy hatred of M*ch*g*n, but I am a little suprised that OSU jumped into the throne of themost hated.

Another interesting story I heard this weekend was about all of the troubles Penn State has been having lately. Apparently JoePa has been having a rough time keeping his players in line. My understanding is that the kicker was talking smack at a party (or people were talking smack to him) and he started a fight. He got beat up a little, so he called the rest of the team and, to proove their team work skills, they kicked the crap out of some students. Then there is this: "According to an "Outside the Lines" report this week, since 2002, 46 Penn State football players had criminal charges filed against them and 27 either pleaded guilty or were convicted." True, all teams, including OSU, has off the field troubles, but damn.

29 day until kick off!!! GO BUCKS!!!

My one beef about shooters

I have mentioned before that I love first person shooters on my XBox 360. I guess it is the rush you get from the (mock) kill or be killed situations. I am not great at these games, but I can hold my own. Lately I have been playing Call of Duty 4 alot over Halo 3. My Halo 3 disk got scratched, or I probably would have never tried COD 4. Anyway, I am better at H3 in that I win more games. I win a few COD 4 games, but not as much. ANYWAY, the main point to this post is that there is a HUGE difference in the two games. Yes, they are both shooters. the big difference is the controls. The right trigger is shoot for bother games and A is jump, but beyone that, there are HUGE differences. You may think that it wouldn't make much of a difference, but it does. I got a new H3 game this week, tried to play it, and got SMOKED. The biggest difference is that the melee button is different for each game. It is a big deal when you try to hit someone in H3, but kneel instead. Or vice-versa. I guess I am going to have to go one month playing COD4 and then another month playing H3 so that I can keep the controls straight in my head. I wish that each game would use the same basic controls for each action. Maybe I can change them in my options menu.....

Vacation, sorta

I took a few days off last week and took the family to meet my parents at Great Wolf Lodge. It is an indoor water park in Sandusky, OH. It was pretty fun. I say that it was vacation sorta because we had to chase Gabe and Ally all over the place. Mostly Gabe. He LOVED the water slides. The picture is the result of a huge bucket of water getting dumped on a bunch of people. Noah is in there somewhere. It was cold water compared to the heated pools, so I avoided it. Gabe's favorite thing was the leasure creek thing. He woud get into the tube and run around the creek. It was cute. Ally seemed to enjoy the little kid things. she went on this one slide over and over again. She would squeel each time down. It was cute. There is also an out door pool, but the main fun was indoors. It was a little chilly outside. I took a few pictures, but didn't really want to take my camera around too much. I was worried it would get wet. Plus all the lockers were full and I was worried about it getting lost or stolen. I also didn't want to look like a perv trying to take pictures of little girls in their bikinis. That scares me a little. One day my little girl is going to be a teen wanting to to wear tiny bikinis. I think it is a little scary that they make bikinis for young girls. Why do little girls need to be showing so much skin in public? Seems to me that it would fuel sickos and perverts. I will get off my high horse now.

Yup. It's Bigger Than a Baby's Arm!

I've been picking crazy big zuccinis from my garden lately. Plus a bunch of cucumbers and some yellow squash. Still, not too many tomaotes yet. Just little ones. The big ones are starting to get ripe though. It is so exciting having fresh yummy tomaotes. I am a little worried about my tomato plants though. They have some brown leaves at the bottom. I hope they are not diseased. That six foot plant I posted about before is now bigger than ever. I can't even reach the top anymore. I guess I will have to get the tomatoes that grow too high after they fall off the plant. I just love fresh veggies. The picture of my hand and the plant is me reaching up as high as I can and still not reaching the top.

Ramblings

1. I got the latest NCAA 2009 football game. I'm not really too sure why, other than I like how it gets me pumped up about the upcoming football season. I like playing the game as well, I just am not too good at it. Yet. I played four online games and lost two. The other two, I was winning and my opponents wussed out and quit. You don't get credit for a win if your opponent quits. I was urked. Really, there aren't too many changes to the game from the 2008 version. Most of the same plays and such. There are a few new bells and whistles, but nothing jaw dropping.

2. Is BSG ever coming back? I hope that the lame finding Earth episode wasn't the show finale. There has to be more right? We still need to know who the last Cylon is and what happens to everyone in the fleet. I hope they are just putting the finishing touches on the last several episodes. I am jonesing.

3. Shows I am excited about returning: Eureka at the end of the month, Heroes in September, Terminator, the Sarah Connor Chronicles in September. There was another one, but I forget what. Speaking of TV, everyone should watch Wipe Out at least once this summer. The first time I saw it, I about died laughing. People go through obsticle courses and challenges in order to win $50000. It is something you have to see. Describing it won't do it justice.

What is it about Zombies?

What is up with zombies? I mean, why do I like the zombie movie genre so much? Not just the movies, games and TV shows too. I have seen almost any George Romero movie out there and their remakes. Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, all are great fun for me. Add to that Resident Evil flicks, 28 Days later, 28 Weeks Later, you name it, I've probably seen it. Let's not forget two HILARIOUS zombie spoofs: Shawn of the Dead and Fido. The whole idea is rediculous though, the dead rising to feed on the living. Rediculous. It could never really happen, right? I think we all would like to think it could happen though. No hear me out. I think everyone has a bit of a killer spirit inside them. Not enough that any sane person would act on it, but it is there. Now, if an event arose that would make it acceptable to go on a zombie killing spree, it could be exciting. Scary as hell, but exciting. I would definately go for the old school slow and stupid zombies though, rather than the scary as shit modern day fast running zombies. Look at one of my (and Woody's) favorite games on the Xbox: Dead Rising. Basically it is a zombie killin' fun fest of happiness. I hope another one comes out soon.

There are a few things about zombies though that I do not understand. A constant in all zombie movies is that the living dead all want to eat human flesh. Why? I guess the only reason that counts is "just because it is scary." Living dead that just walk around eating plants or plain not eating would be lame. The biggest thing that always bothered me though is why don't they eat each other? I guess they like the freshness, but you see movies where the dead are eating corpses they have killed. Why do these dead (the ones getting eaten) not rise up and say, "stop eating me bitch"? At what point does tasty live people turn into icky dead people?

A side note: Jessica and I watched a cheesey zombie movie where one of the dead (before he died that is) said that he was a vegitarian. So, after he died he did not eat people. I thought this a rediculous notion, but hilarious. Could you imagine the living dead vegitarians walking around looking for fresh veggies to kill and devour? My guess is that the people eaters would make fun of them and cast them out of their zombie society.

Damn I am weird sometimes. And NO. I don't really want the dead to rise and try to eat my ass. I am just trying to understand my zombie facination.

Fun Weekend

I guess Friday was pretty uneventful. We watched some TV.

Saturday, I went to play some cards. I usually don't go out on the weekends, so that I can stay home with the family, but for some reason, I felt the need to get out. I guess I was feeling tired of the same old-same old. I ended up winning $80. I beat up on my buddy Hasan most of the night, which made me feel a little bad. I had a huge suck out against him. He went all in for $30 and I called him. I had a pair of aces with a 10 and he had a pair of aces with a jack. The last card to come up was a 10, giving me two pair. Another hand against him, he his a full house and I hit the hand of all hands: a Royal Flush. I had never seen a royal flush in real life. It was fun.

Sunday was more fun for Gabe than is was for me. Actually, it was a little irritating for me. Gabe was invited to party at Pump it Up, which is an inflated play ground of sorts. there was a bouncer castle, a big slide, and an obstacle course. He had fun and was running around like a maniac. Actually, about 20 kids were. It's amazing how weird some kids are. One asked if I wanted him to tickle me. I said no. He then tickled me and said it was opposite day. Are you serious? What kid would do that to a stranger? Then, the birthday boy started crying because his mom told him to wait and eat his cake after everyone was served. Well, she didn't tell everyone this, so all the kids were eating cake before the birthday boy. I can see how he could be upset, but to go on and cry like that (for a while) seemed a bit much. It really makes me feel better about Gabe. Now I know his whining and overreacting is normal for the age. He was pretty well behaved at the party. Accident prone though. He scraped himself up a but on the slide. I think it happens alot there since the staff people had a big supply of bandages. It was frustrating for me because the place was in the middle of nowhere and the sign was on the back of the building where you couldn't see it. I looked for it for about 15 minutes until I found it.

The Key to Victory

I finally have this Call of Duty 4 game figured out. I have been stuck at the bottom of the pack in my multi player matches. I usually have an equal kill to death ratio and often have the fewest deaths of all players, so I was confused as to why I never won or came into the top three. The key: air support. One this about this game that I find unfair is that all players are NOT treated equally. The higher ranked people get better perks and weapons, making it easier for them to kill us lowly folk. Still, I didn't understand how the top people would get 25 kills before everyone else got 10 or more. It seemed so unlikely. Then, it happened. Yesterday, I got three kill right off the bat, which give me a radar perk (so I can see where everyone is on the map). Then, I got two more, giving me an air strike (I get to call in jets that bomb an area I specify, which gave me another kill. After my seventh kill in a row, I got to call in an attack chopper. This is where the fun starts. A chopper comes in a guns down everyone else in the game. I started getting kills on top of kills. I didn't win the match, but I came in second, scoring 20 kills. I was pretty stoaked. I quit playing right after that so that I wouuld end on a high note for the day.

Six foot Maters

As I commented on Betsy's blog, I have some big ass tomato plants this year. My dad starts tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and several other plants in his basement every spring. No, not pot. As a result, we get a jump on the growing season and more yummy veggies every year. It is no trick of the camera or a weird aspect, that plant in the back is taller than my fence. My six foot fence. It is a cherry tomato plant, so it has about 50 little green tomatoes waiting to ripen. someare about ready. We also have yellow cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, and pink tomatoes. YUM. One of the best things in the summer is cutting up some tomatoes, adding some fresh parsley and onion, and putting Italian dressing on it. It is great! See some more plant and kid pictures on my Flickr page. Here's a close up of the six footer.

Xbox Live WTF

I was playing on my Xbox yesterday and got booted from a Call of Duty game I was in. I then received a message that stated that my Live ID was logged in at a different location. I thought it weird, but turned off my Xbox to do some things around the house. Later, I tried to play again and when I logged into Xbox Live I got a message stating that my profile had been suspended. Huh? The message also stated that I could log back in today, but it did not say why I was suspended. This morning I called Xbox support and talked to someone that gave me no information at all. So, I check my email and saw one from Microsoft stating that my account was suspended because they received complaints about some inappropriate content on my account. Huh? I have no idea what that could be because I have no idea how I would go about putting up inappropriate content on my Xbox Live account. So, I am clueless as to why I have been suspended from Xbox Live. I don't talk trash, I don't have a camera to take naughty pictures, and I don't post nasty comments anywhere. the only thing I could think of is that someone gained access to my account somehow or someone just filed a complaint against me just to fuck with me. I am hoping that this was some sort of fluke and won't happen again. I would hate to have to start a new Live account and lose all of my achievements and gamer stats.

General Posts

- I played some cards last night. It was my first good night in a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time. I was hitting HUGE hands and making good plays with them. I ended up winning $215. The biggest hand I had was four queens. I think I won about $40 that hand. I also hit some straights and a full house. I'm still WAY down for the year, but it was a nice night. It's alot easier to win when the cards fall your way.

- Happy 4th everyone! I have to work Saturday and Suday, but I get to have tomorrow off. The boys will be out of town. Gabe is staying with my mom for the weekend and Noah is with his bio-dad again. It will be just me and my girls for the long weekend. I don't think we have anything exciting planned, but it will be nice to have a break from the boys' fighting.

- I bowled a 289 the other night! On the Wii.....I finally figured out how to be pretty consistant rolling the Wii ball. I was perfect until the tenth frame. Then I got robbed and left a ten pin. Oh well. I would much rather roll a 300 in real life. I think I am going to get a new bowling ball for the next bowling season.