Squirrel Ninja Warrior

I love Ninja Warrior on G4. (Called Sasuke in its original Japanese format.) This little squirrel has got them all beat!

If you've never seen Ninja Warrior (Sasuke), here is the Japanese original airing of only the second man to ever beat the course. (The course changes somewhat each competition.)



I foresee a fully Americanized version on the horizon. Though I do love the Japanese version. They have the best television!

Sure beats American Gladiators!

Which is making a comeback. =/

Hooked on Phone-ics

When people ask you for your telephone number, how do you answer? (assuming you are American ... other countries have different exchanges and sequences).

Most people will give the number in the standard sequence of three then four. As in one two three ... pause ... four five six seven. Or, with apologies to Tommy Tutone, 867 - 5309.

Other socially acceptable ways are to combine the last four digits to make two pairs of numbers. Thus, eight six seven ... pause ... fifty-three oh-nine.

Of course, when adding the Area Code most people say it in a three, three, four. Or, 555 - 867 - 5309.

Then you get the oddballs. The freaks of nature who do not have telephonic rhythm. Those technological throw-backs who recite their numbers in ways to make your ears twitch and your brain bleed.

Case in point, a man at the doctor's office where one of the kids went for a check-up and shots ( a whole 'nother story, that) was giving his number to the receptionist. This was how he gave it:

Fifty-five, fifty-eight, six-seventy-five, thirty, nine.

That's not his real number, obviously. I am again using the "Jenny" number, but his did end with a zero and a nine. (I should use his real number and hope my readers call him and set him straight on proper phone-number-giving etiquette!)

Even were you to write the numbers as he states them, you'd end up a number short.

55 58 675 39 (555-867-539_)

He knew what he meant. He knew that thirty and nine were two separate numbers. But they sounded as one ... thirty-nine.

The receptionist asked him multiple times to repeat his number with the same result. She stayed calm, the freak of telephony was getting agitated. After the third time repeating his screwball litany of numbers, he acidly asked the girl if she knew how to write numbers down. To her credit, she answered she was having difficulty typing them in and asked him to write the phone number on a scrap paper so as to make sure she did not make a mistake.

I stayed out of it, though I itched to storm up to him and blast him on how to give a phone number like a normal human being. I gritted my teeth and was restrained by my mother's hand on my knee. Oh, if I'd been that receptionist ...

So, after that debacle, she asked for his work number, if any.

Mistake ...

Three fives, eighty-six, seventy-five, three-oh-nine

Not even the same asinine cadence as before!!! (This one didn't end in zero nine).

I understand this may be the only way this guy can remember his phone numbers; by grouping the numbers in those sequences. It just goes against all things natural. Like gnarled fingernails scraping down the telephonic chalkboard.

The receptionist was onto the guy though, and seemed to get the number in one go. She was still nice and pleasant, still sitting with a smile on her face. I was contemplating if I rammed my cellphone in his ear if he'd get the whole numerical telephone sequence thing or not.

He wasn't any better when it came to his home address ... One hundred one thousand three hundred fifty two Ear Lick Arr Dee.

Wha?

First off, again with the odd numerical sequencing. Most people would have said one-oh-one, three-fifty-two ... or one-hundred-one, three-fifty-two ... even one-oh, one-three, five-two. Not this guy. He has to give it in long form notation.

And the road he was speaking of is Ehrlich (sounds like Uhr-lick) Road. I suppose calling it Ear Lick may be some cutesy family name for it, but I've lived near that road for most of my life and never heard it called that by anyone. And it was not an accent thing. He spoke Ear Lick as if it were two separate words.

Don't get me started on the whole Arr Dee thing. =/

By this time I was not agitated (and really wasn't as bad as I make myself out to be ... poetic license ~.^). But I was shaking my head in disbelief that anyone could be so ... abnormal on simple things like phone numbers and addresses.

Maybe it was karma was the whole pizza thing the other day. >_>

Anyhow, as a treat for listening to my rant about telephonic etiquette, here is 867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone done in clay!


And as an extra special treat, you can read about the guy who tried finding Jenny at any 867-5309 number in the US.

Heroes, Ninjas, and Critters

I spent the morning watching the first 7 episodes of Heroes on DVD. I loved the show when it came out, and watched the first 4 as they aired. As the weeks went on, I found myself involved with my Rebel Dragon guildmates in Guild Wars, then World of Warcraft. Heroes fell to the wayside, and I vowed to get the DVD when it came out.

I remembered I had not posted to the Roost when I received several oddball news links from my best Internet buddy, Johnny Crash. (I'd link to his blog, but he hasn't updated in months. *sigh*) And since I was watching Ninja Warrior with the family when Crash sent the links, it was not until now I actually got around to posting.

Thanks to him, I am able to give you a link about a Vicious Dog Pack Attack on a Florida Gator, originally posted on the always interesting, often funny Crazy for Critters blog. Beware! The chilling image of this horrific animal battle may be too much for the squeamish.

Small Medium at Large

No, this post isn't about a short stature psychic on the lam.

It's about my call to Pizza Hut this holiday weekend to order lunch. The girl answering the local delivery hub's phone was pleasant and cheery. She seemed happy to take my order and things went smoothly until she asked me what size pizza I wanted.

"Small," I confidently answered.

"We only have Medium, Large, and Extra-Large," pizza girl informed me.

Now, seems to me if you have 3 sizes of pizza, the smallest of those would be Small, not Medium. I rolled my eyes and and clarified my statement.

"I'd like the smallest size you have."

"That would be Medium," she shot back, still with a smile in her voice.

"Okay, a small Medium."

"Ma'am, Medium is our smallest." I thought I detected a smidgen of exasperation creeping into her tone.

"Fine. Medium then," I carefully told her. I swear she sighed in relief. "Your small Medium pizza."

I counted to three before she replied. It sounded like through gritted teeth, yet still with a now forced cheeriness. "The Medium pizza is not small. It's pretty big."

"Oh!" I exclaimed excitedly. "So the small Medium is large?"

"Um ..." I knew I had her on the ropes then.

"Yeah, that sounds great. I want the small Medium large pizza." You could feel the tension through the phone receiver. Her mental cogs were churning, her eyes were rolling, her lips were pressed thin, and her finger were tightening around the pen, threatening to snap it. Or, so I envisioned.

"Ma'am, was that a Medium or Large size pizza you wanted? We don't have Small."

"Yes."

"Um ..."

"The small Medium large pizza."

"Maybe I should get my manager?"

"No need," I smiled into the phone, "We can work this dilemma out, I'm sure. I want a Medium pizza, which is your smallest size, yet is still pretty large."

"You want Medium size?"

"That's what I've been saying."

"Okay," she paused. "I'm sorry ... for the ... confusion."

"Don't worry about it. A small Medium large is exactly what I want. I'm glad we're on the same page now."

"Um ... yeah. Thanks. Is there anything else today?" Cheer was guardedly slipping back into her voice.

"Yeah, A pan pizza, mushrooms, onions, sausage, bell peppers."

"What size did you want that?" I'm sure the question slipped out in rote fashion.

"Medium Large, please."

I got at least 5 seconds of silence on that one.

I do so love boring Monday holidays! ~.^

So how was your Labor Day?

Few Days Off

I likely will not be blogging for the next few days. A painful medical condition has arisen that precludes me from sitting too long. I'm too embarASSed to tell you what it is. Butt, hopefully I'll have some PREPARATION done for when I return, TUCKing away little ideas and such.

Until then amuse yourselves with Star Wars: Attack of The Hemorrhoids!

D&D&Me

Wow ... that D&D video was perhaps the most boring and poorly put together piece of promotional crap I've ever watched. I put the wrong video up. I had meant to post this one:

A much more light-hearted look at Dungeons and Dragons over the years.

I've played D&D since Summer 1979. Yes, my first time playing was when I was 8-years-old!

All I really recall is I was given an elf to play. At that time elves were not a race, as much as a class. They were a combination of warrior, archer, and magic-user. I didn't care about that then, though. I knew my elf could shoot a bow and cast Magic Missile! Of course, my mental image of Magic Missile was of miniature ICBMs flying out of my elf's hands, not mystical shards of light doing force impact damage. I was eight! Whaddaya expect?

The only other thing I recall from that very first experience was encountering a stegosaurus. Now, I loved dinosaurs at the time. One of my favorite toys was a pack of cheap, multi-colored plastic dinosaurs I would play with for hours, doing mock battles, attacking my other toys, growling and roaring.

The fact said Stegosaurus was in a 10'x10'x10' room in the middle of an underground dungeon never crossed my eight year old mind. Nor did the fact that Stegoaurs do not eat meat, yet piles of bones and half eaten goblin corpses littered the hallway surrounding the door into the dino filled closet. What did register is that the damn thing killed my elf in one lousy hit. This was after my Magic Missile spell bounced harmlessly off its scaled hide, as well as a slew of hastily shot arrows.

I didn't really get into playing D&D until a few months later in 1980, after the Christmas break, when a friend of mine got the Basic game from Santa. Our small group of friends spent hours and hours pouring over the rules, creating new characters, and trying to draw what our carefully crafted characters looked like. All before we ever stepped foot into a single adventure.

The Keep on the Borderlands was my first, real adventure. Fighting orcs, goblins, and the occasional Ogre and undead in the Caves of Chaos is still a warm memory. My elf made it all the way to level 3 this time ... before a black dragon ate her. She had no chance, really. The dragon was hiding under a pile of dirty goblin clothing in a small side cave. The DM (Dungeon Master) added that little encounter into the published adventure after deciding we had done enough Dungeons, it was now time for the Dragons part of the game's title. =/

I was beginning to hate reptiles.

The rest is history.

Playing D&D gave me a way to unleash my imagination, a love of reading (mostly fantasy stories at that time), exercised my math skills with its often arcane rules of figuring out if an action succeeded, broadened my communication skills through story-telling and role-play, and taught me how to research by looking up rules in the books, as well as all sorts of esoteric things relating to medieval times from the library. (Yeah, I learned the difference between a bill-guisarme and a halberd, as well as what a buttery was, and why a longbow was deadlier than a crossbow, among other things. You know, important knowledge to help me in my day-to-day life!)

I've played, and collected, D&D since. I used to have several of the varying Basic Sets (but they were lost or otherwise misplaced over the last 27 years). I have many original 1st edition rulebooks, most of the 2nd edition core rule books, the vastly underrated Skills and Powers options set of rulebooks (more like a 2.5 edition), and the core rulebooks for 3rd Edition.

I never "upgraded" to 3.5 Edition, though i do have the 3.5 Basic Game box set which I keep intending to teach and play with the boys, but never do. Mainly because, by the time the weekend rolls around, we are so busy with one thing or another, someone is on restriction for something, or Mom isn't feeling well (the only real gaming spot is a table very near her bedroom), we have no time. Plus I play WoW ... a lot. More than I should.

Which brings us to this weekend and the lack of posts Saturday and Sunday. I could have, but they would have been made in the late afternoon, almost evening. Evenings are times when I like to pop into WoW and hook up with online friends to hang out. Plus, one of the kids was in big trouble (for something I felt was minor and way overblown, but Grandma wouldn't let it go! *sigh*) and the house was an unpleasant place to be, let alone try to write a blog.

All in all, I'd rather have been in a 10'x10' room with a Stegosaurus.

Another Fine Chinese Product

This is a Chinese made bubble blower called Bubble Breezer (or Bub L Breezer). Yes, he blow bubbles out of his butt. No, I'm not providing a link to where you can get one. You'll know how to find one if you really wanted one ... not that anyone would. Right?

Besides, with all the Chinese recalls lately, you'd be lucky if this thing didn't blow up in your face, or create leaded bubbles.

This product might explain doggy breath:


It can't be be any worse than the possible upcoming US introduction of the well-made Chinese automobile manufacturer Chery Amulet. See how well it fares in a standard crash test.

That's pure quality there, folks! You just don't get full body accordion crumple like that in American cars these days. (Technically, that was a Russian crash test demonstration of the Chery Amulet).

Chrysler has inked a deal with Chery to begin selling its cars here in the US. Mainly compact and sub-compact cars in the $10,000 to $15,000 range. And, yes, they will still make money on such cheap automobiles manufactured in China and shipped to the US. [cite]

Chrysler is going to have to do a Hell of a job selling this piece of crap to the American public. Oh, sure, they will likely get it up to American safety standards. But, the stigma of being Chinese made, especially after the recent spate of dangerous Chinese made recalls, will make most people think more than twice about buying one. The viral video above will be burned into a lot of peoples' consciousness. The Buy American segment will surely use any and all manner and media to discredit the purchase of these cars.

We're a ways off from seeing them in the US, and Chrysler is probably more interested in growing their brand name in foreign markets, where these cars, even in current state, would sell nicely. Still, the US market could use a reasonably priced, safe, fuel efficient small car (think VW Bug a few decades back.)

Time will tell. Maybe these Chery built cars will be a good thing.

And, maybe it'll blow bubbles out of its tail pipe!

Adventures in Foosball

Two Christmas's ago, we bought the kids a Star Wars Foosball Table. It was a Wal-Mart special, only %59.99. A deal, I thought. Until I had to put the monster together.

Fortunately the kids were visiting their Grandparents in Michigan. I'm not sure their tender ears would have withstood the blistering tirade of curses, oaths, and mumbled dire imprecations for the designers of this do-it-yourself game from Hell.

Not that the instructions were difficult; indeed, they were quite clear, concise, and relatively easy to follow. Not that the parts were packed poorly; everything was labeled, each hardware component was packaged separate and marked, nothing was damaged, chipped, worn, or scratched.

Sportscraft, the maker of the foosball table, did an excellent job with this product. Other assembly-required manufacturers would do well to emulate Sportscraft when packaging their products.

No, the trials and tribulations of assembling the game table came from two sources: the sheer volume of parts and the idiocy with which I went about putting it together.

Clearly this was going to be a two person job. Of course, I went it solo.

I had my trusty Black & Decker cordless power drill. I had my case of Craftsman hand tools. I had plenty of floor space in which to work. I had ample lighting. I had a big-screen TV with all sorts of Christmas specials on to entertain me as I worked.

I was ready to work!

Except that I had forgotten to charge up my drill. And, several screwdrivers, the Allen wrenches, and my crescent wrench were mysteriously missing from my tool case. And, the volume of pieces from inside the tightly packed, deceptively small box grew to take over the living room, the couch, and portions of the walking area between the front and back of the house. The lighting was fine ... from one angle; the rest of the place may as well have been the dark side of the moon. The television was fine. Except that with all the product pieces carefully strewn about I couldn't comfortably see anything, let alone sit down to watch it while waiting for my drill to charge. It did give me time to locate my missing tools. Most of them. A few are still AWOL. You might see their pictures on the sides of cans of WD-40, right under the "Have You Seen Me?" caption.

Long story short, after several long sweaty hours, a few splinters, a scraped knuckle or two, and much moaning, groaning, and general cursing, standing before me in all it's glistening glory was a bona fide, working foosball table. A 48'' x 24'' x 32.75" monument to perseverance, ingenuity, and sheer stubbornness.

I couldn't have been prouder.

Until my mother came out to see it and asked me if all the handles were supposed to be on the same side of the table.

...

Longer story shorter, after another sweaty hour, more splinters, a scraped knee to match the knuckles, more moaning, groaning, and enough cursing the FCC threatened to shut me down, I had wrestled the table apart, swapped the bars to their correct positions, and reattached everything. In the meanwhile I cracked an important stabilizing piece and almost cemented myself to both the floor and the table with some strong wood glue.

Did you know wood glue is great for removing fingerprints? Off your fingers?

The game table looked sharp. Darth Vader glowered from one side. Yoda brandished a lightsaber on the other. Clone Troopers and Federation battle droids faced each other in stony silence (well, hard plastic silence), waiting for the momentous occasion when the first plastic ball rolled onto the slate battlefield. The goal nets waited like ravenous maws. I swear I could see them salivating.

Well, the kids came back home, oohed and aahhed over the foosball table ... then proceeded to play their new Gameboy games.

Over the last two years, the table has been used several times, but serves mostly as a convenient travel path for the cats to get from the couch to the top of the television.

Yesterday was one of those days where the plastic clone troopers and Federation driods did footie battle.

The kids and I played a cut-throat tournament of winner-plays-loser. Star Wars foosmen spun like demented dervishes, dancing wildly across the table. The ball spacked and popped back and forth, a white blur on the blue-green field of deadly battle. You could almost hear the roar of a crowd as fancy moves and well-timed kicks sent the ball soaring into the awaiting maws of the goals.

Okay, what really happened was I had my ass handed to me by a 13 and 10-year-old.

I jammed my pinky trying to quickly grab one my sticks to block a shot. I pinched the skin of my thumb in the small hole the pole slides through. My back seized up trying to awkwardly stoop down so as to reach the gaming rods. And once, the ball flew out of the table box with enough force to knock my glasses askew.

After a celebratory dance by the kids, whom ended up tied when i called a halt to the tournament (no fool, I), the table was slid back into its customary spot.

The cats were pleased their highway was returned and promptly sat on it, shooting looks of scorn at their crazy humans who needed plastic men mounted on rotating rods to bat a ball around. That's what paws were for. Sheesh.

Back to School

A few years ago there was a commercial for Staples that showed a man gleefully dancing about as he pushed a shopping cart full of school supplies to the Christmas tune of "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". His two kids glumly trudged along behind him, faces set in sour expressions.

I love that commercial!

My kids weren't near as despondent as the kids in the commercial, but they weren't exactly pleased saying goodbye to the freedoms of Summer and camp at the Y. One is going into the 8th Grade, so he's happy to be Top Dog in his Middle School now. The other is going into 5th Grade, to a brand new built school. So, he is Top Dog in his Elementary with all new everything.

They wear school uniforms, so clothing was easy. Solid color Polo tops and jeans are the order of the day. Still, they both seemed very happy (and a little surprised) at the new cargo jeans they got. (Grandma is straight-laced and jeans with cargo pockets, Velcro, faded, or otherwise deviate from normal, utilitarian jeans were a non-no.) New socks, new shoes, new belts. Even being boys they like to be stylin' a bit the first day of school.

New backpacks, too, for all the new school supplies. My youngest got a one-strap over-the-shoulder pack, in camo and black. Compartments and zippers everywhere on that thing. My older boy got a messenger bag, like you'd see those bike messengers carry slung over their shoulder as they slalom dangerously through New York traffic. It has several discrete compartment to keep his books, folders, and binder separate from one another, pen holder, a few big pockets for his calculator and pack of markers. I want one, but have no use for it. It's just cool.

What sucks big time this year is the revamped bus schedules. Last year, both boys went to the stop at the same time, with only a 15 minute gap between pick-up times. This year, the Elementary starts an hour earlier. so instead of leaving the house at 8:10 AM for a 8:25 AM pick-up, I have to get him down there by 7:10 AM. Ugh!

He did well in getting up earlier. He got up, dressed, ate breakfast, did his morning chores, and was ready to go in (for him) record time. His brother has to get up with him, unfortunately, because we simply aren't doing breakfast twice. He gets an hour to read, maybe play his Gameboy DS a bit, but no television. Me? I'd use the time to go over my homework from the night before or study for a test that day. But, then again, I was a nerd in school.

My older boy is being allowed to walk to and from the bus stop now. A huge step for him, and us. With his behavioral problems and trust issues, we're hoping it will not turn around and bite us. We want to extend him some trust and responsibility. I know he can do it, but I still get those small, niggling doubts crawling through my mind.

We live in a retirement community. A place of wrinkled old farts with too much time on their hands, and a need to control others since they cannot control their own bladders any longer. (There are a lot of wonderfully nice older folk in the park, don't get me wrong, but the few loud-mouthed control freaks override the nice like fecal coliform in the swimming pool.) There was trouble at first when the boys came to live with my Mom ... until the state told them shut-up or tell it to a judge. I'm sure there will be some complaints when people see him walking down the main road to the bus stop. They can bite my butt.

I did give him several tules to follow:

1. Stay on the main road.
   
2. Do NOT walk in, through, over, or across any body's yards.
   
3. Do NOT stop to pet any animals.
   
4. Do NOT stop to look at something interesting, especially if it is in some one's yard.
   
5. Do NOT pick up anything off the ground. (Sticks, pennies, shiny things ... he's like a freakin' crow sometimes.)
   
6. Do NOT talk to anyone unless they talk to you, and then keep it to "Hello", "Good Morning", or "Hi".
   
7. If one of the walking wrinkles tries to stop you, asks you what you are doing, or otherwise harasses you, keep walking and tell them to talk to me!
   
8. If your bus doesn't come on time, your butt better be sitting at the stop until 9:00 AM, at which time you may come home and I'll drive you if I'm in a good mood. Missing the bus means you miss school, stay in bed all day, lights out, until the time you'd normally get home. (Guarantee he won't "miss" the bus more than once! hehe)

We couldn't make it to either school's Open House for the meet-and-greet with the teachers. You'd think the schools would schedule the things so as to not interfere with each other. Plus, they were both on the last day of summer camp and the kids went to Busch Gardens. I wasn't going to make them miss that for a hot, stuffy, long, boring school event where you see the teacher for 5 seconds, cannot find parking within a half mile of the campus, and get confused by each teacher contradicting the other as to rules, supplies, and procedures. *sigh*

I'd better wrap this up. My first kid'll be home in four hours. I'm sure he'll have a list of supplies three times the amount of what the school said he'd need. And another list with demands for cash for various things like an Agenda, class supplies, yearbook, blah, blah, blah ...

JK Rowling is Writing a New Book

J.K. Rowling, she of Harry Potter fame, is writing a new book.

Word on the streets, more accurately in the Edinburgh cafes she haunts, is the new book will be a crime drama, a criminal detective novel. [cite]

Now, that just seems a strange leap from the Harry Potter books to writing crime novels. Though, with all the dark doings, murders, and other deaths in the later books of the Potter series, perhaps it is not so much a stretch. And, there is much of detective work to be done, and mysteries to unravel, in the latter half of the Potter series. That they are swathed in magic seems to belay the fact that they are, at their heart, a mystery novel.

You can be sure curious readers the world over will snatch up whatever she puts out. But can she hold our attention sans Wizards and Muggles? Will the new book be kid-friendly, or geared more for adults? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Harry Potter and the Bloody, Dismembered Corpse, anyone?

AC-DC

No, not the rock band.

In this case AC-DC stands for Air Conditioner Does Cool.

That's right, my AC is working again! Yay!

Per the tech guy (who looked a little like Corbin Bernson) the unit was just frozen solid. No repairs were required. Freon was charged, pressure was good. He also mentioned the unit looked like the Trane equivalent of Frankenstein. (We've had numerous repairs to it over the years, especially after it got fried by lightning.)

We were charged a total of $130 for two trips out. I was a bit miffed at that, but can only blame myself because I did not see any ice in the unit and did not shut it off before his first trip out. This required a second trip after we sweltered all night with the AC off.

Still, small price to pay in light of what it could have been. Though the tech did state the unit was on its last legs, and we had better start saving for a new one. We're hoping it lasts until the lawsuit against the roofing company that screwed up and caused major water leaks is settled before this happens.

So, if you live in Tampa and need air conditioning repairs, I highly recommend Action Air. Friendly, not as prompt as I like, but they did not push us to get a new unit, and no mysterious ailment of the machine was diagnosed. It wasn't broken, they said so, and I appreciate that kind of honesty in a business.

We've found our new AC company, and when we do get a new unit, they'll be who we go through.

For anyone who thought they'd find some real AC~DC stuff here, and for those of you who read through the entire post above, and because as hot as it got last night reminded me of Hell ...

No AC, I See

Sorry no post earlier today, and for the rather brief one this will be.

Our Air Conditioning went out yesterday. It still runs, technically, but it was not really putting much cool air into the house. After calling a local AC repair place last night, being told they'd be here around 1pm, then not seeing them until 5pm, the prognosis is still unknown. The unit was frozen solid, according to the tech.

He will come back tomorrow (for another visit fee, of course) and diagnose the problem after the ice has thawed. I'm hoping it's something minor like a bad hose or low freon. We cannot afford costly repairs, let alone replacement. If it came down to it, we'd have no choice. Though most likely we'd purchase a few window units instead of paying 5 grand for a new unit.

The house is fairly cool now. I pulled out a few of those big box floor fans we had, cranked up the ceiling fans, and positioned everything for a nice air flow. It's warm, but not excessive. We made sure all the lights are off (amazing the amount of heat they put out, even the fluorescent ones we use in many of the lights).

The computer generates a substantial amount of heat, too. Hence my minimal use earlier today. Even now, with it being on just 10 minutes, the temp has risen noticeably in my room. It's still tolerable, for now. I'm going to play WoW a bit, see how the temp goes. I may be on a WoWless night. I'm sure the twitching and drooling will subside once I fall asleep.

Hopefully, when the tech returns sometime tomorrow, news will be good, air will; be cool, and charges will be low.

Just wish I could open a window, but most are locked down and difficult to open. Plus, we get no air flow anyhow and at least the humidity is kept at bay. I'm hoping for rain tonight. hehe

The Dangerous Book for Boys

This is for all my readers out there who have boys of their own, are still are boys at heart!



I've flipped through this at my local Best Buy (of all places). I plan on getting each of my nephews a copy of this for Christmas. It's four months away, but at least it's one present out of the way! There is a lot of cool stuff inside, as you see from the video above.

Just think how you Dad's out there could have fun and connect with your sons using the things in this book! I'll see if I can connect a bit better with my nephews. Moms can do things with their sons, too!

The Dangerous Book for Boys

My Top 5 Favorite Super-Heroes

In response to a couple super-hero related posts made in the last week or so, Jason (Steel) from the Man of Steel blog asked me who my favorite super-heroes are. So, here are my Top 5 Favorite Super-heroes ... and Why!

#1 - Spider-Man

I loved reading Spider-Man comics growing up. The adventures were exciting, the villains were nefarious, and the message of "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" spoke to me even at that young age. (I read Spidey comics from the late '70s up until even now ...)

From Spidey's comics I learned that even though some choices are tough, and the easy way is often the wrong way, you still need to do what is right. And you need to do that even when no one is watching, or knows who is doing it. I learned to stand up for myself, and to stand up for those who cannot, even if it means discomfort, being scared, or even risking what others may think of me. It directly influenced me to help teach a Sunday School class for retarded citizens when I was 14 to 16. I wanted to help others who needed it, who couldn't help themselves, despite the teasing and taunts from my so-called peers in church.

I couldn't crawl walls, or sling webs, or punch out bad guys, but I could make the special citizens laugh with my puppets, help them color an Easter picture, patiently listen and try to understand their limited speech and desires, or calmly shrug off a violent outburst now and again.

Of course, my parents, my teachers, and my church all helped teach me these things. But kids don't like to listen to those in authority, or heed their advice ... but a comic book, something on my level ... now that I could emulate. I'd like to think in my recent life, when my sister was murdered and my mother became needful of in-house care, that those lessons were what allowed to unhesitatingly leave my high-paying job and move in to care for my mom and my nephews. Spidey would have ... except he maybe would have socked a villain in the jaw as he did.

Of course, some people would say that what I probably learned most from Spider-Man was how to be a smart-ass with the funny lines! ~.^

#2 - Hulk

Counter-point to Spider-Man was the Hulk. The beast-within mythos appealed to my young psyche. I have always felt a deep, burning rage inside me. A dark anger I dare not let loose. I didn't know its cause. I didn't know its reason. I only knew that were I to let slip the beast within me, I'd never be able to go back.

Bruce Banner exemplified these internal struggles, but he would unleash his inner monster. Destruction, confusion, and chaos reigned as the Hulk rampaged. Only the love of Betty Ross, the friendship of Rick Jones, and the compassion of others he has met along his conflicted journeys would reign in the raging monster. I vicariously romped about with the Hulk, my inner beast satiating itself on these excursions. Yet, I also learned that no matter what I became in life, no matter if I let my inner beast loose, there were people who would still love me, still care about me, still help me.

In my late teens I learned these feelings I was experiencing were from a severe chemical imbalance compounded by bi-polarism. And true to the tales in the pages of the Hulk comics, my family, my good friends, and God stuck by me, supported me, and loved me, even when I was at my worst.

#3 - Batman

Batman is just plain cool. He has no super powers. He's not invulnerable. He can't fly. He's not super strong. But he is smart, he is dedicated, he is passionate. It helps that he is also filthy, stinking rich.

I always liked that even without any super powers, Batman went out and fought crime. Tried to make a difference, to protect others. The gadgets were always cool, of course, but it was his sharp mind, his reasoning skills, his sheer intellect that truly drew me to his comics.

As with Spider-Man and Hulk, I learned something from Batman growing up. I learned to use my mind, to think. To look at things from different angles, from different perspectives. To utilize available resources to accomplish my goals. And I learned to never give up. When the chips were down, when all seems lost, there is always an option.

#4 - Kitty Pryde

Shadowcat, Ariel, Sprite ... Kitty Pryde has used a number of codenames through the years, but most people know her as plain Kitty Pryde. A member of the X-Men since 1980, she quickly became my most favorite member of the team. Her phasing ability was cool, she was smart, she was pretty, and she had a little purple dragon as a pet!

Kitty was never the most powerful of the X-Men, but she held her own. She was the heart and soul of the team. A kid-sister to many members, a friend to others, a lover to one or two. She grew from an awkward, shy, insecure waif into a confidant, intelligent, courageous leader. She was fun-loving, compassionate, and honest.

From Kitty I learned that it was okay to try new things, to grow and to change, that friendships are precious, and that you could still be a leader and have fun.

#5 - Plastic Man

Plas may seem an odd choice to be a favorite super-hero, but there he is. He's been around since 1941; a long time for any super-hero. He's undergone several revisions since DC got rights to him in 1956. Plastic Man is a fan favorite of many, has been in several incarnations of the Justice League, had his own Saturday morning cartoon, and the occasional self-titled comics.

He can stretch to seemingly indefinite lengths, into any shape, any size; even intricate constructs with moving parts. However he almost always stays his colors of red, yellow, black, and flesh colors. Plas is nigh indestructible, and possibly immortal. He may be one of the most powerful super-heroes ever.

Plastic Man used to be criminal until he was wounded and gained his powers in an acid bath. He is always cracking wise; sometimes with inappropriate comments. (Something i can relate too! ^.^;;)

I can't say I "learned" anything from Plas while growing up; I just liked him for his jokes, funny shapes, and interesting character. I suppose one could say, however, that even a bad person deserves a chance to become a good person. And, no matter how much you change, you'll always be who you are.

There you have it. My Top 5 Favorite Super-Heroes. Hulk and Spidey were hard to place, but Hulk was barely edged out as I though of this list. If I were to do a Top 10, the remaining 5 heroes would be (in no particular order): Iceman, Iron Man, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. My favorite comic to read currently, and a super-hero making a bid to join the Top 10 ranks, would be She-Hulk!

Who are YOUR favorites, and why?

Bourne to be Wild

Okay, we've all heard the various play on words regarding the Bourne series. I couldn't resist.

I plan to see The Bourne Ultimatum later this afternoon, with a review to follow soon after. I wanted to see The Bourne Identity and The Bourne Supremacy again before seeing Ultimatum, but that was not to be. *sigh*

I am reading Robert Ludlum's original novel, The Bourne Identity. It differs greatly from the 2002 movie of the same name based upon the novel. Considering the novel is set in 1980 (the current year when it was published), much of it is dated and technology is much more advanced 20-odd years later. The movie had to alter quite a bit to stay current and relevant. Cell phones alone change the tone of the story in so many ways.

Anyhow, just to get your juices pumping for the movie, here is the trailer for The Bourne Ultimatum ...



Oh, wait! That was the Kimmel Show's trailer. Sorry!

Here's the correct one ...



Wonder who would win in a fight between Jason Bourne and James Bond?

I think, Bond fan that I am, I still would have to give the edge to Bourne. He is just more ruthless, more cold than Bond. Plus, while Bond was spitting out a pithy one-liner, Bourne would shoot him in the kneecap. (Though the "new" Bond, played by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale is more Bourne-like than Bond-like, so he would at least make it a good fight, if not a draw).

Then again, Bond could use a gadget to defeat Bourne. Sneak up on him in a crocodile submarine, laser his belt in two with his wristwatch, then knock him out with a pseudo-judo karate chop to the neck as he bends over to pull his pants up.

Still ... Chuck Norris could kick both their asses with one leg tied behind his back, blindfolded, and set ablaze with kerosene and a flamethrower!

Or so the Interent would have us believe. ~.^

You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry!

I love comics. I love super-heroes.

Hulk is one of my most favorite super-heroes. Sometimes on the side of angels, sometimes not. Always looking out for himself.

Hulk has gone through so many incarnations, so many vastly different looks, it can be difficult to decide which one to do a particular movie on.

Most people know the iconic Lou Ferrigno Hulk from the television series, The Incredible Hulk. I loved the series while growing up, even if Hulk was too skinny, too short, and not green enough. Compared to my beloved Hulk comics, that is.

They got one thing right, however ... the facial features. Savage Hulk is my absolute favorite look for the Emerald Giant. Lou captured the bestial Beast-Within appearance I have always felt Hulk was best suited for.

The 2003 movie, Hulk, used pure CGI to create Hulk's face (and body), though it did seem extrapolated from actor Eric Bana's actual facial features.

I enjoyed the movie for what it was, but felt Hulk's portrayal was overdone in a few ways. The biggest of which was his growing to huge, tree-sized proportions. It makes sense in a way. He'd need a massive frame to carry and utilize the correspondingly massive musculature. He did keep to the Hulk maxim of growing stronger the angrier he got. His face was very humanized, less bestial which gave him a humanity for the audience to relate to, but detracted from the overall monster-inside-us counter-point director Ang Lee seemed to be trying to make.

The fight scenes, excepting the final battle, were fantastic. Pure super-hero beauty on screen, pure Hulk. I was even excited to see they kept Hulk's leaping miles at time in. The middle of the movie was the best, while he fights the Army and escapes from the underground bunker. I even enjoyed the comic-style transitions between scenes Ang Lee utilized.

Unfortunately, Hulk didn't do as well as hoped, and was panned by many critics, both film and comic buffs alike.

The upshot is a new, Hulk movie is going forward. Not a sequel, but a re-start. A re- imagining of the Verdant Behemoth with new cast, and radically different look for the eponymous title character, The Incredible Hulk. I'm stoked after seeing this clip from Comic-Con!



Edward Norton will be playing Bruce Banner, with Liv Tyler as Betty Ross and William Hurt as Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross. Tim Roth will be playing Emil Blonsky, which means we may actually see some hero vs. villain action in this movie with Hulk going up against the Abomination!

The Incredible Hulk is currently slated for a July 13th, 2008 release.

Poll Position

I've added another Poll to the right side of the screen, bottom of the first section. You may choose multiple answers.

I did this Poll for several reasons. First, I finally found out why I could not adjust my blogger layout (and how to work around it by removing the 2 from the www2 URL prefix). B, I woke up with a bad head cold and went back to sleep after taking the kids to camp, reawakening at about noon-thirty in time for a bologna sandwich lunch. And, 3, I never know what to put up, really.

You gotta admit, it beats having another Fart post!

If you inadvertently came here looking for information about the 1982 Namco arcade game, you're not entirely out of luck. You can watch the original Pole Position commercial (love that theme song!) or download a version to play right on your computer!

And just because I wubs joo all ...

Something

I am supposed to post something everyday, so here you go ...

Something!

My kidney is hurting. no real post today. I should go to the doc, but after the $700 radiator, kids' camp fees, and my previous meds and visits, compounded by the fact I am uninsured ... I ain't got nothing to pay the doc with. *sigh*

My legs are doing much better, however. Healing up nice, awaiting the next outbreak in quiet fear and consternation. I *cough cough* saved some of the meds so if it happens again, maybe I can catch it quick without having to lay out a few hundred bucks again.

Dunno what is really wrong, kidney wise. No pain while going or anything like that. One doctor told me it was my back muscles not my kidney. But, I think he was just not willing to spend much time and effort on an uninsured patient. I know the difference between back muscle pain and kidney pain. I've had kidney stones (well, it was more of gritty sludge which is worse, I've been told), and this feels similar. Far, far less painful, but the ache is close.

I have been drinking a lot of milk and caffeinated soda the last week or so. Both are extreme contributors to the build up of calcium in the kidney. Especially for those prone to it. Gonna lay off the soda and moo juice a while. Stick with plain ol' Tampa water ... which is about as clean as drinking out of the gutter after a summer rain. Always sediment or something sticking to the sides of my cup after I drink it. Might be my pipes. The place is going on 20 years old ... =/

I use bottled water, if i can. But I hate dipping into the hurricane supply we try to keep in stock. We have several flats of those 20 oz. bottles. Easy to carry, stackable, and can be placed in the truck quickly. Plus, no need to worry about cups and other stuff in an emergency, and they can be used for other purposes when empty (if needed, use your own imaginations! ~.^).

So, there you go .. something posted. Hope you're happy now!

re: Anonymous

Last week, I had a post apologizing for missing a day or two of blogging. An anonymous commenter left the following reply:

"That's no excuse. It takes like what? 5 minutes to post something? You say updated daily. So update daily! You have an obligation to your readers. Our time is too precious to be wasted visiting sites that claim regular updates and don't deliver. Of course, your readership is probably not very many. I'm guessing no more than 10 a day, probably less. Get RSS at least, so people know when you've updated. And get rid of that old poll while you're at it! Hope your mother is okay. Peace!"

Aside from someone being anonymously combative, I don't see how any blogger is obligated to provide content of any sort. It's not like readers pay for the privilege of accessing whatever drivel I decide to spout. Sure, if a blogger makes a statement that updates will be on a certain schedule, then that blogger should try to uphold that statement. Real life intervenes quite often, however; sickness, appointments, unforeseen delays in travel, the simple blahs ...

Think of my update schedule as a guideline, a rule of thumb, a suggestion of intent. Not a binding contract of service providement.

No one forces readers to visit their blogs. Sure, I like to see those page hits, I love to see those comments (even good ol' anonymous'). This is more of a hobby, a way to possibly entertain a few friends, maybe make a few new ones. It's no job, though sometimes it feels like one when I'm feeling ill or have no content ready to post about.

I appreciate all my readers ... and, unlike Anonymous' bitter guess above, it is more than 10 a day. According to Google Analytics, I've had 8174 pageviews since I started the blog on January 1, 2007. That averages out to 40 visits per day. (Okay, it's 39.87317 per day ... maybe from those families with 2.5 kids?)

No, it's not a huge number. Substantially more than 10, however. And, that is the average. Some days I have more, some days less. Weekends seem to be a huge drop in readership, but even then it's around 15 or more.

Some other interesting stats:

The average visit time on the site is 00:06:01 (six minutes) and viewing 1.45 pages per visit. Just under 30% of those are returning visitors, which equates out to about 12 people who come everyday. Again, not a lot, but I'm not shooting for a huge audience.

If things keep going the way they are, I should have 10,000 hits sometime in September or early October.

Okay, I'm done ranting. Time to pick up the kids from the airport.

Now there is something I wish I really could put off! ~.^

Pottermania

My Harry Potter book shall be delivered very soon. I will be reading it all day, and tomorrow, too. So my reviews of Ratatouille and Order of the Pheonix will be delayed I'll post more WoW videos however over the next two days ... just to keep you entertained.