About the New Me
I have been writing here over 20 years now. That’s an absolutely mind blowing thing to think about. 20 years of a blog that I started in my little studio apartment in Milford, KS that I lived in which was an old motel converted into apartments. $250 per month… all bills paid!
I can remember creating my Blogger account on my old Toshiba laptop I had at the time. I was working nights at Platinum Broadcasting, I’d get off at midnight, and would come home amped up from trying to bring energy to the radio, and I’d stay up until 3am working on crap like this. It’s funny how I feel like the same person, but so different at the same time.
And I noticed that it’s about time that I updated my horrendously outdated “About Me” section here on the Blog, because yeah… things have sure changed since I wrote that 14 years ago. So here it goes:
About Me:
I don’t know how the heck you found this place. I mean, this is my own blog, and I rarely think about it except for once a year. So either… you’re me. You’re stalking me. Or you found this place through a pages deep Google search about Deal or No Deal being rigged, Mario Kart 64, or El Monterrey Burrito scams. At any rate, here’s a little bit about me.
This site is 20 years old. When I started it this blogging thing was all the rage. And the internet was a very different place than it is today. Nowadays people don’t even go to websites. Again… how did you find this place? And I was a pretty different person. But everything you’ll read here is a mile marker along my journey. I still journal a lot privately, but so much of what I’ve shared here is dear to me, and so much has brought me joy.
I’m a husband. I’m married to a wonderful woman named Katie. We met on Bumble. I’d never used a dating app in my life, but I was looking for someone to share the fun stuff with. As fun as it is to type here into the void, there’s just something about sharing an experience with someone, and when Katie said she was a hockey fan, I was instantly interested. Then I learned how passionate she is about her work. When we met, I could tell she had a plan, and knew what she wanted. That was so hot! And I’ve been so lucky to watch her work hard and achieve those goals for herself. Nobody gave it to her, she had to put in the hard work, stand out from the crowd, and she has made her dream real. I swear so many people seem like they want to complain their way to the top. Like if they bitch about something long enough, or hard enough, that someone will give them a shot. But not Katie, I’m excited to be married to her, and I’m excited to cheer her on, through all of life’s adventures.
I’m a dad. I have two amazing kids, Lucas and Emma. All I ever wanted was a boy and a girl. I wanted to do all the boy stuff. Play with Hot Wheels and play video games together. And I wanted to do all the girl stuff. Have the tea parties, and paint rainbows, unicorns and princesses. My dream came true. And these kids are just some of the most fun, joyful, curious kids I could have ever asked for. I remember when Luke was born, that I told myself, (or rather everybody told me), “enjoy it while it lasts”. It goes fast. I made up my mind early on and I remind myself all the time. That I want to enjoy every phase, every change, all the moments. To be present. And I feel like I have done that. Now that they are getting older, I won’t lie. I do have some heartache at times for days gone by. But they still have so many adventures ahead of them that I can’t wait to watch them take on. They are getting more independent every day. And I’m excited for the life they will make for themselves.
I’m a radio guy. This year marks 23 years in radio. We do so much more these days. When I started we had three radio stations. Now I work with 28 radio stations, multiple news websites, streaming stations, translators, digital marketing campaigns, a board member, and a bunch of things that I’m probably forgetting. Man… when I put it that way, it’s no wonder I barely play games anymore. Radio and the media world is changing a lot, but I still love the intimacy, and opportunity that radio has brought to my life. I’ve worked with some truly life changing personalities. I’ve talked to people I’d never get the chance to talk to otherwise. And I’ve made a difference in communities that I never thought a solid B student from Southwest Kansas would ever have the chance to do.
I’m a gamer. And if any part of my life seems out of balance, this is probably it. I always joke now that gaming is my retirement plan. Some people want to retire and travel, or semi-retire and start their dream business. When I’m done, I just finally want to beat Wind Waker. Ha! When I was a teenager, I told myself, that no matter where life takes me, I’m always going to make gaming a priority. And that’s not untrue. I have found time in recent years to play games. Gone are the days of sitting down and playing something for 6 hours straight. But I still will wake up early before the family on the weekends and get in a couple hours of Guild Wars. Or play some Final Fantasy X on the couch while Katie is watching TV. And those moments keep me in touch with this part of my soul. Every year, on New Year’s Eve since 2009 I have spent the countdown in Animal Crossing. I will keep finding ways to make it a priority in my life.
I am a DIY weirdo. I change my own oil. I own old cars and fix them when they break. I do my own remodeling. Part of that is from my Dad. Dad was always working on some project when I was a kid. We never called a plumber. Dad tore up the house and fixed whatever was broken. We hauled a literal I-beam into the attic of my childhood home to fix a sagging roof. Then we re-roofed the house ourselves. So that’s sure where I learned it. But now that I’m here, I really value the independence that comes from being able to do things myself. I mean it saves money, sure. But now that my time is limited, the time it takes really hits hard. I would have so many more things done if I had more time. I mean, hell I’ve been re-doing the trim on my house for a year now. And it’s just hard to get to those things. But the work I see from paid places, I mean, am I worse. Sure. Am I $10,000 worse? No way. For as long as I have my health, I’ll always be looking to fix the things we have and make them work.
So there you go. That’s the guy behind the blog here. Me. I really can’t even imagine what the next 20 years are going to bring. Will this blog still be functional? I can self host it if I really need to. I might be a grandpa in 20 years. What joy and hardship awaits? I hope I can write about some of it here.
If you’re looking for some more timely updates, you can always look me up on Facebook. Or I’m on twitter @kartmaster. Thanks for stopping by. Even if it’s just to lurk. And if you want to say “Hi” I won’t judge you.
¡Hasta la proxima!
B.G. Willers Podcast – Melting Snow
The storm has finally moved on! I’ve been a bachelor for a few days so I cranked out a podcast.
Topics:
- Winter Storm Agatha
- Vectrex… again.
- Backlog of games grows
- Andrea got Guild Wars 2!
- EA Wants Games to Cost $69
- Podcast Music
- Mystery Song
DOWNLOAD HERE
B.G. Willers Podcast – Vectorized
Well, I bet you can guess what half of this podcast is about. I promise it’s not all Vectrex though!
DOWNLOAD HERE!
07.10.12A Pair of Podcasts
Well two new things here. First off, I’ve joined with Biebs for a new weekly podcast we’re dubbing “The Rants of Two Old Dudes”. We’re going to discuss tech and gaming both modern and retro.
Here’s Episode 1 of The Rants of Two Old Dudes! Enjoy!
Secondly I tried something new with my own personal podcast. It has a lot of refinement left to go. Infact I don’t even have any intro artwork, and had no idea what to use for video during the Mystery Song, but here it is. I had to just go ahead and post it, or else it was just going to sit around forever. As I get more proficient in video production, I’ll be able to crank them out and make them more polished. But for now here’s a very rough video podcast.
Only one topic: Digital Distribution of games vs. Physical Copies
Previous Mystery Song was from Super Mario Bros 2
No podcast Music
New Mystery Song
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkV8rGqEq0k]
05.21.12PODCAST – Getting Back in the Groove
I am finally starting to feel like myself again after a long and stressful month and a half or so. I was in a good mood this morning so I took the opportunity to record another podcast. I literally had no intention of recording a show until I got into the car in the driveway, so absolutely no planning whatsoever went into this one.
Topics Include:
Backlogged Games
Garage Sale-ing
Eclipse Watching
Podcast Music
Mystery Song
The answer to the previous mystery song: Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
DOWNLOAD HERE
04.16.12PODCAST – Collector’s Edition
Just realized that my last post was my 1,000th post on the blog! Way to go me, and those who have contributed over the years! I don’t even think I have a thousand VIEWS! Haha.
I forgot what I even used for the last Podcast’s mystery song, so I had to go back and listen. The answer is: Ending Theme of Mario Kart 64.
Topics for this Podcast Include but are not limited to:
- Hell Month
- Guild Wars 2 GET
- Podcast Music
- Mystery Song
- Blasphemous Stage Clear (For Andrea)
Podcast – Randomness Ensues
Another podcast with an extreme lack of planning. I was just in a decent mood, so figured I’d record and see what came out.
Topics:
- Facebook required for business
- Late getting home
- Enjoying solitude
- Gaming quandaries
- Toronado’s future?
- Podcast Music
- Mystery Song
Previous Mystery Song was from New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Final Bowser.
03.20.12
Podcast: Terrible Segway Edition
For a lack of planning or forethought of any kind I almost liked this one. Which is rare for this Podcast.
Topics:
- eBay Habits
- Severe Weather
- Garage Sales
- Elusive Vectrex
- Freecycle & Projects
- Gardening
- Podcast Music
- Mystery Song
Last time’s mystery song was from Animal Crossing on Gamecube!
03.13.12Podcast – Beat Skyward Sword!
It took long enough… yet I wish it wasn’t over! An outstanding game from start to finish. And you can listen to me expound and gush upon it in this podcast!
Topics
- Time Change
- Skyward Sword
- Skyward Sword vs Ocarina of Time
- Skyward Sword SPOILERS
- Skyward Sword Experience
- Skyward Sword Story
- Podcast Music (feat. Skyward Sword)
- Mystery Song
03.6.12
Podcasterrific
I was a batchelor over the weekend while Andrea and Luke were out of town. I talk about that. Skip the first few minutes if you don’t want to hear me complain about work. I would recommend it.
