A 20 Minute Project
This is gonna be fun!
I’ve had these cards from Club Nintendo for a while. I wanted to display them in some way but they really would look best with frames. Frames are so expensive though… except at the Dollar Tree! $1 per frame. Much better than the $3 or $4 I was finding elsewhere. Thanks to my officemate Kate for revealing to me this awesome deal!
And I’ve got a helper! These cards show every portable game system Nintendo has released to date. And with the recent announcement of the 3DS XL, these cards are already out of date. Haha.
I think it looks good. I’m debating putting them on the wall behind Andrea, or setting them up in the soon to be “studio” room. I’m afraid the glass in the frames will create some reflection problems, but never will know until I try.
Meanwhile, Luke was having some mischevous fun of his own.
A 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]
07.7.12This is a video game:
This is a screenshot from an upcoming game called Project CARS. It’s going to be available on a few different platforms. No word on an Atari 2600 release yet.
Pretty amazing how far games have come when you look at the screenshot from my previous post.
07.2.12Just What I Needed
Yesterday was the first time in a while I didn’t leave the house. Well I didn’t leave the driveway at least. No work, no travel. Just some honest to goodness free time.
First I slept in. I highly recommend it if you ever get to try it, but like anything else, you don’t want to get used to it. So I rolled out of bed at 8:15am and started up some coffee, and went out to the garden and pulled up a nice batch of potatoes and a fresh yellow onion. We didn’t have much for breakfast, but I fried those up and Andrea made some muffins and it was a pretty alright breakfast! Just needed some bacon and eggs to be perfect!
Afterwards I went back outside and aired up the pool for Luke and I to play in. It was a hot day, but didn’t feel too bad once you hopped in. Luke did pretty good, but the water was a little bit deeper than his bathtime, so he had to get used to the fact that he couldn’t just crawl and flop around like he’s used to. He inhaled a big gasp of water once, and that was a little scary, but he coughed it up, and went right back to playing again. Haha.
I also got to play some of my “new to me” Super Off Road game I scored for 99 cents on eBay. I remember renting the game back in the day, but I never owned it. I probably played it for almost an hour non stop. I made it as far as race 40 and was getting my butt kicked. That one sitting was worth the 99 cents right there. So my NES collection continues to grow.
So it was a great Sunday. And even with that one day of R&R I feel ready to face the week. Of course it helps that it’s going to be a short week with the 4th of July smack dab in the middle. That helps the motivation too.
06.28.12I Am Ready
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-CB0hheQRg]
It’s been a long wait, but finally the day is coming. I’ve missed out on the last few chances to play Guild Wars 2. I missed the previous beta weekend as I was in Wichita, and yesterday’s stress test was only a couple hours while I was at work. But at least I know that here in a few short months I’ll be able to play any time day or night! Plus there’s still one more beta weekend event coming up at the end of July that I’m hoping to get in on too.
I’ve been trying to take vacation at work for a long time. Last time I had scheduled a 5 day weekend, all but one of my days off got cancelled because of scheduling conflicts. This time I’m telling them I’ve spent thousands of dollars already and I’m leaving the country. In reality, I’ve spent a hundred or so, and I’m not going anywhere but my house. Seriously, you won’t be able to crack me loose unless there’s a fire.
The AC finally got fixed. Turns out it was the thermostat. They replaced it and it seems to be working. Though they replaced it with one that isn’t programmable. Not a huge deal since Andrea’s a home most days now. When we both worked, it was nice to set it a little higher during the day while we were gone. But just glad it’s working again.
Honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. We would open up all the windows at night and turn on the attic fan. It would get down to the mid 70’s at night and really cool it off in the house. Then before I went to work in the mornings, I would close up all the windows to try to keep the cool air in. Didn’t work too bad. I think the highest it ever got in the house was 90 upstairs, which translates to about 85 or so downstairs. So if we retreated to the basement it wasn’t too awful, even on the days when it got up to 111. But certianly less convinent. I guess we’ll save a little money on our power bill from the time it wasn’t running in the sweltering heat.
I’ve started to play Metroid Prime again. In fact I’ll be heading to do that as soon as I finish this post. I’m making progress. The new upgrades I’m getting are making getting around a lot faster. Which is good because I seem to be back-tracking a lot, probably through my own fault. But I feel like I’m finally settling in with the game… only 8 hours into it. =P
So I officially have to beat this game before August 25th. Because after that, I won’t be playing much of anything else but Guild Wars 2.
06.25.12Hot Mammer Jammer
No AC for the last 5 hours or so. 100+ outside.
We’re having a heat wave. Sure doesn’t feel like a tropical heatwave though. We hit a high of 108 today. And it’s times like this when you find out if your air conditioner is up to snuff. Ours apparently was not.
First of all, my car doesn’t have a working air conditioner, it’s something I’ve resigned to. I could repair it, but I keep telling my self the Toronado days are closer to the end than they are the beginning. So unless I get the determination to drive this thing for another 4 years or so, I’m fine with weathering the 20 or so really hot days we have every year, just this year it started in June!
So I get home after a hot ride home and head into the house. It takes about 5 minutes or so, but I start to realize, the relief I was expecting from the sweltering heat hadn’t yet set in. I thought it was possibly because Andrea’s mom was over cooking in the kitchen with the stove and oven on. But then I thought… no it’s still too hot. I look at the thermostat and it reads 82. Uh oh. That’s not right.
It’s only then that I remember when I watered the garden right as I got home, I set my phone and bag by the air conditioner unit, and it wasn’t running. I poke my head out the back to see if by chance it was running now… nope. Last time this happened it was just a breaker tripped. So Luke, who was getting impatient for supper, and I headed down to the breaker box to see if anything was out of place. At first glance everything looked as it should. At second glance… everything still was as it should. So the problem wasn’t there. Time to call the landlord.
Say what you will about renting vs. home ownership. Each has merits of its own at times. In this particular instance, I enjoy that from this point forward, someone else it taking care of it… and paying for it. I know I pay for it over the months in rent, but I look at it as kind of a deductible free insurance policy. When the hail took out the roof, I just made a phone call. Now that the AC is out, I just make a phone call. I may not be able to drill holes in the wall or build equity, but renting isn’t all bad.
So we are hanging out in the basement now. It’s 9PM and it’s down to 94 outside. Here in an hour or so we’ll open up the house and try to pull in some cooler air. Supposed to get down to 72 tonight. Right on. We’ll kick on the attic fan and suck in that fresh air, and then when I get up in the morning I’ll close it all up and try to seal it in as much as we can. Considering it was almost 110 today, its remarkable that it never broke 90 in the house.
Repair man should be here tomorrow. If not our neighbor already offered to leave the door unlocked so Andrea and Luke can go hang out in the coolness if needed. Just another nice thing about living in a small town.
To Grandma’s House We Go
Looking off from Grandpa and Grandma’s House
Well you know in my last post I’ve been talking about how it’s tiring to be off traveling so many weekends in a row. But at the same time how it’s completely worth it? This weekend is another great example of that.
Andrea, Luke and I came up to Sabetha this weekend. We carpooled with Jamie, Bryan and their family to come to Grandma Pat’s and Grandpa Wayne’s memorial.
It was a very nice service. Lots of people there. I saw some people that I only recognized by name as I’d hear Grandma or Grandpa talking on the phone. I always rememebr often both Pat & Wayne would pick up the phone at the same time when someone called, so a lot of times, when you called their house, you’d get to have a conversation with both of them at the same time. Haha.
There were a lot of nice touches. I really liked on their memorial stone, how Grandpa had a horse engraved on his side, and Grandma had a little rocking horse on her side. Grandpa always loved horses, and Grandma has SO many rocking horses that she had collected over the years. I thought it was very fitting.
The preacher asked if anyone has stories to share, and man I could think of a ton from when I was groing up, but I didn’t want to speak, because I knew I’d lose it and no one would be able to understand me. I remember how she worked at the rest home and would always save soup can labels that we could turn in for school. And she always had iced tea, and this sweet 10 sweetner. It was kinda like Sweet & Low, but it was a liquid that you would drizzle in to the drink. I used to make the sweetest tea ever at Grandma’s house. Grandpa also like to drink coffee down at the old “Midway” truck stop. I remember sitting in the booth out there while the guys chattered. Lots of great memories.
We’ve got to spend a lot of time with Grandma & Grandpa Althouse too. I hadn’t realized how long it’s been since I’d been back here. The old gas stove is gone that heated the house, and now they have central air! Some things like that have changed, but walking around, I still see so many different things that I used to play on and around, that haven’t changed all that much. It’s been good to see everyone. Bittersweet to be sure. We’re off to church here soon at the old place I used to go to vacation Bible school, then the long road home.
06.18.12This is my new life
Honestly, I keep waiting for the day when life slows back down. I’m coming to a point where perhaps I have to realize that this is my new life. One full of activities, long days, short nights and only a small fraction of time that not only is purely recreational, or even just idle, But a fraction of that fraction is expendable in the manner that I choose.
This year in particular, the number of things we are going and “doing” seem to have taken over. It feels like a real life game of Tetris. You know how when you start, it’s easy to fit all the pieces just perfectly? But as time goes on, things start to pile up and you’re forced to make compromises, not only are you fitting pieces in spots that aren’t exactly perfect, but the more compromises you make, the more difficult it becomes to find a place for the next piece and you continually lose room to maneuver. Remember how the music increases in intensity as your screen fills towards the top? I feel like my tempo has just kicked up a notch. When that happens, things get frantic, you make mistakes and sometimes the whole game comes crashing down. But sometimes… you hit that threshold, keep your cool and battle back to a game that is completely manageable. I’m really trying to play it cool.
I don’t want this post to be a big complaint. I’m just exploring whether I need to pare away the volume of activities, or find a way to cope with the new level of stuff we’re doing. Or if this is just a temporary rush that will end soon. This isn’t to say I regret the time I’ve spent. For instance, Mom’s wedding was this past weekend. I certianly never looked at it as a hassle or a bother. It was a great weekend and something we’ll talk about forever. Especially the part where the Pastor stole my scripture reading haha! Every weekend we’ve spent away has been worth it. I guess it’s what it does to the middle of the week that is tiring.
The natural thing for people to say is “get used to it”. I think that’s crap. I like to think I have a little more control over my existence than to let the wind blow me from one calendar page to the next. So if I go into hiding it’s nothing personal. I’m just trying to preserve some of my own sanity, which requires an occasional diet of solitude and the comfort of my own chair.
It’s Finished
I don’t have pics of the completed project, but here’s a quick picture I snapped right after I picked it up from the upholstry shop.
I’ll get some better pictures as soon as I can.
You know I really like working on cars, but I can get frustrated. Especially when I’m on a time crunch. I don’t like having to have a car back together by the next day so it can be on the road. Sadly we only drive projects around here! Haha.
I think it turned out pretty good though.
06.12.12Sorry I’ve Been Absent
It’s been busy. I had mentioned in previous podcasts that I started playing Metroid Prime with the intention of playing it until completion. Well the bad news is I’ve been too busy to play any of it for the past two weeks. But then again, I haven’t really been doing any gaming at all INSTEAD of that, so it’s not like I’ve been “cheating”. Though Andrea and I did play some Mario Kart 7 on 3DS tonight.
Other than a whole lot of travel this month. Here’s the big project that has kept me most busy. The vinyl top on Andrea’s car. It hasn’t been too bad. I just hope I’ve done everything well enough that the upholstery shop will put the top on. My biggest fear is that I get it all prepped to go and they’ll say I didn’t do something right. Ugh. Let’s hope not. Really just want to get this done!
Here’s some pics of the process. I’m only going post a few of them on the front page, so click through to see the rest!
This is what was underneath when we took it off.
Here’s the old vinyl that was flapping in the breeze.
Uh oh. This can’t be good. Got most of the old glue sanded off. But the paint underneath is pretty flaky, so a lot of that is going to have to come off too. But what is that drill for?
I had to drill out all the rivets holding down the trim pieces that go around the edges. Kinda apprehensive about drilling holes in an otherwise nice car. But must do what must be done. I was afraid this was going to be tedious work, but the drill chewed right through them!