Month: September 2008

Categories
...And Little E Makes 3 Funny Stuff Gaming Home Base

Numerous random strings of written syllables

I’m in industrial-sized shitheaps of pain right now. Somewhere between Sunday and this morning, I did a number, probably a very large whole number, on my back. Sunday consisted of me working on the farm and doing a lot of lugging-around of the birthday boy and his copious haul of presents; today consisted of me moving at little as possible and repeatedly saying “ow.” I felt like I was just going to fall over ever time I had to pick Evan up today. I’ve taken lots of extra strength Advil just so I can keep moving/functioning enough to keep up with him, and even then, “keeping up with him” has consisted largely of “sitting/laying in the same general area where he’s playing.”

Thank God for the nice haul of nifty new toys; that’s made it possible to keep him concentrated in one area of the house. He got a little electronic basketball goal thing (which, being the little hacker that he is, he’s already figured out how to score infinite points without actually doing anything with the ball), and neato little steering wheel dealie with a little screen on it, which will run through the alphabet, counting 1-10, various songs, or just play a somewhat primitive driving game depending on what he does with the wheel, the horn, etc.; the steering wheel thing is really kinda cool. (I admit it, I played the little driving game while he was messing with the basketball goal today.) He also got a couple of shape-matching toys, new storybooks, and other goodies. His party, such as it was, went well for the most part; he was already tired by the time the birthday cake rolled out, so he was pretty chilled with everything. “Electronic steering wheel thingie? Cool….cool…”

In other news, AtariAge is having its first label contest in some time, for a new Atari 2600 homebrew called Lead. I had to download the latest public beta to see what the heck it was about, and found that it’s a really cool game with a very interesting take on in-game sound. So I’m going to enter my first AA label contest in 4+ years on this one – this would be a cool game to be a part of.

I’ve also entered a much goofier contest on doctorwhoforum.com, in which the rules are to make a funny single-panel “comic” using only action figures – and the only Photoshoppery allowed is to put text on the image. This is my entry, which only works if the “odd figure out” is recognized (it’s a Star Trek: First Contact Borg figure):

Cybermen vs. Borg

I’ll let you know if I win any Adipose. I’m pretty sure that I won’t, because the individual running the contest has made it clear that bonus points can be scored by playing to his interests and quirks, of which I, being mostly a lurker, was largely unaware. *shrug* Oh well. I’ve still got enough fat on board even if I don’t win any Adipose.

Back to gaming for a moment – I’ve actually been getting some gaming in lately, largely in preparation for PDF Level 2, but I’ve also been trying to write reviews for the site as I go. I’ve been on an Intellivision binge lately, so that’s not a bad place to start looking for recent reviews. I’ve even posted the (long overdue) first Aquarius game review. And it is, in fact, as bad a game machine as legend would have it.

Adipose gags aside, if I may say so myself, within the context of still being a short fat bald guy, I thought I was – relatively speaking – lookin’ good for Evan’s birthday party. I got a pair of slacks on that hadn’t fit me in five years, and dug out one of my favorite shirts, which now no longer looks like the buttons are going to burst open, Hulk-style, which is how it’s looked for the past couple or three years. I think I’ve got a good start. Chasing around after a toddler will probably help me lose another 30 pounds by the time he turns two. If I can just get my back straightened out, this whole fatherhood thing is a pretty healthy gig.… Read more

Categories
...And Little E Makes 3 Toiling In The Pixel Mines

Birthday boy!

Evan and his daddy on Evan's first birthdayEvan’s birthday is today, and I’m working on a little video piece to celebrate the occasion. I temporarily ceased any other video work I had going so I could load every piece of Evan video I have into the Avid. I won’t tip my hand about the music, other than that it involves the Traveling Wilburys. But going through all that video has kinda made me realize how much he’s grown in the past year, and how much I have too – I kinda had to grow the hell up, a bit more than I’d realized. I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing, really – I don’t have a playbook that I’m operating by. All I do know is that it’s now been a year since I become A Guy With A Baby. Somewhere in that year that’s passed, I’ve become Dad. And I don’t doubt for a moment that it’s an improvement. He’s the best part of being me, and from here on out he always will be.

This also means that it’s been a year since I gave up full-time gainful employment. Despite that, I’ve surprised myself and, I think, everyone else by still pulling in some money while I’m on daddy duty. There were people who predicted dire things for us income-wise, and you know, it hasn’t been easy… but for the most part it hasn’t been a train wreck either.

In other news, it looks like those of you hitting gaming events “up east” will have two chances to pick up the PDF DVD – at CCAG in Cleveland on October 12th, and the following week on October 18th in Reading, PA at TooManyGames. I won’t be there in person, but plenty of DVDs will be. 🙂 The sudden surge of duplicating I’ve done for these two shows has brought the total print run up to 200, so if you’re in those parts of the country and haven’t picked on up yet, hit up Tim Snider at CCAG or Scott Stilphen at TMG those weekends and get caught up…especially before the PDF Level 2 DVD comes out next year!

OK, back to the birthday boy for me. I’ll have his video up for your amusement and amazement this weekend, and I’m hoping that next week I’ll have another treat finished at last for those who enjoyed that little video piece I did about catching you up on the mythology of a certain TV show in 35 minutes. Little hint: you’ll need another 30 minutes free in your schedule somewhere, and then you’ll be caught up on the rest of what’s going on in that universe. 😉… Read more

Categories
Should We Talk About The Weather?

O HAI IKE.

this is SO not what I had in mind when I said blow meLooks like it’s time to batten down the hatches, because the way the forecast is going, there’ll be a freakin’ tropical storm in Arkansas Saturday night and especially Sunday morning. Being something on the order of an entire state inland, this is, to say the least, just a little odd. I have to say that the part I’m really looking forward to is feeding horses Sunday morning with 60mph winds! (I’ll get video if I can, though it’ll probably just look like Deadliest Catch with horses instead of crabs.) (Which, now that I sit there and think about it, might just be interesting except that I’ll be the poor doofus in the heavy weather gear.) What was left of Gustav brought me the first-ever leak in the roof here at the house, so I can’t exactly say that this year’s hurricane season – which I normally watch from afar with weather-geek fascination – is some distant experience that doesn’t impact me apart from vaguely threatening to raise what I pay for a gallon of gas. (Hell, what doesn’t threaten to raise that these days?)

I’m rushing to finish some recent work on the CGE DVD set before I have to shut the Avid down and unplug it from electricity. I’m in the home stretch on my part of that project – enough so that I’m almost confident enough to predict that it’ll be under your Christmas tree this year. However, in this case, I’m not in charge of the packaging or duplication, so I can’t really make that promise. Watch the usual places soon – I know it’s a bit late, but trust me, you’ll get some CGE lovin’ on shiny round things soon.

Evan’s been walking more often, and he’s building the confidence to cross entire rooms now. He crossed 90% of his bedroom today to present Olivia with one of his stuffed animals. The look in her eyes was priceless:

HOLY CRAP HE CAN WALK. THEY NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS. I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST AN ECONOMY-SIZED MODEL.

I put a new flea-and-tick-killing collar on Xena today, along with some Frontline, in the hopes that the little buggers will vacate her fur by this weekend, just in case she needs to come inside for a while. What she’ll think about a walking baby remains to be seen – she’ll probably just lick his face. Again. 😆… Read more

Categories
...And Little E Makes 3

Evan’s first steps

Evan took about half a dozen steps toward me, completely unaided and unsupported, tonight. I totally wasn’t expecting it. He just turned around from his little piano and started walking toward me with a big smile on his face, and then he hugged my leg. He then did the same thing again a few minutes later, only about three or four steps this time.

Let the record show that when he stood up and started walking on his own, he was walking toward Daddy. *heart bursts with pride* He’ll be one year old a week from Friday.… Read more