I almost forgot to blog that I went to the dentist a few weeks ago. Since I hadn't been in like, 2 years, Violet thought she would make an appointment for me. How nice of her! (/Sarcasm)

I didn't have any cavities, which is great. However I did need what they call a "deep cleaning", which is where they numb my mouth and really dig deep under the gums. I've always had good teeth and bad gums, mostly because I don't floss. Except for my front right tooth. It's a bit yellow, but that's not due to negligence or lack of hygiene.. apparently I had some kinda trauma to it as a kid and it was damaged or died. I don't remember what this could've been... I've hit my head on so many things its hard to keep track of what happened when.

I've been using the Oral B Cross Action Plus brush for about 9 months now, and I like it a lot. Violet uses a sonic care brush, but I don't care for it. Anyway the dentist office we use is fantastic. Very up-scale, courteous, and professional. I watched the DVD of Transformers on an overhead LCD screen while they did their work on me. Pretty awesome. They also prescribed me an oral rinse. I've been mostly good since the appointment... They want me to brush twice a day, and I've been doing it at least once a day. They want me to floss at least once a day, and I've been flossing about 4 or 5 times a week. Hey, its better than before. I have an appointment in Feb. We'll see if my new oral habits work out.

On Christmas Day, we all went to Mount Vernon (George Washington's House). The weather was good (mid 50s, mostly clear). considering winter in Metro DC. This is the only time of the year when they open up the upper floor to the public. It was a lot less crowded than our previous visit. The shops and food court were closed though, which we didn't think about... so we ended up snacking the whole time on the pretzels I had brought. We visited the main house, then strolled down to the docks, and then hiked back up through the trails to the Upper Garden. Now, for the obligatory pics:

Violet and I started a tradition a few years ago that she really enjoys... Driving around Xmas eve and looking at Xmas Lights. We usually just randomly drive around places where I think there might be some good, festive, neighborhoods. King's Corner in Plano, Texas was awesome. Madison, WI people don't seem to like lights... This may be due to everyone preferring to pay for heat instead of lights, but who knows. Anyway, there's usually some sponsored lights, often in a park.

This year, we went to the Festival of Lights at Bull Run Park.

It wasn't cheap. 15 bucks a car Mon-Thu. Unfortunately, we went on a Friday, which cost $20 bucks. Ouch. Our internet coupon for $3.00 off was better than nothing.


This Portal Wreath Arch greeted us at the entrance.

And this Old Mill piece.












Minimum posted speed is 10mph, so you're not supposed to stop... I did most of the time anyway.. no one seemed to mind.. but some of my pictures are a little bit blurred (I bought the Sony Cybershot 7.2. a bit before image stabilization became the norm) There might be some setting on it to make it better, but I dunno what it is.




Santa was near the end.



All in all, most of the lights were repetitive (Lots of spheres) and really spaced out. There were a few good pieces, as shown here, but by and large the entire drive wasn't quite worth the high cost of admission, in my opinion. The run is divided up into 6 sections: Winter Wonderland, Candy Land & Fairy Tale lane, Twelve Days of Christmas (this section was very well done), Toyland, and Santa's Workshop. At the end of the drive was a small carnival called the Holiday Village. Admission to the village was included with the light show. It was kinda cold but we bought some Funnel Cake, which was excellent, and I bought Violet a wooden rose. We didn't ride any of the 3 or 4 rides or play any of the 5 or 6 carnival games they had.

Some stats:

• Length of run from Start to Finish: 2.5 miles
• Number of LED lights in show and village > 75,000
• Minimum time to setup: 3 weeks

This is weird, but somewhat amusing at the same time. I personally think I can take on more than this, but that's just me...

26

Looking for payday loans?

I almost forgot to post that Sat I went to the IGDA (Its website sucks) meeting here at EA Mythic. I was a judge for an exercise in which several groups of 3-5 (non game industry ) folk had 2 hours to present a game concept based on some random words they were given. Sounds kinda silly, I know. Anyways, it was good to be on the other side of the security door, so to speak.. with students and such asking ME questions about the industry instead of 4 years ago when I was asking the same questions to industry vets.

My company Xmas party was last night.

I went with my friend Gary, but our wives had to stay home with the kids. The company provided daycare, but only for kids over the age of 1 year(or was it 2?). Violet had a book club meeting anyway and a book gift exchange, but she's bummed she missed it. Me too, since she can gamble better than I can... but more on gambling later...

Enter the main ballroom of the Marriott Hotel, several things were clear:

• EA is a big-ass corporate company
• I was under dressed

I should have wore a suit and the Tigger Xmas hat.. but instead I wore business casual (khaki's and a polo shirt). And a ball cap. Ah well.

It was a bit better than the company Xmas party I experienced at Raven (Owned by Activision).
There was probably about 200 or 250 people at the EA Mythic party, overall.

In the middle of the room was a refreshment table of fancy drinks and appetizers, and an EA Mythic ice sculpture. I dared Gary to lick it, but he's a coward and didn't do it. The main course was a buffet of fancy French foods that I didn't like, couldn't pronounce, and don't really remember. I skipped most of it and just had some turkey, which was good. Desert was fancy chocolate mousse with cream. Half way through I bite into something nasty, and later discover there were a few blueberries at the bottom. WHY THE FRICK do people hide fruit in desserts?

There was an open bar, but all I had was Diet Pepsi. There was a dance floor, but I didn't get on it. There were 2 Rock Band units, each with a projector and a huge screen. Although I can achieve around a 90% on drums on easy, these people were playing on a hard difficulty level that I would have quickly failed. So I passed on that too.

My main salvation was the fact that it was also a casino night. We each got a voucher good for 300 credits. At the end of the evening the top 10 winners would get various prizes like Xbox 360s, Wiis, Rock Band, stuff like that. Losers were given an entry into a raffle. I started off light with some blackjack and was doing OK, but the pace was slow and I wasn't earning very much very quickly. Some people had already won over a thousand credits.

So I decided that the big money was in roulette. I was wrong. I did OK at first, but then lost it all as quickly as I had won it. I had lasted about an hour or so though, so I was content.

I found a 5-credit chip on the floor. My big comeback lasted 3 seconds. I put it on Roulette 9 and didn't win. I don't think roulette is my game...

Later on I was watching some friends play and Chris' wife had a voucher and didn't care to gamble, so she gave her voucher to Chris. Since Chris was doing OK, he gave it to me. So I went and hit the poker tables. It was Texas Hold 'em, of course.

I stayed at the table and was holding my own for quite a while, but then I was whittled down to a mere 100 credits. So on a whim (and a Queen + King on the deal), I went all in. Howard decided that he could easily grab my chips, so he called. Several other people decided to go all in as well, since they had less than 100 credits left anyway. So we all turned up our cards. Someone else who had went all in with her 20 credits matched me with her own King and Queen. Howard had hockey sticks (pocket 7's, that is.. a pair of seven's), and so was the favorite going in. The flop (3 cards) went face up, and they were all nothing but suck. Not good for our hero. Then came the turn.. another nuthin... It appeared the pair of 7's would win it. But then the river came and went, and I ended up winning with a pair of Queens. I got most of the pot, the other person who matched my cards got some, but not all, and the remaining people got a little bit too. You see, when someone bets more than you have, the pot splits. Our pot was split into 3 piles. Confusing, I know, but the dealer did a good job of figuring it all out (Unlike my blackjack dealer who had trouble with adding cards on numerous deals). Now I was top chip count at the table, but the table was thinning. Soon a 5-minute warning came and with only 1 more person at the table, and her chip count fairly low, I went to go bet my 550 or so credits on roulette.

With only 1 spin remaining, I tried to put all my money on 9, since that's my lucky number, but the operator wouldn't let me for some reason.. she said I needed to split my chips. Since I had five 100 credit chips, I put one chip on 15 (Drake's birthday), one on 7 (Violet's Birthday), one on 16 (My birthday), and one on 9 (my lucky number). I put the remaining 100 chip on the MC, which is the column of numbers in the middle (it pays 3-1). I then put my last few chips on 0 and 00, just because no one else had.

The spin....

The Result....

Red 32 or some such nonsense. Total BS. Roulette sucks. I lost everything except my middle bet, so I ended up at the end of the night with 300 credits, the same I had started with. Bah. Roulette definitely isn't my game.

Overall I had fun, but I didn't socialize and make new acquaintances like I would have preferred. I don't know who the top 10 winners were, but it certainly wasn't me. I didn't win the loser's raffle either.

I may not have won any prizes, but I did win a good night out. Thanks, Violet, for watching baby Drake that whole time!

I should really update this blog more often.
Anyway, I finished Rock Band, with a usual drum percentage of 88-92% for most songs. Not great, not bad though. The kick drum kicks my ass for some reason.

Other than that I have no updates. I come home, take care of drake and provide/cook dinner, and then goto sleep. No games, no blogs, not really a whole lot going on right now.

Drake's been pretty fussy lately.. Violet has all the details so there's no need for me to repost them here.

Violet has graciously given me thurs nights off so I can game. I'll be in Dark Heresy (warhammer 40k rpg) every odd thurs, and I just recruited players to play in my evil rises campaign on even thursdays. I hope this game last longer than the last one.

I finally got a chance to winterize the house. Basically I buy the cheap window insulation kits at home depot and keep them on all summer. for 4 bucks I get 3 window sized sheets of plastic and some adhesive. I outline the window frame with the double sided adhesive, then I put the plastic on, and then I hot air blow dry it to make it tight and remove wrinkles. There's some minor glare, but mostly you don't notice its there. This provides a layer of air between the glass and the plastic. It works pretty well, and is easily removed once winter is over, though I suppose you could keep it for summer use too. I did 3 windows in the bedroom and it made a noticeable difference. I also did the kitchen but since I didnt do the sliding glass door their effectiveness is somewhat questionable. I've been doing this for a few years now and I think its well worth the minor cost and effort. I couldn't find a link on home depots website to the product, but they have lots of other window insulation kits available, including film that gets applied directly to the glass.

Now I just need to find my receipt so I can have warranty service done on my seized snow thrower.

Well its time to do yet another weekly update I suppose. I don't know where the time goes. It isn't sleep, that's for sure.

First and foremost, my heartfelt condolences to those that have suffered the loss of Taarna Renee Wiltsie. I have no words to help ease such pain.

Drake is getting medicine for what appears to be acid reflux/heartburn. I don't know if it's helping or not, but we'll see. He's due for some sorta test thing to ensure his stomach and stuff is OK.

Our major milestone at work ended Wed, so these past few days I'm a bit less busy than usual (which means I'm busy but not overly so). I'm happy a majority of my work will finally be enjoyed during the guild open beta scheduled in December.

Our house sucks, temperature wise. (It sucks for many reasons, this being yet another one).
Some rooms are cold, like 60 or 65, while others are comfortable, around 70. Thankfully, the nursery is one of the warm rooms. And since that's where I've been sleeping most of the time, I've been OK. Violet sleeps in the bedroom and thats one of the coldest rooms, but she prefers sleeping in the cold. Craziness I say.

Speaking of Crazy.... Rock band. Yeah. That's crazy like a fox cool. I wish we had the money for such things, but I just spent 150 bucks on rechargeable batteries and charger for all the baby stuff. Swing, Chair, Mobile, etc. ACK! I say.

(PS, I'm getting Rock Band anyway, via work, at slightly reduced cost.. Still can't afford it, but meh, whatta gonna do.. car payments are for suckers, anyway.. am I right? )

Umm, its hard to recall the events of the past week.... its all kinda a blur due to sleep deprivation, constant baby interruptions, and working hard to get the game done.

Lets see... where to begin?? Watched Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
It's been on the shelf for a month or so (via netflix). I liked the movie, though the baby interupted every 20 mins or so. I realize Galactus as a cloud seemed dumb, but I thought it was a good effect and concept for a world-devouring entity. Some good funny moments too. Overall, I didn't have too many things I didn't like about this movie. Better than the original? Maybe, maybe not.. I'd say about the same.

I went to a Halloween party on Oct 27th. I didn't have time or money to make a costume, so I just wore jeans and a T-Shirt like always. It was fun. I don't get invited to parties very often, if at all.. so I was happy to have attended. Oct 31 was work-day dress up, but I didn't dress up for that either. Maybe next year I'll have the time and resources for an actual costume. We'll see.

I haven't been able to play UT3 demo much lately (baby interference) but I was able to get through a few puzzle levels of Portal. I look forward to playing HL2 Episode 2. I also played two of the songs on he Guitar Hero 3 demo( Hit me with your best shot, Rock you like a hurricane). I wish I had the money (and some time) to buy this game. And Rock Band. (sigh)

Work is going good, and I am very happy and thankful for that.

On Sat Oct 20, 2007, Violet, Drake, and I drove to and then on Skyline Drive. Yes, its taken me more than a week to make a blog post about it.

Located within the Shenandoah National Park, Skyline Drive is a 105 mile scenic drive through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Northern Virginia. It's only about an hour away, and only cost like 15 bucks to get in (which is good for a week's worth of re-entry), and was a splendid way to spend an afternoon. The drive also features lodging, restaurants with a cabin feel, bed and breakfasts, camping, and stuff like that there. We just drove up and down Skyline drive though and stopped at one of the few gift shops in the middle. It was a great drive, we stopped at a dozen or so overlooks (out of the 75 or so they have) and took about 30 pictures. Drake slept pretty much the entire time. Violet loves scenic drives, and she loves Fall Colors, so this was a great trip for her.

And now, for some of the pics...

I really like the new UT3 Demo. It's full of awesomeness. It'll be out in stores next month.
I particularly favor the flying vehicle in vehicle CTF. The map is pretty awesome too. I've been playing during lunch at work.

I bought The Orange Box. I haven't played anything except a little Team Fortress 2 thus far (Also at lunchtime). but I look forward to playing Half LIfe 2 Episode 3. And maybe Portal.

As it is this post has taken 20 mins to type up because the baby keeps interupting. He's a stinker that way. Maybe he's upset because I havent had a chance to update his blog...

If that wasn't enough, I also have the Crysis Beta to play.

In other news, my mom sent her first ever text message via her cell phone to mine yesterday. Quite the accomplishment.

I dont even remember whats happened in the last week or two... excessive fatigue, lack of sleep, full work load, and taking care of wife and newborn have all contributed towards my lack of updates. I'm not even on my computer much anymore (I type this on a laptop in the nursery, in fact). I havent played a game in I dunno how long. I'd like to check out Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, but with Violet not working I cant justify the cost right now since I wouldn't have time to play them anyway. LOTS of people at work have been playing TF2.. I hope to join them at some point. In other news, EA bought Bioware / Pandemic. I think this is pretty awesome, myself. Well, Drake's starting to fuss (no surprise there) so that's it for this update.

Yes, I'm posting this at 530 in the morning. After having just changed the boy's diaper (it was soiled) and his clothes (and using socks as mittens to keep his little fingers warm), I've set the boy within his gym since he's still awake but so so fidgety. yet. he will be. He's fussy. but I think he's starting to sleep better. maybe.

Yesterday the three of us and Violets' folks drove through DC. We had McDs, Krispy Kreme, and saw the Washington Monument. Violet & Drake stayed in the car because the baby isnt allowed in public yet. His immune system is too immature to risk exposure.

It was closed when we got there, so we just walked around it. whoo hoo?
Once I get pics from Grandpa B's camera, I'll post them.

As the sun eases its tired smile upon the world,
As the day no longer competes with the night,
As leaves begin to show off their new Autumn colors,
As stars dance around Violet Twilight,

A sense of meaning fills the land,
A sense of belonging envelops the air,
A sense of purpose colors nature,
A sense of love surrounds Drake's Lair.

Avast me buckos, tis another fine day indeed. Since many of you land lubbers don't have a pirate name, I've taken the liberty to help ye out. Ye owe me a rum. ARRRRRRRR!

I've added a few web comics to my usualy reading. I only remember the address for one, so here it is.

The Secret Life of Mobs

Its great in that it a web comic about Warhammer, mostly Warhammer Online, the game I'm working on. Its pretty amusing.

So like, I've been pretty busy having a baby. I mean, *I* didn't have him myself, but I helped. Anyway, check out Drake's Blog for what been happening the last week or two, since I havent had time to update mine too much :)
Here's a quick list

• Worked a lot
• Celebrated Violet's bithday
• Violet went into labor
• Started paternity leave
• Tried (and failed) to find time to get enough sleep.

Lily is the name of Violet's 2000 Nissan XTerra. (She's blue). Yesterday Lily wouldn't start. This is not good for a 39 week pregnant woman with no real food at home and a hospital that is farther away than the front door. It seemed to be due to the battery not having enough power. Some lights flickered dimly, but not enough to start the car.

Not ever having got around to buying any kind of jumper cable kit, I stopped at Sears on my way home from work, but I didnt care for their choices. I went to Home Depot and picked up one of those units that uses the 12v DC adapter in your car instead of needing to use cables connected to the battery. Unfortunately it wasn't portable like I thought. It plugged into the DC adapter all right, but I then had to plug the other end into a 120v wall outlet, and THEN it still took 5+ mins to charge the battery enough to attempt a start. Bleh.

After going online I decided I wanted the Simple Start™ Vehicle Battery Booster, from Black & Decker. Pretty slick little device, small enough to fit in my glove box or rear compartment, starts the car via in-car DC adapter in a few mins, built in LED, DC accessory outlet, etc.. Nice feature list. Although Home Depot lists in on their website though, my local store didn't have any. It was close to 10pm, closing time, so my choices were looking bleak.

I did some searching online and discovered that Wal-mart also carries it. Most stores close at 9 or 10, but I called by local store just in case, and lo and behold, they're open till midnight every day of the week. Score! I ask if they have any in stock, and they do! and at 8 cents below MSRP. SCORE AGAIN! I race down there, buy it, and discover that it has to charge for 15 hours before I can try to use it. Bah!

So Lily didn't get fixed last night.
Today I got home and tried the device, and after 15 mins or so of trying to boost charge, and the car not starting still, it just wasn't working out. I kept getting beeping noises and LEDs indicating some kinda warning. I followed the instructions to the letter. I was about to go buy a new battery when I decided to unplug the device and yet again and try the headlights. They came on for a second. So I tried starting the car (without the device attached) and it started fine. Maybe the device boosted it and I need to disconnect it before I tried starting the car.. I dunno. We drove to DQ and back in order to ensure the alternator was charging the battery OK. We just got back and it seems OK right now.

I suspect that the very short distances Violet travels (< 2 miles once a day or two) isn't enough to charge the battery with the AC, radio, lights, or whatever else on. I hope the car starts tomorrow morning.

This week was busier than even most of my busy weeks.

I worked around 55 or so hours this week at work. Not because I had to or because we're in "crunch" mode. I'm just passionate about what I do and I want to ensure I get it done on time and with a very high amount of quality. I'm pretty much done, and my stuff isn't due until Tuesday, but this gives me more time to tweek, test, bug fix, and otherwise polish my work. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on "what" I've been doing, only that it's great :)

Violet's Birthday was yesterday. We didn't do much, her being 9 months pregnant and all.. (She's due Sep 19th, which is National Talk Like A Pirate Day). Besides, I'm not sure I can top previous years... last year we went to the Godsmack / Rob Zombie concert in Boston (Sully's home town) and to Wicked, the musical, in Chicago the year before. Maybe we can do something nice next year, like visit San Diego. I'm glad Drake wasn't born on Violet's birthday. It would have made the occasion less special for them both, me thinks. We had Wendy's for dinner on her birthday. I need to try one of their new Oreo frosty's.

Violet went to a Baby Shower yesterday, so I went to work :). I wasn't there long though before some friends of mine called for my help. The furniture people they got delivered their couch, but just left it at the front door. Apparently these guys didn't get any games as kids that involved putting the round cylinder in the round opening and the square peg in the square hole. I arrived shortly after the movers had left (given up and were dismissed). The couch had been removed from its protective packaging and several scraps and rubs were all over the walls and some on the couch. Sure the couch was longer than the doorway was high, and entering the front door leads to an immediate right hand turn. Seemed hopeless to the movers, I suppose. Fortunately, I got lucky and was able to help them put the couch in the apartment without any scraping or scuffs. We tilted the couch straight up, then tilted it under the doorway and slid it in and up. The doorway was too short for the length of the couch, but the ceiling certainly wasn't. It didn't take too long. It's a pretty nice couch, IMO.

As I was leaving the friend's apartment Violet called me saying she was done with the baby shower (I had driven her so she didn't have to find parking and besides, it was close to work) so I went and picked her up. So I didn't really get any work done, but that's OK. We had dinner plans at 6, and it was around 430ish. So not wanting to drive 30 mins home and then 30 mins back to the same friend's apartment I was just at, we went over there early. Violet wanted P.F. Chang's for dinner, so we decided to do it Sat night instead of Friday night. Friday was book club, which Violet and I made a cameo appearance at. The place was near the friend's apartment too.

Important Tip: If you plan to go out to a fancy place on Saturday night in ritzy Fairfax, VA. make a reservation.

I didn't even think of doing so, and so we waited over an hour to get a table. Our friends had 2 kids (a toddler and a baby), so the wait was somewhat difficult for everyone. I ordered the only thing I like at a Chinese restaurant: Chicken Fried Rice, no veggies, no soy sauce, and no scallions. Chicken, Rice, Egg. That's it. It was pretty decent, better tasting than the PF Chang's in Madison, Wisconsin (Though WI has MUCH better service). I still prefer Pick up Stix.

Today I trimmed the hedges near the community mailbox, because no one else has. I also applied a primer coat of paint to a glider bench I acquired from the side of the road. It's in good condition, but the wood is a little worn. Works well. I cleaned and sanded it last week. Next week I'll paint it and be done with it. It'll work out well in the backyard, I hope.

In gaming news, I created a website for my new D&D group. It only took like 2 hours to make. I'm quite proud of it though.

I guess that's all for now. Leave a comment sometime, eh?