Okay. So despite having extra time this summer, I managed to not post a single time after the ever-so-brief Star Trek review. Don't know how that happened, but let me try to catch up.
Summer was really pretty great. For one thing, as an educator, I get summers off too. Even with teaching summer school, I still had three day weekends and was done by 1pm. Not too shabby I'd say.
This was a great summer to be Lorelei's daddy. She's made so much progress, it's amazing. She's a little mimic; show her something once, then she learns it and does it. For example, last week, we went raspberry picking up in Oak Glen, also known to us as "the apple ranch." I showed her how to pick a bright red raspberry once; after that, she followed her mommy down the rows and when a bright red on caught her eye, she picked it and popped it into her mouth. Or right now, she's attempting to put sunscreen on herself after I showed it to her last week when were getting ready to go to the beach. She's still not really talking yet, but she understands a lot, nods yes or no and can say some single words. We also took her to swim lessons where she was the, of course, star of the class. Both instructors we had were impressed with how adept and natural she was in the water.
We somehow managed to see lots of movies this summer also. Star Trek, Harry Potter 6, Funny People, District 9, (500) Days of Summer, Julie & Julia, Public Enemies, Up and I think that's it. That's pretty darn good for us, especially with a toddler. But both sets of grandparents were pretty eager to spend time with Daddy's Little Coppertop, they missed the daily babysitting while we were working. None of those movies were clunkers, but only a few were really great. I'd say Star Trek, District 9 and (500) Days of Summer were the best of the bunch and were all pretty radically different from each other.
We managed two vacations this summer also. Three days a piece. The first one was with Lorelei down to San Diego to take her to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Wow did she love Sea World. She loved bouncing on the hotel bed too, but she really enjoyed the shows and the displays of all the fishies and whatnot. Utterly fascinated her. Not so much the Zoo; she was still tired from Sea World the day before, but she still enjoyed seeing the different critters.
The second vacation was for Amanda and I's anniversary. We went up to Monterey Bay for another three days. Hit the Wine Makers' Celebration and had *way* too much to drink. Did the Ghost Trolley tour that night and it was okay. It was interesting to get a taste for just how much history is there. The next day was mellow; we did the 17 Mile Drive and had lunch in Carmel. Out anniverary dinner was that night at the Sardine Factory and wow. Incredible dinner. The next day we took our time getting home.
We had some great food on those trips. The Sardine Factory in Monterrey was fine dining at it's best. Hodad's in San Diego had the best hamburgers I've ever had in my life. And the seafood at the Blue Water Cafe in San Diego was incredible too. In some ways, that's kinda the joy of vacations for us anymore; we love hitting these little joints that make great food. Read about Hodad's on CNN and saw the Blue Water Cafe on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network.
That's kind of the Cliff's Notes version of the summer for me. There's more details to be shared in person, of course, but suffice it to say, it was a great summer. I think it was kind of special for the three of us.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Star Trek Review
Short and sweet. Loved it.
I really enjoyed this film. The beginning had an unusual emotional tug to it. The rest of it was great to see the familiar turned to something new. Like, for example, what happens to the red shirt.
I didn't find anything substantive of fault in the film. A great way to kick off the summer blockbusters.
I really enjoyed this film. The beginning had an unusual emotional tug to it. The rest of it was great to see the familiar turned to something new. Like, for example, what happens to the red shirt.
I didn't find anything substantive of fault in the film. A great way to kick off the summer blockbusters.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Which Star Trek character are you?
You are James T. Kirk (Captain)
| You are often exaggerated and over-the-top in your speech and expressions. You are a romantic at heart and a natural leader.  |
Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz
Thursday, May 28, 2009
KublaCon OOC
I'm writing this as I'm trying to get one our cats to relax, so I can grab him and give him a flea bath...discovered the little blighters on two of the cats last night. Not good at all.
Anyway, KublaCon was freakin' awesome. I'm going to try to keep it all OOC for this posting.
I met a lot of cool new people, like Geoffrey, Kaht, Jessica and Lindsey. Plus formal introductions to people like Alan and Heather. I partied WAY too much, to the point that I think I got about 11 hours of sleep over three nights. Nowhere near enough.
The weather was too damn cold. I was a dummy and didn't pack anything warm and I kinda paid for it, especially on Sunday when a group of us when to Fisherman's Wharf. BTW, don't bother with Tarnatino's. Not the best food on the Wharf.
The room was good, Paul was a good roomie aside from his snoring, but hey, that's what ear plugs are for, right? Not like I don't snore myself anyway.
I did miss my wife and baby though. Had to talk on the phone and text a bunch over the weekend. Both were really happy to see me Monday evening.
But I had an awesome, incredible weekend. I'm really glad I went and even though I spent too much time awake and not enough asleep, I think it was worth it just for the great new people I got to meet OOC and play with IC.
Anyway, KublaCon was freakin' awesome. I'm going to try to keep it all OOC for this posting.
I met a lot of cool new people, like Geoffrey, Kaht, Jessica and Lindsey. Plus formal introductions to people like Alan and Heather. I partied WAY too much, to the point that I think I got about 11 hours of sleep over three nights. Nowhere near enough.
The weather was too damn cold. I was a dummy and didn't pack anything warm and I kinda paid for it, especially on Sunday when a group of us when to Fisherman's Wharf. BTW, don't bother with Tarnatino's. Not the best food on the Wharf.
The room was good, Paul was a good roomie aside from his snoring, but hey, that's what ear plugs are for, right? Not like I don't snore myself anyway.
I did miss my wife and baby though. Had to talk on the phone and text a bunch over the weekend. Both were really happy to see me Monday evening.
But I had an awesome, incredible weekend. I'm really glad I went and even though I spent too much time awake and not enough asleep, I think it was worth it just for the great new people I got to meet OOC and play with IC.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Player's Privy to Private Plot
Okay. So there's a massive plot that Alan Pursell put before Council that would begin at KublaCon. It sounds awesome (no details until after Kubla!) But there are two issues, one Org wide and one personal.
On the Org side of things, apparently players who have NO business knowing about the plot, were jabbering away about it. WTF? Who is the dipshit on Council that leaked this information? It's supposed to be kept private on Council alone. Not supposed to go beyond our virtual borders. Whoever that particular dipshit is, they need to be slapped and kicked off Council. Then of course, the players. What the hell are you doing metagaming this? Can't you remember that this is a role-playing game, and it can't be "won?" The point of part of this plot is to surprise the shit out of the players. It's awesome, it's the reprecussions of the In-Character decisions of the player base. And there has to be a reaction. Why ruin it? Damn fools.
The other side is of course, the personal element. I can't be surprised by it now. That's kind of a drag. And of course, I have to make sure I'm not metagaming even by accident. I mean, I have some bad monkey plotting in mind, and it would benefit from this plot, but I have to be careful not to take too much advantage of it. Ah well. Should be fun!
Oh, and sorry for the overuse of italics.
On the Org side of things, apparently players who have NO business knowing about the plot, were jabbering away about it. WTF? Who is the dipshit on Council that leaked this information? It's supposed to be kept private on Council alone. Not supposed to go beyond our virtual borders. Whoever that particular dipshit is, they need to be slapped and kicked off Council. Then of course, the players. What the hell are you doing metagaming this? Can't you remember that this is a role-playing game, and it can't be "won?" The point of part of this plot is to surprise the shit out of the players. It's awesome, it's the reprecussions of the In-Character decisions of the player base. And there has to be a reaction. Why ruin it? Damn fools.
The other side is of course, the personal element. I can't be surprised by it now. That's kind of a drag. And of course, I have to make sure I'm not metagaming even by accident. I mean, I have some bad monkey plotting in mind, and it would benefit from this plot, but I have to be careful not to take too much advantage of it. Ah well. Should be fun!
Oh, and sorry for the overuse of italics.
Children's TV
So it's about 6:30 on a Saturday morning. I've been up since 6. That's when I normally get up on a workday. And the wife and I are going to the RenFaire today, so that's a long day normally. So what the hell happened?
Lorelei happened. She decided she wanted to be up and awake. So I sit here, having checked my email and whatnot, still a bit bleary eyed, listening to the Wonder Pets. Not a very good show, really. Okay, the diversity of animals and the message of teamwork isn't too bad. But Ming Ming, the duck, has a terrible lisp. WTF? Small children don't need a wrong example of how to speak properly, they have enough issues learning to speak as it is!
I think I may have to do capsule reviews of all the shows Lorelei likes to watch. Dora, Diego, Jack's Big Music Show, the Backyardigans, Max & Ruby. I admit perhaps she watches too much, but there are times, like right now, that I'm not awake enough to play with the little one. That and it's rare for her to actually watch more than five or ten minutes of show at a time.
I think I need coffee.
Lorelei happened. She decided she wanted to be up and awake. So I sit here, having checked my email and whatnot, still a bit bleary eyed, listening to the Wonder Pets. Not a very good show, really. Okay, the diversity of animals and the message of teamwork isn't too bad. But Ming Ming, the duck, has a terrible lisp. WTF? Small children don't need a wrong example of how to speak properly, they have enough issues learning to speak as it is!
I think I may have to do capsule reviews of all the shows Lorelei likes to watch. Dora, Diego, Jack's Big Music Show, the Backyardigans, Max & Ruby. I admit perhaps she watches too much, but there are times, like right now, that I'm not awake enough to play with the little one. That and it's rare for her to actually watch more than five or ten minutes of show at a time.
I think I need coffee.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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