Random Ramblings

Podcast

2011-10-20T10:42:00.002-05:00

Some of the characters spotted at GenCon

Back in August I attended GenCon 2011. I planned on creating a blog post about it, but never managed to get one made. I have plenty of photos show and stories to tell about GenCon, but too much time has gone by that I feel I've missed that bus, but this post does have a GenCon connection. That is why it is mentioned here.

This was my first trip to GenCon. It was me and two of my friends that made the drive together to Indianapolis. One of my friends is a veteran of GenCon and had connections to get us hotel rooms. The only catch was that we would be rooming with people we had never met. I worried that we would get the socially awkward gamer that only leaves mom's basement to attend GenCon. There were plenty of those people there, but luckily none of them were our roommates.

Our roommates happened to be a quartet of guys from the Ottawa, Canada area. Three of them you could tell right of way were firm friends. The fourth was well liked, but always did his own thing. In getting to know our new friends we found out they do a gaming podcast called The Accidental Survivors.

After many conversations about RPG's such as Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons, we were asked to participate in their podcast. At first it sounded like it would just be to interview us about GenCon. It ended up being that we participated in an actual podcast. The actual podcast can be found here.

I had a great time recording the podcast over Skype with the Accidental Survivors. At the end we were asked if we would like to continue on with the podcast. It was so much fun how could I turn that down.

So far, the podcast has dealt mostly with role playing games such as the aforementioned Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons. I am more of a board game guy and I know little about role playing games. Fortunately there is talk about adding board games to the list. That would be great.

The second podcast I have participated in was recorded last week and was posted last night. You can find it here. We interviewed Howard Andrew Jones. Howard is an author and an editor at Black Gate. Howard gives some good advice for writers trying to get published. I hope you give it a listen.

Doing this podcast has been a lot of fun and I hope it continues for a long time.

It Has Become a Sickness

2011-06-06T09:32:00.004-05:00

A few years back some friends introduced me to the board game Battlestar Galactica. We play it a few times and had a great time. The humans lost most of the time, but we still had fun anyway. I so much fun that I was always ready at a moments notice to play again.

Then Queentuffy and I decided to host some game nights at our house. We had a few games lying around like Apples to Apples and some trivia games. The game nights were huge successes and I started adding to our collection.

I recently found a game group that meets every two weeks and started playing board games with them. They have introduced me to games I had never heard of, but after playing I had to own. Plus I'm always on the prowl to find a game to introduce them to. Which is not easy as these guys are serious gamers and have extensive collections.

I have also been going to thrift shops and garage sales hoping to score the rare find of a good condition game that I want to play. I've picked up a few games going this route.

The bottom line is that in a few short years I have gone from a few household standard games to a pretty big collection. I know it is small in comparison to serious gamers, but I am proud of the collection I have grown.

I didn't know how many I had until I was adding it to Board Game Geek website. I have 54 games as of this writing. You can see my collection here. The problem is I still have a wishlist a mile long. I guess it is good to have goals.

Gen Con

2011-06-03T14:24:00.004-05:00

Last year I made a promise to myself that I will attend one of the big geek conferences. I chose to go to Gen Con this year. It is from August 4th to the 7th in Indianapolis. I am pumped. I love to play board games and Gen Con is a board gamers wet dream. I have purchased my four day pass and I'm ready to go.

Lucky for me I will be attending with a veteran of the Con. There will be a trio of us driving from KC. The veteran and two noobs. I plan on being overwhelmed by all there is to see and do. I plan on being sleep deprived, but very happy. I plan on spending too much money and taking a lot of pictures. I will post them here when we return.

This will be my first con of any type. I'm sure there will be things I wish I did or didn't do, but that goes with the territory. My goal is to have a great time and leave the real world behind if only for 4 days.

Tornado

2011-05-27T08:49:00.002-05:00

Every Wednesday I have lunch with the guys that I used to work with at my old company. We meet at Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW) around 11:30 am and catch up on the latest. I am usually the last one to show because of my lack luster time management skills. I work from home so there is usually something that has my attention and keeps me from leaving in a timely matter.

This last Wednesday I was ahead of schedule. I managed to get my act together and headed out to meet the guys earlier than usual. It was gray and drizzly when I left the house. Most of the time I don't have the radio on in my car because the commercials make me stabby. This last Wednesday was no exception. I drove to BWW in silence completely unaware of anything going on beyond my field of vision.

The closer I got to BWW the harder it rained. I pulled into the parking lot in a heavy down pour. So, I decided to wait this one out high and dry in my car. I hadn't been there more than a minute when the manager of BWW opened the door and whistled at me to get my attention. When I rolled down the window he yelled, "get inside there is a tornado in the area!" So, I scrambled out of the car, ran in the pouring rain, and joined other wide eyed patrons watching tornado coverage on the big screens.

At the time the tornado coverage was mostly hard to hear reports on cell phones and video of a wall cloud less than a mile from my location. The most unsettling aspect of the coverage was the fact that the wall cloud and pending doom it represents was heading north towards my house.

My first thought was to get home and get the cats into the basement. I knew that driving into the path of a possible tornado was not a good idea. I was stuck watching radar and helicopter video hoping a tornado doesn't wipe out parts of the city. Especially the part that my house sits in. I tried to call Queentuffy, but I had no cell service. She couldn't reach me and I couldn't reach her. As far as she knew I was at the house.

After twenty minutes of watching weather coverage with butterflies in my stomach, we got the all clear and I headed home. Since there wasn't any report of a tornado touchdown or any structural damage, I expected to get home and find everything still standing.

The closer I got to home the clearer the skies became. By the time I pulled onto our street the sun was shining. There wasn't any branches or leaves on the ground that would signal strong winds. The empty trash can was still upright and by the curb waiting for me drag it back into the garage. Everything was as I left it. Whew!

After the terrible tragedy in Joplin, I was a little more on edge about the weather. Thankfully we were spared this time around. The whole episode has taught me to at least have the radio on in the car when driving in inclement weather or get a weather radio. Either way I don't want to be stuck in a BWW watching helplessly, again.

Self Esteem

2011-05-17T13:19:00.002-05:00

It is funny/sad how an incident from your childhood can still effect you today. I was always one of the bigger kids at my school. You think that fact would have kept me from being teased, but that was not the case. I was teased so much in school that the mere mention of one the perpetrators names can cause me to slip into a mild depression.

Thanks to Facebook I have come across the ghosts of my past. Those little fuckers that caused me so much pain. Seeing their adult faces does not ease the pain. In fact it had me reliving some painful moments. Here is an example.

I was and continue to be a big guy. You know the kid who had to where husky sized jeans. Even though I was the husky kid I was really good at sports. Way above average in the little town I grew up in.

When I was a freshman in high school, I noticed a lot of the popular jocks had t-shirts on that said "200 pound club" or "250 pound club." I asked my football coach what that was about. He told me that you had to bench press that amount of weight three times in his presence to earn the shirt. I thought this might be a great way to accomplish something I could be proud of and have a shirt to prove it.

At the time I was lucky if I could bench press 100 pounds three times. So, I had some work to do. Being on the football team and the track team gave me ample opportunities to hit the weight room. Also, during the summer the weight room would be open three nights a week as long as there was a teacher to supervise.

I hit the weights hard. I was there at every opportunity. I was there so much that the teachers would ask me if I was going to be there so they new if they had to or not. I lifted before school and after practice. During the summer I was there 3 nights a week, every week.

I made it past the 200 and 250 pound club my sophomore year, but I didn't test out because I wanted to achieve what no one else at my school had done - 300 pounds. I figured that would something I can strut around school about. No one could take that from me.

My junior year I fractured my elbow during a football game. That set me back the entire year. It took six months before I could lift without pain. It took another three months to get back to where I left off.

A few months into my Senior year I was ready to see if I could qualify for the 300 pound club. I met my defensive coach (we called him Chief) and another teacher (I can't remember her name) as a witness after school. After the warm up, I lifted 300 pounds three times with relative ease. My coach pushed me into trying a higher weight. In the end I lifted 350 pounds three times. Chief was great. He told me how he appreciated my hard work and that no one in the history of the weight club at our school had earned the 350 shirt.

Of course I was beaming. I was walking on cloud nine. It took a week to get my shirt. When I did I could not wait to wear it to school. The next morning I wore with pride my hard earned trophy. I could not have been any more proud to wear a t-shirt in my life. Unfortunately the first people I come across at school were my tormentors.

After seeing the shirt, they made jokes that the shirt stood for how much I weighed. They proceeded to tease me at high volumes. By lunch time I had withstood a barrage of fat jokes. It was too much for me (remember I have no self esteem.) I drove home at lunch and changed shirts. I threw my newly acquired prize in the trash. Something that took me three years of hard work to earn was rendered a complete failure in ONE morning.

When I went back to school, I hid in the only safe place - the weight room. I missed all my afternoon classes because I could not stand to be around anyone. I just lay on the wrestling mats and stared at the ceiling until I felt it was safe to go home.

I continued to lift and participate in the sports I had left, but I never really got over the 350 pound club and how easy it was to take away.

My Dad

2010-11-23T15:01:00.002-06:00

Last Wednesday my dad had surgery on his right shoulder. He injured it when he flipped his riding lawn mower. I don't know how he did that, but he did. It turned out that injury may have saved his life.

While dad was recovering from his shoulder surgery, he suffered a heart attack. Since the surgery took place in a hospital in a small town, they had to fly him via a helicopter to a hospital in Greeley, CO.

After they stabilized him, they discover he had blood clots in all his arteries. They immediately started him on blood thinners, but that caused internal bleeding from his surgically repaired shoulder. After a back and forth with the blood thinners, they were able to stop the bleeding and begin thinning out the blood clots.

I almost lost my dad that day. Thankfully he is out of the woods and may go home today. What a relief. If dad would have been at work or home instead of in a hospital when he suffered the heart attack, he may not have survived. Interesting how an accident in the summer saved his life this fall. I'm grateful.

I Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

2010-11-14T09:52:00.010-06:00

It seems that there are a lot of families out there in which at least one member has a ghost story to tell. It could be as nice as a visit from a beloved grandparent to as creapy as items missing or moving around on their own. My mom and sister both have quite of few stories of the paranormal they have shared with me over the years.

Unexplained encounters has always fascinated me. I love shows about UFOs, bigfoot, and ghosts. Does that make me crazy or weird? I hope not. I am fascinated by the shows because of the possibility that there are things out there that make us question what we already know. I don't know what to believe for sure, but I am willing to look at any proof someone may have.

John Wornall House

Which brings me to a couple of Saturdays ago. I went on a ghost hunt sponsored by a local paranormal group. The house we were investigating was the John Wornall House. I was joined by Queentuffy, Average Jane, and Alex. Alex and I were in the "I want to believe, but I haven't seen enough proof" camp and Queentuffy and Average Jane were the skeptics. I believe every paranormal investigation needs to have skeptics in attendance.

Cassi, Mykala and Val of Premier Paranormal Research

The hunt was organized by the Premiere Paranormal Research Group. They gave us a quick tour of the equipment and we watched a video. Then we were ready to hunt. They split us up into three groups. The four of us I mentioned before were a group with Val as are investigator/teacher. Alex wanted to start in the scariest part of the house first. So, we started upstairs in the kids room. This room was rumored to have the most activity.

We sat in a circle on the floor of the kids room in silent darkness. We had a voice recorder in the center of the circle and an ir camera to gather any evidence. This was by far the coolest part of the night. We sat there waiting for something to happen. Val would ask questions in hopes that any spirit present would interact with us. Of course, nothing happened. The room did not feel creepy and I never felt uncomfortable to whole time.

The Carriage House

We moved around to different areas of the house including the detached garage they called the "Carriage House." Nothing unexplained happened in any of the other areas either. They was a strange light that passed in front of one of the ir cameras stationed in the kitchen. When I looked at the footage, it looked like light coming in when the door was opened. Even though it was clear to me that is was nothing, others in the group were convinced it was paranormal. Queentuffy labeled them "freaks." She may not have been too far off, but I appreciate their desire to see some evidence.

Though nothing paranormal happened (the evidence is still being reviewed) I had a great time. I can't wait to do it again.

Do you have a parnormal story to tell? If so, I would love for you to share it with me.

Tough Year

2010-11-09T09:46:00.003-06:00

This has been a tough year for Queentuffy and I. Queentuffy's dad is still fighting cancer (and doing a great job) and earlier this year my mom was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Luckily both her dad and my mom are doing great. Mom was declared cancer free at her last PET scan and gets here chemo port removed in 2 weeks. Queentuffy's dad is putting on weight and looks and sounds his best since this all started in June 2009.

Financially it was tough because we had to exist as a one income household for about 6 months. It was rough at times, but we made it through. After we become a two income household again, we refinanced the house and have made a few changes to keep things rolling. We could always do more to save money, but somehow we cannot seem to stay focused.

Now for the good news. I just learned today that we are going to get some of the 10% pay cut back. Only 2%, but I will take it. I hope this trend continues. Being back to where we were in 2008 would be great. It will be nice to plan vacations, again. I hope everyone else is feeling as optimistic as I am.

Passion

2010-04-25T21:02:00.002-05:00

Queentuffy and I have been catching up on TV shows via DVD. Our latest is Project Runway (don't judge me.) Though I know nothing of fashion, I like the show. When I was a kid, I wanted all my shirts to have numbers on them similar to football jerseys. Yes, I was that fashion forward.

As I mentioned before, I know nothing of fashion and the industry associated. I still find Project Runway fascinating and entertaining. I don't find the clothes or the judges all that interesting. What I do find interesting is the designers. Watching people follow their passion is great TV.

Watching these passionate people gets me thinking about what makes me passionate. That is where the problem begins. I can't think of anything that I am passionate about. The designers on Project Runway have spent many hours per day for many years perfecting this passionate craft. Some of the designers wanted to do nothing else that they struggled to the point of homelessness to keep the dream alive.

I am a person who has many interests. Nothing I would call a passion. In high school I played sports, was an award winning artist, and gear head (I partially restored a '53 Ford.) Since high school I learned to play the drums and was in and out of a few bands. None of these things kept me engaged enough to be passionate about them.

I wonder if life would be better or worse having a dream you are so passionate about that it is all encompassing. I think this kind of passion makes some people's life worth living. But does it have the same affect on everyone. I don't know the answer to that, but I wish I had a passion to follow. I will keep looking. Maybe one day I will find one.

Modern Warfare 2

2010-04-15T20:08:00.002-05:00

So, I have found a new obsession Modern Warfare 2. It seems I'm playing every chance I get. That often means playing until way too late at night. Even though I go to bed bleary eyed, I could have played for hours longer.

My favorite aspect of the game is playing online challenges against real people. I'm not much into playing the part of the game that is the story. I'm sure the story is fine, but I like testing my skill against thumb quick youngsters.

I spend most of the game getting out quicked and dying often. I bought the game months after it was released. That put me behind all the other users. I know that is an excuse for all my dying, but that is my story and I'm sticking with it.

So, if you are ever playing Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox Live, invite me (kipkillagin1) to play. You can rack up a lot of points killing me. It's easy.

Toothache Weekend

2010-02-28T16:21:00.003-06:00

I couldn't sleep Tuesday night because my one of my teeth was causing me discomfort. So I made an appointment to see my dentist on Wednesday. My dentist thinks that that tooth is abcessing and sent me to a specialist. Unfortunately, I had a deadline at work and could not see the Endodontist until Monday. At the time it didn't seem like a big deal. Until Friday.

Friday morning I woke up and the tooth felt fine. I had a bowl of cereal and headed for work. During my commute the tooth starting hurting. It hurt all day. The only relief I could get was swishing cold water in my mouth and that only works for a short period of time. I forgot my pain medication at home and Queentuffy was gracious enough to bring it to me. I took two vicodin because I was in severe pain. That made me sick to my stomach and went home early from work.

I could not get any comfort. I went to bed after dinner and couldn't sleep. Queentuffy and I got up around 1 am and watched DVRd American Idol episodes (don't judge us.) I took some more vivodin and tried to go to sleep. Finally at 4 am we decided to go to the emergency room.

The er doc gave me a shot to deaden the pain. That was great. We finally got some sleep after 5 am. I slept until about noon and got up because I was hungry. I had another bowl of cereal. Soon after the tooth started hurting again. I quickly showered and went and had the prescription the er doc gave me filled. I took two percosets and hoped for the best. Another hour passed and I took a third percoset.

We almost went back to the er because nothing was working. Finally the percosets made me sleepy. I went to bed at 3:30 in the afternoon. I slept until 9:30 the next morning. The good news is my tooth doesn't hurt as bad. I think it was the cold of the cereal causing the problem.

Monday I will probably have a root canal. Normally I wouldn't be this excited about having a hole drilled in my tooth, but this is going to be such a relief. I can't wait.

Pancakes

2010-01-21T19:52:00.004-06:00

I have never made pancakes from scratch before. Queentuffy and I decided we need to eat more at home. With that decision I realized I wanted to try making pancakes from scratch. I didn't have a recipe. So, I did a search on the web. I decided to try buttermilk pancakes using this recipe. I don't know who Scott Jensen is, but he has a great pancake recipe.

I would have taken pics of the event, but I was focused on not mucking this up I forgot. You'll have to trust me. They were great. The website did a good job of explaining the whole process. A process that was much simpler than I expected. Thankfully.

Queentuffy said we have to add these to our normal dinner rotation. I have to agree. I like these a lot and look forward to having them again. Next time I will add bacon on the side.

My-Verse

2010-01-13T21:32:00.002-06:00

According to the Obama campaign it was time for change. Though our change wasn't felt country wide, it still was big for us. That's right we kicked Time Warner Cable to the curb and got AT&T U-Verse.

After months of discussing amongst ourselves and friends who have U-Verse, we decided it was time for a change. Time Warner had been a let down as of late and Queentuffy never liked being "hijacked" by them. Though our cost will be about the same, Queentuffy likes the fact its not Time Warner getting our money.

For me it was the inconsistant internet connection. I'm quite addicted to Xbox Live. I love to play Battlefield 1943, 1 vs 100, and Modern Warfare 2 online. It was pissing me off everytime we lost connection and I got kicked out of the game.

Besides a consistent internet connection there are more things to like that we didn't get with Time Warner. We can record a show on the downstairs dvr and watch it on the upstairs tv. That comes in handy when I record Ghost Hunters. Queentuffy doesn't like the show and now I can watch it when I want to and not wait to be home alone.

We can set the dvr from our phone or work computers. This may not be that big of a deal, but you never know. I remember being out of the house and it dawning on us that we forget to set the dvr. This won't be a problem anymore.

I has the NFL network. I could never understand why Time Warner didn't offer this channel. Now I don't care. AT&T has it. It is nice. Especially during the playoffs. Next season I won't miss any of the NFL network only games. Yes. I'm stoked.

One last cool thing. It could be our imaginations, but I think the picture is much better with AT&T. I don't have a HDTV so I didn't expect too much from picture quality. I am very happy with the picture improvement.

I am happy with the decision. Hopefully we will be happy for years to come.

Christmas Non-Secular

2009-12-31T15:06:00.004-06:00

With the holiday season upon us again, I have been nostalgic. I remember that we would be photographed surrounded by our gifts in a before and after setup. As a child, that was what Christmas was to me - a chance to get gifts and be with family.

I remember being disappointed when I found out it was a religious holiday. I have never been a religious person. Not back then. Not now. Santa, Rudolph, Frosty, et al were the major players of this holiday. Tree, lights, cartoons, singing, and decorating were the major activities. And I look back at that time with fondness.

Maybe I was just being a spoiled child. Maybe I wasn't. Life for a five year old is simple and wondrous. I didn't need anything to complicate something so wonderful. Wouldn't it be great to have that feeling back. Being a kid rocked. It rocked harder during the holidays. My toughest tasks back then was trying to figure out what was behind the wrapping paper. I became a master at working the corners and sneaking a peek inside. Sorry, Mom. I cheated and knew a good percentage of my gifts by using this technique.

But that was the fun. No midnight mass. No worrying about credit card bills or being laid off. Just the giddiness of getting gifts, singing carols, and watching the stop motion TV shows like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Who wouldn't want that?

Easy Resolutions

2009-12-31T14:31:00.002-06:00

I usually don't do New Year's resolutions. I don't know why. I have many areas of me that I would like to improve. I think setting resolutions that change a person are very difficult to keep. So, I will set some resolutions that will be fun to keep and still improve my life. Here we go.

Finish my bachelor's degree. I am only 18 credit hours away. While this doesn't fit in the fun category, it will create more free time to have fun.
Workout more. Again, this may not sound like fun. But, I do like to lift weights. I think that is all I did in high school besides play football. Going to the gym to lift is fun. Going to the gym to run not so much.
Be a better husband. This will be fun. Queentuffy deserves better than the usual me. So, I will be stepping up in this area.
Be a better friend. I have met some great people, and some have become my friend. I am not the most attentive friend. I don't make the phone calls I should or share my true feelings. Logtar can attest to this fact. I promise to be better.
Go fishing more. I have a boat and all the equipment and time. I have no excuses. Queentuffy and I will be catching more fish this year.
Drums. I have made friends with musicians this year. And they have rekindled my desire to play the drums. It has been 5 or 6 years since I was in a band. Time to dust off the drums and get back into playing. Maybe I will find a band.
Find a career I love or at least tolerate. I have put a lot of effort and keeping employed in 2009. This was made significantly harder because I don't like my current career. I will continue with my soul search and item 1 of this list.

Well. That is all I can think of right now. These should be pretty easy to do with the exception of the last item on the list. Wish me luck.

Career Matched?

2009-12-25T12:57:00.005-06:00

I recently read Career Match by Shoya Zichy. It was not what I was expecting, but in a good way. I knew it would deal with what career would work best with my personality. Of course, there would be a personality test. I have taken personality tests before. Including the Myers-Briggs when in college, but the results were less than accurate. So, I was skeptical.

The authors give you a 10 minute test called the Color Q Personality Style Self Assessment. After you finish the results are easy to garner. Your results are given to you in colors red, green, blue, and gold. You are assigned a primary color and a secondary color. I won't go into what each pairing means and just tell you that I am a Red/Green.

The test, also, determines if you are an introvert or an extrovert. I already knew before taking the test that I am an introvert, but I took the test in its entirety, and the result was the expected introvert. So, my final personality type result is Red/Green introvert.

After reading the description of the Red/Green introvert I discovered the authors were right. They nailed it. Their description of me matched my results of the personality test. I was surprised. As I mentioned before I had taken other tests and the results were iffy. Not this time. They were accurate.

Here are a few things the book mentions about Red/Green introverts that are me.

Like to initiate and implement change.
Excel in assignments that are nonrepetitious.
Most productive when left on my own.
Is relaxed and informal.
Unattractive surroundings will distract and irritate me.
Encourages rapport through a sense of humor.
Offers a high degree of trust.

After confiming that the description was right, I read on to see what was thought to be a good career path. The book lists many careers broken out by industry. The list is nowhere near being complete or is said to be as such, but it gives a pretty good starting point. Here are some examples for Red/Green introverts that I thought were interesting.

Arts and entertainment

artist, photographer, entertainment agent, film editor, and art director

Business

lawyer, product designer, public relations specialist, and business coach

Health Science

gynecologist, speech pathologist, nurse, and primary care physician

These were just a few careers and industries. Now I have to use the information I have and brain storm on what I want to do when I grow up. I'm still clueless, but I feel I'm getting closer. It will take some hard work and some hard thinking. I will have to do some soul searching. I am confident that I will figure this out.

If you are in the situation as me or just curious about your Color Q personality, I recommend reading this book. It may surprise you.

Where Have I Been

2009-12-03T21:15:00.001-06:00

At the beginning of last month I thought it would be cool to post once a day for the month. In reality I posted once the entire month. I know. I'm a slacker.

So, what the hell have I been upto that has kept me away from my blog? The short answer is procrastination. I am the king of procrastination. I'll prove it to you later. :)

Other things have been happening besides avoiding posting here. I finally have two fully functioning knees. In this post I tell you about my knee pain. That was on October 7th. Holy shit! This went on longer than I realized.

After I went to my primary doctor and was told I strained a tendon, I decided to go see an Orthopedic Surgeon. I figured two months was enough time to be in pain. I made the appointment and saw the nurse practioner for the surgeon. She gave me the routine knee check and sent me to get x-rays. These x-rays revealed nothing. Surprise! So they said I needed to get a MRI.

After waiting 4 days for my insurance to approve the appointment, I had a MRI done on a Friday after work. I didn't hear about the results until the following Wednesday. As you can imagine I am getting tired of this thing dragging on. The results from my MRI were inconclusive. I have a little cartilage tearing and a little arthritis in the knee. Neither of which the doctor thought was bad enough to cause the pain I was having.

So, I have to make an appointment and go back to see the orthopedic surgeon for another exam. This exam will supposedly decide which form of treatment I will require. Surgery or a cortizone shot. I wait another week and a half before they can see me again. Yes, I am a happy camper at this point. This time I actually get to see the surgeon. He is a great guy, but a little hurried. He put my knee through the paces, again. Twist the knee and ask me if that hurts. Thankfully it didn't hurt on any of the twists he subjected me and my patient knee to.

After that he explains what he thinks is going on. Which is the exact same thing they told me the MRI results led them to believe. He then did something I didn't expect. He asked me which option I think I should go with - the shot or the surgery. Well, I have a pretty long no surgery streak going and would like to keep it. So, I opted for the shot. The surgeon agreed with my decision.

Okay I got the shot and my knee feels great. It is so nice not having pain or fear of the knee giving out on me. For the first time in a long time I can say my knee feels normal. Its just too bad it had to take from the end of August to the day before Thanksgiving to get it resolved.

Cars

2009-11-09T20:29:00.007-06:00

I hope I don't have to think about this seriously for years to come, but what would I want as my next car. I would love to have a car that would keep me away from the gas pump. Nothing would be nicer in my auto universe than never having to pay for gas again.

So, would alternative fuels like hydrogen work for me? Nah. I would prefer to plug my shiny new ride into a wall socket and let it "refuel" while I sleep or while I work. I wouldn't miss stopping at QT once a week at all.

But.

I don't want a "traditional" looking electric car. I want something that looks like a powerful gas guzzler. Maybe something along the lines of a muscle car. You know a '69 Chevelle. I want it to look like it could burn the tires off while going 0-60 in 4 seconds.

Come on Ford, GM, Honda, Toyota, etc. Its time to step it up. Create something I would actually want to own. Otherwise, I have to hope my SUV lasts forever.

To recap.

This....

Not this.

Music That Stops the World

2009-11-01T16:49:00.002-06:00

Eating lunch at my favorite sushi place with my favorite lunch partner Queentuffy, we started discussing the music playing over the restaurants speakers. The discussion centered around what music will make me stop what I'm doing to listen. If you looked at my music library, you would think that I only like one type of music. With a the complete catalogue of Metallica, Disturbed, Seether, and others of similiar ilk, I would agree it is slanted a certain way. However, my tastes bridge more gaps than expected. My list of music that stops my world proves this. No matter what I'm doing these songs make me stop and listen. They are listed below in no particular order.

The Fray - How to Save a Life.

Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars.

Kelly Clarkson - Since U Been Gone.

Metallica - For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Katy Perry - Hot N Cold.

Black Sabbath - Paranoid.

Flock of Seagulls - I Ran.

KISS - Detroit Rock City.

Offspring - Gone Away.

Papa Roach - She Loves Me Not.

These are the top ten of world stoppers for me. Some are because I learned to play these songs and others because they call to me. I have the radio on all day while at work and love it when any of these songs are played. Problem is more often than not a coworker will stop by right as one of these starts. How do you politely tell someone to go away so not to interrupt the song? So if I ignore you, chances are one of these songs are playing. I hope you understand.

The Boyfriend

2009-10-18T13:15:00.005-05:00

I attended a technical college in Goodland, Kansas right out of high school. Goodland is about 90 minutes from Yuma, Colorado. Yuma is where I went to high school. I would return to Yuma on weekends to visit my parents, my friends, and my sister (Gina.) Partway through that first year my parents moved to Salt Lake City.

Luckily for me my sister still lived in Yuma. She rented a pretty big house with her three children and her best friend Tina. I would come back to Yuma and stay at Gina's and Tina's house. As part of the price to stay there I would baby sit Gina's kids from time to time so team Gina and Tina could go out and party.

Though Tina had a boyfriend (whom I hadn't met), the team would go manhunting for my sister. On one such occasion the team went out and I stayed home to watch the kids. About an hour after the team left Tina's boyfriend came up from the basement where Tina's bedroom was located.

He introduced himself as Jim. He snubbed my offer of a handshake. I let it go. Tina usually had weird taste in boyfriends and I thought he was a classic example. Jim was cool and laid back. He dressed in 70's retro and wore John Lennon type glasses.

We discussed music. He seemed interested in the fact that I was a drummer. Jim mentioned that we should jam sometime since he was a guitarist.

I offered him a beer which he took but never took a drink. He was interested in talking about the house. He seemed to know a lot about the history of the house. Jim told me that the location of the couch was in the wrong spot and that it is always supposed to be under the window. As he said, "where it has always been."

We talked for hours. Finally I saw the headlights of Gina's car coming up the drive. Jim said he had to go to the bathroom and left the room. Gina and Tina walked in the door. In their drunken yammering one of them asked what I had been doing. I told them that Jim and I had just been sitting here talking. Gina asked who Jim was and I told her Tina's boyfriend. Gina paused and said quite matter of factly that Tina's boyfriend's name is Ricky and he is in Denver this weekend picking up a load of brick. We checked the entire house. We found no one. Jim was gone including the beer I had given him.

Through the years Gina lived in the house they had not seen Jim. Gina would later tell me that she would have arguments with Tina about rearranging the furniture. Gina said Tina would move the couch all the time and Tina would deny these claims. I asked if the couch was moved under the window and she said yes and asked how I knew. I told her that Jim mentioned that is the rightful location for the couch.

I would love to go back to Yuma and talk to the current residents of the house. I would like to know if Jim is still there arranging furniture. Maybe one day Jim will find what he is looking for and finally rest in peace.

My Knee Hurts

2009-10-07T19:55:00.002-05:00

As the title suggests my knee hurts. I went to the doctor and she said I strained a tendon in my knee. I looked it up on the webs and discovered that a strained tendon in the knee is also called Jumpers Knee.

I think I over used the knee. I started working out again about a month and a half ago. I don't recall a single incident in which I hurt said knee, but it started swelling and aching one night while bowling. I doubted bowling had anything to do with the injury, but I had to have it checked out.

I saw the doctor about three weeks ago and she prescribed less treadmill and more Aleve. I complied. The swelling has gone down and I no longer have a noticeable limp, but I don't feel anywhere near 100%. I haven't been back to the gym out of fear of making it worse. I didn't figure it was going to take this long to heal. Between the webs and friends experience it looks like it is going to take months not days to heal. Crap.

I plan on going back to the gym this weekend bad knee or not. If this seems like a bad idea, I can't help it. I have a history of rushing back after an injury. I fractured my elbow during the first quarter of the first game of my junior year football season. The doctor told me it would take 3 to 6 months before I could return to sports. 3 to 6 months hell. The season only had 7 games left not including post season. I wasn't going to miss this season. We had a good team and I figured we could go far.

So returning back to practice on Monday I told coach that the doctor said it was hyperextended and I should take it easy for a week. Yes, I lied. With some foam rubber and a lot of athletic tape, I played the entire season. That season was extended because we made it to state playoffs. So, in all I played 8 and a half games with a fractured elbow.

I know it was a pretty stupid risk to take, but I was young and bullet proof. It took close to 10 years before I could completely straighten my elbow. I'm still not sure that it straightens all the way, but it is close enough. Oh yeah, it pops a lot still, too. Still I wouldn't have changed a thing.

Now back to the knee. Yes, I'm going back to the gym. Yes, I'm rushing it and it will probably take longer to heal because of it. No, that isn't going to stop me. I still feel like that 16 year old kid with a fractured elbow. There is no way I'm going to sit on the sidelines.

30 Rock

2009-10-03T21:39:00.003-05:00

I've never watched it during its regularly scheduled time, but I love 30 Rock on DVD. It is much better watching episodes one after the other and not waiting a week between. Naturally I have the same crush on Tina Fey that all other TV geeks have. Outside of that the show is brilliantly written and acted. Alec Baldwin as Jack Donaghy is priceless. I love the whisper growly voice he uses.

If you have never seen the show, I highly recommend you do. It is on a comedic par with Arrested Development, Sports Night, and 20/20. Why are you still reading this? Go to Blockbuster, the library or Netflix website and get yourself a copy. You won't regret it.

Careers

2009-10-01T22:17:00.002-05:00

I'm always curious about other people's careers. How did you come into this job? Do you like your job? If not, what would you prefer to do? These are just a few questions I would ask you if you were standing right here right now. I'm always curious because I have met people who have a college degree that is not related to their current position. This fascinates me.

Humans Win

2009-09-26T10:25:00.005-05:00

I love to play board games. You could say I'm a board game geek. Its okay. I don't mind. When I was a kid growing up in Las Vegas, the older kids in the neighborhood introduced me to Risk. I love that game. It brings back some great memories.

We own enough board games that the closet can't hold them all. I purchased a few more this last week. Now we have to find a bigger hiding place or a bigger house. Either way, I'm not going to stop acquiring games I like. My next purchase may be Battlestar Galactica.

My friend Banky introduce me to the game. The first couple of times I played I didn't think the game was all that fun. The Cylons kept kicking our butts early into the game. Banky kept telling me the game takes about 3 to 4 hours to play, but up to this point we averaged about an hour.

The game play is simple. At the beginning each person is given a loyalty card. Only you can see your card. This card tells you whether you are a cylon or human. If you are a cylon, you get to keep your identity secret as long as you desire and sabotage the humans efforts.

At the end of each player's turn a Crisis card is drawn. These cards live up to their name - Crisis. To pass a crisis each player plays skill cards that have numerical value. The skill cards are color coded and the cards that count must be of the correct color. This is where the Cylons can interfere. They can play cards of the wrong color and that subtracts from the total. If you don't get at least the numerical value required, you fail the crisis and some penalties will be incurred.

For the humans to win, they need to complete enough "jumps" to total 8 plus one final "jump." The Cylons have a few ways to win. They can inflict too much damage to the Galactica, run the humans out of either population, morale, fuel, or fuel, or have a boarding party reach the end of their trek.

With so many ways for a Cylon victory it is tough for the humans to win. In fact, I have never played when the humans win until last night. The humans finally pulled off the upset. It was touch and go for a bit. We humans were down to the minimum fuel supply. We drew the card that increased the fuel and we went about kicking Cylon bootie. The trick is to extend this into a winning streak. The odds are against us humans, but I think we are up to the challenge.

Need to Get It Together

2009-09-23T17:43:00.003-05:00

There are many things that I need to improve about my life. Don't get me wrong. There a lot of things about my life that I love, but there are the areas I would like to improve.

Like anyone else I would love to get into shape (other than round) and lose some weight. I started going back to the gym thanks to my BFF. We were getting into a grove and then I strained a tendon in my knee. Ouch! The knee is getting closer to normal. I look forward to getting back to the gym.

I have some house projects that need attention. I'm sure Queentuffy would like me to finish those. I think the only way I'm going to finish them is to create a list and start checking off the projects as I get them done.

My career is a whole other problem. In fact it will take another blog post to cover that. The overall theme is it is time to take the steps. They may be baby steps, but steps none the less.

Loyalty

2009-09-14T21:36:00.003-05:00

When is loyalty one-sided in life? I can't count how many times I've been asked to show loyalty to this and that. I've never asked for loyalty to be shown towards me. I guess I always figured that my loyalty will be paid back with your loyalty. Was I wrong?

Nothing will let you know about others loyalty to you like hard times. Is your loyalty contigent on times being good? As soon as the chips are down are all loyalty bets off? It seems that this is the case.

When I'm loyal to you, I will do what I can to improve your situation, make you look good, do what it takes for you to be successful. What do you do for me? Make sure we have status quo? I will go above and beyond. I have and will continue to do so for those I'm loyal. I guess you will continue to take advantage of that. Expecting more and giving less.

Well those days are over. My loyalty will now match yours. You can blame outside factors, but we both know its all on you. Thanks for taking advantage of my loyalty. My eyes are open. It won't happen again. I will find someone else who will return my loyalty and they will benefit. And you? You better hope you never need a favor from me.

Its Not My Fantasy

2009-09-07T21:29:00.002-05:00

I just finished drafting my team for the second fantasy football team I own. Though I did an okay job, I did not feel all that excited about drafting. I think that perhaps fantasy football has run its course with me. I didn't do any research. In fact, I used spreadsheets created by the IT guy out our office. I think the fun is spending time researching, drafting and juggling the lineup. Right now I don't feel like doing any of those things. If my feelings about this does not change by next year, I will not be join any fantasy leagues. I will retire in the two leagues I'm in currently.

I have been participating in fantasy football since the early 90's. Back then there weren't any websites designed for fantasy football. The rules were simpler because the commissioner had to use the KC Star or the USA Today newspapers to figure the scoring by hand.

Now days there are websites and television shows telling you who to draft and in what order. We have wesites to set the lineups, check for free agents, and calculate the scoring. I miss the simple days of buying a magazine and figuring it out myself.

So, I think this will be my final year of fantasy football. I look forward to watching the games with nothing on the line for me personally. I will be watching for the pure joy of watching. Nothing more. Besides I prefer college football. My sundays will be free next year. Lets go fishing.

Been Busy

2009-09-02T20:48:00.005-05:00

Tonight is the first night this week that I have spent in front of the TV with the wife. It is nice. Though it didn't start off this care free. I went to the gym with my best friend. He has been keeping me motivated. Lord knows I need all the motivation I can get. I should be concentrating on some school work, but I am enjoying the nothingness of it all.

I wouldn't be enjoying nothing so much if it wasn't for the busy week. I'll start my explanation with Monday. Monday started like any other work day. First I didn't want to get up. Secondly I made it through the soul crushing day. Lastly I played tennis with said best friend. Boy it felt good to play some tennis. Tennis has a way of exposing how out of shape I am. After some good tennis fun, I got some pointers on punching. I wasn't allowed to hit anyone, but I did get some good shots on the heavy bag. All done with activity I went home just in time to have a small dinner and do some homework. When finished it was way past my bedtime.

Step 1 and 2 were the same for Tuesday as for Monday. The cherry on top of this day was bowling. Somehow I ended up on a team in a bowling league. I bowled surprisingly well considering I haven't bowled for a while. My scores were 168, 128 and 133. I was happy. Again I ended up getting home late. The wife was already in bed. She was the smart one.

Oh, I almost forgot step 2a of Tuesday. We had a new refrigerator delivered from Nebraska Furniture Mart. I had to spend time unloading the old fridge and loading the new one. It's amazing how much you can fit into a 22 cubic foot fridge. By the way, my NFM experience was great. The delivery drivers were professional and courteous. The fridge is still slightly larger than the space calls for. The dish washer door doesn't open all the way, but far enough to still be useful.

Today repeated steps 1 and 2. I got to miss lunch because of training. It wasn't so bad. Going to the gym was good, and now I'm here watching Glee and blogging. Ahhhh! Tomorrow I will rest even more and I have Friday off for the ultimate relaxing day. Yay me.

For the record. I'm not complaining. I enjoy having a busy social life. I need to have fun time. Life is too short and serious to not have fun on a daily basis. If you believe me, buy an Xbox 360 and friend me (Kipkillagin1). We can play some Halo 3.

My Wife's Heart is Bigger than our House

2009-08-30T19:11:00.003-05:00

We live in a 1400 s.f. house. It is even smaller than that sounds. The wife and I love to entertain. There are times when I wish our house was bigger. We have a lot of great friends. We want to invite them all to our game nights. The problem is we have room for 8 to 10 people and we would like to invite 20.

My wife would feed and entertain the world if they could fit into our house. She loves have a large circle of friends and would do about anything for them. I hope they realize how lucky they are to have her as a friend.

If it were up to me, we would keep the circle smaller. I like knowing and liking a lot of people, but I believe in only having a small group of Best Friends. I like to have one or two guy buddies that I can call on to play tennis, go workout, play a game, or just hang. My wife would say they same thing, but the exception would be the number of buddies.

I'm lucky she likes and cares for so many people. I get to meet a lot of great people that way. I get to have a lot of great times entertaining and playing games. Just remember if I get a hold of you alone to do something, you are considered a best friend. And that is an exclusive club. Hopefully, you feel the same about me.

Fry Daddy

2009-08-26T21:03:00.005-05:00

I am frying some chicken to serve to our guests at game night. The theme is a picnic. We are having cold fried chicken, potato salad, chips, and watermelon. The recipe I'm following is from this website http://gregbeckchicken.blogspot.com/

Chicken marinating in a bowl. Waiting for their turn in the fryer. Patience my pretties.

It's frying time. Everyone in the pool! The sound of something frying makes me salivate. Don't worry I kept it contained.

The first batch all done. Of course we sampled one. It was surprisingly good. Only five or six more batches left. It is going to be a late night.

Back At It

2009-08-25T19:44:00.003-05:00

Tonight I started working on my assignments for my class this fall. I'm giving an online class a try this semester. I picked this format because I didn't feel like driving to classes. I know this format creates more work than the traditional classroom, but I am up for the challenge.

The class I'm taking is Political Science. I haven't taken a US government class since high school. The prof sent out the syllabus today. As expected, this class will require hours of reading. I'm not opposed to that. There is a lot of busy work as well. You can't get away from busy work in college. Luckily, this is the only class I'm taking this semester. I can sink some time into it. An added bonus is my father in-law has a degree in Political Science. That will give me another resource. Wish me luck.

Correction

2009-08-24T19:32:00.002-05:00

In a post earlier I said that my wife likes light and fluffy, feel good movies. That wasn't a totally accurate assessment. Truth be told she has a better understanding of movies than I. In truth I am easily entertained. She has introduced some great movies and we have had a lot of interesting discussions on these movies. So don't think her taste in movies is chick flicks. It isn't. In fact she does not like romantic comedies. For this I am grateful. I never have to sit through on at the theatre. It will be just large explosions for us.

Who am I?

2009-08-24T18:51:00.003-05:00

When I was four my parents divorced. My biological father made the decision to let mom and my stepdad raise my sister and myself without inteference from him. Don't feel too bad for me. My stepdad (who will be refered to as dad) is great. He is the only dad I know. He helped make me what I am today.

I knew that my biological father lived in Texas, but that was about the extent of my knowledge. My sister had contacted him and actually went to live with him. I really never thought about contacting him. It wasn't that I had any bad feelings. I just didn't care to engage someone I don't remember.

A few years ago my sister tells my wife that my biological father has expressed his desire to get to know me. The wife sent a letter to him to make sure his intentions were just. We received a letter back from him and that got us started on a relationship. It started as letter writing and it progressed to phone calls.

Then one day on my way to work, he called me to say that he and some family were coming up and wanted to know if I wanted met him. So, we set up a meeting. I was curious to meet the man. Mainly because I am not like anyone in my family. I mean completely different. I was hoping that this meeting would shed some light on who I am.

After meeting him and his family, it was obvious that I am NOT like any of them either. I will discuss the meeting in another post. I was a little disappointed, but not terribly that I didn't see any of my traits on display by another person. So, I'm not like my mother, father, biological father, brother, or sister. Somewhere there may be a milkman that acts just like me or I'm one of a kind.

I am very analytical, quiet, and easy going. Everyone in my nuclear family is boisterous, out going, and always has some drama. My biological father is quiet like me, but has a different value system and is very southern. I guess I would be a combination of the two families. Yup. That sounds right. I'm going with that.

Saturday night live music

2009-08-23T15:48:00.002-05:00

Last night we watched live music at a bbq joint. It was nice. The drummer is a friend's husband. It was nice to support a local band. It was better to know one of the musicians. To make a great night even better the band played the song "Rubber Ducky." Yup, it was that kind of fun.

Since it was a bbq joint, we had food to go along with the entertainment. Being a resident of the KC area I know bbq. This place was pretty good. It was enhanced by Dave the night's bartendar and another friend.

All in all the night was enhanced by friends. Not only the friends at the two tables we filled, but as well as in the band and bringing drinks. Where would we be without friends? I don't know for sure, but I'm sure last night would not have been nearly as fun. And I'm lucky I have really great and interesting friends.

Mad Men

2009-08-19T21:45:00.003-05:00

Watching Mad Men is interesting. I wonder if the corporate world was really like this. I can't imagine working at a place in which everyone smoked and drinks at the office. Offenses that would get you fired on the spot today.

The advertising game in the TV show seems very interesting. Hard work with creativity sprinkled in. Does today's advertising firm operate that way? One thing have gathered from working in the corporate world is that creativity takes a back seat to hard line production. Creativity takes time and time is money. Hard line production is effecient. Is being creative allowed in corporate America or is it just not allowed in Engineering?

District 9

2009-08-16T20:27:00.002-05:00

So, saw District 9 today. I liked it a lot, but the better half hated it. Her hatred of the film has nothing to do with the quality of the film. It has more to do with the content. She likes light and fluffy, feel good movies. These things cannot be said about District 9.

This wasn't the movie I was expecting. I knew it was a social commentary style movie, but I didn't see the main plot line coming. Even though the movie was not what I thought it was going to be, I still dug it.

I'm not a movie critic. So, I won't be going into the critic blathering. I will just say the movie was intense, graphic, and poignant. Things happen in the movie that have you thinking this is exactly what would happen in the real world given these circumstances. I guess it feeds my general distrust in the world's governments.

Go see the movie if you like sci fi that makes you think. It makes you think while putting you through some intense action and graphic content. Don't cover your eyes. Take it all in. You will be glad you did.

Pre-District 9

2009-08-16T09:54:00.005-05:00

Meeting friends at the theatre to see District 9. I haven't been this pumped to see a movie in a while. Probably since Lord of the Rings. I've read the reviews, read the tweets, and listened to friends. Enough already. I have to see it for myself.

We saw two movies yesterday: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe was a dumb movie. In fact, I think the script was written in crayon, but it was entertaining. The biggest issue I had with the movie was the overuse of CGI. The parts I liked best were stuffed into tight outfits worn by Scarlet. I recommend watching the movie if you want mindless entertainment. Otherwise, avoid at all costs.

Harry Potter was a good film. As with the whole series, the latest was the best. The "kids" have improved with each offering. I enjoyed the movie to the point I didn't want it to end without wrapping up the story line. Alas, we have to wait a couple of years to see the end. I can wait. Probably. I have NOT read the books. So, I clueless how it all ends. I'll let the movies tell me. I have too many other books I'd rather read.

Vick to the Eagles

2009-08-13T20:27:00.003-05:00

So, Michael Vick signs with the Eagles. I was hoping that no team would want him for at least a year. Maybe I'm not being fair. In America, serving your sentence should balance the books on your crime, but I'm having a hard time with this because it deals with innocent animals.

I hope Vick is truly sorry for what happened on his land. The public persona he put out during the ordeal was one of a person sorry for being caught not for abusing dogs. I could be wrong. I think the whole scene must have been overwhelming.

Vick and the Eagles will endure booing for the whole of preseason and when Vick steps on the field during regular season games for a while. When the season is in full swing and playoff positions are being formed, fans will forget to boo Vick. The NFL puts a product on the field that is electric. The charge should drown out the boos in December. Michael Vick will not suffer much this year, and the NFL will suffer even less.

Movie Wish List

2009-08-12T19:10:00.003-05:00

The five things I want to see at the movies.

District 9
A Robot Chicken version of GI Joe
Movie adaptation of the book "Ender's Game"
Free popcorn!
A money back guarantee

I don't think these are unreasonable.

Fable II

2009-08-11T09:45:00.002-05:00

I am not at work today because I don't feel well. If I start to feel better later, I will play my all time favorite game - Fable II. I can easily spend hours playing this game. I have never seen a game with such a rich environment. Though have already beaten the game, I love to keep playing. There are plenty of quests to complete, gargoyles to kill, and gold to find to keep me entertained for a while.

I played the game as a good guy this time. It may be hard to tell if you saw my character. He is overweight, wears Elvis sunglasses, and has some scaring on his face. When I'm done with this game, I will play again as a bad guy. That should be fun. It should create a whole new experience. What game can claim that.

That is enough of that. Nyquill is kicking in. Time to take a nap.

College Football EA Sports Style

2009-08-09T20:17:00.005-05:00

I am loving NCAA 2010 from EA Sports. I got my first when at 3:20 this am. Yup. I wouldn't go to bed until I had a win under my belt. Thanks to Mizzou for being gracious enough to fall to my Huskers 30-0. I hope that happens in real life. Go Big Red!!

True it shouldn't have taken me so long to get a win, but I was confusing Xbox 360 buttons with their competitors. The X button is in a different location than what I'm used to. The poor X receiver never got the ball when he was wide open. Don't worry I'll get it worked out.

I turned on the Xbox and started the game. It proceeded to tell me that an update was available. I pushed the "go for it" button and was delighted to see the rankings update to match the newly released Coaches poll. Excellent.

I love this game because I couldn't beat the game 70 -0 on my first try. In fact it took a few games to get the first win. The NFL version should learn something from this. The only thing I don't like is the lack of a speed burst. If it is there and I haven't found it, help me out.

I'm new to the Xbox 360 experience. I just got the console in June for my birthday. Man. I shouldn't have waited so long. I love the Live add-ons, the ability to play on-line (I know. Nothing new), and the current ESPN feeds.