Hurricane Ike 7

We are on the very edge of the "Cone of Uncertainty." In fact the people in San Antonio may come here to hide from the storm. However it is a hurricane and may stall, do dough nuts, or just change direction and make a bee line for us.

Stomach: SLIGHTLY even happier.

Latitude 24.9 North
Longitude 86.7 West
Winds 100 mph
Movement North West 7 mph
Pressure 944 millibars

The Peak Of Hurricane Season

Today September 10 is the peak of hurricane season. After October 20th the odds of being hit by a hurricane drastically decrease. The season official ends November 30th.
There are 80 days to the end of hurricane season.

Hurricane Ike 6

Stomach: SLIGHTLY happier.

Ike has moved a slight bit more towards the north and may make landfall late Friday north of us.

We are packed and ready to leave tomorrow morning. Ike may show up in San Antonio sometime Saturday or Sunday. By then he should be a lot weaker.

Latitude 24.5 North
Longitude 86.1 West
Winds 100 mph
Moving NW 8mph
Pressure 947

Hurricane Ike 5

Stomach : SLIGHTLY happier.

Hurricane Ike has moved into The Gulf of Mexico and is slightly less than a thousand miles away from us. Ike has made a tiny West North West turn. This is good news for us. IF Ike keeps this up he will come in well north of us.

We have booked a hotel in San Antonio and preparing to leave early Thursday. Ike may make landfall Friday or Saturday. I hope Ike keeps moving to the north.

Latitude 23.1 North
Longitude 84.0 West
Winds 75 mph
Moving WNW 10 mph
Pressure 969 millibars

Hurricne Ike 4

Ike is now aimed directly at us. The weatherman has he has a low reliance in the projected paths as the projections keep changing. I'm hoping that the storm changes to an even more Northerly course.

Stomach Unhappy

Latitude 21.8 North
Longitude 80.8 West

Winds 80 mph
Moving WNW 13 mph
Pressure 967 millibars

Hurricane Ike 3

Hurricane Ike is back over water and headed our way. If Ike follows his projected course he should make landfall north of us sometime Saturday.


Latitude 21.4 North
Longitude 79.7 West
Winds 80 mph
Moving West 14 mph
Pressure 965 millibars

My stomach hurts.

Hurricane Ike 2

Hurricane Ike is moving Westward following the coast line of Cuba. Ike seems to be set to enter the Gulf of Mexico.

Latitude 21.1 North
Longitude 75.8 West

Winds 120 mph
Moving West 13 mph
Pressure 945 millibars

Dallas Cowboys Win Season Opening Game

Dallas Cowboys 28
Cleveland Browns 10

The Cowboy pull ahead for an early lead and stayed there.
Tony Romo was knocked down and given a bloody chin but guided the boys to victory.

What The Hell

Yesterday I tried to play Mercenariness 2 on line with my friend who lives in the UK. The on line co op was one of the reason I bought this game.
Much to my great disappointment I discovered that I could not play with them because they where in a different regions.
If you are going to have on line co op why have region restrictions on your PAYING customers?
Is it that complicated?
Why is it other games have no problem with this?
Come on, speak up.
I hope there is a patch for this. I guess I'll add this to my growing list of why to rent Mercenaries 2 and not to buy it. This will go on the list after the game being buggy as a roach motel, unfinished, poor audio, and last generation graphics.
Again Mercenaries 2 World In Flame is a rent. Do not waste your money buying this game.

End Of An Era

Tonight marked the end of an era in local television.
The Chill With Phil Show has come to an end.
Chill With Phil was an old fashion "Let's watch a B movie with funny host program."
Phil took live calls and gave away prizes for answering trivia questions.
The show built a loyal following an a family of supporters.
Phil has had several eye surgeries. His vision has not returned as he has hoped and the station has "released" him from work.
I have no idea what Phil's future plans include but I wish him luck.

Good luck Phil.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

I pick up a dvd of one of the greatest movies ever made.
The Day The Earth Stood Still

This 1951 sci fi classic stars Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, and Hugh Marlowe.
This is one of the finest movies ever made. And the DVD does have some goodies.
The is audio commentary by Robert Wise and Nicolas Meyer.
A 70 minute long documentary.
A restoration comparison.
5 stills galleries.
Shooting Script.
Theatrical trailer.

If you like classic movies or sci fi movies I recommend this DVD highly.

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike has made a slight North West turn.
Ike has winds of 135 mph and is moving WNW at 14 mph.
Ike's pressure is at 945 millibars.
If Ike stay on his projected path he will move in to the Florida area around late Tuesday early Wednesday next week.

Hurricane Hanna

Hanna has turned towards Florida.
Latitude 25.5 North
Longitude 75.0 West

Pressure 988 millibars
Winds 65 mph
Moving NW 14 mph

Dallas Cowboys Football Schedule

Here the schedule for the next month.

September 7th Sunday at Cleveland
September 15th Monday Philadelphia
September 21st Sunday at Green Bay
September 28th Sunday Washington

Go Cowboys

Hurricane Ike

Hurricane Ike is headed west towards the Gulf of Mexico.

Position:
Latitude 21.7 North
Longitude 53.2 West

Winds 115 mph
Pressure 960 millibars
Movement WNW 18 mph

VA Visit

My father is on his way home after his visit to the VA Hospital in San Antonio.
They temporally lost his blood work and he is to call some time next week for the results.
He did visit Van's Bar B Q and spent some time playing with his new scooter in the malls in San Antonio.

Tropical Storm Hana

Hurricane Gustav is done but will but releasing a lot of water and winds for the next few days.
Gustav has been replaced with Tropical Storm Hana.

Hana
Latitude 20.6 North
Longitude 79.2 West
Winds 70 mph
Pressure 985 millibars

There are also two other tropical storms.
Ike and Josephine

Gustav Makes Landfall

Hurricane Gustav made land fall about 10am with winds of 110 miles an hour. The storm made landfall near Cocodrie Louisiana.

Latitude 29.6 North
Longitude 91.1 West
Pressure 957 millibars
Moving North West at 15 mph

Mercenaries 2 Down In Flames

I have been playing Mercenaries 2 World In Flames.

The game is slightly disappointing. The graphics are last generation and the voice acting is as flat as an ironing board.

However there is plenty of action to be had. You can drive various vehicles, fly helicopters, and blow stuff up real good. You can call in air strikes and helicopter to pick up prisoners, evacuate you when injured.

All in all the game is a rental not a purchase.

Gustav 6

Hurricane Gustav is now a category 4 storm.

Latitude 26.4 North
Longitude 87.3 West

Pressure 956 millibars,

Gustav is forecast to make landfall between Monday or Tuesday AM.

Back On My Feet Again

I actually wore my favorite pair of sneakers or tennis shoes. It was a tight fit as my left foot is still slightly swollen. However I got them on and could walk around. I still have a bit of a John Wayne gate to my walk but I am walking.

A World In Flames

Mercenariness 2: World In Flame for the Xbox 360 should be released today. The local game store, Game Stop will open at noon. I feel like a kid on Christmas eve.
I want to play with my new toy.
I am talking some old games in to trade.
The trade in thing is a clear scam. If I trade in three games I will get 20 percent of the price of the game. However if you wait and take the games in on a different occasion you will get the trade in price of the games some of which is up to 30 dollars or more. That far better than a 20 percent value off a game for say 60 dollars.
Tricky little buggers arn't they.

Why Weather People Piss Me Off

Watching all the different weather forecasters is aggravating.

They talk in absolutes. Example "Thursday it will be sunny" this statement made on a Saturday night. Sunday morning arrives and it's "Thursday will be overcast with some rain."

Just admit you don't know what will happen one day to the next and explain your giving an educated quess. When you miss the forcast you can say "I warned you that the forcast was just a guess don't blame me" and when you get it right you can proclaim "Today is Thursday an it overcast with some rain. I got it right and I am brilliant!"

It's all a shot in the dark just admit it!!

We return you to our normale happy go lucky blog... weather permiting.

Saturday Night Stomach Looking For Sunday Morning.

My stomach is churning.

These hurricanes are making me ill.
I really hope all the storms go in north of us. I know that sounds cold for the poor people that will be effected by the storms but I don't need all this stress.

However tomorrow Mercenaries 2 should be released and I am really looking forward to the distraction of a new game to play.

I got to talk to an old friend last night. We both agreed that we both miss Ken a great deal. I feel like I lost a mentor and brother when Ken died. The last time I saw Ken he was in so much pain I was speechless. I am grateful he is no longer in pain.

I also got to talk to another old friend who lives in England. His job keeps him very busy and he and his wife are trying to adapt a child. I was nice to talk to an old play mate.

The sooner hurricane season is over the better. Bring on the cold weather.

Crossroads Closes

Yesterday the coffee shop Crossroads was closed. Crossroads was in the middle of our favorite grocery store. My dad loved to have some coffie while waiting for prescriptions to be filled at the pharamcy.

In The Teeth Of The Season

We are in the peek of hurricane season and it shows.
Today the last seven remaining unclaimed bodies that where victims of hurricane Katrina where laid to rest.
Three years ago today Katrina made landfall. Katrina was the fifth strongest hurricane ever in Atlantic and third strongest ever to make landfall. Katrina took at least 1,836 lives with 705 still missing. She packed winds measured up to 175 mph.
Meanwhile today one hurricane and one tropical storm lurk in the Atlantic ocean. Hurricane Gustav is traveling towards the Gulf of Mexico and tropical storm Hana is growing stronger.
There are 92 days left in the hurricane season.

Gustav 5

Latitude 18.8 North
Longitude 79.3 West

Winds 75 mph
Pressure 984 millibars
Moving West North West 11 mph

Gustav 4

Gustav is now a tropical storm after making landfall in the Dominican Republic.

Latitude 17.8 North Longitude 77.3 West

Winds 70 mph moving west 7 mph pressure at 988 millibars.

Dallas Cowboys Win

Dallas Cowboys 16
Minnesota Vikings 10

This was the final preseason game of the year.

Gustav 3

17.80 N 75.60W
Maximum sustained wind 50 mph.
Moving South West at 10 mph.

The Saffir - Simpson Scale

The Saffir - Simpson Scale is used to messure the power of hurricanes.

Category 1 Winds 74 - 95 mph with storm surge 4 - 5 feet above normal.

Category 2 Winds 96 - 110 mph with storm surge 6 - 8 feet above normal.

Category 3 Winds 111 - 130 mph with storm surge 9 - 12 feet above normal.

Category 4 Winds 131 - 155 mph with storm surge 13 - 18 feet above normal.

Category 5 Winds 156 and higher with storm surge above 18 feet.

The system was created in 1971 by civil engineer Herbert Saffir and meteorologist Bob Simpson.

Gustav 2

Gustav is now at Latitude 18.8 North, 74.4 West.
The storm has winds of 60 Miles An Hour.
Pressure of 997 millibars.

Gustav is projected to be in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday morning.
Landfall is expected on Monday.

Gustav

Hurricane Gustav made landfall on Haiti. Gustav has killed one at lest one person. The storm is moving north west at 8 miles an hour.

Tropical Update - Gustav

The tropical activity without a name became hurricane Gustav.
Gustav strengthened into a category one hurricane early Tuesday morning traveling north west at 9 miles an hour. Gustav is expected to strengthen over the next few day and head into the Gulf of Mexico. There is a possibility that a high pressure front may change Gustav course away from us.

Busy Day

Bill the cat has had a busy day.
He has retired from gardening and spent most of the day napping on the cool kitchen tile floor. It has just been to hot for him to over see my father gardening adventures. Usually he helps out with some digging or monitoring the watering. However today he spent the day indoors.

Tropical Storm Fay 5

Tropical Storm Fay has been downgraded to a tropical depression. She is expected to take a turn north and travel north until al her energy is depleted.

Blogging

I am trying to train myself to do a daily posting in this blog.
Not that anyone knows about it. A few family members may visit it.
This is more or less an exercise in self control.
I think it would be neat if every one I knew had a blog so we could see whts going on in each others worlds.

Huricane Season

There less than a hundred days left in hurricane season. It can not end soon enough for me.

Now if only time would slow down after the winter starts. I looking forward to the winter and cool and cold weather.

Tropical Storm 4

Tropical Storm Fay has moved back into the Gulf of Mexico.
They expect the storm to make landfall again Saturday.

Dallas Cowboys Win Preseason Game

Dallas Cowboys 23
Houston Texans 22

Tropical Storm Fay 3

Tropical storm Fay made her third landfall today. With high winds and down pours Fay is moving towards Florida's panhandle.

Finally

Today the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) issued rules banning prerecorded calls from telemarketers.

To receive a prerecorded call from a Telemarketers you must choose to receive these calls. These rules do not block "informational" calls such as those telling you of a canceled flight, appointment reminders.

These calls are not covered by the TSR (Telemarketers Sales Rules) as they do not try to sale any goods or services to the receiver.

Tropical Storm Fay 2

Tropical storm Fay made landfall Monday then moved back out to the sea then made a second landfall near Cape Romano Tuesday morning.
A Tropical Storm Warning is out for the Central Atlantic Coastline.

Rainbow In The Dark Skys

There was a rainbow this morning. Wile Florida is dealing with Fay we are having some much needed rain. Hopefully there will be some more.

Tropical Storm Fay

Topical storm Fay is setting course for a tour of Florida. The current project path shows Fay moving through the body of Florida. Fay is moving a 6 miles an hour and is packing winds of 60 miles an hour.

Tropical Update

There a new tropical storm out there and her name is Fay. Fay has winds at 50mph and is moving North West alone the Cuban coastline. And may move to the coast of Florida.

Dallas Cowboys Lose Second Preseason Game

Dallas Cowboys 13
Denver Broncos 23

Big Foot Big Flop

Two men claiming to have found the remains of Big Foot submitted DNA from the remains for testing. The results have come back with the results that their Big Foot is more opossum than ape.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer are the two men who claimed to have found the body. By sheer coincidence they are co owner of a company that make Big Foot merchandise. Who would have guessed at that.

A Man And His Hobbies

Shigeru Miyamoto can not discuss his hobbies. It's not that they are bad but they make Nintendo Billions. Miyamoto hobby for gardening helped him create the game Pikmin. When he got a puppy he made Nintendogs. After he decide to lose weight he designed WiiFit.

The above games have made Nintendo billions of dollars and they do not want Shigeru discussing his hobbies out of fear someone will design a game best off his hobby.

If I was Nintendo I'd make sure he had plenty of free time to try new hobbies.

Tropical Update

There is new activity 200 miles east the Leeward Islands. The disturbance is moving North - North West at 10 to 15 miles an hour.

1400 mile East of the Leeward Islands is an area of low pressure.

There is another storm just of the coast of Africa also moving westward.

Tax FreeWeekend, Kind Of

This weekend will be another tax free weekend.
On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday some items under $100.00 will be state tax free.

Baby clothes Backpacks for use by elementary and secondary students Belts with attached buckles Boots - cowboy, hiking Caps/hats - baseball, fishing, golf, knitted Coats and wraps Diapers - adult and baby Dresses Gloves (generally) Gym suits and uniforms Hooded shirts and hooded sweatshirts Hosiery Jackets Jeans Jerseys - baseball and football Jogging apparel Neckwear and ties Pajamas Pants and trousers Raincoats and ponchos Robes Shirts Shoes - sandals, slippers, sneakers, tennis, walking Socks (including athletic) Shorts Suits, slacks, and jackets Sweatshirts Sweat suits Sweaters Swimsuits Underclothes Work clothes and uniforms

Have you noticed whats not on the list. SCHOOL SUPPLIES!
Pens, pencils, folders, paper, and the like are taxed.
You state government demonstrating their brilliance once again.

My New Life Ambition

To be the last person on earth not to have played World Of Warcraft.

More Tropical Trouble

Two Tropical disturbances have formed in the Atlantic. Wile not hurricanes is active now the two storms will be closely watch.

The Tears Of Saint Lawrence

If you look at the stars tonight you may see The Tears of Saint Lawrence.

Laurentius, a Christian deacon, was martyred by the Romans in 258 AD on an outdoor stove. It was in the midst of this torture that Laurentius cried out: "I am already roasted on one side and, if thou wouldst have me well cooked, it is time to turn me on the other."

The saint's death was commemorated on August 10. King Phillip II of Spain built his monastery place the "Escorial," on the plan of the holy gridiron. And the abundance of shooting stars seen annually between approximately Aug. 8 and 14 have come to be known as St. Lawrence's "fiery tears."

The tears are in fact of part of the Swift Tuttle comet. This time every year the Earths orbit crosses the path of the Swift Tuttle comet providing the meteor shower. The comet particles sail into Earths atmosphere at 37 miles per second.

Dallas Cowboys Lose First Pre Season Game

Dallas Cowboys 17
San Diego Chargers 31

NFL Network

I has settled in to watch my first Dallas Cowboys preseason game on the NFL Network.
First off the game started several minutes late and not only did I miss the kick off butthe first score of the game.
After a long commercial break I saw a few more minutes of the Cowboys game when it was replaced without any announcement by the different game entirely. The game was the New York Jets and the Cleavland Browns.
Either someone screwed up or the NFL flat out lied and hope no one would notice.
In any case I found the Cowboys game on another channel.
The score is currently San Diego 38 Dallas Cowboys 14.

Not a promising start for the new season.
Maybe the Cowboys should spend more time on football and less time worrying about the new stadium.

Dallas Cowboys Pre Season Schedule

Saturday August 16th 2008 - 8:00 pm
Denver away

Friday August 22nd 2008 - 7:00 pm
Houston at home

Thursday August 28 2008 - 7:00 pm
Minnesota at home

T Boone Pickens Plan

Former oil man and hedge fund chair holder T Boone Pickens has spoken up against the United States dependency on foreign oil.
The United States spends $700 Billion every year on foreing oil for 70% of our fuel.
Pickens is spend a large sum of money in "Wind Farming.'
For more check out his website Pickens Plan.
It is at http://www.pickensplan.com/ .

Halo 3 Figure

While in San Antonio I picked up one of the new Halo 3 multi player figures. You can mix and match parts of the armor like the shoulders and helmets to match the armor you wear in the game.

TagWorld R.I.P.

I tried to get back into my Tag World page to discovered that the whole site has had a major reworking. This is more of a rape than a redesign. The entire site has been rendered unusable. Good work Flux you have totally destroyed a wonderful community.

Van's

Gates Get Your Hand Out Of My Wallet

In an attempt to give Bill Gates the finger I have downloaded Open Office.
Gates has enough of my money and I consider him to be the biggest thief on the planet.

Midpoint

By my understanding today marks the midpoint of the summer season here in South Texas.
This means hopefully that the temperatures will stat going down and the days will cool off.

Edouard Makes Landfall

Tropical storm Edouard made landfall East of Galveston and West of the Louisianan boarder.

What They Need Is A Better Cheif Enginer

Space X lost not only three satellites but the remains of actor James Doohan who is widely know as "Scotty" the fictional chief engineer of the USS Enterprise from the original Star Trek television series.
The ashes of 200 other people where lost as well.
This was the third loss for the Space X company.
The satellites where the property of NASA and The DoD.
Also lost where the ashes of Gordon Cooper who was one of the original Mercury astronauts.

Edouard Update

Edouard has weakened then restrengthened but is still moving west and should make landfall sometime Tuesday.

A New Tropical Trouble

Tropical Storm Edouard formed in the Gulf of Mexico about 4pm.
Edouard is the fifth tropical storm this season and has winds at 45 miles an hour.
The storm is expected to make landfall Tuesday.
Edouard was located around 90 miles southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River and is 400 miles east of Galveston, Texas.
It is moving West at 6 mph.

Old Nightmare

Today marks the anniversary of the 1970 hurricane Celia.
Celia killed a minimum of 15 people and did $400 million dollars of damage.

A Thought

Studying quantum mechanics is like trying to understand politicians. Both make your head hurt and neither has a practical usefulness.

Digging Into The Unknown

Josh Bernstein formerly of the History channels "Digging For The Truth" will soon be hosting a new show on the Discovery channel called "Into The Unknown with Josh Bernstein".

The Discovery channel (Home of The Mythbusters) program will premier August 18th.

A Week Away

Football season starts in eight days. I can't wait.

Good News Doc

I saw my doctor today. He looked at my foot, listened to my heart, and complimented my shoes.
He said my heart sounded good and my foot looked even better.
He liked my shoes with the dragons on the tops.
I feel better and am trying to stay cool.

The gulf looks clear for the week so that leaves a little over a month of the heart of hurricane season left to go.

The Heat Is On

Today has been a coolish day with temperatures in the mid 90s. The next six weeks are not only the hottest and the most active hurricane wise part of the year.
I have felt horrible for the past few days and Friday my heart rate hit 117.
They took xrays and ekgs then had me take one of my own pills and sent me home. It could have been much worse.
The sooner August and September are over the happier Ill be.

After The Storm

We are home from San Antonio.
The trip up there was very quiet. There was hardly any traffic.
The tropical storm Dolly was moving over the gulfs warm waters.
We where a few of the guest of the people staying at the hotel Tuesday night. The next day the hotel was full and when we tried to book an extra night we where threatened by having our stuff fordable removed from the rooms.
Now we where paying and by my understanding what they threatened to do is a violation of several laws.
Like most bullies when stood up to the cowards backed down.
Despite the behavior of the one employ the hotel was very nice although the air condition was WAY underpowered.
The trip home was full of blinding downpours and brief moments of sun. But once outside of San Antonio city limits the skies cleared and we had a smooth and uneventful trip home.
Upon are arrival home Bill the cat ate everything in sight and did a great deal of complaining.
It is very nice to be home with my extra firm pillow and air conditioning.

Dolly

We are bracing for a possible hurricane.
I am be threatened by a storm named after a great musical. Already there an overflow of "Hello Dolly" jokes. Mostly made by candy asses that have never been in a hurricane.

The timing is very annoying. I had to rebook a doctors appointment and may miss a visit from the cable company.

Dolly is presently producing winds of 52 mph.

She is too far out in the Gulf of Mexico to place a landfall. She has also just moved into warm water which may strengthen her.

Walking On Sunshine

Yesterday I was released from physical therapy. They said I was doing very well and am walking on my own very well. I have a list of exercises to do.
I'm happy with this news. I think I may buy some shoes to celebrate.

Sid Meier Does It Again

Sid Meier has released his latest game called Civilization Revolution.

This game is an instant classic. The audio and graphics are very well done. The game play is simple yet complicated.

You control a leader of a civilization. You build and command an army and try to dominate the world. You must control each town and direct it's resources. You also guide the technology and use diplomacy with other world leaders.

This is a lesson in world history disguised as a game.

Battfield B S

I have tried for over a week now to set up an account to view my screen shots from Battlefield Bad Company but EA never sends the email that tells you how to set up the account. Typical. Why bother thinking things through when you can do it at the last moment. Very professional Electronic Arts.

Pass The ... Water

A local gas station has been pumping water and gas into people gas tanks. The station has closed and is investigating how the water into the gas. When a local television station started asking question it turns out there is in fact no state agency who is designated to investigate such events. After that point was pointed out local congressman Solomon Ortiz Jr. claims that he will look into this matter.

T Bone Pickens Picks Wind

One time oil legend T Bone Pickens is investing 10 billion dollars into the worlds largest wind farm.
Mr. Pickens has ordered 667 of G. E. 1.5 Megawatt wind turbines. Picken's Mesa Power is building the world largest wind farm outside of Pamas Texas. The Pamas Wind Project will generate 1,550 jobs during the build and 720 jobs afterwards.

The wind farm will gerenrate 1,00 Mega Watts of power starting in 2011.

Rain Rain

It has finally started raining here and may rain all week. As long as it is not a hurricane I am happy.

Battfield Of Fun

I have been playing Battlefield Bad Company for the Xbox 360.
The graphics and audio are fantastic.
The Storyline is fun and seems to have been inspired by the Clint Eastwood's film "Kelly's Hero's"
You and a small band of none player charterers find a box of gold and it turns out to be a small part of a huge collection of gold being moved by a mercenary.

The on line play is brilliant. You and three other players must attack other players in there base and destroy the boxes they are guarding or you must prevent the other team from destroying the boxes you are guarding.

There are four types of solders you can play. There are also many vehicles and tons of weapons to use.

I give this game a 4/5.
A must play.

More Prof There Was Intelligent Life On Mars

The results of the Phoenix Mars Lander soil test show that the soil on Mars could grow some food stuffs.
The soil can grow asparagus and green beans.

No wonders the Martians left.
What a bland diet.
One would hope for something a bit more fitting for their martini or Marstini on ice than that.

The face on Mars wasn't sad, he had gas.

Inhale Exhale

I took my breathing test today. The results where about the same as last year.

"Tonight's Forcast... Dark!"

George Carlin the comedian passed away today. Carlin was brilliant and insightful. This world will be that much darker without George.

George Denis Patrick Carlin 1937 - 2008

Breath In

Wensday I have my yearly repository exam.
Thats the one where I breath heavy into a machine that looks like a cross between an aqua lung and a fax machine.

However Kim's new shop is not to far away so I hope to be able to drop in and say hi to her.

I saw my heart doctor last week and he reduced one pill by half. I take that as good news.

My dad saw his eye doctor and they say his eyes are getting worse although he doesn't feel that way.

I still have yet to have my yearly blood test by the blood specialist. I dread this as just getting an appointment is like hand to hand combat with an octopus. The office staff seems to be only given to arguing or stalling. I am however gonna give them a fight they wont forget.

I am walking on my own. My walk looks like a cross between John Wanye's limp and Tim Conway's shuffle he used as the old man character.

Signs of a Truely Advance Civilazation on Mars

NASA reported today that they have fund ice on Mars.
They claim to have found evidence that there is enough frozen water to cover the entire surface of Mars in 11 meters or 36 feet deep.

"The south polar layered deposits of Mars cover an area bigger than Texas. The amount of water they contain has been estimated before, but never with the level of confidence this radar makes possible," said Jeffrey Plaut of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena Calif.

The conclusion:
The Martians had their drinks on ice.

What more signs of civilization do you need?

Gettin Hitched, Ditched, and Bitched.

The Bay Area of California is now allowing Gay or Same Sex marriages.
There of course be a great deal of whooping, yelling, foot stomping, and hand wringing.
In other words the people who make anti headaches meds are having a field day.

I say let them get married.
The bigger the wedding the better.
Consider it a economic incentive plan for the bay area.
Think of all the florists and catering's who will make money off this. More over if you look forward you will see a army of devoice lawyers lining up to dance jigs over the bodies of even more fallen marriages. Marriage concealer's of course will have their business double.

Let them get married.
They will find the grass is only not greener on the other side but the grass is full of snakes, spiders, and dead lawn mowers.

Tenacity Or Stupidity

According to a BBC report Hilliary Clinton has announced that she will finally withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination race and back Obama.

I have heard a lot of people saying they have started to admire Hillary for her tenacity in still running the race to the bitter end.

I'm not so sure that it is tenacity or sheer stupidity.
Is Hillary so dim she can not see the screamingly obvious?
I also wounder if the fight to the bitter end is part of a long term game plan designed to cast her as a strong candidate for the next Democratic presidential race?

I also wounder about how her own self image is effecting herself. She by my understanding has more than once has tried to compare herself to Bobby Kennedy.
Does Hillary see herself as someone so important that she can be compared to Bobby Kennedy?

I personally think Hillary is dangerous.
I will not vote for her to hold any office.
I feel she is simply trying to guarantee her place in history in a way not connected the the Clinton / Lewinsky scandal. She is out for herself and has no consideration for how her actions effect the people around her or the people she represents.

Hillary has a place in history already and has shown herself to be a shrewd and clever person.

The coming presidential race will be interesting to watch. From this point it time it looks like Obama will be victorious but election day is a long ways away and anything can happen.

More Bad News

My father came back from San Antonio today. He was there for his twice a year checkup. They would like to operate again but he said he wanted to wait a while.

Hurricane season has started and I can not wait for it to end.

I received a bill from ATT for 190.00. I called and told them I felt I had be repeatedly lied to. I was told my contract would expire on April 5th of this year. I was given the run around until I asked if it was necessary for me to contact the Texas Attorney General Office, The FCC, and The Texas Communication Commission.

They suddenly decided that I owed them no money what so ever.

The Return

Well my xbox came home and I have restarted playing Grand Theft Auto 4.
I still love this game.

Hey Hey My My

According to the xbox website my 360 is on its way home!

Breaking Everything

First my cell phone dies then my xbox dies. If that isn't enough to try my patients my laptop freezes and is as useful as a dead roach.
Well I replace the phone and the xbox is being repaired I hope. Knowing Microsoft they are probably installing a camera so they can spy on you while your playing games.
Well I broke down and got a laptop. It's an Acer 5620.
So far I love it.

Phones and Games

I have a new cell phone but I am not sure if I like it.

My Xbox 360 died. I have my warranty handy so I'll talk to Microsoft later in the day.
With the 360 out of action I'll finish my GTA games on the PSP.

My father is still bleeding in his eye but the amount of blood is reduced. He says his vision is far greater than it was. The doctors will take another try at stopping the bleeding and improving his vision.

I am almost entirely healed from the ulcers. There a little bit of scar tissue but if that all I am very happy.

I am waiting for Iron man and Speed Racer to hit the movie channels.

Grand Teft Auto Four

I have been playing Grand Theft Auto 4 by Rock star Games.

This is a game in which you can steal cars, kill hookers, fly helicopters, ride choppers, shot cops, and drive speed boats all over New York city without leaving the comfort of your own home.

In other words this is a very adult game.

This is one of those game that Hillery Clinton will scream and yell about without ever even playing it.

The game is very violent.

The graphics and audio are superb.

The controls are responsive and well done.

The story of your Nikko is well written.

I give this game a 5 out of 5.

Update

I have been fighting an ulcer of sorts.
Actually five.
I saw my doctor early this week. Of the five ulcers two have healed up completely. The other have healed to a point the my daily wound cleaning has been changed to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.
I have also been taking physical and occupational therapy. The physical therapy is helping me relearn to walk. I have taken a few spins around the house using a walker. I still can not walk on my own.
The occupational therapy is helping me build my upper body strength. I have one of those rubber band things I do a set of daily exercises with.
In other news GTA 4 will be released next week. I can hardly wait. It will be like a very early Christmas.

Sad

My feathered friend Chico was killed by a dog. Chico will be missed by a lot of folks.

Army of Screwed

I have been playing the new game "Army of Two"
Here my review and a warning...

Army of Two is a wonderful game with two flaws one of which is absolutely unforgivable and fatal to the game.
In Army of Two you play one of two former Air-born Rangers.
You and an artificial intelligent character or in online mode a real player will team up to save the world (of course) and make some money while your at it. The game includes a new gimmick called back to back. At certain points you and your partner will stand back to back and take on all comers who attack you. This is wonderfully done and is a fine new addition to gaming.
You may upgrade your weapons, buy new weapons, and change your appearance all by shopping in the in game stores.
The graphics and audio is very nicely done. The control are a bit complicated but the game offers so much it is understandable. The game is responsive and runs smoothly.
The single player campaign is a training ground for the cooperative play online.
Here is where the games fatal flaw lies.
There is no online play for US and UK players.
This is an intentional design feature.
There reason give is by EA Montreal's Reid Schneider, senior producer of Army of Two is super slow connections are what prompted the region blocking. Using a deterministic (peer-to-peer) network model enables the game's synchronized game play animation, but requires parity on both systems. If a slow connection is thrown into the mix, "the person with the worst connection brings down the whole group to his/her worst connection level," explained Schneider. "While not generally a problem for COOP (since most people play coop with friends) when playing in Versus mode 3 people can be highly adversely affected by one player with a bad connection. We use the region lock to minimize the likelihood of this occurring."

Mr. Schneider my words to you are...
BULLSHIT!
You game may be highly demanding of servers but let the players deal with that.
Most players sir are a far shot brighter than you give them credit for.
This problem exists on every online game there is. The simple solution is to ask the slow player to leave. Kick him or her out of the game. Or even offer advise as how to resolve the problems on your own or having your ISP provide the service they are PAID for.

EA's action show arrogance and contempt for the player and PAYING customers. You should at least have the fact of no US / UK play clearly labeled on the package.

This is a fatal flaw to the game.
Had I been aware of this I would have not purchase the game.
Any lie to make money EA?

Hopefully EA will develop a patch for the glaring and unforgivable problem.

Shame on EA for not having the patch ready on day one and shame on them on not alerting the customers about this problem.

It is my opinion that EA has done serious damage to there reputation in the gaming community. Any first year business student will tell you EA that a companies reputation can either make them or break them.

Consider your reputation broken.

Weather Or Not

Winter is fading fast. Summer with it dreadful heat will be here soon.
The air conditioner will be running and at some point break. The power bill will skyrocket.

It is in the forecast to stay in the mid seventies this week. I will enjoy the cool while it lasts.

My cell phone contract is up soon and my phone is getting old and tired. I guess I will invest in a new phone. One I like is with a different carrier and another I like is made by my current provider.
I guess I will make my mind up in the next few days.

I am back to playing Halo 3.

I have a bunch of games to trade in for Grand Theft Auto 4 when it is released.

Wars

My father is feeling better.
On Wednesday he finally went the the emergency room. They did a ton of test. He finally got checked in about ten pm. He spent the night.
It turn out he had a stomach blockage. When he was moving the heavy plants he somehow managed to have one of his hernias fold over his stomach and block his stomach. They decided to watch him over the night and then decide if they needed to operate.
However sometime during the night his stomach straitened itself out.
He came home Thursday and he seems happy to be home and have the cat bossing him around.
Yet another health war he has survived.

I bought Front lines Fuel Of War.
It is a single play first person shooter set in the near future. There is a world wide depression and a coalition of bad guys are hording all the oil so you must save the world.
The graphics and audio are very well done although there are some draw in problems.
The controls are very well laid out and easy to understand.
The battlefields are big and well designed. There always multiple solutions to any problem.
The one downside is there is no cover system. Even the system in Perfect Dark would have worked well here.

The political wars are in full force.
Barack Obama came to town and spoke for nearly an hour.
Hillery Clint has been here several times as well as husband and former president Bill Clinton.

The Republicans have seem to have forgotten about our little city. They all go on and on about how important the Texas vote is but none of the could be bothered to drop in and say hi. Extremely bad form.

On other wars it seems my doctor is running for congress. So if he wins I have to find a new doctor?

And finally Bill the cat has once again become embroiled in a war with another cat. Bill is scratched up but is doing well and is ruling the house with an iron paw.