Thanksgiving week. . . all 19 days of it

Dear God, it's actually good to be back in some sort of routine! This past week was good and busy and crazy and sad and lazy all at the same time. Aren't holidays always like that, though? Here's a brief synopsis of my week:

~Monday: work. Holiday work. That is, not very productive work.
~Tuesday: Airport driving trip. I had to take my mom to the Baltimore airport for her 4:40pm flight to Utah; it took me 2 hours to get there, and almost 4 to get back. Damned beltway rush hour.
~Wednesday: work. Sorta. Also holiday work, just more so.
~Thursday: Thanksgiving, yaaay! My dad and brothers and I all gathered and ate too much. It was nice to have all the men-folk together one last time. . .
~Friday: Vegas or Bust! My older brother and younger brother loaded up two cars, and off they went! David is moving out to stay, Michael just fancied a road trip. They are stopping off in Utah to see my younger sister and the new baby, and to say hi to my mom. Then it's off to Vegas to see Dave's new apartment, unload, go to Glitter Gulch for about 18 hours, and then Mike will wend his way homeward.

Not much else to mention. I have my house to myself for the month, so I'm gonna be a Grinch and not bother with decorating. The cats have enough things to destroy as it is, they don't need more excuses to freak out. . . I have a bunch of unused vacation time, so I might take off every friday in December, just to do some house cleaning and take care of personal business (*coughSTAROCEANcough*). Oh, and I might be joining a sportsman's club soon, which would mean I could shoot my guns indoors, all winter -- shaWEET!

Did anyone else lose their precious data to the Viewtiful Joe 2 demo? Apparently, Sony's 2004 Holiday Game Demo disc has a bug that erases the data on any card in the console if you play the Viewtiful Joe 2 demo. (I feel for you, Joe!) To the casual gamer, this might not sound like a serious matter. . . but we hard-core RPGers have hundreds of hours of our lives distilled into those saved files. I would crawl under my bed, assume the fetal position, and weep softly for a whole week if my Carnage Heart files were wiped out. I wonder if any lawsuits will come from this. . . how do you place a monetary value on saved game data? And how do you convince a gamer to brave sunlight and human interaction long enough to appear in court? And how do you convince that gamer that wearing a Chrono Trigger t-shirt and referring to the female judge as "yo, hammer lady" isn't a good idea?

I have too much entertainment to get through. Anime: 10 new DVDs of Urusei Yatsura, Big O II, Aquarian Age, Metal Fighters Miku, Aura Battler Dunbine all in the 'To Watch' pile. Games: still playing Hot Shots Golf Fore, dammit, when I should be playing Star Ocean, and I will have Ace Combat 5 at some point. Books: almost at the halfway point of The Dark Tower, the last novel in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King. After that, there's the original Dune trilogy, two volumes of The Year's Best Science Fiction, Dies The Fire, Tales Of EarthSea, and about seven others. Plus, I really need to get back to practicing Japanese for a while every day.

Hey, anyone who reads this can leave comments. . . see that little "comments" thing in little type at the bottom of the post? Click on that and it will let you leave your own message. I like getting comments! (a million thank-yous, o Empress of Dairy Queen!)

Hopefully I'll have some more pics up next post. In the meantime, go to www.funnypages.com and read the cat haikus. Good stuff.

TTFN

Son of Picture Frenzy

Wow. Lots of things going on. First off, we had what might be our last shooting day of the season. Most of the pics below are from that day.

The big news is this week, my older brother is moving to Las Vegas, to make his fortune in the Casino business. He's wanted to make this move for a decade, so it's good that he is finally getting the chance to make it happen. I'm going to miss the hell out of him, but it's not like he'll be out of touch. . . this is the information age. Plus, I can drive out to visit him in Nevada. Didja know that prostitution is legal in parts of Nevada? Um, I mention this for no reason at all. . .

It will be a quiet holiday season. My older brother is relocating to Las Vegas, and my mom is going to be in Utah with my sister and the new baby (Benjamin, third kid for her). . . so it will be 4/7 of the family group together for christmas this year. Very low-key.

I just read about a hunting-related homicide. Apparently, some guy was in a tree stand on private property. When he was approached for trespassing, he started shooting. In all, 5 people were shot and killed, including a father and son, a teenage boy, and a woman. Some of them were shot more than once. Three others were wounded. Dear god. . . They should have just chained the guy to a gravel road, and run over him a dozen times with a truck. Why does one crazy retarded nut job always have to ruin things for everyone else?

Last thing. . . the Buck Rogers TV show box set just came out last week. I watched those when they were brand new, and I saw the Buck Rogers motion picture (it became the pilot for the TV series) at a drive-in theater in Idaho. Good stuff! Once I get it, I will watch the Vorvon episode about 500 times. . .

Happy ChrismaHanuKwanzaKa, y'all.

Believe it or not, every person in this pic is related! Same mom and dad and everything! From the left is me, Dave (kick-ass Motorhead duds!), Ken, and Mike. Decreasing in age it goes Dave, me, Mike, Ken.

Awwww. . . cute kitty! Wonderful, darling little female cat, belongs to a friend (the lady shown shooting, a few pics below). She is the friendliest little thing ever, and full of that youthful exuberance only kittens have.

This is a very good picture of my younger brother. Go get'im ladies, he's single and has a cool car! The sideways box with chinese letters on it is the complete Romance Of The Three Kingdoms TV show, from China. "Do I have to tell you who you can and cannot kill?"

No this isn't my backyard. . . it's the shooting range! RANGE DAY!!!! These are all pictures from our shooting day this past weekend. The weather was kinda cold and cloudy and wet. . . but still good enough to stuff some lead into the dirt. That's all my stuff stacked at the 50-yard pistol range.

The horses were in the shop for . . . repair. . . so we had to take my car. I like my Impala; unlike my last car, it isn't infested with spiders and hasn't been puked in. Yet.

This is the Ruger Redhawk, .44 Magnum. It is the most gun an average person can handle. There is a speedloader full of my custom handloads on the left. This is a genuine hand cannon. And I want one soooo bad. . .

This is my Thompson-Center Contender, 14" barrel, chambered in .45-70. This is basically a very short rifle that you hold in your hands. Why yes I do enjoy severe hand pain, why do you ask? That's a 2.5x rail-mount scope on the pistol. Those bullets are each 2.5" long.

My youngest brother, looking happy because he is out shooting. He was told he looks like an Amish terrorist. He has his Ruger .357 Magnum revolver on his hip. He is a DAMNED good shot.

Here he is loading a speedloader. Speedloaders are soooo much fun.

See, girls can shoot too! No, trust me, that's a lady with her mitts wrapped around that shooting iron. It was her first time, too! Guaranteed not to be her last. . .

Here's her view at 10 yards. My, that is an awful big gun to be pointing at 10 yards. . .

Here's a handsome fellow, all decked out in chartreuse and packing some heat! My younger brother with the Redhawk. There's an empty speedloader on the bench in front of him.

. . . and here's what he sees at 25 yards. The little yellow globes stuck above the target backstop just might be apples. . . oh my, now who would put those there? No idea. . . By the way, it's illegal to shoot at anything but paper targets on the provided backstops.

Recoil pic of Ken and his Ruger revolver in .357 Magnum. I was trying to capture the big ball of flame that erupts with every trigger pull, but I suck as a photographer. Quite a shame, it really is an impressive fireworks display.

This is the view through the scope on my Contender. The target is 50 yards away. Note the budget gun rest, made of old jeans sewn together and filled with kitty litter (UNUSED kitty litter).

Here's a nice view of the trees. That's my shooting stuff on the right, at the 50-yard bench.

Picture Frenzy!

Here's a bunch of pics I took last weekend. . . cats, friends, and stuff. Enjoy.

The two dudes (Chris and Joe) are my bestestest friends in all the entire universe. I am so much entertainment for them, I should charge them money whenever they are within 10 feet of me. I have them over now and then to play games, watch anime, laugh at me, get licked by Danger Cat. . .

Hopefully I will have some shooting pics to post next week. If the weather holds out until the weekend, my brothers and I will be having a range day to end out the season. Oboy oboy oboy, guns guns guns! Yaaaaay! Boom boom pow boom! Mother Nature better oblige, if she knows what's good for her. . .

Still no gazonga pics on the site. . . I have some suitable ones, I just haven't obtained permission to post them yet. I'll keep y'all informed.

Here's the art gallery corner of my bedroom. That's a talking Bubbles doll in my headboard, and the Led Zeppelin Cube beside my left speaker. Barely visible at the bottom of the frame is the lump of fur known as Stinky Cat. . .

Taiko Samurai! Otherwise known as Joe. . .

Here is Danger Cat. Anyone who has visited my house knows why she is called Danger. Her ears are in swept-wing attack formation; I don't think she wanted to be picked up. . .

Here's my cat Stinky in his natural state. Asleep on my bed. Which is infinitely better than hacking a hairball on my bed. . .

Fast and furious Taiko combat! That's my younger brother Mike on the left. He is using a third-party drum that turned out to be low-quality and crappy, hence the look of vexation.

Ah, here's the shrine I worship every night. Bless me, almighty PS2. . . Ha, that's Taiko Master test mode on the TV.

It's the Stinky cat, getting cat hair all over my bed. Yay.

OK, here's me on the right, and Joe on the left (ha ha, he's playing Taiko Master with a controller!), and in the background is Chris, who is too excited for his own good.

Here's my big cat named Stinky. Aw, he's being cute. . .

Guns. . . and Golf

So if you look at the pictures below, you might think that we are all redneck gun nuts. Well. . . we ain't rednecks.

It's hard to take a bad picture of a Desert Eagle. Of course, I am biased, since I own one. It is a huge lump of metal, and very impractical as far as handguns go. It's too heavy to be maneuverable in a firefight, and don't even think about trying to use it as a concealed-carry gun (. . . that lump is just a goiter! Really!). But it is still all kinds of fun to shoot. It is accurate enough to make nice small groups offhand at 25 yards, while the REAL nuts with their Glocks are spraying rounds all over the backstop at 10 yards. It does a good job taking down bowling pins. It is easy to break down and clean, and it looks bad-ass with the black finish. When I take it out to the range, without fail I get the same two questions: ". . .is that a Desert Eagle? Like in the Matrix?" followed by ". . . is it a 50-cal?" My answers are Yes. . . and no. The 'no' usually results in the questioner losing interest. I did the research before I bought my Eagle. The .44mag and .50AE models need spring changes at 2000 to 3000 rounds, while the .357mag lasts to 5000 rounds. The Israeli-made MkVII models tear themselves apart in short order. . . the American-made MkXIX guns last much longer, but still take a beating. Also, the .357 is relatively cheap to reload, especially compared to the .50AE. I will stick with my .357, thank you very much.

That is my younger brother with the crazy facial hair and the scary revolver. It is a Ruger Redhawk, which is only offered in .44Mag in the standard model. That pistol is a friggin' artillery piece. . . and my brother is a scary good shot with it. Last time we went out, he was shooting 4" to 5" groups offhand at 25 yards. I wish I was that good a shot with that gun. . .

Oh yeah, the golf. If any of you enjoy golf games for the PS2, you must must must go get Hot Shots Golf Fore! In Japan, the game is titled "Mina no Golf", which means Everyone's Golf. The game is exactly that -- it is for everyone! Not only is it funny and cute, it is the best modelled golf engine I have played. (um. . . it's the ONLY one I've played, actually. . .) Every element of golfing is there, from estimating the wind for an approach shot, down to controlling your spin getting out of a sand trap. And you get to hit a shot through a tunnel with a waterfall pouring over one entrance -- ya don't get that in Tiger Woods Golf, no sir! There are 12 courses, every one of them beautiful and great to play on. There are tons of characters to choose from, some very cute, and others creepy and disturbing. . . It really is a game for everyone. Even if you don't like golf all that much, Hot Shots Golf Fore might change your mind.

Hm, I think maybe I'll get some non-gun related pictures up next week. Games and gazongas, hm. . . hey, If I could get some girl with big big breasteses to hold a copy of Oni between her boobs and pose for a photo, that would be perfect? Um. . . any volunteers? Any? Hm. Fine.

This is my younger brother. He is holding his Ruger Redhawk, .44 Magnum.

. . . and here's what you see through the Holosight.

My baby! MkXIX, .357Mag, first generation Bushnell Holosight. $1400 worth of fun.

Work cuts into my gaming time

It's said that owning more books than you could ever read is your soul trying to achieve immortality. . . the modern equivalent must be owning too many video games. I was looking at my stash and wondering how long it would take me to finish every game I have. Or even finish them all AGAIN. . . not to mention, the upcoming releases that I must have. . .
I still have PS games that I haven't finished. For instance, I still need to finish Carnage Heart, which got pushed back when Final Fantasy 7 came out. I haven't done everything in the original Wipeout. . . I need to go through Silhouette Mirage again. . . Drakan: The Ancient's Gates could use another run-through. . . still didn't get through the Cave of Trials in Star Ocean 2. . . didn't finish Tomb Raider: Last Revelation. . . still have stuff in Hot Shots Golf 3, and Ace Combat 4, and Burnout 2 . . . there's several more examples, but you get the idea. I'm sure there's millions of people in the same situation.

Currently I am dividing my time between Burnout 3, Star Ocean 3, Hot Shots Golf Fore, and Drum Master. I have to start spending some serious time with Star Ocean, so I will be ready to play Xenosaga II, Wild Arms Alter Code F, and Tales Of Symphonia (for PS2) next year.

Alas, I have doomed my soul to an eternity flopped on the couch, controller in hand, staring at a flickering screen. Meh, there are worse eternities out there. . .

Quick accolade to BlockBuster. I went there to rent Ace Combat 5 last night, and there was one box left on the shelf. . . At the counter, the guy couldn't find the disc anywhere. So he apologized and gave me a free credit for next time. I explained that I was using a free rental coupon anyway, but he insisted. Now, there's someone who understands that happy customers (even the ones renting everything for free) are the backbone of business. Now, all you bastards had better bring back Ace Combat 5 before I decide to track you down. . . g r r r r r r

. . . and here's me without a gun. . .  

Happy First Picture. . . Guns are cool

Yep. . . the dude with the big head, small face, and MkXIX Desert Eagle is me. Jet Li is in the background for comparison. Isn't he cool?

Greetings, Programs

Wow! My own weblog! I admit, I'm sorta intimidated. . . I use a computer all day, every day, but I am sooo not a computer geek. All I ever do online anymore is chat with people, so this is a natural extention of that behavior. Plus, everyone else is doing it, so I don't wanna feel left out.

Welcome, random browsers! Welcome to my newborn, slimy, squirmy, cord-not-yet-cut log! There will be many things here to come, including:

~ video game reviews
~ anime convention reviews
~ range day reports (that's the shooting range, refer to the second word in the blog title)
~ pictures of stuff (soon, hopefully)
~ the same stuff you see at anyone else's blog. . . uh. . . yeah

OK, so everything has already been done before, and my blog isn't going to be any ground-breaking affair. But it will be MINE, dammit! Nyah ah ah. . .

I guess I'll give this a month, and see how I like it. Then maybe it will disappear in a poof of ones and zeros, never to be heard from again. . . or maybe not. We'll see.