Today at work.

Last night I found out that the campus (at work) would not open till 10 am due to the snow down pour on Sunday. I slept till about 8am and spotted that I missed a call from my supervisor saying that the campus would not open till 11 am and wanted a call to see if I would be able to make it in. After a walk outside in the new snow, I said no problem. I walked to work with some sliping and sliding along the way and clocked in at 11 am to take some calls (thinking that the training was been canceled). It was not till the end of the shift that I found out training was not canceled, I only thought it was, thinking that my supervisor know that it was canceled. I talked to the trainer and found out that the info can/will be made up later (about half the class was not there).

Snow, Snow and more Snow

Currently it is snowing and has been off and on over the last week. Wensday due to snow and low turn out our training class was calceled and we were told to go back to the phones. As a first, work closed down at about 11:30 am and sent people home due to the snow level. The next day the campus opened at 10 am. Of corse leaving close by I just headed on over at 8 am to be told it was close. You do get a nice work out walking in the snow. After some time I called in to check if they still will be opening at 10 am. I headed on over to find a sign that training was canceled again and headed on over to take some calls. After seting up my computer and taking a small break, I got word that training was back on. Yea. We had about 2/3 of our people show up. We went over business writing, took some time and enjoyed ourself.

Today being Sunday and snowing. I could see work being delayed or the campus could be closed. Time will see.

Its about Bears.

This was sent to me. Its about bears and funny in its own way.

http://www.thingsbearslove.com/

My Christmas List

1. Beyond the Blue Moon (Hawk and Fisher Series #7) by Simon R. Green
   http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookSearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=0451458052&r=1
2. Wii Play with Wii Remote (~$49.99)
   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000KRXAGE/ref=nosim/coffeeresearch108305-20
   (Currently only have one remote. Would be up for a 3rd Wii Remote Controller.)
   http://www.amazon.com/Wii-Remote-Controller-nintendo/dp/B000IMWK2G/ref=pd_sim_vg_4
3. Dragon Quest IV for the DS
4. Gift Card for Best Buy

Cheap Minis

At Toys R Us found some cheat minis for 4th Ed D&D game. Found Plasma Dragons Battle Realm Booster Pack in the Logo section for $1.98 each for for 8 figures (4 orcs type and 4 knight type with weapons and shields). It took awhile to put together. I ended up getting 2 packs for uses of enemy characters.

From the blog of Emerald Gamefest.

From Emerald Gamefest web site, they give out some links about their game day. My blog, this blog that you are reading, got a link as you can see here. Also my Flickr set of pictures of the event got a link also. I say Yea!

I got named.

The latest episode of Fear the Boot (ep 124) was recorded in Seattle with Dan, Tex and Ed Healy (a local guy). About 10 min into the episode I got a shout-out from both Dan and Ed.

Yea me.

Emerald City Gamefest

With my Fear the Boot t-shirt on I went to Emerald City Gamefest and I can say I had fun. The morning game I played in was a 4th Ed Forgotten Realm D&D game that was s sneak-peak at some of the features of Downshadow by Eric Scott de Bie. The afternoon game was a Hollow Earth Expedition game Gmed by Tim Brown (who has GMed other con games I have played in the past).

After the last game was played, I got a chance to look around and spotted Dan (from Fear the Boot) by his well worn FtB 9000 Compliant t-shirt (pix) and got a few min of talk time.

Check out pictures I took at Emerald City Gamefest via my camer phone here.

World Wide Wing Night 5

Not a big turn out. It was just me and my friend Norm. Had some good wings and talked about our D&D game.
Will try again next year and will hope for a larger turn out. From the people I heard from, the day did not work for them.

See pictures from other people here.

Our Pre-Game Meet Up

We are starting our first game of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. For me, it has been a while sense I have played D&D. I recall some games of 2nd Edition and a few games of 3rd Edition. For some of the others that are playing, they have not played D&D at all. That is including our Game Master (GM). Most every one has play in some kind of Roll Playing game, but one from what I know. We are starting our game from a pre-made adventure called Keep on the Shadowfell.

This last Sunday (11/02/08) we meet to go over our character and get some info on some backgrounds for use with our characters. I had planed and read up on Clerics and Rangers. The Cleric was passed onto Bill for his use. That left me the Ranger. The GM brought up that it was strongly suggested that we have a Rogue in our party and we need some one with a range attack. By the time I left, I was playing 2 character to fill out the party. The Player's Handbook suggests that a balance adventuring party include a wizard, a fighter, a cleric and a rogue. Norm was goint to play the Wizard (a Controller), Janielle is playing the Fighter (a Defender), Bill is playing the Cleric (a Leader) and I am playing the Rogue and the Ranger (both Strikers) to round out the skills for our group. Found out today that we may have a 5th player for our game from where Bill and Bob (our GM) work. Time will tell. If he does play, he can use one of the two character I made for our group adventuring party.

Friday (11/07/08) is our first game with our first level character.

The Samurai 7 DVD

Finished the last episode of Samurai 7 with my workout on the bike today. Great series. My one big problem with the DVD was the color of the menu functions. The color of the selection of the menu was only a small difference and had to look closely to see what was selected.

World Wide Wing Night 5

Started by the Fear the Boot Podcast, its a night of eating wings, meeting other gamers in the areas and eating wings.

For the Seattle/Bellevue area, the meeting is on Saturday, Nov 8th at 7pm at:

Wing Dome
232 Central Way
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425) 822-9464

For those that are planing to show, if you could drop me a message (post a comment, Personal Message, Twitter me, etc . . . ) that you can go and if I could get your email for quicker updates.

> Look for the guy in the Fear The Boot t-shirt, that will be me.




Not in the Seattle check out the post over at Fear The Boot for other areas.

To show support.

As per Wil Wheaton blog, he did a episode of Criminal Minds called Paradise. He filmed the episode a few months ago and aired October 22nd. Last week he released his production diary he wrote during the filming, which go from his point of view from the audition to the final shot. From my end to show support, I took some screencaps from the episode and created a mosaic of his time on screen. On his final post about his time on the show, the mosaic I did got mentioned along with my Flickr user name of heath_bar.

In the style of Simpsons

A friend made me aware of this site that is cool. It is called Springfield Punx by Dean Fraser.

Here is some info from the site about the site:

Springfield Punx is a little pet project of mine. The idea of doing fan art parodying some of my favorite characters and stars in such a fun and simple style got me hooked immediately. Some of these guys and gals have appeared on the Simpsons and I could just work from that, but most I had to do from scratch.

Check it out, the artwork is great.

Christopher Paolini's appearance on the TODAY show

Found this video clip in my not much checked email address for the book Brisingr that came out on Sept 20th.



Check me out on Goodreads.

The Iron Man DVD release

Last week when I went to Best Buy and noted that they were going to release the Iron Man Movie DVD at midnight Monday(09/29/08) night (well early Tuesday morning) with the offer of free stuff. I inform this to a friend and that night we headed on over. We got there about 10 min till. With only a few cars in the lot, we went to the entrance and stood in the small line that has started. At the time we went in to get the DVD. They had some nice freedies to go along with the DVD release. I got 2 Iron Man t-shirt, 2 Iron Man lithograph, 2 poster tube Stark Industries logo on it, a Talk To The Repulsor.com magnet and a gift card from Sideshow Collectibles with a unknown amount (it ended up being $40.00). When I looked around there were some where around 12 to 20 people that showed up for the event.

Click on the picture for a larger picture.

The meeting of old friends.

Found out during the vacation from my brother that the old gang has all oked a get together next year some time in June or July. A time will be nailed down sometime in January. For me, June or early July are good for me. ComicCon begins July 22nd of 2009. From what I know, Chad has his wife's brother's wedding some time in late June (I think). As time goes on, time will tell.

This is close to a group picture as I have.
On the left we have Luke, Heath (thats me) and Chad.
On the right we have Neal, Mark and Will.

It has been a while sense we have all been in the same room together. I thinking of a date of some time in 1991, plus or min a year. We have all spread out all across the US.

The internet is for . . . .

A friend at work asked about my vacation. I stated that I got to go to a Broadway Show of Avenue Q. I also mentioned that a good and funny song was "Internet is for Porn". He had wondered where that came from. He pointed out that a video was done from that song with video clips from the Warcraft game, see below for what I found.

The last day of my vacation in New York.

Gotten some time to sit and blog the last day of vacation (in New York), which was Tuesday (09/16/08).

The morning was not rushed. Kate had go to work for a while. Me and Chad took it easy. He worked on the computer and got some reading done. We got a chance to play We Love Golf on the Wii.
Kate got home and we drove out to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. After we looked around, we headed back to New York, where food was prepared. At that time they brought out enchiladas with birthday candles on them and sang Happy Birthday to me. One thing that was learned was that you do not put wax birthday candles into hot food, they tend to melt. Presents were given and opened. One that I did get a ticket to Avenue Q on Broadway for that night. We left early to look around Time Square and then we headed to the theater. The show was great. We stoped for a snack and headed back.

The last day of my vacation in New York.

It has been a log day. A good many things have been done. At this time it is late in the night. When I get some time in the next day or so I will get my notes and make a proper report of the day and add some pictures to the posts.

My bags are packed and by the door. The alarm clock is set for 6:15am wake up call for my 6:45am ride to the airport.

Good Night.

Monday, a not at work day.

Today we went into New York's Chinatown and Little Italy. We basicly looked around to get a feel for the area. One of the places that we looked into was Mahayana Buddhist Temple. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Chinatown. It was lucky that we also ran across the The Feast of San Gennaro and had some great pasta. After that we headed back to their place to rest play with the kids. Some food was cooked, some games were played (Eco Fluxx and Yahtzee) and a little was watched.

Sunday, traveling incognito.

Today we traveled to Wild Safari, a Six Flags Animal Park in Jackson, NJ. It was basically a 2 hr drive to get there. In the car some reading was done, the DS was played and a iPod was on. Once there, our car was used to drive thru the park (at slow speed) and stopping to look at and take pictures of the different animals in the different sections of the park. It was a great day to do this. The sun was out, a little over cast and there was no rain in sight. We had some time before we had to head back, we headed over to Jenkinson's Boardwalk for some food, rides and video games. For food I had a cheese hot dog and two fried oreos (not all at once). For the rides, we went on three of them (the names to be added later). And for the games, there was two games of air hockey (I won 1 and lost the other), a Deal or No Deal (for tickets) and some video games. We headed on back to home base where dinner was served with some DVD watching of the Star Wars Robot Chicken and 2 Episodes of Mythbusters. The day ended with some needed rest.

Click the picture to see the set of pictures on flickr.

My Review: Inn-Fighting

I picked up Inn-Fighting: D&D Dice Game at PAX 2008. I spotted a demo going and it looked good, so I picked it up at the booth they had there. One half month later, I am in New York with family playing the game for the first time. Well I am sorry to say the fist time we played, we played it wrong. We over looked tow little rules that did make a difference. We decided to give it another try, this time doing it right.
For the game, the box says for ages 12+ and is good for 3 to 6 players. My nephew is 11 and he had no problems with the game (he is close to the age range on the box). There were 3 of us playing and it worked great. I was balanced, so that there was no ganging up on one player and there is no cooperation going on. Like in a bar fight, you are in it for yourself.
One thing the box does not say is how long the game would take. For the games we played, for 3 players, I would say it would take from 1 to 2 hours for a normal game and a little more for a first game. For more players, I could guess it would take longer for each added player.

For a Dungeons & Dragon feel and a good 3 player game. I would give this 4 stars out of 5.

The Saturday away from home.

I am still in New York. With some jet lag, I did stay up late and got at the same time I would normaly go to work (plus 3 hours). We started the day by watching The Gamers: Dorkness Rising DVD and found it a funny movie for the geeks in us. We then headed out and got some groceries for our meal over the next few days. After the food was put away, we set our mind to play a game. We play Inn-Fighting: D&D Dice Game by Wizards of the Coast (see my review on the next post). For dinner we went to S'MAC, located in the heart of Manhattan's East Village, which has some great Macaroni & Cheese.

My first day of my vacation.

Today was my day of travel. I got to sleep in some today. Finished last minute packing and then headed over to my parents place for a ride to the airport. Got checked in with no problems. With the check point they did put my backpack thru twice, no problems there. Just some waiting for the plan to load. Next was waiting for the plane to take off. Then there was waiting for the plane to land. When it did we had to wait to the walkway to the plane to be fixed. Lastly had to wait for my bags. Kate did show up to wait with me while Chad did a few laps in the car around the airport. Dinner was had and talking was done by all. There was a lot of waiting and sitting to get to New York, but the fun is just beginning.

My birthday list.

My family, for gift giving times, send out a want list to family members so they have a idea what the person wants. Here is my list.

1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 ~$300.00
A 9-megapixel, superzoom camera from Panasonic with a 3-inch LCD, 10x zoom, image stabilizer, and secure grip.
For info see here: http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=40677518&source=EWBBASE&cm_mmc=CSE-_-google-_-ewbbase-_-Camera/Camcorder&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=40677518
Note: Can be found online or Best Buy

2. Spirit of the Century RPG book (soft cover plus PDF combo) ~$30.00
Spirit of the Century is a complete, stand-alone pulp role-playing game based on the award-winning Fate system.
For info see here: http://www.evilhat.com/home/?page_id=103
Note: Found online. (A local game store could order.)

3. Zoe's Tale by Scalzi (Hardcover Book) ~$25.00
For info see here: http://www.amazon.com/Zoes-Tale-John-Scalzi/dp/0765316986
Note: Can be found online or local book store

4. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Messenger Bag: SAC Smile ~$27.00
http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/rvpZtDoaqH6i0oTYk=/browse/item/72724/4/0/0

5. Hobby Games: The 100 Best Editor: James Lowder ~$25.00
In Hobby Games: The 100 Best, the top designers, authors, and publishers in the hobby games field write about the most enjoyable and cleverly designed games of the last fifty years. Their essays cover the gamut of the hobby market, from roleplaying games to collectible card games, and miniatures games to wargames to board games, with titles both familiar and esoteric. These are the games that the designers themselves play, the ones that have inspired their most popular creations.
For info see here: http://www.greenronin.com/store/grr4001
Note: can be found online and maybe at local book store

6. Nintendo Power Subscription ~$20.00
http://nintendopower.com/subscribe

7. Best Buy Gift Certificate

My Sunday at PAX

In case you did not know, PAX breaks dow to Penny Arcade Expo and the web site can be found here.

My plans were to go with a friend. As things go, plans changed. I started the day by getting some breakfast at IHOP and headed on over to Washington State Convention Center. Found a parking spot and headed on up to get my ticket. The line was not large at and got taken care of in a few minutes. First thing I did was pick up the The Guild: Season 1 DVD and got Felicia Day to sign it and talked to her for a min or two. I looked around to see a lot of eletronic game booths. I did some demos at the Wizards of the Coast booth for awhile, the first one was on the Magic:CCG to get some SWAG. I got a Time Spiral Tournament Pack (75 cards), a Planar Chaos Booster Pack (15 cards) and a Magic:CCG Artwork mouse pad. It has been about 5 or so years sence I have played Magic and a creature from the past has shown in with the name of Slivers. I also got a online demo of the D&D character creation that is available thru D&D Insider (so I was told). As time got close, I headed over to the Wil Wheaton panel. I got there some what early, but not early enougth to get a seat. There was only standing room available at that time. Things started and found out that audio system was not the greated. At the back it was hard to hear. It got a little better. Wil read Blue Light Special from his third book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives. I had heard the story before, but is good to hear it live. Next he did a colorfull reading from a review (he did) of a classic Star Trek:TNG episode, called Datalore. After the panel I went around to see what was available to the RPG and game section. I spoted a room with Wizards of the Coast games (ie D&D), some miniture gaming and board game. I went over to the main exhibition hall to look it over once or twice. After some time I went home and called it a day.

I also want to note that I spotted a lot of people with their DS out playing some games. They had a lounge area where they had these beanbag type chairs for people to play their DS, work on their labtop or crash out.

Also for the record, the Rock Band game were in at least 3 or more different booths rocking out with no shortage of victims.

For the record, this does make my 6th convention for the year.

Here are the pictures I took at PAX.

The noise the other night.

It was Sunday night around 11:30 pm when there was a noise, like a snap, that woke me up from the hour or two rest I have taken. It was quiet, too quiet. The alarm clock was off, the fans were off and none of the lights works. I set the alarm on the cell phone and went back to bed. The clock radio alarm went off about 5:30 am, due to the battery back up (good to know if I slept thru I would have still woken up on time to get to work). I turned off the radio alarm and went back to bed for 30 more min of sleep. The power was still off. I grabbed my lunch and went to work. Work was ok for a Monday. I stoped on the way home to get some food and read my book for a while, just in case the power is still out. I got home to a note on my door saying as of 4:00 pm the power was still out due to some blown transformers. I opened the door and . . . . the light did not turn on. It was still light outside. I opened the window and sat down to catch up some my comic book reading. It was not till around 7:30 pm that the power came back on. There were 3 repair truck that fixed the issue hanging around the parking lot. They stayed around for at least 4 or more hours more doing something. The main thing that I did check on was the food in the fridge and the freezer, to stay cool thru the issue. I did not use them much to keep them from going room temperature and the food spoiling. And it all turned out ok.

What I did at Dragonflight.

Dragonflight was from Aug 8th thru the 10th.

I took Friday off and slept in. I headed over to where the convention was being held, which was about a 10 min drive, around 2:00 pm. I spotted Bob (a friend) in the board game room playing a game. Norm (another friend) showed up after a while and we went over to Kohana, a Mongoliam Grill,for a late lunch early dinner. With food in our bellies we head back to the con and waited for for our 7:00 pm game to start. The game was called "Just a Mater of Time", used the Spirit of the Century system and was GMed by the Blue Dragons. This was part 1 of a 2 part game. We had about 15 people, which we split into 3 group with 3 different GMs. The game started with a flash forward (in game time) for the intro and and then we woke up needing to stop the bad thing that happened in our dream (that would happen if we did not stop it). We got to a point and called it a night to be continued the next day in part 2.

Saturday, the game I have signed up for started at 9:00 am and was called "Saturday of the Dead", used the Savage World system and was GMed by Steve Winter. We started by making some quick characters on some note cards. The game set up with building models and such as seen here. The game was a survival game. We were to get supplies and not get killed by zombies. I liked the set up, but we had too many zombies start showing up with all the gun fire, which two other players were a little too gun happy. We got some item and had to end the game with a quick get away. The game after that was part 2 of the "Just a Mater of Time" where out group and the other two were able to stop the Cthulhu type monster. The last game for the night was called "Who you gonna call?" used the Palladium system and was GMed by Richard Johnson. The game used the Ghostbusters history after the two movies. I had thought it was going to use the Ghostbusters system that was out there. Still the game was fun and was finished the game with a big battle were we kicked some, but I degress.

Sunday, I only planed on one game and it started at 9:00 am. It was called "Aces Harrington and the Hijacked Airship", it used the Spirit of the Century system and was GMed by Eric Aldrich. Like the name, we had to defend the Airship we were traveling on, which we did and lived to see another day. After the game, I meet up with Bob, were we went out for pizza and talked about the "Just a Mater of Time" game we were both in (but at different games).

See the pictures I took of Dragonflight 2008.

Back from Comic-Con

It started early. Got to the airport with time to spare. Check in was simple. Meet up with the others. We got to the hotel and rested for awhile. We walked to the convention center to get our badges. I help Rich set up his stuff for the art show. Rich got a artist table on the con floor. Due to the table, we got onto the floor early with no Preview Day crowd and was able to snap some great pictures. The doors opened and the floor became crowded. I got a large bag and filled it up with some feebies for the three hours of the Preview Day.

The next day started with getting a Torchwood autograph ticket at the BBC booth and then I rushed up to the autograph area to get a ticket for the panel autographs. Got in a some what long line and got the needed ticket on the first try. The first day panel was the Stan Lee and Grant Morrison Panel, then the Doctor Who panel and finishing with the Torchwood panel. All of them were in the same room. After the panels it was time to wait in line for the Doctor Who/Torchwood autograph. It took over a hour, but I got 2 of the 3 people signing. I tried to get into the next panel, but it was full. So I wondered around the con floor. There was one exclusive item I wanted, I had to stand in another line at the Hasbro booth for around 20 to 30 min. The day ended with my feet needing a rest.

The next day was Friday. There were 3 Stargate panels going on, again all in the same room. I left at the tail end of the Atlantis panel to goto the floor for the Slave Leia Group photo shot. I found that it was going to happen at 1pm at the Gentle Giant booth in front of the life size bust of Jabba The Hut. When I got there they were was not group, just some single Leia posing on Jabba The Hut. I happily took a good number of photos. (I found out later that the group shot was done at 11:30am on that same day). Next I went to stand in a long line to get into the American Dad panel, which then changed into the Family Guy panel, which showed a full episode of the next season. I laughed my ass off. In the same room, the next panel was Bones panel, which showed 1/3 to 1/2 of a episode of the next season. They almost had the full cast there. I tried to got into the Robot Chicken pannel, but they closed the line off 30 min before the panel stared, so I wend down to the con floor to look around there.

Saturday can along. Went to the Iron Man Animated Screening which it showed 2 full eps. With Rich, we tried to get Mythbuster autograph tickets. Rich got his on the 1st try. A line friend got a extra one and she gave me her extra ticket. I had some time, I went to the con floor and looked around. Next was the Chuck panel and the Eureka panel. Rich got in line for Mythbuster autograph and I meet up with him. I got some good pictures of them from the line, when I got up there I got to shake both of their hands. From there I went to get in line for the Mythbuster panel. I got in line. The end of a very long line. I stayed in till they said the room was full. With Rich and JP, we went and got some food. The other went to do their own things, while went to the see Wolverine and The X-Men Animated screening. It was great, 3 full episodes, that will not begin till next year. After that in the same room was the world premiere of Mutant Chronicles.

At the freebie table I noted they were giving out poster tubes that had fake FOX stickers on them along with handy shoulder straps. This was the only thing of note they were giving out at the freebie table. This poster tube came in real handy with getting my posters home on the plane in one piece.

Sunday was the last day. No major plans were planed. Went around the con floor for a while and watched some anime for a while and the met up with the others to head out. We went to the hotel to check out. Chris was not there. He had met up with his cousin and had taken a nap. We met up with him at the airport later. Got home with no major problems.

Check out the picture here on Flickr. (Will post the pictures as I go thru them, it could take a while.)

The night before.

It the night before my trip to Comic-Con. I check my Flicker account and noted there are 1,500 pictures and over 30,000 views on my Flickr pictures, a update from 20000 views on 04/22/08.

All the days in a row.

Thursday, July 24.
10:00 Line ticket drawing for Doctor Who/Torchwood autographs -- AA2
12:00-1:00 Doctor Who -- Hall H, Ballroom 20
1:00-2:00 Torchwood -- Hall H, Ballroom 20
2:00-3:00 Autographs for Doctor Who/Torchwood -- AA2
(2:00-3:00 Red Sonja: One-on-One -- Room Hall H, 6CDEF)
3:00-4:00 Wizard’s First Rule -- Hall H, Room 6B
5:00-6:00 Bandai Entertainment’s Anime Invasion -- Hall H, Room 4

Friday, July 25.
10:45-11:45 Stargate Continuum -- Ballroom 20
11:45-12:15 Stargate Worlds -- Ballroom 20
12:15-1:15 Stargate Atlantis -- Ballroom 20
1:00 Slave Leia Group Picture at the Gentle Giant booth
1:30-2:30 Joss Whedon -- Ballroom 20
3:30-4:15 Family Guy -- Ballroom 20
4:30-5:30 Bones -- Ballroom 20
6:15-7:00 [adult swim]’s Robot Chicken -- Room 6B

Saturday, July 26th.
10:00-11:00 Marvel: Iron Man: Armored Adventures Animated Screening -- Room 6CDEF
11:00 Line ticket drawing for MythBusters autographs -- AA4
11:30-12:30 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Screening and Q&A -- Room 6A
3:30-4:30 Chuck Screening and Q&A -- Ballroom 20
4:45-5:45 SCI FI Eureka -- Room 6CDEF
5:30-7:00 Autographs for MythBusters -- AA4
7:15-8:15 MythBusters Q&A and Sneak Preview -- Room 6B
8:30-10:00 Marvel: Wolverine and The X-Men Animated Screening -- Room 6CDEF

Sunday, July 27th.
(no plans at this time)

At Comic-Con . . .

Thru some web sites I found out that some Trek Celebrities will be on the convention floor signing autographs.

At the Lightspeed Fine Art booth #3745:

Avery Brooks: Thursday, July 24th to Saturday, July 26th
Nicole de Boer: Wednesday, July 23rd to Thursday, July 24th
Jonathan Frakes: Friday, July 25th to Sunday, July 27th
Cirroc Lofton: Wednesday, July 23rd to Thursday, July 24th
Bob Picardo: Friday, July 25th to Saturday, July 26th
Levar Burton: Sunday, July 27th

Found the info here.

Wil Wheaton will be at Comic-Con at the Dumbrella booth #1335.

Found the info here.

Cross Promotion

This was the front page picture on the NY Times to advertise the new iPhone. Look closely.

Talk about great advertising for Verizon Wireless and poor attention to detail for AT&T.

What To Do on Sunday, July 27 . . . .

. . . . at Comic-Con.

Sunday, July 27th.

No panels cought my eye. I will roam the convention floor or check out the Anime room.

What To Do on Saturday, July 26 . . . .

. . . . at Comic-Con.

Saturday, July 26th.

-- A showing of the Iron Man cartoon, I am so there. --

10:00-11:00 Marvel: Iron Man: Armored Adventures Animated Screening— Tony Stark, heir to a billion-dollar corporation, lives a life of luxury, free to pursue his chief interests—seeking extreme thrills, solving scientific mysteries and creating mind-boggling inventions. But everything goes horribly wrong when a tragic accident robs Tony of his father and nearly costs him his own life. Now dependent on his own impressive technology for survival and dedicated to battling corruption, Tony must reconcile the pressure of teenage life with the duties of a superhero. Inside his remarkable invention, Tony Stark is geared for high-speed flight, high-tech battles and high-octane adventure! He is Iron Man. Meet Josh Fine (Marvel Studios), Christopher Yost (head writer), and others involved with this exciting new animated series and watch an episode of Iron Man: Armored Adventures before its Nicktoons 2009 premiere. Room 6CDEF

-- Liked the 1st season, looking foward to the panel. --

11:30-12:30 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Screening and Q&A— Back for a second year at Comic-Con, the producers and stars of this hit action-adventure drama will debut the trailer for season two and answer questions from fans during this one-hour session. Executive producers Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), John Wirth (The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.) and James Middleton (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) will be joined by returning series stars Lena Headey (300), Thomas Dekker (Heroes), Summer Glau (Serenity), Brian Austin Green (Beverly Hills, 90210) and Richard T. Jones (Event Horizon), as well as new series regulars Garret Dillahunt (No Country for Old Men) and musician Shirley Manson (Garbage). Produced by C2 Pictures in association with Warner Bros. Television, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles returns for a second season September 8 and airs Mondays at 8:00 PM ET/PT on FOX. Room 6A

-- Good and funny show. Glad it is back for a 2nd season. --

3:30-4:30 Chuck Screening and Q&A— Chuck executive producer Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl), co-creator Chris Fedak, and stars Zachary Levi (Less Than Perfect), Yvonne Strahovski (Gone), Joshua Gomez (Invasion), Sarah Lancaster (Everwood), Ryan McPartlin (Super Capers), and Adam Baldwin (Serenity) return to Comic-Con for a Q&A to discuss the People’s Choice Award–nominated action-comedy, and to screen an exclusive series highlight reel debuting new footage from the upcoming second season. Produced by College Hill Pictures, Wonderland Sound and Vision in association with Warner Bros. Television, Chuck airs Mondays at 8:00 PM on NBC. Ballroom 20

-- A great summer show I am looking foward to see. --

4:45-5:45 SCI FI Eureka— SCI FI’s hit summer series returns for its triumphant third season on Tuesday, July 29 (9:00 pm/8:00 pm Central). But first, fans can experience the quirky fun of America’s smartest little town up close and personal by joining the cast and executive producers of Eureka for an exclusive Comic-Con discussion. Panelists include cast members Colin Ferguson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, and Joe Morton plus co-creator and executive producer Jamie Paglia, executive producer Charlie Craig, and Tony Optican, SVP for original programming, SCI FI. Room 6CDEF

-- MythBuster is another great show that I watch and rewatch the repeats. Looking forward toward the panel. --

7:15-8:15 MythBusters Q&A and Sneak Preview— Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of MythBusters talk about their offbeat Discovery Channel series that uses science to determine the truth behind urban legends. With backgrounds in animatronics, robotics, model building, and prototyping, Adam and Jamie will answer questions about the 300+ myths they’ve busted to date, show untelevised clips from their most explosive myths, and feature a Comic-Con exclusive sneak peek at the upcoming NASA moon landing hoax episode. Room 6B

-- A sneek peak of the animated X-Men show with the first three episodes series. --

8:30-10:00 Marvel: Wolverine and The X-Men Animated Screening— When an explosive event shatters the lives of the X-Men and takes away their mentor, the beaten heroes walk away from it all. But then they're given a rare glimpse into the future, and see a world in utter ruin, ruled by mutant-hunting Sentinels. So now the most legendary of all X-Men takes the lead—Wolverine! Reuniting these broken heroes, Wolverine embarks on the ultimate mission—to prevent the world's destruction. To rescue us from ourselves. To save the future. Meet Boyd Kirkland (lead director), Craig Kyle (supervising producer), Greg Johnson (head writer), and others involved with this new animated series and watch the first three episodes of this epic new X-Men series before its Nicktoons 2009 premiere. Room 6CDEF

What To Do on Friday, July 25 . . . .

. . . . at Comic-Con.

Friday, July 25.

-- I am also a Stargate fan and there are 3 panels of it all in the same room. I plan to get a good seat and stick to it. --

10:45-11:45 Stargate Continuum— Following on the heels of the hit DVD release Ark of Truth, the next full-length feature will be released Tuesday, July 29, with principal cast members returning for the biggest adventure of them all! This panel features Brad Wright (series co-creator and Continuum developer, executive producer and writer), Martin Wood (director), and (subject to availability) stars Richard Dean Anderson (General Jack O'Neill), Amanda Tapping (Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter), Ben Browder (Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell), Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson), and Christopher Judge (Teal'c). Ballroom 20

11:45-12:15 Stargate Worlds— After nearly 15 years on the air, the Stargate franchise is launching its first-ever multilevel online game, with all the elements—and more!—fans expect from the Stargate family. The key creative team from Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and FireSky Studios present a compelling sneak-peek and answer questions. Panelists include Brad Wright (Stargate series' co-creator, executive producer and writer) plus Dan Elggren (FireSky Studio head), Chris Klug (creative director), Howard Lyon (art director), and Demetrius Comes (director of technology). Ballroom 20

12:15-1:15 Stargate Atlantis— With new allies and new challenges, Stargate Atlantis is making big waves in its action-packed fifth season. Be on hand for this exclusive panel discussion with the cast and creators of SCI FI's hit series. Panelists include cast members Joe Flanigan, Robert Picardo, and Jewel Staite, co-creator and executive producer Brad Wright, and , Chris Sanagustin, VP original programming SCI FI. Moderated by Martin Gero, executive producer. Ballroom 20

-- Its Joss Whedon, Family Guy and Bones, again all in the same room as with the Stargate panels. --

1:30-2:30 Joss Whedon— Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and the writers and cast of his new short film, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, will show never-before-seen clips while Joss also discusses Buffy Season Eight, the Fray crossover, and the upcoming Serenity comic focusing on Shepherd Book. Ballroom 20

3:30-4:15 Family Guy— Stars Seth MacFarlane and Seth Green and the producers of the Fox animated hit give fans a sneak peek at a never-before-seen episode and discuss the highly anticipated spinoff The Cleveland Show. Ballroom 20

4:30-5:30 Bones— Join the entire cast (David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel, Michaela Conlin, Tamara Taylor, John Francis Daley) and creators Hart Hanson and Barry Josephson for an hour of behind-the-scenes secrets and the chance to ask them everything you always wanted to know about the hit Fox drama. Ballroom 20

-- A great show with toys. --

6:15-7:00 [adult swim]’s Robot Chicken— Seth Green and Matthew Senreich (co-creators), Tom Root and Doug Goldstein (head writers/co-producers), Breckin Meyer (writer/actor), and Kevin Shinick (writer) speak about [adult swim]’s original series, Robot Chicken. In its third season, the network’s Emmy-winning stop-motion and animation show known for its pop culture commentary just released the episode Robot Chicken Star Wars on DVD. Room 6B

Autographs Signed

The autographs schedule has been update and there were only a few people that I am look at to get a autographs of.

Doctor Who/Torchwood
Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner, Steven Moffat, Naoko Mori
Line ticket drawing at 10:00 am on Thursday
Thursday AA2 2:00 pm–3:00 pm

MythBusters
Jamie Hyneman, Adam Savage
Line ticket drawing at 11:00 am on Saturday
Saturday AA4 5:30 pm–7:00 pm

Erin Gray, actor (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Silver Spoons)
Thursday AA15 3:00 pm–7:00 pm
Friday AA14 11:00 am–3:00 pm
Saturday AA15 11:00 am–3:00 pm
Sunday AA19 11:00 am–2:00 pm

Threadless in a Shirt

Today I placed a order to two shirt I plan to bring to Comic-Con from Threadless T-Shits, hoping they get here in time (finger crossed). From what I can tell, they pre-print the shirt in the given color in the different sizes. Which they can sell out over time.

I like the picture of the Monster in Training and it is in my color.



The below shirt is in two parts, one that is shone below and the other comes out in the dark that says "Hold Me". I like it. It something that could be used at Comic-Con. What came to my mind is the panel rooms where they would have lights on in the beginning and would turn them down when they started or to show some videos. I like the effect it could have.

Christmas Time In July

Today (July 12th) Hallmark released some of their Christmas ornament, with others coming out in October.

I picked up the Iron Man ornament because it looked cool and I am a fan.

I picked up The Joker ornament because it is a Limited Quantity Special Edition.
I got the last one at that store and the price was not bad at $12.50.

What To Do on Thursday, July 24 . . . .

. . . . at Comic-Con.

Thursday, July 24.

-- I am a Doctor Who and Torchwood fan, last year I did not get there in time. I waited in a long line and did not get in. Plan: get there early. Both events are in the same room. All I need to do is stay put and for the next panel. --

12:00-1:00 Doctor Who— Writer Russell T Davies (Doctor Who), executive producer Julie Gardner (Torchwood), and writer Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) discuss their creative process and experience working on the BBC’s Doctor Who—Britain’s most successful sci-fi franchise—with exclusive clips and a Q&A session. Hall H, Ballroom 20

1:00-2:00 Torchwood— Writer Russell T Davies (Doctor Who), executive producer Julie Gardner (Torchwood), writer Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), and actors John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd, Naoko Mori and Burn Gorman discuss their creative process and experience on working on BBC America’s highest-rated show ever—Torchwood— followed by a Q&A session. Hall H, Ballroom 20

-- Its a first look at the Red Sonja movie with Rose McGowan. Worth a look. --

2:00-3:00 Red Sonja: One-on-One— Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), Rose McGowan (Grindhouse), Doug Aarniokoski (2nd unit director, Resident Evil 3) and David White (Undisputed 2) are teaming up to bring back the red-headed warrior woman known as Red Sonja. Join Robert, Rose, Doug, and David for this one-on-one interview and Q&A session! Room Hall H, 6CDEF

-- Loved the first book and looking foward to the new show. --

3:00-4:00 Wizard’s First Rule— A first look at the upcoming action-adventure series Wizard's First Rule with book author Terry Goodkind and show executive producers Robert Tapert (Xena: Warrior Princess), Kenneth Biller (Star Trek: Voyager) and Sam Raimi (Spider-Man). The one-hour weekly television show premiering late fall is inspired by Terry Goodkind's bestselling epic fantasy series: The Sword of Truth. The story follows the journey of Richard Cypher, a simple woodsman, as he discovers the magical powers he holds within. With the help of a mysterious woman and a powerful wizard, he must use his newfound abilities to stop a ruthless tyrant from unleashing an ancient evil and enslaving the world. Join Terry, Rob, Ken and Sam for a moderated interview and audience Q&A session! Hall H, Room 6B

5:00-6:00 Bandai Entertainment’s Anime Invasion— In 2008, Bandai Entertainment has put together an amazing line up of anime titles: Code Geass, Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Sword of the Stranger, Ghost Slayers Ayashi, Gundam 00, and many more. Join Bandai Entertainment president Ken Iyadomi and director of marketing Robert Napton to hear all the latest news on the company’s releases, learn some tidbits about what’s coming, up and maybe get some free stuff! Hall H, Room 4

(For the time not in the panels, I plan to walk the floor of the convention floor. That my plan and I am sticking to it.)

Gamers Showing At Comic-Con

Found out from the All Games Considered podcast the long pending movie The Gamers: Dorkness Rising will have its show at this years Comic-Con. I have heard good review and will be on To Do list at Comic-Con.

Get rid of it.

On June 1st I got a notice on the front door of the apartment door, saying due to the new insurance, BBQ Grills (gas or other) are not allowed to used or kept. They needed to be gone by month end. I look around to see if I can find a friend to pass it on to. About mid-month there was a general notice that BBQ Grill are going to be supplied around the pool area for residents to use. They seen to be trying to come up with a compromise due to the loss. Luckily I did not have to place my grill by the dumpster. I did find a friend to pass it onto. He came by last night for a pick up and then it was gone.

Its not here.

Watching the Food Network show called Unwrapped. Item that came up was for Blue Bell Ice Cream that is sold to 17 mostly Southern States. Now that I recall I have not seen it in the Seattle area, I guess Seattle is not Southern, it more Northern.

Back in my younger days, when me and my brother were at the YMCA summer camp, I am sure there was a field trip to the Blue Bell Creameries. I recall a long bus trip, but worth the free ice cream at the end of the tour.

ComicCon is almost here.

I checked the website today and found they have posted the Action Figure Exclusives available only at the 2008 ComicCon.

Its time to make a list and check it more than twice.

On the First page I see:
1. SDCC 2008 Marvel MIGHTY MUGGS- Peter Parker $20.00

On the Second page I see:
2. Iron Man MIGHTY MUGGS $20.00

On the Third page I see:
3. Marvel Miniature Alliance 6 Piece Figure Set with Metallic Paint $20.00

And on the Forth and last page I see:
4. Iron Man Helm - Mark 2 $39.99
5. Skeleton Jack Cosbaby $7.00

Disclamer: Just becase I listed the here does not mean I will get them. I have the right to pick a choose the products I like and I do not want to spend all my money on the first day geting the above item. I plan to be broke a the end of the con, not the beginning.

Slave Leia Photos at SDCC

Found via Flickr that at this year's Comic Con there will be a meeting of the Slave Leia in there metal bikini. I missed it last here as seen here from last year. This year it will be on July 25th at 1 PM at the Gentle Giant booth around Jabba the Hut. Check out the web site here. My plan to get some good pictures, time will tell.

Moo Cards

Ran across some pictures on Flickr today of Moo Cards and said what is this. With some diging I found out what they are. Custom mini-cards, pictures on one side and info on the other. Good for business cards, personal cards, product info and many other things (I can not think right at this time). The size of the cards are 0.87 in by 2.76 in. Looks like a good idea. From the pictures I have seen, the pictures on the cards are not just of one, but of many different pictures.

MOO.com | MiniCards
Flickr Group for MiniCards
Found Weblog on Moo Cards

Some found review info on D&D 4th Ed.

AICN World Exclusive: Massawyrm Has Played Dungeons And Dragons 4th Edition!!
Part 1: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35776
Part 2: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35799
Part 3: http://www.aintitcool.com/node/35811

4E and New Players
http://freeport-pirate.livejournal.com/101102.html

Its here.

I ordered the Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook from amazon (for a good price). The email said the 12th, but it came today with a few other items. From the hype I have heard it is a great improvement from the previous version. Bob from our game group plans to run us thru the H1 module in August, to give him some time to read the rules and the module. During this time I hope to read up on most of the rules or at least bog down the book with post-a-note tags.

Its gone.

I have a '82 Volvo with a radio to match. I went to visit my parent for a while and parked in the back alley. Heading out I unlocked the door to find it already unlocked, the window was down a inch to vint the car and found the radio gone. The radio was at least 10 years old, had a cassette slot and had no memory for radio stations. Who would steal my POS radio.

Summary of Game Day

The new 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons is out today. At some game stores they game deoms of the new system. I did not do this, I took it easy on my day off. A friend and some other people I have played games with a few game conventions played at D&D Game Day and this what happened.

From a email that was sent to me:

Well, half the folks here were at Game Day, so this may seem
redundant to them, but after playing the system through three or four
encounters today with a couple of different characters, here's my take
on some things.

   The short summary is that I am very happy with the way characters
worked.  Having seen things work together (or not work), I have some
thoughts on how people should try to coordinate and I have seen some
things that I need to be aware of as a GM.  I saw every character
fulfill the role I envisioned for them and change the shape of the
battles they were in.  And I saw that whether you used your powers or
your just a basic attack, the important thing that characters do is
*not* roll damage.  It is the effects of all their other tricks that
matters, from the ability to move around or control other people's
movement to the ability to get or give bonuses or do huge amounts of
extra damage.

   Garry, Eric C, Tim and I got there around 9:15-9:30 am and they
were packed.  They clearly had more people than they expected in the
early morning.  We signed up and wound up waiting for a GM to finish
up and open a new table for us.  While we were waiting, we walked
around, saw a lot of things and met some folks.  Along the way I
managed to get some questions about things that I was curious about
answered.  Norm got there about 15 minutes after we did and we
managed to get him put at our table in a group of 5.

   They had some games out to play with while you were not playing
D&D so four of us went to a table and played a little Inn Fighting.
This is a simple, little beer-and-pretzels game based on the generic
"you are all sitting in a tavern"  scene where a bar brawl erupts.
We'd spent enough time wandering around and looking at things that we
really only got through about three rounds of the table before we were
called for our D&D game.  Tim was rolling 1s so I am not sure if he
was having fun, but I thought that Inn Fighting was at least a run for
Munchkin in the beer-and-pretzels genre.

   Around 11:30 we went down and met our GM, Chris Tulach, Head
Content Manager for RPGA.  We got to ask some fundamental questions
about things including whether or not RPGA would be at Dragonflight
this year (sounds unlikely, but he said to keep an eye out for Penny
Arcade eXpo three weeks later where they would be in full force!).  We
got started on the first scenario which was a 5-man adventure to
rescue some children who had been abducted.  We were promptly
interrupted (and Chris offered us a break) by a call that all the main
developers were upstairs signing books.  Tim and I went up to get
signatures and they were kind enough to sign everything that we had so
my entire gift set and Tim's StarWars Saga Edition all got love.

   We got back to the table and got down to gaming for most of the
rest of the afternoon.  The first adventure was a 5-man party with a
human cleric (Eric C), a dwarf warrior (Tim), a human warrior (Garry),
an eladarin wizard (Norm) and a half-elf rogue (me).  As mentioned in
the car on the way up there, the rogue had taken Eyebite as his
half-elven special and although there were a few times I thought about
it (and it would have been useful) I wound up not using it.  Our first
adventure was two or three or four encounters long (depending on how
you counted).  The "first" encounter was a puzzle and while I would
have given experience I would not have counted it as an encounter
(this matters for the distribution of Action Points).

   The second encounter was a combination of two kobolds and some
traps.  Tim did exactly what he was supposed to do as a dwarven
fighter and jumped up on the crypt being used as cover where he
promptly discovered the first trap and got a lucky save to avoid
problems.  The next action he had, the Kobold Tim was attacking tried
to knock him into the trap and Tim got lucky again and the trap was
"destroyed" by failed use.  Seeing this, Norm promptly used his
(normally unused) minor action and a telekinesis power to disarm the
other likely trap.  Important note: Minor action which could be
mistaken for flavor text on the wizard sheet is wisely used to
eliminate a trap that caused 20+ damage to a fighter at another table.

   Tim's Kobold runs away around the back of a pillar and moves to
join the other behind the other barricade that Garry and I are
assaulting.  I try to show off and burn some of my larger powers as
the rogue.  First, I run past the two Kobolds to get a flanking bonus
with Garry (making use of Artful Dodger to avoid some of the
Opportunity damage).  Then I try one Encounter attack intending to
push a Kobold into Garry's Cleave (this fails), then I spend my Action
Point to get a second attack and cripple the other Kobold so that
Garry is in a position to smash things.

   Every time Garry gets a chance, he dives onto the blade of any
Kobold attacking him and as Tim comes running up behind the second
Kobold to get flanking Garry hits zero hit points and we get to see
the death and dying rules.  It's pretty simple and, like everything
else in the system, favors the heroes.  Eric C tosses Garry a heal
before he's even been down for a full turn and Garry is conscious if
not back on his feet while the rest of us finish the encounter.

   The next encounter is probably supposed to be a single encounter
but we kinda diffused it.  There's a locked door with the abducted
boys behind it and a second chamber further along the "hall".  Tim and
Garry take point and examine the door and then I draw lock-pick duty.
While I am baffled repeatedly by the lock Garry moves on to see what
he can see.  All hell breaks loose at the same time...  Garry see's
the evil necromancer who grabbed the boys who activates some statues
in the room with the boys (stone golems?) and then sends his skeletal
minions to make trouble from the next room.  Seeing the trouble
showing up all the way around, I finally figure out how to roll and
unlock the room and the boys (who are close on my heals in initiative)
come running out and away from the combat.  Garry charges the
skeletons and Eric and Norm move to back him up while Tim and I look
at each other and the golems in confusion.

   The combat shows a couple more nice tricks about the system...
The golems move but don't reach us (I think that Chris took pity on
Tim and I to be honest) so I slam the door in their faces and lock it
back.  Then I run off toward the other fight and holler at Tim to
spike the door.  The golems bang on the door and fail to break it
down.  Now we're down to a one-front fight.  On that front, Norm says
he was a bit frustrated because he never had a clear line of fire to
use his controller powers.  (Fighters and leaders take note...
Getting surrounded causes issues because the controller cannot handle
the group of targets to provide you advantages.)  Norm finally took
his encounter teleport to a far corner of the room and unleashed his
Thunderwave power (another we have talked about) and turned the fight
completely.  He knocked the unreachable necromancer into the middle of
the party where Tim, Eric C and I were able to make short work of him
while Garry threw himself onto the skeletons' swords some more.  This
was the end of the scenario save wrap-up and teaser for the other con
scenario.

   In later conversation with Norm, I saw another thing that has not
been mentioned...  Some stuff that is hidden in the DMG which most of
you probably don't know about...  The system has very clear
instructions for GMs.  LET THE PLAYERS DO WHAT THEY WANT!  There is a
table which shows for every level what the DC and damage equivalents
are for easy, normal and hard combat actions.  Their example is "if a
player decides to grab the chandelier and swing across the room into
the troll to knock it into the brazier then LET THEM!"  The difficulty
should probably be medium since this is a typical cinematic stunt.
The damage should also be low or moderate for the level since it will
burn the troll but he can get out of it.  The player has not asked to
knock the Troll prone so probably make it medium."  Then you look in
the table, get the DC, call for it and allow the player to do damage.
Alternatively, if the player had wanted to knock the Troll prone, you
could instead make it a DEX vs. Reflex challenge and provide low
damage but also knock the Troll prone.  The ideal behind the table is
to give a GM a clear idea what the character should be capable of with
his normal powers and make this an equivalent alternative...  Not more
or less attractive, but a viable story-telling alternative...

   Norm left after our first adventure and the rest of us signed up
for the other campaign with one open slot.  We got assigned pretty
quickly (they had more GMs show up around noon so things got lots
busier).  The second adventure was a single encounter with a solo
monster.  The same characters...  This time, I am the human warrior,
Garry is the half-elf rogue, Tim and Eric C stay with their characters
and we had a kid named Liam and his father playing the wizard.  I
dunno what the others took away from this, but I learned a lot.
First, I had high initiative so I ran into the lead and Liam followed
right behind me.  Then the dragon moves and charges me.  That was the
only damage the dragon did to me the whole fight.  Eric C followed up
right after and healed me and then Tim and Garry stepped up to short
or medium range and unloaded.

   Because we knew this was a single fight encounter with a single
monster, I approached it in a way that I would not normally approach a
fight.  I opened by burning my daily and my action point.  My daily
missed but provided me bonuses for the duration of the encounter
anyway and my action point allowed me to hit and do damage (and mark
the dragon) before it could go after anyone else.  I kept the dragon
marked the whole fight and while it never seemed to help Tim, it made
the difference between being hit and not for Eric at least twice.
Other folks followed suit and the Action Points and Daily Powers
rained down on the dragon quickly.  Lesson to GM reinforces something
I read before...  Try not to open a day of adventuring with a solo
monster encounter, especially not a hard one, because as cool as it
sounds, your solo will be crippled, slowed, stunned and giving combat
advantage before the end of the first full round of combat.  Lesson to
players...  If the fight is dire enough to need your daily powers,
spend it early since it will save you other resources over the course
of the fight.  You'll have bonuses for more rolls or have less
opposition for the remainder of the fight.  You may not always see it
early, but when you do, don't hesitate.

   A solo encounter is a single beast designed to be equivalent to 5
normal monsters.  Since they took the lid off and showed us how to
make anything into an elite or solo in the monster manual, I can give
a brief summary about how the monsters work...  Normal monsters are
what you are used to from 3.0 or 3.5...  They also introduced minions,
which are equivalent to a normal monster in most ways but they have 1
hit-point, never take damage unless they are hit, but never survive
being hit.  Four minions equals a single normal monster for exchanges.
Elites are the next addition and they have twice the hit points of a
normal monster plus a "package" which gives them some special
abilities (usually related to a class or theme).  For example, one
package is the Lich package.  A gnome illusionist can become an elite
gnome illusionist lich with some necromantic bonuses, a susceptibility
to radiant damage and twice as many hit points and one new recharging
power.  A single elite exchanges for two normal monsters.  Finally, if
you take an elite, add another package and double its hit points again
you are close to a solo monster.  You also add some Action Points and
there you are...  A single monster which swaps for 5 normals and is
intended to be a complete encounter for a first level party all by
itself.


   More than anything else, the thing today brought home to me is
that position is mucho important in this system.  The ability to move
people and know when and how to move is a huge advantage.  The first
scenario was most changed by my rogue moving and avoiding attacks of
opportunity, Norm moving and then pushing the necromancer into a bad
spot and then my rogue moving the necromancer into a worse spot...
Would we have won without out that?  Yes, but not as fast or as
handily.  On the flip side, the dragon tried to run away from us a
couple of times and both times the warriors had abilities to punish or
prevent the move.  As a rogue, never try to move away from a
warrior...  You'll pay.  Dearly...

   In addition to the fun day, there was also loads of schwag.  I
have a dice bag for Eric A.  There were dice and miniatures and RPGA
tokens and all sorts of things to be seen and had.  This has just
served to whet my appetite for more in-depth play and I hope others
had as much fun as I did.

ComicCon soon to be.

Its about a month and a half away. Travel is taken care. The room is taken care of and we at least 5 people in our group to make the room cost low. I have set aside some stuff for the trip, but most of the packing will be done as the time is near. To see how much the plane ticket have changed, I plugged in the same info and found that the tickets went from $223.00 to $518.00. I am glad I got my tickets back in February.

Pirate's Booty

An ex-Jack Sparrow spills on life at the Magic Kingdom.

Link: lamag.com/featuredarticle.aspx?id=7016&page=1 @ Los Angeles Magazine

The Squirrel

Yesterday I stoped by a Jumba Juice and parked in the back. I was walking around to the front when I spotted this guy. I used my camera phone and snapped a picture. He came closer, I snapped another. I tried my luck for a closer shot. The squirrel came closer. I could reach out and pet it if it were for that squirrel bite. I had pushed my luck for today and went and got my drink. While waiting for my order, the squirrel came around to the front like of the Jumba Juice shop. It almost seemed like it was tame.

(Click for a bigger picture)

Meeting of Will Wheaton.

This last Saturday I hitched a ride with Rich to Emerald City ComiCon. I had read on his blog that he was going to be there and made a effert to seek him out. While looking around, the voice over the speaker said he was here and signing now. I left the group of friend I was with and headed over there with a good 15 people long. It did not take too long. He said he like the shirt I had on and asked where I got it from. The shirt said "Nice to meet you. Roll Initiative" from geeklable. It made my day. I picked the hard back verison of his current book, The Happiest Days of Our Lives and had it signed along with a picture from his TNG days. I had wanted to pick up some of his other books, but he did not have any there. I will have to see what he has at San Diego ComiCon. I shuck his hand (good grip) and took a picture of him (see below). Had fun, not a full day con, but found a few items I did not know I needed till I found them.

Iron Man Egg

I found this Easter Egg on the Iron Movie:

Captain Americas Shield in the background of Iron Man movie.

Crossover

Was watching the current CSI show (The Theory of Everything) on my DVR and I spoted Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman (in the background) from the Mythbusters show from The Discovery Channel.

Some found trivia on The Theory of Everything:

In order to see what caused the flames that killed a man, the team sets up various test using ballistics dummies. During an experiment to determine the cause of the man burning to death, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman from the T.V. show Mythbusters appear in the background, observing the experiment and taking notes. When a ballistics dummy is successfully lit on fire, the duo give an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Another The Discovery Channel easter egg is seen with Hodges investigating a crawl space underneath a house. While crawling on his back through a lot of dirt, Hodges resembles Mike Rowe whom is the host of Dirty Jobs. Hodges says the word "dirty" three times in succession, as an homage to Rowe and Discovery Channel television show.

NowPublic

Just today, I had another request to add a picture to a NowPublic story from a email thru my Flickr account.

The picture was taken at the 2007 ComicCon. I was walking in the main room and noticed a puppet was interviewing a group of three people in Marvel costumes. I could not hear what was being said, but some hair pulling was done.

Superheroes Invade Met's Costume Institute on NowPublic

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Over to Seattle.

Today I made a trip into Seattle over to the U-District to visit the local comic shop for Free Comic Book Day. The normal exit from the freeway was close, due to a lot of boats crossing (the exits goes over a river) and had to find a different way over to the U-District. Did stop by Half Price Books and fround a book I was looking for. Then I stoped by the comic shop to have a look at the free comic (and others items). Did not find any thing I was looking for. One of the guys that work there did remember my name (that was good), I had not been in the store from 2 to 3 years. Did not leave with much, but I did pick a great lamb dish that I had not had for a while. That was my day out.

Cut it out.

Last night I caught the last 30 min of "The Fires of Pompeii" a 4th season Doctor Who episode on the SciFi Channel. I had watched the original BBC episode a few weeks ago and with the US release I noticed they had cut at least 2 shots. One was at where the Doctor and Donna were running back to town from the escape pod and they just showed up the house were the Tardis was. They cut the street shot that was in the BBC original. The other shot that was cut was at the very end where had a "Six Months Later" shot of the family that survived. Why did they need to do that? Time? More commercials time?

Schmap

The other day I found out that the picture that took in 2006 at Metropolitan Museum of Art of some armor has been oked to show on the Schmap site, which show East Cost Museums. The picture shows off some armor and head off the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Click the picture above to see the bigger picture of
the web site. The direct web site to the picture is here.



Click the picture above for the full picture
that shows on the Schmap web site.

The 20,000th View on Flickr

As of today, I have over 20000 views on my Flickr pictures, a update from 16000 views on 02/17/08.

Wrong Turn

Tonight's plan was to get some food after work and see a movie with some friends. That did not go as planed. I got off work killed a little time. Got a table before the other got there. We ate and talked. One of the others had found out from the internet that the movie started at 7:50pm. We all got there about 7:35pm and found out the movie had started at 6:50pm and the next one was not till 9:35pm. We used out phone to find other theaters near by and what time the movie stared: 6:10pm (no), 6:20pm (No) and the last was found for 7:50, it was 7:40 at this time and would take at least 15 min to get to downtown Bellevue on a Friday night (NO!). We called the night done and went our own ways. At this time it was lightly snowing. It was not sticking to the ground, but it was snowing mid-April. Its spring it should not be snowing at this time of year. Oh well. I did a little shoping in the area and went home.

Trek found.

Star Trek Meets Monty Python


Are you a Trekkie?

Check this out over at Savage Chickens.

Free Lunch

Our work group earned a free lunch for the January time frame. We had the Hamburger/Hotdog lunch on April 5th.

Monday, April 14 we had our free lunch for Febuary. This time was a taco bar with all the fixins.

Both has great food. Looking foward to the next one.

Sakura-Con 2008

Saturday, I went to Sakura-Con at the Washington State Convention Center. I carpooled with Rich and JP. The day started at 8:30am at work's parking lot with Rich picking me up. We got there about 8:50am. Registration took about 30 min, which is alot better than the 3 hours it did last year. Getting there early sure did help. I went down to the dealer area to find it not open yet. I hung around the entrance area and took some pictures of the people in costumes. The doors opened, I did a round of all the tables. Took some pictures and did another round of the booths. Took some breaks in the Anime Theater or in Artist Alley at Rich's table. The dealer room closed down at 6pm, I hung around took some pictures and waited around till a anime movie was playing. I got most of the way thru the movie, till the dance party up stares got noisy, the metal door in the back of the room was shaking and I could not hear the movie. It was something I had seen before, so I headed back to Artist Alley to hang out. Be headed out to get a bite to eat around 11pm and got back to the car around 12:30am to find my car covered with snow.

I had fun. I might do Sunday next year. It has been a few day sense the convention and my cafes are still sore from all the walking, at lease my feet are not hurting

Click the picture to get a biger picture of what
I took with me and what I came back with me.

Also check the pictures set I have of Sakura-Con on Flickr.
(It will take awhile to post all the pictures,
check back to see what has been added.)