My son has ESP

The holiday season is almost over. I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get all our shopping done in time this year. My wife was brave (or insane depending on how you look at it) enough to put on the full body armor and wade into the most dangerous territory one can imagine in search of last minute gifts...the mall.

Here is what she looked like (and I am sure it wasn't enough to keep her safe)...

Okay okay, so she didn't really wear a suit like that, but I am thinking she should have. That place is truely a battlefield this time of year. The mall, and the 5 mile radius around it are to be avoided at all costs. I will add another 25 minutes to my drive just to avoid it.

Anyways.

My wife's brother and his family came for Christmas this year. Unlike most people I talk to out there, I actually really like my wife's family. Her brother and his wife have 2 kids that our son just loves playing with. I was really hoping that her dad would come this year as well. He wasn't able to make it, but we are going to get him up here again soon.

Her brother's kids show up and they both have one of those PSP's. You know, the hand held mind numbing things Sony likes to call a game/movie unit.

Drew just thought this was the neatest thing since, well, his Wii. Of course they just HAD to have the Star Wars Battlefront game on it so that just added to the overall "cool" factor for him. Well, grandpa (in his behind the scene plot to get back at Jayna for all the things she put him through when she was a kid) decided that since they both had one, Drew had to have one too. So he sent a PSP up with her brother to give to Drew.

We decided to give it to him yesterday since the other two had theirs. It has been nothing but constant blaster fire, "I GOT YOU!!!!", "Dad, he keeps killing me" ect...

Oh, and Drew is so funny. He has been telling everyone that his "papa" gave him a "ESP".

My son officially has ESP now.

Barlow is back!!!!!!

This was posted on Iced Earth's website last week. I was out of town for a hockey tournament so I missed this until today. This has got to be the greatest news in music!


Hello Dear Friends!
Once again the winds of change are upon us, and this time I can say that I am very happy about the result.
While out on the European tour I had several in depth discussions with many loyal Iced Earth fans. A common theme of these discussions was how much Matt is missed. I agreed with the fans that things were not the same and that it was a very special period in Iced Earth’s history.
When I heard several months ago that Matt was going to be doing a project in music again, I was thinking about contacting him and seeing what his intentions were. I didn’t act on this because I was so focused on the writing of the new epic, and frankly, it just didn’t seem realistic.
Well, after getting out on the road and speaking with many of you directly, I decided to call Matt and see how he was doing and if he was interested in working together again. I am proud to say that he is coming back to Iced Earth and we will be getting back to work in the studio very soon.
Matt will be singing on Part 2 of the Something Wicked concept CD and we will be looking forward to getting out on tour and delivering a series of Iced Earth shows that will rival any in the history of the band. And there will be a proper DVD filmed from this period, something we’ve all been waiting for.
I want you all to know that it was you who made this a reality. I have missed Matt’s presence onstage and in my personal life in a big way over the past few years, so I appreciate your honesty in our discussions. It did help me realize the decision to move forward with pursuing this. The fans have spoken and we have delivered!
You true fans know that I’m a straight shooter, I say what I mean and mean what I say. And though I value your opinions greatly, you must believe that this is a decision that comes completely from the heart and is not motivated by anything other than what feels the best for Iced Earth. This is the way that things have always been dealt with, for better or for worse, but always honestly and from the heart.
Tim Owens is a great and talented singer and I wish the best for him and his future on a personal and professional level.
There will be more news soon as to further developments and plans. This will push back the release of Part 2 a bit. Not because we couldn’t be ready to record in time, but because of a new addition to Matt’s family in early 2008!
I am very happy to announce that Iced Earth is truly BACK!
Have a great holiday season. We’ll be in touch very soon with more details.
Jon Schaffer

Let the 4 year old teach us how to keep a secret!

Let's go back a few days and start at the beginning.

I am going to get my wife something nice for Christmas this year. She has been kind enough this time to suffocate me with a mound of ideas to chose from. I will do this right this time. I will get her something she really wants, and it is going to be fantastic. Here is a list of things I have to pick from:

New lens for her digital camera (we have a Pentax K10D)

A large assortment of clothing from a catalogue she likes

An IPhone

Jewelry

New bedroom furniture

New personal Laptop

Bigger Ipod

She was even kind enough to put nice big circles around the items in the catalogue that she would wear. The only thing I have to do this time around, is pay for whichever item I decide on. This is going to be simple. How many times have you said that before? Exactly. Hence the story that follows...

It took several trips to the stores, looking at lenses, jewelry and other items before I settled on the IPhone. She has been extremely excited about getting one of these so this would be perfect. I had my son with me when we looked at them, and he told me "Daddy, this is cool". That sealed the deal. The IPhone is what it was going to be.



I went to the bank the next morning and cashed the check that was going to pay for this gift. Since she does the checkbook I didn't want her to know what it was I was getting. Drew was so excited about the phone I thought it would be fun to take him with me. I picked him up from daycare and off a shopping we went. Drew helped me pick it out (even though there is only one kind now) and even helped pay for it by handing the money to the clerk.

We took the phone home where I promptly picked the perfect hiding spot for it. This was one place my wife would NEVER think to look. I hid it at the front of one of my comic storage boxes. Then it was time to sit Drew down and talk about how we are not going to tell mommy what we got her. He said he understood and he would not tell her. My kid would never give away a secret...would he?

That night we were all sitting downstairs watching a movie and Drew kept whispering in my ear "Daddy, I am not going to tell mommy about the IPhone." I had to remind him several times that we do not tell mommy, and that we needed to not talk about it at all. We made it through the entire night without any spilling of the beans. That had to have been 3 of the longest hours of trying to censor everything that came out of his mouth.

Wednesday is the start of my work week. I don't have to be in to the office until 1:00pm so my wife leaves long before I do. This particular morning she decided I should take our son to daycare instead of her. She left, trying not to wake either of us. I woke up, got both Drew and I showered, dressed and ready to go. We went downstairs to get our coats and hit the road and what do I find? My wife was kind enough to bring my son's heavy winter coat and gloves in that I had left in her car the day before. Normally this would have been great, but not this time. Not only did she bring in the coat and gloves, but she also brought in something I forgot in the car.



THE RECEIPT FOR THE IPHONE!!!!!!



Last night my wife activated her new IPhone, and I am on the hunt for a new Christmas present.


At least the 4 year old in the family knows how to keep a secret. He is now accepting applications to the "Drew school of secret keeping". I have a front row seat for the next seminar.

Ahhhh bachelor life!

A few weeks ago my wife informed me that she was going to have to travel for work. She would be flying out on Monday morning for Las Vegas (damn her for not taking me!). Then from there she would be going to Portland and then on to Seattle (again I shall damn her!). She would be gone from Monday until Thursday late afternoon.

So, this past Monday I drove my wife to the airport and began my 4 days of bachelorhood. I had made arrangements for my parents to take my son Drew up to their cabin with them for the week. They would pick him up Tuesday morning and I would be home alone. No kid. No wife. Just me and the freedom to do whatever I wanted.

I can stay up as late as I want. I can sit in my chair and do nothing by play Warcraft all day long if I so choose. I can eat junk food, drink beer, not shower, watch hockey, play hockey, and not have to do any house work. It was going to be 4 days of me time. I was actually looking forward to this. I even went so far as to tell my boss that I would not be in on Wednesday or Thursday just so I can sit at home and enjoy my new found freedom.

I had big plans I tell you. This was going to be my week. I had plans, and they were not to be messed with. I was going to be the king of my domain!!!!!

It is Wednesday today, and I am at work. I played one game of hockey, had hockey on TV in the background while I did dishes, vaccumed, and did laundry. I was in bed by midnight both Monday and Tuesday nights, and more than likely will be tonight as well. There has been no beer consumption, and I made sandwiches for food, and left over pot roast my wife made. I did play a little warcraft, but only a couple hours worth.

I am no good on my own.

The Truth is Out There

So, after 10 years of silence from the Chris Carter camp, the announcement finally came on Wednesday October 31st.

The return of X-Files!


The announcement from Fox studios confirms that there WILL be a new X-Files movie and production is to begin this December. It appears that they are shooting for a late July 2008 release. There are not a lot of details about the plot line, but it was confirmed that Duchovny and Anderson are both in. This is great news for fans of the show, like myself.

You can read a short article about it at Yahoo. There isn't much to the article, but hey if you don't want to believe me go read it.

I wonder if this came about due to Duchovny's new show Californication doing so well? I just finished watching the first season and I must say...I am hooked. For those of you who have not watched this yet...SHAME, I say SHAME on you. This is one of those shows that is a must see if you like shows that deliver wonderful characters, great plot twists, and pushes the boundaries of acceptable.

The show is centered around Duchovny's character Hank Moody. Hank is a writer, or as he likes to call it Non-practicing writer, who seems to be on a self destruct path. He has an ex-girlfriend with whom he has a preteen daughter. The ex is living with, and engaged to the man she left Hank for. Hank seems to be obsessed with sleeping with every hot girl he meets, drinks too much, smokes too much, and all the while is still madly in love with, and trying to win back his ex. You then add in his agent and his strange relationship with his secretary, and the agents wife who is just a few choice words away from a truck driver. Top this off with the ex's boyfriend's 16 year old sex crazed daughter who has a dark secret about Hank...and you get some fantastic stories.

Bottom line - GO WATCH CALIFORNICATION!

Okay, back to X-Files. I am really looking forward to a new installment in this franchise. For me once Mulder, or Scully left the show it was over. This proved so true when Duchovny left the show. Yes I know he came back in a few episodes, but it wasnt the same. Don't get me wrong, I thought Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish did a fantastic job filling in those shoes, but it wasnt X-Files any more. I dont think I even watched the last season in full due to this.

The good news about the new movie is that it is all the original cast. The script was written by series veteran Frank Spotnitz and series creater Chris Carter. Carter is also set to direct this so it should be more along the lines of the first season.

I can't wait!

NEW!!!!!

This day just gets better and better. My wife just found an article that says FOX has just picked up a 7 episode season of a new Joss Whedon series called Dollhouse. You can read the article HERE!

Joss Whedon AND Eliza Dushku again? It took me several years AFTER season 7 to finally force myself to watch Buffy. It took me about 4 episodes and I was hooked. I never watched it when it was on because I thought way they show was done was too cheesy. After finishing all 7 season I take back everything negative I ever said about the show. In typical Joss fashion...the characters were very interesting and engrossing, and the plot and stories were fun.

This is going to be a must watch for me. Firefly was one of the greatest shows to come along in a long time. This show was cut way too short. I still hold out hope that we might see another Firefly movie, or better yet that Sci-Fi channel might pick it up. I know this is a pipe dream at this poing, but at least we have some good news that Joss is doing something new.

I have also been reading Joss's Astonishing X-Men, Runaways, and his season 8 Buffy comic series. I am a huge fan of his writing and his characters.

And just to get the hype going for me....I present Eliza:

Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

MP3's and Ripping, and Ipod's Oh My!!!!

My loving wife decided about 5 months ago to take pity on my lack of Ipodiness and surprised me with a shiny new black 80 gig Ipod Video.

The main reason behind this purchase was the new car. Back in January I finally decided it was time to retire the 1990 Honda Prelude. The "lude" decided it was going to take up a smoking habit. Every time I started it up after it had been sitting for the day, I had to allow it at least a 5 minute smoke break before it was okay to drive. After much fighting to just get it fixed, my wife won and we decided to adopt a shiny new 2007 Ford Fusion SE V6. A lot of people like to make fun of the fact that the color I picked was silver. I wasn't trying to have a matching colored car as my wife (she has a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer that is silver), it was just the color they had that had all the features I wanted. This purchase led to the Ipod purchase because the car has a mini jack located inside the center console along with a power plug. Perfect for the hook up of an Ipod.

Currently, without adding in my wife's CD's, I have a collection of CD's that is sitting right around 1000+ discs. I have quite a few that are rare and out of print. I thought that now that I have this 80gig storage unit, I could rip all the songs I wanted and then box up the CD's. This way they are not taking up a ton of space in my office, and they will be out of my son's reach. If you have looked at my wife's blog (http://jaynashaye.blogspot.com/) you will have heard all about him. He has decided that since he is all grown up (he is 4 1/2) that the computer in my office is now his computer. He plays his Star Wars Lego games on it as well as watches his video's. The newest thing he is doing on it is playing World of Warcraft. Yes, at 4 1/2 my son is being sucked in to the world of the MMO. Actually he is playing on a private server, not on the retail ones. He plays on the private WoWGasm servers, but that is a whole nother blog for a later date.

Now that I had this new Ipod, it was ripping time!

I started out with just the songs I wanted to listen to. I went through all my MP3's I had on my desktop and moved them over to my laptop. I then went through and pulled out all the CD's I knew I wanted. I spent 4 days ripping what I thought was a pile of MP3's that would rivel the selection on ITunes. Oh how I have forgotten what it was like to be so completely clueless about my music. After I was all done I hooked up the IPod and waited patiently for it to finish loading my massive music selection.

1045 song.

1045 song?

WHAT? That is it?

I have only used up 7 gig? That is about right since I am ripping at 192. I was going to go at 256, but I wasnt sure how much space this first round was going to take up.

Crap.

That was 5 months ago. Today I finally decided it was time for round 2 of ripping. I started at the beginning of CD rack number one. I decided that I was going to stick with 192 rate since in my car and on headphones it is actually sounding okay. That, and I really didn't want to go back and start ALL over.

Currently I am at 1385 songs. I decided since the plan was to completely box up the CD's this time, I should get everything I might possibly want to listen to on here. I am also going to pick up a docking station that allows me to hook up to the home audio system. That will be nice to have a 3K+ song selection to pick from instead of 5 CD's at a time. I guess I should think about making a seperate play list on just the stuff my wife would actually enjoy listening too.

Think I could sneak some Dimmu Borgir or Borknagar in there without her knowing?

Play Hellgate: London Demo

There is now a playable demo version of Hellgate:London for download at:

Hellgate: London demo.

I am going to download this when I get home from work tonight and try it out. Tweleve more days until release!

Greatest Comic Stories

It has been a few days since I wrote anything so I decided I should say something. Since the title of the blog is "Hobbies that drive the wife insane" I figured I should write about something that actually drives her crazy. What better thing to do that than COMIC BOOKS!

I used to be one of those crazy collectors who had boxes and boxes of books. I think at the point where I sold my collection about 14 years ago I was sitting at 16 long boxes and 6 short boxes of books. At the time I was just sick of the industry as a whole with their die cut-foil embossed-glow in the dark-1 of 10 different cover-scratch and sniff-see through-sparkle covers. The whole thing to me seemed to get away from the great story and artwork, and became more about how we can make the most money for shitty product.

So I thought, what would be a great thing to post about now that I have started collecting again as of last year? How about some of my favorite books past and present. These are the books that, while not the "it" books, are the ones whose stories and art I enjoyed the most. Sure I could post stuff like Giant Size X-men #1, or Hulk #181, or Amazing Spiderman #129...or hell even Action Comics #1, or Detective #27 but that is not the point. Here are my favorite books of all time.

1. Sandman by Neil Gaiman. - Best series I ever read. Not just one book, the whole damn series.



2. Jack of Fables by Bill Willingham and Matthew Sturges.



3. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman



4. Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon



5. Amazing Spider-man - no particular writer or artist. I just love the character and the series.



6. Hellblazer by Garth Ennis - The Ennis run was just fantastic



7. Swamp Thing by Alan Moore



8. Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman



9. Marvel Civil War - Mark Miller



10. Wolverine Limited Series by Chris Claremont



11. Batman - The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller







These are just some of the many books that I have enjoyed over the years. These are books that I can read over and over and still enjoy them as much as the first time.

I do have to say after taking such a long break from colleting that the quality of books has increased over the years. The page stock, and cover paper is a huge upgrade. The quality of writing has greatly increased as well. The only thing that has not increased to the degree of the others is the artwork. There are some amazing artists creating right now, but as a whole the hey day of the Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Sam Keith, Liam Sharp and others is just not what it used to be. I guess what I am saying is that there is not an over abundance of amazing artwork out there right now. It used to be that every book put out had some amazing artist doing the work, now it is more sparse.

The one thing I am not liking is the$2.99 and $3.99 cover prices for books. If the trend to up the price continues I may have to seriously cut back on the number of books I am getting each month. I have already cut back to the bare minimum, but if the prices go up again I am going to have to stop some things. It will be an Ebay or a convention hunt to find them at discounted prices. $3.50 and up for a book is just getting out of hand.

If you are looking for back issues, gaming items, toys, or supplies I would suggest checking out Captain Comics. The are located in Boise Idaho (where I live) and the team there are fantastic. Even after all these years Corbit still has a passion for the books he sells. The entire staff goes out of their way to know your name, and what books you are getting. The do mail order, and also have a weekly newsletter that is emailed out. You can sign up for it on the website.

Happy Reading!

Hellgate: London

I have been an avid PC gamer for many years now. I remember those 3 to 4 am nights at my friend Andy's house writing our first Dungeon's & Dragon's based text game on his shiny new HP-85. Anyone remember the HP-85? If not, here is what we had to work with "back in the day".



Looking back I can not believe we spent hours upon hours "playing" a game that was nothing more than:

"You walk down the rough stone path, the sky blocked out by the overhanging branches. You reach a point where the road forks to the left and the right. Which direction would you like to go?"

At this point you would type in "L" for left or "R" for right. Rinse and repeat. Of course we knew everything that was going to happen since we wrote it, but man did you play and play until we wore out the tape the game was stored on.

Games sure have come a long way since then haven't they? I dove head first into the world of the MMORPG with the introduction of Everquest. Many a night was spent raiding away with my guild (yes, I was a guild leader for a while). There were many a weekend that I don't think I even showered, or went outside due to "important raid stuff". I never got to the point where I lost my job, or my friends over it like some people did. I played up to the point where World of Warcraft came out. I tried it, played about 5 months, decided I did not like it and went back to EQ. I then tried playing some Everquest II in the hopes it would bring back some of that old EQ magic, but it didn't. I decided at this point it was going to be EQ and that was that. It wasn't until about a year after release that I got back into WoW. A very close friend of mine called me up and talked me into giving WoW a try again. Thanks to Larry EQ got cancelled and it has been WoW ever since.

I tried several other games over the last couple of years that I enjoyed, but never really got into like I did with EQ or WoW. There was Oblivion, City of Heroes, Doom 3, F.E.A.R, and I even dusted off and played some Starcraft again. It wasn't until I saw the trailer for a new game coming out that I got excited about games again. I am talking about:

This could very well be the next game that I dive into and play for a substantial amount of time. The game is being developed by Flagship Studios, which is a good sign right there. This company was founded by some of the core people involved with the development of Diablo. Check out the website at...Hellgate:London for all kinds of great information about the game like classes, game play, and a very nice selection of screenshots.

The concept behind the game sounds interesting. London in the year 2038, decimated by legions of demons with mankind struggling to survive. The game references several real world events in it's story line. The Knights Templar play a role in the game as the keepers of knowledge on how to defeat the demons. It also mentions that the crusades was actually an undertaking to defeat them. Ordinary weapons will not work against the demons. It is a fusion of modern technology and magic that enables mankind to fight back. There is also the enclusion of the Freemasons who have built a vast underground tunnel network that is used as the base of operations because it was built to be resistant to the demons.

Gameplay looks like a nice mix between a first person shooter and a traditional RPG. The game looks to be played from a first person shooter perspective, but characters will be allowed to level up, get new gear, have a point system to get "talents" so to speak, and increase stats.

The game looks very nice, and hopefully will provide a nice mix of two game types that I enjoy. From the sounds of it you can play this game solo, or you can connect up online and form parties of other players to explore with. There will also be some kind of PVP element implemented but there is not a lot of information on that yet.

Cheryl from IAH Games has a blog going with monthly updates about the game. Check out what she has to say at Angelace's Hellgate: London Blog. If you look under the blog from August 2007 titled "Sizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzling hot! she has some nice pictures up of the Hellgate:London painted jeep. Did I mention the jeep is pretty sweet looking, but not as sweet as what is pictured with it? Go see for yourself. It is worth the click.

Check out the trailer for the here - Hellgate:London Trailer

I signed up for the Beta testing but like most people, I have not heard anything. Beta is scheduled to close up on October 7th 2007 so at this point I am going to vote "NO" on my getting in. The scheduled release date for the retail version is October 31, 2007 for the North American, and November 2, 2007 for the Europe date.

The December issue of PC Gamer is going to have a nice write up about the game. This should be hitting shelves in the next week or two so keep an eye open for it. This is what the cover is going to look like:

In case you are wanting some screenshots guess what...included. Don't say I don't take care of you!

Screenshot #1

Screenshot #2

Screenshot #3

Screenshot #4

The NHL season starts TONIGHT!

I figured I would start this new blog site off with something I am very excited about. That's right, the start of the NHL regular season. This topic is really not something that fits under the title of hobbies or things that drive the wife insane. The opposite is true as far as the wife in concerned. She has really gotten into watching hockey, partly because I play in a local rec league. She loves going to my games, and now that she understands most of the rules, she loves the game.

This season should provide some fun rubbings in our house. My team is the Colorado Avalanche, while my wife is pulling a Benedict Arnold this year and actually cheering for the Phoenix Coyotes. I guess I can't call her a traitor really, since she jumped ship last season to the Montreal Canadians. It was all a result of the Avs trading off the player she likes - David Aebischer.

If you don't know who David is, I'll give you the cliff notes. He was the backup goalie for the Avalanche when Patrick Roy was still around. If you don't know who that is, stop reading right here. You obviously have no clue about Hockey and should be punished in one of the nine hells. Either that, or you should start watching and attending games for one of the greatest sports to exist on this planet. Anyways...after Roy retired he pushed for the Avs to give the back up goalie (Aebischer) the headline spot. They did, but talks of trading him started from day one. Eventually they did trade him to the Canadians. After his year with them, he became an unrestricted free agent and was finally picked up by Phoenix.

Wow, talk about just rambling off of topic. To get back to the start of the season...I am lucky enough to have a wife who likes the game. Last season we decided to try out the NHL Center Ice package with Directv (since that is what provider we already had). I must say, I loved it. So we went ahead and renewed again this year and tonight is the first night of games. Tonight we get to pick from:

Anaheim Mighty Ducks at Detroit Red Wings

Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes

Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche

I wonder which game I am going to be watching? Well, I can tell you it will NOT be the first 3 on that list! The Avs are looking really good this year with some great off season trades and picks. I am really excited to see who they go to for game one in the net. My vote would be for Peter Budaj.

Did I mention I really don't like the Dallas Stars? No, okay then...

I really don't like the Dallas Stars. So much so that I am not going to include a link to their site. So take that you Stars fans!

GO AVALANCHE!