POI

A couple of years ago I introduced Dad to Person of Interest.  He liked it right away.  We would watch a couple of episodes every few weeks or so, maybe every two months.

We got to the introduction of Shaw in season 2 before Dad passed away.  I wish he could have seen the rest of season 2, when the finale actually took place in Hanford, Washington’s  nuclear plant, where he worked while he and Mom lived up there.

Today I got to Season 3, episode 9, where I experienced the biggest TV shock since Marie Warner shot her fiancée on 24.

And I cried. Mostly for what happened in the story, but also a good cathartic cry for my Dad.

That cry seemed to clear my head and shook me out of a funk I’d been feeling for a couple of weeks now.

And I came to a decision about something.

I’m not going to move to Sacramento.

There’s a position open in our agency’s office up there.  I was supposed to go up there these past couple of days to check it out, but a sore back stopped me from going Wednesday, and Thursday I didn’t feel well in the morning.

Maybe this was a sign.

I figured stress was responsible for both days, and once I sat down and made the conscious decision to no longer consider the Sacramento move scenario, I felt a great weight lifted from me.

I have enough to deal with around this house, disposing of so much of Dad’s and my own stuff, I don’t feel that the added stress of moving was needed.

I felt that I needed to move out of this house ASAP, partly because of the constant reminder of where I found Dad on the steps, every time I walk by them.  But over the past couple of weeks that feeling has lessened.  I’ll always have that painful memory, and the time will come when I will move out of here, but that time is not now.

For the moment, I feel less stressed than I’ve been in a couple of months.

I still need to go see a therapist to cope with grieving, but I think I made some headway on my own.

Buh

The more I think about it, the more I feel that I’m exactly where I need to be right now.

Change will happen when it needs to.

PORG: Ogre Mk. III-B

In case you missed it, or if you’re not on Facebook:

Primed and ready for painting

In progress inspection

Behold, PORG!

ADVANCE!  TO BATTLE!

On the battlefield, against the Paneuropean forces

Bird’s eye view

OGRE Designer’s Edition

This monstrosity has been sitting in my house for the better part of 4+ years.  With the release of the 6th edition, in a smaller box, and the upcoming re-release of OGRE miniatures, my interest has gone up a bit in the last year or so.

Today I cracked open the Designer’s Edition for the first time in years, and found a bunch of unpunched counter sheets, which I proceeded to punch, along with reorganizing a lot of the smaller counters into ziplock bags.  The smaller counters were loose in the box and spilling over and out of the compartments that I had placed them in.

Earlier this week I found an unassembled OGRE Mk. III-B in metal, which I probably picked up during some sale at Steve Jackson Games when the original OGRE Designer’s Edition Kickstarter was running.  I proceeded to put it together, and tonight I sprayed some primer on it so I can paint it up.

OGRE tanks usually have 4-letter names, so of course this OGRE will be named…

PORG

Heck, the two main batteries scream PORG!

At least I have a paint scheme figured out.

Dark brown hull, light brown/orange around the batteries/missile silos/treads, silver/metallic detailing.  And maybe paint the nose/mouth in front.

Ditko

Spider-Man was the second comic book super hero that I liked as a kid, after Superman.  My first Spider-Man comic had a cover by John Romita and interior art by Ross Andru.

I later got a copy of The Origins of Marvel Comics, and that’s where I first saw Amazing Fantasy #15, the debut of Spider-Man, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

It was a different look from what I was used to seeing, to be honest.

When I was 11, my parents bought me a set of paperback books that reprinted the early days of Marvel Comics, with the first 6 issues of Fantastic Four and The Incredible Hulk, and the first 12 issues of The Amazing Spider-Man.

And that’s when I really fell in love with Ditko’s work.

I think he’s why Doctor Octopus is my favorite Spider-Man villain.

Ditko also created other favorites of mine, including Ted Kord’s Blue Beetle and Doctor Strange.

The one character that I had no idea that he had a hand in creating?

Squirrel Girl!

All I really knew about the man was that he was a recluse, often compared to J.D. Salinger.

Coincidentally, The Catcher in the Rye is my favorite book that I read in high school.

Today news came out that Ditko had died late last month.

This loss hurts a lot because of his contributions to comics and to my personal development in my tastes in comic book fandom.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Ditko.  Thank you for all you did.

Ant Man and the Wasp

Good, but the first one was better.

A lot of trailer dialogue was only in the trailer.

And the mid credits scene was great.

Recommended!

Character Generation

Today I began to roll up a character for Mekton Zeta, an anime mecha role playing game.

They have a great background system called Lifepath, where you make some die rolls and it fleshes out your character’s background.

I was going to make a mecha pilot, male, professional level.

As I started going through the Lifepath system, I rolled 5 friends, the first being male, and… an ex-lover.

My first thought was to keep with the male character, for a same-sex relationship (Pride Weekend in SF may have influenced that thought), but I decided to go with a female, based on something else that I’d been watching lately.

She’s going to be based on Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop.

But still a mecha pilot.

And I’m going with the ‘Anime Babe’ rookie template instead of a professional.

Of course, who knows if my group will ever get around to playing Mekton Zeta.

Fridge Purge

Today I dumped cans and bottles of various drinks and liquids, a majority of them were way past their expiration date.  Or they were things that I don’t drink, like coconut water.

The fridge is VERY empty.

After I use up the bottled water, it’ll be even emptier.

Re-Kinect

Damn, the Kinect is needed in order for the XBox to turn on the TV and receiver.

Dis-Kinect

The Kinect has bet disconnected from the XBox.

For the longest time it was only good for turning the XBox on or off, and sometimes not even off.  It never seemed to be able to do things as advertised, like ‘watch the Giants game’ or ‘watch Netflix’.

And to be honest, I had it on there for Dad, since he had difficulty with the XBox remote and the power switch on the XBox itself.  Once he turned it on via Kinect, he could use the cable box remote to change channels.

I was the one who usually turned it off before bed.