Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Shower Avoidance

In celebration of Kaden's soon to be birthday number zero, there was a baby shower hosted at our house Saturday afternoon. So, unless I wanted to hang out like a hunch back in my bell tower office I needed something to do. Hmm, Saturday semi warm weather and a need to be out of the house, what to do, what to do? Some two wheeled lovein that's what!
Getting ready to roll

Mike, Me, Grant and Russ at Mike's new place
Mike and Grant on Old Gun
Grant and me
Russ and Grant
Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, it was tasty
All in we pedaled about 20.5 miles

The rest of the photos from Saturday are here.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Sunny Heroes Taken

Taken
Liam Neeson is my favorite new action hero, sure he was the diamond in the rough in Episode One: The Phantom Terrible, but outside of that role I don't know him for his action. Taken is a Commando style plot, meaning the plot exist to film the action. Hell you could call this movie Commando 2 if you like. Dad is a retired spec ops dude, Daughter is kidnapped, Dad flips out and kills tons of bad guys to save her.

My one major complaint about the film is the audio mix. In most films if the volume for speaking is at 5, then the volume for an explosions should be 1o. In Taken every gun, car crash and explosion sounds like it is covered in pillows. Outside of the audio everything else delivers, the hand to hand combat seens authentic, there are a few moments that actually suprised me and it is filmed beautifully.

Heroes
Knowing that a series takes a nose dive after it's first season would you still watch the show? Heroes is that show and I have started to watch the first season keeping in mind what everyone has told me. So far it is a sold storyline, how they screw it up I can't imagine at this point, but my plan is to stop after season 1 regardless. For anyone living under a rock or to thick to pick up on the context clues from the shows title, it is a story about people with super powers. How they come to discover, use and manage those powers is what makes it interesting so far.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Another show that I slept on for the past few years and finally got around to watching. The show is funny as hell and done on what seems like a shoe string budget. Despite the production quality the laughs still come through. I know that Danny Devito joins the cast in season 3 and all I have heard is the show just gets better. I have the second disk of season 1 waiting for me at home, so I will have to watch and find out.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Where the cold at?

It's that time again kids. What time you say. Why, time to catch up on my weekend cycling adventures. Since my last post about January riding, we have rolled over to February and some killer weather. I'm talking shorts weather when it should be bundled up inside with soup weather. Below are some thoughts, photos and miles from the last three weeks...

- The chopped tandem seen below was the creation of a new to Richmond resident by way of Georgia. He was on his way to Carytown to holla at some redneck women. Before he left Re-cycles though he let me roll down the sidewalk on his new ride.

- The river crossing seen below was care of the James River Park system closing the southern Belle Isle bridge with barricades and police tape. So, Grant and I got to forge the river on the rocks. It was not a quick detour, but it was fun despite my fear of slipping in shoes made for clipless pedals.

- Three weeks ago I had not been to a Bill's Barbeque in almost five years and Grant had never been. Three lunches later and we are veterans of the franchise, who enjoy the finer things in life like $2.39 hot sauce poured from a milk jug.

Total January Miles: 69.72 miles

1/31/2009: 13.73 mile Northside to Shockoe Bottom
2/7/2009: 23.26 mile Northside to Riverside Loop
2/14/2009: 14 mile Northside to Fan Loop

Grant on Riverside.
Outside Recycles
Chopped tandem
My ankle on Riverside
Crossing the James
Our new home away from home
Nectar of the Gods

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Healer for Life

I spent the formative years of my WoW youth as a dirty, distracted and dissatisfied DPSer. A Mage to be exact, at times a very good one (BC) and at others just plain bad (MC & BWL). It was easy to be bad though, in 40 man content I could be carried while mashing one button (Frostbolt) and watching TV. When Burning Crusade came out, it was time to shape up or ship out. Raiding spots went from 40 to 25 and no one could be carried like they used to. I learned to play my class and helped lead a moderately successful guild.

I got bored though. Knowing how to play my class wasn't enough. My class was boring. Outside of a few interesting fights in BC there was little to do as a Mage, but just mash buttons again. I ended up taking a seven month break from the game. When I returned it was not to reprise the same role of button presser down at the local factory. My new main is the Shaman that I play today. Life as healer is good, no numbers races, people actively seek you out for groups and you actually have to pay attention.

The last two paragraphs were supposed to be a reflection of why I enjoy healing so much, but it looks like they turned into why DPS is boring. Oh well random thoughts and snippets follow...

PvP/Arena
I know I lamented my role as a healer on an arena team a few weeks ago, but that was before new gear and a new team. Macaroni Machine is still the core healer combo that it was previously, but we have shifted and replaced our DPS. Our new make up is Mage (/w a Boomkin sub), Paladin, Warrior, Hunter and Shaman. It seems to be working out for the most part. We are all well geared, playing for competitive fun and don't yell at each other. The lowest the team ever got was 1491 two weeks ago. Monday night we finished at 1644 and the more we play and learn to communicate it should hopefully get even better.

Lore
I am thirty pages out from the finish of Night of the Dragon, so I won't review it just yet, but I will say that it is frustratingly bad so far. I never really knew what people were complaing about when they talked about Richard Knaak, but now I think I get it. Hopefully Arthas is good.

Progress
I am now known as Samichez the Undying, that is all.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Civil Lycans Cry

Far Cry 2
I have only spent just shy of five hours with this game and I am already living and breathing the world in. Farcry's Africa is so well imagined and immersive that I find myself day dreaming about it even as I write this. Not that it would be pleasant to haul ass around the African bush while being constantly under fire from mercenaries and militants in real life. The experience in a video game though can lead to feelings of "bad assery" or if you like "bad assitude". It is all under pinned by the living world they have built or at least what passes for living at 45 mph in a jeep.

I should note that this game shares almost nothing with the first title. You aren't a flower shirted mercenary on a tropical island fighting aliens that is. Or at least not yet, I'm only five hours in.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
With Kaden on the clock we are trying to get some quality date nights in before the big day. We had planned to see Taken last Friday, but dinner at Da Lat (supah tasty) went longer than planned so our only option was Underworld 3. Where we enjoyed the first two films as guilty pleasures the third in the series just made me feel guilty. The first two films were over the top action, bad acting and good special effects. The newest film is over the top action in a period piece, worse acting and mediocre special effects. I should have known my good will for this series sailed when they changed all the actors except for one and got a new director.

Civilization 4
I have never really played a turn based strategy game before. Listening to the GWJ podcast as of late though, has built a foundation in my mind where a TBS game could build a home. I got close with Sins of a Solar Empire last year around this same time, but that was a game that picked the TBS corpse clean and was moving on. Civ 4 is as pure as it gets, no baking soad, just raw turn taking with a basis in strategy. There is an odd thing about this game though, while a full match might take anywhere from 4-24 hours of time played, the tech stages seem to go so quick. Or at least that is what I tell myself when I have to be cut out of my computer chair after an eight our session.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

One for the Other Hand

After weathering the toughest schedule of any team in the league this season the Steelers came out to do it one last time on Sunday. The emotional roller coaster that was Super Bowl XLIII saw the Steelers up 13 points at one time during the game. The Cardinals rallied though and with 2:37 left in the game they took a three point lead. Big Ben wins games though and did what he has done all season by putting together a last minute drive to win the biggest game for the black and gold.

Before the game on Sunday two MMA stars went toe to toe Saturday night in Vegas. B.J. Penn stepped up a weight class to 170 lbs to challenge George "Rush" St. Pierre for his welterweight belt. The first time the two clashed in 2006 it was a close split decision in GSP's favor. So the rematch to finally answer who was the better fighter was a long time coming. Well Saturday night St. Pierre put all the debate to rest with a steller four round dismantling of Penn. People said Penn would win in the stand up and George worked him over. People said Penn's guard was killer and Rush passed it at will. In the end Penn's corner threw in the towel before the fifth round even started in what I would say is an embarassing way to end a fight for someone who holds a belt already.

Site Watch
I know the post above probably paints me as a violent sport loving mans man, but I have a soft spot for contemporary architecture, furniture and design. I just so happen to have discovered the contemporist which focuses on all of those.

Miles Logged

Books Read

Recently Finished:

The Wise Man's Fear
Dynasty of Evil
100 Bullets Vol. 07: Samurai
Batman: Batman and Son
100 Bullets Vol. 06: Six Feet Under the Gun
100 Bullets Vol. 05: The Counterfifth Detective
100 Bullets Vol. 04: A Foregone Tomorrow
100 Bullets Vol. 03: Hang Up on the Hang Low
100 Bullets Vol. 02: Split Second Chance
30 Days of Night
100 Bullets Vol. 01: First Shot, Last Call
Transmetropolitan Vol. 1: Back on the Street
Uzumaki, Volume 1
Runaways vol. 1: Pride and Joy
The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 2: Dallas
The Umbrella Academy, Vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite
Batman: Hush, Vol. 2
Atomic Robo Vol. 4: Other Strangeness
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