Busy Saturday

Today was a busy day.. first thing I did this morning was get online with a group of friends and try and get San Diego Comic Con tickets for some other friends. I mean I already have my own tickets but I wanted to help out some of those who didn't get them last time. It was kind of crazy but in the end we got tickets for everyone who was online and needed them. I manage to get four tickets for friends. I can't wait for this years Comic Con

Lord of the Rings Online is back up!!! Wooohooo!!!! I played for a few hours.. it was bliss.

I've been debating on getting the new iPhone 5 for a while now. I have been eligible for an upgrade from AT&T for almost a year. The only thing holding me back was the new charger. I hate that they changed it over to the smaller connector. I like having many connectors (home, car, work) and now not only do I have to get a new phone I have to buy new connectors. I did consider getting a 4 or 4s as my phone is a 3gs. The 4 16gigs was .99 cent, and the 4s 16gigs was $99. I knew both of those would have been an upgrade from what I have but there was something that kept telling me to go for the 5. I chatted online with my buddy Chris to get his input. We talked it over and I figured I'll be getting the new iPad when it comes out and I'm sure it will also have the new connector so I went online and ordered the new iPhone 5. Now my next dilemma was which one to get, 16gigs, 32gigs or 64gigs. Since I was signing a 2 year agreement I was getting $450 off the phone, which meant I would pay either $199, $299 or $399. I don't use my phone to watch video, I hate watching on the small screen and my current phone is only 8gigs and I've never filled it up so I opted for the 16gigs for $199. I can't wait to get the new phone. Should have early next week.

So I got my insurance paperwork on my new car today. I have Lojack and was told that I would be getting a discount because of that. Well I was shocked at the amount that was taken off my insurance premium because of the Lojack. It was a whopping four dollars a year.. yeah four dollars. I think it cost me more to fill out the form and email it to them. I couldn't believe it. I first thought it was a joke, I mean a $4 discount is nothing and the cost of the Lojack was much much more. But no that is the discount that my insurance company offers. I may be on the lookout for a new insurance company.

I made some cupcakes for a housewarming party I was to attend later in the evening. I mixed two different cake mixes to make Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Swirl cupcakes. I think they turned out very tasty.

Speaking of House warming party I headed out around 4:30pm, I had a few errands to run beforehand. The house party was for my friends Dallas and Jes. I helped them move in a few weeks ago and was looking forward to checking out there place all set up. It was a fun party, they had an Avengers theme. They had masked and we played Ironman, Ironman2, Thor and Captain America in the background. We had yummy snacks, played a game of Cards Against Humanity. Got to hang out with some friends I haven't seen in a while. It was a fun night. Said my goodbyes around midnight and headed home.  You can check out pictures from the party HERE

It was a busy but fun day off.

Meteors, Miles & MMO's

Today I woke up to news that a large meteor hit the Earth's atmosphere over a part of Russia and exploded which caused several sonic booms/explosions that blew out doors and windows. Over 1000 people hurt. And of course in today's age there is a ton of video of it. I spent about an hour watching video after video. Some of the video was just the meteor burning up in the atmosphere causing a very bright light show. But then there were several videos of the explosion sound that set off car alarms and shattered windows. I even found a video of two people in an office when the window exploded next to the guy and force of the explosion through him across the room. These videos are amazing to watch but also very scary.  I mean meteors are always hitting earth but normally they are small enough that they burn up on entry. This one was said to be the size of a small apartment building.

And speaking of meteors we had another one, pass by the Earth. This one was HUGE and luckily it didn't hit us, but it did get closer then any other large meteor has in the past. It actually was closer then the orbit of our own satellites. I watched the live feed as this chunk of rock skipped off our atmosphere and drifted harmlessly into space.

Neither of these incidents were related, but it does make you think about the fact that we are flying through space at a very fast pace with tons of debris hitting us. One day we might not be so lucky.

After only 12 days I have already passed the 1000 miles mark on my odometer. I knew I would put some miles on this new car. That's one reason why I got a very good fuel economy vehicle. Average is said to be 1000 to 1200 miles a month.. I'm hoping to keep mine to 2000 a month.

Lord of the Rings Online MMO is still down :(. It was suppose to be down for only 24 hours for maintenance but it's not going on 48 hours... guess they have been running into problems. I hope they get it back up soon.. I'm really starting to miss it.

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 48

Download from Itunes - tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes, Stitcher Radio ow.ly/hEZUg or listen/ direct download MASH4077Podcast.com

Show Notes

Kenny Mittleider from Knights of the Guild, Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast & Confessions of a Fanboy Podcast, Simon Meddings from Waffle On Podcast, & Al Kessel from Tales from the Mouse House, Fast Forward & Just Because Podcast discuss one of the most successful and longest running television series in history.. M*A*S*H

Today we cover Season 2, Episode #24 - A Smattering of Intelligence

48th Episode Overall
Directed by Larry Gelbart
Written by Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks
Production code K424
Original air date March 2, 1974

Set during the Korean War in the 1950’s

Plot Summary: After a helicopter crash at the 4077 Mobile Army Surgical Hospital the only casualty is the infamous LTC Flagg who is laid up at the 4077th with a broken arm. He reveals that he suspects a security leak in the camp and will be investigating, presenting LTC Henry Blake with a number of aliases and demanding his full cooperation. Meanwhile, Hawkeye and Trapper John meet Trapper's friend Captain Pratt, who is an Army Intelligence officer. Pratt is undercover at the hospital to see what Flagg is up to, claiming Flagg had ordered the helicopter to crash and then broke his own arm in order to "infiltrate" the 4077th. Pratt explains his presence in the camp to Frank Burns by saying that the US Army Engineers are thinking of making MASHs amphibious; Frank reveals his naivete by believing Pratt's story. Pratt also blackmails Henry into cooperating with him. Soon the two spies are after each other, and Hawkeye and Trapper John decide to have some fun by tricking both spies into going after Major Frank Burns, making Pratt believe Burns is a right-wing fascist and making Flagg believe Burns is a left-wing communist.

Hope you enjoy it, Kenny,

My Valentine

Today after work I was going to meet up with my buddy Robert for dinner. Last week Robert asked if I wanted to go out for dinner on Valentine, since we are both single... and of course I said yes.

Valentine's doesn't really effect me much. I mean it's nice to have someone you can share the holiday with but honestly everyday should be valentine's day. Anyways, I got off work at 7pm and headed up the hill to Universal City Walk. Robert was running late due to really bad traffic so I sat in front of the restaurant and people watched. It was tough just sitting there watching all these folks walking by holding hands and kissing.

I have my bouts of loneliness here and there but seeing all these people in Love really got to me. It really made me miss being in Love. It's been over two years since Harry and I broke up and I haven't gone out on a date or been with anyone since.

Well Robert arrived about an hour late and we made our way into the restaurant. Robert really wanted steak so I suggested Tony Roma's. We were seated fairly quickly and were given menus. Of course they were the Valentine "special" menus. I asked if they had their full menus but sadly they did not.

Robert and I spent the next hour enjoying the food and the company. Of course we talked about relationships, work and other geeky things. When we were done we walked over to the movie theater as we wanted to see "Warm Bodies" but the next showing was at 9:50pm and we would be getting out until after midnight. We both leave a half hour to forty five minutes away so it would be a rough morning for work if we did that. So instead we went over to Jillian's to play some video games. But once we were there we found out that you had to purchase a game card, then you could go get tokens for the machines. It was to much of a hassle so we just walked from one end of Citywalk to the other before going up to the food court area and sitting down and just chatting for an hour or so. Around 10:30 we said our goodbyes and I headed home.

It was a fun evening of good food and great company... it was the perfect Bro-Valentine

LOTRO is Down!!!!

So today at 6am EST Lord of the Rings Online went down for a 24 hour maintenance fix. I normally play a little bit before I drive into work (half hour to an hour), and a bit on my lunch if I'm lucky (half hour max) and then when I get home (hour or two).

When I woke up this morning I remembered that the game would be offline and I took it in stride. I told myself that I could handle not playing for the day. I mean I just started playing in December, how hard would it be to stop for the day. Well it's a lot harder then I would have ever expected. Lucky for me it was a really busy day at work so it took my mind off not being able to play... for the most part.

Now I don't know if you can call them withdrawal symptoms but I really missed playing. I miss quickly jumping on and mining for ore for a half hour. I miss immersing myself into Middle Earth. It's crazy.. it's only been 12 hours since I stopped playing the previous night, but I am really missing it.

I knew when I started playing, that I would get addicted to this game. That is why I never started World of Warcraft. But would I call myself an obsessed?? No not really...I mean I still sleep seven hours a night. I come to work for 10 hours and do my job, yes I might play on my break and I do tend to jump on for a few hours at night, but not every night, as I mentioned in previous blogs, playing the game is a great way for me to relieve stress.

I did discover that Lord of the Rings Online has an official tweeter account @LOTRO. For the downtime they did trivia and gave away "in game" points. I answered all the questions correctly but alas I did not win any points.

Lucky for me I have dinner plans today.. so hopefully that will keep my mind off of playing LOTRO.

Work Update

So my job is still an up and down adventure. Just when I think I have everything under control and running smoothly, something happens and everything is turned on it's head. I've decided to not freak out, to take it a day at a time. I mean in the end it's just a job and not worth getting tightness in the chest or stressing out over. Of course I am me so I will continue to stress out but I'm going to constantly be telling myself to calm down, it's not life or death, just breath.

I've worked in the entertainment industry for over 18 years. I know all the BS and stress that goes along with it. Yes I am tired of it but for now I have to accept it and continue moving forward until the opportunity of change is presented to me... let's just hope it's sooner then later :)

Tonight I was at work from 9am to 9pm, it was the longest I have been here since starting this new job... and to be honest 12 hours isn't that bad compared to some of my past jobs. As long as 12 hour shifts aren't the norm I think I'll be okay.

I'll still complain here and there but I am very happy to be employed and I'll stick with this job until they see otherwise.

Lucky for me I find my Lord of the Rings Online MMO playing a great stress reliever.

Stitcher Radio Approved!!

So I got an email today informing me that all five of my podcasts have been added to Stitcher Radio. I'm hoping with this extra platform it will bring more exposure to my podcasts.

Stitcher is an app that you download to your mobile device. It's similar to itunes. You can also listen directly from the website.. just follow the links below.

You can check out all my podcasts at app.stitcher.com Just type in Geekyfanboy in the search box.

Here are the direct links to each of my shows.

My Gimpy Life Podcast  ow.ly/hF0he

Knights of the Guild podcast ow.ly/hEXjY

MASH 4077 Podcast ow.ly/hEZUg

Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast ow.ly/hF04B

Confessions of a Fanboy Podcast http://ow.ly/hF0xk

Thin Mints Are The Best

This is a great way to start my week. I'm a huge fan of Girl Scout Cookies.. especially Thin Mints. One of the editors here at work has a daughter who is selling them and today is the day that they came in. I got five boxes for myself and then two more for my buddy Robert. I really need to find some self control as I ate an entire package (16 cookies) in one day... not good. I plan on freezing some and making them last for at least a few months.

Another Lazy Sunday... kind of

Woke up today determined to finish my next MASH 4077 podcast. I was up early around 7am and I jumped right in. As I was doing my podcast I started doing laundry. It has built up over the past month or so. You think having a washer and dryer in my house I would do it more often.. but no that's not the case. While editing my buddy Chris popped online and I mentioned playing some Lord of the Rings Online as we haven't been able to play together for a few weeks. Of course he was all for it so we planned to play a little after I finished my MASH podcast.

A few hours into editing and on my second load of laundry my washer started making some crazy beeping sounds. I went to check it out and my clothes were sitting in a foot of water and the machine is not running. Yeah my washer is broken. There are a ton of dirty closes all over the laundry room and kitchen, I only manage to get one load done which was currently drying in the drier. I didn't have time to play around with it so I left it for the time being and went back to editing my podcast.

I finished around 12:30pm and uploaded it to podbean.. MASH 4077 #48 is now ready to be released on February 15th.

I told Chris I was ready for some LOTRO and started up the game. We played about three hours when I realized was a starving, my computer also decided to stop working so we took a break. I grabbed some food and also pulled my wet clothes out of my broke washer.

Played for another four hours for a total of seven hours.. it was fantastic. As I have mentioned playing LOTRO is a great stress reliever. And playing with my best friend in a world that I adore is nothing but win win.

Afterwards I made some dinner, I also rung out all my wet clothes enough so that I could put them in the drier.

Finished the night by watching a bit of TV. Got a podcasts done and played one of my favorite games with one of my favorite people... yeah it was a good Sunday.

Alien Nation: The Newcomers Podcast Ep13

Download from itunes bit.ly/itunesAlienNation or  Listen, get a Direct Download Aliennationpodcast.com 

Show Notes

Brothers Kenny and Michael Mittleider review and discuss a short lived but very socially aware TV series from the late 80's early 90's ALIEN NATION. Each podcast we will review a single episode in sequential order starting with the Pilot. Will give you our thoughts on the episode as well as some fun behind the scenes information.

Today we cover Season 1, Episode 13 - Spirit Of '95
Directed by Harry Longstreet
Written by Tom Chehak
Original air date January 15th 1990

Plot Summary: Susan and Buck decide to become heavily involved in politics, as an amendment to the constitution which guarantees equal rights for Newcomers is soon to be voted on throughout the land.

A series of attacks is launched on campaign headquarters and important Newcomers are involved in the ongoing struggle, resulting in a growing sympathy for the Tenctonese. Everyone blames the Purists, but Sikes and George aren't so easily convinced. In the meantime, Sikes, who has been drafted as the leader of his building's tenant association, learns of the necessity of the democratic system, even on such a basic level.

Hope you enjoy it,
Kenny & Michael