Visiting Family!!

Today I am spending the majority of my time with my family. But first I did my 20 minutes cardio as I'm trying to get back into that routine. I then headed out to visit family, but I had to stop by my local post office to pick up a package that they couldn't leave at my mailbox. At first I thought it was another birthday gift as it was coming from Amazon, but instead it was a car seat that I had purchased a week ago for my nephew. He's at the age and weight where he no longer needs a baby seat and I figure I'll be taking him places so I should get him a "big boy's" seat.

My brother was having a small get together with his friends but I was also visiting my Dad as I haven't seen him in a few weeks. It took me a bit longer then expected.. just over two hours but when I walked in the front door I was greeted by my nephew and niece smiling faces.. they wanted to play.

I immediately started playing with them. They introduced me to their new fish named after them of course and then we started to play cars. About a half hour later Molly wanted to go back down stairs to mom so I took her down. And figured this would be a good time to say hi to Dad and see what he was up to. Dad asked if I wanted to go to lunch, but I said Mike was bbqing hot dogs and burger but Dad wanted to take me out for a birthday lunch and who am I to argue. So we went to P.F. Changs. We had a very tasty lunch and then we drove to Toy's R Us as my Dad wanted to do a bit of shopping for his grandkids.

After shopping we headed back to Mikes and the party was in full swing. I like most of Mikes friends so I sat around and talked with some of them for a few hours. Around 7pm I said my goodbyes and started my journey home. Luckily for me the traffic going home was alot lighter then coming and I was home by 8:30pm.

I jumped on LOTRO for an hour before calling it a night and watching some Simpsons before bed time.

iOS7, Painting & Birthday Gifts

Got up this morning and did my 20 minute cardio. I then continued to try and update my iPhone with IOS7 but again kept getting an error.. after an hour my buddy Robert suggested that I try updating it over wifi. I started to download the new IOS directly to my phone and it would take about three hours as my internet is crap, this meant I couldn't leave my place as I needed to get to Lowes to buy more trim paint as I ran out. Instead I did things around the house to kill time.

The download was finally done and I applied to to my phone and viola it worked. I now have IOS7 on my phone.. of course it's going to take me a while to figure where everything is.. this update is a major change to the IOS system but I like what I have seen so far.

I  did make it to Lowes and purchased more paint stripper for my deck and another gallon of trim paint. When I got home I painted more trim around my house and garage. I think I'm about 99% done. Gonna do one more pass but I think I'm ready for the main painting of the house... woo hoo.

I've set another due date for me and I really need to keep this one. I'm hoping to have all the painting, deck sanded and stained, inside of the house super cleaned and touch up on the walls all done by the end of October so I can finally put my house up for sale by November 1st. I think it's doable and I might even be able to get it done sooner.

I also got another birthday gift in the mail.. this one was from my buddy Josh. He got me the Rankin-Bass "The Hobbit" cartoon. Being a huge Middle Earth fan you would have thought I would have seen this but I'm not sure which of the cartoons I have seen so I'm looking forward to watching this. He also got me Dungeon and Dragons part 1 and 2 on blu-ray... these movies tend to get a lot of flack but I love them.  And he also got me a Star Wars book called Vader's Little Princess.. it's the second book in that series, the first one being Darth Vader and Son. I loved the first one so I can't wait to read the second one. Thanks Josh for the awesome birthday gifts.

"Get Fit" Week 7

This wasn't a great week, especially for working out but that changed on Wednesday (well Thursday really) when some of my friends grouped together and got me a new elliptical for my upcoming birthday. The elliptical was a huge part of my daily workout so it's so awesome to have it back again.

I continue to struggle with food, I can happily say that I only ate out once this week which is pretty big for me. I'm hoping to keeping the eating out/ fast food to once or twice a week. I'll soon have a "bullet" (high speed blender) that my brother is getting me for my birthday and I'll start eating more vegetables as I have found I can drink spinach, broccoli and other veggies much easier then eating them.

I did weight myself this morning like I do every Friday morning. Last week I was at 204lbs and today I am at 202lbs. So I lost two pounds this week... yay!!! I'm hoping with this new elliptical and working out again and pounds will come off a bit faster and I'll get below 200 by next Friday. Wish me luck!!!   

Handyman Kenny

First thing I did this morning was build my new elliptical. I'm fairly handy so I figured I'd get it done in an hour or so... well 2 1/2 hours later I finally finished assembling it. It was like a workout just putting it together but once it was done I jumped on and did my first 25 minute carido workout for the day.

This elliptical is a bit different then my last one but it still kicks my butt and gets my heart racing. I'm so excited to get back into my routine of doing two 20 to 30 minute cardio workouts a day.

Only other thing I did of significance today was continue painting the trim on my garage. This one required me to get on top of my roof and hang over the side. I tried this a month or so ago on my house when it was 100+ degrees outside and almost killed me. So today I waited until around 5pm when it started to cool and I have to say it's so much easier. In the few hours of daylight that I had, I got quite a bit of it done. Should be able to finish tomorrow or the next day and then I can move on to the main body of the house, but for that I'm renting a paint sprayer.

Oh I almost forgot.. I attempted to update my iPhone to IOS 7 but it failed.. I tried several times and got the same results.. it was too late to fight with it so I gave up and will try again tomorrow. It looks cool.. my buddy Robert updated his phone yesterday so I got to see some of the changes last night. Hopefully I can update mine tomorrow.

Surprise!!!

Well as I was leaving to go hang out with buddy Robert today I opened my front door and there was this huge box sitting there. I guess I was in the shower when they delivered it as I didn't hear them knock or ring the door bell.

Of course since it's so close to my birthday I figured it was another birthday gift. I went over to the box and noticed it was an Elliptical. Of course if you're following my blog you know my last elliptical broke and it's been a struggle to find another way for me to get a good cardio workout.

This was the perfect gift for me at the perfect time as I decided that I needed to get a new one and was looking at Goodwill for a used one. I checked out the packing slip to see who it was from and I recognized the name, it was my buddy Aaron. So I texted him and said I got the elliptical and he responded letting me know if was from "The Geek Mob". He said that my friends Robert, Becca, Kim, Anthony, Michelle, Olivia, Dallas, Nicki, Anne, Jes, Brett, Jen, Rupert, Scott and of course Aaron contributed to this group gift. They also had some left over funds so they gave me a "visa" gift card with the remaining balance.

How amazing are my friends, last year they pooled money together to get me a stand up arcade video game of Gauntlet II. And this year it's a much needed exercise machine.

I was heading out so I didn't get a chance to put it together or give it a spin, that will have to wait until tomorrow but I'm super excited to get my carido workouts back on.

Thanks to all who contributed to this gift. It's exactly what I wanted and needed. You all are so amazing and special, couldn't ask for anyone better.

My Review: Prisoners

It's Wednesday which normally means TV night with Robert but tonight instead of TV night we're going to a pre-screening of the new Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal mystery triller movie Prisoners at the Arclight Hollywood.

But before the movie we got to hang out for a few hours. We grabbed some dinner at Chipotle's. We then walked over to Amoeba Records and checked out some DVD's before passing a little resturant that had some yummy looking desserts, which Robert was in the mood for.

After Robert got his giant cookie we got in line for the screening. Since it's PGA (Producer's Guild of America) screening they over book them so you need to get there fairly early to get a seat and a recent one as well.  

I had saw previews of Prisoners and it's not normally my cup of tea but it does have two of my favorite actors and it's free and a pre-screening. Here's a short synopsis of Prisoners; How far would you go to protect your family? Keller Dover is facing every parent's worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street. Heading the investigation, Detective Loki arrests its driver, Alex Jones, but a lack of evidence forces his release. As the police pursue multiple leads and pressure mounts, knowing his child's life is at stake the frantic Dover decides he has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?  

So my review of the movie, I enjoyed it. It was truly a mystery thriller. There was some scenes that were extremely difficult to watch. Lot's of twists and turns. Some of them I saw ahead of time and some took me by complete surprise. The acting is amazing, especially Hugh Jackman as this isn't his typical role. This movie raises the question how would you react if someone you loved was kidnapped. I personally think Hugh's character went way beyond the point of any sane person.

This isn't a movie I could or would watch over and over again. I mean I would watch it from time to time but this isn't my kind of movie to purchase on blu-ray. I give Prisoners a solid B. It did exactly what I expected. Kept me glued to my seat and bouncing back and forth on who did it.

Random Geek Question: Favorite Vehicles

I posted another Random Geek Question on Facebook and Twitter, Which is your favorite "vehicle" in Scifi & Fantasy and Why? Again it's funny which questions really resonates with the readers and which do not.. this one was a huge hit. I got over 30 responses. Some of the more popular choices were TARDIS, Delorean from BBTF, Serenity, Defiant from Deep Space Nine and Bat Mobile. Some of the more interesting ones, Echo 1 from Ghostbusters, Portal Gun from Portal, Moya from Farscape and Alpha fighters from Mospeda. 

As for my favorites I initially said Enterprise D or Speeder Bikes but after seeing what others have said I think my favorite of favorites would have to be Serenity. There is something about that ship that is just magical. But then again Moya is a living ship and I love that about her. There are just so many great vehicles in sci fi and fantasy.

Webseries & Wardrobe

Today was all about GE3K'S Company, started my day with a kink in our photo shoot next month. Unfortunately there was a misunderstanding/miscommunication with the photographer so I'm on the look out for another photographer to help us out. I have a few people in mind so hopefully I'll find someone soon.

I had lunch with Jes who is doing wardrobe as well as being one the three leads. We discussed the wardrobe of each cast member. I want each person to have their own look/style. Afterwards we went back to her place and spent a few hours going through the first four episode scripts and determined how many outfits each person is going to need per episode.

Unfortunately when I got home I realized that Celtx (the program we are using to write the scripts) didn't update on my ipad so we were using older scripts with missing scenes. So I'll need to go back through the scripts and add any addition wardrobe changes to each episode. Decided to only use Celtx online to make sure we are using the most up to date version of the script.

Still have to finish writing season one.. we've gotten 6 of the 10 episode written but we still have time before we start shooting so I'm in no rush. Chris and I know where we want the story to go just need to work on the dialogue. 

Pottermore & Toy Story

Today I decided to jump back on Pottermore as it's been a good six or so months since I was on it last. I did jump on last week for like five minutes during a google hangout and noticed some big changes so I wanted to go back and really check it out.

They really revamped the entire thing. I was one of the few "beta" testers back in the day when it first came out and I have to say they have come a long way. I think my favorite improvement was the "status" bar for each scene. Now you know if you have seen or collected everything in that scene. Before you would find a gold galleon or a chocolate frog but have no idea if you found everything. They added audio book clips to scenes and music and sound effect as well.

I actually started over again with chapter one of the first book to make sure I got everything and I have to say thank goodness I did. I missed so much during my first pass. I went through all three books (what's currently up there) in about four hours. It was alot of fun. I still have to go back and read all the exclusive "J.K. Rowling" added content. I read about half of it but there is so much more.. can't wait to go back and finish it. And I really can't wait until the fourth book comes out.

Pottermore may not be a site I visit everyday but it's fun to go back and check it out from time to time. If you want to add me as a friend please do so.. my user name is FireboltCrimson66

It wasn't all fun and games today.. I did continued my painting of the garage, sanding of the deck and yard work. I got a good amount of work done.... so yay me.

I'm a huge Toy Story fan and was shocked when I came across Toy Story Toons on my TV channel guide. I had never heard of this so I of course I had to recorded it. I also went online to find out more information about it and here is what I found;

Toy Story Toons is a short series based on the Toy Story franchise. The series of shorts take place after the events of Toy Story 3. The first episode, Hawaiian Vacation, was released with the theatrical release of Cars 2. A second episode titled Small Fry was shown with the theatrical release of The Muppets. The third episode, Partysaurus Rex, was released with the theatrical 3D release of Finding Nemo.

Two more shorts are in development, with one of them, called Mythic Rock, being released in 2013. All the episodes are planned to be aired on Disney Channel. Also, two television specials are planned for October 2013 and Spring 2014. The one being released in October 2013 will be a Halloween special and is called Toy Story of Terror.

I remember hearing about Hawaiian Vacation but I had no idea about the others and I love that they are releasing them on TV. So far I've only seen "Small Fry" and it was very cute. I love that they have all the characters original voices and that it's a continuation of the events after Toy Story 3. I can't wait for the rest as well as the Halloween special this year.

D&D and Oreos

Today was all about D&D. After our last session I was a bit hesitant to play. But during the two weeks between sessions we as a group hashed out quite a bit of stuff online. So we are hoping that last sessions heated debates and name calling wouldn't happen again this session.

And I have to say today's session was pretty fantastic... everyone had a great time, we fought skeletons and orcs, rather then with ourselves. We got a bit of money and lots of experience. We moved our story forward and are well on our way to our goal. Thanks everyone for a fun time.

Before D&D today I had to go to Target and pick up some Oreo's.. these aren't your typical yummy Oreo's these are Candy Corn Oreo's and since my friend Sean Becker posted a picture of them last week on Facebook I have wanted to try them.

So I got to D&D and Jen was the only one there, Robert joined us shortly after and I showed them the Oreo's. Robert had tried them earlier that week but Jen who is not a fan of candy corn, was hesitant to try. In the end they were very tasty and very sweet. They tasted like the white and pink frosted covered animal cookies and nothing like candy corn (which I love).

The rest of the gang tried them as well and they must have enjoyed them as I came home with only two cookies left.

Oh I also tried cotton candy grapes. Becca brought them to D&D and I had never heard of them, let alone try them. If you ate them slowly you could taste the cotton candy flavor. Otherwise they tasted like very sweet grapes.. they somehow remove all the sour from them.

So all in all a good night.. had a great time gaming and got to try some unusual foods. Thanks everyone!!!

My Next Tattoo

So my 43rd birthday is fast approaching and you know what that means.. time for another geeky tattoo. I started on my 40th birthday with my Hogwarts Crest then after my 41st birthday I got my R2D2 and then for my 42nd birthday I got the Lord of the Rings. So now I'm turning 43 and it's time to start planning my fourth tattoo.

I know it's going to be Star Trek as that's one of my top five all time loves and I have even had my friend Matt draw this awesome concept of what I am looking for and I was about to go with that when I got a chance to hang out with my friend Greg (Aronowitz) and he asked if he could take a crack at designing my next tattoo and of course I couldn't say no.. I mean I love all of Greg's work and to have an original Greg Aronowitz tattoo on my body would be amazing. So now I wait.. Greg is extremely busy and though my birthday is a week away I don't plan on getting it done in the near future... so I can wait for Greg's concept. If Greg just doesn't have the time then I'll go with Matt's as I love his concept and I think it will make a pretty kick ass tattoo. If that happens Greg can design my fifth tattoo for my 44th birthday :)