Random Geek Question: Time Travel

So I posted another Random Geek Question on Facebook and Twitter... I asked, If you could time travel, would you go to the past, future or an alternate dimension? I got a few responses, one was "Past just to visit favorite parts of my childhood." Another friend said "Mesozoic Era... Gotta see me some live dinosaurs." I got several "Future, for various reasons" and I got one person who chose alternate dimension with the response "alternative time line. Probably at age 10 to see how an accident I had would have been if worse."

Some good answers and I thank the handful of friends who responded. It's funny with these questions I can get 30 to 40 responses and sometimes I only get 4 or 5. Not sure what makes a question more popular then others.. I guess it could be when I post it and when folks see it online. Oh well I think they are fun and I'll continue to post more Random Geek Questions.

If you would like to answer this one please leave your response in the comments below... Thanks.

Lord of the Rings Animated Spoof

Several of my friends America, Dove and Eric along with some of their friends made this awesome and very funny spoof video "The Ownership of the Ring".. it combines Lord of the Rings, The People's Court & The Ring. It's pretty awesome so check it out..

"Get Fit" Week 6

So the struggle continues, it's now my sixth week and I feel like I haven't accomplish anything. I think with the breaking of my elliptical it put me back to square one. I was determined to get in several good cardio workouts everyday and I was doing it.. I lost like 7 pounds in the first week alone, but after it broke I have struggled to not gain weight. I've tried various other "cardio" workouts but I don't stick with them as they hurt my knees and ankles. With the elliptical it was all low impact on my joints so I could do it for longer periods of time with no issues. Even though I can't afford it I'm thinking of buying a new elliptical that way I can get back on track to losing this weight.

Of course I know that working out is only part of the equation, eating right is the other part. And I'm doing better. I'm slowly... very slowly changing my eating habits. I knew it wasn't going to be over night. I knew it would take me months and months to change. This isn't some short term thing it's a life changing event and it's going to take time. 

I wasn't able to lose last weeks gain of two pounds but I did manage to lose one of them, I'm currently at 204 lbs

It's a struggle everyday and I want to thank all those who encourage me, with your guys support I'm sure I can lose these unwanted pounds and keep them off.

A Day At Disneyland

So I needed a break from the world today and since I already have a season pass I decided to head to Disneyland. Joining me was my buddy Brett. Since I crashed at Robert's last night it only took me about an hour to get there. I got to the park a little after nine and met up with Brett at the shuttle area. We had planned to go to DCA (Disney California Adventure) but it didn't open until 10am and it was 9:30 when we got through security. So instead we decided to go to Disneyland first and luckily we did as the park closed at 5pm because they are preparing to Halloween the place up as tomorrow is the first day of the Halloween season at Disneyland.

First up was of course Star Tours, no matter who I go to Disneyland with we always seems to agree to go on Star Tours first. After Star Tours we headed over to Space Mountain but as we expected it was closed (for the Halloween refit) so we headed over to Buzz Lightyears Astro Blasters. After that we grabbed a Corn dog for a late breakfast. We then rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones Ride, Tea Cups and Finding Nemo Submarines. While in line at the Nemo Subs one of the cast members saw me in my Mike Wazowski hat and as most folks do he made a comment, we banter back and forth for a minute and then he said I deserved this and handed me a button "Honorary Citizen of the Disneyland". Come to find out that they don't hand these out to often.. so that was cool. After the Subs we went over to Autotopia before getting on the train and heading to the front of the park.

It was time to head over to California Adventures. First ride we did was my favorite at that park Tower of Terror, then we rode Radiator Springs Racers. We did the single rider line but as luck would have it we got in the same car. After racers we did Toy Story Midway Mania, it's another favorite of mine and it's normally over an hour wait but I think we waited like 20 minutes or so. After Midway we had some Mexican food which was just okay and kind of made me not feel so well. We sat around the Pier area for a bit to let me stomach rest. An hour later I was ready to go but wanted to take it easy so we jumped on The Little Mermaid ride then did Goofy Sky School. Next was Symphony Swings, then the Ferris Wheel and by this time Screaming was open so we got in line for that. Again lines weren't to bad all day.

We then went on Soaring over California, this is not a ride I do that often so that was fun. We then did Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, which Brett had never done... it's actually a really fun ride. We then debated on doing Luigi's Flying Tires. This was the longest line we stood in the entire day and I haven't really enjoyed the ride since they removed the beach balls but with Brett's help we really got our tire moving and it actually turned out to be a lot of fun. And for our final ride of the day was Monster's Inc ride. Again the line was long for this one but we figured since Disneyland was now closed, everyone was coming over to DCA.

It was now 7pm and we were tired.. we rode 20 rides in a matter of 9 1/2 hours... not a bad day. It was great just hanging with Brett enjoying the magic that is Disney. 

I got home around 9pm and instead of picking up some fast food dinner (which was my plan) I actually made me a sandwich for dinner and went to bed around 10pm.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

In between episodes of Babylon 5 Robert asked me if I knew my Myers Briggs code. I had never heard of Myers Briggs up to a few weeks ago when my group of friends started talking about it. I told him I didn't know what this was so I looked it up HERE. Now before anyone goes all crazy on me I know that this isn't the really long test for Myers Briggs, this was just a quick shorten way of finding out what "code" you are. So I read everything and picked which one best represented me as I am today and my Myers Briggs code is INFJ (Introverted, iNtuition, Feeling, Judging). So I looked up what INFJ type indicator meant and read this.. and I have to say it's about 95% correct.

The Protector

As an INFJ, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you take things in primarily via intuition. Your secondary mode is external, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.

INFJs are gentle, caring, complex and highly intuitive individuals. Artistic and creative, they live in a world of hidden meanings and possibilities. Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types.

INFJs place great importance on havings things orderly and systematic in their outer world. They put a lot of energy into identifying the best system for getting things done, and constantly define and re-define the priorities in their lives. On the other hand, INFJs operate within themselves on an intuitive basis which is entirely spontaneous. They know things intuitively, without being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at hand. They are usually right, and they usually know it. Consequently, INFJs put a tremendous amount of faith into their instincts and intuitions. This is something of a conflict between the inner and outer worlds, and may result in the INFJ not being as organized as other Judging types tend to be. Or we may see some signs of disarray in an otherwise orderly tendency, such as a consistently messy desk.

INFJs have uncanny insight into people and situations. They get "feelings" about things and intuitively understand them. As an extreme example, some INFJs report experiences of a psychic nature, such as getting strong feelings about there being a problem with a loved one, and discovering later that they were in a car accident. This is the sort of thing that other types may scorn and scoff at, and the INFJ themself does not really understand their intuition at a level which can be verbalized. Consequently, most INFJs are protective of their inner selves, sharing only what they choose to share when they choose to share it. They are deep, complex individuals, who are quite private and typically difficult to understand. INFJs hold back part of themselves, and can be secretive.

But the INFJ is as genuinely warm as they are complex. INFJs hold a special place in the heart of people who they are close to, who are able to see their special gifts and depth of caring. INFJs are concerned for people's feelings, and try to be gentle to avoid hurting anyone. They are very sensitive to conflict, and cannot tolerate it very well. Situations which are charged with conflict may drive the normally peaceful INFJ into a state of agitation or charged anger. They may tend to internalize conflict into their bodies, and experience health problems when under a lot of stress.

Because the INFJ has such strong intuitive capabilities, they trust their own instincts above all else. This may result in an INFJ stubborness and tendency to ignore other people's opinions. They believe that they're right. On the other hand, INFJ is a perfectionist who doubts that they are living up to their full potential. INFJs are rarely at complete peace with themselves - there's always something else they should be doing to improve themselves and the world around them. They believe in constant growth, and don't often take time to revel in their accomplishments. They have strong value systems, and need to live their lives in accordance with what they feel is right. In deference to the Feeling aspect of their personalities, INFJs are in some ways gentle and easy going. Conversely, they have very high expectations of themselves, and frequently of their families. They don't believe in compromising their ideals.

INFJ is a natural nurturer; patient, devoted and protective. They make loving parents and usually have strong bonds with their offspring. They have high expectations of their children, and push them to be the best that they can be. This can sometimes manifest itself in the INFJ being hard-nosed and stubborn. But generally, children of an INFJ get devoted and sincere parental guidance, combined with deep caring.

In the workplace, the INFJ usually shows up in areas where they can be creative and somewhat independent. They have a natural affinity for art, and many excel in the sciences, where they make use of their intuition. INFJs can also be found in service-oriented professions. They are not good at dealing with minutia or very detailed tasks. The INFJ will either avoid such things, or else go to the other extreme and become enveloped in the details to the extent that they can no longer see the big picture. An INFJ who has gone the route of becoming meticulous about details may be highly critical of other individuals who are not.

The INFJ individual is gifted in ways that other types are not. Life is not necessarily easy for the INFJ, but they are capable of great depth of feeling and personal achievement.

Presents & Babylon 5

Today is Wednesday so that meant I was going over to Roberts for TV night.. but before that I stopped by my mailbox to pick up mail and noticed that I had a rather large package from Amazon. Of course my first thought was "it must be my first birthday gift" as my birthday is coming up (Sept 23rd) and I always have an updated birthday wish list on Amazon.

So I opened the package in the car and was delighted to see Three's Company DVD season 1 staring back at me. I notice that the box was pretty big for just one DVD season so I pulled out another and another and another until I had all eight seasons of Three's Company. My buddy from Canada Ken Todd sent me all eight seasons of this fantastic classic TV series. I was so excited. I can't wait now to sit down and do a marathon of this series and laugh my ass off. Thanks Ken for the awesome birthday gift. 

I then headed to Roberts for TV night. We are continuing out Babylon 5 first time viewing. Tonight we started with S2 Ep3 "The Geometry of Shadows" Vir fixes Londo's hair as Londo and Refa scheme. Techno-Mages arrive on the station which is sign of foreboding. The command staff learns that the Green Drazi and Purple Drazi have a global brawl every 5 years to determine the Drazi leadership for the next 5 years. When Ivanova attempts to resolve the conflict, she learns that the distinction between the two colors of Drazi is totally random. Right before the brawl, the Drazi draw a colored sash out of a barrel and join that colored faction. One sash of each color has a leader pendant tied to it; whoever draws that pendant becomes the leader of that color of Drazi.

This was an enjoyable episode. Again as I have mentioned before I'm not really liking where Londo's character is going.. he's defiantly turning to the darkside.  The Drazi stuff was fun..kind of showed you how stupid people can be when they do or believe in something for no reason, just because they were were taught or grew up that way. These aliens grab a green or purple scarf from a barrel and then all of the sudden they are mortal enemies and fight until one group wins and then the do it again five years later. These is no reason for the fighting, there are no differences.. it's just what they do. Oh and by the way I really love the term Techno-Mages

Next was S2 Ep4 "A Distant Star" Capt. Maynard, an old war buddy of Captain Sheridan's. Maynard's arrival prompts Sheridan to realign his priorities --- and then disaster strikes. On other fronts, Delenn runs afoul of the Mumbari hierarchy, while Dr. Franklin tries to administer nutritional advice to some unwilling patients. The episode concludes with a desperate rescue mission, launched from hyperspace.

Again a story that as pretty much a filler episode like the one before.. there was a bit of story about the Shadow and the forthcoming war. We get to see a different side of Sheridan, and for some reason the doctor is going crazy with diets for the crew, if anything it leads to some very funny scenes.

Third episode of the night was S2 Ep5 "The Long Dark" A cryonic exploration vessel from a hundred years ago approaches Babylon 5, bringing with it a deadly creature and a human from the past. A lunatic named Amis (Dwight Schultz) begins making grand assertions of doom; when Garibaldi investigates his past, he discovers that Amis was a decorated combat veteran. Garibaldi takes an interest in Amis, and asks him to explain his story. Amis explains that when his unit was attacking a remote enemy base, they came across a ghostlike alien that began feeding on his men.

This was probably my least favorite of this crop of episodes... though I do enjoy a crazy Dwight Schultz. The relationship between the Doctor and the surviving woman of that ship was very forced. She literally found out that her husband had died an hour before making a play for the doctor. Of course later in the episode she justifies it as they're marriage was rocky to begin with.  Which really didn't make sense since he did go with her on this deep space mission. The episode was fine.. nothing great and no talk of the Shadow war.

And the final episode of the evening was S2 Ep 6 "A Spider in the Web" A friend of Talia comes to Babylon 5 to negotiate a deal to help Mars become more self-sufficient, when a man calling out "Free Mars!" electrocutes him. The mystery deepens as we find out more about this assassin.

This is what I was waiting for.. this was my favorite episode of the night and a great way to end the evening. There wasn't much talk of the Shadow war but it did delve deeper into the corruption of the government on Earth. Lot's of good stuff happened in this episode. Also the continuation of this "Free Mars" storyline that's been going on in my background for most of this series.

So over all not to many "OMG" that was amazing episodes tonight but still all were very entertaining and I can't wait to continue.  And of course the best part of the evening was spending time with my best bud Robert.. after the crappy morning I had it was nice to relax, watch some great TV with my best friend. I did wind up crashing at Robert's tonight as I'm heading over to Disneyland tomorrow and he's place is an hour closer then mine.

Rough Morning & R.G.Q.: Favorite Alien

Today didn't start off so great. Been having issues with my unemployment insurance lately. Besides getting close to running out, a few days ago I got a call saying I missed a mandatory meeting and to call them back to reschedule. Well I called back and the phone just rang and rang and rang.. this was on Friday. So I figured half day or something and I would call back on Monday. So on Monday I got up first thing and called them. The person who I needed to talk to must have been on the other line as I got her answering machine so I left all my info and waited all day for a return call.. it never happened. On Tuesday I got a letter informing me of my suspension of insurance. I now have to fill out this form and explain why I missed the meeting and if they deem my answer valid then they will reschedule the appointment and continue with my unemployment insurance until it runs out. The reason I missed the meeting was that I never received the letter informing me of this "important" mandatory meeting. I don't know if they deem that as acceptable or not. So I may no longer get my unemployment insurance.. which sucks. I sent in the form so now I just have to wait and see.

But this news and me checking my bank account balance and my ever growing credit card balance I started to have a panic attack. Not a little mini one that I have time to time.. this was a full blown mental breakdown freak out. I spent the next few hours pacing the house, racking my brain over what I can sell and what I can do next. I'm not finding any viable post supervisors or co-coordinator jobs out there. Do I say screw it and take a job at a movie house or department store? Would I make enough to cover all my debt.. no. I'm totally at a loss.

Luckily for me it only lasted about three hours as I was finally able to gathered my senses and take control of my surroundings and managed to pull out of the attack... still stressed out of my mind (and I think that's causing me to have an ulcer, that's another story) but I'm going to take this one day at a time.. it's all I can do.

After this morning the rest of the day was pretty good and the night was even better. I posted another Random Geek Question on Facebook and Twitter: Who or What is your favorite Alien and Why. Folks liked this one I got about 30 or so responses. Lots of aliens from Star Trek, like Spoke, Q and Klingons. But I also got several of the alien from Farscape. Several folks said The Doctor from Doctor Who. And I even had one person say Alf and Mork (two of my favorites). It was a good mix of alien races and specific aliens. Thanks to everyone who participated and if you want to add your favorite alien to the list please leave that in the comment section below.

Alien Nation & My Gimpy Life Podcasts

I released two podcast episodes today.. one was for my Alien Nation The Newcomers Podcast and my second was for My Gimpy Life Podcast. Check out the info and links below.

Alien Nation The Newcomers Podcast Episode 20

Download from itunes http://bit.ly/itunesAlienNation Listen on Stitcher Radio http://app.stitcher.com/browse/feed/32281/episodes or Listen/ Get Direct Download http://Aliennationpodcast.com 

Show Notes

Kenny and special co-host Doug 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 20 - Gimme, Gimme

Directed by David Carson
Written by Diane Frolov & Andrew Schneider
Original air date April 9th 1990

Plot Summary: After George invests his money into a new revolutionary fabric, Nu-Knit, one of the creators is murdered. Matt and George investigate this crime and discover some disturbing information about the new company. George also discovers that the company has a connection with another member of his family. Matt sells Albert one of his scratch off lottery tickets and Albert wins the big prize. Albert shares his wealth with Matt and Matt learns sometimes it is better when your dreams do not come true.

My Gimpy Life Podcast Episode 12

I got to sit down with creator and star of My Gimpy Life Teal Sherer and discuss the upcoming season, returning cast members and over all story structure.

Download from itunes http://ow.ly/lFKrg Listen on Stitcher Radio http://ow.ly/lFKe8 or Listen/ Get Direct Download http://mygimpylifepodcast.com/

Podcasts, Finances & R.G.Q: Favorite Sidekick

First thing I did this morning was finish my edit of the next Alien Nation Podcast. I think it turned out to be a pretty good episode. Of course the chemistry between my brother and I is different from Doug and I but Doug sounded like a natural podcaster.  We might be doing a joint project very soon.

I continued with podcasting work as I prepared notes for our upcoming MASH 4077 Podcast recording. We record six episodes four or five times a year, but I have to prepare all the show notes. It's just a matter of scouring the interwebs looking for the best behind the scenes info per episode. Sometimes it's fairly easy to find four or five things for an episode, other times it's next to impossible and I barely find one noteworthy BTS. It normally takes me a good two hours to gather all the info for the notes. After I'm done I share them with my co-hosts Meds and Al. Meds then goes through the guest stars and writes down a little background information on each one. Lot's of prep work for this show but in the end it sounds great and folks seems to really be enjoying it and that makes all the work worth it.

After that I moved onto Geekyfanboy Productions. I have this accounting excel spreadsheet that keeps track of all my spending as well as donations that I receive. I have been slacking as of late and haven't been adding expenses or donations so I spent a good two hours going over it and making sure it was all up to date.

I've been podcasting for over 4 and a half years now and have spent over $10,000 on podcasting alone. As I've always said Podcasting is an expensive hobby. But with that said I have also been fortunate enough to have some amazing listeners and friends who have donated to the podcasts over the years to offset my expenses. I would probably still do the podcast even if I didn't get donations but they help... alot. I recently got hit with three of my podbean services (podcast provider) coming up for a renewal as well as two of my URL's needing renewal for a total over $400.... ouch!!  When you're broke and out of work it's tough justifying paying for those things and not eating but luckily I put the call out a few days ago and I've received donations to cover half of that cost so far... so thanks guys.

I posted another Random Geek Question on Twitter and Facebook: Who's your favorite Sidekick and why. I guess it was either to hard of a question or folks did not like it as I only got a handful of responses. First was Willow from Buffy, I also got Gabrielle from Xena, Arthur from The Tick, Archie Goodwin (Nero Wolfe's), and Moist from Dr. Horrible. And my friend Michael said Kick Ass as Hit Girl is really the star.

I think my favorite sidekick would be Willow, she grew so much over the Buffy series and really become such a huge part of the Scooby gang. Who is your favorite sidekick? Leave it in the comments below.

Star Trek & Random Geek Question: Favorite Heroine

Highlights of today.. I started editing the next Alien Nation Podcast. I really wanted to get it all done but I struggled with laziness. I think in the end laziness won out but I did manage to get about half of the editing done. I'll have to finished up tomorrow as it's due to be released the next day.

Today is Star Trek's 47th Anniversary. 47 years ago today this new science fiction program premiered on NBC and would forever change the geek culture. It only lasted 3 years but it would go on to spawn five more TV series (Animated, TNG, DS9, VOY & ENT) and 10 movies. It has now been rebooted and their have been two more movies with another on the horizon. Star Trek is a pop culture phenomenon and is showing no signs of slowing down or going away. Happy 47th Anniversary Star Trek... here's to 47 more years.

I asked another Random Geek Question on Facebook and Twitter.. Who is your favorite kick ass geek heroine and why? I got a great number of responses. As expected Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ripley from the Alien movies were on the top of the list, but I did get a wide range of other names like River Tam and Zoe from Firefly, Gabriella from Xena, Wonder Woman and Starbuck from the new BSG. I got several Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series, got an Aeryn Sun from Farscape. Someone said all the women from Once Upon a Time and Willow from Buffy. I even got a few comic book characters like Kitty Pryde and Rogue from The X-Men.

As you can see there are quite a few kick ass heroine's out there. When I asked the question, the ladies that I thought of were of course Buffy but also Leeloo from Fifth Element and River Tam. Who is your favorite kick ass heroine?? Let me know in the comments below.

I spent four hours tonight on You Tube... I went to watch one thing and saw a link to another and then another and the next thing I knew it was midnight and I sat there watching videos for four hours.. talk about a time sucker.

Podcasts, Gaming and More

I had a very productive day today.. I worked on sanding my deck for a half hour, played some LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online) and cleaned up the kitchen. I put a call out there for a green screen and several folks came to my rescue. So now I have one for our GE3K'S Company photo shoot on Saturday October 5th.

I recorded the next episode of my Alien Nation Podcast. My brother's family are all sick so he wasn't able to make it over here today and it's due to be released in a few days so I put the call out there for a co-host and my buddy Doug responded. He's also the person who loaned me his green screen.

The recording went off with out a hitch. We did as my brother and I normally do, watch the episode and then record the podcast for that episode.  We only did the one episode as my brother should be able to join me for the rest.

For dinner I was going to head out and pick up Taco Bell (really had the urge for it, I haven't had it in a good month or so), in fact I was in my car and already five minutes down the road when I stopped, turned around and decided that I had everything at my house to make some burritos. Of course they aren't as tasty as Taco Bell's but they were cheaper and less fattening. I was very proud of myself, my will power may have been delayed a bit but all the matter is that I didn't give in to it... this time :)

Chris introduced to me to Minecraft and I played for a few months until he introduced me to LOTRO last December and that is all I play now. But during Chris' recent visit he was watching some videos of these British guys who became really popular within the Minecraft universe. They record themselves playing video games and are very funny and charismatic. I found out that they have quite a few videos on You Tube with millions of views. So I started at the beginning and I've watched about 20 of them of far. They are some of the most entertaining guys I've seen in a while... I'm defiantly addicted. If you want to check them out they are Simon and Lewis and are part of the "Yogscast" It's pretty amazing, they started off with just a few videos now they have this huge online empire.. you can check out their main website HERE.

So all in all a pretty good day.. got some work done, got some cleaning done and have a bit of fun.

Requesting Donations

So I just got hit with some pretty big fees for Podbean (my podcasting provider) and my URL's. If you're enjoying any of my podcasts and are able to donate a little something to help me out I'd really appreciate it. Just use the link below... Thanks for your continued support

So my Geekyfanboy Production Donation button doesn't seem to be working yet.. so instead you can use this LINK and make a donation there. This is for my Knights of the Guild podcast but it all goes to the same place.. Just put in the amount you want to donate in "Item Price" and hit update. Then sign in and finish the transaction.. piece of cake.. Thanks

Just Another Day...

Today I didn't do much around the house.. after my disappointing weight gain I went out and actually did a half hour workout with my weights. I also jumped rope for 15 minutes to get my heart rate going, though it was murder on my knees and ankles.

I did do a bit of deck sanding, every time I go out there it looks so daunting but if I just do bit by bit in time it will all be done.

During the evening I did a Google hang out with my buddy Chris.We were joined but several friends. The conversation turned to Harry Potter and Pottermore. It's been a good six months or so since I logged into Pottermore and I was surprised at all the changes.. gonna have to take some time to go back through it and check them all out. While we were chatting I also logged another box of toys... Again a very daunting task but one box at a time and it will get done.

New TV Series - FanAddicts!

As many of you know I'm a huge collector of movie and TV action figures and memorabilia, so when I saw commercials for this new TV series on the Reelz Channel I had to check it out. It's called FanAddicts! Here's a quick synopsis: "You think you’re a movie fan? Wait until you meet the FanAddicts!. Get inside the minds of those who simply cannot stop adding to their incredible movie memorabilia collections. With homes and storage lockers overflowing with the some of the most fascinating collections ever, they persist in the never ending quest for more. Learn why the collection has become such an obsession. What motivates them to do this? Do they ever sell anything? What are these things worth?  We'll see memorabilia from Harry Potter, Superman, Star Wars, E.T., James Bond, Star Trek, The Wizard of Oz and more, and these super fans will find out just how much money their obsession is worth.

They aired two episodes last week back to back. First one was a fan of Harry Potter, this guy is in the Guinness World Record book for having he most Harry Potter items, I think it's over 1000. It was a really good story about an 11 year old troubled kid who's grandmother gave him the first Harry Potter book when he was being grounded. He says HP saved his life and made him into the man he is today. Of course I was just entering my 30's when Harry Potter caught my attention with the first movie. I guess his experience with Harry Potter was kind of like my experience with Star Wars, being only 6 when the first movie came out (life changing). The second episode was about a fan of Superman. This guy was a bit more socially awkward. He actually portrays Superman down on Hollywood Blvd. He choose his collection over his marriage. You can love something and be obsessed about it but once it starts interfering with your "real" life then that's when I think you have a problem.

What I enjoyed about the series is that they don't make fun of the collectors. They portray them as passionate fans who love to collect things. I mean the Harry Potter collector loved all things Potter but it didn't cause chaos in his life, in fact it saved his life... unlike the Superman collector.

But tonight's episode is my favorite by far and it was about two different collectors of Star Trek stuff. The first guy is a pretty wealth guy who is also a Star Trek fan. About seven years ago the Christie's Auction house and Paramount sold off a ton of Star Trek set piece, models, uniforms and everything else they had in storage. Well this guy was there and purchased a ton of models. That's the bulk of his collection. He had quite a few of the big ticket items like the working model for Deep Space Nine. He said that these ships were in bad shape when he got them and he had to do alot of restoration to bring them back to prime condition. But the bulk of his story is when he purchased the full size shuttle craft Galileo from the original series for a whopping $70,000, but when he got it, it was a huge mess so he spent countless dollars restoring it. In the end he wound up donating it to NASA where it will be on display for everyone to see. It was an pretty amazing story and even brought me to tears.

The second story in this episode was another Star Trek fan but this guy was more your average collector... he just had alot of things. He's the type that would buy the same figure five times to get every color variant of the weapons... yeah I'm not that bad. He also built Captain's Kirks chair from the bridge of the Enterprise and they show him donating his time and his chair for photo ops for charity.

What I really liked about this particular episode, besides it being about Star Trek. They show these guys, who might be a bit obsessed with Star Trek collecting but they are doing good in this world with it.

So if you're a geek and ever collected anything, please check out this series.. it's always airing on Reelz and showing repeats all the time just check your listings.

"Get Fit" Week 5

So this week was a bust as I expected it to me. My buddy Chris was visiting for Labor Day weekend (4 days) and I went to two Picnics. I didn't eat properly and I didn't workout as much as I should have. I'm not using Chris as an excuse, I chose not to workout, I chose not to eat better..  I know I failed this week..  After Chris left I was kind of depressed (always happens when he leaves) so I wasn't motivated to do anything and the scales had proof of my failure. I weighted myself this morning and I'm currently 205. Last Friday I was 203 so I gained 2 pounds. All I need to do is refocus and get back on track. I'm hoping by next Friday I can lose those 2 pounds and get back on track to getting below 200 by the end of September.

LOTRO, Deck Work and RGQ: Fav Cartoon

Woke up this morning and jumped on LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online) to get my daily Hobbit gift and surprise, surprise.. they have begun the Farmers Faire Festival. I spent the next four hours (it felt like ten minutes) finishing up all the quests. I played it with all four of my characters to get as many Bounder Bounties (another new things to collect). I did manage to finally pull myself away from my computer to work on other things around the house... like my deck.

I went to Lowes to purchase some paint stripper thinking that this would be easier then trying to sand it all down. It somewhat works but still requires alot of elbow grease, it wasn't the easy fix I was hoping it would be. I worked on the deck for about an hour before coming inside and inventorying a few more boxes of action figures.

I posted another Random Geek Question: This time I asked...What was your favorite cartoon growing up & why? Not to many commented on Twitter but we got a really good conversation going on Facebook. It's funny because of all the different age differences, folks favorites varied from Wacky Racer (1968) to Muppet Babies (1984) to Dexter Laboratory (1996) and everything in between. I think I've seen about 2/3d's of the series that folks said was their favorites. Alot of people couldn't just give me one or two or three.. they gave me lists of favorites. :)

As for me, my favorites growing up in the 70's were Super Friends, George of the Jungle, Super Chicken, Josie and the Pussycats, Loony Tunes and of course Scooby Doo. But I watched cartoons well into my teens and for that matter I still love watching cartoons even today.. Ones that I loved from my teens, Gummi Bears, Snorks, Smurfs, Muppet Babies, Star Wars Droids & Ewoks and Dungeon & Dragons.

So many great cartoons when I was growing up... I watch today's cartoons and honestly they are pretty horrible, with a few exceptions of course. They're nothing like the classics from the 70's and 80's

Babylon 5 First Time Viewing Continues

It's been in the hundreds this week but I did manage to get outside and do a bit of deck work with the hand sander. Though the deck was sanded with a deck sander there is still alot of work to be done on it. It's going to take me a while to finish it.

Since today is Wednesday it's TV night with Robert. We missed last week but we weren't going to miss this weeks. We continued with our Babylon 5 first time viewing. We started our night with S1 Ep 20 "Babylon Squared" Babylon 4 reappears at the same place it disappeared four years before, and Sinclair and Garibaldi lead an expedition to evacuate its crew. Meanwhile Delenn is summoned by the Grey council. They inform her that they have selected a new leader— her.

This was a HUGE episode.. lots of information was given to us. Lot's of set up for what's to come. I love episodes like these where they finally answer a ton of questions but then leave with you more questions then answers. I knew it was Sinclair in the spacesuit!!

We opted to not order in food but instead Robert made some very tasty sausage curry. 

We then moved on to S1 Ep 21 "The Quality of Mercy" Dr. Franklin investigates an unlicensed medical practitioner in Downbelow, while Londo takes Lennier for a tour of Babylon 5's seedier locales. And in the brig, a convicted murderer waits for his sentence to be carried out — the death of personality.

Another great episode, it was a departure from the main story arc but a very enjoyable episodes.. had lots of laughs with Londo and Lennier but had some serious heart with Dr. Franklin storyline. Very well done.

We finally came to the end of Season One with Ep 22 "Chrysalis" The Centauri are about to withdraw from a quadrant of space because the Narns are harassing them, when Londo gets an offer to take care of the problem. Meanwhile Garibaldi tries to find out what his informant stumbled upon that got him killed.

Not liking where Londo's character is going, he has to know that the guy who is offering him help is bad news. The death of the president was huge and the the unknown fate of Garibaldi made for a great cliffhanger. Also Delenn changing. Of course I already knew this was going to happen as I've seen pictures but I like how it's integrated into the bigger overall story arc.

Our night continued with the start up of Season 2 with Ep 1 "Points of Departure" Captain John Sheridan takes command of Babylon 5 after Sinclair is reassigned; a rogue Minbari warship is on the loose in hyperspace; and the truth behind the end of the Minbari War is revealed.

Big changes this season... again I knew about this already so it wasn't a big surprise that they got rid of Captain Sinclair and replaced him with Captain Sheridan. I'm a huge fan of Bruce Boxleitner. And we get even more info about the Minbari war and why it ended. I loved that twist and didn't see that coming. I think vice president, now president is a bad guy.. guess will have to wait and see.

And our final episode of the night was S2 Ep 2 "Revelations" Franklin takes extreme measures to save Garibaldi; Delenn emerges from her chrysalis; Sheridan's sister arrives for a visit; Londo's dealings with Mr Morden become even more complex; and G'Kar returns from his travels with a dire warning.

Another excellent episode. Lots of stuff going on. The full cast is back with Delenn reapparing as a hybrid of human and Minbari. Garibaldi is back and getting better. We get some back story on the new Captain. and I actually liked G'Kar in this episode. He's trying to warn folks that something big is coming but they are not listening.

Great ending to season one and a fantastic start to season two. This series continue to entertain me and I can't wait to see where the story goes. Both Robert and I are thoroughly enjoying Babylon 5.

Toy Inventory & Random Geek Question: Potter

Besides job hunting (still no luck and I never heard back from the interview a week or so ago), fixing up the house to sell, my podcasts, my webseries, TV, my friends and family I decided to pick back up another project that I started working on about six or seven months ago.... Toy inventory.

As you all should know I'm an avid collector of TV and Film Action Figures and Toys. In my old house I use to have a "Toy" room, you can check out pics HERE. But since moving into the new house it's all been packed up for none to see. And now that I'm selling the house it won't see the light of day until I move to my new place.

Anyways I've been wanting to have a comprehensive list of every toys, action figures, dolls, and any other collectable that I might own. It seems like a very overwhelming task to jump into that's why I have put it off over and over again. But as I mentioned a few months back my buddy Sebastian came over and started to help me. We managed to get 4 boxes done and that took a good part of the day. So we stopped and I haven't picked it up since... well that was until today. I figured if I bring in three or four boxes into my office I can work on it when I'm bored, or on a break from working outside. As long I was moving forward I will get it done eventually.
 

I also asked another Random Geek Question to my Twitter and Facebook followers. I asked If you're a fan of Harry Potter. Which Hogwarts house would you be sorted into? Gryffindor which values bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry. Hufflepuff which values kindness, hard work, patience and loyalty. Ravenclaw which values intelligence, knowledge, and wit. And Slytherin which values ambition, cunning and resourcefulness.

As expected with my group of friends alot of them said.. "well Pottermore sorted me into..." Some disagreed with Pottermore and some said they nailed it. A few said they were a mix of several houses, which really didn't answer my question as Harry Potter fans know if the hat can't choose between two houses you can choose which one you want to join. And I think we're all a little bit of several houses mixed together.

Pottermore sorted me into Gryffindor, which I can accept but my heart belongs to Hufflepuff. I've always felt that I would be sorted into the house of Hufflepuff, though it seems to be the least favorable of all the houses.. which kind of goes along with my personality as well (always being the outcast).

Which house would you be sorted into.. let me know below in the comment section.

Saying Goodbye to My BFF

Today was Chris' last day here. After today I won't see him for at least seven months as he is being deployed to Kuwait. We got up and just hung out, enjoyed each others company. We were going out to lunch with a group of friends at noon so we left my place around 11am.

We got to the Olivia Garden and soon were joined by Jes, Dallas, Red, and Jen. We ate, talked, laughed for about two hours. At 2pm we had to say goodbye to the group and head to the Burbank Airport for his flight at 3:15pm.

Got to the airport and pulled to the curb to drop him off. Of course I had to get out to give him a final hug. I hugged for as long as I thought he would be comfortable with. Believe me I could have hugged him for ten minutes.. I didn't want to let him go. There were no tears, I told him I loved him and that I would be talking to him in a few hours (when he got home).

Got back into my car and took one final look as he walked into the airport terminal. About a half hour into my drive home the thought of not being able to see him for seven months hit me and the tears started flowing. This will be the longest that Chris and I have been apart since we met. I know I have it much easier then he does, since I'm in Cali and have friends surrounding me but it doesn't make me miss him any less. I just hope those seven months fly by.

D&D Woes

Got up and went out to breakfast with Chris and Aaron who crashed at my place last night after working on my house. We headed to Denny's and then to Home Depot to return the deck sander. Once we were done there we drove down to North Hollywood to hang with our friends Jes and Dallas. We ran a few errands with them before heading over to Jen's for our Sunday D&D game.

Today was one of the worse D&D sessions we have had so far. I'm not going into great detail.. but needless to say that I almost walked out of the game, but my buddy Chris was guest playing with us so I stayed. It wasn't the adventure itself, Dallas is doing an amazing job with that and I'm loving every minute of it.. it was actually several of the players.

We have two definite groups.. the good guys (about 9 of us) and the bad guys (about 4 of them) and today those two groups clashed big time. Conversations/debates were heated but the worse part is that some of that heat bleed into the real world, hurtful things were said. Hence why I almost walked out. This D&D session was not fun. I'm actually debating on if I'm going to continue with this group or not. I value my friendships with these people and if we continue to have sessions like the one we had tonight... I can see it permanently damaging some of those friendships.

Gonna go back in two weeks for another session. Will see if we can work out our differences... I hope so.