Snow, Scratches, Taxes and Friends

When I got in last night from work it was lightly snowing. So when I got up this morning the snow continued the fall during the night and there was a nice dusting of is all over. It's the first snowfall of the year. I knew it wouldn't stick around but it was nice to wake up to a pretty sight.

Today I had to deal with my computer issues from last night. I started my computer and it didn't seem to have any start up issues. I opened my web browser and was surprised to see that all the fonts have changed. My blog, twitter and gmail.. all fonts changed and are now bold as well. At first I thought it was my computer settings but my computer is fine.. it looks to be something is wrong with the browser. Gonna have to look into that. There were a few other weird things going on so ran everything from Norton and in the end I think I got everything working right.. except the weird font thing.

I had friends coming over to day so I spent the morning cleaning the house. I also went out to clean my car. Living off a dirt road makes it impossible to keep the car clean, but I wanted to show it off to my buddy Brett so I wanted to give it a good washing. As I was inspecting it (as I do every morning) I noticed this really long scratch on the drivers side door right next to the handle.

I couldn't believe it. I haven't had the car a week and not only do I get a scratch (which I expect) but I get this six-inch scratch. My heart actually hurt. I was so sick to my stomach. As I mentioned I check this car every day so the only place it could have happened was at work. I have to valet my car and they cram these cars in like sardines. I assume someone squeezed between my car and another and something on their body scraped against my car. I hate the fact that I have to valet my car for work and there really isn't anyone I can go, to complain to.

I had to head out to do my taxes at noon. I've been going to the same guy for over 12 years and I love him. I only worked 3 months last year so I wasn't really expecting much.. all I really wanted to do was break even. Well I'm happy to say I'm getting a nice amount back, especially for how little I worked. Owning a house really helps. Kind of worried about what will happen when I sale the house.

While I was out I headed over to Pepboys to see if I could get something for this scratch. I purchased several things and when I got home I tried them all. None of them worked :( I was told I should try to wax and buff it out. So that will be my next attempt. But for now I have friends coming over to hang out so I have to get ready for them.

First to arrive was my buddy Brett; he came over not only to hang out but also to look at my Jeep to see if he could figure out what the problem was. As we were checking it out Jes arrived. BTW Brett thinks it's something internal, something in the actual engine. Not sure what I'm going to do about the Jeep.

We went inside and finished watching a ST: TNG episode I had been watching before they arrived. We then moved onto my screeners. We selected several but one that none of us had seen was Anne Karenina. Here's a synopsis; Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.

First of all it's one of the most uniquely filmed movies. It's like watching a theater play mixed with an actual film. There are times that sets are being moved as the action is happening and actors are going about their thing and they are changing clothes at the same time. It was kind of jarring at first but after a while I started to really enjoy it.

The main story about Anne was difficult at times to watch... you are watching this poor woman slowly go insane. I actually enjoyed the B-story with Anne's sister Kitty and her relationship with Constantine. That was a very rewarding story.

In the end I loved the movie for how it was presented but there was a bit too much dragging and drama for my taste. Technically it was stunning.. the scenery, the costumes and the acting was fantastic.. just a bit too slow for me. I give the idea and look of the movie an A but the story a C. I'm glad I watched it but I don't think I'll ever watch it again.

Afterwards we went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.. that place was packed but after a half-hour or so we found a booth in the bar area. We all enjoyed some yummy steak.

Because dinner took a bit longer then expected we decided to postpone Life of Pi and instead watch something that we have all seen and loved.. .Wreak-it-Ralph. We got about 2/3d's of the way through it before we called it a night and we said our goodbyes.

It was a fun evening.

Friday Night Hangout & Computer Woes

After work I got home and jumped online as my buddy Chris was hosting a Google Hangout. He did one of these last week and it was a huge success. I've tried Google hangout once or twice at home and my internet is so slow that it never works.. well Google hangout added a low bandwidth selection for their hang out so I gave that a try and it worked out great. When I joined there was Jen, Chris and Hollywood (Scott). Rupert, Kim and Anne joined in afterwards. Everything was going great.. we were chatting and laughing and watching Kim on her loom. Then my internet went out and it was down hill from there.

I restarted my computer and I was getting start up errors. It took three restarts to finally get the computer back up and somewhat running. I ran Norton over and over and it didn't find anything major, but I was still having issues. I gave up on trying to rejoin the Google hangout, which is disappointing as it went to about 1am.

My hard drive died the Monday before and now my computer is having issues. I think it's time to do a complete wipe and reload of everything. Just need to get a large enough hard drive to back everything up onto it.

I'll deal with that this weekend.

When a Dream Dies

As the days, months and years go by my dreams of a having a loving partner and children dwindle. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a husband and father. I was ready to settle down and start my family at age 16. Of course my life didn't quite turn out as I thought it would when I was younger, not that I'm complaining. I love my life, I have a great family and some of the best friends a guy could ever ask for, but still... something is missing.

It's now going on two years since Harry and I broke up and there hasn't been any romance in my life, absolutely nothing, zilch, nada.. and I'm beginning to doubt there will ever be. It's hard to understand when you have friends and family around you saying how great you are and how lucky someone would be to have me as a partner but still nothing... something is wrong with this situation.

As for having kids... Over the years I have considered adopting a child or fostering as a single parent. But I've never really been financially stable to do so. And as I have now entered my 40's the chances of me having that life is quickly disappearing.

Of course I don't know what the future holds but as of right now I am letting this dream die. I was not meant to be a daddy, and being an uncle is as close to having a child of my own, I am going to get and you know what..  I'm good with that. I love my nephew and niece and I can't wait until they are old enough to come visit their uncle and do all sorts of fun activities.

It's funny how life changes from what you want to what you get.

Podcasting

So tonight after work I went home determined to not do anything but finish my Alien Nation podcast which is due to be released in four days. I have been putting it off and putting it off. I did work on it a bit over the weekend but then I was having Avid/Hard Drive issues and stopped. I did mange to get the bulk of it done by midnight. I still have some offline media which I will deal with tomorrow morning before work. I hope to get this episode done and uploaded by end of day tomorrow.

I have to get back into podcasting. It's not like I'm bored with it or anything but sometimes it feels more like a job and once that happens it's no longer fun. But I truly love podcasting and I hope to continue podcasting for many years to come.

I have been doing alot of thinking about where to go next. I currently have five running podcasts and a sixth that I have been trying to get off the ground for over three years now. I have put my My Gimpy Life on hiatus until there is news about a season two.

My Knights of the Guild podcast has been dying a slow death. The past year has been a real hit and miss with it. I haven't been able to keep on a regular schedule. I think when Jenni left a huge part of the podcast charm went with her and I haven't been able to really bring it back up to it's prime. I have some audio from the set of Season Six but I think once that is done I'll bring that podcast to an end... maybe this summer.

Confessions of a Fanboy, like KOTG is starting to flounder a bit. I have four or five great interviews in the can.. I just need to get motivated to do the editing and post them. I'm already a few months behind and I hate that because I really do enjoy this podcast. This one has the potential to go on for many many years. Just need a good kick in the butt.

MASH 4077 is my strongest and most listen to podcast. This is the only podcast that I make sure I release every 1st and 15th of the month like clockwork. It's been going two years and the audience has grown from a few hundred a month to over 10,000 a month. We still have material for another eight years.. there is no end in sight for this one.

My Alien Nation podcast is just fun. It's probably the least listen to out of all my podcasts but we have some very loyal listeners. This is the podcast I do with my brother and we have such an awesome time doing it, that we'd do it even if nobody was listening to us. We have enough material to last a few more years.

The Geek RoundTable is the podcast that has been in the works for 3 years. It's the podcast that I've been wanting to do since I started podcasting. All my podcasts are for specific shows or things. This one is a general geek/nerd thing. This one will have the most guest hosts and that is one of the reasons why it's taking to long to get started. I hope to have it up and running by the end of the year. My co-host Charles has been super patient with me and I can't wait to get it going.

I just want to thank all my loyal listeners, you guys are the best.

Stitcher Radio

So I've been hearing about Stitcher Radio for over a year.  What is Stitcher.. Stitcher is the leader in Internet Radio for the world beyond music. They deliver the latest news, politics, sports, business and entertainment on-demand to listeners on their mobile phones. The Stitcher app has been downloaded over 8 million times and offers the best programming from thousands of content providers including NPR, Fox and CNN. Stitcher is available for iPhone, Android and iPad and is being integrated directly into new Ford and GM vehicles.

Several of my fellow friends/podcasters have uploaded their podcasts to this server. I have been hesitant because I have been working on my own kind of "geeky" Radio station and I didn't want to have my podcasts locked into one network.

In the past I have had offers to join other networks but when you read the fine print you find out that once your podcasts are part of their network, they either partly own your podcasts or restrict you from sharing your podcasts on any other network. I did not want his.

Recently when recording my MASH podcast with my buddies Meds and Al mentioned getting our MASH 4077 podcast up on Stitcher and I shared with them my concerns. They informed me that Stitcher is no like that. They don't require any kind of contract and they don't require to own anything of the podcasts. All they ask is that you promote Stitcher Radio.

After checking out the site myself and thoroughly reading the rules I came to the conclusion that this is just another great outlet like itunes for podcasters and I signed up with my five current podcasts.

Now I just have to wait and see if I get approved. Both Meds and Al said that their audience really grew once they were part of this Radio station... here's hoping.

Buffy and Bros

Tonight after work I headed over to Robert's place to continue our Buffy rewatch/1st time viewing. We ordered some pizza for dinner. It's been a few weeks since our last Buffy viewing party. As always it was great seeing Robert, though we talk everyday via texting or facebook messaging, it's not the same as seeing the person face to face.

We start season four today of Buffy. First up was "The Freshman", it was an good start to the season. This was Buffy's first day of collage and I think they conveyed what it was like the first day of collage. It also showed Buffy second guessing herself when it came to killing vampires but by the end the good ol' Buffy is back.

Our second episode was "Living Conditions". This is the one with Buffy's roommate who we come to find out is a demon from another dimension going to collage in ours. She is also sucking Buffy's soul out little by little causing Buffy to kind of go crazy. It was a fun episode, nothing to special but at least we get rid of Buffy's crazy roommate.

For our third and final episode of the evening we watched "The Harsh Light of Day" This was a fun episode and I know Robert really like it as it had one of his favorite character's return.. Spike. It was good to see Spike back and once again Buffy kicking his butt as she normally does.

I forgot that season four got off to a rather slow start. The main story arc of the season hasn't even begun yet. I have to admit that season four is probably my least favorite season but it does have one of the most incredible episodes in it.. "Hush". 

Having a great time rewatching Buffy with one of my besties.

Car Paranoia

So today is my first day driving my new car to work. I have to say driving something brand new to work makes the commute not so bad. I listen to podcasts while in bumper to bumper traffic but I don't mind. My biggest issue was leaving my car with the valet. Here at work we can't part our own cars. We have a valet who parks them for us. I was paranoid all day long hoping my car wasn't getting dinged, scratched or anything. I hate to say it but when I got off work I drove home, again not minding the traffic, but when I got home I took a flashlight and went over every inch of my car to make sure there weren't any dings or scratches. I know it's stupid and I know I'm going to get scratches and dings but I'm going to do my best to not let it happen within the first week.

Lazy Sunday

The day started with me wanting to get a ton of podcasting done, but I was having issues with Avid so I used that excuse to not do any podcasting. Instead I went for a joy ride with my new car. It was a beautiful day and kind of warm so I opened the sunroof and drove down Sierra Highway. It's kind of odd driving a different car after driving the same one for over 10 years, but knowing that I won't be having any issue with this vehicle for a long while (well I hope that's true) is a very comforting feeling. Made it to Santa Clarita, I stopped by Target to get some cool car accessories, like my ipod connector so I could listen to my ipod via my car speakers. It's funny as when I went to park I park so far away that there were no cars around me. I did the same when I went to lunch at Chili's. I made sure I was so far from any other car. I know that won't always be possible but for now it makes me happy.

Got back home and turned on the TV. Now it's Super Bowl Sunday but me noting being a huge sports person decided to not watch and flip through the channels where I found that BBC America was having a Star Trek The Next Generation marathon and playing was one of my favorites The Inner Light, and the next two episodes were Time's Arrow part 1 and 2, again some of my favorites so I settled in for a few evening of Trek.

I did hope to get some podcasting down but in the end I decided to just kick back and have a day of laziness and it was awesome.

My New Car

Well the day is finally here... I'm getting my new car. This will be the first time that I purchased a brand new car. All my cars in the past were used and at least over five years old. I called my buddy Stephen up, he use to be my boss at High Noon and while I was working there he said if I ever went out to buy a new car (I was talking about it even back then) that he wanted to go with me as he's awesome at haggling. Since I am a sucker I knew I would need his help.

We meet up at Galpin Ford around 2:15pm. Stephen brought his brother Scott along to help out as well. So we went right to the Ford Fiesta and found the ones I saw online. I liked the lime squeeze color but wanted to see it in person. When I saw it I knew it was the color for me. But I did go and check out the Ruby Red as planned but it was more Red then Burgundy and I didn't like it much. As we were outside.. salesman Eric approached asked if he could help us. We told him I was there to buy a car, I showed him the one I liked, it had a moon/sun roof, which I did not expect to get. It was an extra $750 but I've always wanted a moon/sun roof and I figured if I'm spending this much money for a new car I might as well get everything I want.

The car was sitting outside in front of the lobby area,  I loved the color, and it had everything I wanted and more so all that was left was the test drive. We went to start it up and the battery was dead, which I guess is common since these cars can sit for months without starting. So we quickly gave it a jump and we were on our way. After driving a Jeep Wrangler for 10 years anything would be better and I loved it.

So I got back to the dealer and we started the negotiations. First of all my friend Joyce mentioned that her father worked for Ford and is no retired but he gets an employee discount for friends and family and that she would contact him to see if he could get me a discount. This was a few days ago and I spoke with Art (Joyce's Dad) and sure enough he got me a X-Plan discount. So haggling on the price wasn't going to be happening. It's a set price, no more and no less... but even thought that was set there were plenty of other things to haggle. 

I'm not going into great details about my deal.. but here are some highlights; The X-Plan discount wasn't as much as I was hoping, as the Fiesta doesn't have a large mark up, I got about $400 off, which is better then nothing and I'm very thankful to Joyce, Art and Bobbi. The base price of the Fiesta is about $16,200 and I got a few add on's, like automatic transmission, and power moon/sun roof. I also got Equipment Group 201A which included SE appearance package, 15" Aluminum wheels, Ambient interior lighting, Sirus Satellite Radio, and Leather wrapped steering wheel. These additions cost an additional $3000.  It also came with keyless entry and Lojack (really didn't have a choice on getting these since they were part of the car. So that was an additional $1000.  I also have Ford Sync.. Needless to say that the price went higher and higher.

I found out that my FICO credit score was 856, my jaw dropped when I saw that.. I knew I had good credit but I didn't realized how good it was. They said that, that was the highest they seen a while. They did offered me 0% financing and at first I was going to take it, but they were also offering $1500 cash back and if you did the math it turns out that I'll be paying less a month with the 2.99% financial charge. As the $1500 actually covers the money I'll be paying in finance charge.

I was hoping to get my payments down below $300 a month. After all was said and done I did 60 months (5 years) at 2.99% with $3000 down and a rebate of $1500 so my payments were at $321 a month which is a bit higher then I wanted but I did get everything I wanted, including the sun/moon roof which really put me over. I was happy with the payment amount and agreed to the deal.

Next was the fiance paperwork guy. Stephen and his brother went out to grab some food (we had been there for over three hours). I sat down with a very nice guy and started signing my life away. There were two more plans that they wanted to offer me. One was 5 years of maintenance on the vehicle and the other was an extended bumper to bumper warranty. I already had a three year bumper to bumper warranty included in the price, but I really wanted to get the full 5 years 100,000 miles warranty. So I bit the bullet and added an additional $1300 to my total which pushed up my monthly payments to $352 month. As I mentioned it's a bit more then I wanted to pay but I am extremely happy with the final result and with the car. I signed the paperwork and the deal was done.

I asked if my buddy Stephen would drive me back to Enterprise rental car in Santa Clarita so I could drop off the car. The place was closed and also closed on Sunday but I'd just leave the car there and then go in Monday AM and close it out. So he was nice enough to help me out. About an hour and half later (we also grabbed some dinner), we made it back to the dealer where Stephen dropped me off. Before we parted ways I was talking names for my car, first one that popped in my head was "Yoda" but then seeing the color in person, "Kermit" also came to mind. Stephen's suggestion was Jose Cuervo because it's a Fiesta and the color is called lime squeeze.. I mean it's a very clever name but I'm a geek so I think I'm going to go with Yoda but I'll put the question up on twitter and see what my friends think.. I'm leaning toward Yoda.

I made my way back to Eric's office where he called to have my car brought around. Eric went over things in the car with me and a half hour later I was speeding along the freeway heading home in my new 2013 Ford Fiesta.

I want to thank Stephen and Scott for coming with me and helping negotiate the best possible deal I could get. Overall it was a pretty okay experience.

My Gimpy Life Podcast Episode 10

Download from iTunes ow.ly/hmTh8 or Listen, get direct download from mygimpylifepodcast.com

Show Notes:

Now that My Gimpy Life season one series has come to an end. There will be no more companioncasts, but that doesn't mean the podcast is over... far from it.

In this episode I sit down with the lovely Teal Sherer herself as we talk about the possibilities of Season Two and the Season One's two wins at the IAWTV Awards (International Academy of Web Television Awards)

Please take note that this podcast is going on hiatus for the time being. Soon the Season two starts picking up I'll be back with more behind the scenes goodness.

Thank you all who have downloaded and continue to spread the word about this great webseries and it's companioncast.

thanks & enjoy,

Kenny

MASH 4077 Podcast Episode 47

Download from itunes http://tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes or listen, get a direct download http://bit.ly/eXCRxT

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

THIS IS OUR SECOND YEAR ANNIVERSARY EPISODE!!!!!!

Today we cover Season 2, Episode #23 - Mail Call
47th Episode Overall
Directed by Alan Alda
Written by Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks
Production code K423
Original air date February 23, 1974

Set during the Korean War in the 1950’s

Plot Summary: Margaret talks marriage to Frank while Hawkeye tries to trick him into a phony stock investment , Klinger tries to convince Col. Blake that a 'death in the family' letter came for him (Klinger) in the mail bag, and a drunk Trapper tries to go AWOL to be with his family.

Hope you enjoy it, Kenny, Meds & Al

I Love Scifi & Fantasy

So I was listening to one of my favorite podcast Turning into Sci Fi TV this morning and they mentioned something about why they love Sci fi and it got me thinking. So I posed this question on Facebook and Twitter, "SciFi & Fantasy lovers, Do you enjoy it because you can escape into their world or escape from this world?"

Well I got several responses and most of them said it depends on the story but both can be true. And I agree with that. I love scifi and fantasy for the fact that I can escape into these magical world. Now I did get a few comments about how escaping into a scifi and fantasy world to escape this world is not a healthy thing and I have to say that I don't agree with that. I think there are times when you need to escape this world and scifi and fantasy is the perfect way to do that. I don't find it unhealthy wanting to get away from the woes of the world and travel to another world or universe.

But what do you think? Do you enjoy it because you can escape into their world or escape from this world?

Felicia Day on Supernatural

So I finally had some free time and watched my friend Felicia in the latest episode of Supernatural. She appeared last season as Charlie and won over everyone so they asked her back for another episode.

I watched the first season of Supernatural but haven't seen it since. Lucky for me the Felicia stories tend to be stand alone episodes and you really don't need to know to much background on the on going story.

Again with this episode you didn't have to know much of the on going story, which is great. This episode is called LARPing and the Real Girl. The boys investigate some mysterious deaths, which leads them to a LARPing community and guess who is their Queen.. yep, the real Queen of geek Felicia Day. I have always wanted to LARP and will one of these days. But it was a fun look into this world. It was awesome seeing Dean go all geek and really get into the LARPing. Felicia's character of Charlie was just as great as she was in the first time. She's the perfect geek and very likable, as are most of Felicia's characters. I heard a rumor that she'll be coming back for a third time later this season.. I can't wait. Great job Felicia!!!

Car Rentals and Good News??

So I was up at 6:30am, though I couldn't call the car rental place until 8am. So I jumped on the computer and started editing my next Knights of the Guild podcast. At 8am I called Enterprise and told them that I had a reservation today and that I needed to be picked up. They asked where I live and I told them. They then said.. "oh we don't pick up from that city". I said excuse me? It's only 10 miles and you are the closest one to me. The apologized but said they could not pick me up. I said okay I guess you don't want my business I'll see if I can find another car rental place and hung up. I called around to Hertz, Avis and other rental places and they all said they don't do picks up, so I'm back to square one. Sometimes living in a very rural area can be a huge negative. Well around 9:30 my phone rings and it's Enterprise saying, "oh I have a driver coming in at 11am, I can send him then if that works for you". I was desperate and said yep that would be great.

I had about an hour and a half to kill so I continued working on my next Knights of the Guild podcast until my avid started acting up again and finally just stopped working all together.. gonna have to try and figure out this problem soon.

First favorite color - Lime Squeeze

While I waited I emailed several friends to see if they wanted to go car shopping with me this weekend but unfortunately one is going to be out to town and the other might have plans with a lady he is pursuing. I then remembered that my former boss over at High Noon, Stephen mentioned that he'd go with me to get a new car as he's the king of hagglers. So I emailed him and he was available and willing to help me out. We talked and discussed what kind of car I wanted and all I know is I want great gas mileage but it can't be more then $15,000. I was thinking used (only a few years) but he actually convinced me that I should go new as you get a better finance percentage rate (0 to 1%) and in the long run you play less for the car. He also mentioned that I should be looking at a Ford Fiesta as they are great on mileage (almost 40 miles to the gallon), they are very reliable, tiny and the look very sporty now. So I check it out online and I have to say I am impressed. They also are priced right between $13,000 and $17,000. Oh and they have really awesome colors.. so I think this might be my next car.

So 11am came and I didn't get a call.. I called them at 11:15am and they said oh the guy is just now leaving he should be there shortly. He arrived around noon (it should have taken him only 20 minutes, but I guess he got lost). Anyways it's noon and I'm finally on my way to rent my car.

I get there and of course they didn't have the car I requested (economy), but instead they had a mid-size car (which is two levels up from what I wanted). He said it would normally be about $35 more a day for this car but he would only charge me $2 (so generous of them). I really didn't care as I just wanted to get out of there and get to work.  So I signed the paperwork and headed to work. I stopped by Wienerschnitzel and grabbed some lunch while I drove into work.

Second favorite color - Ruby Red

Once at work it took a few hours just to catch up on everything. But while I was working my friend Joyce contacted me over Facebook and asked if I was going to get a Ford vehicle.  I said I was really considering it and then she said that her Dad is a retired Ford employee and that the employees of Ford get a limited amount of what they call X and Z plans (a kind of employee discount for friends and family). She offered to talk to her dad to see if he would help me out. And guess what.. he is. I talked to him over the phone and gave him some personal information that he needed to to apply for a X plan. I gave him all the info and he said he will contact me tomorrow with my "pin" number that I take to the dealer for the discount (I don't know what kind of discount but he did say it's below what the dealers pay for it), there is also no haggling on the price, it is what it is, no less, no more.  I can also get any other incentives that are offered as well. I was super excited and this kind of sealed the deal that I will be getting a brand new 2013 Ford Fiesta SE Hatchback. This will be the first time in my entire life that I have purchased a brand new car.. I can't wait until this weekend. Thanks Joyce for offering me this fantastic discount and thanks to you Dad Art for making it happen.

So what started as a horrible day and what has been a few rough weeks it looks like things are finally turning around. Of course now that I have said that I have jinxed it all and things will fall apart.. luckily for me I don't believe in things like that. :)

Comic Con Tixs & Jeep Woes

So San Diego Comic Con Professional tickets when on sale today at 10am and by 10:15 when I ordered mine they were out of complementary guest tickets. First time in the nine years that I have gone that they ran out that quickly. Of course I could still buy an extra guest pass for $175, which I did but that really screwed up my plans. I normally give my free complementary guest pass to my brother and then buy the extra for my buddy Chris. Well now I had to buy the extra one for my brother and then go to the interwebs to find someone how might be willing to buy their extra one for Chris.. lucky my friend Teresa was more then happy to help out so in the end I got the tickets I intended on getting for me, my brother and Chris.

How much you want to bet that they cut the amount of "free" guest passes and increased the amount of "paid" guest passes for professionals. I remember back in the day when I got my "free" pass and my guest "free" pass and then was able to purchase 4 more guest passes for the low low price of only $25. They have slowed removed the paid guest passes as well as raised the prices to "regular" price. I guess I really can't complain.. at least I'm still able to get my pass for free... but I wonder how much longer that will be.

Work was fine.. crazy busy but I've come to expect that.

When work was over I went to the parking lot and got into my Jeep. When I turned it on there was this strange sound coming from the engine.  I pulled out of the parking lot and as I accelerated the sounds got louder and with a higher pitch. Something was wrong with my Jeep.

As you know if you're a regular reader of my blog I have been having Jeep problems for some time now and even went car shopping earlier this year. Well I think the time has come to retire the Jeep for good. My buddy Chris kept me company on the phone as I slowly made my way home hoping that my jeep would not die in the middle of the freeway.. it was a very long hour but I did manage to limp home. The Jeep was making such a horrible noise as I turned it off, I gave her a pat on the dashboard and thanked her for the many years of enjoyment.

I went inside, jumped on the computer and made a reservation with Enterprise rent-a-car. Will see what tomorrow holds.

Podcasts and Family

Since I didn't get much podcasting done yesterday I was up once again fairly early at 7am. With MASH 4077 finally done and upload I moved onto my next podcast My Gimpy Life. I chose this one next as it's really quick and easy... I hope.

I strung it out.. added a few bells and whistles and though I'm still having avid issues I manage to get this podcast done in an hour. Next was a Knights of the Guild podcast. I'm a week or two behind with this podcast and I really want to get a new episode out ASAP. So I opened Avid and realized that I haven't imported any of the Season six audio (which is what I need to start editing with) and there is a lot. I spent about an hour uploading a ton of audio to the Avid. By the time it was done I had to get ready to head out to my brothers.. was going to be visiting family. I haven't seen them since before Christmas.. which is way to long.

It was a nice visit, I got to have lunch with my Dad, then hang with my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew before heading upstairs to watch several episodes of Alien Nation and then record two podcasts with my brother. Alien Nation already had missed a month (January) and I didn't want to miss another one. The podcasts are gonna be two of our best. My brother and I really click anyways when we podcast but these two episodes we did so even more. It was alot of fun.

Finally got home around 10:30pm and was spent. I tried to work on my KOTG podcast but avid insisted on being a pain in the butt, so instead I jumped on LOTRO and played a bit to unwind.

So out of the five podcasts that I wanted to get done this weekend I manage to get only two. Hopefully I won't be too tired after work this coming week to finish the rest.

Screener, Avid Issues & Friends

Today started with podcasting.. I have a ton of podcasts that I need to get edited and out. I have fallen a bit behind due to this new job and just trying to rearrange my free time. So I was up early 7am. I swore I wasn't going to watch any TV or jump on LOTRO until I got some of these podcasts done. I have to finish a MASH 4077 podcast, Confessions of a Fanboy podcast, Alien Nation podcast, My Gimpy Life podcast and a Knights of the Guild podcast.

I started with my MASH 4077 podcast as that podcast has been released on time since we started almost two years ago. My others can vary though I do try and release on a regular schedule. As I am an avid podcast listener as well and enjoy when my podcasts come out on a regular bases.

I worked on MASH for about two hours and then had to get dressed and head over to UPS to pick up a package that I had to sign for so it couldn't be left at my house. The closest distribution to my place is in Sylmar, which is about 40 miles south. So I made the trek down there. I didn't have a clue what was sent to me. When I got there an editor friend of mine was there as well and said "Oh you're here for the Life of Pi screener as well" And sure enough I opened the package and there it was. I've never gotten a screener so late in the award season. I mean the PGA Awards (which I vote for) were going to happen the next day and I had already voted a month prior. Now I'm not complaining about getting the screener as this was one of those movies that I was hoping to see. It's just unfortunate that it came so late.

Before I left for UPS I started to upload the MASH episode that I needed for the podcast I was working on. It can take a few hours to upload so I figured by the time I was home the upload should be done. Well when I got home I noticed a error on my screen. The upload didn't work and I had to start over again. Now when I upload I can't do anything else on the computer so I started the upload again and had a few hours to kill while it uploaded. Though I swore I wouldn't watch TV there really wasn't anything else I could do so I popped on the TV and watched some recorded shows off my DVR.

Two hours later the upload finishes and guess what.. my Avid crashes and I lose everything.. again. I normally upload video and audio of the episodes though I only use the audio.. I like having a visual reference. Well screw that I stripped away the video and started to upload only the audio. Now this only takes about 15 minutes which is much better then 2 hours.

I continue my work on the MASH podcast.. it's now 3pm and I have dinner plans at 5 which means I have to leave my house at 4. For the next hour my avid gave me nothing but problems. It was a very slow process and by the time 4 came around I was about 2/3'ds of the way done. So much for flying through these podcasts.

I went over to my friends John and Moises house for dinner. Joining them were the usual bunch. Tom and Ervin, Bruce, Martin and of course me. They've had this dinner party for years. I don't get to see these guys as much as I use to and I miss that. I don't know why we don't hang out more but I need to make a bigger effort in seeing these guys more. It was a great night of friends, laughs and great food. I hope to see these guys again soon.

I got home a little after 10pm and was determined to get at least one podcast edited today. So I spent the next 2 hours finishing up my MASH 4077 podcast.

Though I had big plans today for podcasting.. with all the techy issues I only mange to get one done. Oh well I guess it's better then nothing.

The Next Day

Well it's the next day after my fun meeting yesterday and I'm doing better. The person whom blindsided me yesterday was not in the office so it was a nice quiet day here at work. Everything went smooth and I told myself whatever happens.. happens.

When I got home I jumped on LOTRO with my buddy Chris and played the rest of the night. It truly is a great stress reliever and since I'm going to be busy all weekend I won't have a chance to jump on. It's just what I needed.

Work Woes

Well everything was going great at work when suddenly WHAM!!!! I was blindsided. I won't go into details here but needless to say my future here on this show is in the balance. I'm gonna to do this job as best as I possibly can.  I'm not a quitter, I've only ever quit one job in my entire career. And honestly I don't care if I am let go from this gig.

This brings up how I have been feeling the past three or so years. I'm tired of working in the entertainment industry. There is to much stress and BS and the older I get the more it gets on my nerves. I would get out of it in a heartbeat but it's all I know. I've been in the industry for 18 years and it's taken it's toll. There isn't another job I could jump right into and still make the same amount of money. Lucky for me money isn't everything. I just need a job that will cover my bills. I think once I sell the house and not have a huge mortgage to think about I'll reassess my life and see what I want to be doing for the next 40 years of my life.

Life is funny.. it takes so many twists and turns..

My Lord of the Rings Online MMO Characters

So since I upgraded my LOTRO membership to VIP for the year I get an additional four characters for a total of five. So earlier this week I took the time to create three more characters. I now have four, one for each race.

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My primary character is my Hobbit. Happiest when enjoying a simple life with six square meals a day, hobbits are solid and dependable when called to action.

His name is Drialdo: his nationality is Harfoot, The Harfoots are the most prodigious hole-dwellers and were the first to cross west into Eriador. They generally tend to be browner of skin than the other kindreds, as well as smaller and shorter.

He is a Guardian:  Guardians wear heavy armour and have many defensive skills that allow them to survive battles against the most fearsome foes. Guardians also have skills that draw foes' attention away from their allies and to themselves. In fellowships, a Guardian forces enemies to attack himself, so his more fragile allies will not be harmed by the foes.

The Guardians are the stout protectors of the weak and defenders of those in need, loyal companions to the end. True Guardians stand to the forefront of battle, shielding their allies from enemy assaults.

This class was inspired by the hobbit Samwise Gamgee, whose loyalty to Frodo Baggins knew no bounds.

His skill sets are those of an Explorer, which means he is a Tailor, Prospector and Forester

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My second character I made was my Elf: Long ago, the Elves welcomed the younger races of Middle-earth and allied with them when the need was great, but centuries of war, betrayal, and hardship have made them fiercely protective of their seclusion.

His name is Gillthilion, his nationality is Lórien, You come from Lothlórien, the fabled golden woods whose Elves dwell high in the mallorn-trees and are ruled by Celeborn, wisest of the Eldar of Middle-earth, and the Lady Galadriel.

He is a Lore-Master: Lore-masters are the masters of crowd-control, skills that trap foes and keep them from fighting. They may call on animal companions to fight by their side and even call on elemental forces to damage their foes. In fellowships, a Lore-master concentrates on supporting his allies, primarily by hindering the foe's ability to deal damage.

Lore-masters are seekers of knowledge and the guardians of wisdom. Through study of bygone Ages, they learn ancient secrets that allow them to hinder foes, as well as protect against the dark powers of the Enemy. They have many skills that invoke the natural world of Middle-earth, but it is draining on the will, thus costing them Morale to fuel some of these powerful skills.

This class was inspired by Elrond Halfelven, Elf-lord and Master of Rivendell.

His skill sets are those of a Historian, which means he is a Scholar, Farmer and Weaponsmith

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Third Character I made was my Dwarf: Dwellers of stone and miners of metal, the dwarves are a doughty folk, resistant to the corruption of the Enemy -- but not to greed.

His name is Arikk, his nationality is The Lonely Mountains, You hail from Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, where Smaug the Golden made his lair until Thorin Oakenshield reclaimed it for his people. There does Dáin Ironfoot now rule as King under the Mountain.

He is a Champion: Champions wade into battle swinging their weapons in all directions, dealing significant damage to many foes at once. With each strike their Fervour grows, allowing them to use even more potent skills. Special stances may be used to greatly increase damage dealt at the cost of defence or enhance defence at the cost of damage. In fellowships, a Champion concentrates on engaging as many foes as possible. Unrelenting in battle, Champions are the consummate warriors.

A Champion cares not for his own well-being, but relies on his strength and prowess to slay the Enemy before they can bring more destruction to Middle-earth.

This class is inspired by Gimli son of Glóin, whose skill in arms matched the bow-skills of Legolas.

His skill sets are those of a Armourer, which means he is a Prospector, Metalsmith and Tailor

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Fourth Character I made was my Man (well Woman): Not as long-lived as Elves, sturdy as dwarves, or resilient as hobbits, Men are renowned for their courage and resourcefulness.

Her name is Kiwyn, her nationality is Rohan, You are one of the Horse-lords of the Riddermark, the realm granted to Eorl the Young by Cirion, Steward of Gondor, currently ruled by Théoden, son of Thengel.

She is a Captain: Captains are armoured melee fighters and masters of buffing; skills that enhance allies. They may summon a Herald companion to fight by their side, ensuring they always have an ally to buff. They can also Mark foes, giving benefits to all who attack them. In fellowships, a Captain supports his allies with healing and buffs, while still dealing respectable damage.

The Captains of Middle-earth hold the future in their hands. By their own strength of arms and the inspiration they instill in others, they must lead the Free Peoples to victory.

This class is inspired by Eärnur, last King of Gondor, who was revered both as a captain skilled in arms and as a lore-master.

Her skill sets are those of an Armsmen, which means she is a Weaponsmith, Prospector and Woodworker.

Wondercon & Podcasting

Last night while talking to my buddy Will I found out that he got his professional passes for Wondercon. He also sent in verification last year and didn't have to show it again. So this morning I emailed them asking why I had to prove I was a professional last and and then again this year as it's suppose to last for 3 years.  And this was the response I got: "Kenny,  It appears that my predecessor approved your application and sent you the email, but failed to change your actual Member Class. I have rectified this error and you should be able to register for WonderCon (and Comic-Con) as normal.  If you have any further issues, let me know."

So guess what I did.. I registered for Wondercon and got two guest pass for my friends Chris and Jes. I still don't know if I'm going all three days (Friday - Sunday) as I don't know if I can get Friday off but I'm defiantly going for the weekend. Chris is also still up in the air, since he had to fly in from Montana but hopefully will know more about his situation soon. Really the only reason I go to Wondercon is to cosplay.. it's kind of an addiction. Will have to see if I can tweak my Hobbit outfit a bit so it's not the same as last year.

After work I went over to Teal's place to record a quick podcast for My Gimpy Life podcast #10. It's going to be my final podcast for this series, at least for the time being. It was a quick 20 minutes and I was on my way home.. will have it edited up and posted at the beginning of February.

Was going to spend the rest of the day just chilling and catching up on some TV (I haven't done that in a long while) but of course for the last hour or so I jumped on LOTRO to mine and gather goodies.

Work, Lunch, Work, Dinner

Well the work day started off a bit rocky when I somehow got on the wrong freeway when coming to work. I normally take the 14 to the 5 to the 170 and then get off at Victory and take the streets to the office. Well I took the 14 to the 5 and then got on the 405 (in my defense that was the way I went to work my past two previous jobs) what is scary is that I was on that freeway all the way to the Victory exit when I realized that this didn't look right, this doesn't look like the exit I normally get off. All of a sudden I realized I was all the way across town on the wrong freeway. You would think the bad traffic would have been a dead giveaway that I was on the 405 but I figured oh well it's the day after a holiday and traffic is really bad. Anyways I got off the 405 and drove an extra 20 minutes on the streets to get back to the point where I normally get off the 170. Lucky for me my job start time is very flexible and I was only a half hour later then I normally would have been.

For lunch I was in for a treat. My friend Steve (from Canada) was having lunch with the lovely Teal Sherer and America Young. He was kind enough to ask if I wanted to join them. They were meeting up at the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Citywalk and I just happen to work right at the bottom of one of the streets that goes up to Citywalk.  It was great seeing Steve again as well as Teal and America who I don't think I had seen in a few months. We talked, shared stories and laughed alot. It was a very nice lunch and something I hope Steve remembers for a long time.

Afterwards I went back to the craziness that is my job. I had made plans to have dinner with my buddy Will tonight. He texted me if we were still on and I said of course. He mentioned that he got a new car... a Honda CR-Z, that's the car that I want to get... and in fact he didn't know about the car until we went car shopping a few weeks back and I introduced it to him.... I was so jealous. Anyways he asked if I mind if Jes and Dallas could join us for dinner. Of course I love our one on one time but I also enjoy hanging with even more friends so I said I didn't mind. We agreed to go to... yep you guessed it.. Universal Citywalk. They actually came to my job and we all walked up to Citywalk together.

Jes had never been there so we walked from end to end. And since it was Jes' first time there we asked if she would pick a place to eat and she chose Tony Roma's. I've never been to a Tony Roma's as I'm not a huge rib lover. But I got some very tasty shrimp and rice. By the end of the meal I was very happy that she chose this place. It was a great evening of food, friends and plenty of laughs.

Said goodbye to Jes and Dallas and I drove Will back to his place where we took his new car out for a spin... it was a nice way to end the evening.

Days like today remind me that though times can be crazy (at work) the in between times (hanging with friends) are what we live for.

So I Start My Third Week

Well today starts my third week at Hud:sun Media.  It MLK day which of course we don't have off but coming to work was a breeze as most of the other people out there did have it off so there was hardly any traffic. I wish everyday was a holiday.

President Obama was sworn in today for his second tern as President of the United States of America. I didn't watch it but got tweets all morning quoting his speech. The big thing for me, being a gay man, is his inclusion of equality for all people including gay people. This is the first time that a sitting president mention us gays in an inaugural speech.. it's pretty awesome.

It was another crazy day here at work, which I'm sure if just the beginning of my crazy days here at this new job.

My Friend From The North

Today I got to hang out with my buddy Steve, he is down from Canada visiting. Steven and I are online friends. We've been chatting via Twitter and Facebook for a few years and only have talk on skype a few times. He's a big fan of The Guild and then become a loyal fan of my Guild podcast Knights of the Guild. We've been friends every since so when he told me he was coming down to visit I was very excited to finally met him in person so I set aside an entire day to hang out with him.

He was staying down in Long Beach with his family so I got up early and made my way down there. It's about an hour and a half drive. Once there I picked him up and we drove over to the Long Beach convention center, I wanted to show him where we shot The Guild season five. We then headed to LA. I was taking him to Whimsic Alley, it's one of the coolest Harry Potter stores around. It's been a few months since I had gone last and they changed things around. I love that this place is always changing and getting bigger. Steve didn't purchase anything but I manage to buy some Butter Beer (Butterscotch Beer). Not sure what it will taste like but I'm looking forward to it.. I mean if it's anywhere close to what I had in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter then I'm going back to buy a few cases.

After Whimsic Alley we drove down to Beverly Hills and then down Rodeo Drive. We wound up going to Islands on Pico as Steve wanted a good burger and I think Islands has one of the best.

Our next stop was Hollywood and Highland, hand and foot prints and the stars on the walk of fame. It was fun walking around there. Again it's been a while since I've been there and they have really changed things around.

We then went to my place as I wanted to show Steve where I podcast and had a few gifts for him. We ended our adventure with a half hour hike at Vasquez Rocks. I mean if you're a geek and don't make a stop at Vasquez then you're not really a true geek :)

I then drove him back to Long Beach and we had dinner at Outback Steakhouse (one of his favorite US restaurants) before we said our goodbyes and I headed home.


It was alot of driving, over 300 miles, but it was great to finally meet and hang out with my friend from the north.

Gaming, Podcasting and Helping a Friend

So I got up this morning and was on a high from yesterday's game play that I immediately jumped on LOTRO with Chris to play some more. I had planned to only play for a few hours as I had several podcasts that needed to be edited. So I told Chris I was only going to play until noon, well noon came and I told him.. let's play another hour and then another hour and so on. Well needless to say I didn't edit any of my podcasts and finally pulled myself away around 5pm as I needed to go to my friends Jes and Dallas' new place to help them move in.

So what I was hoping wouldn't happened finally did. I knew if i started an MMO that I would become addicted and though I can control the urge to play most of the time (like not staying up all night playing and being tired at work the next day) This was the first time that I allowed my love of the MMO to get in the way of my podcasting life. I know it's going to happen from time to time but I really need to make sure it doesn't become the majority.

After saying goodbye to Chris and LOTRO I headed to North Hollywood where my friend Jes had already arrived from San Fransisco area and folks were already unloading the truck. Friends Aaron, Rupert, Nicki, Anne, Robert and Brett were there, also Jes' friend Rachel and of course Jes and Dallas. I quickly parked and jumped in.  The truck was unloaded in about an hour. The tough part was that they lived at the very back of the apartment complex and on the third floor which meant we had to climb two set's of stairs to get there. It was a lot of work carrying the heavier stuff like the couches up there but for the most part it went fairly smoothly. Afterwards Rupert, Nicki, Anne and Aaron went to the Hammer Improv show, Rachel stayed with the apartment and Jes, Robert, Brett and I drove the Uhaul over to Dallas' old place to pick up some of his things. The big item is the refrigerator and the fact that they don't have a dolly for it. So we moved what little Dallas had and then saved the fridge for the end. With four guys it actually wasn't that bad. It also had wheels so for the majority of the time to get it to the truck was rolled it. Getting on the truck wasn't so bad as well as getting off the truck. The fun part was taking it up the two flights of stairs. But honestly in the end it sounded alot harder then it actually was. As I  mentioned with Robert, Dallas, Brett and I it wasn't so bad carrying it up the stairs. But with that said I was so happy when we were completely done and could just chill. Oh I forgot to mention during the moving a little friend came out to watch. -->

Afterwards Jen showed up (yeah good timing). She, Brett, Robert and I went out to the store to get some beer and pick up some Carl's Jr. We were all so hungry and the food was so yummy. Well not for Brett who was kind of sick :(. We hung out at their new place to about 11:30 before calling it a night and heading home.

You know you have a great group of friends when six or seven of them come out to help you move on a Saturday evening. It was alot of fun and I'm so happy that Jes is now down here in the LA with us.