Wondercon Day 1

After an early workout I headed out to Wondercon. I actually met up with friends Jes, Dallas, Hayley, Kimi, Derek, Naomi and Lauren at the North Hollywood Red Line to take the metro/subway to the convention center. This year the con was happening at the Los Angeles Convention Center instead of the usual Anaheim Convention Center so the subway was a viable option.

It was a interesting experience taking the subway, though I opted not to cosplay today, friends Hayley, Kimi, Jes and Dallas did so I got to see reactions from various people on the subway... it was pretty great. With exception to the creepy old guy taking video of Kimi in her Wonder Women costume, he was trying to be sneaky but I spotted him and had Kimi move to an inside seat. Other then that the expeience was fine, it's a great way to get to the convention center and saves a ton of money on parking (currently $40).

Once we were there we found out way to the badge area. At first the line looked super long but it actually took about fifteen minutes to get through it and it was pretty painless.

First thing we did was head to the food trucks to grab some lunch. That in itself is an experience. We ran into a few friends while we were there also my brother showed up to grab his badge from Jes (Thanks Jes for getting my brother a badge).

Once we were feed we hit the sales floor and for the next four hours we walked around, checked out booths and took a lot of pictures of amazing cosplayers. I have to admit seeing all these people dressed up really made me miss cosplaying. So I have decided that I will Frodo it up tomorrow. I spent most of my time with my friend Lauren. Other friends would come and go but Lauren and I were together then entire time.

Around 5pm my buddy Eric Campbell was on a panel about webseries so a few of us headed over to give it a watch. When the panel was over the con floor was closed and we all were tired so the few that were left made out way back to the subway and made our way home.

It was a good con day. Nothing to crazy, just lots of walking and enjoying the company of my friends and the amazing cosplayers.

Cosplaying Delays

So Wondercon is this weekend.. it actually started today and I'm missing out due to work. But I'm seeing tweets and facebook posts from friends who are there.. this is kind of a double edge sword.. part of me enjoys reading what's happening with friends there but the other part of me really wants to be there.

Speaking of Wondercon I won't be premiering any new cosplay as I had planned. My Twi-Lek Jedi is far from being finished and my Samwise Hobbit Alt isn't finished yet either. I'm bummed that I wasn't able to pull things together before the con but life has been a bit hectic with work and my social life. But my new goal is to have both of these cosplays done by San Diego Comic Con which is at the end of July, but I'm not going to wait to until the last minute. I hope to have everything done by the end of May. That seems doable. As for cosplaying this weekend I may pull out my Hobbit (Frodo) cosplay but my Hobbit feet are about to fall apart. They were meant for one con and over the past six years I've gone to about 15 cons so they are far pass their expatriation date. But with some super glue I might be able to wear them one last time. I'll see how I feel when it comes to this weekend.

I can't wait for WonderCon!!

NerdStrong Gym - My Weekly Recap

Only got in four days of workouts this week but there was a good reason why I didn't get my full five.

Instead of Saturdays CON workout I did the Warrior Dash with some fellow NerdStrongers,  you can check out my blog post if you want to read more about that awesome experience.

Sunday's TEAM workout was all about Peewee's Playhouse. This was a fun one, not the workout it self because it was tough like all the others, we started with 22x Burpees and then a 25 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) of 10x Headcutters, 1 Minute Chair Pose, 25x Kettlebell Swings, 100x Jumping Jacks, 25x Wallball Sit Ups and a 230 Meter Run. To finish off the workout we did a TABATA Hollow Hold. What made this workout fun was the secret word of the day "Up". Everytime one of the coaches said "Up" we all screamed.. we screamed alot as the word "Up" comes up a lot during a workout.

Tuesday's DEX workout started with a pretty long warm up, 2 rounds of 7x Scap Pulls, 7x Scap Push Ups, Door Stretch, J-Hook Calf Stretch, then 2 rounds of 10x Bridges and 10x Slow Frog. For the main workout it was a ladder for Push Ups and Pulls Ups. We started with 10x Push Ups and worked our way down to 1 while we started with 1 Pull Up and work our way up to 10 Pull Ups. Push Ups are a piece of cake but pull ups are something completely different. At my best I can do two pull ups in a row, so instead I scaled down to Lat Rows instead. As a finisher we did 4 rounds of :45 seconds of work, :30 seconds of rest Jump Rope, Kettlebell Swings and Burpees. It was a good one.. I enjoy doing ladders.

Wednesday's CON workout was a former Boss Monster, we had a nice warm up and then did 100 Jumping Jacks, 920 Meter Run (4 times around the parking lot), 80x Squats, 70x V-Ups, 60 second Plank, 50x Alt Steel Club Pullovers, 460 Meter Run (2 times around the parking lot), 20x Hanging Knee Raises, 20x  Turkish Get Ups and finally 10x Burpees. Of course we have a 35 minute time cap so you just slowly chip away at the list hoping to reach the end before time runs out. I honestly can't remember if I finished this or not.. all I know when I was done I was exhausted. Everybody was exhausted.. these kinds of chipper workouts are tough.

Thursday's STG workout started with a pretty hefty warm up, 2 laps around the parking lot, then 10x Banded Good Mornings, 10x Banded Pass Thrus, 10x Air Squats, 10x Banded Squats and 10x addition Air Squats. We then did 2 minutes of Pigeon Stretching and then Banded Hamstring Stretch before finishing up with 10x Straight Leg to Ground Hang and then 10x Bent Knee to Chest Hang.

That was a workout in itself but the actual main workout was 10 Rounds of 10x Sandbag Cleans, 10x Reverse Lunge with Sandbag, 20x 1-Handed Steel Club Swing and then 60 seconds of rest. About round 5 your are dying but somehow  you push yourself five more rounds. And if that wasn't enough for a finisher we did a :15 second Leg Raise Holds TABATA. 

Overall another great week of working out at NerdStrong Gym.

Introvert or Extrovert

I've always considered myself an introvert, but recently I found out that shyness is not a trait of being introverted and that's how I determined what I was.

The term extrovert tends to be manifested in outgoing, talkative, energetic behavior, whereas introvert is manifested in more reserved and solitary behavior. But a big factor is how you replenish your energy. Introverts like to recharge by being alone while extroverts get their recharge by being with others.

Introverts prefer solitary to social activities, but do not necessarily fear social encounters like shy people do. So with this statement I'd be a shy extrovert, if that's even possible. But more accurately I'm a combination of both.. and sure enough there is a word for that.. ambivert. An ambivert is moderately comfortable with groups and social interaction, but also relishes time alone, away from a crowd. That's describes me perfectly. It's strange thinking yourself one way for over 40 years but come to find out that you really aren't that after all... you're just shy.

Negativity Shifts to Wonder Woman

And the hate/negativity continues.. DC released one still image from the upcoming Wonder Woman movie and the internet has gone crazy. People are calling for a boycott of the movie, saying how it's ruined now. These comments are so ridiculous and stupid. Now I get it, you don't like the costume and that's fine but saying that the movie is ruined or that you will not see it because of one still image is just asinine. I know it's only a small portion of people but they tend to speak the loudest and get noticed.

Please don't say that people have the right to their opinion, I completely agree with you on that. And they have to the right to complain "loudly" online but it doesn't mean I have to like it.  It continues to boggle my mind on how someone can "hate" something after seeing one still image. But as the saying goes.. haters gonna hate.

Stop the Negativity and Hate

Today when I got on Facebook I was bombarded by so much negativity and hate about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Critic reviews came out today and needless to say they weren't so kind. What upset me most wasn't the negative reviews (as I don't really care what critic's think) it was the fact that so many people jumped on the "I hate this movie" bandwagon when they hadn't even seen it yet. I can accept negative comments after you see something and you honestly didn't like it. But to complain about it before you've even seen it is just stupid.

These weren't just "I told you so" kind of comments these were vicious and mean comments towards Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams and Ben Affleck and this is based solely on trailers and the critic negative reviews. Such hatred is just idiotic and a waste of energy in my opinion.

Of course you ask why do I care, it's doesn't effect me and believe me I try and not let all the negativity get to me but seeing post after post in friends timelines takes it toll. I actually unfriended and stopped following a few people for their horrible bashing. Again everyone has a right to their opinion but please wait until you actually see the movie to complain about it.. Thanks.

And since I'm on the I hate "hate" thing.. You know you can promote and cheer on your presidential candidate without tearing down their opponent. I'd respect your argument so much more... just saying. I'm not talking about Democrats vs Republicans.. I'm now seeing Sanders supports bashing Hillary and vice versa.

I'm just so tired of all this hate and negativity... Between the negative comments about movies and the hateful bashing of presidential candidates I considered taking a break from Facebook. If I didn't have this blog or my podcasts I think I would but this is really the only way to promote those things. So I'll just do my best to ignore and even unfriend/unfollow people who hate or post negativity on a regular bases.

The Real O'Neals & An Emotional Ending to Shield

I'm continuing to enjoy ABC's new comedy The Real O'Neals. This weeks episode was particularly fantastic. Eileen decides it's time to get a fresh start in her life by applying for her first job since her kids were born. Meanwhile, Pat realizes he might not be ready for the single life just yet, even though his patrol partner, Archie, thinks otherwise. And as Kenny wonders who he will date next, Jimmy takes it upon himself to help him explore the newfound world of online dating.

Kenny's brother Jimmy is quickly becoming my favorite character on this series. I love his relationship with his younger brother. He accepts Kenny for who he is and even tries to help him become a better gay man. I don't know how realistic this character is but it's still pretty fantastic.

And on a quite different note tonight's Agents of Shield had me in tears.. and when I say tears I mean heart hurting and uncontrollable tears. This was S3 Ep13 "Parting Shots" After tracking Malick to Russia , Bobbi and Hunter become involved in an assassination plot; the team is changed forever as they race to save lives in the balance.

This episode is a major Bobby and Hunter episode and as it unfolds you realize what's happening and know what the end results is going to be. If you follow Shield news you know those two characters were going to do a spin off pilot so I figured they were going to leave the show and of course we knew they weren't going to die. The part that killed me was their goodbye scene. Between the incredible acting and the music I was a blubbering mess and watching it on repeat viewings I cry everytime.. it's so well done. In fact it's such an amazing scene that ABC posted it on youtube.. be sure to grab some tissues before you start watching... oh man just thinking about it is killing me.

Accepting Compliments

This morning coach Andrew complimented me on my appearance, he said I was looking thinner. My first thought was, no way.. he's must be joking with me (Coach Andrew is a jokester). He said it in front of the class he was teaching so of course others joined in with some woohoo's and such.

I was embarrassed as i don't like to draw attention to myself, especially my physical appearance but what was worse was that I couldn't just accept his compliment. When I realized he was being serious I came up with excuses.. maybe it's the lighting, or that I'm sucking my gut in just right or this shirt makes me look thinner. I never once thought.. yeah I am looking thinner... thanks for noticing.. and that makes me sad.

I'm so programmed to not accept compliments, Up until this past year I haven't really received compliments about my appearance. So it's unusual for me when I get them. I don't see myself as losing weight.. I only see the weight I still have to lose. I know I will never be skinny or thin as I have a stocky built but I wish I could see what others see in me. Instead of questioning their motives I'd like to agree with them and just simply say Thank you.

Live Video Gaming

A while back I posted about this cool idea of a live video game. You control the person in real time while playing the game. The first version was a zombie survival video where unsuspecting chat roulette folks were thrust into this world.  It's a fun video to watch.. but now it looks as though a video game company asked these people do the same thing with one of their video games "Hitman". The following video is the result... it's pretty fantastic.

Family Fun & Short Film "The Present"

Today I got to spend some time with my family (Dad, Brother, Sister-in-law, niece and nephew), I try and see them every two to three weeks. This time around my nephew's school was having a fair and Lora has to work one of the booths so I said I would watch the kiddos and walk them around the fair. It was alot of fun. There were a ton of little booth with kids games. Each game the kids play they would get stickers and then at the end they could turn in their stickers for prizes. They also had a large blow up slid which my niece and nephew has to go down over and over again. I think we spent half our tickets on that slide but they had a great time.

It was a nice family visit, didn't get to spend as much time with my Dad as I usually do but it was still a good visit.

I want to share this cute video with you guys.. at first I couldn't figure out why this kid was being so mean towards this three legged dog but of course at the end it's revealed and then the feels start happening.

Warrior Dash

Today a group of NerdStrongers and I did something that I didn't think I'd ever do my entire life.. I did a Warrior Dash. Warrior Dash is a 5K Mud Run with 12 obstacles in Prado Regional Park, Chino. If you told me I'd be doing this a few years ago I would have laughed but with the encouragement of friends and the hard work I've put in at NerdStrong I felt comfortable and capable of completing this.

I carpooled with several friends Rob and Pooja. And met up with more when we got there... Anne, Micah, Brian, Lindsey and Josh, also Naomi, Josh's girlfriend, Rob's sister and her boyfriend come out for moral support.

We took to the starting line and the gun went off.. or I should say flame throwers shot Fire into the air. We ran for almost a mile before hitting out first obstacle, "Mud Mounds". These are exactly what you think they are.. large piles of dirt. There are three sets and in between each set is a pool of muddy water. As I was going over the first one I noticed that lot of people were going to the left side which didn't have much water. I thought to myself.. hey it's a mud run I'm going to jump into the middle of the water.. what I didn't know is that under the water was about a foot of mud that I sunk down into and when I went to pull my foot out my poor shoe almost came off. It took some effort but I managed to get out of the bog and over the other two mud mounds. My shoes were completely covered in this thick layer of mud that we fling all over the place as I ran. It also added a few extra pounds to my shoes.

We then ran a short distance to the next obstacle called "Under the Wire". Here we had to get on our hands and knees and crawl under barbed wire. It was probably about 20 feet we had to crawl to get to the other side. It wasn't that bad.. just had to keep your butt down.

After Under the Wire we reached second obstacle and it's not listed on their web site so I don't have a name but we had to walk across 2x4 over pools of water while ice cold water poured down on us. This took great balance as you didn't want to fall into the cold water but you also didn't want to hold up your team and take forever.

Next was "Diesel Dome", which was this large monkey bar type structure made out of wood. This wasn't to difficult.. you just had to take your time and make sure you had a good hold of the wood. I think the trickiest part was when you got to the top and having to then turn around and make your way down the structure.

We then had to run a good distance to get to the next obstacle, "Chaotic Cargo". This took patience and you had to go fairly slow so you didn't fall through or get tangled in the cargo net.

I'm sensing a pattern here.. all these obstacle require you to go slow.

Next obstacle was called "Giant Cliffhanger", this one took some arm strength as you had to climb up this vertical incline with the help of a rope and then back down the other side. I didn't do to bad with this one. I think the hardest part was waiting for someone to finish a head of you before you could make your attempt.

We ran for a bit before hitting the "Trenches". These are exactly what you think they are. At first when you get on your hands and knees the outside area looked dry but as soon as you go under the tarps it's a muddy mess and at points your just pulling your body across the mud. I had a great time getting muddy in this one. I think most people were trying to keep themselves out of the mud.. I was trying to get as muddy as possible.. I mean it is called a mud run.

Next we went through the "Pipelines" this was a rope type thing. As you wait for your turn you are watching people do it several different ways.. just crawl through on hands and knees, or scoot on your back or go head first and use your arms to pull yourself across. I choose the last one and it was tough. Might have been better to have just crawled across.

We then came across the "Shocktop Unfiltered", which is just a sponsored obstacle. We had to climb over, under, over, under, over under and over various obstacles. This wasn't too difficult.. I think the worse part was crawling over grass that had some sticky things in them.

Next as "Fisherman's Catch", you had to walk across a cargo net while ice cold water as sprayed on you. They had rings and handles you could hold to help steady yourself but being only 5'3" I couldn't reach them so I have to get down on my hands and knees and crawl across the cargo net.

We then came upon "Goliath", this was a huge slide that dropped you into a muddy pool of water. You had to climb to the top and then slide down. What you don't know is that the pool is pretty deep and the water is ice cold, so as soon as you hit it you want to get out of it.

The final obstacle was the best but also the hardest... it's called 'Muddy Mayham" and this is just a big pit of very deep mud. It was like trying to get out of quicksand. There are so many people in it that you have feet in your face and other's behind your trying to drag themselves closer by using your legs. Don't get me wrong.. it was pretty awesome but extremely trying. I remember looking over at Lindsey and the look of exhaustion we exchanged was priceless. I don't know how but I manged to claw my way to the other side and once Lindsey was out my NerdStrong companions all clasped hands and walked across the finish line together.

We stood in line to take a picture with the official DASH WARRIOR sign and then headed to the showers, which was really just a power hose. You can't really get that clean, you just hope to get off the big chunks. Luckily I had brought a change of clothing so I wouldn't dirty up my car.

Overall the experience was amazing. The running wasn't bad and all of the obstacles were a blast.. if not cold. I do wish they had more water stations, especially towards the end, and I was really looking forward to the final obstacle which was us jumping over fire, but for whatever reason they didn't have that obstacle..  and on last thing.. the shower situation wasn't great but other then those minor issues I had a blast and I can't wait to do my next one.

Ahsoka/Anakin Video & Firefly Fluxx

Lucasfilms released this amazing video in anticipation of the March 30 season 2 finale of Star Wars Rebels, they've cut this refresher video explaining the relationship between Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano leading up to their ultimate showdown. I'm a HUGE Ahsoka Tano fan, I've loved her since they first introduced her on The Clone Wars many years ago. I was so happy they brought her over to Star Wars Rebels but knew this showdown was bound to happen and all I can do is hope she survives somehow. Can't wait to watch the finale at the end of March.

So I'm a huge fan of the card game Fluxx and I love, love, love Firefly so I was excited to hear when they announced that they were making a Firefly themed Fluxx game.. but then the news got even better.

My buddy Adam Levermore announced that he was the one doing all the art for the cards. He's an amazing artist so this is gonna be good. It was just released so I'll have to keep my eyes open for it or head over to Ebay or Amazon to pick it up.. also when Adam is down in SoCal visiting I'll have to get him to autograph my set. I truly have some amazingly talented friends.

So everyone pick up a Firefly version of Fluxx.. let's make this the #1 Fluxx game out there. Firefly may be gone but it will continue to live on in our hearts.

Back Squatting 315lbs

I went to open gym day at NerdStrong Gym. I missed a few days this week because I wasn't feeling so hot so I wanted to make up some of the missed workouts. Once I was there I teamed up with my friend Leo and we attempted One Rep Max for our Back Squats. My last attempt (about six months ago) I hit 295lbs, so I was really looking forward to moving pass 300lbs.

So I stared at 295lbs and slowly made my way up.. 300lbs was attained with ease (as expected) but I wanted to push myself a bit more. I squatted 305lbs, then 310lbs but I wanted to join the 3 wheel club (which is three 45lbs weights and each side, with a 45lb bar), which totaled 315lbs. I was tired but I wanted to try this weight one last time. As you can see from the video it wasn't pretty but I did it without much of a struggle. Don't get me wrong it was heavy but I'm sure I could have done another 5 maybe 10 more pounds. But I stopped at 315lbs. I'll try again in six months and hopefully will go up a few more pounds. My end goal is to back squat 400lbs.

NerdStrong Gym - This Past Week

I was pretty sick this past week and only managed to get to the gym twice. Tuesday's DEX and Wednesday's CON. I had to miss Thursday for a Doctors appointment but I did Friday's Open Gym which I will blog about after this one.

For Tuesday's workout it was titled The Ides of March. We started with a pretty tough warm up (of as they called it "Candidates For the Senate" which was 460 meter Shuttle Run then 2 rounds of 10x Hip Openers (love these), 10x Air Squats, 10x Lateral Monkeys (not a fan of these) and 10x Scapula Push Ups. We then moved on to the main workout (The Senate Plots) of 3 rounds of 1:30 minutes of work / :30 seconds of rest for Sandbag Clean to Shoulder, Planks, Jumping Pull Ups, Wall Sits and Kettlebell Halo's. And finally to the finisher (aka Let's Get Stabby!!) in which we had to do 23 Mace Jousts while a partner held a weight plate overhead. The length of time you held that plate overhead was determined by how long it took your partner to do the 23 Mace Jousts.

This was a tough workout but not horrible and not bad for my return to the gym. I hate missing days but I'd prefer to stay home and rest then be out even more days because my sickness had gotten worse. Though I will admit I wasn't 100% yet so I worked out at about 80% which wasn't bad.

Wednesday's CON class we climbed the Alps. But we first started with a good warm up, 10x Air Squats, 10x Jumping Jacks, 5x Tempo Push Ups (3 down and 1 up),  10x Mountain Climbers, 10x Stryders, 10x Iron Cross and finally 10x Scorpions.

Next was the main workout which consisted of Squats, Step Ups and Sit Ups. The first mountain was 15x, 20x, 25x and back down, 20x and 15x. So that meant we did 15x Squats, 15x Step Ups and 15x Sit Ups, then 20x Squats, 20x Step Ups and 20x Sit Ups and so on.. all the way up the mountain and then back down. Then we moved on to the smaller mountain 10x, 15x and 20x then back down 15x and 10x before moving on to the smallest mountain of 5x, 10x and 15x and back down 10x and 5x.

I'm happy to say that I made it to the small mountain and made it to top but wasn't able to go back down before time ran out. It was a tough workout and though the actual movements aren't tough it's the fact that you are constantly doing them for 40 minutes straight with no breaks.. now that's rough.

We finished with a max hang.. I lasted all of a minute and a half before I couldn't hold on any more. I think the max for the class was just over 2 minutes. It was a good workout and I'm happy to say that I'm feeling better.. not 100% but 85%.

NerdStrong Pix Minus Kenny, New X-Men & Midnight Special Trailers

I couldn't make it to NerdStrong today because of my doctors appointment but that didn't mean my 7am class (that's my usual workout time) couldn't take their own "Kenny" pix. But as you can see without me they are lost. BTW is this is the best Kenny pix that doesn't include Kenny. And yes it's weird talking about myself in third person.

Two new trailers that I wanted to share with you guys.. first one is another X-Men: Apocalypse trailer. I've enjoyed this recent incarnation of the X-Men series and this one looks like it's going to be pretty fantastic as well. Bryan Singer has been doing an amazing job with this series.

The other trailer is for a movie that I had heard nothing about but it does star some familiar faces. From the trailer it looks be some some sort of science fiction story but I'm not 100% sure. The title makes no sense but it definitely caught my eye and I hope to see it in the theater when it comes out.

St Patty's Day Luncheon

There are many upsides to working with my current company, one of them being they like to party. Any excuse to throw a party they will take it. I mean this company use to have an annual F#@K Off Day, where everyone from the company would blow off a work day and go to the beach to party. Well today is Saint Patrick's Day today so of course they must have a kick ass celebration.

They set up everything out in the parking lot, we got some amazing food to eat, beer to drink (though I opted for diet soda) and even at live Irish music (I think that was my favorite part). The entire company shuts down for about three hours to celebrate. It's always alot of fun.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!!!!!

Latest Doctors Visit

No NerdStrong this morning as I have my yearly doctor visit. I booked an 8am appointment as I didn't want to be late for work. I could have tried to do the 6am workout before my appointment but I couldn't bring myself to getting up at 5am.

I got to the doctors office at 7:45 and filled out some paperwork. I was bummed because I was told that my doctor had left and that I would be assigned a new doctor. And this current doctor I just got last year and really liked her. So I was surprised when she walked into my room all smiles. Neither of us could figure out why they told me she was gone, but she did inform me that she will be leaving later this year as her residence is finally over.

As for my appointment I found out that all my numbers are good and that my cholesterol has even gone down. I figured that was all good since I'm on medicine to help control my cholesterol and blood pressure. I was worried about my A1C levels. A1C is your blood sugar levels. If you recall October of 2014 I got word that my A1C was at 6.4 which is .1 one away from clinically diagnosed as diabetic. That got me started on my fitness/health journey this past year and a half. I went back three months later and my A1C numbers dropped to 6.0 and then three more months it was down to 5.8. I hadn't had it checked since so it's been almost a year and I continue to struggle with my diet and particularly the past few months it's been okay but not as good as I should so I was worried about that number. I asked what the number was and she said it was 5.8. Part of me was happy that it hadn't gone up as expected but then part of me was disappointed that I'm still considered pre-diabetic. I need to get my numbers below 5.7 to be considered "normal". Though I was disappointed my doctor was anything but. She said it was a big deal to be able to drop your A1C like I did over a year and a half with out any medication. She said if I continue doing what I'm doing it will be below 5.7 in no time. So it was a good visit.

LeakyCon - Harry Potter Convention

I friend of mine posted that this years LeakyCon will be held in Burbank. If you don't know what LeakyCon is.. here's a quick description: LeakyCon is a conference originally hosted by the Harry Potter fan site, The Leaky Cauldron.

LeakyCon has a variety of programming, ranging from author and actor panels to attendee-submitted meetups and discussions. Team Starkid has played a large role in their programming, most notably in 2012 with their production of A Very Potter 3D: A Very Potter Senior Year. Author John Granger, known as "the Hogwarts Professor", has given lectures about real-world themes and ideas within the Harry Potter books. In previous years, John and Hank Green have hosted various panels and meetups at the conference. LeakyCon features three different types of programming. The Lit Track is for all the authors, wanna-be published authors, and enthusiasts. Lit Track is run by Maureen Johnson and features panels, meetups and signings for anyone who enjoys a good book. Mainstage Programming indicates all the programming that happens on the mainstage of LeakyCon and usually features special guests, Wrock (Wizard rock) concerts, special panels, and performances. General Programming is anything from yoga with Evanna Lynch to panels about Severus Snape. LeakyCon opens up a programming call months before LeakyCon, which allows anyone to submit programming they would like to have at the conference.

I've always wanted to attend but until this year they have never been close enough. The general tickets are a bit pricey going for $250 but the con runs from Wed Oct 19 - Sun Oct 23. It's a pretty long con. They usually sell out so I'll have to decide if I want to go or not fairly soon. Maybe if I can find some friends to join me I might consider it.. actually that would be the only way I would go. I wouldn't want to go solo. Anyways.. you can check out their site HERE. Let me know if you're interested in going with me.

New MASH Podcast, More Indy & Miss Peregine's Trailer

Geekyfanboy Productions released a new episode of the MASH 4077 Podcast. This is episode 125, covering Season 6, Episode 3 - Fallen Idol

Radar has always looked up to Hawkeye and admired him as his hero. But after suffering a Jeep accident en route to R&R at Hawkeye's request. Radarquestions his own hero worship. Particularly when he and his hero have afalling out.

You can Download from itunes tinyurl.com/MASH4077itunes , listen on Stitcher Radio ow.ly/iZJIz or listen and get direct download from our main website MASH4077Podcast.com

I came across this very cool video. I love these kinds of videos that narrow down statistics to understand them better. This is a good one.

In other news it was officially announced that Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg will be returning for a fifth Indiana Jones movie. You can read more about the announcement HERE. I'm super excited for this news.. I have enjoyed all the of Indiana Jones movies.. some more then others but I love the character and fun adventures. What makes me said is only a few minutes after this was announced the internet hate started up. It's crazy to me that people can hate something from just an announcement... people really do need to get lives. Stop spewing the hate, I mean when the movie comes out and you actually watch is and not like it then by all means you have ever right to complain or "hate" it but please don't hate something before it's even made.. that's just stupid.

And one last thing.. I hadn't heard a thing about this movie but came across this trailer and I have to say it looks pretty fantastic. It's looks bizarre and fanciful and the face that Tim Burton is directing it you know it's going to be off the wall. It's based off of a book series.

Not A Good Start To Monday

Not how you want to start your Monday. I was coming into work and when I pulled into the parking lot I turned to sharp and went up the curb. I hit it so hard that I actually blew up my front right tire.  Thankfully I was in my work parking lot so I packed, got out and went to work. The tire was flat, I knew that but I didn't know if I bent the rim or even worse broke the axle.  On my lunch break I headed back to the parking lot to check the damage out. I first had to dig out my spare tire and then with some muscle I took off the nuts and pulled off the damaged tire. I inspected the axle and everything looked okay and from what I could tell the rim of the tire looked okay as well. Even the actual tire looked okay and I didn't see any tears or anything. So I put on the spare and drove it to a local tire place that had amazing reviews. The guy came out and looked at the blown tire and couldn't find any holes in it but he did say that the tread was wearing thin and I took a closer look and he was correct. It's been over three years and I haven't changed the tires yet on this car. He also mentioned that the left tired also looked tread worn as well and should be replaced. I've been around cars long enough to know that if you change one tired it's best to change both so I got two brand new front tires for a decent price. The guy mentioned that my car of front wheel driven so those front tires will be more worn then the back (which would explain why the back tires looked fine). Though it was my stupidity that cased the tire to go flat, in the end it was worth it as both front tires were going bald and would need to be replaced fairly soon anyways.. so all in all a good thing.

Binge Watching Fuller House

I spent the majority of the day lying on my couch trying not to die (I'm sick). I wanted to watch something fun, something that I really didn't have to pay much attention to just in case I fell asleep. I came across Fuller House. Now I wouldn't consider myself a diehard fan of Full House back in the day but I did watch quite a bit of it.. mostly the early season. But I figured I'd give it a shot and watch the first episode. Okay that was cute and very nostalgic so why not watch episode two.. then three, then four and so on until I had watched the entire season (13 episodes) of Fuller House.

There was something very comforting about the series. It was charming yet extremely cheesy at times but that didn't bother me. It was great seeing the characters older and living their own lives. I didn't realize that it's really only about the two older daughters (D.J. and Stephanie) and their friend Kimmy Gibbler along with their kids. Yes the other characters (Jesse, Rebecca, Joey and Danny) from Full House are in a few episodes but it really does revolve around just the kids and their families. They did a great job getting back into those roles so many years later. I think my favorite was D.J.'s middle son, Max. He is the biggest ham on screen but so dang adorable and endearing. He chewed up ever scene he was in and I loved it. I enjoyed the storylines and I like how they brought back some of the originals casts from time to time.

I'm super excited to know that they have renewed the series for a season two.. I'll be checking it out and for that matter I'm really looking forward to rewatching this series again. I really don't know what it is about this series but I really really enjoyed it... it's just fun.

My New Companions

Got up early and headed to a park where I was to meeting up with a person who ran a local Rattery. I was picking up my pet rats today. I had intended to get at least two (Frodo and Sam) but there was a possibility that I'd be getting four (Pippin and Merry). She brought five rats with her and I got to hang out with them for a few minutes. The first one I grabbed was the only dark one and he just sat in my arms very content and happy. This was my Frodo. The next one I grabbed was an all white one, he was a bit more active but like Frodo he didn't mind being held.. this was my Sam. So I had two but then there were these light brown and white ones (three of them). I picked up one and he quickly jumped from my hands onto the ground and was a bit wild, the other two were a bit more squeamish but not horrible. As I held the other two.. I figured why not get all four. The handler brought up the point that if you get two there is a bigger chance of one being dominated over the other, but with three or four there is less of a chance of that. So I got my four rats, they are all Dumbo Rats... Frodo is Agouti, Samwise is Siamese and Merry and Pippin are Fawns. All are brothers and they are just over a 5 weeks old and pretty adorable.

Tux Fitting and St Patrick Day Celebration

Still not feeling that great but took some meds so I could go to my tux fitting for Robert's upcoming wedding. Robert, Will, Tamar, Dallas, and George joined me in a downtown tux shop to try on our tuxedos. Unfortunately Chris (another groomsman) wasn't able to join us. Once by one we were sized for our tuxes.

While we waited I had a bit of fun trying on various other suit jackets. I came across this red one that was to small for me but man did it make me look good. I could wear this and look amazing if I didn't have to breath.

After getting fitted for our tuxes Robert took us out for lunch, joining us for lunch was Will, Dallas, Robert and myself. We walked to the local Counter for some tasty burgers.

When I got home from lunch I had a package waiting for me at my door. It was my air brush machine. I'm looking forward to playing with this but I need to find the right kind of make up to use with an air brush. I want to practice as much as possible before I use to for Wondercon or more likely San Diego Comic Con.

In the evening I wasn't feeling so hot but I couldn't miss Will's legendary St Patrick Day party. Once again I took some meds to help with the feeling crappy, put on my green plaid hat and made my way over to his place. As always there were alot of people and I did my best socialize but I really wasn't feeling great and managed to stay until about midnight.

Overall it was a good day, just wish I didn't feel so horrible.

NerdStrong Gym... My Past Week

Only managed four days of NerdStrong workout this week, Saturday CON, Sunday TEAM, Tuesday DEX and Wednesday CON. Towards the end of the week I got sick.

The week started with the final D&D Night of the Zombie King workout Chapter 5 "Realm of the Dead" For this workout we had to had to tackle the mountain of bones which consisted of 50x Seal Jacks, 25x Air Squats, 20x Single Arm Steel Club Swing to Guard, 20x Push Ups, 20x Spell casters and then finally a 10 meter heavy carry.

We had to do this set five times before moving on and taking on the Zombie King himself. To kill the Zombie King as a group we had to do 650 Burpees which we did and was successful in our quest. We also had ghosts attacking us from time to time and sending on the roll of the dice, determined what kind of minute plank we had to do.

This entire D&D workout was pretty fantastic. Thank you to coach David and coach Seely for creating it. I know we are only going to do this type of workout every once in a while since it takes a while to program and write but I'm really looking forward to the next adventure.

Sunday's TEAM Themed workout was all about Tron titled "Master Control Program". After a warm up that started with a 230 meter run, then 3 rounds of 10x Front Shoulder Raise, 10x Driver and 10x Halo then one final 230 meter run around the parking lot. We then moved to "The Grid" where we had four Rings and on each ring we had two different movements. It was a 3 minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) with a 1 minute transition. Ring One we had to do 10x Disc Chop & 10x Squat and Defend. Ring Two was 10x Curl & 10x Triceps Extension. Ring Three was 10x Thrusters & 10x In/Out Push Ups. And Ring 4 was 10x Bent Row & 10x Press. Of course all of these done with a weighted plate (disc).

We finished this workout with an awesome 10 minute AMRAP battle. We were broken up into four rings. One ring would roll a D4 and whatever number it landed on (besides it's own) that would be the ring you would attack. But that ring has a chance to deflect by rolling their own D4 and getting the of the Ring that's attacking them. If they fail then they have to do 3 Burpees while everyone else holds a plank. But if they deflect the shot back to the attacker then only the attackers have to do the burpees while everyone else rests. It was a lot of fun and a great way to end this pretty fantastic workout.

Tuesday's DEX day started with a fun Agility Ladder warm up. I love working with the agility ladder. Some of the movements come naturally but some I struggle to master. Next we moved on to DEX Walks. Coaches laid down two of the battleropes and we had to walk on them. First it was just the regular tightrope walk, then backwards tightrope walking, side shuffle (left, then right), hand over hand bear crawl, suitcase hold, front rack hold (left, then right) and finally overhead sandbell hold (left, then right). Thought it was tough it was alot of fun. Some I could manage without falling off the rope but some were a struggle with my balance.

We then moved on to 5 rounds of Overhead Ring Squats, Crow Hold and Static Calf Raise Hold and for a finisher we did 20x Jump Squats with Hands on Head, 2 minutes of Sit Ups and 20x Jump Squats with Hands on Head. It was nice dexterity workout.

I woke up not feeling so hot on Wednesday morning but I was hoping that this workout would kill this bug that I have. It was a CON day which meant coach Blair. This workout was titled Dragon Row, now if your a regular reader of my blog or know me personally you know I'm not a big fan of Rowing. First we started with a warm up of 2 rounds of 230 meter jog, 10x Air Squats, 10x Reverse Lunges, 10x Spiderman Plank and then 10x Ring Rows. Once we did that twice we moved on to our main workout.

For the main workout we did Team Rowing. We were grouped up into teams of three and had to row 1 minute at a time. It doesn't sound like much but coach Blair asked us to sprint which means go full speed and doing that for an entire minute is tough.. Once the first person was done then the second would go and then the third so you did get two minutes of rest between sprints. We did this for 21 minutes meaning we all did 7 minutes each. Minute 5, 6 and 7 were the a killer but we wanted to try and hit at least 5000 meters as a group. So we pushed through and my team which was Me (of course), my workout husband John and buddy Rob manged to row a combined total of 5102. We were the slowest out of the three teams in the 7am class but with rowing height really helps and all three of us are under 5'7". But the 7am class did out row the 6am class 16,187 to 15,569, not that we compete :) Though I'm not a fan of rowing, overall this was a good workout.

I had to cancel my Thursday Strength class, I woke up at 4am and felt horrible and knew there was no way I was going to make it to the gym. I hope this illness doesn't keep me from missing to much NerdStrong.. I hate missing the gym.

Captain America Trailer 2 & Being Sick

Today they released the second trailer for Captain America - Civil War. I've been super excited for this sequel since I saw the first images and this trailer has heightens my excitement, and I loved the cameo of Spiderman at the very end. I can't wait for this movie.

A few days ago I woke up with a sore throat in the morning and yesterday I woke up with that same sore throat, ear aches and over all body ache but I went to workout hoping to sweat whatever it was out of me.. well that was a big mistake as I came home yesterday feeling horrible. So this morning I opted not to go to gym (which killed me) but I knew it was best. I also only manged to stay at work for a half day before calling it a day and going home to crash. I hate being sick and I really thought I made it through this last wave but I didn't. I hear that i'll be super sick for a few days but then only be kind of sick for the next few weeks. I hope I don't miss to much gym.

Supergirl/Flash Crossover

Today CBS released this great mock up comic book/poster for the upcoming cross over of The Flash on Supergirl. The only thing I know if from this short synopsis. I figured they were going to have to be from an alternate Earth since that's been the theme in season two of The Flash and that way they can explain why she just can't show up in The Flash or Arrow universe at anytime. I'm really looking forward to this cross over as I really enjoy both of these series. And from the set pictures that were released it looked like the two main actors had a blast.

Here's the official synopsis: Kara gains a new ally when the lightning-fast superhero The Flash suddenly appears from an alternate universe and helps Kara battle Siobhan, aka Silver Banshee, and Livewire in exchange for her help in finding a way to return him home.