Category: Archive

Yesterday, after a process of several months, I finally closed on my grandmother’s house. My grandmother passed away a little over two years ago, and while I do not want to go into all the family details, it has been a heck of a process to finally get the house. As of yesterday at 10AM, I am now the owner of two mortgages.

The plan is to start renovations next week; we have a 120-day contract with our construction/remodeling company. Hopefully we can move into sometime in late October or early November. Of course that means we have to time the sale of our current house, which is going to be a not so fun proposition.

The good news is that the house stays in the family – it was built (I think) by my great grandfather in 1902. The house is larger than my current house, and will have great opportunities for entertainment, which my current house certainly does not provide. We are also going to get a deck, a fenced in back yard for the kids (and a much wanted dog), and a garage apartment among other things. The house is a Columbus, GA historic park district casually called Lakebottom. The historic part is another story, but the park is only .3 miles from the house, which is going to be wonderful for the kids. I played there when I was a kid, and now my kids get to experience the same thrills and spills of the neighborhood park.

The bad news, besides needing a lot (and I do mean a lot) of money to fix up the house, is that the garage apartment is in shambles – wood rot, old termite damage, the whole nine yards. I want to keep the garage apartment because it increases the value of the house, and I lived in the upstairs apartment when I was in college. The builders practically have to rebuild the whole damn thing; about 25 percent of it is gone right now, which is also another story for another day. This little project is completely out of pocket, which means pretty soon I will no longer have money in said pocket. Major ouch, and it will certainly cut down on any sort of gaming budget that I think I may have for the next few months.

The good news is that I now own my grandmother’s house. Tonya and I decided that since we are spending so much money to restore the garage apartment that we should somehow get some use out of the damn thing. We are going to convert the bottom area into a game room. Hello pool table and refrigerator full of beer (the beer part was actually Tonya’s idea, bless her).

I just figured I would write/share a little, since I cannot sleep (5AM Saturday morning) – worrying about that second mortgage I guess. Plus this explains why I have not had any free time for gaming – I have been spending most of my free time over at my grandmother’s house sorting out 100+ years of stuff.

Shaun Sullivan is reporting in the PureSim forum that he signed a deal with a publisher. Just who this publisher is remains a mystery since he’s not splilling the beans. As a footnote, let’s all remember that PureSim had a publishing deal with another group before this current arrangement, so no popping the corks quite yet. That deal lasted about as long as a New York minute.

I just noticed that Grey Dog Software posted some new screen shots of its upcoming college football game. So far so good, but we’ll have to see if the code works as pretty as the pictures look.

While trying to find someplace selling Half Life 2 below $53, I stumbled upon a sale at Best Buy. They have it for $39, but I am not sure if it is only an online deal until Friday or available in the store for that amount.

I just returned from a conference in Boston. Some interesting things I learned while walking to the Boston Beer Garden were (a) the Yankees are Chokers and (b) R. Kelly slept with Derek Jeter’s wife. This is what a lot of t-shirts had on them that were for sale outside of Fenway Park. So it must be true.

My new Weber Grill won’t arrive until July 6th. Oh well, no grilling for me this weekend. Such is life.

I purchased the Killers “Hot Fuss” CD right before I left for Boston. The lovely brown box was waiting for me when I got home.

Sorry Jonathan, but that was a wasted $9.99. I was reading a review of some band (Franz Ferdinand maybe?) and the comment I remembered was “if you are 30+ years old, you’ve heard this before.” That’s how I’d sum up the Killers CD.

Snow Patrol’s “Final Straw” was also in the shipment, and that is a much better retro-sound.

I just stumbled across one of the best (and definitely the most entertaining) threads I have read in some time. For those easily offended by male behavior, you better not take a look. Otherwise, click here for a laugh for two.

I downloaded Baseball Mogul 2006 yesterday, and I’m eager to see if I can lead my Indians to their first World Championship since 1948. I actually did this once in 10 years under Baseball Mogul 2004, so I’m hopeful I can repeat my success.

Also, I picked up Ghost Recon Island Thunder (again) from EB Games for only $9.99. It seems that EB Games is attempting to clear its inventory, as their were many quality titles for under $10, including some that are less than a year old. I also traded in two old games for $20 worth of credit towards NCAA Football 2006. Had I traded them in for any other game, I would’ve had about $4 credit. However, EA is running some kind of trade-in special, so I parleyed that into an opportunity to get NCAA 2006 for just $29.99, and it’s pre-ordered, so I can get it on July 12th. I can only imagine that the deep discount is because we have to put up with Desmond Howard on the cover…

Oh joy… ESPN is reporting that the Cavs have inked Danny Ferry as the new GM. Cavs fans will recall how Danny Ferry already destoryed the franchise once, although it wasn’t his fault. It’s the one blight on Wayne Embry’s career – trading Ron Harper (plus draft picks!) to the Clippers for the rights to the “next Larry Bird.” Hardly. Ferry was barely a serviceable backup throughout his career, and as far as I can recall, Harper has 3 or 4 rings!

Well, I guess I’ll look at it this way: now Ferry has a chance to make it up to us Cavs fans…

I have nothing better to write about right now, so how about my current iPod favorite play list (as if I am a celebrity).

• Pump It – Black Eyed Peas
  Because I have to have some good Hip-Hop funk, and any thing on Monkey Business is a great place to start.
• Almost – Bowling for Soup
  I like their sound, and I like their lyrics. This is more like a guilty pleasure song. I didn’t almost do anything in this song, but it is still great fun.
• Hollaback Girl – Gwen Stefani
  I guess I like it for the bitch factor; another fun song that is even better if you crank up the volume.
• Behind These Hazel Eyes – Kelly Clarkson
  Uh … I guess this is the first pop I have picked up in a while, but this Clarkson is all right. That and my wife says my hazel eyes are green.
• Something About You – Level 42
  Came out right smack-dab in the middle of the 80’s, and all good readers know I love me some 80’s music. “Something About You” is about as good as it gets for this era.
• Ass Like That � Eminem
  

  “Hilary Duff is not quite old enough so
  I ain’t never seen a butt like that
  Maybe next year I’ll say ass and she’ll make my pee pee go
  Doing, doing, doing”

  Seriously, are there better lyrics out there?

• China Girl � David Bowie
  Because a play list is just not a play list until David Bowie makes it complete. One of the top songs of all times.
• Beverly Hills – Weezer
  Not that I care about the left coast, or the life style (OK, I admit I want a Boxter), but this song speaks volumes for why our society is so f’up.
• Mr. Brightside – The Killers
  This group rules! I cannot wait to see how their music develops, and screw the pundits, The Killers kick ass.
• Just a Lil bit – 50 Cent
  Because my wife likes it when I come home with a beer in my belly, and dancing to my dirty music. OK, I said too much.
• Shut Up – Simple Plan
  I doubt anyone thinks I am into the teen anguish thing, but this one is pretty good and goes equally well with a beer or a short jog.

All comments written after partaking in the wonderful world of Red Stripe, so no need to take my ramblings very seriously, for these comments are only intended to provide chuckle or two. No apologies necessary.

Texas just managed to pull off a hell of a comeback, beating Baylor 4 – 3 a few mins ago with a walk-off homer in the 9th, thus advancing to the championship series this weekend.

Texas has look awsome so far in the 2005 edition of the College World Series, beating Baylor 5 – 1, Tulane 5 – 0, and Baylor again tonight 4 – 3.

Hook ’em!

One of the casualties of my move to Texas was my Kenmore Elite gas grill. Now that I am in the land of BEEF, I somehow feel inadequate that I can’t fire up a grill every weekend. With the July 4th weekend coming up, this is a great time to see all of the big home and garden warehouses strut their stuff. There were grills inside Home Depot/Lowes, grills outside, flashy brochures, and a nice 10% discount at each for folks new to the area.

So how did I end up purchasing my Weber Genesis Gold C gas grill at Amazon.com you may ask?

In some ways I am like Jonathan and all of you lemmings that bought iPods – there sometimes is that “sexiness” that drives a purchase. Yes, I know that other companies make great grills. But, there’s nothing like a good old Weber gas grill. They have the same iPod-like cult following, great customer service, and exceptional warranties. I learned all of this the hard way when I strayed from the Weber-fold with my Kenmore grill.

The great deal at Amazon.com is they are charging one cent for shipping on Weber grills. I originally wanted the Genesis Gold B grill that doesn’t have a side burner and costs $599. So with shipping and tax, this cost me $599.01, almost the same price (with tax) for the Genesis Silver at Home Depot. The bad news is that the grill is out of stock.

There are a number of Amazon.com “partner” companies that the grill can be ordered through, but they were charging anywhere from $80 to $178 for shipping. I decided to look at the higher priced Genesis Gold C because Amazon.com had this model in stock. So, $649.01 for the Genesis Gold C, or close to $700 for the Gold B. Hmmm, what to do, what to do….

Now I could have waited for the Gold B, but the scheduled arrival was in August. I bit the bullet – which means presented my quandry to my lovely wife – and she agreed to approve my new plan.

Grill ships on Friday and will arrive on July 1st. Life is good!

Seems as if our European friends are trying their best to test our friendly resolve. First the continuous sad saga of SI Games and their various North American releases. Now F1 gives the US the good old shaft. I purchased my last set of Michelin tires a few months ago.

But not all is bad news from the other side of the pond!

The try before you buy NHL Eastside Hockey Manager 2005 is released! OK, we do have a new file and I think I’ll wait a few days to see if it is “actually” released, but everything looks good so far. I have a two-hour flight from Dallas to Boston this weekend, so I now have something to do.

Because there isn’t a North American retail release until September, we get a nice price break. We pay $29 for the game, which is roughly half of the cost to other parts of the world. Long live the alliance!

I have not even gotten started writing about my frustrations with last weekend’s US Grand Prix debacle at Indy, but I will start building up steam. Here is a beauty of a quote

“Jacques Villeneuve, meanwhile, blamed Ferrari for their failure to agree to the introduction of a chicane: “We could have raced with a chicane, if a chicane had been put before the banking, but Ferrari didn’t accept.”

Michael Schumacher’s comment, “I don’t know what Michelin’s problem is, but this wasn’t our problem,” spoke volumes about Ferrari’s intransigence ahead of F1’s race of shame.

It is amazing that Ferrari could be built out as the bad guy in this mess. There are lots of things that could have (dare I say should have) been done to prevent the weekend’s fiasco from occurring, but even if Ferrari agreed to a new chicane, I doubt the FIA would have went along.

Devil’s advocate time – suppose Ferrari and the FIA would have agreed to add a chicane, how is that a better solution that multiple changes of tires for the Michelin runners? Adding a chicane over running a slightly slower speed? Using a chicane instead of ducking into the pits each lap to prevent the load on turn 13?

Regardless of the potential solution, one was never found. David Coulthard said it best

“The bottom line is Michelin made a mistake. But after that the FIA had it in their hands to find a solution and ensure we all raced out there. The most important people, the fans, have been forgotten in all of this,” noted Coulthard.”

The fans were indeed screwed, and I find myself questioning why I bother to follow the sport I (used to?) love so dearly.

For the first time in 30+ years a US based team has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans! The US owned Audi R8 Champion Racing team was first to take the checkered flag in what should be considered a wonderful achievement for the US. Corvette Racing (the Corvette C6-R looks awesome) also managed to finish 5th and 6th overall; good for 1st and 2nd in the GT1 class.

I do not know enough about sports car racing to really make any sort of intelligent commentary about this year’s race (plus the US Grand Prix is about to start; hopefully), but suffice it to say, that I am proud of the our achievements today!

This is unfreaking believable. I have been watching F1 since 1995, and this is possibly the darkest day I have seen in F1. I am certainly not trying to overshadow the deaths of brave racers and unfortunate spectators that have gone before their time; as I said, this is my darkest day in F1.

Team bosses also said it wasn’t clear if the U.S. Grand Prix would count in the championship standings.

“This is disappointing because Formula One, at times, can’t realize it is a sport first and a political battle second,” Minardi team boss Paul Stoddart said. “Nine teams have agreed to drive for points or no points as long as a chicane is installed. It is now in the FIA’s hands, but for nine of us our position is this is sport and there are hundreds of millions of people wanting to see a race.” [Source: Yahoo]

It will be interesting to see what happens, and regardless, it will be a devastation blow to any momentum that F1 has picked up in the US, if the 2005 US Grand Prix is not blessed as an official race in the 2005 Championship.