Monday, February 28, 2005
Fun weekend!
Finally got to see Constantine this weekend, and you know, it was very good. Some of my friends have posted that its horrid, largely because they are purists or can't stand Keanu Reeves. Yes, the movie only resembled the comic book, and Keanu Reeves is not blond, or was anything like John Constantine, but it still was a good story. I loved the effects too. I think its worth getting on DVD and I will.
Well in other news, Phoenix and I went to the zoo this weekend and took some delightful pictures and had a lot of fun. Will post some pictures in a bit.
Well in other news, Phoenix and I went to the zoo this weekend and took some delightful pictures and had a lot of fun. Will post some pictures in a bit.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Monday, February 21, 2005
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Again no posts for awhile
Sorry there have been no posts for awhile, nothing to talk about really besides the frustration of getting a house loan, and the fact I am not doing anything travel wise this spring because of it. Work is well, something I would rather not be doing if I could have free money.
Valentines day was spectacular for me. We got an X-box last week, and my wonderful woman gave me MechAssault 2, and I gave her Halo 2. She also got me this really spiff watch and a wallet, and I got her some flowers, some sugar free candy and a whip cream maker (we both go through whipped cream like mad, so I figure she would like it.)
Otherwise, the two of us have been like hermits. Been wanting to sell Sinbad, because he is so aggressive towards the other birds. Its a shame, because otherwise, he is a sweet bird, although demanding.
The Gouldians we have have been busily setting up shop in their cages, and looking like they are going to mate, which is spectacular. We may have new babies soon!
If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend getting the new Google bar. It has auto spelling for stupid people like me, that isn't intrusive or time consuming when you are typing in web forms (like this say) and some other new features that are really cool.
Well Constantine is coming out this weekend, and I am gonna go see it! I can't wait!
Valentines day was spectacular for me. We got an X-box last week, and my wonderful woman gave me MechAssault 2, and I gave her Halo 2. She also got me this really spiff watch and a wallet, and I got her some flowers, some sugar free candy and a whip cream maker (we both go through whipped cream like mad, so I figure she would like it.)
Otherwise, the two of us have been like hermits. Been wanting to sell Sinbad, because he is so aggressive towards the other birds. Its a shame, because otherwise, he is a sweet bird, although demanding.
The Gouldians we have have been busily setting up shop in their cages, and looking like they are going to mate, which is spectacular. We may have new babies soon!
If you haven't seen it yet, I would recommend getting the new Google bar. It has auto spelling for stupid people like me, that isn't intrusive or time consuming when you are typing in web forms (like this say) and some other new features that are really cool.
Well Constantine is coming out this weekend, and I am gonna go see it! I can't wait!
Friday, February 11, 2005
Social Security Office of DOOM!
Well, yesterday I went to the Orlando Federal Building to go get my name changed. And boy, if you ever have to do that, mail everything in, it will be worth the wait. It took me 3 hours of standing in line to get to the person! Then it was off to the DMV to get the new drivers license and that took an hour! Went from there to the bank and it was closed, so I do that today after work. Otherwise, I have taken my wife's last name, so now I am officially Neal John Dolphin... Whoo hoo!
Monday, February 07, 2005
Birdie Show!
Well, this weekend was interesting to say the least. Was going to go to crown tourney, but my back freaked Friday night, and I spent most of Sat. taking it easy. The one thing I do hate about my back is the fact one day it will be terrible, and the next day fine. This does not help my case when I go to the doctor and say, “Well yesterday I hurt like mad, but today I am fine.” Doesn’t get much done for it. So Saturday we cleaned house a little, watched TV and such. Sunday was fun though. We got up early to go to the bird show, with the goal of finally getting something to breed and start making money on birds instead of just being those crazy bird people. We ended up buying a new cage for Adonis (The African Grey) and it is huge. I tell you what; never buy a bird cage at a store. Buy it at a show or build one, you will save a huge amount of money. We bought two big flight cages, and 5 Gouldian finches for breeding (one more we are getting as a gift). Hopefully these will start things going. We have also decided that Sinbad, the Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo must go. He is far to aggressive toward the other birds and I am afraid someone is going to get hurt. He also really does want to breed. I suppose we could find a female, but we are going to try to trade him for a Grey or some pair of something smaller.
Otherwise, we are looking for a loan so we can look for a house. We must have new house to start birdie business.
Otherwise, we are looking for a loan so we can look for a house. We must have new house to start birdie business.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Birds birds birds birds birds
Birds and a new house are what are on my mind and eating a hole in my pocket book.
This is why I am not going to Gulf Wars and may not be able to go to crown, among other things. But these things are really important to me and my lovely wife, and the rewards are great.
I am slowly getting an education about how to get a mortgage loan, and the whole process sucks. My credit rating is not so bad, but I paid off an old old bill, and it should get a little better. The problem is not so much unpaid bills, those are all cleared off. The problem is the couple of 30 day notices and lack of credit history. Oy. The good news is that I may qualify for a government assisted loan. We shall see. I am going to wait till the credit score gets a wee bit higher with paying off that one bill and see what happens.
A house of our own starts the whole process of the birdie empire starting.
Next is the birds. One of Phoenix’s customers at work just sold us a new cage for $100, and I tell you it was worth every penny. We are putting Sinbad in it at the moment, and it makes him look like a tiny bird. The cage is big enough for a Macaw. So last night we lugged it in the house and set up all the little perches, etc. He seems much happier for it.
This weekend is the great Orlando bird show, and the plan is to get some sort of birds we can start breeding. This is why I might not make it to crown, because I we need all the cash we can get. We have several options. We might buy a breeding pair of Quaker Parrots, we may get a few Gouldian Finches, or if the price is right, a female Grey or Lesser Sulfer Crested Cockatoo. On top of that, we need to get a new cage for Adonis, as his is old and sorely needs to be refurbished. We might spend $800. It all depends.
Otherwise, life is cool. Phoenix is doing well and is to quit working at the bird store soon. Work still sucks, but at least peak is slowly winding down. My brother is in Iraq, but should be coming home in about 7 weeks or so. The weather is cold. For Florida… Ok, its not cold at all for being winter, but 50’s at night seems a lot colder then it used to be.
Enough for now, more later.
This is why I am not going to Gulf Wars and may not be able to go to crown, among other things. But these things are really important to me and my lovely wife, and the rewards are great.
I am slowly getting an education about how to get a mortgage loan, and the whole process sucks. My credit rating is not so bad, but I paid off an old old bill, and it should get a little better. The problem is not so much unpaid bills, those are all cleared off. The problem is the couple of 30 day notices and lack of credit history. Oy. The good news is that I may qualify for a government assisted loan. We shall see. I am going to wait till the credit score gets a wee bit higher with paying off that one bill and see what happens.
A house of our own starts the whole process of the birdie empire starting.
Next is the birds. One of Phoenix’s customers at work just sold us a new cage for $100, and I tell you it was worth every penny. We are putting Sinbad in it at the moment, and it makes him look like a tiny bird. The cage is big enough for a Macaw. So last night we lugged it in the house and set up all the little perches, etc. He seems much happier for it.
This weekend is the great Orlando bird show, and the plan is to get some sort of birds we can start breeding. This is why I might not make it to crown, because I we need all the cash we can get. We have several options. We might buy a breeding pair of Quaker Parrots, we may get a few Gouldian Finches, or if the price is right, a female Grey or Lesser Sulfer Crested Cockatoo. On top of that, we need to get a new cage for Adonis, as his is old and sorely needs to be refurbished. We might spend $800. It all depends.
Otherwise, life is cool. Phoenix is doing well and is to quit working at the bird store soon. Work still sucks, but at least peak is slowly winding down. My brother is in Iraq, but should be coming home in about 7 weeks or so. The weather is cold. For Florida… Ok, its not cold at all for being winter, but 50’s at night seems a lot colder then it used to be.
Enough for now, more later.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
I hate loans
Sorry no updates lately… Been busy with other things… Like trying to buy a house…
And I got a month to find one and I have iffy credit. *sigh*
Cant go to Gulf Wars because of this and that sucks.
More when something real happens about the house (besides the smoke and mirrors I am dealing with now)
And I got a month to find one and I have iffy credit. *sigh*
Cant go to Gulf Wars because of this and that sucks.
More when something real happens about the house (besides the smoke and mirrors I am dealing with now)
Monday, January 17, 2005
A cold day in Florida
Well, today I have a little bit of a breather to do a little typing.
Its cold today! In the 50's! Yeesh!
This last weekend was Scots/Welch wars, which is pretty much a kingdom war practice, and I had a blast. I still don’t like the way I am fighting these days, but my melee skills are still ok. I can still charge through a line, which is always fun.
I have to say that we have ok morale, but we have so much work to do, and some mind set and social change before we turn into a first rate army. I usually like to compare kingdoms to their medieval equivalent, and I think I have finally figured out Trimaris. We are pre invasion Scotland. A relatively weak Crown, and warriors organized by a clan system (households) with no territorial boundaries within the kingdom. Scotland had the combat specialty of the highland charge, and we have a strong archer corps. Fighting skill is focused on the individual and not the group. In other words, after first contact, we fight like celtic heroes. Not very good when fighting Romans (i.e. disciplined troops). We have poor line discipline, and we only charge to contact and we don’t flank very well.
Our primary advantage at this next Gulf Wars is that we will have more allies this time. And well, we get to fight against Meridies (Let me put a disclaimer here… I like Meridians generally, nice folks, but I have never been on the winning side when they were our allies). Our numbers this year may well be over 100, but I have a feeling that we will have more numbers in allies then we have troops ourselves.
So I’m doing all this complaining and not offering any solutions. Well, there are many solutions, but they require change, and change is hard… Well, I am working on a melee 101 class myself that I hope to start teaching next year, so I will do my own little part.
In other news I learned that I will always have a thrusting tip on my swords at war. This is a must have.
Otherwise, home life is good. Work, is well, something I would rather not be doing if I could just win the lottery, or find something else to do that pays. I love my Phoenix, and Sinbad is starting to do really well. He is talking up a storm and is lightening up on his picking. I think he is going to adjust fine.
Its cold today! In the 50's! Yeesh!
This last weekend was Scots/Welch wars, which is pretty much a kingdom war practice, and I had a blast. I still don’t like the way I am fighting these days, but my melee skills are still ok. I can still charge through a line, which is always fun.
I have to say that we have ok morale, but we have so much work to do, and some mind set and social change before we turn into a first rate army. I usually like to compare kingdoms to their medieval equivalent, and I think I have finally figured out Trimaris. We are pre invasion Scotland. A relatively weak Crown, and warriors organized by a clan system (households) with no territorial boundaries within the kingdom. Scotland had the combat specialty of the highland charge, and we have a strong archer corps. Fighting skill is focused on the individual and not the group. In other words, after first contact, we fight like celtic heroes. Not very good when fighting Romans (i.e. disciplined troops). We have poor line discipline, and we only charge to contact and we don’t flank very well.
Our primary advantage at this next Gulf Wars is that we will have more allies this time. And well, we get to fight against Meridies (Let me put a disclaimer here… I like Meridians generally, nice folks, but I have never been on the winning side when they were our allies). Our numbers this year may well be over 100, but I have a feeling that we will have more numbers in allies then we have troops ourselves.
So I’m doing all this complaining and not offering any solutions. Well, there are many solutions, but they require change, and change is hard… Well, I am working on a melee 101 class myself that I hope to start teaching next year, so I will do my own little part.
In other news I learned that I will always have a thrusting tip on my swords at war. This is a must have.
Otherwise, home life is good. Work, is well, something I would rather not be doing if I could just win the lottery, or find something else to do that pays. I love my Phoenix, and Sinbad is starting to do really well. He is talking up a storm and is lightening up on his picking. I think he is going to adjust fine.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Its peak, and I wish I was home sleeping.
Sorry I haven’t posted in so long, its been very busy at work.
Life is going fine, work is getting into peak season, so I don’t have much time to type.
Went to an event last weekend and fought very poorly. I just couldn’t get into the flow of things. Getting sloppy.
We have a new bird, by the name of Sinbad. A Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, but he may not be staying. The owner gave him to us because he screams too much and it disturbs her cat, which seems to have epileptic fits when the bird screams. For a change, he is fully feathered. He is a nice little bird, although a bit of a bully towards the other birds. The problem is that he is starting to pluck, likely due to the stress of a new environment, and a new cage. The funny thing is that he doesn’t scream at our house… Or the screaming is just so quiet that Addicus just drowns him out. If he continues to pluck, in the next few weeks, we very well may give him back to the old owner so the bird doesn’t keep tearing himself up. I don’t blame him, he was with his old owner for 18 years, and now he is yanked out of his home, and taken away from his primary care giver. Oy!
Otherwise, I’m just kind of cruising along. Gulf Wars is coming up, and I have to start paying attention to it, but I would rather just pay attention to buying a house.
We start looking soon.
Life is going fine, work is getting into peak season, so I don’t have much time to type.
Went to an event last weekend and fought very poorly. I just couldn’t get into the flow of things. Getting sloppy.
We have a new bird, by the name of Sinbad. A Lesser Sulfur Crested Cockatoo, but he may not be staying. The owner gave him to us because he screams too much and it disturbs her cat, which seems to have epileptic fits when the bird screams. For a change, he is fully feathered. He is a nice little bird, although a bit of a bully towards the other birds. The problem is that he is starting to pluck, likely due to the stress of a new environment, and a new cage. The funny thing is that he doesn’t scream at our house… Or the screaming is just so quiet that Addicus just drowns him out. If he continues to pluck, in the next few weeks, we very well may give him back to the old owner so the bird doesn’t keep tearing himself up. I don’t blame him, he was with his old owner for 18 years, and now he is yanked out of his home, and taken away from his primary care giver. Oy!
Otherwise, I’m just kind of cruising along. Gulf Wars is coming up, and I have to start paying attention to it, but I would rather just pay attention to buying a house.
We start looking soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)