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  • If It's Free They Will Come ...

    On a not so hot day we found a nice little treat near church, a Rita's opened up in Chinatown.  I believe today was their Grand Opening and so anyone who stopped by was given a free small cup of flavored Italian ice.  Once the news spread in the church it was like a wild fire where people were making it a point to get their freebie.  It sorta reminded me of how people flocked to a TV to see video of the moon landing.  I tell ya if it's free, people will just go get it.  Doesn't matter if they need it or not, if it's free then no one was going to ruin their opportunity to get it.  I think some folks and seconds and thirds.  It was just sorta funny to me.  I jest about the whole event only because Chewy and I did go get some as well.

    Being on how it was the first time I've ever experienced Rita's I thought it was good.  I had gotten the cotton candy flavor and that was really, really sweet.  It tasted like cotton candy but I really felt the need to detox after eating it.  Chewy got passion fruit and that was ok.  Before that we had tried mango and that was pretty good.  Not sure how it'll do but hopefully it'll survive in Chinatown.

  • To Trust or Not ...

    One of the things I still gotta do on my "honey do" list is have the gutters cleaned out.  For as long as I've lived in this house I've never had them cleaned out.  And surprisingly I've never needed to until a few rain storms back we saw a sheet of water coming off the gutters.  As a friend would say, being frugal, I tried to clean them myself by hanging halfway outside the upper window with a hose extender.  That really didn't work but at least I didn't get water in the house.  Eventually I borrowed my brothers ladder which got me just close enough to flush out a bunch of stuff out of the gutter.  Yeah!  What that really means is there is no incentive for me to get off my butt and get them really clean and have some covers installed.  The thing is if only I could get on the roof I could so do all of this myself.  Probably not a good idea to do that though.

    As I research the various gutter cleaning services that are bonded and insured I always have in the back of my mind those people who walk around your neighborhood and put fliers in your door about gutter cleaning services.  They're cheap and convenient and they'll even install covers on too.  But do you really trust them?  You're basically giving cash for an uncheckable job ... uncheckable at least until the next rain storm.  If you pay by check then they have your full name, signature, and both the account and routing numbers.  Am I just being paranoid?  I mean this flier says to write the check out to "Ronald or Nelson"  BUT WHAT'S THEIR LAST NAME!!!!  For all I know my brother could be the one doing the job.  I doubt it but still.

    I'm not paranoid.  I'm just cautious.  Overly cautious.  Borderline crazy ...

  • Weird Encounter At Walmart ...

    Yes, we all know about the stereotypical person who shops at Walmart.  Maybe this gets added to the list but I had my own weird experience at Walmart today.  Every now and then when I have a day business trip I'll stop by a particular Walmart to stretch my legs.  While exiting the Walmart, in my normal paranoid nature, I'm scanning the parking lot to assess any potential avoidable encounters.  During a scan I notice a dude just sitting in his car.  As I'm walking closer to my car he gets out of his car.  Alarm bells go off in my head since the timing is too coincidental. 

    With the Prius there's no need to fumble with car keys so I just open the door and the dude is coming closer to me and asks if I have a minute.  He's got some booklets in his hand and starts to talk about if I know why the weather is as it is.  I state "Sorry, gotta go."  He then asks if I understand the writing on the booklets that he's holding onto.  From what I could tell it was either Japanese or Korean but either way I declared "I only understand English" and got into the car and drove away. 

    I believe the guy had some Korean, Japanese or something version of the Watchtower.  Not totally sure but he was nicely dressed (but not in white).  As I was driving away I kept on thinking that's a weird way to approach people.  If I hadn't seen him sitting in his car I definitely would not have thought anything was odd with his timing of getting out of his car as I was approaching mine.  Weird.

  • SWEEP!  SWEEP!  SWEEP!

    Buck!  Buck!  Buck!  Is there actually hope in Birdland?  The Orioles have won two straight games under new manager Buck Showalters and hope to get a sweep tonight against the Angels.  How can you not like that?  Of course the players are all the same so I just guess it comes down to the coaches aura or something.  The team does have talent and if the young pitching can firm itself up a bit they should be OK.  Too bad they're still in the same division as the Yankee's, Red Sox and now the Rays (fine we'll include the Blue Jays too for Chewy's sake).

  • Offended or May Not ...

    On Sunday I attended my first church committee meeting in close to six years.  No, that's not what was offensive even though in my mind it went in typical fashion - A statement is said.  Someone asks a question that was answered by that first statement so the statement is reworded to try and clarify the statement.  A few minutes later the question is asked again but in a different manner only to force the original statement and it's first rewording to then again be reworded.  I know I'm not the sharpest spoon in the tool shed but come on people PAY ATTENTION! 

    The sorta offensive part was when someone said "We should target those who are 40 to 50 years old."  And then they proceeded to name a few people of which a friend of mine and myself were named.  Both of us are still in our thirties.  Sure late thirties (for him that is, I just went over the hump) but still how should one react to that?  I only blurted out that they shouldn't tell this one person they said that because he's not forty yet.  I don't think they got the hint. Overall, nah I wasn't offended ... at least I don't think so. 

  • Botcon: The Bad and the Good ...

    Overall, I thought we had a good time at the convention.  Sure the dealer room seemed smaller, there weren't that  many great deals and most of the inventory was newer stuff you could find in the stores.  The Club had advertised this year T-shirt, which I ended up buying, as light reflective.  I for some reason thought that meant "glow-in-the-dark" but that wasn't the case.  (Who wouldn't want a glow-in-the-dark shirt?)  What I didn't know was that "light reflective" was actually "light reactive" which means black light active.  I guess you could wear the shirt to a club but would you be able to get in wearing a Transformers t-shirt?  Don't think so.  Who really has a black light anyways, I mean other than me.  I ended up reselling the shirt since it wasn't glow-in-the-dark and no I didn't wear the shirt.

    On the good side we had fun hanging out with some of the people that I knew.  Typically the lines are so long that you're just spending time standing in line.  This year that wasn't the case and we both were able to talk and mingle with the few friends that I had there.  We were able to have lunch with a Christian brother and his wife while also witnessing to another friend of ours.  By being the conference hotel we got to stay up late and just talk not just about Transformers but other things that are happening in life.  Oddly of the people in this group, Chewy and I were the oldest.  And finally over the hotel air space there was a skywriter who would write various messages in the sky like Jesus loves you or God saves.

  • Botcon: Hall o' Fame ...

    This year Hasbro decided to create the Transformers Hall of Fame.  In this inaugural class would be both Transformers and various humans who helped the franchise become the franchise.  The humans who were selected I would all agree with their induction.  For the actual Transformers they selected Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream and Bumblebee, of which I'm OK with.  For the fifth Transformer spot, fans got to select the possible group (Soundwave, Grimlock, Shockwave, Jazz and Dinobot) as well as vote the group favorite in.  Everyone thought it would be a battle between Soundwave and Grimlock.  But no somehow, Dinobot won.  Sure he was a great character in Beast Wars but that was it.  I personally thought Soundwave should have won.  I mean he in superior.

    Part of the ceremony was having a fancy sit down dinner.  Unlike before where the Botcon Saturday night dinner would be buffet style and pretty much horrible.  This was catered by Disney and was pretty good.  The main course was a breaded chicken breast with mashed potatoes and a side of vegetables.  (I don't recall what that green sauce was but it wasn't that bad).  For dessert it was a raspberry tort that was pretty awesome.

  • Botcon 2010: Cosplay Fun ...

    Part of the fun of going to Botcon is seeing the various fans dress up in their favorite Transformer characters.  Sure, SDCC has more cosplayers but most are based after humanoid characters whether from anime, comics, video games or other media.  Transformer cosplayers have to bring extremely bulky items from their house to the convention and vice versa.

    Unfortunately, there weren't that many this year but here are a sampling.  Yes, Starscream is close to 10' tall.

     
     

    So the guy in the TMNT Shredder outfit wasn't really a cosplayer but a buddy of mine from Japan who bought the jacket from Stylin Online.

  • Botcon 2010 - The Customization Experience ...

    Probably one of the coolest things that happened this year was that I got into the Transformers Customization class.  I've dabbled in modifying and painting my own Transformers to create different characters and so this class is supposed to be like that.  Before this year the main way to register for the convention was to FAX your form to Fun Publications.  Yes, FAX your registration and they only have one FAX line to handle a bazillion people trying to register.  The customization class is limited to two twenty-five classes split between two days.  So yeah, it's pretty hard to get in.

    However, this year they implemented an online registration.  By God's grace I was able to register within minutes  of the announcement and snag a spot in one of the classes.  When one thinks customization most think painting or modification of an existing Transformer.  This class however is more like model building.  They give you the parts on a spruce, like a model kit you could buy from the store, assemble it, and paint it if you want.  Ultimately, it just becomes an extra exclusive Transformer that you have in your collection because the figure will be a repaint of an existing available Transformer.

    The theme for this year was G2 Redux, which for those that don't know, after Transformers started to lose their popularity in the early 90's Hasbro tried to reboot the franchise and called it Generations 2.  When you look at the G2 Transformers they all got funky colors or were horrible blocks with arms and legs.  But there was one character in the comic book, G2 Black Sideswipe who played a key role in the series.  When FunPub announced the theme for this year and what figures would be available to purchase everyone was wondering why there was no Black Sideswipe. 

    Short story, they couldn't make him for the main toy set.  However, they were lucky enough to make a batch for the customization class.  Oh how the fandom cried foul!!!  It was like getting hit by a million screams from the nerd rage because there are less than 75 of these guys in existence.  And because FunPub is an official outlet for Hasbro stuff, the black Sideswipe is now an official Hasbro Transformer.  (FunPub had made extra kits for spare parts if anyone needed it during the class.)

    I doubt I'll ever be able to get into another class so I'll cherish the experience.  The amount of knowledge gained for my own customizations was minimal but that's OK.  I've got an official G2 Black Sideswipe. 

  • About A Month Ago ...

    One of the greatest events happened in our life time.  That would be Botcon 2010 in Orlando, Florida.  This year Chewy went to the Con with me to enjoy all the benefits of standing in line and standing in more lines and standing in lines while reading the paper.  We got to Orlando a few days before the convention to take in the sights and sounds of Walt Disney World. 

    Since it was late June it was HOT outside and there were too many people standing in line at the park.  I guess we've been spoiled since the last time we went was in November when no one was really at the park.  It was typical to stand in line for 30+ minutes per ride.  Or in the case of trying to ride the new Toy Story 3 ride at Hollywood Studios (aka MGM) it was 180 minutes.  Yes, over two hours to enjoy the 3D pop-shooting ride.  Absolutely CRAZY!  But it is a fun ride.

    With Chewy along for the ride and time being spent in the Disney parks I thought it would be best to  stay at the  convention hotel as it would provide easier transportation to and from the parks and make it easier on us during the convention.  We were fortunate to stay at the Swan hotel where the lady at the front desk gave us a room with exercise equipment!  No, it wasn't because she thought we were the stereotype "Comicbook guy" and needed to exercise but she had lived in Virginia and was delighted to see someone else from the area. 

    Unfortunately, even though I had originally reserved the correct hotel, we did a broad reservation since we weren't sure of our plans.  When we did figure things out and I made the change in the reservation they must have changed us to the alternate hotel.  So really, we paid all that money and we still didn't stay at the convention hotel but the alternate convention hotel which was a five minute walk to the convention hotel.  Ah well, the Swan was still a nice hotel.