Catch up ramblings

No, i am not talking about Ketchup... with not having blogged for about a week now i am running to catch up... 8)

Last week i taped a segment of Weapon Masters on the Military channel.  It's show where these guys look at some old weapons like atlatl and look for ways to improve them.  This show was on the Japanese sword - the Katana. The first half of the show the pair went to Japan and reviewed what i had seen before on a NOVA show (Secrets of the Samurai Sword), while the second half the guy who was challenged to make a better version of the original visited a man named Howard Clark (he is an American sword-smith).  He owns Morgan Valley Forge.  Mr. Clark makes Japanese-styled swords. That is he does not use the same metals, or forging techniques so the swords he makes are not "authentic".  It was incredibly fascinating to me.  Especially seeing how the newer-style swords hold an edge and how flexible/durable they are.  To be completely honest, if i had the $3,500 plus to spend on something just for myself and nothing else it needed to be spent on... i would seriously consider obtaining one and getting it all shined up.

I have been trying to write up character backgrounds for my "main" story lines for about a week now.  For several days i tried to just fill in the blanks... eye color, hair color, etc. but i just got lost.  So, yesterday i began just writing up short little stories that describe them in a setting.  How they handled themselves, how others were seeing them etc.  So far so good.  What brought this about was that i approached a friend who is an aspiring artist.  Specifically cartoons and/or graphic novels.  I've asked him to draw up some pictures that i can use to illustrate my short stories some.  Not many, and i can't afford to pay him for his work, but in exchange i hope to be sort of an advertisement for his work.  Time will tell. 8)

This Sunday the New Orleans Saints will play in the organization's first ever Super Bowl.  As of this writing the Saints are 6 point underdogs.   I SO want them to pull of this upset.  Not because i have any animosity towards the Indianapolis Colts, or any member of that fine organization, but because i would just LOVE for the Saints to have such a victory in their history.  Although they are division rivals to the Carolina Panthers, i have had a soft spot in my football heart for them.  I like how they are being labeled as this years "America's Team".  Geaux Saints!

Over the weekend i saw a movie is the kind that i would pretty much stop most anything i am doing to watch.  It got me thinking about the movies and books that i've seen and read that influenced me.  I'm not going to name it here because i think it will be a future blog entry... 8)

I have finally completed my Terminator collection.  LOL.  I found Season 2 for the Sarah Connor Chronicles for less than $20.  That along with Terminator Salvation i know have all of them.  I really liked that show, the entire series really. The TV series was especially good IMO.  It held my interest and it was a fresh perspective on the "war against the machines".  Looking forward to the next movie installment.

One last frivolous topic... my flair "addiction" on facebook seems to know no bounds.  LOL.  Ok, that's not true... i do not have any "naughty" flair, but i peruse the "recently popular" flair for anything new. Probably at least twice a week i am sending a piece of flair to someone that i thought of when i saw it, or i am adding a new piece to my "collection".  I now have well over 4800 piece of flair, and 625 pieces of for my own collection, and with very few repetitions of subject matter.  I will even go and delete older ones on a particular subject if i find one that i like better. That, along with my constant "widgets" status updates, my beloved is begging me to come up with something new.  LOL.  Here are three of my recent additions.

Last night my beloved and i met with our new Pastor. We were not sure why he asked to meet with us, but since we were still relatively new we thought it was because he wanted to discuss church membership with us.  It turns out he just wanted to get together to get to know us a little more.  To see how we were doing.  That was cool! Even though we both knew this man and his family from back when we first met (my beloved and i), he wanted to still take the time and get to know us better.  I liked that... a lot.

And the new year begins!

My beloved and i spent a relatively quiet night at home with a few other families. We just played a few games, chatted around the fire place, and ate until our tummy's ached. ;-) A good time was had by all. We even managed to crawl into bed before sunrise. One thing though... when one stays up so late, it would be smart to turn off one's alarm clock. ;-) I failed to do so and when it went off at my normal time i turned it off and started my normal work day routine... only to realize... i didn't have to go to work on New Years day! lol It took me almost 20 minutes for the fog in my brain to clear enough to realize what i was doing... My poor beloved was feeling very run down from the ramp up to Christmas and then hosting her parents for the week, so i took all three of our young 'uns and headed out to Toys R Us so they could get something with their gift cards, etc. The geek that i am picked up a Scolastic Book on Obi Wan Kenobi. Ok, so it's written for ages 9+... he's my favorite Jedi! The rest of the day we sat around and watched movies and snacking on popcorn. When i woke up this morning i could have sworn it was a Monday instead of Friday. I think the fog has yet to fully lift. ;-) Still there's not much going on this weekend. I hope to get a few more boards nailed down for my deck. I only have about 8 to go, but these are the ones i will need to notch for an exterior PVC pipe, and make up a hatch for a sump pump access. That, and to watch some NFL playoff games. ;-) I am rooting for for Arizona but i doubt the Cardinals defense will be able to contain Turner and Ryan. But with Kurt Warner anything is possible. Then i think Colts are going to take Chargers. this one is hard to predict. Both teams are riding winning streaks - but i'm pretty sure Payton manning will take 'em. On Sunday i am rooting for the Ravens. Mostly out of loyalty to my old army buddies - most of which where/are Baltimore Ravens fans. I am not real confident that a team that went 1-15 a year ago can go very deep in the playoffs the next year. Should be some good games no matter who pulls out the victory.