Despite my statements to the contrary... this blog has fallen into disuse... that has not been intentional.  I am in a new season of life.  I changed my position at work, the kids are growing older so there are changes there.  Both Thing 1, and Thing 3 are on soccer teams, and Thing 2 we continue to grow with and learn from.  All the while my Beloved and i continue to grow together.  Life never seems to slow down... and my own father says that it just speeds up!  *sigh*  But i don't want it to speed up.  Well, since it has been a 'coons age since my last update, i guess i will just bring things up to date about me...

Let's see - Soccer, or futbol as it is known elsewhere in the world, takes up a lot of my time.  DS1 plays for his High School team and my DD3 plays on a traveling team.  They both love to play, but it is a serious commitment to their parents in getting them to and from practices and games.  Well, not as much for the H.S. level, but the traveling team has 3 practices a week, and some times games on both days of a weekend.  One thing i have noticed is that both of them are not... a part of the "in" clique of their teams, or in school.  I am OK with that personally, but sometimes i worry about them.  I guess that stems from my own experiences at their age.

The driving all over God's creation has been a big contributor to less free time, which directly impacts my writing time.  Not just blog writing, but my short stories as well.  While i have written a few chapters, i am not near as prolific as i used to be, obviously.  I have been able to keep up with some reading though.  I am still in the middle of about 4 different books though.  I finally finished the "Path of the Eldar" series.  Very well done.  I enjoyed each and every page, and i read just this morning that Gav Thorpe is looking in to an Audio book as well.  Very cool.

I am not sure if i mentioned this in the few blog posts i had late last year, and (much) earlier this year, but i am a fan of Cam Newton.  He came on strong last year and set all kind of NFL rookie records, etc.  This year he has struggled some, but i think that is somewhat normal.  He is finding his niche within the game and still feel he will settle in to be the best quarterback the Carolina Panthers have ever had.  Only time will tell.  Despite a 6-10 record last year, and what very well could be worse this season, i think the team is on the right track overall.  Basically, i have been a fan of the Panthers since the league announced the franchise being awarded to Charlotte, i have stayed with the team through a 1-15 season... and i will stay with them through these trying times as well. A side note/observation - no team named after a predatory cat (Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars) has ever won the Super Bowl.  As a matter of fact, only two of them have ever played in the Super Bowl (the Bengals and Panthers), so, while i will remain a die hard Carolina Panthers fan - i will now be rooting for each and everyone of the Big Cat teams!  Unless they are playing the Panthers that is.

With the plethora of time i have, i restarted fallout 3 with a brand new character.  I can't stand not finishing things, and i hate starting things in the middle, so... I am also going to try and journal my 'journey'.  Why?  Well, i really like the game, even after having it for four years now, and i like to write.

Since i last blogged dear reader, i have found two new TV shows that i like, and an "old" one i have finally discovered.  The "old" one is 'The Big Bang Theory'.  I have several people tell me that they couldn't believe i was not already watching it.  But, i did give it a try once and i found it too in my face regarding things about boys and girls "hooking up".  Maybe i am just getting calloused to it, but i really enjoy it now.  I especially like how Stuart is becoming a regular on the show this season.  The two new shows are 'Arrow' on The CW, and 'Revolution' on NBC.  'Arrow' because it is based on the DC Comics character, the Green Arrow.  'Revolution', well, because it was a post-apocalyptic scenario where the power goes out all across the world.  Both of these shows are less than ten episodes on, but i am interested enough to record them and watch them as i can... usually in 10-15 minute intervals.  I am like them both quite a bit.

OK, i am not sure if these are decent updates or not, but it's what i've got for now.  Oh, and i'd like to thank Tulip for her help in making new banners for my blogs.  The one here has been around for a while, but there is a new one for the Fallout 3 blog.  8)  I am slowly trying to spruce things up.

May this find each of you enjoying God's perfect peace and grace as you read this.  No matter how disjointed it comes across.

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Football Follies

I am not entirely sure if any of those who stumble across this minor blog are fans of the American National Football League known as the NFL.  If you are, and you follow it in the least bit amount, you are probably aware of the leagues worst team right now...  The Carolina Panthers. Or as i like to refer to them when they are playing this poorly, the Carolina Kittens.  Even when the Panthers went 1-15 in the 2001 season, i had hope for their improvement.  This year... not so much.  Perhaps it's the depression i have been fighting lately, but i am beginning to think that they are destined to sink into the depths of the other perpetually bad teams of the other "Big Cat" teams.  You know them as the Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals.  That's not all fair though... the other "Jaguar" family team, the Jacksonville Jaguars and brother 1995 expansion team (Panthers are a form of Jaguar, if you look closely you can see blacker spots on them), have been routinely decent.  I believe their overall historical record is > 50% win/loss.  As of this post, the Panthers have the inside track on locking in the #1 overall draft pick in the 2011 draft.  The only other team that is a serious challenger for this is of course, the Cincinnati Bengals.  Let's take a look at both teams up coming games shall we:

Carolina:
Dec 19 Arizona(4-9)
Dec 23 @ Pittsburgh (10-3)
Jan 02 @ Atlanta (11-2)

Cincinnati:
Dec 19 Cleveland (5-8)
Dec 26 San Diego (7-6)
Jan 02 Baltimore (8-4)<

If Carolina loses out, they have the lock.  In the event of a tie, the #1 pick will go to the Cincinnati Bengals as they had the "easier" (based on the overall win/loss record of their opponents) schedule.  Now, some of this may come down to teams like Atlanta and Pittsburgh resting some of their starters in order to prepare for the play-offs, but... then again... Pittsburgh has the Ravens breathing down their neck, and Atlanta has the Saints...  Ah, such is life.  8)  I am still a fan of the Carolina Panthers though.  Maybe it will make it a little bit easier to get a pair of tickets for a home game in Charlotte next season.

For fun, i have been playing Games Workshops computer version of American Football (Blood Bowl).  This was created and distributed by a company called Cyanide Studios.  It is essentially a Fantasy, turn based, version of the game.  It was originally made by GW as a table top game.  I have four teams currently that i rotate between depending upon my mood.  I have the Redleg Boomers, a human team that i have loosely based the theme around my days as an Artilleryman (aka Redleg); the Floundering Chefs, my Halfling team; the Boneyard Boyz, and undead team (skeleton warriors have always fascinated me for some reason); and last but not least, the Sylvan Strykers, a Wood Elf team.  Each team has their strengths and weaknesses, so i play each team depending on my mood.  The Humans are an "all around" team.  They don't excel in anyone area, but then they are not really deficient in any one area either.  The Halflings are not really great in any area... they are a team that rules where put together for on a whim.  They are in the game for fun and humor, not really to win.  The undead team is a highly durable team, but they struggle with doing anything really fancifully. The Wood Elves are my first go to team... they are Elves after all.   In the game there are 4 Elven teams.  The Woode Elves, the High Elves, the Dark Elves, and the plain old Elves.  I had originally started with the regular elves, but the cheerleaders are drawn up in really skimpy outfits... so i deleted that file and started over.  The High Elves are too snooty, and the Dark Elves are en evil team and... the undead are close enough that i didn't want to play a second one.  Ironically, the team with the best record is my Halfling team!

Ok... this will be meaningless drivel for most... but... when writing... i was told sometimes it is best to just sit down and start writing whatever comes to mind... LOL

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