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.

Football and/or Fallout Fridays

Hello fellow sports fans and welcome to the regular season of the NFL! Last night the Carolina Panthers played their last game of the preseason. As was the case of the previous three games it was meaningless in regards to the championship (otherwise known as the Super Bowl), but it was the last chance twenty two guys were going to get to try and earn a job. Think about it. As of September 1st over seven hundred guys are going to be out of a job! And that is not counting all the guys that went to training camps between May and July 1st, or the guys that were cut earlier this week. Even though the last four games for the Panthers are now erased from the record books (other than some small footnote) i enjoy the spectacle nonetheless. i am pulling for Rhys Lloyd the place kicker from Great Brittan - so long as he does not oust John Kasay. I like what i was seeing on the Defensive Line, the offensive line, the Running Back situation, the Tight End situation, and the Defensive back situation. (Wow, you would think i am ready to ride the bus all the way to Tampa Bay!) But one thing is for sure. Right now there are fans of 31 other NFL teams all excited about the possibilities of the 2008 season. One thing is for sure though... the 2008 NFL season has begun! WOO HOO! Only nine more days until the season opens in San Diego. All i need now is to get the draft done for my fantasy football team (the Redleg Boomers) and I will ready for gameday! Not much new on the Fallout 3 front. Well, at least i am not sure what to say about it (yet). There are new reviews out almost every day, and the spin machine from Bethesda Software is really doing their job well, but i tend to like to look beyond the hype and just see what i can see without someone telling what i am supposed to be seeing. The Fallout 3 blog has been doing an excellent job of posting both pro and con reviews, etc. I know most of the reviewers are talking about how great it is to be able to play the game in a "morally neutral" way, and to be honest it bothers me that people want to know if they can "shot the kid NPC's", but I think those kind of questions speak more to the gaming society at large (which is to say a large portion of our youth and young adults) than the game itself. To Bethesda Software's credit I have heard two things that I applaud. The first one was there refusal to include the option of being able to shoot kids in the game. Why is this even a topic under consideration and/or debate? They (Bethesda Software) has been essentially unwilling to compromise, or discuss such a compromise, such a thing. Bravo! The second was an instance where someone interviewing the company about the game and asked if it was possible to get into an x-rated situation (I am paraphrasing) and the company representative said "not interested", and "no it is not a possibility". I think it's great that they went to such great lengths to make things feasible (to include moral choices being possible that I may or may not agree with), but were unwilling to include such things (and probably more that I am not aware of). They were willing to draw a line somewhere. For color here is the video for the beginning of the game... I am going to be enjoying a rare three day weekend, so until next time - I hope you all have a great grace and peace filled weekend. Verse for today: Psalm 141 : 3-5a, ESV Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it.