Hey :)

[esteban]

So, I've been MIA for a few days, but I'm back. I briefly skimmed some of the past threads... has it been kinda slow here or is the "show unread posts" function still 50% accurate?



What's up with you folks? What have you been doing?

Myself, I went to a wood-turning demo yesterday (long story) and it was awesome, plus everyone at the meeting was 70+ years old... saw this dude: http://www.turningintoart.com .

I think I'm going to plan a camping trip for the summer, since my daughter is old enough to handle it / enjoy it now... Vermont/Maine most likely, though I'm tempted to be lazy and camp in our front yard .

[ParanoiaDragon]

I've been real busy, hot n' sweaty!  Though, it's cooled off for a few days.  For the record, honestly, it's been a few weeks since I've been able to work on anything for finishing up Mysterious Song.  I'm almost always exhausted when I get home from work.

[rolins]

Hey Esteban (Steve666)
Been a while since I've seen you around here, but same goes for me too. I've just been busy.

Constantly on the move. I'm getting pretty damn exhausted packing up and hauling heavy furniture. I could really use a back massage especially around the neck, but no money for that now. By the end of this month it will be the second time I've moved within 3 months. From my small apartment in Northridge, CA to my parents house in Las Vegas, NV and eventually to another apartment (in the same city). I don't feel ashamed to live with my parents again. I'm actually glad because I can finally relax and feel financially secure for a while. The whole point about moving back was because I wasn't making enough money to stay in California. My parents are very cool that I'm back though. It's been about 6 years and nothing hasn't really change, although my parents definitely has been visiting the casino buffets a little too often. It's so good to have home cooked meals again something that fast food and top ramen can't imitate.

Bad news though, my parents filed for bankruptcy and they'll be losing their house like millions of other Americans. Bastard Countrywide. This is why I'm moving again to another apartment. I'm rather pissed that this has happened to us especially since my parents had good credit for 15 years. Well at least my parents get to keep the majority of their money, and we'll be saving more money living in an apartment. So I guess I'll be alright, I'm gonna miss the fancy kitchen.

I still make time to play some video games whenever I can. Lately I've gone back to playing a bunch of DOS games and bought a $12 laptop for my dedicated dos machine.

[Joe Redifer]

Hi.

[Tatsujin]

hi over there.

[ceti alpha]

So, I've been MIA for a few days, but I'm back. I briefly skimmed some of the past threads... has it been kinda slow here or is the "show unread posts" function still 50% accurate?



What's up with you folks? What have you been doing?

Myself, I went to a wood-turning demo yesterday (long story) and it was awesome, plus everyone at the meeting was 70+ years old... saw this dude: http://www.turningintoart.com .

I think I'm going to plan a camping trip for the summer, since my daughter is old enough to handle it / enjoy it now... Vermont/Maine most likely, though I'm tempted to be lazy and camp in our front yard .

Cool esteban. I didn't know you were into woodworking. As for camping this summer, I won't be too far from where you want go this weekend. I'm going up to New Brunswick (Canadian province next to Maine) this weekend (as it stands) for a camping trip. Should be a good time if it ends up happening. There are still a few things to work out with other people, so you never know.

Rolins, that sucks about your parents getting sucked into the US real estate collapse. But it seems like your parents made out better than some. And enjoy the financial security of living at home and save some coin. Lots of my friends have done that - I've done that. lol. That's what parents are for.

[Necromancer]

Howdy, esteban.  It has been a bit slow around here, but I like to think that we're shooting for quality, not quantity; whether or not we hit that target on a regular basis is open for debate. 

Camping is good fun, though I haven't done enough of it lately (nor fishing).  What kind of camping do you do?  Camper?  Tent?  Bear skin rug with pointy stick?

[nat]

Camping in Maine sounds fun, I'll be in Maine in September, you guys should come visit me. I have vacation property there on the bank of the Sasanoa River.

[ceti alpha]

Camping in Maine sounds fun, I'll be in Maine in September, you guys should come visit me. I have vacation property there on the bank of the Sasanoa River.

Cripes man. I love Maine too. I'm wearing my "I Love Maine" t-shirt as we speak.  But seriously, I do love going down to Canada's 11th province.  I'd love to visit in September. I could very well have vacation around that time. When in September are you going to be there?

[nat]

The 1st through the 15th I think. Something along those lines. It's been a few months since I booked the plane tickets, I forgot the exact dates.

[esteban]

Hey Esteban (Steve666)
Been a while since I've seen you around here, but same goes for me too. I've just been busy.

Constantly on the move. I'm getting pretty damn exhausted packing up and hauling heavy furniture. I could really use a back massage especially around the neck, but no money for that now. By the end of this month it will be the second time I've moved within 3 months. From my small apartment in Northridge, CA to my parents house in Las Vegas, NV and eventually to another apartment (in the same city). I don't feel ashamed to live with my parents again. I'm actually glad because I can finally relax and feel financially secure for a while. The whole point about moving back was because I wasn't making enough money to stay in California. My parents are very cool that I'm back though. It's been about 6 years and nothing hasn't really change, although my parents definitely has been visiting the casino buffets a little too often. It's so good to have home cooked meals again something that fast food and top ramen can't imitate.

Yeah, now that I'm back on the east coast, I am able to visit my parents all the time and NOTHING has really changed with them. It really feels like a time-warp... back to the old days . They are still using an ancient bottle of aspirin that expired in 1991 (I think it was a bottle that I left at their house). With each passing year, my dad uses a handful of Q-tips, thereby ensuring that I will inherit them (he bought a carton of 250 Q-tips at some point in the 80's). I opened up a jar of "OxyPads" a month or two ago... I swear I bought them when I was in middle school / high school, which was well over 15 years ago.

Why do my parents still have all of "my" old stuff?   

Of course, my dad has his old Brill Cream from the 50's or 60's lying around somewhere, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Bad news though, my parents filed for bankruptcy and they'll be losing their house like millions of other Americans. Bastard Countrywide. This is why I'm moving again to another apartment. I'm rather pissed that this has happened to us especially since my parents had good credit for 15 years. Well at least my parents get to keep the majority of their money, and we'll be saving more money living in an apartment. So I guess I'll be alright, I'm gonna miss the fancy kitchen.

Dude, that is crappy. I hope everything works out for you guys. All of my friends have been trying to live more frugally, for various reasons... thankfully (?) I've been able to stick to a very modest budget for the last year. One of these days I'm going to splurge and buy an mp3 player, dammit.

I still make time to play some video games whenever I can. Lately I've gone back to playing a bunch of DOS games and bought a $12 laptop for my dedicated dos machine.

Sadly, I've been playing most of my games on my friggin' cell phone. Neo Gradius and Might & Magic have provided some long-term enjoyment, despite the crappy buttons, controls. Yeah, I've sunk to a new low.

As for old DOS games, I recently revisited BLOCKOUT... I friggin love that game. I thought I'd quickly get sick of it (I overplayed it back in the day), but I didn't get sick of it...

Which reminds me, I've been wanting to check out Betrayal at Krondor (DOS) for a few months now, simply because I was curious about thisunreleased TG-16 game. I don't know anything about the author, or Riftwar, so I thought it might be a fun place to start.

[esteban]

Cool esteban. I didn't know you were into woodworking. As for camping this summer, I won't be too far from where you want go this weekend. I'm going up to New Brunswick (Canadian province next to Maine) this weekend (as it stands) for a camping trip. Should be a good time if it ends up happening. There are still a few things to work out with other people, so you never know.

I visited some seaside town in New Brunswick (I think it was there)... an old fort, with cannons facing the sea, cute cobblestone roads and a museum with ancient surgical equipment (fascinating stuff there). Ha! There are probably a dozen cities that fit this description, but it would have been north of Maine and east...

Howdy, esteban.  It has been a bit slow around here, but I like to think that we're shooting for quality, not quantity; whether or not we hit that target on a regular basis is open for debate. 

Camping is good fun, though I haven't done enough of it lately (nor fishing).  What kind of camping do you do?  Camper?  Tent?  Bear skin rug with pointy stick?

Good old sleeping bags + tent. One time, in the autumn/winter, I accidentally bought a tent (it was called "STARGAZER"). Hmm, that's a neat name.

11 pm, when we finally arrive at the campground and start to pitch the tent, I suddenly realized why it was called StarGazer: the entire top was friggin' see-through mesh! Yeah, there had a tarp you could throw on top (to keep out rain), but it was horrible at keeping out the icy drafts!

I prefer camping in the cooler weather, when the world isn't muggy or full of mosquitoes.

Camping in Maine sounds fun, I'll be in Maine in September, you guys should come visit me. I have vacation property there on the bank of the Sasanoa River.

Dude, that's awesome. I've spent most of my time around Arcadia National Park, but the Sasanoa River sounds really nice (never camped around there). September is tough for me, though (busy time at work). Damn! I'm not ruling it out, but.... damn.

[Necromancer]

Good old sleeping bags + tent. One time, in the autumn/winter, I accidentally bought a tent (it was called "STARGAZER"). Hmm, that's a neat name.

11 pm, when we finally arrive at the campground and start to pitch the tent, I suddenly realized why it was called StarGazer: the entire top was friggin' see-through mesh! Yeah, there had a tarp you could throw on top (to keep out rain), but it was horrible at keeping out the icy drafts!

Sounds like a good idea in theory, not so much in practice.  I'm only in the tent to sleep or hide from the rain, neither or which is astronomy time.  Perhaps it was supposed to have included one of Jack Horkheimer's toupees to help keep you warm.  Did you check the box thoroughly?

[ceti alpha]

Cool esteban. I didn't know you were into woodworking. As for camping this summer, I won't be too far from where you want go this weekend. I'm going up to New Brunswick (Canadian province next to Maine) this weekend (as it stands) for a camping trip. Should be a good time if it ends up happening. There are still a few things to work out with other people, so you never know.

I visited some seaside town in New Brunswick (I think it was there)... an old fort, with cannons facing the sea, cute cobblestone roads and a museum with ancient surgical equipment (fascinating stuff there). Ha! There are probably a dozen cities that fit this description, but it would have been north of Maine and east...

I can't think of what town that would be. But yeah, there are a ton of fortress towns in the maritime provinces. One of the more famous and historically significant fortresses in here in Nova Scotia - Fortress Louisbourg. It was built to protect the French interests in the New World. The British finally captured it in 1745 with support from New England. I guess it was the historic equivalent to the siege of Normandy in WWII. I've read soldiers' letters to their families and girlfriends and they describe some pretty graphic scenes like in the intro to Saving Ryan's Privates. If the British didn't get Louisbourg who knows what North America would look like now? Instead of the O'Reilly Factor, would we have the D'Aubigne factor? 

Here's a link for any history lovers: http://www.louisbourg.ca/fort/siege1745.htm

The "stargazer" incident is hilarious. Shitty at the time I would imagine, but funny nonetheless.  O:) 

[esteban]

Perhaps it was supposed to have included one of Jack Horkheimer's toupees to help keep you warm.  Did you check the box thoroughly?

I would have been delighted to find a toupee, or even a handful of hairplugs.

I can't think of what town that would be. But yeah, there are a ton of fortress towns in the maritime provinces. One of the more famous and historically significant fortresses in here in Nova Scotia - Fortress Louisbourg. It was built to protect the French interests in the New World. The British finally captured it in 1745 with support from New England. I guess it was the historic equivalent to the siege of Normandy in WWII. I've read soldiers' letters to their families and girlfriends and they describe some pretty graphic scenes like in the intro to Saving Ryan's Privates. If the British didn't get Louisbourg who knows what North America would look like now? Instead of the O'Reilly Factor, would we have the D'Aubigne factor? 

Here's a link for any history lovers: http://www.louisbourg.ca/fort/siege1745.htm

The "stargazer" incident is hilarious. Shitty at the time I would imagine, but funny nonetheless.  O:) 

I love finding out about stuff like that. Louisbourg, who knew? Certainly not I. I was actually trying to figure out if we would have gone out of our way to drive into Nova Scotia... it's a 50/50 shot, so I asked a few folks to see if they remembered.

I remember we were going to some music festival in Montreal or Quebec and decided to take detours if we were ahead of schedule.

ASIDE: The only band I remember seeing was called "Caffeine" or something like that? They seemed to be a hit with the teeny boppers!