June 29th - Board Games

Board games are something that well all play as kids, and sometimes as adults as well. Classics include; risk, monopoly, sorry, trouble, chutes and ladders, etc and so forth the list goes on and on. There are board games for children (i.e. Candy Land) that involve only luck and no strategy and board games for adults (i.e. Axis and Allies) with complex rules that can take hours to play. While video games have taken some of the wind out of the sails of these games I have put together a list of my favorites.


Six favorite board games

1. Risk



This is sort of like a family tradition game on my mom’s side of the family. On Christmas we always break out the risk board for a game or two at my Grandma’s house. The one snag we have run into in recent years is the fact that we have more people who want to play now and the game can only hold 6.















2. Monopoly



Since we play Risk at Christmas, this game has sort of taken its place as the Thanksgiving game on my mom’s side of the family though only four of us get in on the game. Derek, Erica, Casey and I. I really like monopoly but it’s hard to get a good game together. I do remember we had an awesome NES version of the game though when I was little with some strong AI competition that would even trade and deal with what I would consider strong strategy.















3. Clue

This is another game that is hard to get people to play and the fact that you must have at least three people puts a kink in getting a game together. My Dad is like the all time master of this game, or at least when I was younger it seemed like that. I haven’t played in awhile but this is a classic that often works its way into pop culture with out of nowhere references like so-and-so did it in the library with the candlestick.















4. Uncle Wiggly



A Childhood favorite of my Dad, Sister and mine, though I haven’t played it in forever. You had to guide Uncle Wiggly (a rabbit) from one end of the board to the other, there wasn’t any real strategy that I remember (haven’t played in probably 14+ years), just trying to make it based on rolling a dice and drawing cards of chance. Interestingly enough I saw some Uncle Wiggly story books in a flea market type store about a week ago, before then I had only heard that name associated with the board game, but maybe he was a character first? This is probably a good question for Wikipedia now that I think about it, I’ll have to look it up after I finish posting this.















5. Chess



I’m not very good at this game, I tend to either try to think to far ahead and miss seeing the short term flaws in my plan and then end up in big trouble, or I play carelessly only banking on a plan that can be foiled easily. My dad taught me how to play this game when I was in first grade, he used to spot me multiple pieces back then, and still beat me easily. He and one of his friends have a chess night during the winter months. I haven’t played the game at all in a long time though.

















6. Mad



This is a board game with strange but entertaining rules that my sister and I used to enjoy playing at my grandma and grandpas there for awhile. It was a holdover from my aunt and dad’s youth.







(the pic is of the French version, best I could find)







In other board game memories, who can forget Mousetrap? I never owned it and never played the game, but I remember trying to set up the pieces multiple times at my babysitters and during elementary school indoor recesses. An effort that I always remember being futile.

I also remember a game Grape Escape that feature pieces made out of play-do that my sister got for Christmas one year, it had a cool commercial and she begged and begged to get it for Christmas and then we had to play it that night (we opened presents on Christmas Eve at my house as we visit other family on Christmas day).

One last game I want to mention is one that I can’t remember the name of, I want to say it was something like Tasmanian mountain, but your pieces had to move to the top of this mountain, but ever so often this Tasmanian devil top would be set loose from the top of the mountain and could knock your pieces off as it spun down the path, and back to the start. Now that I think of it I should have put this on the list at number six probably. I wish I remember what it was called… probably another Wikipedia question.





















Anyone else have some fond board game memories?



Anyone want to have a board game night?

June 28th - Deaths

So this blog was created out of the shock and awe this week has produced when it comes to famous people dieing... I mean I can't remember a week in my life that this many famous deaths occured. Ed McMahon, Fara Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and Billy Mays all this week!. Jackson and Mays only being 50 years old each.




However thats only 4 names, and thus can't meet the requirements of a summer six pack, so here is my list of 6 deaths / events causing death that I remember from my life time. I.E. like all of our Grandparents remember where they were when J.F.K. died or Elvis ect.





1. 9/11



Pretty Big day that still causes ripples world wide.



2. Princess Di



I remember all of the big news and tributes of the time.



3. Ronald Regan



When Presidents die it seems like all of the bad stuff people ever said about them is instantly forgotten.



4. Michael Jackson



Yes its still a fresh event, but when people ask me to name off the 6 famous deaths that occurred in my lifetime a few years from now I wouldn't be surprised if I come up with his name.



5. Pope John Paul II



I remember sitting in my dorm room and listening to all of the tributes and great things about the man on pretty much every TV station that week.



6. Heath Ledger



I suspect this one will fall off my list shortly, but with the Dark Knight being such a recent hit its fresh in memory.

June 27th - Class Reunion

So My 5 year Class Reunion was today, which is the inspiration for this summer six pack blog.






Top 6 observations from my class reunion.



1. Not many people showed up



I realize eating at the country club kind of seemed out of the element for of class, it was expensive and not really the best atmosphere. (let alone the fact that Greensburg country club is want-to-be fancy. The food is nothing special any time I've eaten there and their building doesn't provide a welcoming or even fancy atmosphere). But I really thought there would be more people at the reunion given how close most of us still live to the area. I'd say less than a 1/3 of the class showed up. I wonder if we will even have another reunion honestly.









2. A lot of people I thought for sure would show up didn't



Honestly there were at least 10 people I thought for sure would be there who didn't show up. A majority of these were people who were really popular in high school and I know are still around in the area.









3. A lot of people who I didn't expect to see at all did show up



By the same token there were at least 3 or 4 people there who I would have never guessed would show up.







4. In a 5 year period a lot of people get married and/or have kids



Wow I'm still the single loser I was in high school, seems like half of the class is already married. Here I am the guy who hasn't even had a serious relationship in that period of time.











5. It is awkward showing up over 100 lbs lighter than you were in high school.



People don't recognize you, and you have to introduce yourself to people you graduated high school with... this is umm strange.









6. It was nice to talk to a lot of people I haven't seen or heard from in 5 years.



I thought I would really dislike going to the reunion, but it was a nice chance to talk to some people I haven't seen in years.

June 26th - Reality TV

Alright, so I openly admit I’m a reality TV show contest junky… I enjoy watching reality TV shows as long as they are in a contest format. (Though not so much musical contest for some reason) Since I enjoy watching these shows I have often thought about how awesome it would be if I could compete on one… So here is my list!




- Six Reality TV shows I'd like to compete on



1. Survivor



The show that more or less started it all… Survivor! Outwit, Outlast, Outplay. I’d still really love to be on this show even if I feel that it has sort of gotten stale (I think they have run 14 seasons which is remarkable for a reality game show) It would be fun to test myself in the game with both the physical events as well as the mental events and you couldn’t beat the opportunity it would offer to see and experience the culture and nature of wherever they would drop me off at! I don’t think I’d do that well on the game show as I don’t know how quickly I could bond with the people, but I could at least fake some friendships with complete strangers for awhile.















2. Amazing Race



I’ve actually only paid close attention to the last two seasons of this show, I got turned on to it though and now would really like to compete on it. Getting the opportunity to see the world and experience all of the other cultures through visiting different companies and competing in the challenges would be fun. I know I could do really well in this competition as I generally have a good sense of direction, could do decent on the challenges, and have good background knowledge in history and geography despite not having traveled much. My biggest problem would be finding a teammate as competitive as me to compete with.















3. The Apprentice



Ok disclaimer… Celebrity Apprentice sucks big time… I don’t even watch that version of the show, but I’m holding out hope they will produce another “regular” season. I’m ready to pit myself against business competitors and sit across the board room from “The Donald”. My weakness would be how much I would have to trust my teammates, but I have good monetary handling instincts so I would love the chance to see if I could compete with people who do business as a living.















4. Solitary



This is a reality show that very few people have heard of, as it is a “Fox Reality Channel Original”… it only shows on an obscure cable channel… but you can watch it online for free at Fox Reality TV. Now I have went on record even saying this is the one reality TV show I would never want to compete on… but I have changed my mind. In this show the contestants never see each other and only know a little bit about each other that the computer tells them. They are all locked in their own little rooms and undergo cruel physical and mental challenges. The thing is the only way to lose is to quit. Since the contestants don’t know when someone has quit the other players could end up torturing themselves for hours after the first person quit the challenge… It’s a huge mental game with mind over matter the whole way. Plus the computer (named VAL) is kinda like the computer in the video game Cube.



















5. Who wants to be a Super Hero



Hosted on the Sci-Fi channel… You develop a superhero persona and then have to go through various task and missions assigned by Stan Lee to see who becomes a Superhero (he makes a comic book series starting you!) They even make you a super hero costume and everything to wear throughout the show. The only problem is sometimes the show does get a little cheesy in the missions and stuff with all the team building and overcoming your weakness messages.















6. Top Chef



I enjoy cooking, but there is no way I could compete against these guys. However it doesn’t mean I would enjoy giving it a try! My goal would be to not come in last :P

June 25th - Pets

Today’s list: Top Six Pets I’ve owned


I’ve owned multiple pets throughout the years, some for a long time and some just briefly (barn cats, fish – never had good luck with fish, and for a brief period of time we went through several stray dogs quickly) On this list I won’t post any of the goats, pigs, chickens, or rabbits that I have had even though most of those were named (except the chickens), I guess this is the desensitized farm kid in me who understood their purpose and has ate an animal he named without feeling bad.

This list suffers from two things; 1. A lack of a lot of photos (though this might be a blessing for page loading speeds) and 2. My memory being skewed towards more recent pets; Buck was the first pet I remember… he was a big black dog and I was told he ran away one day (found out later he was hit on the road), other than that I’ve got nothing to go on. Those points mentioned, on with the list!



1 & 2 (Tie) Fudge and Peppy

Honestly I can’t divide these two up, they were a team and seldom apart after the winter storm when I was in second grade. Peppy was my Grandpa’s dog and she and my Grandma’s dog (a dalmation named Mitzy) would come down to our house some days. Fudge with his little short legs couldn’t keep up with them, but that winter the roads were so icy they couldn’t run on them and he could keep up. The rest is history, Fudge being the bark and Peppy being the bite. both lived to over 14 years old, sadly they aren’t with us anymore.



3. Kong

Kong may be a lazy cat (I claim he is training for the synchronized cat napping Olympic event) and a scaredy cat (You probably won’t meet him until you have been to the house a few times) as well as a drooling cat (not fun when he starts drooling on you). But I like him anyway ;)



4. Mousetrap

This was Kong’s mother, and for a little tiny cat she was certainly one thing… a baby making machine! Kong was from her first litter a modest three kitten batch, however from then on she wasn’t holding back, if I remember correctly her last litter she raised number fourteen!



5. Furball

This is one where my memory is skewed and I’m going into the way back machine. We had Furball before we got Fudge so it was before I finished 1st grade. He or she (sorry can’t remember) was a long haired gray cat.



6. Pepper

I like pepper don’t get me wrong, but she had to follow a tough act as being bought as Peppy’s replacement, combined with the fact that I haven’t been home during the majority of the time the family had her.

June 24th - Meme's

So I was thinking about internet meme’s today. Now for you non-nerdy folks these are simple things that become a web sensation suddenly, kind of what a one hit wonder is for radio… they are catchy and funny at first but soon you are worn out of seeing them as they become overblown only to die out and fade into oblivion. Past internet meme’s of fame include; All your base are belong to us, LOLcats, ORly Owl, The Numa Numa Guy, Leroy Jenkins and Chuck Norris Jokes to name a few.


So here are my predictions of random things that could become the next internet meme

1. Robots, heck we have had ninjas vs pirates and the THIS IS SPARTAAAAA meme’s in the past why not something involving robots, lots of great robots to choose from and with a second transformers movie coming out this summer what’s to stop it?

2. Clowns, sure a lot of people are afraid of clowns, but like I said with #1 it would be easy to do something like the ninja vs pirates them? Clowns vs Robots who knows. I just think it could happen easily.

3. Johnny Depp in Alice and Wonderland… the movie comes out Spring of 2010 so it’s a ways down the road but you know with him playing the Mad Hatter, he is bound to do something in the movie that could easily become a web sensation when you think of some of the other roles he has played. Actually I could see the trailer for the movie being crazy enough to be a web sensation in itself.

4. Hamsters – We have had LOLcats, ORly Owls, a walrus with a bucket, the dramatic prarie dog, and even a bunny with a pancake on its head… safe betting on animals to become a meme at some point in time so I’m going to go out on a limb and predict a hedgehog.

5. Carmen Sandiago - nostalgia plays a big roll in some of these meme getting started, and since I grew up in the generation where most of these memes are being thought up and promoted from I’ll go with a child hood favorite game that we can all relate too… no not the Oregon trail, but Carman Sandiago

6. Cowboys, kind of goes along with the choices of robots and clowns from earlier but I think the movie Broke-Back Mountain killed the hopes of a cowboy craze for a little while, it’s been a couple years but still too easy to slide in gay jokes.

June 23rd - Unfinished

So we all have things that we mean to accomplish but never fully follow through on or maybe some things that we used to enjoy doing but never make time for anymore. I’m normally pretty good at finishing what I start but here is a list of six things that I started but never finished or wish I hadn’t quit doing.


Six things I started and regret not finishing/following through on.

1. Cinco de Murder



This is a horror film that Bruce, Casey, Chantel and I planned out I think three years ago now, there at first was legitimate reasons for delaying this due to an accident involving the script, my computer, a glass of water, and my sister. However I have the script fully completed now. I also even bought a video camera to film this movie with, so really we should finish this thing as it could defiantly be fun and Casey even thinks we could get it into a B movie festival at her school this fall if we complete it early enough this summer. Right now our biggest snags are finding time for all of us to get together for a day or two, and the fact that one of our cast members passed away last summer. (Fudge) Still everyone agrees it needs to be completed; we just need to make it happen.



2. Choose your own adventure zombie story.



This is somewhat of a message board game I created on Hobowars, I was writing a zombie survival story with “choose your own adventure” items for the members of my gang (group of friends who work together on the game). I’d write a section and offer 3 or 4 directions for the story to go next, the readers would vote for their favorite option and then I’d post the next section of the story written based on their selection. I’d like to think it was fairly entertaining and successful, I think it was up to like 70 pages in a word document (though a lot of room was taken up by the reader options). Unfortunately I got busy with school and behind on my writing and it fell to the back burner and then off the grid as a short term break became extended. And sadly I think the last traces of the story disappeared with the computer accident mentioned with #1 on this list.



3. Learning computer programming



My Sr. year of High School I took a computer programming class and I really loved it. It was the best class I took in high school and probably college as well. Only problem was that the class covered a language that isn’t really used by anyone at all… TrueBasic. When I got to college I wanted to take a programming class, but allowed myself to be talked out of it by my guidance councilor and parents who didn’t think it was a serious option since I had just decided I liked programming after that one class. Though in hindsight my first major choice of Biochemistry was made on the thought that I liked Biology and Chemistry…. And I had to choose something and the deciding factor in choosing to attend Purdue was because I had always been a Purdue Basketball fan and wanted to be in the Gene Pool. So they did let me sign up for one computer class that freshman year, but it was intro to Microsoft office which I dropped as soon as I saw the boring/unchallenging curriculum. Looking back I wish I had tried a few programming classes as analytical things like that are right up my alley.



4. Warhammer 40k



This isn’t something I didn’t finish as much as I just stopped doing; Warhammer 40k is a table top board game my Dad and I used to play. I got the game for Christmas when I was in 5th grade and played through my Jr. year in high school. You play the game with miniatures and dice, it is fun to play but we ran into the problem of no one to play against but each other. I always told myself I’d find a group to play with in college, but I was out of the loop rules wise as a new edition (it had a 300+ page rule book) was released and just never did pick it up again. Though it’s something I keep telling myself I should get back into as I did enjoy it as a hobby.

5. Paintball



Like Warhammer this is a hobby that I sort of quit on due to lack of people to play against. I only really did it for one summer, but it was a lot of fun. Problem is I think I burnt out all of my friends who I used to play against as in the next couple summers their guns were broke, they couldn’t afford paintballs, or we just couldn’t get enough people together to make it worthwhile. (Really you need at least 4 to make it worthwhile and 6+ is ideal.) I still have all of my paintball stuff, but I haven’t played in over two years.



6. Writing a journal

This may sound girly, but I always thought writing a journal would be something interesting to do, so that I’d have it to look back on. I mean a lot of famous people write/wrote/have written journals on their life. However I think the best I ever did was like 15 days before I quit, honestly I think my life is too boring right now but I need to make myself give it another shot.



So there is today’s summer six pack, six unfinished/quit things from my past that I regret now.

June 22nd - Meat

First off a quick disclaimer on this list, it’s not meant to offend any vegetarians you guys are cool and I respect your non-meat choices – and besides I’m willing to bet I eat more servings of vegetables in a day than the majority of vegetarians out there anyway.




However, today’s list is the top six animals I would like to eat. I like to try different animals out I figure everything is worth trying once; not just your standard beef, pork, chicken and fish. Some of the more interesting animals I have had are alligator, ostrich-emu-rhea, squirrel, crickets along with your more standard lamb, deer, goat, rabbit, duck, goose, octopus and elk. But what exotic animals are on the list that I would like to try.

1. Bear – I’ve heard of pioneers and wilderness people eating bears, and I think it would be interesting to try one. I don’t really know what one would taste like now that I think of it but bear seems like a manly meat.



2. Hippopotamus – I imaging this would be a fatty piece of meat, but I think hippos are cool, and they are kind of cow like so I imagine it would be edible though I must admit I have never ever heard of any one or any group of people that eat the hippo. I’d imagine this is because they aren’t hunted for any valuable item and they are dangerous to be around do to their size and aggressiveness.



3. Lion – Something about the idea of eating the kind of the jungle just seems cool to me. I have heard of people eating lions before, but more for the idea of gaining its strength than for it being a tasty treat.



4. Elephant – Kind of going along with the lion with how the Elephant is the king of its domain, I have heard the heart of the elephant was at one time considered a delicacy but considering they are endangered species now I don’t think I’d ever have the chance to try elephant.



5. Snake – I know people eat these, so of my list this would be the easiest to get a taste of. I’ve heard they taste like chicken but that’s what people say about pretty much any meat that doesn’t “taste like beef” oh well.



6. Dog – now this is where people will get upset… I’m just saying if visited Korea or some place and it was on the menu I’d give it a sample… I’m not going to go kill a dog or anything but if I was at a restaurant where it was part of a traditional dish I wouldn’t be opposed to giving it at least a taste.

If there was a # 7 on this list it would be a penguin now that I think of it, actually It should defiantly be in there.

Ok so there is my list, hopefully I didn’t offend anyone too much.

June 21st - Holidays

So my Dad calls Father’s Day a made up holiday just to sell cards, and always insist he doesn’t want anything for Father’s Day. So in honor of him and Father’s Day, here is my list of the six most pointless holidays that show up on most American calendars. I put the most calendar’s clause in there because there is pretty much a “holiday” everyday of the year, but most of those are so pointless they can’t even make it onto a calendar so they aren’t worthwhile enough for me to rank in this list ;)


6. Flag Day – June 14th

I’m not trying to be Anti-Patroitic here… but really everyone ignores this holiday and its not like the Flag doesn’t get respect paid for it on other days as well. Really the Flag stands for the United States and the people that make up it, so when we pay tribute on Memorial Day, 4th of July and Veterans Day. So it’s almost a dishonor that Flag Day gets ignored the way it does.

5. Columbus Day – 2nd Monday in October

Ok so Columbus wasn’t even the first person to discover the new world, and well its only a bank/postal holiday as it is anyway. He did some great things that paved the way for other explorers.. but he wasn’t the greatest explorer anyway… it would be better if we had a day to celebrate all of the great explorers of the New World. This has only been a Federal Holiday since 1970, and we found out the Vikings were first shortly thereafter so it’s not going to damage a tradition to get rid of it or change it.

4. Earth Day – April 22nd

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the environment and stuff… but Earth Day is basically ignored by everyone, I mean we have Arbor Day for trees, and a ton of other awareness days that don’t make it onto calendars Earth day is basically a combination of all of these environment days.

3. President’s Day – 3rd Monday in February

Honestly, do the presidents actually need a day in their honor? After you are elected president you pretty much get honored every day for the rest of your life, and heck after you are out of office people even quit trying to rip you apart and you can live peacefully even if you did a crappy job… people eventually forget about that given time – see Jimmy Carter.

2. Thanksgiving (Canada) – 2nd Monday in October

Pretty much shows up on the list to remind us that Canadians have a different Thanksgiving than us? I mean honestly who cares and why is it on the list? Maybe so we can white out the (Canada) and try to trick our boss into giving us an extra holiday?

1. Boxing Day (Canada) – December 26th

This is #1 because like Canadian Thanksgiving it shouldn’t even be on our calendars! First off they always put the (Canada) behind it… just in case we forgot that we don’t celebrate it here in

June 20th - Expenses

Well you have heard me complain about spending money previously, today I was thinking about all of the little things you have to buy but don’t really want too…. Its just things you really need and have to have….


Top Six Everyday Purchases that you hate having to make…

1. Toilet Paper

You have to have it…. But it is something you buy whose whole purpose is to be thrown away seconds after use.

2. Stamps

Man they are getting expensive these days, and email is a much better way to communicate but every once in awhile you have something you just have to mail out. (though I love getting mail, so I guess I kinda do like stamps… just not buying them)

3. Gas

Ok so we all hate having to fuel up… but we love driving, so I guess it’s a necessary evil right.. and driving does beat taking public transportation.

4. Hair Cuts

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to be bald and I’m glad I have my hair…. But spending $15-$20 a month just to cut something that will grow right back isn’t fun :P But I’m strange and have never liked getting haircuts.

5. Car Washes

You want your car to look nice… so you pay to have it washed, or buy the supplies to wash it yourself… but it never fails that something happens the next day and its dirty again.

6. Trashbags

The reason this one is down all the way to #6 is because I have been avoiding buying them by using grocery sacks, which works I just have to take my trash out every other day, but that’s no problem as the dumpster at my apartment complex is like 50 ft away from where I park so I just take it out on my way to work.

June 19th - Websites

So I’m online a lot, thus the inspiration for today’s Summer Six Pack. Short and simple but, my six most frequented websites.




1. Mail.theworthingtongroup.com and webmail.purdue.edu

I’m combining this one since they are my two email accounts, the first one is where my work email is located at and the second is for my personal email.



2. Google.com



Boring choice, I know, but this is where all of my many random web searches begin.



3. Yahoo.com



Not for websearches, but for news related items (mainly sports) and the inspiration for a lot of my web searches as I’ll start reading an article here and wind up some place totally different.



4. Casttv.com



Website with a huge collection of links to TV episodes online, I’m currently watching the Dexter TV series and am on the last season. This is where I go to find my episodes, I’ve utilized it to watch all of the Breaking Bad and Leverage series.



5. Mentalfloss.com



They claim to be “Where knowledge junkies get their fix” tons of interesting and random articles on this site. Check out their quizzes for some entertainment sometime, for example they have one quiz called “Discontinued Ben & Jerry’s flavor or Band I found on Myspace”. You’re Guaranteed to learn at least one random fact here.









6. Hobowars.com



At one time this would have been #1 on the list by a long shot, but my addiction has

Drastically lowered, I thought about not putting it on the list as I recently went a week without logging on. But I decided by multi-year addiction to the game meant it had to remain on the list.







Honorable mentions: myspace.com (especially when I’m on a blog roll like now), Sundaysaver.com (to look up grocery store bargains), Wikipedia (say what you want but it’s a good source of pop culture info), imdb.com (for all your movie and tv show information – mainly to look up actors/ress)

June 18th - Mornings

Today’s Summer Six Pack is called Morning Routines…. Anyone who reads this who knows me, knows I strive on planning and calculating things out (some people will protest with the fact that I never want to plan anything very far in advance, but this is because I try not to think that far out into the future because if I do, I’ll start calculating everything meticulously. Which is time consuming so I focus on not thinking about it.) Basically for me to feel good I have to feel I am in complete control of certain things, I try to focus on small less noticeable stuff so people don’t think I’m too crazy.




Anyway the list is 6 things I do every morning before leaving my apartment.

1. Go to the bathroom – Sorry but natural urge controls this one.


2. Weigh myself


3. Make breakfast – oatmeal and egg whites, cooked in my microwave for 5 minutes on 50% power, 2 packets of splenda mixed in and then cinnamon sprinkled on top when its done cooking. I’ve been eating this breakfast for almost a year now.


4. Turn on my computer and check my email, I do this while the oatmeal is cooking


5. Eat my oatmeal while surfing the internet for a few minutes


6. Brush my teeth



Before you try to point out things I missed, here is some quick points

• I usually shave right before I brush my teeth, but on days I don’t have to work I sometimes skip shaving because I’m lazy like that.

• I get dressed after brushing my teeth and shaving

• Turn off my alarm – normally it starts buzzing at me sometime during my breakfast prep.



*Editors note:

I’m in the middle of a severe thunderstorm and had this looking much nicer with pictures and everything but lost power before I had it saved at that point, so I’m going to post it as is.

June 17th - Movies

So I was thinking of movies today, and about possibly getting a Netflix subscription because I haven’t seen very many of the movies that have come out in the past year, I’m way behind actually. So today’s list is the last six movies I saw in theatre.




1. Paul Blart – Mall Cop

Yeah, I’m that far behind! I thought this movie was average at best, though I’m not a big comedy fan.



2. Taken

I enjoyed this movie though I could probably only give it a seven out of 10, it was your classic action movie where your tough guy beats people up and gets his revenge while saving the woman.



3. The Spirit

I had big hopes for this movie but the story let me down, Samuel L. Jackson saved it though with his role as the villain



4. Hellboy II

Yes I have seen very few movies in theatres lately as you can tell since this is my 4th most recent. I really liked it, much better than the first hellboy as the plot moved quicker and their was more action.

5. The Dark Knight

Great but Everyone knows that



6. Speed Racer

I really liked this movie, it was a lot better than people gave it credit for!







So What movie should I watch next? The only one on my absolutely must see list is G.I. Joe, but there are others I would certainly like to see.

June 16th - Drinks

Just a Quick Post today. I’ve been really thirsty today even more than normal (and I normally drink around 2 gallons of liquid a day) so that was my inspiration for today’s Summer Six Pack.




Last Six things I had to drink.

Diet Dr. Pepper (my favorite Drink)

Great Value – Sugar Free Grape Drink Mix

Great Value – Sugar Free Cherry Limeaid Drink Mix

Water
Coca-Cola Zero

Great Value – Sugar Free Lemonade Drink Mix





So yeah you can tell I’m a fan of the great value drink mixes ;)

June 15th - Flags

My 6 favorite flags of the world (excluding the U.S.)

1. Albania






I just think this is an awesome design, simple yet very cool.

2. Nepal





Nepal is cool because they didn’t conform to the whole rectangle flag idea, instead they went with this cool shape.



3. Japan





Again another Simple yet effective design and very iconic, Also the naval version of the flag is awesome as well. I’d say that it is probably the 3rd most identifiable flag in the world, with the Stars and Stripes, Union Jack being the number one and two, Canda would probably be four and then Switzerland at five?



4. Sri Lanka





I’ll keep it simple here, how can you go wrong with a lion holding a sword?



5. Martinique





I’m not sure whats going on here, but the four snakes on the light blue and white colored flag is interesting to say the least.



6. United Kingdom







Like Japan, a classic that looks cool.



Honorable mentions included Switzerland and Bhutan.

June 14th - Sports

I’m a sports fan and enjoy watching a variety of sporting events, however there are some great sports out there that that we rarely if ever get to watch. So here is a list of my top 6 non-mainstream sports.


*Main stream sports include; Basketball, Football, Baseball, Soccer, Boxing, MMA, Soccer, Hockey, Auto Racing, Tennis and Golf as it is easy to find these sporting events on television or at least highlights on ESPN almost any day during their seasons.

The Six coolest non-mainstream sports…

1. Rugby



Now I’ll admit this sport is pretty much mainstream for Australia and the UK, but its really hard to find here in the US. I don’t understand all of the rules but the game does interest me and on the rare occasions I do see it on TV I will take the time to watch it for awhile.













2. Curling



The sport we only see during the winter Olympics, when it is usually being ridiculed…. However I think its an interesting watch and a game I would like to learn how to play. Actually I remember on my aunts computer she used to have this weird little curling game, it was pretty lame but I remember playing it (and not fully understanding the rules on there either) just because it was curling.









3. The Skeleton



Another Winter Olympic event (and I’m not even a big fan of the winter Olympics) in this sport you lie flat on your back on a little sled and race down a hill at speeds up to around 80 miles per hour, this sounds crazy and fun to me. I guess I will consider the street luge in as this too because it’s the same thing only on pavement.







4. Cheese Rolling



This is a once a year event at Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth England, what started as a local sporting event now draws people from around the world… So what is this sporting event? Well they have a really steep hill and they have cheese…. So they get some of their famous Double Gloucester cheese and throw it down the hill and chase it like mad men/women… they run the event in several heats of twenty now that it has become so popular… first one down the slope wins the cheese! This is actually a really dangerous sport has numerous ambulances are in attendance to take people to the hospital from their falls down the hill.











5. Chess Boxing



Two men enter the ring in an 11 round fight to the end… the winner walks out a chess boxing champion… the sport combines brawn & brain with 5 three minute boxing rounds and 6 chess rounds. You win by one of three ways… knock out you opponent, checkmate your opponent, or make your opponent run out of time on their chess clock (probably because you gave them a concussion and it takes a little longer to plan out that next move?)









6. National Rock Paper Scissors Championship

The game we all know as kids, and use as adults to solve simple disputes in a “best out of three” contest actually has a national championship. I have seen it on TV even and it was an interesting event as some of the contestants really get into it and dress up in costumes and everything.











And as an honorable mention… Afghanistan’s national sport, which is just to bizarre / somewhat disturbing to include as a “cool/interesting sport” Buzkashi… It’s like polo… only they use a decapitated goad as the ball… and no I’m not making this up. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/farrey/011011.html = ESPN comparing Buzkashi to the NFL….

June 13th - Awards

So for some reason today I was thinking about contest and competitions, and I got to thinking about random awards that are given out. Anyway that inspired today’s list… Six seemly random awards/contest I have won. Now most of them date back to my days in 4-H, which is mainly because I haven’t been in very many competitions lately.. I think the last one I was in was at Purdue last year it was a really cool completion that tested your ability to research information on the internet quickly and accurately. They gave us like 100 questions and 45 minutes I think, it was really hard but a really cool idea.


Anyway back to the topic at hand, my goal was to come up with the 6 strangest or unusal contest or awards I had received.



Six Random Awards/Contest you have won;



6. Finalist State Social Studies Academic Team

I achieved this twice when I was in high school, as a freshman and as the team captain my Sr. year. I really enjoyed the Academic team, though it was pretty much the only team I was able to make in high school. My freshman year the topic was ancient Rome and my Sr. Year was Post WWII.

5. A BBQ contest

I won this several times in 4-H with recipes such as my Lemon Pepper Pork. I actually really like cooking so maybe this is where my enjoyment of that came from? As practicing for this competition is when I first started to cook.

4. Geography Bee Champion

This is another competition that I won twice, 1st time as a 5th grader upsetting a 6th grader for the first time… It really really upset the girl I beat, she pretty much hated me and never spoke to me again. The second time I won was in 7th grade, funny enough I beat the same girl who was an 8th grader to win the Jr. High competition. I even got to go to the state championship that year. Unfortunately they didn’t have the competition my 8th grade year which is the last year you can compete. Though at the State competition its dominated by home schooled kids who spend all their time studying geography… it’s kind of like the spelling bee actually if you have ever seen those kids and their parents.

3. Rabbit Royalty – Prince, Duke, King

I used to raise show rabbits, and the showmanship contest was based male and female and by age group with a royalty theme… well by the time I was out of 4-H I had served as champion of all three different age groups at least once. Because we all want the title of… Rabbit Prince… its umm very manly.

2. Grand Champion Ratite



That’d be Ostriches, Emu’s and the such and no I never even owned one of those animals… this was more of a me being spiteful and wanting to prove I was better that some people. I know not a good reason to enter the competition but hey it is what it is. Basically there were only four kids in the ratite project and the grand champion was based on whoever won the poster contest. (There was no animal portion really, they just brought some to the fair but never took them out to show) Anyway they always made sloppy looking posters with misspelled words and the such… I joked with them about it and finally they were like well prove you can do better… so the next year I did. It was actually the best year for Ratite posters as at least two of the other kids tried harder in an effort to prove me wrong.



1. A Rooster Crowing Contest

Yeah this is the most random one I could think of, again it is at the 4-H fair but open to everyone, not just 4-Hers… all you have to do is bring a rooster in the morning and they count the number of crows from the start of the contest until the end (about 2-3 minutes later) One year I won 1st and 3rd place with my two entries… 1st place has the whopping prize of $10!

I need to pick up a new hobby or something to compete in, because I’m normally a competitive person but haven’t really strived towards anything for a long while now that I think about it.

June 12th - Technology

Ok so today they officially switched everyone to digital TV (RIP my TV), this inspired my blog list for today, Six pieces of technology that society should also move on past.




1. Fax Machines – Hasn’t the scanner made this piece of equipment ancient history? Not only is a scanner more reliable, it can give you a digital copy, it can print, and it doesn’t require its own special dedicated number. These are destined for the Good Will electronic pile with the old TV’s.









2. Land Line Phones – I realize there are a few ligitament places that need a land line, but the average household might as well go all wireless, it saves money since most of us have cell phones anyway and it is much more portable, plus you don’t have to change your home phone number if you move.







3. CD’s / The Music Industry producing Albums – Why not just release songs as singles as you produce them?











4. Speaking of CD’s how about Portable CD players? – Honestly how portable are they? And now days you can get a low end MP3 player for the same cost.





5. US Postal Service, it pains me to say it because I love getting mail… but at 44 cents a stamp and rising every couple months it just seems like the system is on the fast track to failure. Obviously package services will remain around UPS and FedEx… but do we need a Government run system, maybe we should just let the private sector handle it.









6. DVD’s & Blue Ray – lets face it, I predict we will all be watching movies on memory sticks (like USB drives) within the next decade, so why invest in a Blue Ray Player?

June 11th - Ice Cream

Another Quick one due to being tied up at the Grand Opening all day, I will put more detail in again starting tomorrow!




- Six favorite flavors of ice cream



1. Yellow Cake Batter


2. Birthday Cake Remix (Cold Stone Creamery Creation)


3. Mint Chocolate Chip


4. Peanut Butter


5. Cookies and Cream


6. Butter Pecan

June 10th - Sporting

Six favorite sporting events



1. Purdue vs Indiana basketball games



I’m a huge fan of Purdue sports and the basketball rivalry is my favorite matchup between the teams.



2. NCAA tournament



You have to love the 65 team single elimination tournament and all the excitement it brings once a year.



3. Old Oaken Bucket game



Purdue vs IU on the football field, enough said



4. Super Bowl



Whether you love it for the game or the commercials this is one of the most exciting sporting events of the year.



5. Summer Olympics



I’m not a big fan of the winter Olympics but I try to catch as much of the summer Olympics as I can.



6. Running of the Bulls



I just think this is a cool tradition, which would be awesome to take part in.

June 9th - Names

Six names that you have been called and answer too…


Ok this is more like nicknames, not being called something spiteful, but everyone’s family has something they usually call eat other either a shortened version of their name or something entirely different, and friends give nicknames as well so give us a list of 6….



Dust – my family uses this one a lot

Dusty Bill - a combo of my first and middle names… even had a product named after me ;)

Dwight – my Sr. year of high school a lot of my close friends started calling me this as a result of saying D. White quickly they came up with it and I didn’t mind it.

Big D – I’ve been called this by multiple people at various times

Spock – I’m not sure why but one of my bosses has started calling me this lately, its kind of cool though because Spock was a cool dude.

Dustin - :P I’ll be unoriginal and use this one last ;)

June 8th - Languages

So today’s list is Six Languages other than English you wish you could speak….


I took French in High school and in college because I had too… and well I pretty much sucked at it, but I didn’t have the desire, motivation, or patience to learn and what I did learn well I forgot most of it already. For one I wish I had picked a different language, but that’s in the past. I think everyone has at sometime been standing in line somewhere or been at a restaurant when they heard some other people talking in a foreign language and you wish you knew what they were saying… at least it happens to me all the time, I mean I know it’s pointless chit chat but when you don’t understand it, well it makes you curious. So if you could instantly learn a language what would it be?



Spanish – This is at the top because it is the most practical, I mean I hear it every day from our housekeepers and there are more and more Spanish speaking people moving into the country all the time. So knowing this language would help more on an everyday level than any other.

Chinese (Mandarin) – again another popular language in the world that would be useful to know, I mean they are the most populated country in the world and quickly becoming a global super power. While they do speak multiple dialects if I knew Mandarin it would be cool.

Russian – This one isn’t practical like the first two, I just always thought it was a cool language.

Arabic – This one is on the list because it is a super job asset to have if you are looking for career advancement in this day of age.

An African Click language – Just cool, enough said

Japanese – It would be interesting to visit Japan, and knowing the language would help in that regard plus they are a friendly country with us and a lot of people speak Japanese.



There you have it Six Languages I think it would be cool to know how to speak fluently.

June 7th - Jobs

So today while I was at work for some reason I thought of a statistic I heard several years ago about how often people will change jobs in their lifetimes, and how that number has grown a lot since even when my parents were first entering the working world. I can’t remember the exact number of the statistic but it was something like 5 job changes and 2 career changes from the time you get out of college. I didn’t imagine that I would come close to that, but I have already worked three different jobs in the one year I have been out of school… still the same career path (though even that is something totally unrelated to my schooling).


My six most recent jobs…..

1. Operations Manager – Candlewood Suites, Indianapolis NW (May ’09 ~ Current)

This is where I’m working at now; We just opened on May 1st and are finally starting to pick up steam occupancy wise after a slow start. Not a whole lot to say since I just started here about 7-8 weeks ago.



2. AGM / Interim GM – Holiday Inn Express, Martinsville Indiana (Feb ’09 ~ May ’09)

One of the main reasons I moved to Martinsville was I liked the way my bosses worked when the managed the Hampton Inn. I didn’t agree with a lot of things the new company did and I really disliked how disorganized they were. So I moved to Martinsville and lived/worked in the Holiday Inn Express there as the AGM and then the interim GM (after Cheryl moved to the Candlewood opening full time at the end of March.) I basically ran the property down there for 2 months, The hotel was interesting and had a lot of issues from the past that I had to help take care of cleaning up. I could have stayed at this hotel but I decided to go to the Candlewood that was just opening up. This was the way my employers’ wanted me to go, as well as the way I saw myself having the best opportunities in the future. However while at the Holiday Inn Express we dramatically increased the guest satisfaction scores so it was kind of sad leaving behind all of the hard work I had put in there.



3. Guest Service Rep / AGM – Hampton Inn and Suites, Greensburg Indiana (June ’08 ~ Feb ’09)

The Job I took after college when I couldn’t find anything to do relating to my History degree. Honestly I figured this would be short term and a good job because it was close to home, and would give me some experience in customer relations which I had no of thus far in my work history… little did I know the AGM would end up stepping down in September, and I’d get promoted to AGM from just working the desk. From there I built the network that my career path has been based on thus far. After the management company lost the contract at the end of the year I stayed on for another month before calling up my old boss and getting a job in Martinsville. I will have to say this was one of the best learning experiences in my life with everything I learned from knowing nothing about hotels to knowing and understanding what I do today about hotels and managing people.



4. Farm Labor (sporadic over the last 10 years or so)

Baling Straw and Hay for my Dad as well as Milking Goats for Rob Smith, I guess this makes me well rounded overall… I can milk goats and drive a tractor as well as preserve old photography, and take care of guest in the hospitality business. I never picked up my Dad’s mechanical inclination but doing these jobs I’d say was good experience in a lot of little ways, which often go unnoticed or unthought-of.



5. Decatur County Historical Society ( Summer ’07)

I didn’t get paid for this job but I really enjoyed it, I spent about 8 hours a week entering old photographs into their database, and helped build a more user friendly and searchable database for visitors and researchers using the Historical Societies photo achieves. This was probably the most enjoyable job I have ever had, if only it had been a paying position and provided more hours.

6. Gecom (Summer ’06)



I guess this was my first “real“ job I guess, I worked the first shift at Gecom making door latches for the trunks of Honda Civics. It was an interesting experience, I honestly didn’t mind doing the super boring jobs which everyone else hated, I found it more relaxing than the ones where you were really busy. My line rotated a job every two hours which was supposed to be a good thing, though I’d prefer to do the same thing all day. Anyway my team leader was great, and this Mexican guy I worked with was really funny. I was on a good team. It was sort of awkward working there as the short term temps were kind of outcast on the job and you could tell, no one went out of their way to be nice to you at all sometimes you almost felt looked down upon because people knew you were going back to school at the end of the summer. I’d come home tired and covered with this white grease but my only complaint about the job was the work benches were too low and I had to stoop over most of the day. Overall I’d say it was a good experience that has helped me in the long run as I sort of understand the “factory worker mentality” I got an interesting perspective into how a lot of people think on a day to day basis that I might have not gotten otherwise. It’s interesting how your attitude changes towards things when you are working in a factory. Since Gecom was Japanese owned, people there talked about the Japanese negatively all the time, and strangely enough by the end of my 3 months of working there I found that I had a negative view of Japanese that when I looked back upon it after quitting to go back to school I realized I had just absorbed that mind set for no reason at all from my co-workers.

June 6th - NES

So today is the 25th anniversary of the classic video game Tetris… a game invented by the Russians and copied by many throughout the past 25 years. It’s a true testament to the game’s greatness that modern day versions are still popping up and being played every year. So with that in mind it’s time to look way back into my video gaming career with my six favorite NES games that I owned.




1. The Legend of Zelda



We even had the special gold colored limited edition cartridge of this game! So much has been said about this game everywhere that I won’t go into detail about it, other than to say it was truly way ahead of its time, and an all time classic.



















2. Ducktales



Ducktales Woo Hoo! I loved the cartoon and I loved the video game. This is probably the best adaptation ever of a tv show to a video game. (remember pokemon was a game first and Goldeneye was a movie) In this game you played as Scrooge McDuck on a quest to save his nephews.. you killed enemies by hitting them with your cane that he used like a pogo stick as you moved through levels all around the world… The jungle, a diamond mine and even the Moon!



















3. Mega Man II



I think we actually only owned 3 of the mega man games in the series, but I know we probably played them all (up through Mega Man X), Mega Man II was the best in the series that I remember. And who could forget the awesome boss names that the mega man series provided us with? Mega Man II included; Wood Man, Bubble Man, Metal Man, Quick Man, Air Man, Heat Man, Crash Man, Flash Man and of course the evil Dr. Wiley. Also best 8 bit video game music ever



















4. Chip and Dale Rescue Ranger’s



Another great cartoon to video game adaptation, in this game you played as Chip and Dale as you ran through a series of levels from the street, inside a house, in a sewer, and even in a casino as you hunted down Fat Cat to stop his evil plans. It also had some cool video game music.



















5. Super Mario World 3



Again like Zelda there has been so much said about this game every where I will keep it brief… what’s not to like about a Mario game where a raccoon tale give him the ability to fly?







6. Super Mario Brothers / Duck Hunt Combo game



Ok so not only do you get the original Mario game, where it all began… the quest to save Princess Peach from Bowser…. But as an added Bonus you get Duck Hunt a game in which you get to use a toy gun to simulate shooting ducks? Sign me up! I loved using that little toy gun, we never owned another game that utilized the gun though we did rent a few and I always remember the bazooka gun they had at the video rental store… sadly we never rented it.







One reminder about this list Is it was my top six NES games I owned, there were a lot of other great games I remember from back then that my family just rented. One thing about NES games is they were a lot shorter than today’s video games and very few of them could you save your progress, other than via passwords and save codes. So a lot of times we would rent a game and beat it that night, then take it back the next day… (St. Paul video rental charged by the day so we rarely kept our games more than one day)

Jun. 5th - Hanna-Barbara

- Six favorite Hanna Barbara Characters




When it comes to Old School Cartoons, I always think back to when I was in elementary school and on the rare occasions I’d have to ride the bus home, or I was sick from school I’d spend the afternoon/day at my Grandma’s house. Now we didn’t have satellite TV at the time, and Grandma and Grandpa did and they had some cool channels… the Disney Channel of course (Under the Umbrella Tree and this old school live action Whiney the Pool are two I really remember from Disney) and this other new channel that was just starting out… Cartoon Network!

Now back in the early 90’s Cartoon Network showed a ton of old Hanna Barbara Cartoons, so here is my list.. Top 6 Hanna Barbara Characters



1. Top Cat









Top Cat is my personal favorite Hanna Barbara Character, I’m not sure why but I just think he is cool all around.





2. Yogi Bear



He might be a big thief when it comes to stealing picnic baskets, but Yogi has always been a cool character in my book.







3. Birdman – this will surprise some people, but I might just be feeling negstoligic today while writing this, but I remember watching this show a lot after school at my Grandma & Grandpas… why Birdman (who got his power from the sun) Always had to fight people underground or in non-sunlit places was troublesome for him but he always got it taken care of. Most people only know him from his newer Adult Swim appearance as an attorney at all, but he was originally a smart crime fighting super hero.







4. The Jetsons


I like the Jetsons and the funky retro-future 60’s colors they used in that cartoon!







5. The Wacky Races – I always rooted for the Slag Brothers when I was little, but The Gruesome Twosome and Arkansas Chugabug are also really cool as well. Though I never liked Peter Perfect, the Red Baron, or Penelope Pitstop.







6. The Herculoids



Another throw back just like Birdman, most people haven’t heard of it, but I really liked them when they used to be on TV.

Jun. 4th - Resturants

So yesterday my parents and sister came up to visit me as well as pick up the van since I don’t need it to drive anymore. As usual when they came to visit we went out to eat. So today’s list is inspired by the greatness that is getting taken out to eat by my family. I normally don’t eat out that often but I have a lot the last few days since I went home for my birthday weekend.

The Last Six Restaurants I ate at…

1. Rock Bottom Brewery

Ate here yesterday with my family, it was my first visit to this restaurant and I give it a good review overall. The service was good and their menu had a great selection. My Mom got enchiladas, Casey got Ravioli, Dad got Jambalaya, and I got a steak salad. Everyone agreed their food was really good. We aren’t really beer drinkers so no one tried any of their home brewed beers so I can’t rate them on that.

2. Panera Bread

This is probably my favorite fast food place to eat now days; I got their Mediterranean veggie sandwich on tomato basil bread. Its an awesome sandwich that has veggies, hummus and feta cheese on it! Tom and Cheryl took me out for lunch here on the 2nd as a birthday treat.


3. Ritter’s Frozen Custard

I love Ritter’s Frozen custard, I stopped here on my way back to Indy after being home for my birthday weekend. I figured I had already eaten bad that weekend why not eat one more bad for me thing on the drive back. I got a Glacier with cake batter and M&M mix ins. Visited 5/30.

4. Denny’s

Mom, Dad and Casey took me out for Brunch at Denny’s before I headed back to Indy after being home on the weekend. It wasn’t one of the best experiences there as they didn’t refill my drink that much and we had to sit at a table (which at the Shelbyville Denny’s means you’re practically on top of the group next to you). But I like Denny’s food and its always good to get a chance to be with my family. I got this new salad they had on the menu that had grilled chicken and avocado on it, it was very good and a surprise since Denny’s salad selection used to be really small. Normally I get the veggie omelet with egg beaters when I eat here. Casey got the Lumberjack slam, Dad got his usually – the nachos, and Mom got a Grand Slam. Visited 5/30



5. Maker’s Mark Steakhouse

This is the brand new steakhouse in the Casino, we went there as a combo birthday dinner / Dad being done planting celebration. Let me tell you this was an interesting experience… First off the place is super fancy… There menu is set up to order like a four course meal, which would break the bank due to the cost / I don’t know how you could eat that much food anyway. We just settled for entrée’s, but there was plenty of food with that (there smallest steak was like 16 oz). Once you got over the fancy décor and menu the food was really, really good. And even though it’s a really fancy décor it isn’t like you have to dress up or anything… because well its in a casino and dress codes are out the window in a place like that. So even though we weren’t dressed up or anything we didn’t feel out of place sitting in a high class restaurant. Mom and I both had the Snapper, my dad had some shrimp and Casey had some kind of fish as well (I forget what type). Like I said food was really good (probably the best fish I’ve ever had) but I most likely won’t be visiting there again for a long time, a little too high class for me. (visited 5/29)



6. Arby’s

Just a quick stop for a lunch on a day I forgot to pack one and didn’t go out to eat with Cheryl. I just grabbed a chopped chicken salad, which was good but nothing special.
(visited 5/25)




with pictures at:
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Jun. 3rd - TV

So I’m working the night shift tonight at work which gave me all afternoon off, so after exercising this morning I was taking it easy around the house and catching up on some of the episodes of TV shows that I haven’t watched recently online.



That said here is my list of….





- Six favorite currently running* TV shows





* means that some of these shows are in the off season now but are planned to return with another season


1. Leverage

My sister turned me on to this show earlier this year, there has only been one season produced thus far but I really enjoyed it. The Premise of the show is this group of top/famous thieves work together to help out people in need who are being cheated by big companies or corrupt people. The team of thieves work together to scam the scammers and win back the money / items for the needy.

2. Dexter

This is a TV show based off a book series, basically you have a serial killer (Dexter) who does the whole vigilante justice type of thing by killing people he deems deserve to die. Dexter is also a police officer who specializes in blood splatter work so he is able track down and work against other serial killers like himself. What separates him from the “bad guys” is he has this moral code that he strives to uphold. It’s a well made series.

3. Breaking Bad

This is the series I was actually catching up with today, Mr. White a high school chemistry teacher and one time aspiring research chemist is diagnosed with lung cancer… He wants to leave his family in good financial standing when he passes on which he believes will be very soon, so he becomes a meth cook with the help of a former student (who he actually failed in class). It’s an interesting story as he has to figure out the drug trade while balancing his family issues and his health issues.

4. Jepoardy

My favorite non-reality game show, it’s a classic that I enjoy watching especially when I exercise as it’s easy to play along with and it keeps me entertained as I enjoy trivia. I’d like to try out for the show some day.


5. Phineas and Ferb

By far my favorite currently running cartoon, it follows the adventures of two brothers who invent wild and crazy things everyday of their summer vacation while their sister tries to bust them. They also have a pet playtapus who is a secret agent and spends each episode fighting the evil Dr Doofensmirtz. And as a can’t resist added bonus each cartoon has a musical number in it… this cartoon rocks.

6. Survivor

This one doesn’t really need any introduction, however, at one time this was my favorite show but it has gotten a little stale now days and is barely hanging on my list. Though I would still love the opportunity to compete on the show!




with pictures...
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Jun. 2nd - ToDo

Six things to do before I'm 30…

So I’m 24 now… I feel old… my 5 year high school reunion is in like 2 weeks, seems crazy but I feel old.. I’m out of high school, out of college, have a job that I’m basically a work-a-holic at (60+ hr weeks with no clue until the last minute as to what day (days if I’m lucky) I’ll get off from week to week, seem to be the norm) So I was thinking what are 6 things I would like to do/achieve/accomplish before I turn 30?

1. Visit Ankor Wat

Honestly I have no idea when I ever got the desire to visit this historic monument, but it has always interested me. However going to Cambodia (where its located) seems like a dangerous proposition, though Ankor Wat is in a tourist area due to its attraction, I doubt I'll ever go as I am unable to spend money wastefully without feeling guilty and it would take me a long time to justify the expense.



Machu Pichu would be another exotic destination I’d love to visit some day… but I’ll just put one crazy trip on my list for now… maybe that could be before I turn 40?

2. Hike over a mountain

I stole this one from my Dad, he wants to hike over one of the Smokey Mountains next year, I think it is an awesome idea. Take a backpack head out in the morning hike all day (maybe spend the night on the mountain) and hike all the way over the mountain and to the other side like the mountain folk used to do. I think it would be a fun adventure, I’d even be up for doing it by myself, as I think it would be a peaceful/relaxing challenge to try.



3. Get a house

I guess this is kinda the American Dream or whatever, but if I did get a house it would mean I was in a stable position and then I could have a pet and whatever (which cost a lot in pet fees if you live in an apartment). So this is my practical/wishful goal… of course I could go into my plan for a grain bin house (still would be super dooper awesome by the way… and take some of the practical part out of it.)



4. Travel somewhere spontaneously

This one is sort of stole from one of my best friends, Megan as in July she is going to drive along Route 66 in a totally unplanned vacation adventure. I think this is a cool idea and am very jealous of her and her sisters.



5. Participate in the Running of the Bulls

Crazy… probably but I have always thought that this looked like fun, and I’m in decent enough shape to do it… It would be a thrill and a story you could always tell people.



6. Get in a relationship

Ok not to be seintemental or anything, but I’m 24 now and never really been in anything close to a serious relationship. I’m more of a loaner and haven’t really felt the desire to be in one honestly… but at the same time I feel weird for not having experience that.. like maybe I’m missing out on something, but I live in a town where I don’t know anyone, and work a job where my free time is little and often far between so the odds of this happening soon are slim to none.. maybe this one is for closer to 30? Plus I don’t know if I would even like being emotionally attached to someone that closely… I’m not even that emotional of a guy I keep my opinions to myself and only have a few close friends. However this feels like something I should want so I’ll throw it on the list to finish things up.

So there we are my list for today!




with pictures at:
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Birthday!

So yesterday was my Birthday and I umm did something crazy… Well Crazy for me at least, Crazy for someone who hates spending money with a passion. Everybody knows I’m extremely frugal with my money, I mean I have felt buyers remorse over buying things as small as a soft drink before, I’ll often go without instead of spending and yes I’ll always stop to pick up a penny in the street even if its tails side up ;) I’m getting better at spending money since I’ve had to move out on my own and thus had to start buying more stuff.. For some reason I get more enjoyment out of knowing I have money than I do in having things, honestly I’m never saving for anything in particular just saving for the enjoyment of saving.

But anyway you are probably wondering what “crazy” purchase I might have possibly made… you are probably thinking of something like a new TV. (well my old one will be useless when the digital thing goes in effect next week) but you would be wrong (I decided saving money was better than having TV anyway).. Well I’ve been looking for something different to drive for a long time now (over a year) since the Monte is old and the van is getting beat down… well I finally bought something….

And NO its not some $500.00 piece of junk… It’s a brand new car…

Honestly I have been super nervous since I bought it, and what the payments me towards me not being able to save money, and how I can cut back on other things in order to extra on the payments while still saving some money back for a rainy day fund. I’m holding up better than I though I would, I honeslty figured that by now I’d hate myself for spending so much money…

So what did I buy?

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A Kia Soul!




for pictures....
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Jun. 1st - People Pack

So I didn't have a lot of time to put this together because I did something really wild and crazy tonight (when you figure that for me spending $50 on something is daring) which I will post later, but anyway I can't miss doing my top 6 list on the first day of the blog series so I had to put together one that was short and simple today :)



Since Today is my Birthday....



The 6 coolest people who were born on June 1st ;)



6. Morgan Freeman (1937)



5. Brigham Young (1801)

The original Mormon



4. David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) (1953)
So maybe the guy wasn't umm a good guy... but he was super famous, in a crazy killing people kind of way... good thing I never read Catcher in the Rye



3. Marilyn Monroe (1926)

The first true super star shares her birthday with me



2. Andy Griffith (1926)

1926 was apparently a good year, Mayberry and Matlock man Andy Griffith!



1. Dustin White (1985)
Did you expect anyone else... It's my Birthday I have to support myself here you know.



honorable mentions: Frank Whittle (invented the jet engine), Jacques Marquette (famous missionary/explorer), Heidi Klum (A former supermodel)







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Summer Six Pack Intro

Hello Everyone, new blog series for this month. A simple and fun series, every day I will post a top six list on a topic of my choice. The topic can be literly anything, so lets see how this goes!

Summer Six Pack!