Boring......life

Yeah, my life is pretty boring right now. 2 months and not a whole lot to report. although i did start a new table-top mini's game called Anima: Tactics. it loosely based on anime-like characters with way over-the-top special abilities, like little guys carrying huge swords, or "normal" humans able to shoot death-rays from their hands. it's fun and on a much smaller scale than Warhammer 40K. 4-6 individual figures and you have yourself a team. they are also way more fun to paint since each is an individual and they can each have their own color sceme.

on another note with my hobby, i recently got an airbrush. Games Workshop (makers of Warhammer 40k and others) recently came up with this new beaut. my main reasons for this purchase are the ability to quickly paint lots of figures simutaneously, and the faded, fatigued, and camo look that i can use on my vehicles. that, and the fact that it can hook up to specialy designed cans of propelant for $8 each rather than HAVEING to get an air compressor for $50-$80. it is probably going to happen eventually, but with my birthday and Christmas so close, i am going to hold off and see if i get it then.

Still Here, But a Little Less So

I am still around, but a lot has happened in the past few weeks.

First off, me and the fam took a vacation to the Capitol the week of July 20. We booked the trip through travelocity.com many months ago right before the gas prices spiked, so we got a really good deal.
it all started out ok except that our flight there was a red-eye flight out of Burbank. Sunday 9:30 p.m. local departure with a Monday 5:00 a.m. arrival. and because we couldn't check in to our hotel until 4:00 p.m. that evening we went 36 hours with no sleep. that is though even without two younger siblings who aren't used to hectic sleep schedules. So instead of wasting the day, my parents decided that we would visit Gettysburg. Which was good for two reasons. First, my brothers could sleep in the car. Second, it gave us a chance to just drive all around and see all of the different monuments marking troop placements, artillery placements, battle lines, places where generals were shot down, and where the first shot was fired from. There were others as well, but there are way too many to list. After all this, we headed for the hotel and went to bed.
Tuesday and Wednesday were our open-topped bus tour days. We went to the Capitol building, the Lincoln Memorial, National Archives, Arlington National Cemetery, Georgetown, the National Aquarium, and of course the White House.
Thursday was the day i was looking forward to the most. That was the day we spent in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I love planes and the history of them and the physics of them, and , and ........ THEM!!!!!!!! but i digress. The X-1. the Wright test kites, and the Wright Flier were definitely the highlights, but there was a ton of other cool stuff there as well.
Friday was spent in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Rocks and minerals are another set of my favs. The colors, shapes, and formation history fascinate me to no end. and the museum has one of the largest collections in the world.
Saturday was the "chill" day. We first went to the National Gallery of Art. Now i know that guys aren't supposed to appreciate art, but i do. Monet, Bierstadt, Manet, De Vince, sculptors galore, and photographers. All have made there own separate contributions to our world culture.
after that we went back to Arlington National Cemetery. Our first visit was short because the bus came back too soon. so we went back to see the chageing of the guard ceremony. we were also able to see a wreath pressentation, which apperently are very few in number.

Vacation was cool. but two days after i got back, River (my car) once again failed on me. that was the last straw. i am now getting rid of her. $6,000+ is way too much to spend on a car's REPAIRS!!!!!!

Headache

That's what my car is, one big headache. Last week i took her in to Midas to have the brakes looked at. I suspected that i would need new pads and shoes because i was not getting the stopping responses that i am used to. If this was the case i was just going to replace them my self. But no!!! Turns out that the rear wheel cylinders for my drum brakes were COMPLETELY SHOT!!! so much so that every time i pressed the pedal the fluid was just rushing out of the system and pulling back in contaminates like brake dust and copper. and because the rear brakes were not helping to stop the car, the front pads for my disk brakes had cracked all the way through because of over use. they also were able to isolate the oil leak that i have had since i first bought the car. it is leaking from the oil pressure switch. they also found that my lower radiator hose was cracked and leaking and the thermostat was broken. minus the oil leak, $1080.00 and change. SOMEONE STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, River!!!

"River" hit her 120K mile mark last night on my way home from work. to celebrate i got her new headlamp assemblies. not really though, because those broke two weeks ago when i was replaceing the bulbs. the previous owner over torqued the screws and just getting them loose broke the mounting points. found them for $40 a side new. tried to get them from the junk yard first, but all of them there had the same problem.

Double Feature

well its been a while, so i figured a movie review would be a good way to update.

Iron Man

Awesome movie. good plot line, but never having read the actual comic i cant say how true to it it was. the character development was great as well. watching as Tony and Pepper chaged, both as individuals and as a pair, was gripping.


Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Love what they did with Shia's character. my personal best scene was the action scene in the jungle. the sword fight was a nice touch. also, me smells more on the horizon.


watch both of those with the fam today. fallowed by a dinner of my dads famous Tri-Tip, sauted green beans, and corn on the cob.

"River" has been great lately. i have been adding some personal touches to her recently and i like the way they have turned out. the only thing that didnt quite was the new peadal covers that i am installing. the brake side isnt working with the "included hardware" so i am working on some custom stuff. i also added some nice plate frames, a new seat center console (with a custom built and installed combo mp3 player/cell holder), and a steering wheel cover. i think that a new paint job is next. current job is cracking and srcatched to heck.

What happens when..........

what happens when you give a disorganized guy his own space????? he can't remember where half of his stuff is. so now many weeks and lots of frustrating hours spent rummaging through my room, i found out that the driver disc for my camera was in a drawer just three feet from my compy and on the TOP!!!!! RRRRAAAARRRR!!!!!!!! to add insult to injury, THEY DON'T WORK!!!!!! RRRRAAAARRRR!!!!!!!!! so i went out and bought a card reader. probably should have from the start. any who, now i am working on getting my pics posted, which is still going to take some time. I've got lots.

Car Update: "River" has been treating me nicely lately. i changed the oil a couple of weeks ago and the air filter last week. i can't begin to describe the feeling that i got when i had finished. it was like euphoria on caffeine. which spurred me on. i now think i know what i want to do with my life. becoming an auto mechanic was never something that i would have considered until recently. now i plan on pursuing it after i serve a mission.

Clutter

So, i am about to connect my camera to my computer to upload all of the pics on it (on a side note, my vacation to San Diego that i took last year is on it as well. lots of good pics of the U.S.S. Midway, Sea World, the Zoo, etc.) when i realize that all of the drivers and stuff are on my OTHER computer that died and forced me to get my current one. again, RRRRRRAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!! so it will be even longer before i am able to get them on here. mainly due to the fact that the software is now buried amogst my "Important Stuff" box. taxes, comp. stuff, cell stuff. you name it, its proabably there. sucks to be me right now.

Time, and how little I have.

Unfortunately, life seems to happen to me a lot. I often find myself wishing for more hours in the day. That is until I realize that i would then have to put up with work that much longer as well. Not worth it.

Anywho, not much has happened recently. I have more pics of my Tau and BattleTech forces to be posted soon. I would have them already, but the memory card that i keep them on decided to take a crap on me. I am now in the process of retaking all of them. many choice words that i can't say are begging to come flying from my lips.

Also, this past weekend, my Church held it's Annual General Conference. The local cable companies are kind enough to provide this broadcast as a public service, so much love to Bright House Networks and which ever company Cox became (can't remember the new name!). For those that are not familiar, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints holds a two day conference every six months where the "head" ( i say head cause its late and i cant think straight) leaders address the general membership of the Church. It is a great opportunity for us to hear inspiring talks about some of the problems that we face today and how we can cope with them.

OH!!!! and i almost forgot, the total repair cost for my car has now reached approximately $4100.00!!!!!! RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the fuel pump had apperantly failed, which frankly was somewhat of a relief. given that it simply cut out, there could have been any number of things wrong, and most of them would be EXTREMELY expensive. but all that aside, it made me come to the realization that it would probably be cheaper for me to take care of this car on my own. so i went out and bought the Haynes manual for it. btw, for those D.I.Y.ers out there, this is a must have. each one is based on a complete break down and rebuild of the car, with pics and diagrams for the entire process. and they do all of it with common tools. no need to worry about those "specialized" tools that the "professionals" use. but there are a few things that even the manual tells you to take it in for.

Hope

Today, like everyother sunday, was church. However, today was also Fast Sunday. and no that doesn't mean that it goes by faster. Fast Sunday is a day, once (sometimes twice) a month when Latter-Day Saints that choose to, sacrifice eating for 24 hours. but it is more than just giving up food for the heck of it. we pray before our fast to dedicate it to our Lord, Jesus Christ, and for a specific purpose. it also means a chage of pace for our weekly meetings. on fast sunday, instead for two or three people being asked by our Bishopric to speek, the time is left open for anyone in the congration who wants to, to come to the pulpit to bear their testimonies.

many of the speekers that got up before me repeated a word that really made me think. Hope. hope is a word that can mean a lot of different things to a lot of differnt people. it is both a verb and a noun. it is something that we can have or do. as i sat there and listened to the others, i got to thinking what gives me hope. as i stood up to bear my testimony, i fealt impresed to share my feelings about hope.

hope has great meaning to me. there was a time in my life, not too long ago, when hope was all that i had. i made some very serious mistakes that hurt a lot more people than just those that i wronged. i still have doubts as to whether or not i will ever be able to get over the guilt that i feel. somtimes the guilt was so much, death seemed like the only course left to me. but hope that someone could one day forgive me was enough to get me through. bearly, but enough. several years have past since the mistakes were made. one of the families that i hurt has since woved far away. the other lives in a part of town where i never see them. i still can't bring myself to face either. but the hope in a loving and forgiving Savior and Heavenly Father that i have allows me to at least move these thought to the back of my mind until the day that i am able to face these families.

another thought that was shared with me came before church. My Elders Quorm President came over to my house to share a Home Teaching message with me. the message was simple, but powerful. in an article that he passed on to me was this simple quote, "Jesus Christ is like the Polar Star." it said many other things, but this passage sturck my mind the most. Jesus Christ is not just like the North Star to everyone. He is MY Polar Star. even when i stray as far as i have from His path, He is still there. No matter where, no matter when He is there to guide me back.

A Death

Yeah, right after i start my blog, my car dies. i was driving to drop off my little brother at his high school drama "Tech Day" when the engine suddenly gives out. poor kid had to walk the rest of the way, while i waited for him to get there, get a cell phone, and call my dad and tell him to come and help. yes, i do have my own cell, and yes i did charge it at night, BUT NOOOOOO......i had to not bring it the ONE time this thing quits on me. but this car has been a lemon since i first bought it off of my friend's parents. $1600.00 for the car and already i have put $3100.00 into reparis on this thing.

but enough of that stuff. today was otherwise ok, another build-a-thon for my Tau. also mixed in there was some cleaning of the disaster area i call my room, and a little bit of some Burnout 3.

A Genesis

I am a little behind the times, but this is my first blog. For those of you who are wondering, the title comes from a combination of one of the many mini war games that I play, and my family background. Scotts rule!!!!

Any who, life today consisted of gaming. I play a total of 3 mini war games, a dozen or so video games, and 3 collectible/trading card games. Today was a build-a-thon for my Tau Empire army for Warhammer 40k. pics to follow. I love my digital camera.