Wolf's Dragoons: Cawdor's Stalwart Division

Civic duty is over-rated

2010-03-02T18:59:00.001-08:00

NEW LAPPY!!!!!

2010-02-26T20:52:00.000-08:00

Yep, i just got a new lappy today. An ASUS. It was a little cheaper than the other similar models, and had a bigger hard drive. It's runing Windows 7 and not Vista, so that's a huge plus. The brand is a little know one, but not unknown. Especialy by me. They used to make all the inner workings for all the other companies. Now they just make their own systems.

Otherwise, just another day. Still palnnig on school. That was he whole purpose behind this purchase. School. Lets just hope i get to put it to good use soon.

Time, and how little seems to pass

2010-02-26T00:38:00.000-08:00

WOW!!! 4 months since my last post. I barely even noticed the time passing so fast. My sis is graduateing from college in about a month-and-a-half. GRADUATING!!!! And i havent even really started yet. SUCKS!!! lol.

But that is nice for her. This house is going to get cramped again. But at least i have my own space here, with my own TV, PS2, GameCube, DS, lappy (laptop PC), and DVD player. Never will i need to bug anyone else for entertainment.

My hobby has been very slow going lately. Well, lets face it. NOT going is more like it. while the space is mine, its small. And very easy to make un-navigable. My desk often becomes my random catch-all for everything from games and movies, to socks, books, and trash. And im still trying to make sure Mom can get at all of her craft stuff still in here. ugh. 4 months just doesnt seem like long....

the reat of my life is slow as well. But, one of my friends just got back from his mission and the other returns in 5 or 6 months. School is soon on the horizon for me, my room is starting to looked "finished" for a change, my social life is starting to pick up. Things are looking up! Life is good. Car is working like a dream. Almost a year under my belt with that loan, and UHEAA forgave almost $1,000 dollars worth of debt from my first failed attempt at college. I really have got some good things going my way for a change.

Reading

2009-09-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

So, i have been doing a lot of reading lately. I have now finished books 1 through 10 of the Legend of Drizzt series. LOVE those books. they became a little predicable towards the end, but books based in and on an RPG can only be so free form. Still love them. Reading is just one of those things that doesn't get old. But now i need to find a new series. I'm thinking of starting onw of my brothers sets. He is the absoulutly most read person i know. He taught us that u actually CAN read too much. He got D's and F's in english in high school becasue he would read DURING class. how's that for irony.

My life has been much better lately. Moving back in with my parents has taken a lot of stress from me. I will now be able to actually SAVE some money. what a concept!!!!! :D

Changes

2009-09-11T02:08:00.001-07:00

Soooooo....thanks to this WONDERFUL economy i have had some issues with my pay lately. So now i an going to move BACK into my parents home. Most would think this is not cool, but i absolutely HAD to DEEPLY thank them for it. i otherwise would have had to start going into dept just to surrvive. not a possition i wanted to be in. plus my mom is moving her office into the loft and letting me have the bedroom downstairs which is a HUUUGE sacrifice on her part. She wont have walls and a door to block out the many loud sounds from around the house now, which is once again a HUGE sacrifice, so THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!!!!!

i also just recently got a new cell. once again, thanks to a sacrifice on my parents part. my dad wanted to get a new phone, BlackBerry's were on sale at the time for buy-one-get-one-free and instead of getting my mom one they let me have it. its a Storm, and let me say WAY BETTER than the iPhone. i say this cause of its "clicking" touch screen and the fact that the plan for it is way cheaper. the apps are cool, but not as many free ones as i had hoped. i can now follow all my teams, IM my friends and familiy, and all sorts of stuff without any computer. I LOVE IT!!!!

on a lighter note, i have begun to take stock of my life and have decided to make some changes for the better. i am going to be going back to school in the mornings here right quick (i hope) and will this still not be around the house to, as the family says, cause problems. i have also decided to pick up work on some creative writing i started a while ago. i cant call it a book yet, but here's hoping.

now i can think

2009-08-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

now that ive had some time to think about the big move i made to move out, it may not have been the financialy sound thing to do but it was the right "ME" thing to do. i have less stress, there's less stress between me and the rest of my family, and i can finally have some room to spread out. the only real problem about all this is my job. the money is ok, but the work really isnt. i did recently recieve a minor promotion to occasionally drive a fork-lift. but on those days that i dont i still feel, i dont know ,like out of place. not like i was meant for WAY better, but something that i could support a family on. i can barely cover my self. the really big problem with all of this the fact that i want to do some kind of schooling, but working from 4 pm to midnight automatically cancels most options to still work full time. the only morning options are medical assiting and the like and that is not me. i want to work with computers or something like that. any way, i feel like im rambling now.

another benfit of this move is that im closer to the local shop, so if i ever calm my life down to a point where i can actually go in it is within bikeing distance. i feel like im missing out on that stuff lately. GEEZ, im rambling again!!! ive been doing that a lot lately.

now on to my current political issue. SOCIALISM IS NOT THE ANSWER!!!!!!!!! i fully agree with obama that change is needed within the heathcare system, but one need only to look to the Swiss to know that it doesnt work. haveing to wait MONTHS for needed care for no better reason then becasue there are FORMS to fill out and file. isnt that what doctors do. i dont agree with obama's belief that government control of everything is the answer. if that goes as far as it has in other times in the past we are not that far from totalitarinism. and a lot of people say that us mormons believe in the exact same system. first off, the law of concecration (which is the system i was reffering too) is mostly volutary. and it isnt one man in power saying whats fair and whats an even split, its the church as a WHOLE providing for the WHOLE as ONE PEOPLE.
and this whole prop 8 and DOMA issuse is really starting to get to me. first off let me state that i have ABSOLUTLY NOTHING AGAINST GAY PEOPLE!!!!!!!! it doesnt disgust me, it just isnt what i believe to be natural. i have heard of many stories of gay men and women turning from those ways because they truly felt that being straight is right. and i understand that urges of that kind of nature are very hard to resist. i have gone through dealing with similar issues in my past. but all that aside, i do think that the answer to all of this is to not word any unions as marrige and not exclude same-sex couples from spousal rights. if two people are together and know each other, they should have the power to make the tough decisions for each other. just make them all civil unions and get on with life. it isnt an issue that should divide this great country founded on freedom. the issues we should be foucusing on are threats to our freedom, no matter where they come from, and the economic future of the U.S. and the world as a whole. if we cant come out from under this recession on top, then the furture is shaky.

LIFE, just how long has it been......

2009-08-15T05:32:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! its been a eally long time since i last posted here. A lot has happened since November. I moved out, into my own little studio. I now have to pay my own bills. My little Intrepid, "River" as she was know, got scrapped and replaced by a Chevy Cobalt, "Rena." So yeah, lots of money out of pocket before i really ever see it.

As far as my gaming stuff goes, it hasnt. i havent been into the shop for a game since i moved out in febuary. im actually really starting to miss it. but life has just ben so crazy lately. any who, thats that for now.

Boring......life

2008-11-08T01:28:00.000-08:00

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

2008-08-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-11T01:29:00.000-07:00

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!!!

2008-05-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

"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

2008-05-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

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..........

2008-05-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-04-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-31T01:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-30T00:46:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

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.