The folks that know me well know I frequently ask for things to be repeated, or I don’t really hear people when they call my name.

The hearing loss started in the Air Force when I was around generators for our satellite vans. It continued as I spent 16 years in broadcasting since I wore headphones and IFBs for most of those years.

I am trying to do a much better job at protecting what I have left. However, there are certain sounds I absolutely despise. I won’t miss them at all if I go mostly deaf:

• Dogs drinking water
• Noisy kid toys
• Women’s high heels on bare floors or concrete (especially if they’re walking quickly and/or coming up behind me)
• Whispering
• People sipping drinks
• Paper being torn
• Typing on a keyboard
• Gnats/mosquitoes
• Teeth grinding (I’m looking at my son for that one)
• Loud screeching/crying from children
• Women singing very high and loudly (such as in an opera)
• ANY version of “Rocky Top”

There are others, to be sure, but those are the ones I dislike on a daily basis. Especially the dog drinking and high heels… and except the operatic singing. That only happens occasionally on Sundays in church. I digress.

I love most other sounds. It goes without saying I’ll miss hearing my wife and kids most of all.

Hmmm.  Maybe I should have titled this post, “Get off my lawn…”

Wow.  That one word is the best one I have to describe this year’s Dragon*Con for me.  I think out of all three years I’ve been, this was the best.  Well, except Ron Daniels wasn’t there.  That would’ve made it complete.

Let’s begin, shall we?  Thumbnails open to the larger photos. Read the rest of this entry »

Testing out a new automatic Twitter client on the blog to make sure it works.

I know, your hopes are now dashed because you were hoping for some real meaty update from me.

Sorry.

Oh, the joys of sinus issues.  :)

For some reason, my sinuses decided to go nuts two days ago.  They kept me out of work yesterday afternoon and today.  I’ve wanted to work on my new proton pack, but I haven’t felt like standing in the garage to do so.  I’ve wanted to play video games, but I can’t sit still long enough, either.  Ah, well.  At least I’ve gotten some decent short naps in today.

The new pack, “Veronica,” is coming along nicely.  I’ve made so many little changes here and there to make her a GB1 pack that’s as accurate as possible.  It won’t be much longer until I paint it and get it pieced together.  All the dry fittings are exactly how I want them. I can then work on the gun. I’m hoping by the end of June to have her fully completed. Here’s the link of the photo progress.

Here’s a video I’ve got to share with you.  I’ve become addicted to “Epic Rap Battles of History,” even if some of them contain not-so-friendly language.  This is the best one of the bunch IMO so far:

Pretty funny, and not too disrespectful of Dr. Hawking.

That’s it for the night. I can’t sit here any longer. Have a great Easter! Praise God that Jesus rose from the grave that third day to pay for my sins.

First off, I apologize for the title.  It’s how I feel, though.

Secondly, 2010 will always be a year I put down in my “strongly dislike” column.  Sure, it had its good moments, but I would say that was only 25 percent of the year.

Let me break down the good stuff first:

Family

My wife and kids have remained pretty healthy this year.  Amy and I have grown closer, especially at the end of the year. She has been a calming and solid force throughout some tough times right now.

Sports

My awesome alma mater kicked off the year by beating the snot out of U of Texas for the national championship.  My employer ended the year #1 and will play for the national championship in January.  Both teams produced back-to-back Heisman winners, so that makes my home state look pretty sweet all around.

Ghostbusters

The Alabama Ghostbusters literally exploded with memberships and charity donations.  We did a TON of events and simply had a great year altogether.  I’ve made a lot of great friends in the group.

I got to see Tom Merrit and Veronica Belmont again at Dragon*Con.  Always a highlight of my year!  Plus, tons of GBs from around the country came and made it an awesome experience again!  We are co-hosting PKE Surge next year with our Georgia Ghostbusters family, as well as other awesome GB fans.  It should be an absolute blast!

I finally got to hang out with Ernie Hudson (“Winston”)!  We ate dinner with him, and I got to spend a lot of time with him.  He really is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.

Thank you, Mattel, for giving us awesome GB toys (despite you draining my wallet).

Read the rest of this entry »