Leaving for Disney Tomorrow

Just wanted to post a quick note that I am going to be in Disney World from Wednesday - Sunday for a conference.  I'm staying at the Contemporary Resort, I have never stayed there before so that should be really cool.  There is just something about Disney World that is calming to me.  Just knowing that I will be getting away from work, real life, and everything stressful for a few days is going to be refreshing.  Krista is coming with me and God knows she can use a vacation. 

I will see you all I'm sure back on Sunday.  In the meantime, how about we do a little interactive blog.  What is your favorite Disney memory? Movie, Themepark, etc.


Posted by Stridog @ 10:14 pm EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments

My Parents Kick Ass - A Tale of Love and Gore

So my EB Games screwed me over like many others promising that I would get my copy of Gears of War today.  I did some research and found a Gamestop near my parents (I live with my Fiance about 40 min away from the rents) who has 4 copies left.  I thought what the hell let me call my parents and see if they would help me out and pick me up a copy and meet my fiance at the mall where she was going to get some stuff for our wedding.  The mall is the halfway point between us and my parents. 

So I'm thinking there is no way in hell my parents would do this for a video game.  Lo and behold, I called, the obliged and they are on their way now to the gamestop to get me my copy and to meet my fiance to hand it off.

I love my parents even more than I did before.  I'm also going to EB Games tomorrow to get my 63 dollars back from the copy I "preordered". 

So I will be on tonight after all thanks to the loving kindness of my parents.

Posted by Stridog @ 7:19 pm EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments

A Father's Love - Amazing Story

I just posted this in the Off-Topic, but I know some of you don't venture in there. This story is absolutely amazing. It was forwarded to me by a mentor of mine. Please take the time to read the story and watch the video.

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.

"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''

But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''

"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''

Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''

That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''

And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.

``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.

Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''

How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.

Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?

Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.

This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.

``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''

And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.

Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.

That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.

``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

And the video is below....

Posted by Stridog @ 10:35 am EDT | Permalink | 5 Comments

Giving up the Internet At Home

So I had an interesting conversation with my fiance last night after dinner.  I was cruising the 2o2p site as is the norm for me and my computer makes a little beep noise that indicates an email has come in.  I check the email and it was something from work about Muslim Women in History (I work at a liberal arts college).  She asks what the noise was, and I tell her it was an email and the subject.  She asks if it was a work email and I tell her yes.  She asks why I check work email at home.  I just have my Thunderbird set up that way I say. 

Admittedly, I am an internet addict.  I know I probably spend too much time in front of a computer for my own good.  It upsets my fiance.  So I am putting a challenge to myself.  For 24 waking hours that I am home, I am not going to be on the internet.  How can I write this blog you are asking?  Well I am currently in the office, before starting work, and she said I can surf the net at work.  So for 24 hours that I am home, I am not going to be on my computer or more specifically on the internet.  I have a feeling it is going to be a challenge for me, but I think I am up to it.  In addition, I am going to try and cut back on my Xbox Live time, and spend some more time with Krista watching Tv, and just spending good ol' quality time together. 

We have been together almost 5 years as a couple and friends for two years before that.  So we compliment each other well.  We hardly ever get into fights, and when we do, they are usually brief.  In any case, this is just something I feel I need to do to make myself a better partner to her.  I don't realistically need to be on the internet as much as I am, but it is something I enjoy.  I will just do better to moderate my time. 

So wish me luck as I venture down the road of battling a skeleton in my closet.  My addiction to the internet

Posted by Stridog @ 9:14 am EDT | Permalink | 5 Comments

Powerleveling Your Gamerscore...Sad

Picture from joystiq.com

I just came across this article from new4gamers.com about a website that is offering for a fee, people to "power level" your gamerscore. I know we have some achievement whores in the house, but this is taking gaming to an all time low. Basically the premise of the website is, you pay said website a fee for the amount of gamerpoints you would like. They offer a number of plans including:

+500 gamer points - $39.99
+750 gamer points - $59.99
+1000 gamer points - $99.99
+1500 gamer points - $149.99
+2000 gamer points - $199.99
+3000 gamer points - $299.99

It baffles me that someone would even consider spending any amount of money to pad their gamerscore without even playing a game. Here you pay them money, give them your Gamertag and password, they access your account, and then begin leveling your gamerscore. This is so very reminiscent for me of the Halo 2 leveling that occurred via boosting, but now with gamerscores. The only difference here is no one is being hurt by you having a high gamerscore and this company is going to be making a ridiculous amount of money for doing very little work if this thing actually takes off.

I guess it is just upsetting to me that people have a use something like boosting a gamerscore to make themselves feel better. It is sad, that people would be willing to shell out $300.00 just to have 3000 gamer points added to their score. Esp, when they can go to blockbuster and for $21 rent NFL 2006, NBA Live 2006, and King Kong and do the same thing.

Gamerscores were supposed to be a reflection of the games you have played and a way to compare with your friends how far along you are. It is one thing to be competitive with your friends and brag that you have more gamerpoints than them, it is another to buy 3000 gamer points just to say you have another score. Once again just because you have a halo or 20,000 next to your gamertag, your wife, girlfriend, buddy, or stranger off the street isn't going to think you are more cool, or skilled, or anything else.

To conclude, I would ask that we not support this website, or its ideals as it is detrimental to the gaming environment. If you like achievements, that's great, but do it the right way. How will you feel when someone asked how you earned the achievement for "X" game and you say I bought it? Cheaters may win in the short run but eventually your lack of skill will catch up to you.

Posted by Stridog @ 10:07 am EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments