Bubba Joe's Diner

Been a while huh...

2007-03-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Its funny, the more things change, the more the stay the same.

- That friend, I spoke of earlier, is probably just going to ever be a friend, and I am OK with that.

- I am looking to upgrade my current computer at home and that means everything from the CPU outward.

- I am fighting with a card store about making better business decisions that will help him!

- I am arguing with players who don't think it is fair that they get only one pack more for winning a tournament than they did for losing the tournament. (But they loved it when they were starting out)

- I have fallen back into old eating patterns (3 nights this week was Pizza). I really need to get back on my diet! (Which until I saw girl scout cookies outside the store I was doing very well on)

- I am planning summer convention season again...

- I am waiting at work to get information to do my job. Then when it takes longer than I told people it would, I get talked to.

In the end every year seems like the last. Different TV shows, different card games, but the amount that I watch and play seems unchanged...

I am not sure if I will continue to blog, it just doesn't seem like a fun as it once did. Nothing much to talk about any more, and like the old friend, I think I am OK with that.

Game On!

Snow, damnit!

2006-12-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Alright, before all of you start to call those cool guys with the leet straight jackets let me explain. I am going to visit the 'rents in Washington state over the holiday break. I go there for two reasons. One of which is to see the parents, friends, other family members, oh and someone else this year... But more importantly I need to get my snow quota for the year. I grew up in Washington state, where we get 3-4 months of snow and as far as I recollect we never had a Christmas that was not white, with like a foot or more of snow.

Well, this year Spokane had 3-6 inches of snow for the last month, up until about last week when it started to rain. This is the second year that it was raining instead of snowing leading up to Christmas, and I m sick of it. I would like to blame the self proclaimed Harbinger Of Doom but it happened last year as well as this year, so I don't think it is (completely) his fault.

At any rate, I am tired of this lack of snow over the holidays, so I am making a simple demand of the Spokane area weather people. Either stockpile the snow that you get every year over thanksgiving, or simply move the entire city about 60 miles north. I guess we could just fill in the entire town and build the entire city about 2000 feet higher than its current elevation, that wouldn't be so bad either.

I think these are rather simple demands, as all I want is some snow while I am home for the holidays. How had is it to make that happen!!?!

Game On!

Feeling No Pain...

2006-12-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

4 weeks ago I broke my little toe. It is still broken and I realize this every time I sit on it, or have it brush up against something.

I just 1.5x paid my mortgage (full payment for December, and the half payment scheduled for January)

It is 8:30 on a Friday night, I'm at work, and it isn't even my first night to be at work at this hour (nor my second).

I'm on a diet, and not able to eat the foods I like.

I had to review a report (of a person that makes significantly more money than I do) that could have been written by a 3rd grader (who is bad at grammar AND math), and essentially had to review every step of the analysis, making no assumptions. (I got in trouble after reviewing it assuming he knew how to add 137 + 128*1.25 IN EXCEL).

The Union is still striking, and as the holidays approach it is more than likely to get violent.

All of these things would cause a normal individual pain. Me? I am feeling no pain. My life is great. Why? Someone special has been emailing me atleast twice a day. Calls do not happen much, but an email a day keeps the pain away.

I won't get into details here (out of consideration for her) but everything is flying along. And to top it off, I get to see her when I go home for the holidays. But I will say, she made an off the wall comment about wanting a vacation...

Really... !!!

First website I visited after reading this: Orbitz.com. But I don't even know if we are serious yet, but she has been playing all around that topic about being serious. Basically the only reason holding me back, she's still married. Not that anything is going to happen, I just want to offer her a vacation, and what better place than Tucson!!?! Anyway, if anyone is still reading this, let me know what you think I should do.

Game On!

The truth behind IAM 933...

2006-11-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here in Tucson, the International Association of Machinists, Lodge #933 are on strike from my place of work. They claim that the company is increasing their medical costs and not directly increasing their pay to compensate. They claim that some employees will not be able to pay their rent or buy food after paying for their medical coverage, and that a MAJORITY of them will be below the poverty line due to this increase in medical coverage.

I am here to tell you all that THEY ARE WRONG!

The IAM #933 are striking for selfish reasons, and are the personification as to why I believe unions have completely served their purpose and are only hurting industry at this point in history. Every 3 years we have a potential strike because the union thinks that the company is giving the employees the shaft. First lets talk about the previous deal:

4.2% increase in pay over 3 years

That's it! No changes to medical coverage, no changes to anything, and one minor loop hole about overtime (see later). This was acceptable. The new deal:

9% increase in pay over 3 years
Increase in medical premiums
No more automatic double time on Sundays

According to the union PR machine, the 9% is an insult and the union would never accept such a pitiful increase in pay. YOU ACCEPTED IT BEFORE! I know for a FACT, that the real reason for the strike was due to the change in double pay on Sundays. In the previous contract, there was verbage that stated that if you worked on Sunday that you automatically got double time, reguardless of your current hours. So you could work 2 x 8 hour days, and then then 12 hours on Sunday to get your pay. While I think this is outrageous, and patently stupid, it gets worse. Work 4 x 10 hour days (40 hours) then take Friday and Saturday off, then come in on Sunday and work 8-10 hours and they get charged at time and a half (for overtime) and an additional times two for it being Sunday. It makes working Sunday equivalant to a 3/4 weeks pay! Is there anyone out there that does not think this is patently rediculous!!?!

Finally, I know for a fact that the lowest member of IAM #933 makes as much as I did when I started. While I won't go into details, it is FAR from the poverty line, and considering the low cost of living in Tucson, it is a very, very good starting pay. In the end, I hope the company does not cave into the demands. Actually I hope the cave into the medical demands just to prove that the union is being greedy and its members won't work without a stupid loophole.

So I hope everyone in Tucson reads this. I hope people start asking questions, and I REALLY hope that people will learn the truth behind this strike and instead of looking at me like I am a giant cold sore, will look at the picketers and realize how greedy and stupid they are being.

Game On!

Top 10 lists...

2006-11-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Many of my friends have listed a top 10 (or 100) movies of all time. Unfortunately, I have missed a great number of movies in my adolescent and teenage years, so I must go a slightly different route...

I am going to make a list of my Top 10 TV episodes of all time. I might eventually expand it to 50 or 100, but for now it is my Top 10. I welcome comments and suggestions. Be warned there be spoilers ahead!

10) Babylon 5; Z'ha'dum - If you never watched Babylon 5 you won't understand why this episode is HUGE. The lead character gets a visit from his wife (assumed dead) while sleeping with his current girlfriend. Both the station commander and head of security disappear. The greatest enemy of our time surrounds our stronghold. A meeting with the leaders of the enemy for the first time. I can go on, but this episode was what hooked me for 2 more seasons and forced me to pay more attention to the previous episodes.

9) CSI - Identity Crisis - I know I have two CSI episodes on here, but they are both great for different reasons. In this episode Grissom faces off with his nemesis; the one that got away. The episode makes you wonder if what you are looking at is true or if Grissom is just slowly going insane... I really enjoyed this episode.

8) CSI - Play with Fire - In this episode there is a few injuries and one that causes one of the main characters to be hospitalized. I liked this episode the best because of the response of people after 'the event' and the attention to detail they made to how 'the event' happened. I jump just a little each time I see this episode, even when I know it's coming.

7) Star Trek: The Next Generation; The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 - I have to admit that this episode would be much lower on the list (probably out of the top 10) if I had to include the part 2 of this episode as well. But seeing Patrick Stewart in the Borg makeup gives me shivers even today. This is the first ever episode that I screamed at my TV over when I saw Locutus for the first time. I think that this episode is why First Contact is the best of the newer Star Trek movies, and has a lot to do with why I am a Star Trek fan today.

6) Battlestar Galactica; Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2 - This episode is a changing of the guard, and that is all I can really say without spoiling it all. Just watch this episode.

5) Buffy, The Vampire Slayer; Once More With Feeling - Go ahead. Get those laughs out of your system. This is the 'singing' episode and it is very well done. I did not watch it when it was on TV, but this episode is one that I will watch and day I need a pick me up. The songs are well done and clever, and stand well on their own. (I even have a few in my iPod) When taken in context of the rest of that season, and the events of the previous season, this easily cracks the top 5 of my list. I will need to watch all these again to make sure I like this order. Of these episodes this is one that might actually move up from 5th the more I watch it.

4) Lost; Two for the Road - See, I assumed that Michael was not 'right' in the head. I assumed that he was hiding something. But I did not see THAT coming. This episode was a regular really good episode with THAT at the end. While a number of Lost episodes will make it on my list (if I expand it to 50 or 100), this one stands just a little above the rest in my mind.

3) Firefly; Serenity - Firefly is the best TV series ever. No ifs, ands or buts. This episode started it all, and in addition to portraying the story and characters it was witty, and a classic Joss episode. All of the actors delivered a perfect performance, and I can find no flaws with this episode. FOX really screwed up not showing this episode first, as I am of the opinion that this show would STILL be on the air if they had not screwed it up.

2) M*A*S*H; Abyssinia, Henry - If you are a M*A*S*H fan like I am, you will know that there are a number of emotional episodes, others that are slap-knee funny, and others that are just filler. This episode is the departure of the base commander. He was one of the guys, and a father figure to more than a few of the younger enlistees. While much of what M*A*S*H is about is anti-war propaganda, this was the first time in my life that I thought a friend of mine could die in a war. I know its silly, but this episode still registers with me even today

1) Star Trek Deep Space Nine; In The Pale Moonlight - In TV, characters die, they leave the show, they have good days and they have bad days, but rarely on TV does a good character go EVIL. Everyone knew that Garak was a shady character, but Sisko was this pure, loyal, worshiped character who could do no wrong, or at least no EVIL. But not only does he turn EVIL and commits to murder for the greater good, he at the end of the episode expresses no remorse and the greater good has been served. I was floored when I watched this episode. I saw it live, and couldn't wait until tomorrow when I could see it again, and when I bought the DVDs it was the first episode that I really wanted to watch again. There is no other episode that I like to watch over this episode. At least not yet... =)

Currently just missing the list: Firefly; Objects in Space

Game On!

I didn't expect that...

2006-10-17T23:28:00.000-07:00

So as it is Tuesday night, I am at cards gaming. Everyone who knows me knows this, so when I get home and see the two messages, I assume these are telemarketers that didn't realize my answering machine was not me. (I must really be a dull person)

So the first message. My mom.

*smacks the forehead*

She was returning my call, after I left a message for my brother to have her call me ON MY CELL PHONE. It isn't a big deal, but it did frustrate me that I did not get to talk to her last night. See, she has to put in for time off next year right now, so if my parents are going to come down to AZ to visit, they need to decide now, when that will be. Anyway, it is too late now to call her, so that will wait for tomorrow.

Now to the second message, and the subject of this blog. After the mechanical voice tells me when the message was left, I hear another female's voice, and she is speaking English (for some reason a number of Spanish speaking women call my house). And three words in I realize who is talking to me (she eventually leaves her name to confirm it). It is a good friend Kim, back home in Washington. When I went home for my brothers wedding reception, I got to see Kim again, and I was like all flustered, like I was 13 seeing a girl for the first time all over again. She is married, and pregnant, but as soon as she has the kid, she is getting a divorce. The divorce was in the works for about 6 months, but in Washington you cannot get divorced if you are pregnant. So while we are setting up the reception hall we got to talk, but I am not as young (or fit) as I once was, so I was taking breaks every so often, as was Kim (being 8.5 months pregnant will do that to a woman, or so I am told) so while we were resting we got to talking about old times. And here walks up my confusion. At one point about 6 years ago, right before Kim was going to get married, I would have done anything for her. We had a good relationship, and I thought she was on the path to maturing into a very nice woman.

Then unfortunate events happened, and she decided to marry this jerk (as was pressured by friends and the church). At that point she (my perspective) broke off the relationship, and I was perfectly fine with that. She was a wife (not mine) and her husband didn't like Kim to have male 'friends'. So I never got responses to phone calls or letters. I was sad but for the last 5 years I was moving on. Now I don't know what to do. This is going to be rough for her (the divorce, and having 3 kids on her own, even though she is living at home) and I want to be there for her, so at the end of the reception, I told her to call me any time and I would be there with a sympathetic ear and what ever else was required. She mentioned as I walked her and her mother out (who I am good friends with BTW) that she thought I cut her off, not the other way around, and she had this weird smile as she got in the van and they left.

So, I don't know what to do. Strike that, I know what to do, but I don't know if I should do it. I want to call her back. I want to call her every day and see how she is doing. Heck I want her to move to AZ once the divorce is final so that I can be closer to her (or I could move home, but I can't find work up there). But most of all I don't want to screw this up. Maybe she just wants to be friends, and that is OK too. To be honest that might be better, as I am REALLY not ready for more responsibility. I can hardly do the activities that I have on my plate now (including work and sleep) much less devote any serious amount to time to a relationship (be it a friendship or something more). So tonight that started as such a benign evening, is turning out to be a turning point in my life. Maybe it is nothing, but I guess I won't find out until I call her back....

....

Game On!

Damn You John Madden

2006-09-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

Damn John Madden and EA Sports! Damn you all for believing in a stupid curse. But most of all, I would like to know how a non-weight bearing bone would know if it is broken? Because if it doesn't bear weight, is it mearly a reaction type bone, like one in my fingers? If that is the case why miss any time at all? Throw the damn foot in a cast and be done with it.

I am of course kidding about most of this, but the following link really put a damper on my mood today (well more so than being ill and at home).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2602571

Get well Shawn, we need ye!

Game On!

Are you ready for some Foose-ball!!!

2006-08-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

I know it seems like I am just copying my other friends in this league, but I wanted to make my case as to why my league-mates will have such great years, and why the heck I was drafting the way I did.

I had the 5/16 draft spot in a ten team league. Not horrible, but only good if someone before me doesn't pickup a RB.

1 QB / 3 WR / 2 RB / 1 TE / 1 K / 1 DEF

1. T. Barber RB
2. M. Hasselbeck QB
3. W. Dunn RB
4. D. Jackson WR
5. N. Burleson WR
6. J. Addai RB
7. Chicago DEF
8. J. Brown K
9. B. Roethlisberger QB
10. K. Johnson WR
11. Da. Clark TE
12. J. Stevens TE
13. B. Engram WR
14. K. Curtis WR
15. B. Stokley WR

I got lucky and some team before me picked up Peyton so Tiki fell to me. I was very happy. Before we go on you should know that I wanted to draft all Seatle players, because my theory is two fold:

1) Why root for player on teams you can't stand? I want to root for my favorite team and drafting from one team (primarily) will allow me to do just that.

2) I up the point curve. I hedge my bets and say that my team is getting 10 points per touchdown thrown. This is better than 4 and possible 6's in my mind. It isn't a perfect theory, but it works for me.

So a run down of my picks. I took Hasselbeck second because there was another Seatle fan in our league and I knew if he did not take Matt with his second pick that he would get him with his third (both of which were going to happen before mine.) So after I got Matt, I knew I needed to get another solid runner so I picked up Dunn who has worked well (not a great, but definately productive) for me in the past.

After that I started to pick up my SEA receivers and my first backup RB in Joseph Addai. We have a big LSU fan here at work and he swears that Addai will have a big year by fitting right into the Indy offense. After that my defense disappears (SEA) so I decide to pick up the best still out there and turns out no one had picked up any defenses yet, so I get Chicago. I like them better than most, but I think missing out on Seatle will hurt me a little this year.
After that it is a mater of picking up backups (including both of my TEs) and I am pleased with my receiver group. Additionally with this mix I will have a full offensive roster every week, which helps me more than usual, when I have too many SEA players to field a roster on their bye week.

All in all, I am excited with this team. These guys are very serious about fantasy sports, so I will probably get lost in the shuffle, but I expect to have some fun, and I am definately able to root for these players!

Game On!

What would you lie for?

2006-07-25T12:16:00.000-07:00

I am posting this based on an experience I had at ComicCon, that hopefully did not make this particular individual truely upset at me. I hope he is only joking when he says "Your dead to me".

G4 was at ComicCon interviewing players that happend to walk by a booth, asking them to do an interview about Game Y, if they liked it and what they thought of it. I am friends with people that work for Company Z who make Y, but I am not particularly a fan of Y. If I can be blunt, I think that Y is a waste of a license, and that the initial brokenness of the mechanics involved create an unbalanced organized play environment. Many changes need to be implimented to fix this inherant flaw in the execution of what appears to be a fluent design. I could have said this, on camera, and really had a negative impact on Y, but I declined, citing that I really did not want to say what I have to say on camera. They accepted this and moved on.

However this seemed to upset someone that I would not talk good about the game his company makes. I really like this individual, and want to be able to work with him in the future, but I wonder if he really wanted me to lie to people? I know he didn't want me to tell them bad things about his game on camera, so was he expecting me to lie for him?

I am not sure, which brings me back to my initial question. What would you lie for? There are things that I would lie about, to make others feel good when they really need it. Most "mom jokes" are lies (except that one night with Girard's Mom...) and a number of times I will lie to players that I am teaching a game to, that they are not retards and that they should still play game XYZ. But lying, on camera, for no real benefit, except to boost some sales seems like the wrong thing to me.

So to that individual that I saw this weekend, if you are truely offended I am sorry. I just won't lie about a game. I hope you (and everyone) can respect that, because if I say your game is good, I hope you will realize that it IS a good game in my mind, and that I am not delivering you lip service, and if I have nothing to say at all, well, you get the idea... =)

Game On

Back for a moment...

2006-07-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

Back from Anime Expo. Man, that was an experience. I was unprepared for all the COSplayers there and they way that people would dress. Shorts that would be inapropriate in any other forum... I think a new law for conventions should be passed for those of us that can't tell a person's age simply by looking at them. Age bracelets. Something that clearly identifies the person as under 18, 18-21, and over 21. I don't care if I am 10 years older than the people I am watching, but I need to know... well... if they are old enough for me to be watching them or not.

And where were the parents of these kids that were obviously too young to be at a convention alone dressed like that!!?!? Are there parents that think dressing up thier kids like their favorite woman of Anime is appropriate? Anyway, I was lucky to miss the inappropriate Areith, the Sakura who could have been played by me, and a number of other horror stories I heard through out the weekend. Unfortunately I saw a number of travisties including the band of men in nothing more than tighty whities and a green leaf. I assumed it was part of some Frat hazing and not done by choice. I am believing this reguardless if it was true or not... =/

Anyway, I have a few weeks to recover and rest before ComicCon International and then even less time before GenCon in August. Crazy time of year this is. I am really looking forward to the games but I need to work on sleeping more in the future...

Game On!

10 Things...

2006-06-27T15:09:00.000-07:00

All the cool kids in school are doing it, so I figure I will jump off the bridge as well...

1) I was the fastest kid in elementray school over anything 100m and shorter. Yes, I was still overweight then. I was just like 6' nothing and a solid 4-6" taller than everyone else.

2) I have in my life been required to crochet, knit, and cross-stich to make gifts for other people. I learned these skills on my own, since it looked like fun, and was required to put them to use a year or so later when my parents filed bankrupcy and there were no Christmas gifts, or birthday presents for just about a full year.

3) I have been arrested. I didn't do it (and I am not getting into what I was acused of), and the charges were dropped less than 24 hours before the trial was scheduled to start. But I remember being terrified through the entire process that I would never be able to get a good job because I was arrested. I went through the whole ordeal, questioning, polygraphs, finger-printing, bail hearing. This happened when I was in 7th grade.

4) I don't drink. Actually a few people know this, but most of them forget and offer me a beer, wine, or some other mixed drinks. I was exposed to some rather nasty rotten alcohol when working at a recycling center while in high school, and I can't get near the stuff to this day.

5) I am terrified of the undefined. I hate calling people for the first time, going somewhere for the first time, trying a new food for the first time. I don't know why I am afraid of these things, but I simply will do anything instead of call someone that I do not know. Even if I just have to call them back (they initiated the conversation) I will be terrified to call them back. Second times are bad as well, but once I have done it twice I am less terrified.

6) I love seeing movies in the theater, but hate seeing them alone. It isn't like I talk to people durring a movie, or that it is an event (hanging out is more important than the movie) but I just hate seeing a movie by myself. I do, go occassionally, but most of the time I won't bring myself to do it.

7) I was *this close* to not going to college. OK, maybe not that close, but I seriously considered it for a few days. I really wanted to stay in touch with this girl and she wanted to get married right out of college. I had a chance when she was between boyfriends, but I screwed it up. Additionally I didn't think that getting married right out of HS was a good idea. Funny thing is that I think I loved her, and to this day I believe that was my one chance at true love.

8) I have only been playing collectible card games competatively since late 2000. Seems like a long time now, but I know, as do most other people, that I am mearly a rookie when it comes to the veteran players in the industry.

9) I hate chocolate. White chocolate doesn't count. =)

10) Most people I know refer to me as Mr. Beal. I don't know why it is so hard to say my first name, but for the longest time, people simply refer to me by my first name. It is almost freaky sometimes...

Game On!

Convention Season

2006-06-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

Anime Expo (and Origins) are right around the corner, and if you know what those are, you know what they represent. They are the kickoff the the Summer Convention season which is the best time of year for any gamer. Sure non-gamers look down on us all as geeks, freaks, nerds, fat bastards, but this is our time of year to shine, re-aquaint ourselves with people we haven't seen for 9 months or so.

This is my first time away from Origins, and I will miss it. Don't get me wrong, I hear great things about Anime Expo, and am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new friends, but I won't be playing my first ever card game (Star Trek) and in some way it seems like maybe I have lost something. Maybe I am just being nostalgic in my old age.

I played in the Magic Limited tournament, and despite a very poor starting, I was able to salvage the day with 3 straight victories... I know it means less to go 3-3 losing your first three and then winning the last three, but it was a start, and after seeing some of the cards I excluded in my decklist in action, I came to the conclusion that I was basically handicaping myself for the first game of each match. Oddly enough I was almost 50% with wins, which means, I lost badly or won confidantly in each of my matches. However I look on that tournament as simply a building point to move forward.

The Girard, Jay Webb and Ray Powers were all there, and it sure was nice to see them all again, it has been a while. I met some really nice players, and some players that... well they take the game WAY to seriously. Do I really want to become a Pro-tour player for Magic? Not if I have to act like that. I mean, I can act like that, I just don't want to be required to at a big event...

Anyway, this is a great week. Tuesday is Superman Returns, Wednesday is playtesting for the big convention weekend, Thursday is packing, Friday is FNM and leaving for the convention. Oh, and I guess I should sleep and other stuff to get ready... =) At any rate this is leading up to the best time of the year for me and I can't wait!!!

Game On!

Less Blogging

2006-06-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

See, this is what I have been reduced to... blogging from work on off hours. I decided that since I am never at home (atleast never at home long enough to do anything) that I didn't really need cable (either internet, or the tv variety). I might change that eventually, but for the moment, I am internet free at home again. I do this every once in a while, so we shall see what happens this time. Maybe it is time I suffered through some dial up (AOL even...) for a month and find a new respect for the cable modem.

I have started to get more into Magic, and have found some really cool people playing that game. Friends that I never knew played, and people that I have known for years that out of the blue have mentioned to me that they have long lost Magic cards, and would I be intersted in buying them. I don't think I am ready to make an investment yet, but it has proven to be an adequate distraction. =)

I figure the next thing I post will be my Magic deck as it stands. I would like to hear some opinions about the deck and how to improve it... I like it, but I think it could be better, but I really don't want to switch colors, and I am limited by the number of rares that I have available to me.

Anime Expo is right around the corner (less than 2 weeks now) and I simply cannot wait! I really want to see this convention and all the crazies that pop up. I might even toy with a never before played game to win some cash. At the very least, I sould be able to round up some promo cards to sell. All in all it should be a great time, and I am really looking forward to the overall convention experience.

Game On!

Memorial Day

2006-05-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

First paid holiday of the year. This marks the beginning of the summer months, and 100+ degree heat in Arizona. Unfortunately the weather wasn't paying attention to the calendar and we have already had a few days that were 100+....

Anyway, it has been a while since I posted, and things are starting to return to normal. I haven't really gotten to play much in tournaments lately, but I have more than made up for that in casual play. And you know what.... I am starting to like Magic. I don't even know why, I just have. It is a simple system that you can play with almost anyone who has ever heard of card games, and it is really easy to play casually. I don't know if I will ever pick it up for serious tournament play, but it is not horrible as I once thought.

My initial problem with Magic was the resource system. But with the help of friends I have gotten over that issue. Not enough to say that I love Magic or anything, and I am sure that I won't be playing in tournaments any time soon.... But I might pick up some cards and make a deck, just to have something to play every once in a while.

The store is finally cleaned up and looking much better. I still say that the tournament area is a little too cramped, but it is much better than before, and has more room for improvement now. I really hope Terry does well in this new location.

My diet, well I need to try something else. I don't know what it is, but I do not seem to be losing any weight. Maybe I need to be accountable to others, in like a Weight Watchers system, but I really don't have the money at the moment to get started, so that leaves me back to eating right and eating less on my own. Definitely not as easy as it sounds, and not as easy as I thought it would be. But something is for sure, I need to move faster down this path, otherwise I may never get started...

Anyway, like I started, Memorial Day is the beginning of summer and I am getting ready for Convention season. I can't wait for the first one for me this year: Anime Expo in July 1-4. It will be my first Anime Expo, but I know the area and the convention center so it should be a good time!!!

Game On!

Volunteering

2006-05-15T19:29:00.000-07:00

You know, if you know, that I enjoy volunteering. However I enjoy it for a number of different reasons. I like big tournaments, I like the competition, the test to see who is best, and the ability to laugh about it afterwards. I like seeing old friends, and when an even gets big enough, I really enjoy seeing the people that I volunteer for. But I am not the proto-typical volunteer. I don't like demoing (but I do it), and I would rather play in a high level tournament than run one. And my vacation time is much too dear to me to spend it working at a convention if I have the oportunity to play in tournaments at one. So, you might ask, how do I volunteer?

I promote the game through high level play. I encourage people to attend Worlds, Regional Championships, Continental Championships and the like. I talk to other players that are at that level and show them the depth of the games that I play, and why I play them. It is never for the money, or even for the glory. Rather it is to have a great time playing a game that you love, and in the end possibly getting something of value from it. If I turn 1 upper level player from VS to FMA or Star Trek that is a successful convention for me, reguardless of the tournament record at that convention.

Which is why I am VERY DISAPOINTED in a friend of mine. He promiced TWICE that he would run an event, and TWICE he has pulled out at the last minute. So much at the last minute that I will more than likely have to run the event. While running this weekends event is going to be fun, I won't be able to sit across the table and talk to my opponent about strategy, and what decks they play. I will be too busy running this event, that I should not be running...

Additionally, I was hoping to have a shot at some of the cool prizes, to help me finish out my collections, but unfortunately, in running the event, I won't get any of the grub. No foils, no chases, no exclusive cards. No strategy talk, no promoting the game through play, no learning new maneuvers from players who learned the game differently.

I know that work is work, and play is play, but I am about ready to call it quits on this friend, and just stop asking him for help, because I know he will just be too busy doing things he doesn't want to do in the first place (which is a whole other topic).

Game On!

Audited!!!

2006-04-26T16:38:00.000-07:00

Audited by the IRS. OK, so audited may not be the correct term, but they decided to review my return from 2004 and they found some errors. Stuff that I didn't know existed, in both directions. Like my 'retirement' (non 401K) from my current employers is taxable (so there is a LARGE increase in income) and evidently the interest from my student loans finally got filed (I never got the forms, so I ignored it) and so my taxes went down. So in the end, I am owing almost $800. But it isn't the money (which I currently don't have due to my loan to the card store) it is the fact that this was for 2004.

Why is it anyway, that I have to file my return in the first place. Why can't the federal government calculate what it should be and take appropriate action. Why am I even in the loop. I bet for 90% of America that the tax process is simply addition and subtraction, if you have all the appropriate forms (which obviously I didn't) so why doesn't our system of government do that for us? They know the amounts. Hell, I don't even care if they keep the normal $200 refund a year if they would just not bother me to fill out their stupid forms. Seems like Income Tax forms are the biggest scam of all time. First the postal office gets to charge the IRS money to ship out all the forms, then they get to charge us to send them all back. Additionally all the trees that are killed in the process of completing the forms, and keeping records for 3 years. Why in this day and age are we still following such an archaic structure. Fill in the variables, tell the businesses that they have to conform to a new system of reporting W-2 results, and Viola! Income tax reporting is automatic.

And for the rest of you that like to be complicated, you still have to screw with the IRS and figure out how to do a form, but I bet in the end this would save the IRS BILLIONS, if they would simply automate the process. Which is exactly why it will never happen.

Game On!

I hate being sick

2006-04-16T22:21:00.000-07:00

Just incase you didn't read the title.... I hate being sick!!! This time, I think it is just a bit of the flu, but it hit me hard on Saturday night, right after every local shop closed for the holiday, all except the new godsend down the street (A Wal-mart Neighborhood market). So this morning, I drove down there got some meds, and I am feeling marginally better this morning. If work was not so pressing, I would call in sick tomorrow, but it looks like we will need to do some more testing, so I need to get that process started as soon as possible...

Anyway, this sore throat is really bugging me, basically because if it lingers too long it will really screw with my plans for next weekend or if it is really persistant, the weekend after that. If it lasts more than 3 medicated days, I think I will barge into my Doctor's office and demand to see him prior to the two weeks that I generally have to wait. I am not an impatient guy, but when my illness prevents me from doing what I want, and being the person that I want to be, well that really just stinks.

Anyway, for those having trouble with Baraka decks, it turns out that Sonchi is a good card. Very easy to set up in your hand (with a certian Klingon, and Guidance) and drop on one turn as well... Yes, I know that only applies to Klingons, but it is really an ultimate counter to that cheese (well that and FSE) and cheese really only needs one ultimate counter for it to go away.... For those that play that other game, I am really liking my new Shou Tucker deck. My players hate it, but it does alot better than I would have expected, considering the generic inclusion of Scar in most decks. I think I need to put Shou away for a few weeks, until I can reveal the brokeness to Trevor, but be warned Trevor, this is what you have coming for you... =)

Game On!

eBay And My Retailer

2006-04-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

So I finally sucummed to the life of selling items on eBay. I have been a buyer in the eBay community for about 6 months now (I know I am late to the game) but with permission for the game company I volunteer for, I have begun to sell singles and exclusives on eBay. For the first 7 I put up, I will cover the cost of the digital camera that I purchased to facilitate this adventure. I have another 14 cards to put up and hopefully a few cards after that as well. Basically, I have no dilusions of breaking even in the rat-race of trading card games and collecting, but it would be nice to recoup some of the lost money.

Also this cash influx will be very nice, since I emptied my accounts to front my retailer the money to move to a new location. Basically this is something I should have done a month ago, but I didn't realize that he was in as dire straits as he was in. He basically had not set aside any money for this move, even though he has had 18 months of NOTICE. The other problem is that he had not been looking for a new location, so by the time he is being forced to vacate the current location, he has almost no options. The only decent place was demanding first/last months rent and a hefty security deposit, which totaled about $5000. No, I didn't just up and give him $5000, but I am putting in more than he is. He claims that he can have it paid back in 6 months, and I believe him. He does excellant business, so long as he isn't buying 6 cases of dead games... but that is another story.

This new place will be great, tho. The location is not far away (actually closer for most people), is visible from the street, has pleanty of parking, and is TWICE the size of the current location, for only about 30% more per month. I have no doubt that he will make his money back in no time flat, which will be good for me, sicne living without a 'safety blanket' is... well lets say I am not sleeping like I was when I had that money in my account. But it is all for a good cause, and should drum up more business. It should be good times!!!

Game On!

New Players

2006-04-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

I was running my weekend tournament yesterday, when 2 new players pop in 20 minutes late (but we were already waiting for some other players) and want to play. One of them had a deck but didn't think it was very good, and the other didn't have a deck, and would not have one until after payday next week. So I helped the one player with one of my spare decks, and the other player I gave a few rare cards to and helped him trim his deck down and make is more focused.

Needless to say this delayed the tournament by about an hour from the original start time and the other player we were waiting on was still no there. So we got underway and started playing. I made sure the two new players were not playing each other in the first round (no it wasn't random, so shoot me...) and they were having a great time. And then it hit me. I was annoyed at having delayed my tournament, when I should be happy that we have new players. Why was I annoyed???

Anyway, I was finishing up the tournament and handing out packs to all the players (except myself as I routinely do) when from behind me, one of my new players bursts with, "Cool! I just got a foil Lust!" and I figured it was the foil common, or uncommon. No. It was the ULRTA-RARE Lust; the last one I need to complete my set. So, yea, I was a little upset, but I explained to the kid that I wanted that card, but honestly I probably could not give him the $100 that it would be worth online. However, he really wanted to make a deck like the one I let him borrow. So I pulled out my deck and started to pull it apart, with the rares that I know I had extras of. That left the stack painfully short... Then I pulled out some exclusive cards that he was looking at in my binder, and I knew I was still short. So when all else fails, I when up the the store owner and said, give me some packs. I think it ended up being 10 or so. So for the $5 entry fee, this kid walked away with 12 packs of cards, a not-yet-avilable promotional card, and a almost ready made deck like the one he enjoyed so much.

And then after all that, and my less than stellar attitude, I looked over at these two new kids (and their older brothers that had come to pick them up and were just as excided about this new game) and realized THAT is why I am a volunteer for game companies. Sure, running tournaments are fun, and encouraging high level of play is a big deal (especially for me), but watching a kids face light up with getting some card, that 5 minutes ago was rotting away in your binder... that is why I still enjoy playing card games. It reminds me how lucky I am to be able to have such a fun hobby.

Game On!

Junk Food

2006-03-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me, know that I am just a tad overweight (like 200 pounds or so). ;) But when it comes to what foods I am eating, it is generally good foods. I don't particularly like candy or sweets, (except maybe ice cream, but then only when it is like 110 degrees inside my house), and junk food is just too expensive for my tastes. However with my parents in town my house is filled with junk food, cause they 'need' it.

Unfortunately I will eat junk food if it is available, but I won't purchase it, basically due to cost. Now I have a house full of food I shouldn't eat, and a diet that I really want to get started on again. This is... I was going to say ironic, but I don't think that exactly fits the situation...

Anyway, my parents will be leaving soon, and I will be able to focus more attention to both cards and video games. I am really looking forward to the second sprint for FMA qualifiers (even though I am running most of them in our area), and Trek states is just around the corner (again, running it... =( ) But it will be nice to see the decks that the players are going to bring to these events. This time of year is great for card gamers, the preparation to the major events of the year.

The only minor issue is that I cannot afford to attend Origins this year. Not enough there for me, and I can have more fun with more of my local players in Aniheim at another convention that same weekend. Huh... 2 years ago, I would have only thought about what I wanted, but maybe I have grown over the last hew years, to consider what the players in my area want, in addition to what I want.

Nah! =)

Game On!

Family

2006-03-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago, my grandfather died, and I had a decision to make: to try and make it back for the funeral, or wait until my parents came to my house as planned. I decided to stay at home and grieve with my parents, and today it finally hit me. I was watching a movie, a sad movie, but nothing earth shattering, and I lost it. I was a hair's breadth away from audible sobbing, and for something that was sad, yes, but not THAT bad.

But I feel better for it. As a matter of fact, I was getting concerned that I would not grieve for my grandpa as I did for my grandmother (same side of the family, however they have been divorced as long as I can remember). I am glad that it happened today. My parents have really helped me get through this, and I wouldn't have gotten much from the memorial service, except to see my family; so staying in AZ was probably a good idea.

And while I was all intent on helping my parents through this tough time, they have been the ones helping me. My mom took over a month to get over grandma, and my dad (even with no blood relation) was more shook up about her death, than he is now. But having them here, even for such a short time, has really helped me get through this time in my life.

The only really odd thing is that after dealing with my grandfather's estate, my parents have explained to me, more about what to do when I die than I ever knew existed. Stuff like making investments, "payable on death", and assigning a trusted family member to all checking and saving accounts so that they can access those funds for funeral preparations after you have passed on.

I guess this bit of rambling has really forced me to make some observations about my life. I love my family very much, and I can only hope that I will live up to their example in the coming years.

Game On!

Frustration

2006-03-27T22:09:00.000-07:00

I am frustrated with a 'friend' of mine. This 'friend' used to support me in everything I did. I used to look forward to every day when I could hang out with my 'friend'. Now, my 'friend' has disapointed me one too many times. I know my 'friend' is about to make a very upsetting announcement, but instead of simply owning up to the announcement, they are delaying the announcement, trying to get every last ounce of effort from each and every one who is friends with them.

Unfortunately, instead of just leaving my friend, I can't. I care about my friend too much. I have invested too much time, effort, and friends into this envevour. So I am torn between watching my 'friend' throw everything away, and only being able to watch them do it, and leaving them to their own devices.

At any rate, I will have to see where the next few months leads me. It is like choosing between turning in a murdering brother, and watching him continue to kill others. Neither decision leaves a good taste in my mouth, and no matter what, someone gets hurt.

Game On!

Monkey get off my back!

2005-11-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Seahawks Win! Seahwks trounce the Rams, to all but lock up the NFC West. Now they have their sights set on the bigger picture. Updated magic numbers:

To Win the NFC West: 4 (Rams)

To Win a First Round Bye: 7 (Chicago, NY Giants)

To Win Home Field Advantage: 8 (Carolina)

Go Hawks Go!

Game On!

My name is Bubba Joe, and I am a Seahawk Fan...

2005-11-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

"Hello Bubba Joe"

I live in Arizona and am a Seahawks fan. I know there are laws, but I don’t care. I was born and raised in a state that actually had four real seasons, (not hot, hotter, “OMFG Make it Stop!”, and monsoon like we get in AZ) and I grew up loving the Seahawks. I remember the good years (all 4 of them growing up) and I even loved watching them get pummeled on TV. I can’t explain it, but they have been my favorite team since I can remember, and my parents tell me that it goes well beyond my first memories.

So now that the Seahawks finally have a chance to do some damage in the playoffs, I am really excited to watch them every week. Thank God that there are no other interesting teams in the NFC to watch, so as a default I get to watch the Seahawks more often (even though I live in AZ). The only think that could make this season better is if the GM would get off his sorry arse and finally SIGN SHAWN ALEXANDER! I mean, I think Hasselbeck is a great QB and we all know that Walter Jones is the greatest LT in the game at the moment, but Shawn makes them all better so for the love of all things holy, SIGN HIM!!!

At any rate the Seahawks control their own destiny in the NFC. They hold all the tie breakers against all the currently threatening NFC opponents. Summary of their information is below (yes I am a math nerd):

Magic Number to win the NFC West: 7 (Rams)
- If they win this week this drops to 4.

Magic Number to earn a first round bye: 8 (Atlanta) or 9 (Carolina, NY Giants)

Magic Number to have home field advantage: 9 (Carolina, NY Giants)

Now my boys play the Giants in Seattle in a few weeks, so that helps them greatly. Additionally if Seattle and Carolina win out, Seattle wins the HFA because of the 4th tiebreaker.

What else can a Seahawk fan wish for? We control our own destiny, and life is good.

Game On!

Bah! Lets try something new.

2005-11-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

Alright already! I am going to hold myself to bloging more. I really get upset at seeing my own empty blog, so I am going to write more. I think that I just need something that I love to write about, you know, other than cards.

I think I have an idea, but we will just have to wait and see if I can make it happen. Otherwise, I will be stuck talking about how my work currently sucks, and no one wants to read about that. =)

Game On!

1 Month??!?

2005-10-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Huh? It has been one month since I was last seen here. Why is that?

Work. What you want a further explaination? I guess that when I write a blog that I think I need to spend more time on it than just the 30 seconds that it takes to make a comment on a message board or write an email. Additionally, I won't do this from work. Knowing where I work they might think I was passing on secrets through this format, and THAT is the last thing I need at work.

So anything important happen in the last month? Nope. Well other than work, and that has just been one 'fire drill' after another. I bet this happens at other jobs and people have their own names for it. Jumping through hoops, the "because I said so" assignment, hourly priorities. The only good news that can come from this is that by this time next month it will all be finished, or just starting again, which in either case means no more 7 day weeks.

I am home sick today and that is the only reason that I am able to do this right now. If I had gone into work today, I would still be there. It seems the first 8 hours of the day I am fixing every problem that happens between the hours of 6 and 9 AM. Then I get to do the work I am paid to do until I get so tired, I am unsure if I can make it home. And this isn't exhausted "I worked out too much" tired, it is the "I haven't slept for 3 straight hours in a month" tired.

I hate venting here, but sometimes I just need a break and need to vent to someone who cannot fire me. Thank God no one that I work for spends any amount of time on the internet, much less reading this blog!

Game On!

Bleh, predictable

2005-09-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the latest Harry Potter installment. I must say that I read all the non-spoiler spoilers, and was ready for this book to knock my socks off, but in the end it was mearly above average, definately not the best of the series, nor second best (which I think 3 and 5 take the top 2 spots). I will try to keep this post spoiler free so feel free to read this information even if you have not read the book yet.

The sixth book starts out easily enough, with in my mind too much information. The only reason to give us so much information is so that we can hang ourselves with it. I much prefer a story that doesn't give you enough information, leaves you in suspense. The reason is simple: I read books and accept them at face value, and when a surprize happens it will catch me off guard. But when the author gives me too much information, information that our heros do not know, then there is no surprize left. So when the predictable happens (and believe me it was VERY predictable) I am left feeling unsatisfied.

All in all there were good parts, and bad parts. I liked the book, and think it will make a GREAT movie, however I do not think that this book will win people over to the series. I will read the final installment, and then read all the books again after finishing it all to give it a real chance, but I think that the events of this book were just too vanilla and predictable to make the series great. An entertaining read, but not something I look forward to reading again.

Game On!

Things to get done...

2005-09-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend, was a freebie for me. No errands, no tournaments, no having to leave the house unless I wanted to. So that means I can catch up on some housework, right? I made the mistake of turning the TV on...

No what I ended up watching was not I would call my favorite movies: Billy Madison, Stargate (the movie not either of the shows), poker re-runs, and football games for teams that I couldn't care less about. So why did I sit there and watch this mind numbing 'entertainment'? I have no clue. You know what I didn't do: laundry (down to my last clean shirt and jeans), dishes (no clean silverware), vacuum, dusting (I can write my name on the top of my TV). All these things that needed to be done, got ignored because I was entranced by this (I told myself I would never use this term) farking BOOB TUBE!

I think that I need to get rid of all distractions in my house, so I can concentrate on keeping it clean, and starting my excersize regimine (which I have been putting off for MONTHS). Those are much more important than watching sub-par movies and tv shows that I already know the ending to. That's it...

From this point forward, I am going to cancel my internet and cable for the rest of the year. All I need now is to find my latest bill so I can cancel my service. Additionally the money I would be spending could go towards joining a gym in the attempt to lose some weight (which each day I tell myself is something I need to start NOW).

Funny when I started this blog entry, I wasn't planning on starting a personnal revolution...

Game On!

I used to hate tag as a kid...

2005-09-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ten Years Ago - September 8, 1995
I was just 2 weeks into my University career. I was still trying to get aclimated to the Arizona heet and the elevation (~5200') and my new independance. I was also just getting to know my roommates and being introduced to REAL (re: not Macintosh) computer games, my favorite being Descent.

Five Years Ago - September 8, 2000
I had been on the job for just over a year, so I was starting on a project that would define my career. I would forever be known as the circuit card guy, and in a few months I would have an equation with my name on it: The Beal-Bergmann equation. God, that was a work of art. Also, I had just started playing card games a few months earlier, and was just trying to catch up on all the sets and cards that I was missing. I also just moved into my current house.

One Year Ago - September 8, 2004
Nothing spectacular happend in September that I can recall. Well, nothing except the most monumental decision I have ever made: I decided not to go home (to see my parents) for Christmas. It took me another month before I told them, because I knew that they would break open the waterworks to try and talk me into coming home for the holidays.

Yesterday - September 7, 2005
Hard drive carshed for the thrid straight working day. Tried to recreate as much data that was lost. Much of the simulation files were lost, however by the end of the day (8:30 pm) my computer was back up and running new simulations.

Tomorrow - September 9, 2005
Hopefully the hard drive doesn't die again. I will be writeing and submitting a playtest report (ontime even) and I might even submit a monthly report for being a volunteer for The Company (but don't hold your breath Kim). It is Friday so that means that tomorrow night I should be able to watch some DVDs and eat some GOOD meat. BBQ'd Steaks sound like a good idea... =)

I was never much on the top fives, so I will get to that another day. But for now, Bubba Joe's diner is back!!!

Game On!

Too much to talk about.

2005-09-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

My life has been somewhat chaotic lately, and I was uber depressed about what I did at Worlds (I placed 4th, but that is not the point). I do not think that I will discuss it here. However needless to say I acted like a pompus jackass, and hopefully it will never happen again.

So my computer hard drive died at work, and I 'only' lost the last 3 months of work and some assorted other files. Actually every day I come in to work to work on something I discover something else that I don't have any longer. Most of it is able to be recreated, but some will be lost forever. IT tells me that it is the hard drive that failed but the hard drive works now, when not plugged in to my laptop's docking station. So I must try to figure this out... I just love to prove IT wrong.

In addition to work problems, I have been busy making new decks for Star Trek, building a FMA community, and trying to prevent our local retailer from going bankrupt. Basically I have given up on sleeping for the past month. But hopefully at some point it will all be worth it.

Game On!

Spoiler Free til...

2005-07-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

... I can get my hands on the stinking book!!! I am an opinion glutton. I love to hear peoples opinions, and can't get enough. So it is KILLING me to not be able to read the reviews of the latest Harry Potter book. And with me pulling in weekend work to make up for GenCon in 3 weeks, I have even less time to go an purchase the book, much less read it.

Anyway, I finally had time to update my links. I didn't know what I wanted to link to from my page, so I told myself "Where do I go every day, when I am bored at work?" Those sites over there are the complete compilation of locations where I kill time waiting for whatever at my desk. Most of those have to do with Star Trek CCG. HoweverOne that probably doesn't fit is the Full Metal Alchamist site. This is a new game that comes out in August. The mechanics of this game are greatly intriguing, and I really want to see more cards, in order to start building my own (re: non-demo) decks. The series is also really good, so I hope the game takes off. It seems to have a decent following already, for a game that has not even printed one card yet.

At any rate, I will probably never give up Star Trek: CCG Second Edition. They will have to pry my cold dead fingers from the cards. However due to my general distaste of my secondary game at the moment, I am looking for a game that has interesting mechanics and is easy to play, and I think this might just be it. Anacranism was very close to being it (and it might just make it as a territiary game) but I absolutely hate die rolling in card games so it will have to wait.

Game On!

The Saga Begins...

2005-07-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

So as I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I am looking for a new Star Trek CCG deck idea. I think I have found that idea, but I need to find a dilemma pile that is not dependent on events. Normally this is not a major issue for players, but all I have done is try to show how a dilemma pile works better with events than without. I have gone all the way to the dark side to prove that dilemmas with events are so much better than without, that I have forgotten the art of playing a dilemma pile without events. So now I sit and ponder, "I can regain this lost skill?"

So the saga begins with me searching for the right combination of cards that will allow me to stall my opponent long enough for me to bust past their dilemmas. I am discovering dilemmas that I have not played with in years, ever since Premiere and Energize were released. But what promote this blog entry is not just my search for a new dilemma pile...

I am re-devoting myself to my diet, sort of... Convention season is just too impossible of a time to start any sort of regular eating/sleeping/working/playing/anything-ing schedule. So I will try to focus on eating right, again, for the next 3 weeks before Gen-Con. Then afterwards, I will have no excuses, I must find a gym and eat right. This is my "Spring Training" time, and then the start of the season is August 22. In addition to my diet, I am starting to watch Enterpise Season 1. I have to admit that episode 1 was one of the best pilots of any of the series to date. However episode 2 and 3 are the worst follow up episodes in Star Trek (possibly TV) history to date. So I am trudging through hoping to find a redeeming value in this lost franchise. Eventually I will purchase the Original Series (the FIRST Star Trek) and hopefully evaluate it on its own merits as well. But for right now, I have many beginnings and hopefully many good things to come.

ComicCon came and went...

2005-07-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

... and now it is back to work. What a blast, tho. ComicCon reaches more people from more walks of life than any other convention that I know of. There are the movie fans, comic book fans, anime fans, gaming fans, gamers, and of course no convention would be complete without bad food and the people who serve said food.

I am back now, and I can't believe that it has been a week since I blogged. Now that my crazy time is over I should be able to blog more, maybe. On the gaming front, I was recently accused of over-playing my deck. And they had a point. My deck is effectively unchanged since I started playing in almost 13 months ago. So I am in the search for a "New Hotness", and until I find said deck my old Far-Seeing Eyes deck will be called "Old and Busted". So I have a mission, and I intend to complete my search for the new hotness before Worlds. Looks like I have some work to do.

Game On!

Monday Morning Quickie...

2005-07-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

I really had the best of intentions to get up early and beat my cubie to work. I failed again due to my adversion to using alarm clocks on a daily basis (a topic of discussion for another day). However this will be a short week again as Comic Con is right around the corner, and I will be off to try and vindicate myself against the best Star Trek players that bother to show up...

This is not a slam against them, but there will not be as many as were at Origins 2 weekends ago, and some of the locals do not like to play at that level. So I really have no idea who all will be there, and I can only hope that we get a good turn out. Anyway, I have 40 hours of work between me and when I leave Thursday night. I guess I gotta get to it.

Game On!

If you put people in a bad situation...

2005-07-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Origins (OK, OK, so I just woke up from getting back from Origins) and have had time to think about what took place there. Some good thigns happened, and some bad things were observed. When I used to write tournament reports a key feature was the Props and Slops section, I will try to summarize here:

PROPS:
- To Vera Corbett for being a good (if not great) Trek player and showing up many of the guys that played in the main events. Keep on playing Vera!!!
- To the judging staff (Keller, Matt, Girard, Blythe, and Colson) for keeping the tournament on schedule and not messing up one gameplay ruling all weekend long.
- Ricky Martin for assisting in making William Hung a star. (He was playing across the way in the Pokemon Nationals)
- Jared Hoffman and Len Niedorf for OWNING the rest of us all weekend long. I was 1-2 against them on the weekend, and considered that a success.
- The Trek player community. Without a doubt the best group of players I have had the honor of playing with, even with a few sour apples, they are still a fun bunch.
- Brad, Evan, and Girard for making a game that can sport 6 or 7 different HQ missions out of the top 16 players. LOTR, cannot say that; VS cannot say that. Heck I bet Magic would have trouble compeating with that level of diversity.
- Decipher for the prize support they gave out for the tournaments.

SLOPS:
- Pokemon players in general, for taking over our tables.
- John for just up an leaving before the game was over. If you wanna conceed, then do so, tell the judge and then walk off to cool down. Otherwise your are holding the TD hostage while they wait for you.
- James T. Kirk, for being TOO damned broken!
- DGMA for not having something in writting for when an elimination game ends in a true tie. There HAS to be a better option than forcing the players to play again. I do not know exactly what that answer might be, but there HAS to be a better solution.

That last slop is the reason for this title. Keller was put in a crappy possition for the first round match between defending world champion Anderw Ehret and myself. And as the saying goes, if you put a person in a bad situation, be prepared for a bad ruling. In this case Mike decided that the game needed to be played again. Because the game needed to be played again, Andrew made an honest mistake (that anyone in his shoes might have made) and didn't properly reassemble his deck and because he was playing with an incomplete deck he was given a game loss and I advanced to the next round. That I don't have a problem with, because it is clearly in the rules, but it was the decision before that, that really screams WRONG in my mind.

But who knows, in the same possition, I might have made the exact same decision. But that doesn't mean that now that we have the time to look at this the right way, that we cannot make a better ruling, so that the entire load is not based on one volunteer's decision. I do not envy Keller's choise, and I must admit that there are worse decision he could have made, but now that the True Tie scenario in an elimination game is no longer theoretical, it needs to be addressed in the tournament guidelines.

Game On!

And the award goes to...

2005-06-26T19:57:00.000-07:00

OK, I am over my pessimistic view of the future, at least for today, so I wanted to take a moment to praise my favorite card game: Star Trek Second Edition. Why am I doing this today? Things have happened in the past few days that initially made me wonder about the future of this game and I, for lack of a better word, got nervous. I mean, it would be like if Parker Brothers stopped printing Monopoly, or USCF stopped playing Chess and closed up shop. Sure ST: 2E is not that big (yet?!) but the principle is the same regardless of how many people play the game.

So I wanted to talk about all the great things about this game and make a toast to those that made it happen. First you have to start with the beginning:

Brad DeFruiter & Evan Lorentz: These two took an old, broken and almost dead game and created a new one. Now there were obstacles, and some players were revolted at the site of a game that was only like the game they loved, but Evan and Brad endured and created a game with such solid mechanics and with such balance that it is the greatest game on the market today. However their work did not end with setting the game in motion and then letting it go to crap, they wanted to improve it. They constantly were striving to make the game better, more complex, more strategic, more of what the players wanted.
And they succeeded. They did such a good job, they were pulled off of the game (Star Trek) to save the other games that Decipher had let spin out of control. So when they were split between multiple games, did they let their devotion to make Star Trek great, falter? Absolutely not. They were still around to answer rules questions, work with the playtesters, and hear concerned letters from the players. Now you both have moved on and I am left with an empty feeling, and can only wish you both the best in your new adventures. So to Brad and Evan, I tip my glass to your devotion, and service in creating a great game, that is still here and continuing to build from the foundation you created.

Erika Stensvaag: We only knew you for a short time but you were able to set in motion more in that time than even the most optimistic of us could hope for. You came in when Star Trek had only limited support (outside the game studio) and brought the players their due. You listened to the players concerns, requests, and lets be honest whines. You sifted through the good and bad and then began to act on it. You were not a gamer in a world crowded with them, and you brought an ounce of realism to our world. You worked so hard to get the players rewarded for our devotion, and if something went wrong you were up-front and frank about it.
You didn't give us any company line crap, nor did you try to float our boat with what we wanted to hear. You were honest almost to a fault, and now that you are gone, you will surely be missed. I lift my glass to what you have done, and can only hope and pray that you land on your feet in where ever you end up in your career.

Michael G. Girard: (You knew that giving me your middle initial was going to come back to haunt you, right?) You had huge Thing sized shoes to fill when you took over design and development, and you have performed greatly. While Brad and Evan were responsible to creating a solid foundation to build a game, your job is just as important because you are responsible for continuing that legacy. You have worked without a net (and largely without much support) in keeping Star Trek alive and have performed marvelously. You have evolved the simple basic game into something that former Star Trek players have started to develop interest in. While you owe much of this prosperity to Brad and Evan, your innovations to the game are noteworthy on their own merit.
Your job is just as impossible as in the beginning because not only are you responsible for creating the ideas, but also developing, choosing pictures, writing lore, and proofing the cards. With the continued cuts to the staff, you are one gamer among management. Instead of bouncing ideas off of others in your field, you must depend on your own gaming experience to develop this game, and for that you will always have my respect. To you I lift this glass and hope that you will always be gifted with great ideas and the means to pursue those ideas.

This list is by no means complete, as there are numerous supporters of Star Trek Second Edition at The Company: Mark Tuttle, Dan Bojanowski, Trevor McGreggor, Scott Gaeta. All these people deserve to be recognized for their support of a game that was always just asking for a chance to survive. I want to thank each and every one of you for your support, and only wish that The Company would recognize your contribution as well.

3 days left! Columbus here I come!

Game On!

The other shoe...

2005-06-24T21:32:00.000-07:00

Things that happened today made me extremely happy that my department has 10 requisitions out for new employees. We are about 12 people understaffed at this point and are farming out work to independant contractors which is completely and utterly frowned upon. My job makes me feel very secure, and hard to understand what it feels like when people lose their jobs.

However like all things in life, I could find myself on the short end of the employment stick sometime in the future, and so I will be there for my friends if they need me, because I hope they will be there for me if I ever 'bite the big one'...

Onto more pleasant news:

... there is a card tournament tomorrow

... I just got paid today

... I finished up what I wanted to get done at work before my goal completion date (of June 29)

... I recently downloaded a bunch of classic Weird Al songs for my MP3 player. Weird Al Rocks!!!

... I am leaving for Origins, just in time to miss a dull, borring, LONG meeting at work on Wednesday.

... I get to see my best friend from 'that' side of the Mississippi in a few days, and to use his works "It's gonna ROCK!"

All in all I have a pretty good life and I know that I don't diserve it. I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for the guy to jump in and say "Surprize, you are still in college and this has all been a dream!" Waiting for some clerical error in my Mortage that makes the bank try to forclose on my house... You know normal stuff. =)

Game On!

Stupid Spurs...

2005-06-23T23:14:00.000-07:00

It isn't like I like watching the Pistons play. It is extremely boring. However their approach to basketball is the way team sports are supposed to be played. Maybe if the Pistons had won a few championships more, that the 'team' fevor would have apread to Baseball, and then maybe THAT sport would have been fun to watch. That is probably too much to expect... =)

So this will be a very exciting week for me as a player. First I have the second day of our local major LOTR tournament, and I have a deck that should catch the Phoenix players off guard. Hopefully I won't make the mistakes that I made the previous weeks. Second, Origins is only 5 days away, and I like the decks I have prepared for those events as well. I am not expecting to go undefeated, however I have confidence in my decks, and their ability to handle whatever my opponent will have to oppose me. I am sure in the next 4 days, I will go back and forth, between full blown panic and overconfidence. My only big concern is that there is a deck that I have not anticipated....

God I hope that doesn't happen...

Game On

Fathers Day

2005-06-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

I was going to talk about my sub-optimal performance yesterday (3-1 against competition where I should have been undefeated) but instead I wanted to devote this spot to my dad. This is the top 10 things I learned from my dad:

10) You cannot win every battle. Learn which arguments are important and which ones do not matter.
9) Love God. Believing in someone so much more powerful than you is reassuring, and comforting.
8) Mothers are precious. Respect them and your rewards will return 10 fold.
7) Driving safely, does not necessarily mean driving slow. Sometimes you can have fun with it.
6) Be responsible. Mean what you say, say what you mean, and you will never have any communication problems, ever.
5) Only you can separate yourself from your family. They will always be there for you.
4) Creating a reputation takes a lifetime. Ruining it takes only a moment. Be mindful of the moments.
3) There are always idiots where you work. Try to identify them as soon as possible and let them fall on their faces (or get promoted, as idiots tend to do).
2) Computers are not perfect. They are only as good as the person in front of the monitor, so if you don't understand something, odds are the computer didn't either.
1) Work hard, play hard. Because in the end there isn't much else.

Game On!

Decisions, Decisions...

2005-06-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

I am 11 hours away from one of the biggest tournaments in Tucson and I don't know what deck I am going to play. I have a very solid Standard deck, but this tournament is Expanded, which means ANYTHING goes. This is why I hate expanded. More so than the fact that the game company that makes this game thinks that it is a 'good enough' environment to make this a sanctionable format. It is a crap shoot, pure and simple. There is no strategy, there is no meta, there isn't even a good feel for what is out there, because the company doesn't even care if the cards they make are broken in the Expanded format, because they design for what is current (Standard). So I put together a pile and hopefully it will work well enough, but I might just fall back on my Standard deck, just to spite all the players.

Oh and for anyone cares, that was MY Mariners that beat up on the Mets tonight. BOOYAH! =)

Game On

The Art of Shuffling

2005-06-16T22:37:00.000-07:00

So I have been playing a lot of Star Trek CCG, in order to gear up for Origins, which is now less than two weeks away, and I just go squashed by a Borg deck. Now you may know what I am talking about, and you might just look puzzled, either way listen on. I lost, twice. And the fact that I lost is not what is bothering me (although it is annoying). The fact that the deck I played against is 50 times worse than the competition at Origins is not what is bothering me. What is bothering me is that I have forgotten the art of shuffling. A great card player once told me that "Shuffling is the key to winning any game. If you can learn to shuffle, you can dominate any game." While I didn't subscribe to any of his other ideals, this one has stuck with me and worked wonders during last year's convention season. However recently, I have been ignoring this advice. Why? Because in my meta I didn't need that edge. Well now, not only do I need that edge, but I have forgotten all that I learned. I have lost the art of shuffling forever.

So since I can't shuffle, trying to play a skill based or combo deck is just out of the question. So I am back to the old mission solver stand by, which is not what I want to play. I want to play something different and inventive. I want to play something that makes my opponent say, "I never thought about that before" but unless I learn how to shuffle in the next 13 days, it just isn't going to happen. Oh well, relegated to mediocrity once again.

In other news: diets suck, my Mariners have learned how to play baseball again (but probably won't win their division), The Spurs forgot how to play basketball, any my brother is trying to get in trouble with the law again. Basically, business as usual.

Game On!

14 days and counting...

2005-06-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

... Until I leave for the Origins Gaming convention in Columbus, Ohio. Being a competitive card player, I look forward to these events all year. The summer convention season is my 'vacation'. This year I hope to cover my expense with winning in the two major events I am participating in. Granted I can't replace the money I have already put forward for Hotel and airline tickets, but if I can break even that works for me. It is really unfortunate that the worst card games are the ones that offer the most money to participate. But that's OK, UDE will eventually see how fruitless it is to ignore the local gaming community altogether.

I don't get Michael Jackson, never have, and never will, but I do have this to say. There is alot that is 'not right' with him, and just because the LA County prosecutors can't find him guilty of his most recent accusation, does not mean he doesn't need to be locked up. However we cannot arrest people just because they are a danger to society. Wait just a second... But, I guess there are more people that are more dangerous than the image that Michael Jackson portrays to young people. I am just at a loss as to what that might be.

Everyone else is doing it...

2005-06-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

So I found my best friend's blog about a month ago, and have been reading it and all his friends (people that I know) blogs since that time. So I figure I should come from behind the curtain and post what I think. And after a month, I have this to say:

My friends are weird.

Not that this is a revelation or anything. I am not exactly the spitting image of normal myself, but it seems that anything goes for a blog, and I just was not used to the random thoughts that would spew forth from my friends' minds.

So why did I start my blog today? Well, I started my Dr. ordered diet. I have to say that I have resisted the whole diet thing forever. Until I finally got winded doing something that I used to be able to do, and it bothered me more than I like to admit. So I went to the Dr. and he suggested a diet and exercise plan. The exercize is being put on a back burner until I can find some place where I am comfortable, but for now, the diet (re: lifestyle change) will have to do.

Game On!