Tag: Little E

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I miss my dog

Last Sunday night, Xena and Gabby went off on another one of their infamous adventures. You know, the kind that cause me to lose sleep and what little hair I have left. They didn’t show up when I poured food in their food bowls Sunday night; only Gabby had come home by Monday night. Her behavior was very unusual – she was very depressed and wasn’t eating. That’s when the sinking feeling set in that something was terribly wrong. I’ve attempted to get Gabby to lead me to where she last saw Xena, but she either can’t go or just doesn’t know where she is.

Xena

It’s been five days now since we’ve seen her. The weather has been getting progressively worse – colder and rainier with a decent chance for sleet tonight – and there’s no sign of her. I think my old dog is gone. … Read more

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...And Little E Makes 3 And Beyond The Infinite

Wave at Saturn!

Saturn itselfToday was the day everyone on Earth was supposed to wave at the planet Saturn, low on the eastern horizon in the afternoon. Way out there at Saturn, the Cassini space probe is looking back this way as Saturn eclipses the sun, and the pictures it takes during this event – while Saturn is blocking out the direct light of the sun from Cassini’s vantage point – should show Earth as a tiny bright-blue half-pixel reflecting the sun’s light.

Since it was clouded over and trying to rain on us, we made our own Saturn out of a styrofoam ball, with paper clips holding up a somewhat floppy construction-paper ring. Obviously, Douglas Trumbull isn’t quaking in his boots. … Read more

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Critters Should We Talk About The Weather?

Snownado 5001 Deluxe

LET IT BLO SNOChristmas was marred slightly by one minor thing: a blizzard hit. We had planned to spend the afternoon with friends, stuffing our faces and shooting whatever bulls wandered into our view, but there was already ice falling from the sky by the time we got there. It turned into a meet-and-greet-and-eat-and-get-the-hell-outta-Dodge.

Considering how bad the roads have gotten since then (the whole area’s pretty much been shut down, as thousands of schoolchildren bemoan the fact that this hit during a time of the year that they were out of school anyway), the haste was not premature. … Read more

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...And Little E Makes 3 Gaming

Invade The Arcade 2012 edition

Five years ago, a bunch of my buddies and I drove for hours – some for quite a few hours – to invade a retro arcade in Springfield, Missouri. It was quite a unique destination at the time – an old-school arcade, complete with pinball machines and nostalgic items all over the place, where you could get in for five bucks and play to your heart’s content. It’s not a bad business model: once inside, they have a concession stand to keep you there (and keep draining your wallet), and they’re probably counting on their patrons only sticking around for an hour or two. Which, with the three-hour one-way drive time to Springfield, was a bit enforced in our case – we had real lives and crap to get back to.

If I had a buck for everyone I’ve ever heard in the arcade collecting hobby talking about how they’re going to start their own version of 1984, I’d be able to start my own version of 1984. Fortunately, some local collectors have beaten me to it and opened up shop last weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and it’s gotta be said, the 40-minute drive (instead of a 3-hour tour, a 3-hour tour) may just make Arkadia Retrocade the happeist place on Earth for me and mine.

Arkadia Retrocade … Read more

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...And Little E Makes 3 Critters

A checkered history

Little E got a Super Mario Bros. checkers set for his birthday. We play it a lot. He’s gotten frighteningly good. He plays a pretty mean game – enough that his old man sits there, scratching his head, and mutters “How do I get out of this one?”

Checkers

Here we see Olivia conferring with the boy on strategy. Donkey Kong and Blue Toad are impartial observers.

Puckers

So is Puck.

A good time was had by all!… Read more

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...And Little E Makes 3 Gaming ToyBox

Birthday time! Let’s do this thing!

Super MarioOn this day five years ago, my life changed. I had a brand new, huge responsibility. These days, I have a huge responsibility, a gaming buddy, a Star Wars-watching buddy, a music-listening buddy, a reading buddy, and just the best kiddo in the world.

I’ve mentioned before that my mom used to make my birthdays a blowout extravaganza of stuff. I can’t really afford to work on the sheer scale of present-procuring awesomeness that she used to, but here’s the thing: I know the boy’s interests, they’re pretty close to my interests, and I know… well… everyone else in the world who collects this stuff. That helped in swelling the ranks of his game collection a bit. … Read more