4 Month check up... and more shots

I had to take the Kid in to the doc today for his 4th month check up. We had a good morning together for the most part. Lady left early for work and would meet up with us later at the office. The two of us took a little snoozer before getting ready to go. He was a little cranky because he didn't get to finish watching his TV show...the Kid loves his television despite our efforts, so I gave into it a bit this morning. Hey I had it on PBS, he was watching educational TV...don't judge me.

Once we got to the office for our appointment, he was back to form in a great mood. After he had a quick second breakfast he was in an even better mood basically showing off and flirting with the nurses and his doctor. He was having a great morning! His weight and height were right on track, everything else going as it should.

And if the appointment ended there, he would've have gone on having a great day. Alas, that wasn't to be. No on the 4th month visit there are immunization shots to contend with. 3 of them!

After the third shot he was bawling and Lady was on the verge of tears. It was a heartbreaker. I feel bad, because there is no way to warn the kid. He doesn't understand when you tell him to get ready for a shot or to prepare for a little pain. It catches him totally off guard and is some of the worst pain he's felt in his short life. One moment he's laughing and smiling sitting in the safety of his Mom's lap and the next thing he knows a stranger is jabbing him with needles while we sit there and watch. Just a horrible scenario. But we all got through it... only to have to repeat this again in 2 months...

SDCC Coverage Online

Just because ya can't make it to the San Diego Comic-Con doesn't mean you have to be completely in the dark about it. The show is big enough that it gets plenty of coverage online. Here are the places I'm going for SDCC updates:

Comics Continuum
Newsarama
G4TV
Publisher's Weekly: The Beat
Rebelscum.com

I'm already bummed that I'm not there. Cool news that I've read so far; Frank Cho is going to be the first artist on a new Avengers series for Marvel Comics. Cho is an artist/writer who I'm always happy to see succeed. He's a local guy who grew up in Maryland and went to U of MD, College Park just a year or so before I went there. Very talented artist and funny guy, known by most for his Liberty Meadows daily comic strip. I met the guy once in Orlando, FL pretty cool dude.

San Diego Comic Con 2006 - Officially Opens

Today marks the first day of the San Diego Comic-Con. This convention is the convention of the year. It's become an important place for Hollywood to introduce fans to upcoming sci-fi, horror and comic related flicks and its benefits from some of the best comic industry and retailer participation out of any of the conventions in the USA.

Now I'd love to tell you that I'm typing this from food court outside the convention floor... but alas, no. I'm typing this from my office in Gaithersburg, MD like I always do. My plan is to go to the convention next year. Not just as a fanboy, but also as a creator. After a year or so of writing I've finally come up with a script I'm happy with and I've started drawing. My whole plan is to have a serialized strip hosted online. I've taken the time to break my script up so that it will work for that format.

"Holy crap, a whole year to write this thing?" is probably what your thinking. All can say is, I've got a demanding day job and a family. Cut me some slack. Plus writing isn't something that comes that easily for me, at least for writing fiction. I've gotten better though, at least in my opinion.

Either way I'm looking forward to and planning on going out to San Diego next year. Both for the convention and to see friends I haven't had a chance to see in a really long time. Hopefully if we plan it right I can bring the whole family along with me. Though they won't want to go the show, I'm sure they could find other things to do.

Thank God for Local News

Whew, I dodged a bullet this week man. Evidentally we have a bit of a heat wave going on here in the DC Metro area. Thankfully I was watching my morning news and kept an ear to my radio throughout the day so they could remind me that it was so friggin hot outside. Other useful tips to drink cold water and to stay out of the heat if I didn't need to be in it, were valuable beyond words. I would've been lost without such insightful and timely tidbits. I mean I could been wandering around out there in the heat without any clue as to how to deal with it, wondering why I was so uncomfortable and thirsty.

To those who say that the news networks have gotten away from providing an information service for the public in their pursuit of ratings, really should've watched and listened to the local news outlets this week. Anchors and weather men alike consistently reminded me it was hot outside and helped me deal with that. There were really on top of their game. And even though they probably don't read this blog, I want to extend a big thank you, THANK YOU. Maybe a reader will pass it on.

I'm going to get another glass of water, that's what WTOP suggests at least.

Slingbox beta software for Mac OS X

Ah very cool news this week. Slingmedia has released a limited private beta of Slingbox software for the Mac. I've loved the idea of the Slingbox since I'd first heard of it. Being able to watch your TV and whatever DVR, VHS or DVD player hooked up to from anywhere in the world via the Internet just sounds cool to me. Even being able to access my TIVO box on the 1st floor from the 3rd floor of my house or during lunch while at work sounds like a great concept. But not having a Mac compatible interface was the big stumbling block for me. Once this Mac software is out of beta, I'll seriously consider making this purchase.

If you aren't familiar with the Slingbox, check it out. Their website can do a better job describing what it does than I can.

http://www.slingmedia.com/us/slingbox/

Referee Smackdown

This is a hilarious video. Finally a ref that has some real control of the match. (Warning, the music is a little loud in this video)

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Cruel Summer

Damn I hate summer. Specifically I hate summer here in the DC area. But in general I'm not a fan of the season. Such a nasty, hot, uncomfortable time of year. I especially hate this year, because I'm in a job that requires a tie, slacks and a long sleeve shirt. After five years of being able to wear a t-shirt and shorts while working from home with my A/C blasting away it's a tough adjustment. Frig'n dress code.

The big problem is that I sweat. I've always been this way, no matter what my weight is or how in shape I am. I sweat. My morning shower is basically ruined by the time I walk to my car and wait for the A/C to kick in half way to work. It sucks. I walk into the office half the time looking like I ran the entire way with sweat around my collar and down my back. Just a horrible scene, not cool at all.

To make matters worse, this company with the dress code has got me in a office with horrible air circulation. It's like a sauna in here. I sit here making my own gravy all day like a roast slow cooking in a crockpot. It's gross.

I can't wait until the fall. Where I have more control of my comfort level and I can function at a peak level again. The NFL is starting up training camps...first sign that fall is getting closer and closer.

Falling debris from Boston tunnel kills woman

I used to go up to Boston a few times a year with my old job. During those trips I had to take these tunnels to and from Logan Airport. I was never comfortable under there in the Big Dig, and I'm not one that gets weirded out by tunnels or bridges. I'm not surprised this happened, the Big Dig project was totally mismanaged. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear of other disasters resulting from this mess of a project.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12370512/

Superman Returns - MRR Movie Minute

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to see Superman Returns. Again the three of us went during the "Reel Moms" early showing for parents with infants. I had high hopes going in to see the film. The Superman movies, specifically the first two movies, are up there as some of my long time favorites from childhood on through to adulthood. After my painful disappointment resulting from the new Star Wars movies, another movie franchise I loved as a kid, I was very wary about getting excited about a new Superman movie. The more I read about what they were doing with this film the more I liked sounds of it. Bryan Singer is a good director choice. He did a decent job of bringing the X-Men to the big screen and The Usual Suspects is a film I'll watch anytime I come across it.

I enjoyed the film a great deal. In many ways it felt like a continuation of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, which is what Singer wanted to accomplish. Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was great, his latest criminal scheme falls right in place with the characters past crimes in the previous movies. There were a couple things about the story I'm not completely on board with, but for the most part I dug the film.

Some of the great touches included, the CG Marlon Brando at the beginning of the film when Luthor starts the crystal control panel in the Fortress of Solitude. That really brought this movie into the fold of the original franchise. Including Jack Larson, the actor who played Jimmy Olsen in the old Superman TV show from the 50's, as a bartender where Clark and Jimmy hang out was a cool cameo. I'm sure it's no big surprise I watched reruns of that show religiously after school everday as a little kid.

I don't want to get into the story too much, because it hasn't been out long and I don't want to give out any spoilers. Suffice to say, I thought the movie was great overall. A great revival and continuation of the franchise that was started in 1978 with Richard Donner's film.

And if you disagree, feel free to share your opinion and I'll tell you why your wrong.

Day 2 of Lady being Sick

It's never fun when your spouse is sick. That's a given. I'm just finishing the second day of my wife being sick. She's got a terrible bout of food poisoning, it's just awful. She's really going through a lot of discomfort, and I feel really bad that I can't do anything for her besides keep her on a regular schedule with Tylenol to keep her fever down, provide the beverages, and do the occasional backrubs. Unfortunately it's just one of those deals that has to run it's course. Yesterday was really scary when her fever went up to about 104. I would've taken her to the hospital if she'd been able to go. Fortunately we were able to break that fever and get it down to a less scary level. The Doc prescribed an antibiotic that I picked up yesterday after waiting for a frick'n hour in CVS. I swear I get the most solid Nintendo DS playing time waiting for prescriptions to be filled. No lie, I once played a whole game of Madden '05 waiting for a prescription...crazy.

Lady has been keeping her activity level low, and eating what I fix for her. Dinners for her has consisted of soups and Saltines. Nothing too exciting. Figuring out my meals has been the true adventure. Yesterday I ate leftovers, an easy go to. Today however was another matter. After a long day at work my culinary imagination wasn't too sharp. I was just staring at that fridge stymied. All I could come up with was bacon and eggs. I would've just had a big bowl of cereal if we had any milk. Whenever I'm at a loss on what to eat, breakfast foods appear to be my comfort zone of reliability. Dinner wasn't exactly magical, but it was hot and tasted alright. Thank God, we had eggs.

Well it's Friday night... being the wild and crazy guy I am. I'll probably draw or play a game on the computer... woo hoo, somebody stop me.

Long Weekend

Ah man, today was my first day back to work after a four-day weekend. Since we had the 4th off I decided to take the 3rd as a vacay day. I'm glad I did, even though we didn't end up taking a trip anywhere I needed to spend the quality time with the family. The three of us hadn't had much time together other than the two days we get on the weekend. Having over half a week together was good for all of us. During that time we ventured up to the King of Prussia mall in the Philly 'burbs, it's the biggest mall on the Eastern seaboard and definitely worth the trip. Little man was bothered by the heat, so we didn't get to explore as much as we'd like. But we saw enough to warrant another trip up there soon.

Over the weekend we actually got a movie in as well. On Saturday mornings the theatre does a "baby friendly" showing of a recent release. This weekend it happened to be "Click" with Adam Sandler and Christopher Walken. Not a bad flick, it seemed a little conflicted in what kind of movie it wanted to be, not my favorite Sandler movie by far, but not bad. Some of the subject matter in the movie of wrestling with a career and still finding time with the family, being creatively stifled at work, along with some of the other topics kind of hit a little close to home. I'll be damned if that movie didn't make me mist up a few times, some of those scenes were brutally sad, not to mention I've been an easy emotional target lately. It's very uncharacteristic for me to waste any emotion on a movie. Ah well, so I teared up big deal. Wanna make something of it? Huh, well do ya? Yeah...didn't think so...

The boy has been growing leaps and bounds, every week he gets more fun. His smile just cracks me up. I actually look forward to waking him up in the mornings, because he always flashes that toothless grin when he wakes up and sees me there. He's getting better at copying faces that I make with him and he's getting more into being read to and song to.

Word has it the in-laws are coming in a few weeks. Suffice to say the house isn't ready for houseguests...so I can easily see what the weekends hold for me this month. I'm glad I got to enjoy the holiday a bit over the long weekend, that'll make it a little easier while I'm working away these upcoming weekends.