Quick hit to clarify....

Ok, so it's been over 6 months since I've put anything here. Sorry, I've been busy with that "life" thing. :-)

Just felt compelled to throw out this clarification. When I say I am a "Star Wars" fan I am referring to the works of George Lucas that were in theatrical release prior to 1985. Anything after that just doesn't "feel right" to me.

I share this because I have a tendency to wear Star Wars t-shirts and such when I am out an about. Check out Marc Ecko for some really cool (and some lame....) Star Wars apparel! Anyhow, just last night we were checking out at a store and the clerk noticed my shirt.



This leads to "Are you a Star Wars fan?" Now, if the person asking is over 30 I generally get a pretty good discourse going. Lately I've been getting parents with their children pointing and saying "Look, he has a Star Wars shirt on!" and then I have a 9 year old asking me whether I think Asajj Ventress is really dead.

I haven't watched the Clone Wars. To quote Dr Sheldon Cooper (see my previous posts on The Big Bang Theory)"I am not going to watch the Clone Wars TV series until I've seen the Clone Wars movie. I prefer to let George Lucas disappoint me in the order he intended."

I am told by several (even some reliable) sources that the TV series has gotten pretty good (and dark). Maybe I'll get around to it someday...but for now George killed it for me with the Ewoks. Oh, and Han shot first.



I think that about covers it. :-)

Collecting

It is apparently in my nature to collect things. I have a tendency to see something neat, realize it has a companion...and then seek to "complete the set". I have a LOT of little collections that I've started over the years. Comic books, 1:18 die cast cars, action figures, Star Wars toys...etc etc. One of the oldest collections I started didn't actually start as a collection. Growing up, as did many in my generation, I read the "Hardy Boys" series. Now, as a collector by nature...I don't throw things out. That said...this is the view directly to my right as I type this:

Yes, fast approaching 40 and I still have my Hardy Boys collection. And yes, that is a little stuffed Mystery Machine.

Why bring this up? Well...during a recent trip to Half Price Books I happened to spot the familiar blue spine of one of these books on a shelf. A few days later I was up in our guestroom/library/"book storage room" and was reminded of this little find by the site of my collection. Being the completionist that I am I had no choice but to whip on my iPhone and create a note with the books that I do NOT have so that I can compare the list the next time I am in Half Price.

That was a month or so ago. I've made it a habit to stop into various Half Price locations when I am in the area and have found a few. My goal is to complete the "original 58". As of today I'm missing 14.

Eventually I'm hoping one (or both) of my nephews, or should I be so blessed a son will share my interest and I can let them enjoy a childhood classic. If not...at least I'll have a set! :-)

Why "St James"?

So it's been awhile since I put anything here. That's generally how it runs on these things isn't it? Spurt of activity....then nothing. Repeat. Heh. Thought I'd just go basic this time.

One of the more common questions I get is why I use "SeanStJames" online. Nothing mystical about it..."St James" is literally my last name....translated into English that is.

During a recent job hunt I opted to go for a more "normal" sounding email address. None of my existing "handles" really comes off as "mature" and I figured if I wanted responses to a resume I should go with something plain.

Unfortunately every variation of "Sean" I tried was taken....and my last name is the capital city of a country so every variation I came up with was also registered. Then I turned to Google, which led me to the Wikipedia entry for Santiago. If you scroll down past the list of cities you eventually find the entry for James, son of Zebedee, A.K.A. "St James". I read a bit, followed some of the links (particularly entertaining to me was the "Order of Santiago") I got an interesting history of the origin of my family name.

Anyhow, that's all there really is to it. :-) Any bets as to how long it takes me to put another entry up?

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock

I've mentioned my appreciation for the CBS comedy The Big Bang Theory in the past. Today while shopping for a birthday present for someone I ran into something that has me back here spreading the word so the show stays around. :-)

During an episode of the show Sheldon shares that anecdotal evidence suggests that in a game of rock paper scissors players familiar with each other will tie 75 to 80 percent of the time due to the limited number of outcomes. The result? Better to see it yourself:


I am seeing more and more people throw the "Spock" sign out now and I'm loving it. ANYHOW, what brings this up today is I am shopping for a present for my brother-in-law and that led tme to Think Geek. Like many web sites they list some of their warez on the front page to highlight them. Well, what do I see today? A Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock T-Shirt! After I stopped laughing I read the description and learned that this was NOT a game invented for the show but rather the work of Sam Kass. Credit where credit is due.....GENIUS Mr. Kass!

Anyhow, watch the show. It's hilarious. :-)

Lovesacs, recycling and you

Everyone is familiar with the plastic bags that grocery stores use these days. You either throw them away (boooo) or jam them into a corner somewhere to "save" for later. We did the latter. The pantry under our stairs isn't where our nephew sleeps but rather where we stored a couple of plastic bags full of plastic bags. Today I got got a creative impulse and thought I would share. First, I went in and found our bags of bags.

Doesn't look like much does it? Well, apparently over time I've taken to squishing them bags down into each other. When I emptied the bags to get a pile of individuals I ended up with this

First thing, yes...we shop at Target a lot. My wife is a pharmacist for them. The discounts you can get as an employee rock. :-) Anyhow, the crazy idea? Have you heard of a LoveSac? It's essentially a big bean bag. I have one of the little ottoman ones in my office that used be where I rest my feet until my dog "adopted" it as her bed. Since we've established I'm a pack rat (duh, see that pile of bags up there?!?) I have the original cover that the LovSac shipped with. SO...take cover and jam it full of plastic sacks and what do you get?

A little "bean bag" that is just about the right size for a dog. And a little squishier than the actual LoveSac. Not to mention quite a bit lighter. But would she like it? Well, I finished a couple of hours ago and she's still asleep on it. Looks like I get my foot rest back!

And as a last parting commentary...those plastic bags are bad. Consider picking up some of the reusable bags stores offer. They fold up nice and can live in the car for whenever you need them. And it's fun to bring a Target bag into Central Market or Tom Thumb to pick up stuff occasionally. :-)

What the heck?

So living in Texas has it's perks. One of my personal favorites is the ability to call my parents in Minnesota during the months of January and February while out on the patio wearing shorts. Generally I am sitting here:

That was essentially the view YESTERDAY. I went out at halftime of the Vikings game wearing shorts to let the dog take a quick walk around the yard. Well TODAY I am greeted by this:

As one in the military might say: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?!? 24 hours from shorts to icicles.

*sigh* When I first got here someone told me "If you don't like the weather in Texas just hang around a few minutes". Apparently they spoke the truth. Hopefully this means I can ride my motorcycle to work in the morning.....

Ringing in the New Year

As many do I will often look back at the past year as I enter January. This year I find myself look WAAY back. The annual "New Years Eve Party" tradition goes back a ways for us. We got married on 12/30 and our first New Years as a married couple was spent with friends in a "lock-in" at our apartment complex cabana. Highlights include the blackout and Scott passing out in the sauna.

As we entered the age of digital cameras we started capturing the memories and storing them. Unfortunately with the digital age we not only learned the ease of recording memories...but how easy a drive failure will lose them. Scouring my drives I managed to get back to 2002 with one little gap...2003 is missing. So, care to join me in a waltz down memory lane?

2002

The obvious tradition...shots. This year is the first party in our current home. We had a garage full of motorcycles as the invite list included many riding friends. Here we have young David (uh, as far as I know he was 21 at the time....) being cheered on as he downs a shot.

2004

This is the last year we opted to go out and bring in the new year. I've honestly forgotten the name of the bar but we met a group and basically rocked the night away. The hats were a nice touch....LOL This is Kendal, Ken and I while we were still able to stand.

2005

2005 brought us back home and introduced something new. Jello shots. At the time this was a GREAT idea. Looking back...well, I really can't safely post many of the photos and some of the aftermath...well, I think this next photo pretty much sums it up:

2006

As we said goodbye to 2006 we said goodbye to Jello shots (though I *STILL* don't know who was doing shots, and left the containers, in our guest room closet) and came back to the old fashioned variety. The debauchery continued if not toned down a little. And this year introduced a whole new element to parties, WII!

To this day I can't put my finger on WHY the darn thing is so fun...but add a little alcohol to the mix and Wii bowling is freaking hilarious. And don't even get me started on boxing.

2007

Saying goodbye to 2007 had us slowly saying goodbye to shots. As time passed us by we started having more parents at the party that had to actually leave to get home. Still a load of fun going on but this is the first year wine made a big appearance. The photo above is the girls (yes, most holding a shot...LOL) as they share a toast. Where are the guys you ask? Well, last year was the Wii....this year the gaming gods gave us Rock Band!

2008

Same pose as last year, isn't it? And notice that the same brand of cream puffs are sitting on the table! And wine. saying goodbye to 2008 had us saying goodbye to people passing out under the pool table. We moved to Guitar Hero:World Tour and mad very few rounds of shots but it was still a blast. Goes to show...it really doesn't matter what you do as long as you are with those close to you. I miss my family dearly as we are spread out across the country...but I am comforted by my closest friends.

The interesting thing will be to see how many people that are in these photos see themselves online and email frantically. :-)

With that, have a glass of champagne and bring on 2009!

-=>Sean