6 Month Well Baby Exam

Well we had our 6 month doctor visit and it went relatively well. He had done so great at his last two when it came to take his shots wasn't expecting anything different. The nurse kinda laughed and said yeah that happens but usually the 6th month is worse due to increase in their nervous system and other developments. Low and behold it was true. He screamed after the first shot this time and as predicted by the nurse he started crying when she rubbed his leg with the alcohol pad. Poor kid. But fortunately shortly after the last shot he was good to go again! Whoot! What a trooper!

Well here's his latest stats:

• Weight: 18 lbs - 14 oz (75%)
  
• Height: 27 1/2 inches (75-90%)
  
• Head Circumference 44 1/2 (50-75%)
  

6 Months Really??

It's been 6 months, half-a-year, since the little man was born. Man where does the time go?

As noted before he's got his bottom two teeth in. He's sleeping at night really well with just minor setbacks every once in awhile. After how he started what with being a super fussy baby, wouldn't sleep anywhere but in our arms sitting in the rocking chair, we feel lucky to have such a good night sleeper. His daytime naps are still a work in progress some days they go smooth and as scheduled. Other days hmmm... like today for example they go haywire. But overall based on the book I'm reading "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" he and we have done well throughout his short life so far as sleeping goes. Lucky first timers I guess to have guessed right on some things along with some advice here and there.

Another development is he loves to stand now. He's always had really strong legs since the day he came out into the world. Last week we were doing "sit-ups", with him laying down I hold his hands and we sit up together, when I noticed at the end of one he lifted his butt off the ground. So I held my hands a little higher and he pulled himself all the way up. Whoot! What a big boy he's becoming.

On the solid food front we were a little slow and late on starting the cereal. But after some slow going and setbacks, attitude mostly, we've been going well. This last weekend we had our first Veggie, Peas.

Well not much else to report but here are some pictures from today.

We got Teeth!

Was going to post this last week but was waiting to try and get a picture of them.

Anyway, last week the little man's bottom two front teeth broke through the gum. They're still coming through a little more each day. Now we're wondering when the upper two front teeth will come.

Whenever, we do get a picture of the pearly whites we'll get them up as soon as we can.

Fun Education

Well the San Ramon Rec Guide showed up and after looking through all their offerings I found quite a number of online classes that looked interesting. So I decided to take one to see how they are.

So you are no reading about a new student in the 6 week class "Introduction to the Game Industry". Week 2 just finished up and so far it's interesting. The teacher is a person who's worked for a number of companys in the industry and has written some well received books on the subject.

One of the reasons I chose to take this class first is when I do head back to the working world one of my listed options right now is working for a game company. So I'm learning more about that industry to see if it's something I want to pursue or not.

Some other classes I'm looking at from this online learning are: discover digital photography, introduction to java programming (I'm currently teaching myself this computer language) and writeriffic:creativity training for writers. There is a new one that I just noticed called "Ready Set Read!" a course by a long time teacher with a degree in Child Development. In this class you learn about how children really learn to read and write. Sounds like something a new parent should at least look into right?

Well as I take more classes I'll keep you posted. Now back to learning!

Funky Town and Music

I love listening to music and I used to listen to it as I went to sleep. It always seemed to help but over the years since I've been married I've gotten away from it since my wife and I don't necessarily agree on the same type of music to sleep to.

Where am I going with this well with our little man I've been wanting to play music in his room during naps and nighttime to help him sleep. Well I think it might help not sure really but my wife didn't like my idea of listening to Metallica for bedtime. D'oh shot down again! Anyway Funky Town and I started listening to the Metallica station on XM when we go out for our errands. So far he's not complained about the music, I know he doesn't know the difference yet but let me keep my delusions a little longer. Anyway, we went out to Best Buy to pick up the new Metallica CD when it came out. However, Best Buy had put the incorrect release date in their ad so it wasn't available yet. But I happened to glance down from the notice to the Metallica section and saw an album I hadn't seen before.



Yes I found a Metallica CD that is meant for Babies! Whoot! In looking at this company I see some other artists that I like as well so maybe we'll end up getting some more of these.

Anyway, back to the point of this post. I brought this CD home and gave it to my wife. We've played it a number of times now. We're not sure if it is helping him sleep and stay asleep or not. But we like to think so. My wife really loves the CD, she also likes many of the Metallic albums as well just not something she likes for relaxing like I find it.

So if you have kids you might want to check out this site and then look for these CDs at your store of choice.

BarCon Portland Trip Labor Day Weekend(Week)

Well for this year's BarCon the whole family took it's first plane trip since the little one arrived. Luckily for a first go it was only up to Portland. The trip up went smooth with just a minor fuss but nothing major.

We went up on Tuesday, August 26th. We dropped by my old office to show off the little man to my old co-workers and to have lunch with Nancy. Everyone loved Funky Town, thanks Uncle Bar for the nickname! After that we left to go stay with Grandma and Grandpa L down in Sheridan. We had a good visit for a couple of days.

On Thursday we had a family photo set with my Brother-in-law (BIL) and family, Grandma and Grandpa L, and Great Grandpa Cliff. It was a nice photo shoot and some good pictures were taken. (note: when we get some ordered I'll scan and add to the post) The wife took me over to BarCon and she continued on to my BIL's house.

The wife and kid stayed at her Brother's for a couple nights then swapped over to our friend Dawg's house for the rest of our visit.

BarCon as usual was a blast and a good time to catch up with folks both known old and new. This year's theme was The Good, The Bad and The BarCon. So many games came out with Western motif's along with some bales of hay for seating out in the garage gaming room. Friday morning was the Disc Golf tournament ("Flying Buffalo Chip"), which for the second year in a row I had a good start but faded quick! As one competitor let me know for the rest of the weekend. No names now but you know who you are. Then it was back for more games leading up to yet another year of Befferdy. Was this the year for me to claim back my rightful crown as undisputed Befferdy Champ? Well with the help of Wilson, along with a side of help from Unc, we eeked out the Victory in order to avenge my lone loss from last year! In your face Mr. Bar!!! Later that night the wolves came out to play.....not just any wolves but Werewolves. Werewolf is a great group game that you should check out if you've never played before. It's also a BarCon Icon! Saturday brings the biggest day of gaming with games all day. For the second straight year the Wilson kids hosted a Battleball tournament. I had a good showing for once but was knocked off by the biggest cheese of them all...Big Tim! After more gaming it was time for one of the biggest events in BarCon history the 4th Annual BarCon No Limit Texas Hold'em Tournament. This year in final heads up play it was Gene Gene the Gnome Stompin Machine (WoW reference couldn't help myself) versus Big Game James with Big Game pulling out the Victory! Sunday started off with the fun run ("Stagecoach Robery") like usual I didn't participate, what a surprise, but I did help out with doing timing and taking some, hopefully, killer video! After that it was game time until the big BBQ to wrap BarCon all up.

For me I hit a wall when my son showed up. I wasn't prepared for how much I was actually going to miss him. That on top of having to say goodbye to my long, long time friend Bar was a bit much emotionally for me. Had to get out of there. But unfortunately I didn't get to say goodbye to Kong but did make amends by calling from the airport on the way home.

After BarCon we stayed with our friend the Dawgs Sunday and Monday night. Dawg and I caught the move Dark Knight and it lived up to all the hype. One of the rare sequel better then original movies.

So Tuesday morning we flew back home. We had a slight melt down on the flight but luckily again nothing too bad compared to what we had prepared ourselves to go through. Hopefully this bodes well for our Hawaii trip.

Well until next years BarCon watch out for your Brains!

Long Break Time to Catch up

Well another big snippet of time has come and passed with no Blog update. Well let's get that changed up shall we. So let the catch up posting begin.

Forest Mage

Forest Mage
Book Two of the Soldier Son Trilogy
by Robin Hobb


The second book from Robin Hobb in the Soldier Son Trilogy is just as compelling as the first book Shaman's Crossing. In this book we continue the story of a soldier son, second born son, named Nevare Burvelle starting with life at the academy after the end of the Speck Plague. Nevare recovers better then anyone else effected by the plague but as he soon finds out his side effect is about to change his life for good. Nevare heads home for his brother's wedding but instead of the triumphant return he was hoping to make. His side effect leads to him being ostracized by his family and fiancee. Eventually his condition causes his father to renounce him and his story continues as he tries to become the soldier the Good God made him to be as a second son.

Again Robin Hobb does a great job in character development through the book and her descriptions of the environment is vivid. In the world she created for this trilogy it is very similar to the US and the interaction between the European descendants (Gernians in the book) versus the native population (Plainspeople). The only difference is a third entity (Specks) and magic making it a somewhat familiar to reality fantasy series.

Expand review to include spoiler information

Nevare after recovering from the nasty Speck Plague that broke out in the capital city that decimated much of the population and that of the academy's future officers in the King's Cavalla. But for some reason instead of being left weak by the plague like most survivors of the Plague he instead retains his stature. However, very shortly he starts to realize things aren't quite as they were before. He's gaining weight despite his physical labor and normal portions of food. Which baffles not only him but the Academy's doctor as well. Before long though Nevare is off for home for his brother's wedding which will cause him to miss a month of school.

On the trip home despite small meals and a long arduous trip he is still gaining weight. During one part of his trip he stops off at an attraction called the Spindle Dance. It is a wonder that was created by the Plainspeople and their "magic". Now the village is empty and it is a tourist stop run by some half-breeds. This wonder looks at a distance to be spinning and looks like the rock that it is made out of is defying gravity. However, for Nevare no matter how close he gets to it it continues to spin. Some other tourists show up and during a confrontation with a kid who is trying to deface the wonder with his knife something bad happens. During the struggle to save the kid from falling into a crevice the knife slides down to the base of the Spindle and it causes it to stop spinning not to mention the agony it causes in Nevare. No one else seems to notice this strange effect. Note: in this world the magic of the Plainspeople can be negated by iron. Which is how the Gernians defeated the Plainspeople.

At this point it would probably be a good idea to recap some of the story from the first book to explain how Nevare is in tune with the magic that is counter to the beliefs of his country's religion. Nevare's father in hoping to make him a well rounded soldier son and to toughen him up gives his teaching over to a Plainsmen called Dewara. At Dewara's side he is beaten, taught the ways of the Plainsmen and even asked to do a ritual to become one of his people. During this ritual he is taken to a "Dream" like existence. Here he is told to go across the bridge and kill the enemy on the other side. However, this enemy is a woman, who he'll come to know as Tree Woman, and Nevare has always been taught to protect women not to harm. This delay costs him as the woman captures him and takes a part of him from him. After returning from this place he is dropped off at his father's estate at deaths door. Later in the book when he goes to the carnival he sees some Specks there and for some reason feels compelled to make a sign to them. This sign is a signal done through him by Tree Woman who uses that part of him that she took to see things and do somethings through him. At this signal the Specks do the Dust Dance which is what causes/spreads the Speck Plague unbeknownst to the Gernians. During the plague outbreak Nevare with the help of his "occult aware" cousin Epiny takes on the Tree Woman in this other Dreamlike world. When he's traveling through this world he sees people in a long line crossing the bridge to other side. These are people who are effected by the plague and once they cross they'll be gone. Nevare slays Tree Woman with Epiny's help and is able to turn back many people from the bridge including his best friend Spink. Spink after recovering marries Epiny. Anyway Nevare having slain Tree Woman gets that part of him that she took back. However, that other part of him is Speck like and being so also brings the magic of the Speck people into Nevare.

Back to this book now. Nevare then heads home where he is treated as a pariah by his family as he is now so fat that his clothes are bursting at the seems. His father puts him on a fast and makes him work hard all day. Nothing helps. At his brother's wedding he is spurned by his fiancee, Carsina. His father still disgusted by him end up locking him in his room since he feels that Nevare is lying to him and is sneaking food in the middle of the night after catching him in the kitchen one night. The reason for the late night meal was that Nevare and his old teacher Sergant Duril had gone out in search of Dewara so that Nevare to ask him some questions. In the confrontation of words with Dewara Nevare's other self, the Speck Self as he calls it, makes Nevare say something that enrages Dewara into attacking Nevare. He ends up skewering Nevare with his sword but before he can finish him off Duril shoots Dewara dead. Nevare thinking that he's going to die from the wound instead discovers it's no more then a scratch. Which is counter intuitive to the evidence of blood on the sword. It also heals up within a couple of days. During this time that he is locked away his father brings him his meal at night and during the day a servant oversees Nevare doing his chores during the day. Even after a long time of doing this his weight still doesn't drop in fact he's gained more. His father asks what he has been bribing the servant with to give him more food. His father will not believe him that he has nothing to eat but what he's given at night. So his father leaves him in his room and only brings up meals to him and never lets anyone else to ever see him. Still he does not lose any weight. By this time a bout of the Speck Plague comes through the area. Claiming Nevare's older brother, mother and his older sister. In the midst of the plague Nevare is forgotten about but instead of dieing somehow the Magic inside him keeps him alive until Duril comes to free him. While his father is recovering emotionally and physically from the plague and the loss Nevare and his youngest sister, Yaril, run the household quite competently. However, once his father recovers he thinks that Nevare is trying to rise above his soldier son station to take over as Heir. After a big fight Nevare's father disowns him and sends him away.

After leaving Nevare still wanting to fufill his destiny as a soldier son takes off in search of a regiment to join up with. After a long journey he winds up in a run down town of Dead Town. This town was made up of convicts, who are working off their sentence building the Kings Road, and their families. However, there are not many left and those that are there are barely holding on. Nevare befriends a woman and her children by doing work for a place to stay. While he's there he teaches the women to hunt for game, cultivate a garden correctly and basic skills needed to live off the land that she hadn't learned growing up in the city. One day a Scout, Hitch, for a fort not too far down the road, Gettys, comes in hurt from a wild cat attack. Nevare gives him some first aid and decides to help the man get to Gettys a four day trip. On the trip Hitch isn't doing so well and at one point confides to Nevare that the Magic sent him to get him. Nevare and Hitch finally make it to the fort where with Hitch's recommendation he gets taken on, even with being too fat, as a cemetery guard. Once he gets to his lodging out at the cemetery he gets to work making it up the best he can.

The issue with the cemetery and the need for a guard is that bodies get taken by the Specks. They are usually found in a tree and returned. After a while at his post a body gets stolen and when he finds it in the forest it is being absorbed into a new tree. When he goes to remove the body he is confronted by two Specks who tell him that the man wants to stay there and not to be put back in the ground. This doesn't make any sense to Nevare so he ignores them and brings the body back.

Back in town Nevare sees his cousin Epiny in the streets but not wanting to dihonor her and her husband Spink he doesn't approach her. But in stairing at her he attracts the notice of one of his fellow soldiers. Who from then on takes a big interest in everything he does. Spink runs into him a little later and recongizes him but Nevare tells him he must be mistaken. Nevare is trying to spare them the embarassment of his situation but Spink is having none of it. He comes out to see him later and they end up meeting in secret from time to time. During this time Nevare gets blamed for the disappearance of a whore he had visited in town. To top that off he runs into his old fiancee, Carsina. When he trys to approach her to ask for her help in contacting his sister, as he knows his mail along with Spink and Epiney's is not reacher her due to his fathers interference. But she pretends not to know him and from this he is accused of harrassing her. Every time Nevare thinks things are settling down in his life something gets in the way. His reputation in town is just getting worse as people think he is a rapist, murder and accoster of women. So he starts to stay away from town.

By doing this he ends up in the forest one day to try and get some logs for making a fence along the cemetery to keep the Specks from stealing the dead in the graves. However, instead the same Speck man from before shows up and tells him he will lead him to some good trees. Instead he ends up leading Nevare to his daughter instead. In Speck culture it seems the women are in charge of everything so she sets her claim on Nevare. Their relationship is one of her taking him for her own and trying to fatten him up as she recognizes him as a Great One, a powerfull man of the Magic. The more Magic a person can use the bigger their physical appearance. He is now caught between two worlds one is the world of the forest, the Specks, and the world of being a soldier, Gernian. For the rest of the book this drives just about all he does.

As the story goes on he learns more and more the Magic is the source of everything bad that's been happening to him. It wants him to do something and he's not doing it so it helps him move along so he'll be able to do it. First it got him kicked out of the academey, then it killed off those he was close to at home so that his father threw him out, it cause his friend Hitch who also has some of the Magic in him to kill the whore that died and to cause the blame to fall on Nevare. The Magic wants Nevare to drive his countrymen away from the forest. This is because as Nevare will discover via his new Speck contacts the tree they are cutting down to create the King's Road are in fact the spirits of their ancestors.

The final part of the book goes really fast and things just keep heading downhill fast. Due to the Speck Plague causing more deaths in town and the fact that some of the dead seem to come back to life. Nevare gets accused of Necrophilia on the corpse of his old fiancee. On top of this there is proof, that was setup by Hitch, that he killed the whore who's body was recently discovered. So Nevare finds himself on trial. After he is convicted his cousin Epiny working with the woman from Dead Town, who is now working for Epiny and Spink, work to set him free. In the escape attempt he is caught by a mob. Spink is trying to get to him and the woman from Dead Town is about to be raped because she is helping Nevare. Because of all this Nevare gives into the Magic completely and causes everyone to stop. He makes everyone think that they killed him and buried him. Then he makes his way off into the forest to figure out what he has to do for the Magic.

Next Up: Blood Bowl: Rumble In The Jungle

4 Month Check up

Well on Wednesday the little man hit 4 months and on Thursday he had his 4 month check up. His stats are now:

• Weight: 16 lbs - 14 oz (87%)
  
• Height: 26 1/2 inches (90%)
  
• Head Circumference 42 3/4 inches (55%)
  

We have been warned to have some Infant's Tylenol handy to help ease the pain of the shots he gets at each of these Well Baby visits. However, luckily for us both the two month and four month have gone very well. This check up was the best in regards to shots he didn't even cry until after it was all done and even then he only cried for a few minutes. For the second visit in a row no Tylenol help was needed. I feel really proud of my son for going through this all so well. Lucky for me he holds up to shots like his mother and not me. I hate needles more then just about anything else, except maybe snakes. I've had a fear of needles ever since I was in the second grade and was hospitalized for a week for my asthma. Horrible story there but back to the visit.

We had thought with the way he had been acting recently that maybe he had an ear infection or something. But other then some minor skin irritations, and the before mentioned acid reflux problem, he's doing really well.

Baby Update He Rolled Over

Well as a proud father I'm happy to announce that just the other day my son rolled over on his own for the first time. I would love to have had a video to post for you in order to share it will all my family and friends but I can't. For days before it happened I could tell he wasn't too far from rolling over as he was building up to it. Every time I'd put him down on his pad for some stomach time I'd get the video camera out and recording. Of course the one time I didn't get it down right away he rolls over. I saw it coming and ran for the camera got it turned on just as he did it. Ugh so frustrating. But hopefully he'll do it again soon and I'll get it on video that time.

Well in other news he's doing well he's almost 4 months now and is weighing in at about 16 lbs. Other then what might be some acid reflux issues, which he's taking medicine for, he's doing very well health wise.

Well I'll post more information as more developments come along.

Star Wars: Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight

Star Wars
Coruscant Nights I
Jedi Twilight
by Michael Reaves


This was a book I was looking forward to reading as it takes place not long after the Jedi Purge via Order 66. Also it's written by an Author who's books I've also enjoyed reading. Now while it was still enjoyable to read it just seemed as if something was missing from his writing. It was almost like the whole thing was rushed instead of being flushed out more. Or maybe it was not re-written/edited in the same manner as normal.

Of all his books only one other that I've read is by him alone, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, the other 3 books, Medstar duology and Death Star, were written with Steve Perry. Now I enjoyed the writing in all these other books so maybe it was just an off book for him.

This book brings back the reporter Den Dhur and his Droid compatriot I-5YQ, also known as I-Five, from the Medstar Duology. While they are not the main driving force behind this story they do have a big part to play. I-Five is looking for his old partner's son who was given to the Jedi, Jax Pavan, soon after he was born as he promised he would. However, I-Five and Den aren't the only one's looking for Jax. His old Master Even Piell is also looking for him along with the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Everyone has their own reasons for locating Jax.

Jax now a Jedi fugitive on the run is trying to fit in any way he can down-level on Coruscant without drawing any attention to his true abilities. He's sent on a mission, by Master Piell, to retrieve information from a droid for the new underground resistance that is starting up. However, he's not the only one looking for this droid as both the crime syndicate, Black Sun, and the Empire are looking as well. Through the mission he meets up with Laranth Tarak, a Jedi Paladin, Nick Rostu, an ex-Republic Army Major now on the run, Den and I-Five.

Expand review to include spoiler information

Master Piell is caught by some Empire Stormtroopers and is dieing when Nick Rostu enters to drive off the Stormtroopers. Before he departs Piell informs Nick of the mission he has and asks him to seek out Jax for him. Jax meanwhile gets exposed as a Jedi by some henchmen for a local Hutt crime lord, Rokko. When troopers show up to arrest him he and Nick, who shows up just in time to follow the troopers into the building, fight their way free. After explaining the mission to Jax they part ways. This is where the Paladin, Laranth, comes into play as Jax tracks her down. Together they go to to Rokko to work out a deal with him to look for the droid together.

Meanwhile, Den and I-Five are searching for Jax as well. Through some dead ends like finding Jax last known whereabouts deserted and news of a fight with troopers in the area they decide to follow Den's reporter methods. In searching the records they find a video of Jax having a meeting with Rokko and his bully boys. Following this lead they "sell" I-Five to Rokko and interestingly enough his first assignement for the Hutt is to retrieve his guests to come before him. Hmm someone's Karma is working overtime here. Yep I-Five finally meets his old partners son face to face for the first time. Jax's reaction is to just dismiss the droid as he has no use for him. However, fate intervenes as Rokko feel uneasy about his newly aquired droid knows his new partner and hold them all at gun point. I-Five gets them out of that situation and a few more. As time goes on he starts to think differntly of I-Five, but that does take some time, like most of the book.

Meanwhile, Vader has his aide, Haninum Tyk Rhinann, looking for Jax as well. In looking for Jax he tracks down the fight in Jax's building and identifies Nick as a fugitive. Thinking it would be easier to find an ex-soldier versus a Jedi with a very common name he tracks down Nick and has him brought in before Vader. Vader basically blackmails Nick by saying he would wipe out his entire Clan if he didn't turn Jax over to Vader. With no choice but to comply Nick takes off after Jax.

From the Black Son front Prince Xizor is set to find the droid with the data that everyone wants. Also, a second mission is given to the Prince's main rival for an open Vigo spot, Kaird. That mission is to assasinate the Prince and if possible retrieve the droid. Kaird botches the attempt and ends up being the prisoner of Xizor who has already found the droid.

At about this same time Jax and his group, which now also includes Nick, enter the same area just as Xizor is interrogating Kaird. During a firefight Xizor, Kaird and the robot take off for the other side of the planet. Jax and company in hot pursuit. The enter an abandoned section of the planet that is populated with wild species as well as feral droids. This is the lair of Xizor's secret labratory. As Jax and co show up they get attacked by some feral droids. Nick meanwhile moves off to communicate with Vader but ends up running into Xizor. Nick leads them back to the other group. A big fight ensues where Xizor and Jax battle it out.

Even though Nick never made the call to Vader he noticed the traker they put in Nick had moved to the other side of the planet so decided to start heading over.

Xizor end up escaping form Jax and leaves the area. Jax meanwhile senses Vader approaching so he has I-Five use his lightsaber to set a chain reaction off in a reactor below them. With limited time to get out of there they barely make it out of the area before the whole place blows. Vader also barely escapes via an escape bod from his ship.

Next Up: Forest Mage: Book Two of the Soldier Son Trilogy

Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two

Star Wars
Darth Bane
Rule of Two
by Drew Karpyshyn

This is the second book written by the author about Darth Bane, the Sith Lord who made the Rule of Two. In the first book you saw the downfall of the Sith from a large group down to just one. This book picks up where the previous book left off. Darth Bane is now training his Apprentice to one day replace him as the Dark Lord of the Sith. On top of this he is trying to collect all information on the Dark Side of the force that he can and is starting to meddle in the affairs of the Republic so that one day down the road the Sith will take over. Meanwhile, the Jedi are asked to step down now that the war with the Sith is over by the first non-Jedi Chancellor. So the book covers the beginning of Bane's education of his apprentice and also sets up the changes in the Jedi that we see later in the timeline.


Expand review to include spoiler information

I really enjoyed powering through this book. It was fast pace, probably more so due to the authors limited writing time on it, and had some decent intrigue. Bane's young apprentice is a young girl named Rain that he finds in the midst of some Jedi she killed. But she gives up the name of her youth for Zannah. In her journey which covers a decade in this book you see her go from a reluctant apprentice into a most willing and deceitful apprentice. You see this in how she treats her cousin, Darovit (Tomcat). In the fist meeting after her apprenticeship begins she cuts off her cousin's hand to save his life as Bane would have killed him. By the end of the book in order to save Bane she makes her cousin insane and enraged so that the Jedi would no choice but to kill him. By doing this she also makes the Jedi believe they have killed the last Sith Lord thus keeping herself and Bane hidden once again.

This book also chronicles the life and death of some Jedi. Leave it to happen in a book about a Sith Lord to put a lot of time and background in on some Jedi only to have them slaughtered the Bane and Zannah. With such a setup I won't delve into them too much.

Bane during this book first starts out by testing his new found apprentice by abandoning her on the planet he found her and giving her the task of making it in 10 days to another place where he would meet up with her. He did this one to test but also so she wouldn't be around while he went looking for the Holocron of a dead Sith Lord. In his attempt to find the Holocron he becomes infected by these parasites, Orbalisks. He soon discovers that these creatures feed on his Dark Side energy but in return he gains more strength, healing abilities, armor and a greater strength in the Dark Side. However, as the story progresses his apprentice gets him to start doubting that the trade off is all good. Because for some unknown reason Bane cannot construct a Holocron of his own. Each attempt ends in failure. That is until his apprentice stumbles upon an unlikely source for information of the Dark Side. A noble, Hetton, of a minor house is trying to start a movement to overthrow the Republic but when Zannah meets him he knows what she is and wants to become her apprentice. She as any good Sith Apprentice would do gets him to attack Darth Bane with his Force Assassins. She figures either Bane goes down or Hetton does either way she wins.

Bane of course is the victor and with this new information gained from Hettons resources they find where a Holocron exists that may have information on creating Holocrons. So Bane goes after that and sends his Zannah to the Jedi Temple to do research on removing the Orbalisks.

All in all it's a decent book with a great story line, I mean who doesn't want to read about the Sith doing their thing. I hope he writes more in the Darth Bane series.

I'm still not feeling I'm doing that great of a job in my reviews so feedback is welcomed.

Next Up: Star Wars: Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight

Star Wars: Death Star

I got to thinking and figured I should start posting reviews of books as I finish them. I greatly enjoy reading so figure I should share that joy. Being this is my first book review in awhile it will be a bit short and hopefully outside what is already known from the movies doesn't spoil any of the book. Any feedback on the review is greatly appreciated so I can get better as I do these.

The latest book I just finished is Star Wars: Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry. This is the third Star Wars book they have collaborated on and they have also collaborated on a few other books. One of those other books is one I need to put on my reading list, along with suggesting it to my friend Bar, just based on the name "Thong the Barbarian Meets the Cycle Sluts of Saturn". With a name like that you know it's got to be funny or at least you'd hope so! Both authors have also authored alone one Star Wars book as well both of which I've read. Steve Perry is currently a book reviewer for The Oregonian, so those of you in Oregon may have heard of him that way.

This book covers the Construction, Shakedown and Destruction of the first Death Star as seen in Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. The story is told from the point of view of the Empire and people 'working' for the Empire in the Death Star. Along the way you meet a group of characters who's lives seem so very disconnected but through the telling story they meet up for an interesting take on what happened inside the Death Star right before the end. You get to meet the man who actually pulled the switch on Alderaan. Everyone's favorite villain Darth Vader is of course a re-occurring character throughout the book.

Normally knowing the outcome of a book before you even start reading it is not a good thing. However, for me knowing the outcome of what happens with the Death Star seemed to enhance the entire reading experience with this book.

"That's no moon. It's a space station."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

For anyone who is a fan of the Star Wars movies, even if it's just the classic Episodes, this book is a must read.

Next up: Star Wars: Darth Bane: Rule of Two

First Week Of Stay At Home Dad

Well the first "week" of being a Stay At Home Dad has come to a close. Well guess it was more like three days really versus five. Anyway, semantics aside let's get into how the week went.

The Wife returned to work for the first time in about 4 months this last Tuesday. So it was to be my first time being alone with my son for more then just a few hours. Heck it was the first time either of us has. Anyway, currently our sun is sleeping through the night most nights. He goes to bed between 8:30pm and 10:30pm and getting up around 4:30am and 7:30am most days. However, sometimes he gets up a bit earlier. He's also only napping most times between feedings for about 45 minutes to 2 hours. His daytime sleeping is still mostly in our arms as he doesn't always go down in his bassinet during the day without waking up within 10-15 minutes. He eats about every 2 to 3 hours during the day and he lets you know when it's time with that good set of lungs he got! Well that's the background on where things are with him now.

The first day for me was more an issue with it being in my head that "oh know it's my first time alone all day without any help". That made me a bit antsy and worrisome to start out with which made me a bit tired very quickly. However, my son was so good that day for the most part that it all went rather smoothly with the exception where I scared him into a blood curling scream. I figured out in the middle of the day that you tend to take on the temperament of your kid. I was changing him when he had been crying for the last 10 minutes or so when I went to "shh" him. Unfortunately due to being amped up it came out about 20x the volume I would have like to have used. D'oh! Well that scream just made me feel like such an ass for doing it that I got a wee bit depressed. Not quite as bad as the day I nipped him with the finger nail clippers but still it was a big bummer that on my first day I caused my kid to scream bloody murder. The Wife came home around 3pm which is way earlier then her normal time used to be.

The next two days went really well other then some minor crying, which was usually over being tired or hungry which is understandable, things went real smoothly. The Wife came home around 4pm each day so it was better then I thought as she used to not come home until around 7pm most days. As it was also her first "week" being away from her child I think she came home not only to make it easier on me but also she was missing him.

On Friday she decided to work from home which made the day a real breeze as there were two of us there again for the day. So for things that come up if I needed it she was there to help. I'm grateful for her taking that day off as it gave me a rather easy first "week"

We'll see how the next week goes!

2 Months and Counting

Well it's been 2 months plus now and the kid is packing on the weight! Below is a picture taken on his two month milestone with Mom.




He is sleeping by himself a lot more now. Some nights are better then others though. One night we'll get a nice 3 or 4 hour sleep window which makes us feel real good. But the norm is usually that long sleep happens early evening instead. D'oh! Most nights we'll get a hour maybe two out of him. Which for Dad isn't that good since it takes me an hour or more to fall asleep. I've always had problems getting to sleep unless I was just completely exhausted and even then sometimes it takes a while. Mom on the other hand drops off to sleep as soon as the head hits the pillow. Damn that makes me envious! So for me it's usually a little sleep through the night until morning when Mom takes him downstairs then Dad gets a nice long sleep. Thank you Honey!

He's also started to become real fussy. If he's not eating or sleeping he's usually Mr. Grump with the exception of a few windows of time where he'll play. The last few days, he just got shots for his 2 month Well Baby which might be causing this new behavior, he screams bloody-murder when you set him down to unwrap him. We're really hoping this phase goes quickly. The doctor said usually the fussiness like this will go away after 2 and half months or so. We can only hope.

All these things make me a bit worried as the day is soon approaching of Mom heading back to work and me being home alone. It's real nice now with the exception of errands and appointments we're both around to deal with the Munchkin. Soon though it will be the Gelfling and Dad show. Hopefully we can get a good sleep schedule set by then and get him into his room at night, well I have to convince the Wife on that one. This will help both me and the Wife. Me so I'm good to go come the morning time and for the Wife so she's not dead tired at work. I can at least get in some cat naps during the day when he sleeps so not too bad if I don't get that much sleep. The good thing is he'll be 3 months by the time she goes back to work so hopefully we get things somewhat set into a pattern by then.

Well until next time enjoy the following pictures of me and my Son.


Dad and Son catching some Zs

Dad catching a uppercut to the old noggin!

Memorial Day Weekend

Well we had a busy, fun and pocket emptying Memorial Day weekend.

To kick the weekend off early my Brother-in-law, his wife and the Nephew flew in Friday morning. It's been since the shower since we've seen them. They came down to check out their nephew. After they got here me and my BIL went out for some shopping chores. First up I needed his help with looking at TV's and Blue-ray disc players. With his help I got a good idea of what to look for for when we decide to got that way. Then it was off to Lowes to pick up a Barbecue. After doing some looking and deciding we picked one up and then had the fun task of trying to load it into the Trailblazer! Well after some trial and error we got it in. Then got it home and hooked up! Whoot now we can barbecue! As they had a long day with getting up early and traveling down here with an almost two year old they headed to the hotel to call it a night.

The next day they came over in the morning and we hung out for a bit. Then they kicked the Wife and me out for some alone time. So we headed out for Lunch at Over the Border, a Mexican restaurant we go to down here. After that we went over to Best Buy to look for movies, games and such. Well we get there and while I'm looking for a game that my friend gave me a gift card for the wife comes over with a bunch of Blu-ray movies. I'm like you're already buying Blu-ray but we don't have a player. That's when she got that smile I know oh so well. Well needless to say they didn't have the game I was looking for but we did pick up a new Samsung Blu-ray player. Got home hooked it up with the BILs help and watched our first movie in HD! Whoot! That night we christened the BBQ with a London Broil with Corn on the Cob! Hmmmmm delicious!

The next day we had to head over to Sacramento to have a Baby Shower with my family members down here in California since it didn't make sense for them to go to the one up in Portland. My two Aunts put it on. Not to worry my BIL and family had some family and friends to visit as well that day. Back to the party. My Son got to meet his last Uncle, another Grandpa, two great-grandparents, some great-aunts and great-uncles, and many cousins of some type or another! The whole cousin thing gets confusing. Like what is my Mom's Cousin to my boy or my Cousin's kid to my boy? Very confusing so we'll just stick with Cousin for all! Well it was a great get together and no shortage of people willing to hold the boy! So he had a great day. Plus we got some good stuff for him as well. Afterwards we drove home and met up with the BIL and family for some Pizza and to bid farewell as they had an early flight in the morning.

Well the shopping for the weekend wasn't quite done. I was looking in the paper and found the Best Buy ad and noticed they had one of the TVs my BIL suggested while we were there for like $620 off. Plus they were doing 3 years no interest. Well since we had jumped in and picked up the Blu-ray player figured we needed a bigger and better TV for it! Well since we had also recently gotten our tax refund we felt that we deserved the upgrade as well! So we now have a new TV stand and 52" LCD Samsung HDTV! Whoot! Man things have never looked this crisp and clean before even normal TV jumps out at you with better image quality! Putting the new TV stand together was a nice long project! But well worth it!

Well below are some pictures from the weekend. Enjoy.


Me with Son and Nephew

Brother-in-law, His wife with my Son

My Brother with my Son

Wife and Family

More Family, Son with his Grandma

Lego Mania!

On the Gamecube a few years back a game was released called Lego Star Wars. I bought it for being a Star Wars game more so then for a Lego game. I had some worries that it would be too kiddie of a game. But was that further from the truth. It was such a great game I'm not even sure where to begin describing the game.

Lego Star Wars is set in Episodes I-III of the Star Wars movie franchise, of which I'm a huge fan of all the movies. So you start out with just two playable characters of Obi-Wan (Padawan) and Qui-Gon Jin aboard the Trade Federation ship. Oh and you are the Lego version of them! Sweet! When you blow things up in the world, oh by the way did I mention everything on the screen is made of Legos, they shatter into their the core Lego pieces and spit out collectible Lego studs. As you progress through each chapter of each episodes you unlock more playable characters and earn studs to buy things with. Also, after completing a chapter you can the go back and play in free-play mode which allows you to switch between more characters then the story play mode. And you'll need to in order to find everything you need from a chapter some things are only reachable by certain characters.

A few months later they released Lego Star Wars for Episodes IV-VI for those who like the classic better. It's game play was the same with maybe some upgrade character interaction stuff. But still a great game! For the Wii they released both games as a combined game. I haven't picked it up as I don't know if there are any changes to the games I have and can play via my Wii.

Well just this last week the released Lego Indiana Jones for the Wii. I naturally picked it up. It's great just like the Star Wars versions. Here Indy's got a whip instead of the force and a lightsaber. But the game still rocks especially running form a big Lego ball that's rolling at you! I've only played the first chapter and ran around the holding area a little bit so far. Tough to get too much grinding in yet with the little one! But I'll try!

Wii Excitement

Well as many know I was one of those fools who waited for hours in the wee hours of the morning to pick up a Wii when it was released. The system is an absolute blast and I have seen even the youngest of children having fun with the basic games that come with it. Bowling is a blast as is the golf game driving range. Since the release I have bought a few games here and there. Of course the classics Madden, Zelda, Metroid made it into my larder of games and all are fun. I'm a big golf person so Tiger Woods made it too and it is fun, and frustrating, to swing the controller in a mostly realistic golf swing. I played that game almost everyday for months on end. Ever since the first Tiger game came out I've been hooked. Well now just recently a new game has come out that is also a classic good time Mario Kart! For the Wii the game comes with a wheel that you insert a Wii controller into to give you a better driving feel then trying to just turn the controller. Man is it a blast!

The game is much like all the other incarnations in that you have the standard 50cc, 100cc and 150cc selections. And so far I've only done the 50cc you have your standard circuits of Mushroom, Flower, Star and Special. with at the start only Mushroom and Flower being playable. These are new tracks just like with the past versions they always update and create new tracks. However, there are also two other circuits available Shell and Banana with two to be uncovered. These circuits have tracks from all the old versions. They have been updated graphically of course but take you back in time to learning all those old tracks.

On top of the new courses and being able to relive the old courses you now have your choice of three vehicles when you make your character selection. This is cool as you can pick a type that works better on certain circuits and tracks. Each one has different stats. Also outside of the old classic carts there are now motorbikes to race too! I haven't gotten to those yet as they are for 100cc and 150cc. But can't wait for it.

The coolest feature of all is the ability to play online! Yes that's right you can race against people in your friend list, regional area or even world wide! I've only done this a couple of times and have gotten my ass handed to me but it was loads of fun to race against 12 other people instead of computer controlled opponents. You can also do timed events that you can then see how you rank versus your friends, regionally and globally. There are even tournaments you can enter. Online play allows up to 2 people per console to play online. This make it an even better game for me since I've moved away from all my friends who play vids with me. Now if I can just get them to pony up for the system and game! Come on guys and girls you know who you are!

Well that's it for now.

Been awhile but...

Well it's been a while again since my last post but this time it's with good reason. On April 13, 2008 at 4:23 AM the wife and I welcomed our Son into the world. The weeks leading up to this big event and after have prevented me from doing any posting. Things are settling down around here again so there should not be as many interruptions as there have been recently.

Anyway back to the exciting news! He weighed in at 8lbs even and measured a length of 20 1/2 inches. The birth process went rather smoothly I think the wife might have a different view. She started having contractions around noon or so on the due date. We ended up in the hospital around 8pm or so. Then at 4:23 am he joined us out in the real world kicking and screaming. Boy did he kick. He kicked the nurse while she was trying to do his initial checks. He also loved grabbing on. There was some tubing on the table which he reached over his head to grab and then reeled in hand over fist. Also, when they brought him over to mom he grabbed her IV which sent a few hands darting in to make sure he couldn't yank it out. After a couple of days in the hospital it was off to the house. Below is the first family picture taken on our way out.



My Mother showed up about two weeks before he was born and stayed two weeks afterwards. She was a big help before, during and after. It was all greatly appreciated. My Mother-in-law made it down a week after he was born and between her and my mom they were able to help us out immensely that second week. If it wasn't for them not sure how well we would have made it through those first two weeks.

We also got a visit from my Father-in-law and his wife the same time that my Mother-in-law showed up. So the little man got to see many of his grandparents very early on which was great.

All in all the whole birthing process was not so bad but the weeks afterwards were real tough with the lack of sleep that was going on. It's gotten better and better as time has gone on. The last few days have been good for the most part. He's taking to sleeping on his own a little better now. But he's just a bit more crankier then he's ever been in between feedings and sleep.

One and Done Ducks

Well the NCAA Tourney is up and going strong and my braket couldn't be in any more disarray! Very strange tournament so far we had 2 games in the second round of 12vs13 seeds. That's just insane! Way to go Villanova, Siena, Western Kentucky and San Diego. All four number one seeds are still alive but UCLA and Memphis had tough second rounds. Hopefully for UCLA my champion pick it was just a fluke and they'll run over the rest of the way to the Final Four. Two 2 seeds both lose. Too bad Duke was one of them I was really looking forward to two freshmen from the state of Oregon to face off for the right to reach the Final Four.

As for my Ducks nothing new to report yet again they have a double digit lead in the second half of a game only to lose yet again! Both UCLA and USC games were that way and we couldn't pull those out either. They just don't seem to be able to put people away when they should! Oh well now it's waiting time for the Maui Invitational next season for which I'll be there to root them on! Go Ducks!

Baby Shower PDX Edition

My Wife's good friend threw a baby shower for her and many of our family and friends in the Portland, Oregon area.

My friend Dawg picked us up at the airport and we started the weekend off right with a great meal at Fat City. Hmmm do I miss the food from back home. Note the food will be a common thing for the weekend not as much as I wanted but enough to satisfy me of some of my cravings. The Wife then went to her hair appointment with her stylist up in the area while the Dawg and I headed back to the house to relax a little. The Dawg and I went and saw the movie No Country For Old Men. I was really disapointed in this film. While cinamatography for the film was elegant and epic the story and acting was just so sub par I don't even know where I'd begin bashing this flick. I don't see why it's getting such a huge response. But did provide some levity in the sense when talking to my friend Bar trying to plan out the next day we told him that we felt that Rambo had a chance at being the better film. So bad but it just might be true.

The day of the shower the Dawg and I waited with his son for Bar and Wrench to show up. After that Bar, Wrench and I went to stop by the shower so I could make sure to see my Mom, Grandma and my old co-worker. I also got to see a few other people that made it totally worth sticking around until the shower was about to start. Then it was off to Fire On the Mountain in order to get my fix of their heavenly wings and especially their Spicy Peanut Wing Sauce. Hmm just thinking about it is making me go all Homer Simpson on the keyboard! Hmmmmmm Spicy Peanut Wing Sauce........ After an evening of some game action back at the house Bar, Dawg and I went off to see Rambo. And yes after coming out of that movie the Dawg and I both agreed it was better then No Country For Old Men.

The next day we met up for some breakfast with the Wife's Father, Step-Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law and our Nephew. Man he's getting so big now. Hadn't seen him since Thanksgiving and boy has he grown.

Weekend Getaway to Whistler

In January the Wife and I went on a nice Weekend Getaway to Whistler, BC. This was our last big Excursion before the baby comes, well other then the Baby Shower in Portland, OR. We flew up to Vancouver, BC on the 25th and took a bus up to the Delta Whistler Village Suites. The bus trip was a great way to get up there. No rental car to worry about driving in the snow conditions. You could just sit back and relax for the 2-3 hours it takes letting someone else who does it on a regular basis deal with the road conditions.

We spent the next couple of days doing some shopping, eating and I even got in some runs down the mountain. Boy was I out of shape so wasn't able to get much in. The first day I got in one nice long run but was so worn out by it I was done. The second day I got in the same run and felt like I could have done it a couple more times but with the Wife being alone felt I should get back and do some stuff with her instead. I've got to get in shape so I can do more snowboarding then this.

We flew back home on Monday. The whole trip was quite refreshing and relaxing. Nice to just get away. This will have to serve us until our next trip. For right now that isn't until Thanksgiving week when we'll be off to Maui to try and attend the Maui Invitational with some good friends and their family from back east. The Ducks and Tar Heels will be attending so it should be great as I'm a Duck along with a friends wife and everyone else will be pulling for the Tar Heels as that's where the family is from.

Some Pictures from the trip:


Me in the Gondola Ready to hit the slopes


View from our room's patio
(Mountain in picture is Blackcomb)


The Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, BC but some events will be held at the Whistler/Blackcomb area.


Our third trip to Whistler happened to be the most snow we had seen before. This is a picture in the Village.

Bask Season Not Going Well

Well as many of you out there especially those who have no Idea who I am probably don't know is I love the sport of Basketball. Have always loved playing, watching and attending games.

This year what was a very hopefull begining has turned out bad for my Alma Mater the Oregon Ducks. After only losing a couple of players only one of whom started I thought we'd be able to get back to the tournament again this year. Early season stumbles were due to injuries more then anything. The second half season collapse though has me baffled, since I don't get many of the games down here in the Bay Area I don't get to see for myself what's going on. It seems we're winning most games until the very end. And games we're not in are due to a fall off of shots being made. Under Kent the team has always relied on being able to shoot the outside shot especially from 3 range. So if we struggle from there we have tough times. Another staple of the Kent era is defense. While some years we've had great defensive teams most others seem to be lacking. I'm not sure if this is just due to lack of talent or motivation on that end of the floor. I like Kent and what he has done for the program which probably puts me in a minority of Alumni who do as he always seems to be on the hot seat. However, I'm not sure what to make of this ever couple of years break down the team seems to have under his leadership. Is it just cockiness of the players who've been winning that cause the collapses? Or being told you're good by the media causes them not to fight like they do when they are being written off. Without some kind of Miracle or another Conference Tournament Title I'm don't think there is much chance of getting into the Big Dance and might have to settle for the NIT.

The Pac-10 is strong this year. UCLA and their traitorous big man Kevin Love (note: for those of you who don't know his old man played ball for the Oregon Ducks) have the most talent of the bunch but I don't think they'll win it all. They should get close to another Final Four appearance but not sure if they'll get much past there. Stanford is just a seriously dangerous team for anyone as the season moves along. With the twin Lopez brothers leading the way they should go deep into the NCAAs and probably have the best shot at making the Final Four of any Pac-10 team. WSU is just baffling they look so good one game then so bad during another. Until they can get settled down I don't think they'll make it out of the second round. USC is a team I don't understand how they have won that many games. Yes Mayo is a star player but I don't see much team in his game reminds me of Luke Jacksons Senior season at Oregon. They will bow out first or second round of the tournament. Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Cal all have shots at making the tournament. I think Arizona is probably on lock because of who they are. The other teams need to win out and/or make a statement in the Conference Tournament. As for the Pac-10 Player of the year I would vote for Ryan Anderson of Cal followed by Jon Brockman of (ugh hate to give them any props) Washington and Kevin Love of UCLA.

One thing that is really great for the State of Oregon is that two Freshman, Kevin Love and Kyle Singler, are shining so bright after all the hype they've had coming from Oregon. It's a great thing to see. Hope we don't have to wait this long again for some super star players to come again. Way to go Kevin and Kyle!

As for my Orangemen of Syracuse yet another year where they are a bubble team who will probably be kept out of the Big Dance due to lack of quality wins. Ugh so diapointing. I'm hoping one day to see a game in the Carrier Dome before Coach Boeheim calls it quits which I hope is a long way off.

The Portland Trailblazers are having a decent season with an excellent stretch of games that they had for a while there. They are back to being where I thought they would be but the sudden burst they put on there for a while bodes well for the coming years as these young players with talent and more importantly heart and the ability to listen to Coach McMillan. Next year they get Oden back to complement and allow LaMarcus Aldridge to move over to a PF position. Those two down low will be a beast of a duo that will put Portland back into the Playoff picture and along with Roy a potential run at a title in the next 5 years. Keep up the good work guys!