Dr.Norman Borlaug passed away yesterday at the age of 95.

The world should be in mourning now.

That's right true believers, Micky Mouse will soon do what Dr. Doom, Thanos, the Red Skull, and Mephisto could not, take over the Marvel Universe. Disney has offered $4 Billion to purchase the Marvel Corporation.
Details can be found here.

It is Thursday.
Rolling thundershowers knocked out the power to the house, so the children and I played card games. The power returned 12, and my children lost interest in the flopping of cards. My son is drawing. My daughter is reading Larklight. My love is asleep at the moment, fatigued from the heat and her medications. I am left to my own devices, at the moment. I ponder the evening meal, tweak a mechanic for a game, wait until my youngest arrives home from daycare, eat a banana, and focus on all the things that have gone right as of late.

Much of this electronic flotsam, this temple I built to honor my own ego, has been used, as of late, as a laundry line for my minuscule misfortunes. For that I apologize, and shall no longer use this space as my personal pity pool. Chronicling misfortune is a waste of not just my time, but yours. I've been wasting too much time lately. That is a habitual mistake that I will no longer indulge in.

Yo Joe.
( Complete Cast List Behind the cut )

Thanks to bloodkitty!!!
Things have calmed down a bit here at the Wombat Cave.
Right now I'm here waiting to hear from the repair shop about the Bean. The battery was drained, but fine. That means it's either the alternater or the starter (See what happens?).
But I am going to Heroes Con this Weekend, with a copy of Mouseguard, the Complete Bone, God Loves Man Kills, and the first 52 issues of New Mutants!
(Yes, I have every issue of New Mutants and therefor, I am a geek.)

Took Kelli to the Doctor today. She still isn't over whatever it was that laid her low.
My goal, this evening, was to run out and get Ice Cream for her since her throat is so sore from coughing.
And then the Bean would not start. Our car battery has given up the ghost. At least I'm not replacing a starter, right? Well lucky for me I had that Heroes Con money put away, so we can afford the battery. So much for meeting childhood idols. On the upside, I'm not going to be fighting or paying for parking in downtown.
...I am going to make some lemonade now.

I & my wife would first like to thank all of you for all your well wishes.
Folks, It has been a rough one.
Kelli's mom did not have a a heart attack, but had an allergic reaction to the medications the hospital was using to chemically induce a stress test. She is in a wheelchair, and cannot walk. She had a sever allergic reaction to the medication. She came home Saturday.

Saturday we got a call from my Wife's family. We had to come to South Carolina and help with the last minute funeral arrangements, like writing a eulogy. We had planned on going out to Big Mamma's that night, but our Babysitter, my sister, dropped over of the plague and ended up in the emergency room Saturday Night.

So Sunday that is what we did, or rather that is what Kelli and her sister tried to do while I babysat my Nephew. I put in my two cents, and sent the entire circus to a crashing hault. Yeah, I'm good.

Today was the funeral. Kelli got up and promptly fell back over. Whatever Kathy had, now Kelli has. We made it through the funeral. She is in bed right now. The earliest she can be seen is tomorrow. I think that her sister is mad that we left right after the graveside service.

This week I can't win for losing.

My cousin has stabilized. I even talked to him for a few minutes. He is going to be ok.
I take the wife out to lunch to calm us both down, and we get a call from her dad.
Kelli's mom had a heart attack. We don't know much. Her dad is on the way to the hospital.
Yeah, when it rains it pours.
I need a beer.

It has been a week. An amazingly long, rough week, and it is not letting up. The last two days have been particularly nasty. A death on Kelli's side of the family, and from all reports we are counting the hours until my eldest cousin passes. He had a massive heart attack this morning. We got the call as I was taking the kids to summer camp. Yeah, this week is fired...out of a cannon...into a brick wall!

So my wife, gods love her, found something to help cheer me up. I thought I would share


Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...and a Wuxia Western with Geoffrey Rush blowing up Ninjas with a Rifle.

...not as such but it does have a bit of dramatic flare, does it not?
At the moment I am ensconced in the Wombat Cave suffering from a touch of the Con Crud.
More than a touch actually. I have been out of commission for a majority of the day with a nasty cough and steady fever.
As you may have heard from the love of my life (or actually encountered me in the flesh), I was at ConCarolinas. The con itself was lovely, and the new venue has breathed new life into our local convention. At the same time they were burring my great-grandmother in the far reaches of the North Carolina mountains. While, in the broadest sense, I had a good time, the weekend has left me questioning a great many things. I suppose it is only natural to search for your bearings and ponder life when one of the cornerstones of one's existence ceases to be. Still, as my grandmother might say, sometimes in life it is better to have questions than answers. Seeking the truth keeps us honest.
So here is to seeking; may I find the truth rather than the answers.
Now if you excuse me, I am going to take a long, hot shower.

As we were walking out the door to take the littlest one to daycare, my aunt calls.
My Great-Grandmother passed away last night in her sleep. She was either 100 or 102, depending who you asked. The only documentation of her birth was a family bible, and my great-great grandfather didn't have the best handwriting in the world. We had been expecting this for some time. After her third stroke, we knew it was only a matter of time.

Visitation is tomorrow. The funeral is Saturday. Both events are in Robinsville, NC.
Due to personal obligations, and a promise I made to my Great-Grandma Beulah, I will not be there to see her off.

Many years ago, when Grandma still had all her marbles, she made me promise her (over a plate of Thai food no less) that if she ever became mentally incapacitated that I would not come and see her or go to the funeral. She wanted me to remember her just the way she was, smiling, vibrant, and snarky to the core. That is how I remember Grandma, and some of you were actually lucky enough to meet her. The last time I saw Grandma, all the family's black sheep (including myself) had gathered on the back porch of my great-uncle's place for her birthday. We were sharing a bottle of my cousin's wine that was one breath away from being sherry. She walked out with us, poured herself a sizable glass, and said, "Drink up boys, this wine isn't getting any colder, and I'm not getting any younger." and then proceeded to eviscerate both right wing conservatism and my father. That was my Great-Grandma, the crazy old lady who supported me and taught me to dream. Three days after that party, she had the first of three strokes. It was pretty much down hill from there. Last month she called me during one of her lucid moments, to let me know that old folks home food sucks, and could I send my sister with some Price's Chicken Coop Chicken. I did just that. I was lucky enough to have the last words I spoke to her be "I love you."

Bye Grandma...never did get that bastard Willard Scott to say her name on TV.

This, in my very humble opinion is the best fan trailer I have ever seen.

Furthermore, If Nathan Fillian isn't cast as Hal Jordan and Hugo Weaving isn't Sinestro, then the DC Property Development people and the entire movie production crew are pants-on-head retarded.

Submitted for your approval;

Car Wars: The Television Series (AKA Weaponizers, Coming to The Discovery Channel May 11 @9PM)
And for you Twisted Metal Fans...yes, there will be an Ice Cream Truck...
Ya know, I'll be highly disappointed if that Ice Cream truck dose not have a giant flaming clown head on top.

I saw this and had to share...and for those who can't get enough of that singing sunflower, here is where you can download the .mp3.

Did ya miss me? I know I missed you!
*Note to self: Get that scope realigned*
At any rate, The infernal difference engine is almost to full working capacity. I loaded all my fonts today, and that should be that. It took me most of the weekend to fix all the damage that the virus caused, and now I have a great antivirus system in place to defend my machine from all future attacks. Of course it looks like I'm going to need a new monitor (a new video card, or possibly both). A graphic artist with a blurry computer screen is not a happy camper.
Until I get this fixed, amuse yourself with robots cracking on Dawson's Crypt

Hi folks,
The computer is in worse shape than I though, so I'm going to be doing the format/reinstall cha-cha today. If you need to talk to me or the missus, call the phone.

I'm on the laptop.
Late last night I was doing some research for my game, looking for images, and Suddenly I found myself the recipient of a worm, which I thought after running spybot in safe mode that I would get rid of it. It didn't. So I shut if off for the night, thinking I would tackle the problem in the morning. When I tried to boot it up, I was locked out of my desktop.
No work shall be done this week, or at least until I get this sorted out.
Happy birthday to me.

...is that I get a day without drama.
Every once in a while a little drama brings excitement. Two weeks of non stop drama plus back to back illnesses (and a dash of disappointment thrown in for good measure) and I am beat, spent & shot.
I am very lucky to have Saviri2023 at this moment. We both have our flaws and issues a plenty, but at the end of the day, she understands me, and loves me.

The flu bug bit me last night, and has banished me to the bed to recover.
My darling bride has been doting on me all day, which has helped alleviate a bit of the suffering. I've not been able to keep anything down other than my splenda cokes.
I hope I get over this soonish...

Saviri2023 had some Zatarain's Chicken and Yellow rice yesterday, and it proceeded to drop her like a bad habit. My lady love spent most of the night ill & most of the day in bed. Das Little Dictator woke up at 5am pissed at the world, but especially daddy. Most of my morning was spent nursing my wife, and placating Junior Hulk, so on the work front I didn't get a great deal accomplished today, or yesterday for that matter...or the day before, come to think of it. I had a bit of an blood pressure episode Wednesday. Nothing serious, but the Doctor told me I have to rope in the stress a bit and take it easy for a few days. I'm betting the doctor doesn't have children. This has been a stress filled week for me, but I'll survive.

On the geek front, I still haven't seen Watchmen. Soon, but I would almost bet money I'll see Monster vs Aliens first, although I would like to see Lesbian Vampire Killers on the big screen too. Looking forward to the Release of the complete Scion Companion which comes out April 1. Someone I know has a birthday of the 5th...I wonder who that is...hint, hint.

I'm thinking about taking on my next big book binding project over the weekend, depending on how the wife is fairing. I got a digital copy of Houses of the Blooded, and I'm thinking a nice leather bound parchment copy might be in order. I'm going to start doing more and more gaming books like that, not because its cheaper, but because I enjoy book binding that much. I've finally found something that relaxes me as much as painting.

I did pick up the new Neko Case album, and it was fantastic, but I've been listing to a lot of a group I discovered listening to NPR called the Bird and the Bee. Rayguns are not just the Future, their new record, is something I and the wife listen to on a daily basis. Yes, it is that good.

The kids are suddenly quiet...that can't be good. I must now to my fatherly duties.