Back again

On 08/27/2016 at 06:55 PM by Ranger1

Holy crap! I can't believe it's been a whole month since I popped in here last! Actually, I can. I had to have Bandit put to sleep on August 7th. Poor old guy wasn't doing so good there towards the end - completely blind, losing control over his hind quarters, and then he started having trouble with the front legs, too. I miss him, the house is very quiet, and I miss not having him there to greet me whenever I came home. The cat misses him, too. She started sleeping on top of me and being extra clingy. And did I mention the house is too quiet? I don't miss him tripping over my controller cables, though.

I also took my 17 year old nephew to Troy, NY for a college visit to RPI. Black Widow (from 1up back in the day) and her family generously hosted us for two nights. I really enjoyed taking a road trip with Sawyer and spending some one-on-one time. We made science jokes and did a lot of talking during our time in the car.

Playing: Still plugging away at Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World. Trying to get some of the more powerful monsters leveled up so that I can maybe beat one of the boss battles that is so far eluding me. Also still laying Fantasy Life. I need to go hang out in the local McDonalds and take advantage of their free wi-fi so I can get the Origin Isle DLC.

Reading: Finished the first book in a series by a guy named Paul Doiron who writes a series of mysteries with a Maine Game Warden as the protagonist. I was impressed, He got the job right, he got the locations right, he hit family dysfunction with an estranged alcoholic father right, and he referenced two books that I'm very familiar with in his introduction. Anyway, the title of the book is The Poacher's Son and I highly recommend it. Currently in the middle of two other books, one is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, a good read, but not one I should have started less than a week after I had Bandit put to sleep. The other is Undue Influence, a self-published book by my friend Jamie Ross. She calls it a crime novel. I'm only a couple of chapters in at the moment, but it's pretty good so far. Also in my to read pile is The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, the series by the same name that's currently on Netflix is based on it. I really like his writing, so I'm holding off on watching the series until after I read the book.

Watching: So many, many things! TV series: Arrow, The Blacklist, NCIS seasons 12 and 13, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Hotel Hell, Stranger Things, The Rockford Files, and Burn Notice. Probably more, that's just what I can remember off the top of my head now. As for movies, I've watched The Bourne movies again in preperation for watching Jason Bourne in the theater. Also watched Jock of the Bushveld (the 1986 version that I've been looking for forever!), In the Valley of Elah, and a bunch of stuff that I've seen a million times before in my personal collection.

Listening: My frend Charlie gave me a copy of his newest CD, and I've been on a "stuck in the 80s" kick, with Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, and Midnight Oil in my CD player, along with Johnny Cash's American IV (the one with Hurt on it). Probably other stuff, too, but that's out in the car, and I'm in the house nd I'm not going out to look.

Ranger Stuff: Our osprey had two big healthy chicks this year, and both have successfully fledged without getting eaten by bald eagles this year. I've been taking care of broken equipment, rotted-out signs, broken water lines, and vandalism, and I also repainted the handicap symbols on the handicap parking spaces. Plus a lot of educating people about how to behave in state parks. It's been pretty dull, really, but that's kind of a good thing.

Well, I need to go make dinner. Have a great rest of your weekend, Pixlbit Nation!

mothman

08/27/2016 at 07:38 PM

Yay Tami! Good to hear from you. Heard about Bandit on FB. Very sad. I've been struggling with sick kitties lately but thankfully things have levelled out and they are ok for now. One has hyper thyroidism and she was a walking skeleton. She's on pills now for the rest of her life but the pills will eventually cause kidney failure so that may be only another couple of years.

Our Tortie keeps getting infections that we have to treat. Kitties are getting too expensive but you hate to see them suffer. Plus pee all over the house is not fun.

Ranger1

08/27/2016 at 09:45 PM

Now that dog issues are out of the way, the cat needs some quality time with the vet, too. At least they are cheaper than children, more or less.

08/27/2016 at 08:11 PM

Check your PM for the Okami code

Thank you, Peter!

Nick DiMola Director

08/27/2016 at 09:02 PM

Cool to hear you were in Troy! I work right on the other side of the river from RPI. Actually considered going to college there, but went to RIT instead.

Very sorry to hear about your dog :( Always tough seeing them go, especially after spending so many years together.

Glad to hear from you though, hope to see you around again soon!

08/27/2016 at 09:48 PM

My cousin went to RIT, he's now working for Roblox in CA.

Sawyer was pretty certain about Cornell, he was planning to apply early decision, but I think he may be reconsidering after out RPI visit. And geez, wish I'd known you only live across the river! It would have been great to meet you and Chessa in person.

08/28/2016 at 08:34 AM

Wow, that's awesome! RIT grads seem to make their way around. Funny enough, my college roommate's parents were both high ranking professors at Cornell. RPI is a nice school though and Troy is a pretty nice little city to be connected to, so I can understand reconsidering. Their Science and Engineering programs are all supposed to be amazing, but I'm not sure what he's going to school for.

Not sure if it's computer science related, but if so, I'd tell him to check out RIT too (their science and engineering stuff is also top notch, I just personally can vouch for their IT college). The school and profs are really great and RIT really puts the tuition money you pay to good use. I graduated a decade ago and I barely recognize the place because they've built so much onto it.

If you're ever back in town to visit, give us a shout, we'd love to meet up! We live about 15-20 mins away from Troy, so it wouldn't be a big deal to swing out there.

08/28/2016 at 09:17 PM

Sawyer is interested in mechanical and aerospace engineering. He found out that he could do a dual major in both at RPI.

I plan on visiting Troy again, Regina (Black Widow) on 1up and I have been friends online for a really long time and it was great finally meeting her in person.

Michael117

08/28/2016 at 01:35 AM

I'm sorry to hear about Bandit, Tami, seeing pictures of him in your blogs and listening to anecdotes about him always made me smile.

I really enjoyed Stranger Things, I binged that over a weekend a little while back. What's Poltergeist: The Legacy about? Is that new?

08/28/2016 at 09:22 PM

Thank you, Michael. I miss him.

Poltergeist: The Legacy was a somewhat cheesy syndicated show that ran from 1996 to 2000. It has nothing to do with the movies, by the way. It's a group of people who fight evil paranormal beings. Here's the IMDB page.

Cary Woodham

08/28/2016 at 08:27 PM

Sorry about your dog. Our dog Venus is getting on up there (14 years) and I'm dreading when we have to put her down.

You can really tell when one animal misses another. Pretty amazing, really.

I'm playing tons of games right now. If you get a chance, check out GamerDad.com to see what I've been playing!

08/28/2016 at 09:23 PM

Thanks, Cary. I knew it was coming, it doesn't make it any easier, though.

I'll have to stop in and catch up on Gamer Dad articles soon.

KnightDriver

08/29/2016 at 12:40 AM

Oh no! Bandit! Sounds like he was begining to suffer too much though. So sad.

Good to hear from you.

08/29/2016 at 05:35 PM

Yeah, I knew it was time. I'd made the decision that when his bad days outnumbered the good ones that it was time. He wasn't enjoying life much there towards the end.

Looking for another one, though.

08/30/2016 at 12:47 AM

I love dogs, but I haven't had one since High School, and can't have one where I live. I have virtual dogs in Minecraft instead. They are really stupid in that game though: they walk right into lava, fall down mine shafts, get blown up by creepers. You can't let them alone for a minute.

08/30/2016 at 10:32 AM

Can you craft them spiffy leashes?

08/31/2016 at 12:46 AM

You can dye their collars different colors. There are also name tags in the game you find in chests, but I still haven't figured out how to use them. There's also a leash you can make and attach it to them but it wears out over time. I usually have like 6 dogs following me around and if I come anywhere near some lava, or anything on fire, they tend to walk right into it. I need a multidog leash or something like that, but even that might not work since they seem to not understand the dangers of fire or heights. The only thing you can do is sit them down when you enter a dangerous place. Then they'll stay there. I also heal them up, if they don't burn up completely, with some zombie meat. Yeah it's rotten meat, but they seem to be ok with it. I get sick on it though.

08/31/2016 at 08:46 AM

Dogs have more efficient gut bacteria. Good to see science in a game, lol.

goaztecs

08/30/2016 at 11:23 AM

Hey you're back! I'm sorry about Bandit.

Visiting colleges, that is fun. I was going through some missing my old school last week because it was move-in day for all the folks in the dorms and it was fun looking at pictures and watching videos. I snapped out of it the minute their classes started. Remind your nephew that whichever school he picks to enjoy himself, GO TO CLASS, meet new people and most important...GO TO CLASS!!!

08/30/2016 at 10:57 PM

Sawyer is pretty focused. He's in a science and technology high school, and realized before he finished school for the year that if he took his requirements (English, history, and some other non-science class), he couldn't take the tech classes that he wanted to take, so he took the non-tech classes in summer school. He wants to someday be part of putting the first humans on Mars.

08/31/2016 at 12:35 PM

He sounds like he knows what he wants and is willing to do the work. I wish him all the luck because we need driven folks to keep exploring. Just to make sure he stays on track, tell him to GO TO CLASS

PixlBit