World Champs and Valentines tomorrow!

SUPERBOWL XL WINNERS!!

Thats right = one for the Thumb!

The superbowl party was awesome! WE had a fight-night 2 tourney and also a Texas hold-em game, which I lost. I also made a pulled pork sandwich, ala Dave's Bday party. It was GOOD! Superbowl never looked better in Hi-def; NOTE TO ABC => Put the score and ALL the info on the top right corner like EVERYONE else.. Don't give me a useless info bar at the bottom that has no time in the game, no timeout info, nothing but a score? Hell, I keep the score in my head as I watch my games..

After winning the superbowl, I was feeling great! The next morning, I got to work and said - what am I doing here! I should be in Pittsburgh tomorrow!; so I called my wife and told her I wanted to go. After getting home at lunch, we packed our bags for a cold day and drove across PA to the Steel City; check into a hotel and went to the Steeler Store.

The next morning was history; The kind of history that defines me as a person; One time was walking down the tombs in Egypt's Valley of the Kings- Once in a lifetime. Today was another: Superbowl parade for the Steelers. WOW - simply awesome. Here is a quick rundown: 6am up and shower; 7am get to truck and head downtown; 8am- park in a lot 1 block away from the parade route and get some food. 9:00- head back to the car to wait; 10am- find a spot on the road and wait till 11am; Results = 250,000 fans cheering in black and gold as seen in this photo. At 12, we went straight back to the car and drove back to Philly. WE pulled into her parents house at 5pm on the nose. I had a midterm and then after picking up Nicole, we went home.

Valentine's day is tomorrow, which means that most guys with a siginicant other will be eating out somewhere and spending money on flowers and gifts, just because some guy that loved some woman long ago wanted to make it special - Look, its ALWAYS special to me, and its always the little things. I got Nicole something and I will let you know next time (no secrets :P )

WOW- Well, we past the Vael test and also the Broodlord Lasher- We (Sunder) got to the 1st of the 3 dragon guys, but cant get past him, as there are some differences as to how to approach the mob. Least to say that tonight is listed as a FREE NIGHT, but I'm sure that some might wanna give him a go. Others cleared out Zul Grub and only need to down the end guy, I think. The HUNTER EPIC QUEST is going better now :D I am now 3 of 4 demons and only need one more to get the 4 heads needed. Mod said something funny in the chat last night - "Striker, grats on the head.." Let your imagination get the rest of the chat log after that comment... The last piece seems to NEVER drop; its a sinew in Onyxia, and so far she is 0-4 on dropping it the last 4 times we killed her. Nicole is just hit 48 and my warrior is almost 47; My buddy Wayne and his kids are in the 42-44 range, and we are doing excellent. WE almost finished Uldaman Saturday night, and once we do, the next dungeon will be Zul furok in the Desert. I need to get the Mallet charged so we can kill the Gazilla monster inside, so off to hinterlands we go :)

HOME- We changed the bathroom into a white/silver look - its too white, so it seems, but it does look nice as a change from ducks. I also got a motion sensor for our porch light, and want to put that in when we loose this snow and cold later this week. I also replaced the bathroom closet door with a sliding/folding door = much better. I need to finish up and toss the old door this week. Next big project will be the floors and cleaning the vents and rugs. We want to get a hardwood floor in the dining room and eventually replace the bookshelves with a nice china cabinet.

Well, that's good for now. I will post later and let you know how the gift went and hopefully have all the items for the Rock bow :D

Steelers make Superbowl; Striker gets leaf

Hey all..

Just wanted to update where I left off; sorry it took this long- things have been busy around here..

Aside from Closing the Bandwagon, the STEELERS ARE IN THE SUPERBOWL!! I told you so! Bengals?? done; Colts?!? Overrated.. Broncos?? Who dat-throw-interceptions QB..
Seahawks?? Lest just say it doesnt look pretty...

Work- Took a trip to San Diego the week of the 9th; Got to see Susan and ERic's new house and helped them fix it up- I honestly think it did more harm than good, as I was hooking up the outlets the old way, vise the newer way (inserting the wire into the outlet jack vice screwing in on.. oh well ). IT will make a nive home for them for the years to come, and besides the house market out there isnt getting any better. Also while there, Dave Oneil had his Bday party, and he got a few games and stuff. HE made a kick-ass pulled pork sandwich which will be tried on those that are going to be attending the 2nd Maiz Superbowl party.. more to follow. Several games were to be had those two weekends that we wereing working- Settlers, Poker, and pirates on my laptop..

School- I just started Drexel quarter #2 (winter) with the lovely Chemistry 2 and Circuits 201- analysis- lease to say Chem is not my favorite one right now.. HE is a memorization guy and will be basing our grades on 3 tests.. thats it. I hate that...

Warcraft- Well, Last we left off, we just downed Vael for the 1st time- and now I finally did it with them last weekend. Also, I have 4/8 epic gear for the Giantstalker set- Shoulders, Helm, Belt and Legs; Id like to get the gloves and chest, as I have the alt wrists and decent boots, but wont complain with them if they arent taken. Ran MC several times since then too. On Nicoles main and my alt, we are mid-40s now and started questing in Tanaris; Nicole hates the alliance and we are considering to move this weekend to a new server; the voting is going on in the main WoW boards in the guild, and we voted MOVE!! WE hate the high population and lag that we have been seeing this last few weeks- it SUCKS!

House- The closet gave way! TIMBER!! I broke the closet the other weekend- Nicole left it open when I went into the bathroom, and broke the hindge that the folding door was on- SO.. this weekend I will be doing that- fun! I also need to change the oil and wash the Xterra. Windows rockn the cold, we just need to figure out the heat now and want to clean the ducts out.

Oh well, I hope to get some more stuff up with some pics and whatnot, but otherwise, All is good..

TTYs and GO STEEELERS!

Early Christmas Events

Hey again gang,

Well, where to start:

The Annual Poconos trip to the American Candle factory was fun, but cold. We left from my moms about 9am and got there in good time. We spent about $100 in the store between candles, candy and the Dept56 toy, This Train. Anyways, WE then left there and went to the next stop, the GREAT WOLF LODGE. This place is HUGH, with a waterslide that goes up about 4-6 stories! Too bad the rates are high; it seems that they are geared towards a family of 4.. which is cool; I just wish they offered a non-family package.

Nicole's Bday went well; I got her a day at the spa here by work. It included a massage, facial, pedicure, manicure and hair thing. Overall it was a nice day, but would have been better for her if she wasnt sick. She got a head cold from the Poconos the prevous weekend :(, and shes been sick ever since...

WOW - Nicole and I hit level 40 with her main and my alt! She now has her mount and I have mine (for my warrior). We are now questing in the BAdlands and will be hitting Uldeman and other instances very soon. I am now in plate and doing well with blacksmithing; I need more iron and mithral for my next set of quests with my warrior - I am gonna become an AXESMITH :D.

As for SUNDER, We killed Vael last night - FINALLY! I hear he is the hardest boss to get, so it looks like a good ride from here, I hope. Also, I went from -350 DKP to about -120 now, so none the less, I am STILL the lowest DKP hunter in the guild :P. Oh well; at least I will be coming up to gear when it drops in Molten Core. Also, I earned enough to get an Epic Mount! Yes, I am now able to keep up with 99% of the 60s on the server. I picked the White one, as seen here:


Anyways, Here is my main guy in MC - note the kickass looking bow :D




HOME: Christmas stuff is up and the tree is lit! Tonight we are doing wrapping n stuff, and thats always fun. So far, no ideas on my gift - Nicole was mad cause I emailed her and a few friends the list I posted here last entry. Oh well. Cookies are gonna be made between now and next week :D. The windows are great - still no issues. We paid Aemon and it was worth every penny. I hope to send him and his family a small Thank you/Christmas card.

SCHOOL: Im done with finals! Diff EQ and Logic are finished - I hope to get a B in both, but know that I will probably get a C in math. Oh well. Next up is a 3 week break and then Chemistry 2 and ECE 201.

Oh well, Im off for now. Look for Christmas loot and the Cold winter from hell prediction that I posted here a few posts back - Yes I predicted that this winter was gonna be a cold one:
Look at todays weather map: We live in the upper right area



Cheers!!

Cyber-Tuesday & Black Friday fun!

Hey all,

Well - Thanksgiving was excellent. My mom and stepdad came down from NY on Thursday morning, and we went to Nicoles parents house for dinner. One of my favoite holidays is Thanksgiving - football and alot of good food :D Too bad Denver won - I took the Cowbos in the pick em pool :P. Then mom pops the statement: "Joseph, I want to get the magic bullett at Walmart tomorrow.." which means 4am wake up and get in the cold line..
Which is what we did.

4am - wake up, make coffee and go.
4:40 - get to Circuit City; the line was about 300 deep and growing. A lesson learned from last year's BF Sales: Never park in the lot with the store - park across the street. Wow, did that save us time.
4:41 - freeze in the 5 degree weather and get in the line..
4:42 - man its cold....
5am- Doors open
5:10- After someone melts the ice from my boots, we get coralled into the doors of the worse design Circuit City ever ( I hate thier stores).
5:10- get to the register, pay the man and leave.
5:45 - arrive at walmart
5:50 - get in and head to the appliance section. Not one of moms magic bullets anywhere.
Whats a magic bullet??
Linkage:
AMAZON LINK
5:52 - find the girl in the section and ask - she cant find it either (Man, I love walmart part-time help..)
6:10- Leave withoutthe bullett.
6:20 - arrive at L&M Bakery and get kick ass donuts; The best donuts ANYWHERE!

Loot from the Black friday sales include: The Cable modem from Circuit city for $20 AR (Afer Rebates), $7 for a 50 DVD-R's, 2 CDs for $20 (Weezer and S Crow), and a pricematch issue for Nicole's gift to me at Best Buy.. more to follow. Mom also got us a Dust Buster for xmas :D Thanks mom!!

Later that day, Nicole tells me about my gift - its $100 cheaper at Best buy with a price match - so Back we go into the Gauntlett of 'Joe Buy'. When we arrive, the manager tells us that they cannot PM the website prices and that the only way she can get the differance is to buy a new item, and return the old one. What a bunch of shit.

So, she goes into her department for a new item, and I can't help. Well, its Joe buy, so off I go wandering around the store, and find a good gift for her Family (Aunt, uncle and cousins) I get the item, get in line and less than 20 minutes paid for. They definately got thier act together for the BF Sales. Nicole is STILL waiting, and I realize why. They set up 2 registers on a folding table for all the high-end electronics, like TVs, cameras, LCDs... and since her item is from one of those departments, she has to wait in a line that has a TON of people in it.. so it goes.

She gets it, and 20 minutes after I'm done, shes done. We go home and she takes a nap - I blow stuff up in Battlefield 2- SF :D

SCHOOL - Got my test back and got an 84! YES! - not all hope is lost :D
Next week is the last week and then the finals. Logic is tonight and I think its a lab night - joy..

WOW - Well, after the bow, I was at... -348 DKP!! WOOHOO! That means that I need to raid more with the guild to earn back points to make up for the negative points that I have. Since then, I earned back about 100 points, so about another month and I can see the light..and maybe more GS gear :D

HOME - Windows are IN! Aemon is the man. He does a bang-up job. I helped and dad helped, but overall, it was his work that got us the new windows. No more POS aluminum freezing cold. What a differance - the dual pain glass and the low-E is really gonna help with the bills in the future :D. Besides, the new windows will help sell the place in 5 more years...

Next big project - Floor and furnace. not sure about which to do first, but Im not worried about it right now.. Christmas time is here and with alot of family and friends, there will be alot of gifts to get.

For my list, all I ask is that you email Nicole first (Blonde1277@yahoo.com) - this way you can see if my other friend is going to get the item..

I would love:
** Battlefront 2 on XBOX (star wars game)
** New Joystick - prefer the Logitech one.
** The next .45 scale lightsaber - MACE WINDU
** Prefer this OINGO BOINGO CD from walmart.com; dont bother looking at the store - they dont have it.
** A nice Gaming LCD: Check out this guide for ideas

Thats a good start :D

Fantasy Football note: Made the playoffs 2nd year in a row. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you know what you are doing - I like to think that picking last in the draft I qualify for later.. I have a good shot at taking home the trophie again :D

NEXT ISSUE of Striker Quarterdeck - Pocono Candles and Nicoles Birthday!

Pre Christmas Chaos

Hey gang :D Let me give you a rundown of the latest and greatest:

DREXEL: Took test #2 last night - question #4 pissed me off - i got 3/4 finished and could not for the life of me figure it out :P Turns out that the solution was on the sheet that the professior gave us - go figure. Lesson learned - LOOK AT THE DAMM SHEET that is given to you.

Tonight is ECE 200; logic gates, its as fun as watching paint dry. The instructor gets easily lost and confused during his lectures and he runs off past the first hour, which gets me upset cause we dont take a break to take care of business and let him get figured out - he just stands there, looks at the board and tries to figure it out.. oh well, what are you going to do..

Next quarter classes are registered - Chem 2 and ECE 201 (??) who knows. all I know is it isnt math.

WOW: I got my bow!! Strikers Mark is mine :P I am a happy camper now, and can continue to play happily :) Its a sweet bow and will hold me thru till the epic end-game quest bow that I will never see - besides, I need better armor and i have alot of DKP to earn back for the bow, Blade of Hanna and a few other items that seem to cost me alot more then what the guild is changing it to- yea I am pissed that after i pick up the item that DKP rules get modified. Oh well - I just need to log in, play when I can and try to earn back from -240 points :P.

Nicole hit 40 and I gave her $$ for her horse - so we went exploring one evening and i took her around the world to new areas and just went around so she could get use to her new mount; She likes it alot and I do hope that she is enjoying the game :D

BF2 - What is that?? Battlefield 2 is an awesome game - I have a new found love for it and now with an expansion coming out, I am really getting into it more. Also, Carlos M and Eric got it for xbox, so we have been trying to play some more online with xbox live. We created teh clan 'BLED' (Better Looking Every Day) and the three of us will be enjoying more gametime soon on Xbox live. Too bad knucklehead Tom cant get his xbox online, but then again, its Tom..

CONDO - We got the new replacment windows sitting in our living room and this weekend we will be putting them in; Aemon the carpenter is coming over this weekend and we will be doing that all day Saturday and Sunday (possibly if needed).

Random thoughts - Christmas is coming once again, and once again, Nicole and I are talking about how much to spend on whom. Over the years, I have spent countless dollars on my friends that seem to forget what Christmas is about - Giving; now santa check his list and forwarded the emails to me. SO - To those that forgot about my birthday, our anniversary and sending A CARD for any of those occasions for that or last Christmas, you can guess what is going to be in your mail box from uncle Joe..a card.

Next issue of Strikers Quarterdeck - Black Friday and Windows!!

Uncle Joe!

Hey all..

Well, after Nicole and I got back home last night from a scary trip to Wal-mart, Susan and Eric called to inform us that Susan is going to have a baby! Way Cool! Between that and Carlos Y's #2 baby on the way, it might be that both babies are going to be due around mid-late June 2006... SO - it looks like another CA trip for Nicole and I next year!. Good thing I have some miles on my A-West card still...

Other news - I got killed on my exam#1 for Math. I havent seen the results, but lets just say it was NOT easy.

The scary movie weekend is going to be Saturday night - we have some movies via netflicks to include: Poltergeist, The Faculity, and Silver Bullet. We also have Scream and Sleepy Hollow, so plenty to pick from for Nicoles movie weekend thingy she wants to do. I personnelly dont care for any of those movies and have seen them already except Faculity. Who knows..

Otherwise, the oil companies release thier 3rd quarter profits today so let see how much you can piss off Uncle Joe...

WOW- Took the warrior to Brill and with Nicole's mage and Wayne's priest, we are running Scarelt Monostary quests. We almost got thru the library last night, but someone used Fear (cough cough Wayne..) and agro'd 6 more baddies and wipped us badly. I can handle 2-3 at once, not 6-8 and without heals.

Congrats to Eric and Susan on thier 'scheck-lett' as my Uncle Rich said :D

Mid October Scares :o

Hey all,
Things have been going alot better.. but busy as usual - where to start:

BATMAN BEGINS is out :D :D :D

I loved this movie! Go see it, rent it, buy it..
Forget about the other movies that had the name Batman in it. This one blows em all away.

Eric had a birthday - big 3.0; I got him the Pirates xbox game:
He got me a wireless headset for xbox; so we are itchin for some gametime.

Susan's is around the corner; we have a few ideas, but wanna run em buy Eric 1st.

HOME: We have a condo ass meeting tomorrow, and our windows are in the proposal. They should go thru, as it meets all the requirments. The carpenter is good and will be coming out to re-measure this Saturday so we can go order the windows. From there, its 2-3 weeks and it looks like mid-November when we put them in.

This weekend I also get to clean out the storage unit, wash and wax the truck, clean the house, and try and build a computer for Tony.. on top of studying for school.

Then we are going to have a scarymovie next weekend - :o
Films include:
Scream, Shinning, Saw, and a few others.. Nicole is inviting her cousins over and anyone else that wants to join us. I am not big on the scary movie thing.. but if it makes Nicole happy, then thats all that matters.

WOW: After the latest patch, things are starting to stablize. I will be looking for updated mods (Auctioneer, tracking, etc..) and hopefully there are new ones out too. My main guy is doing the Sithilus quests and the warrior is about to start the SM quests and instances. Nicole hit 36 so she is primed for SM.

SCHOOL: Drexel finally got my financial aid stuff in; I got a letter, did the Master Promise Note, and submitted it to the website. I hope that all goes in and working by the end of the month. I have 2 tests next week - Diff EQ and logic gates. yea :P
I take the Amtrak 2 times a week - and I hate missing the 8:30 train, cause the next one is at 9:50pm. Thats a long wait at 30th st station, with all the lovely peole that live there...

Fantasy Football is going good; im one of 2 teams that is 5-1, alot of the others are 4-2 and the rest are all below that. This week I play Carlos Molina, so that should be fun :D

Anniversary #2

Nicole and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary yesterday! Since both of us had monday off, we went to her favorite place, UNO's, and had pizza and a dessert. She loves the necklace I got her and she baked a nice cake this weekend for my mom's birthday and out anniversary :D

Here is a pic of the necklace :


Thank you everyone for sending us a card - which was our parents and my sister.

Another post shortly :D

Birthday!

Hey gang.. Well its my birthday! Yea for me :D Got several calls from friends and family; too many to call back when I got back from Drexel last night. Thank YOU! for everyone that send me a card and/or an email :D For those that forgot.. Santa remembers... :P

My light saber collection is going well:
masterreplicas

So far, I have 7 total: Darth Sidious, Obi-wan Kenobi (Ep2), Obi wan kenobi (ep4), Yoda, Darth Maul, Anakin Skywalker- "pre evil" (ep3) and now with bday money: Darth Tiranous as seen here



Drexel is going well, except the financial issues - STILL no word from the FASFA people on my status.. and I'm into week 2 now. I have Diff EQ which looks hard and has alot of unique terms, but isnt too bad (yet) and Logic/ intelligent systems, which looks like AND and OR gates - which Ive had in the Navy :D Taking the Amtrak is the way to go - 30 minutes and Im at 30th and Market - no traffic or anything :D The wait isnt bad and I get to read a book, study the material or goof off without driving...

Dad's Visit was good! No problems on the airport and the wheelchair service was the way to go. The trip started off with a trip to the VA Hospital! HE forgot his Diabetes test kit and insuline = BAD. SO, we went on Saturday morning and spent about 4 hours to get the prescriptions to get the shots, the test strips and everything else. After that, it was no problems - WE visited the USS New Jersey and had alot of fun! Also, my friend Wayne and his family took us to Washington DC - we saw the Korean War memorial, the Lincole Mem, The Vietnam mem., and the WW2 memorial. All were very nice and well done - The new ones for me were the Korean and the WW2.. A lot of pictures and some can be seen here:
http://www.xwingweb.com/gallery/Washington-DC

Thank you Wayne for bringing us down there - We had alot of fun.


WOW - Havent played for weeks now - I got on for an hr here and there, but nothing like an instance in over 2 weeks now; Ihate it. MY warrior is doing good - I need to clean up some quests and I'll be ready for SM quests. Nicole is now lvl 35 so she is ready to go. I need to get her to clean up her quest logbook and clear it out of garbage quests.. so hopefully we can play later tomorrow night and maybe thru the week :D

TIRES: I need new tires - I asked my father-in-law to talk with his connections about 265/70R16 size tires; he gave me a number and told me 3 prices on 3 sets of tires - the only ones that might be good were a set of Goodyear Wranglers - BUT there are many different flavors of them; CE, AT, AT-X, MT... so I called the connection and am waiting for a response - If I get nothing by the end of the week - off to Sams club I go for these babies

I got class tonight and gotta get back into the grind of things.. Hopefully we can get some food shopping done and also clean up the house a bit; My mom aka INSPECTOR comes down this weekend with her bodyguard, George :D

Back from Trip #2

Well, Im back from my 2nd trip to Norfolk. We got alot of things done and all is well for the USN.

WOW UPDATE: Finally got the libram on resilliance on my GS Helm :D Also, DKPd a set of nice bracers that no one wanted, so thats cool :D Wristguards of True Flight. I am now hoping to get into MC some more and help with farming and killing some bosses; dont know when but hopefully soon :D

DREXEL: Called yesterday afternoon on the way home and was told that I just need to get my books, and that the payments are not due till the 7th of October - yea. Like im going to have time to go ask for a loan and pay off the bill for going.

Netflicks is going well; we are now official members and like it; Nicole did not watch any of the movies that i bumped for her, so least to say we gotta get thru these chick flicks before we can watch normal movies. Gotta take one for the team i guess.

The replica lightsaber collection is going well; I just won a bid on a EP3 Darth Sidious one; There is a limited Obi Wan coming out next week, so I will be looking for that one as well. I am hoping for brthday money to pay for em since no one really knows that I am trying to collect them. Now I have a few, I am placing them in the display case in the living room and will snap a pic soon :D

My Dad is coming out Tomorrow!
I hope all goes well with the trip and he gets here safely. I also hope he enjoys the week away and possibly go see a nice site or something.. Im not sure if he wants to do any visiting, but I will ask when he gets in.

Otherwise, Things are back to normal. Did I mention my birthday is like 12 days away?!?!

JOE

Hangin at home

Whats new !!

The TV ROCKS! 42" of pure digital entertainment. I am waiting for the Best Buy Card to show up so I can set up the auto payments thru our checking account. I also lowered the monthly fun money by $20 a paycheck to reflect it, and will also modify the account to point to the savings account. This way, its covered just incase :D
Which TV you ask??
THIS ONE

WE just started Netflicks this week - pretty cool idea; another one of those 'I thought of but didnt do anything about' ideas. WE are on the standard program of 3 unlimited per month for $18. Not too bad - considering we goto alot of movies and watch something all the time. My buddy Carlos M got me set on it, and so far we like it.

VONAGE: If you spend more than $30 a month on your total phone bill, email me and I will show you the best plan anywhere: VONAGE - Basically you use your high speed at home to make phonecalls anywhere, anytime, for a flat fee. ITs free for a month to try, so if you have Cable modem or DSL, Ill send you an invite. I have had it for 2+ years and love it.

WOW UPDATE: First, I updated my Warcraft profile here; this way anyone can see what I got..HERE

Also, I got a set of STORM GAUNLETS made for me (Thanks Nazghul); they have Fire Resist on em, INT bonus and also some side stats, like add lightning to attack = Total Shaman gloves, but I dont care - I wanna put an Agility enchant on em and use em for FR only. Sold a Hurricane and made 20 GP, and also sold a set of Windrunner leggings for +40gp.. so not too bad there. Devilsaur leather is slow selling on the AH, so I might have to take a trip and go kill a few in the future.

KATRINA Thought - After a full week, I am convinced that there are some contries that helped us when we have problems, and then you get places like Iran, that says 'we will help you if you help us..' wait, didnt we help them when they get hit with earthquakes?? yea.. Now with things going, hopefully the city will be restored soon and people can get back to living again.

Marvel makes HUGH announcment

What a weekend!

A few updates:
DREXEL: The latest saga goes on; now its the financial section: they are screwing up my status as a full time live on campus student, instead of the part-time live at home person that I am... more to follow later this week

WOW: Nothing major; I leveled my warrior to 30 last night with Nicole, and found a Owl Hawk pet on the Auction House; its a cool pet that I should have sent to my main character.. oh well. Hopefully I can get into a MC raid this week. Also, finished all the quests for the Thorium brohood, so now its kingsblood and scales till I get friendly with them..then all the DI Residue till i get honored and those two patterns are mine :D

42" LCD - Got this bad boy this weekend:

Nicole came to a conclusion that they will only get more $$ and that if we both chip in $40 a month from our fun money account that it would be worth it.. It is. We watched several movies and i played a football game vs Eric S (Chargers beat the Pack, 21-10). We did the 3 year, low payments/ no interest plan and will start the auto deduction next week so its taken care of. Best buy has this on sale this week for $1599, and with a trip to tax-free Deleware, the final cost was $2000. With the joe/nicole plan, its about $85 a month for 2 years..

LATEST NEWS:
I found this on Reuters today:

Marvel Entertainment -- previously Marvel Enterprises -- is set to announce Tuesday its name change and completion of its loan package, and also will divulge that superheroes Captain America, the Avengers, Nick Fury, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Cloak & Dagger, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, Power Pack and Shang-Chi will get the feature-film treatment.

Paramount Pictures, under a deal announced in April shortly after Brad Gray took the helm of the studio, will distribute and market the films, the first of which will be released in 2008 or possibly sooner.


Holy Shit BATMAN! (Opps, wrong comicbook :P)
FINALLY, My favorite comicbook character, Captn America, will be made and hopefully they wont fuck it up like they did Hulk.

Speaking of BATMAN,
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000AU9UYM/104-1509600-3785532?v=glance
Here it is :D BATMAN BEGINS - October 18th! Bet your ass I will be gettin this one in October when it comes out. I loved this movie!

New Blog for Warcraft items

http://styrkarrshop.blogspot.com/


Here is my new blog for the items I can make in World of Warcraft. I will start using this in my signatures, so Im not tied to someone elses forum site or something.

Side note: Someone let me know when the first country decides to send us some aid - I am so SICK of these foreign countries that bitch when the US doesnt send enough, but yet has the balls to not do a damm thing when we get hit by a ass-kickin hurricane.

30 days and counting...

Hey again: Whats new in the world of Joe??

I just came back from a work trip to Norfolk, VA. The shipyard down there is the worst shipyard I have visited. NOT the base, the Metro Shipyard. Between all the dirt everywhere, and the inconsistant workers, we left early and rescheduling another trip to complete our work. Basically, they were not ready for us, so we need to come back. I cant get into details, so thats all for now.

Drexel is coming together. I need my financial aid stuff to kick in soon. I will be contacting them this week as to find out WTF is going on. I havent heard from my work to see if the schedule has been OKd yet, so that is also bothering me too.

IFL: Our fantasy football league is now drafted; highlights of my team include Trent green, E James, T Holt and my FTW pick: W Parker and C Rodgers. They are my make or break picks... lets see whats what. All the teams look good this year, so its who will respond to injuries the best that will take home the trophie that is on my speakers :D

WOW UPDATE: Im now at 149 Fire resistance; items include the Blazing Emblem, a cheep +10 FR ring, the Volcanic legs and Shoulders, and eventually a Libram of Resilliance, which will add +20 to my G-helm :). Found a cat cage for Nicole for a whopping 18GP last night on the AH. Devilsaur business is doing well, as I have made over 100gp in less than 2 weeks time..Onyxia is wednesday and a future MC raid is in the works. I am currently trying to up my rep with the T-Brohood for the Corehound Boots pattern and eventually the Corehound Belt (Both add the FR). An old face, LukeDuke, is now a sunder member and asked me to help him get the Black scales for some boots or armor. Not a problem as its my favorite saturday morning activity after the cat gets me up :P

HOME UPDATE: After installing the Thermostat, we are now looking at windows; I need to set up an estimate for home depot and Lowes; a co-worker told me about his carpenter and he does excellent work too. More to follow soon...

Havent played paintball this summer - between the different trips and stuff we have been taking and my funky knee, i went to the field a total of 2 times. I am a sad camper...gotta shoot something!

Pics to follow soon :D

Cheers!

2:25

Hey again... does anyone else reads this?

They are back - It took the Steelers about 2:25 minutes to run up the score 14-0 on the birds on the Monday night game. I am not too impressed with the offense and they will need to show me more to make me a believer that we can go to the big dance this year....At least our hold-out WR is back and will be willing to work a deal - now its on the Steelers to make him a good-paid WR that he is..

WOW UPDATE: Did MC again on Sunday night, and more Giantstalker pieces dropped - but went to other hunters.. oh well.. so it goes.I helped the next few bosses there and worked our way to MajorDomo before the instance crashed thanks to the 'Farmers'. These guys found a way to doup items and are doing it to sell on the AH at full price, then selling the gold made on internet sites. F-ers.Not only do they flood the game with an abundance of items, but also crash ALL the instance servers in the process. FINALLY - Blue did something today and hopefully its fixed.. (Crosses Fingers)

We installed a Thermostat (Digital finally) on Sunday, and were wow-ed at the age of the condo. The original wall (unpainted) was behind it. There must have been 6 coats of paint between the old mercury one and the current paint coat. It took an extra 2 hrs to re-paint about 4 coats before it looked decent enough to mount the new one. It works like a champ and now we have a timer and everything. Next up are the windows..

Fantasy Football - We are into our Football draft and the Ironman Football League is underway. We do an email draft and it works good - until someone doesnt forward all, reply all or just doesnt check thier email :P. My team now has 2 RBs, 2 WR and 1 QB. Im not sure whos gonna be left when it gets back to me, but I am hoping for a few favorites. I still need my token Steeler, so we will see whats what.

I will be on travel next week, but will try and update when I can - for those that care.. :P

Till the next time..

Mid summer heatwave

Well, its been an interesting week since we got back. Did major cleaning this weekend, with Nicole kickin ass in the bathroom and me between the living room and the bedrooms. I think i figured out why its so cold downstairs and warm upstairs - the vents (dumbass me,..) I almost closed the downstairs vents and opened the bedrooms ones and now our central air works better. The damm thing sounds like its running 24/7 so I starting shutting it off during the days that are ok outside.

WOW UPDATE: Did Molton Core raid with Sunder on Firday and got my first of the Giantstalker pieces (helm). Basically, it rocks..excellent AGL and STA stats, and BTW fire resist, so its the top helm on my guy now. Lost some excellent leggings in BRD last night to a shaman again(!!) and so its now my goal to keep questing for better legs. Made a tauren shaman and got him to level 9 in about 1-2 hours. Those guys are the World of Warcraft's best all around class - lets see: Walk on water (check), rise from the dead (check), reserect others from the dead (Check), heal the wounded (check), wear mail armor (check), and can use most weapons (check).. I made him a collector and will be sending my leather and herbs to Nicole and My other character. Nicole and I did well with her mage on Friday and she is now becoming a force to recon with. We almost finished off the STM area and will be moving to the 1K needles area soon. Shortly after that - Scarlet Monistary forever!!

I think we are going to the carnival, i mean the Jersey shore this weekend. I hope that we get to go somewhere else sometime.. STILL havent played paintball this summer - I was going to go yesterday, but between a late wakeup and my knee still sore from softball, I passed. BBQ has been going at least once a week with the heat that we have had out here - last week wasnt too bad, but this week coming looks like a killer: 90%+ humidity and 90degrees + from now till Thursday - IT SUCKS!!

PICTUES - yes we are terrible at pictures, but hopefully things well get better. I looked for my power cable this weekend and had no luck - i get another shot tonight, but am running out of ideas on where it might be :( If this fails, we might have to get an all-in-one and get it over with. As for printing pics, we got it figured out finally and Nicole has printed some good ones. My camera broke in CA, so this wednesday we drop it off at the camera place.

So it goes :)

Back from CA

Well, WE are back and what a great trip. I would have liked one or two more days, but thats ok :D
Flight out was good - went thru Dallas/Fortworth and it was a nice airport.

* On Saturday, we (Gunner and Jen, Eric and Susan, Scott S, and us) went to the Comiccon in San Diego. Shot some pics and had a great time. Scott got some snazy Master Replica Lightsabers at $120 a pop, and I got the Limited Edition Yoda mini lightsaber. WE returned and got ready to move Susan and Eric the next day.
* Sunday: 6am comes quick as Eric and I went to Home depot, got some rental carts and started the moving process. With the small army of Tom, us, Mark and Catherine, Joe and Tony, and a few others that I dont know as well, we were moved by noon and in the pool for 3 flies up at 2pm. Afterwards, TGIF for a dinner and we were done.
* Monday: Disneyland - All day was excellent. Good weather, not alot of lines thanks to the Fast Pass system, and alot of walking. Nicole and I went on almost everything except Small world and ThunderMtn. Key things to remember there
1- By your stuff first thing on Main Street and hold them at the Newsstand by the Exit - its free.
2- Use the Fast Pass system on Space Mtn and Indy jones - saved a ton of time doing it this way.
* Tuesday - Day off; we went food shopping, did some laundry and helped unpack stuff. Lunch at In-n-Out!! Pool was nice in the afternoon and had a good dinner at Wahoos.
* Wednesday - Short day at Laguna Beach. WE got there about 10:30 and parked for 3 hrs for a beach and lunch trip. Saw some dolphins and got some good waves, but the water was a tad on the cold side. Afterwards, we left to visit CArlos and Nicki Molina and stayed with them for the next 2 days.



* Thursday - KNOTTS Berry Farm: Carlos and Nicki and us went for Free (Thanks again, bobby :D) for a day at Knotts. Xcellerator Rocks! This is the one that launches you from 0-80 in like 2 seconds. You fly out of the gate and head 200+ Feet in the air and come back to earth just as fast. Least to say we had alot of fun there.
* Friday - After leaving Carlos's house, we headed back to Lake Forest and after a visit with my dad, the gang went to the OC Fair, including Tom, Susan and Eric, Bobby and Dena (?) and us. Everyone but us won a prize at the Carny games, but did get Nicole something :). At the end of the night we all had fun.
* Saturday - Took it easy in the afternoon; Susan and Nicole went to get thier nails done while Eric and I worked on the Garage. Later we left and hit Walmart for the small gifts for some friends and then took my Father out for a nice dinner at Outback, Including Mark and Catherine, Eric and Susan, Eric's parents, us , Kevin and Tammy, and of course my dad. After Dinner, we all headed to Carlos Youngs place for an excellent game night :D
CIV ! ! !! People who showed up included Carlos M, Eric and Susan, Bobby, Stu B and his new wife, Mark and Catherine, Ryan Upton, and Kevin and Tammy. I heard that Dave O got lost and I knew Toms Girlfriend was sick. Oh well - another time.. Overall, we left at 2am and had a great time.
* Sunday - 5am comes quicker and when we left SNA we were tired and slept most of the trip back to OHare. Let me tell you OHare SUCKS!! I hate that airport and will avoid it at all costs if possible. WE landed early but being its PHL which is usually slow, we didnt pull up to the gate till 20 monutes later. Then we had a 'incident' with Nicoles parent there and things were rapidly coming downhill. Tigger was his usual when we got home, and we unpacked frustraited and tired, but went to bed shortly there after.

Being Tuesday means back to work for me and Nicole, so here we are :) I will have some pics and what not on the next update later this week...

S

Vacation time

Hey gang...

Well, its off to my homeland, smoggy SoCal. The OC crew is still around and we are makin plans like old times.. OC Fair, Comic-con, Game night (Hark, by thy words... Game night??), Crappy JRs, In-n-out Urge, and yes Waves BIGGER than 1.5 feet at Newport. Nicole still isnt convinced about the last part, so I'm hoping for a Tsunami to blow thru and give some good 3-6 footers next week.... ok maybe not a Tsunami...but I WANT WAVES DAMM IT....

WOW UPDATE: Made my 300 make in Tribal leatherworking, got the 'never found' HIDE OF THE WILD pattern thanks to the Dire Maul N run we did 3 days ago. Nicole hit lvl 27 and I hit 25 with my Warrior last night. Funny how she tells me not to play and then logs in... oh well, women are NEVER wrong.. right?? wrong..no wait... :P

BF2 UPDATE: Got the game, played on some ranked servers, but its a pick-up game for me. There are those 'l22t' clans online, but no thanks.. Just give me a AH-2 and let me blow shit up from above... Got a few badges and a bronze star, but thats about it for now. Eventually I will get other things, but im not worried about it.
Here is my stats:
http://bf2stats.ausgamers.com/
search: Striker511 (Note - its down now, so I will have a link later.

4th weekend was good - The NJ Shore hasnt changed since 1842 - same carny games, same boardwalk fries and same overpriced parking ($15 for 9-4pm, $20 for after 5pm). My mom is gonna hit Ocean city (?) this September, so we are gonna make a trip to see what its like, but my guess is - the same. Had some good fireworks at Dave Brussens place and the BBQ was excellent. Its good to have $$ in your pocket..but I wouldnt know what that is like. :P His 2 story mansion is coming along nicely - siding is up, there is actual grass in the acre of land around the house (so it seems..) and the interior is almost done. It will be a very nice home for him and Ally...

Lastely, My Joe counterpart #2 made a blog site:
http://www.nstiw.blogspot.com/

Check it out

Well I'm out for a week, but should have some good pics and stories when we return from SoCal.
Striker

4th of July weekend coming

Hey again - to the people that dont read this - if you do, LET ME KNOW :)

1st - BF2 is a great game, with some issues that need to be fixed - servers are terrible and ranked servers are worse; Filters dont work.. ping numbers dont mean anything.. GAME wise, it is alot of fun, when you dont get kicked by punkpuster for high lag, which isnt high.

If you want to see your stats, go here:
http://bf2.slawed.net/

2nd - WOW: killed Onyxia last week (finally) and know that I have come a long way since 11/23. My wife and my alt are now in Charred Vale in STM and going to go for the leader harpy chick (26E ?). Should be a good fight. I got my tribal Leatherworking to 272 last night and just need a few more ironfeathers to pop to 275 = Chimera stuff.

AS for the 4th, it looks like we are going to wildwood (again) for a fun-filled adventure on the carnival NJ shore. I am getting tired of the same 'county fair' look of the boardwalk, and knowing that there is nothing better than that here gets me upset sometimes. It sucks that the 4th is a monday, because everyone is doing fireworks on Monday night, the night we need to be home so we can work on Tuesday.. go figure.

Lastely, I was wrongfully picked out by Best Buy and to make a long story short, they owe me an appology, IMO.

Xterra Speaker Installation

Hey again... guess no one still reads this :P

Did my speaker installation this weekend. Let me tell you, what a nightmare.
1st, The 'nissan approved' speaker wire harness does not work with the Nissan Xterra. Save your money and clip the connectors and use a soulder iron/ crimper.

2nd, the speakers do not align up correctly with the holes on the panels. At some point in time I will be drilling holes in my truck to add the missing screws.

The results are very noticable. Sounds SO MUCH better than the POS OEMs that were in there before.

BF2 is on the way :) :) This will be an excellent pick-up game to off-set WoW.

WOW UPDATE: got all my dragonscales for my Black Dragonscale boots. The Leatherworker needs the pattern, but I also need to get a few more items from the MC, so Off to the next raid I go :P I also hope that we will be hitting Onyxia this week, as I REALLY want to take down that dragon..

More tomorrow as I plan on updating this more frequently.