Puppy Love

You weren't prepared for this.  You knew eventually your daughter would grow up and start liking boys, but you weren't ready this early.  Being caught off-guard, you take a -2 penalty to all dice rolls for the duration of the first day.  The penalty continues each day after, save ends.

Kennedy has recently become very good friends with our friends' son William.  It all started at Taco Bell when he tried to give her the rest of his quesadilla.  I guess she takes after her daddy.  The fastest way to her heart is her stomach!  Too bad these were a little late for valentine's day.  Although, yesterday she was getting smooches from another friend's son.  Shh, we haven't told William yet.  We want to break it to him softly.

I feel the need to re-review the Netflix streaming video service, this time for the PS3.  Since we got the PS3 roughly a week ago, we've watched quite a lot of video, and not once has it paused playback due to "changed bandwidth" or because my internet connection had slowed.  And just before I got the PS3 I called NewWave and had my internet speed reduced to save a bit of money.  I don't believe that my internet connection suddenly got better, which leaves me to conclude that there is a problem with streaming Netflix on Xbox 360.  With the Blu-ray and DVD upscaling, and a superior Netflix experience, the PS3 is quickly becoming the "always-on" console.  The 360 will still be used for gaming, but it will finally be getting a well-deserved break.

        

On a related note, a local video store has been having a going-out-of-business sale for a week or so, and I finally made it out there to see what they had left.  The game selection was pretty slim, but I managed to snatch the original Phoenix Wright for DS for ten bucks.  I also grabbed Kick Ass, Slumdog Millionaire, and Precious on Blu-ray.  Three Blu-rays and a DS game ran me forty-two dollars.  Thanks to services like Netflix and Redbox, I got a sweet deal, and several people are losing their jobs.  Capitalism at work, folks.

I have today and tomorrow off work.  The first of my two goals is now accomplished (writing a blog).  The other goal is to finish the backstory for my d20 Modern campaign.  Wish me luck!

Ignominious is a Fun Word

You exit the building and see the car you were told about.  You approach the vehicle slowly and feel your stomach begin to lurch.  You sense something innately wrong with the inhabitants of this car.  As you near the driver's side door, the window rolls down.  Billowing smoke roils out from the open window.  While trying to manage your own breathing, a chilling sound alarms you: tiny coughs from the backseat.

These ignominious parents were smoking in a car with a baby with the windows rolled up.  These aberrations of the gene pool could be on a competitive level with your nemesis, Negligent Mother.  Will you confront these ne'er-do-wells or simply perform the business you were sent for?

 In case you couldn't tell yet, I get irritated at parents who don't care about their kids.  I noticed things before Kennedy was born, but now these poor decisions are marked with a huge neon sign proclaiming, "MORON."  As the DM said, these people could've given Negligent Mother a run for her food stamps.  The poor little girl was strapped in her car seat while the parents puffed away and there wasn't a thing she could to but cough and cry.

The recent snow we received was certainly a nice change of scenery.  We took Kennedy outside for just a couple of minutes so she could see and feel it.

I don't believe she quite knew what to think about the whole situation.  Maybe there will be snow next year as well and she can do some sledding.

After several grueling sessions, I managed to finish the main segment of Super Meat Boy on Xbox 360.  The game is a throwback to 80's and early 90's style platformers.  In other words: infuriatingly difficult.  As Meat Boy, your quest is to save Bandage Girl from the evil (or possibly misunderstood) Dr. Fetus.  Scattered throughout the worlds are bandages to collect and Warp Zones to find.

Collecting bandages will unlock new playable characters to use in the game.  Certain Warp Zones will also grant you a new playable character, but only after completing the zone.  Other Warp Zones are in the style of Atari, Game Boy, or early NES or Master System games.  These zones remind you of how far gaming has come in the past twenty-five years, as well as how far it has fallen.  Too many games today boast gorgeous processor-intensive graphics, while the story and gameplay suffer.  Final Fantasy XIII, I'm looking at you.

Super Meat Boy has been an enjoyable trip through memory lane, and I'm not quite ready to turn it off yet.  Each of the main worlds also has a dark side, with modified and even more difficult versions of the light-world levels.   These are the levels that make me think of the internet cult-hit, I Wanna Be the Guy, know for its sadistic difficulty.  I would recommend both games in a heartbeat.

Negligent Mother's Nefarious Plot

Welcome back to the stage of history.  Negligent Mother has taken a new daughter-damaging move by leaving your mother-in-law's house to move in with a guy she met online who lives over an hour away.  This action will inevitably fail, like all her other grand ideas.


This leads you to conflicted feelings.  On one hand, you will get a definite sense of pleasure from watching her failures.  On the other hand, her failures will mean that your niece will be harmed as a result.  Her being gone means you don't have to interact with her during family visits, but also means that your niece won't be getting bathed or fed properly.  Take a few moments to consider how this really makes you feel.


My wife's sister, spoken of here as Negligent Mother, is an incompetent nitwit who should never have been allowed to reproduce.  That being said, she did reproduce, and has yet to take full responsibility for her child.  This darling little child may never know what it's like to be properly cared for by someone who loves her.  Tennessee child services doesn't think that the girl should be taken from Negligent Mother, even though she doesn't clean, feed, or medicate her daughter.  These things are all acceptable according to Tennessee laws.  Count this as one of the few times I'm glad to be from Kentucky, though I'm sure there are plenty of similar situations here.

The ideal solution here would be for the state to give custody of the child to my mother-in-law, so that she would actually be properly cared for.  Then, Negligent Mother could go off and do whatever it is that she's doing now, without putting her daughter in danger.  And now for something completely different.  Stay tuned after the jump for a video of my baby girl!

Vindication / Walker Review

As you make the final turn to your mother-in-law's house, you begin to consider the different outcomes that could arise from this visit.  You plan arguments and rebuttals before you even shift into park.  Your mental warfare against Negligent Mother is not unlike a game of chess against an opponent with no king.  You and your wife enter the house.


Negligent Mother is out for the day.  After you sent your message to her, your wife also gave her an earful about her blatantly lacking parental instincts.  Somehow, you get the impression that she is avoiding the two of you.  With the imminent drama removed from the situation, you are free to enjoy a day in the company of loved ones.


All the drama of the past few days seemed as though it would fizzle out when we arrived and she had run off for the day.  Later, by some innate agent of chaos, it was revealed that Negligent Mother had also been spreading a lie about her parents that was hurtful to my wife's other sister.  For the record, Negligent Mother lives with her parents rent-free, so making them angry seems like a poor decision to make.

Most of the day was great though.  We got a Leapfrog My Pal Scout for Negligent Mother's daughter, and she had a blast with it.  I had it programmed for her name and favorite food, color, and animal before we left. I also took a nice nap with my baby girl during "Batman Begins."  Here's a picture of Kennedy on Christmas day with her new Leapfrog My Pal Violet.

I promised to do a review today, so I'll be talking about the walker we bought for her about a month ago from Toys R Us.  It is the Fisher Price Little Superstar Step 'n Play Piano.  This is an amazing walker that Kennedy adores.  When turned on, the piano keys at the bottom actually sound a piano note when stepped on by baby's feet.  On the front of the play set are smaller keys that will activate music when pressed.  There is a small assortment of melodies and songs included.

Kennedy's favorite part of the set is the noisemakers.  On either side of the seat are rotating drums, one which has little balls inside that make a rattle noise, and the other makes clicks.  In the picture, you can see Kennedy playing with a rattle, and on the other side is a little yellow bell.  Once she has grabbed that bell, game over, man.  She's also fond of the triangle mirror on the back side.  For some reason, every time she looks in, there's a pretty baby looking back at her.  She's not quite figured that part out yet, but she's working on it.

This is a wonderful walker, but I don't think I would have paid Amazon's list price of $199.95.  We got ours at Toys R Us for a little under $100, which I think is a good price for what you get.

Next up for review will either be "Green Lantern: Blackest Night," or DJ Hero 2.  I want your input!