Why A Game?

     Ever since I created my blog, I've wanted to attract more people to it.  I guess that's kind of the idea, otherwise, why post one right?  This idea came to me to play a game there and maybe that will get people to stay and see what I have to say.  My only problem is how do I attract people to where the game is played?  I can send my email pals an email asking them to check it out and I can post something on Facebook hoping to attract readers and game players from there.  I'm pretty certain I can make the game part work and get some swell prizes to give away.   

     Back in the 1980's, I became part of an Atari Computer User Group called Starbase.  Our group contributed to a joint newsletter put out by all the area Atari groups called PSAN.  (Puget Sound Atari News.)  We had a pretty decent monthly newsletter.  Glossy front and rear covers and good content inside.  I remember contacting software makers, telling them that if they'd send me the products they made, I'd make sure it got reviewed in PSAN.  One of our club members would take it home for 30 days, knowing that when they brought it back, they had to write a review.  We'd then auction the gsame off at a club meeting.  A win win situation for the software makers, the PSAN readers and our club. 

     In the 1990's, I started a trading card club.  The computer user group folded, so we met at the same place.  Eventually I started my own monthly publication called Trading Card Collector.  This time I contacted all the card makers asking them to send me product to review.  That opened the flood gates.  My publication quickly grew from a 2 page newsletter to a 30 or more page monthly read.  Each month I gave away packets of cards that we put together.  (The various card companies sent me tons of promo cards and lots of other goodies.)  My interest in collecting trading cards fell off when the prices of the packs got so high so I said bye-bye.

     Around the year 2000, I got this hair brained idea to take a group of 40 kids to DisneyWorld.  My wife and I had a lot of underpriveleged kids hanging out here, so I thought it would be a cool thing to see them all have a great time at place designed for kids to have a great time.  Once again, I went about contacting a lot of major companies.  Problem with this effort was, I wasn't a registered non-profit organization, so they couldn't really send me much.  Heck, I wasn't a non-profit group period!  It was Steve and Twila Drake doing this.  Some companies contacted me and understood what it was that we were attempting to do, so they'd send us small donations.  Things we could auction off and use the proceeds from that.  Bottom bottom line is, the trip never happened.   

     My reason for telling you all of this is, I want you to believe in me when I tell you I can get some decent prizes to give away.  I've done it before and am confident I can do it again.  Even in these down economic times, I think companies are still willing to help the little guy and get some street cred for their effort along the way.  In the meantime, we play some games, have some fun and win some OK prizes.  Another win win situation if you ask me! 

     Now there's one last favor I need from all of you before I can go forward.  When you arrive at the page where the game is being played, you'll see the word "Followers" on the right side towards the top.  Below that it says "Join This Site" in a box.  Please click on that and add your name to what I hope will be a growing list.  Of course it would be nice if you'd drop by more than once a month and check out what I'm blogging about, but for now, to get the game going, I need some members to show the various companies I'm going to contact.  Don't you think Coca Cola or Campbell's Soup will be more apt to donate something if I have 20 or 50 Followers vs. 2 or 3?  Makes sense to me. 

     There you have it.  Please help me give this game thing a try.  Maybe you'll be one of my weekly winners of who knows what.  This week the prize is a $15 iTunes gift card.  Next week something  else.  Remember........there's strength in numbers!

Steve Drake

Who Dat?

                                                                ???????  ???????

If you think you know who this is, then send me an email (stevedrakeinseattle@msn.com) with your guess in it.  First person to guess correctly wins a $15.00 Itunes card.  If 2 people submit the same guess, the tie will be broken by the time the email comes in. 

DISCLAIMER!!

Contest ends on 11/18/11 at 11:59 PM.  One guess per email address.  Winners will be notified right away.  You can win as many times as you can get the answer to each quiz correctly.  Family and friends are eligible.  Decision of the judge, me, is final.

Made in the USA!

     A physics teacher in high school, once told the students that while
one grasshopper on the railroad tracks wouldn't slow a train very
much, a billion of them would. With that thought in mind, read the
following.

     This past weekend I was at Walmart. I needed 60 W light bulbs and
Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle, and right next to
the GE brand I normally buy was an off-brand labeled, "Everyday
Value... " I picked up both types of bulbs and compared the stats -
they were the same except for the price.. The GE bulbs were more money
than the Everyday Value brand but the thing that surprised me the most
was the fact that GE was made in MEXICO and the Everyday Value brand
was made in - get ready for this - the USA by a company in Cleveland,
Ohio.

     So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets ... . . Yep, you guessed
it.  Bounce cost more money and is made in Canada . The Everyday Value
brand was less money and MADE IN THE USA ! I did laundry yesterday and
the dryer sheets performed just like the Bounce Free I have been using
for years and at almost half the price!

     I was in Lowes the other day for some reason and just for the heck of
it I was looking at the hose attachments. They were all made in China.  The 
next day I was in Ace Hardware and just for the heck of it, I
checked the hose attachments there. They were made in USA .  

     In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy or do
affects someone else -- even their job.

     My son likes Hershey's candy. I noticed, though, that it is
marked made in Mexico now.  I do not buy it any more.  My
favorite toothpaste, Colgate, is made in Mexico.  Now I have
switched to Crest. You have to read the labels on everything.

     My challenge to you is to start reading the labels when you shop for
everyday things and see what you can find that is made in the USA- the
job you save may be your own or your neighbors!

(We should have awakened a decade a go.)

     If you accept the challenge, pass this on to others you know
so we can all start buying American, one light bulb at a time!
Stop buying from overseas companies!

Let's get with the program.  Help our fellow Americans keep their
jobs and create more jobs here in the U.S.A. 

I Passed this on ......... Will you ???????

Mexican drug cartels.

I was watching a documentary style show on TV today and was shocked by the number of drug cartel related deaths that have happened in Mexico since 2006. 41,000 was the number reported. Blame has been directly linked to this country in numerous ways. The top 2 look like this:

1. The USA is the biggest buyer of illegal drugs.
2. It's very easy to purchase assault weapons in this country and take them to Mexico.

It's no secret that drug use in this country is rampant. All of the money that us tax payers fork over to support the effort to try and stop the flow and usage, is a waste of time and money. We spend untold millions and the drugs still get through. Not to mention that our agents are getting killed trying to do the right thing. Whatever we're doing isn't working, yet we keep on doing the same thing.

A recent TV documentary showed how easy it is to walk into any gun shop or gun show in Texas and buy an assault rifle. In fact, the show I watched showed 2 guys buying multiple weapons, then being approached in the parking lot to see if the weapons were for sale! To top that off, our own FBI ran an OP called Fast and Furious, in which they let 1,765 guns go to Mexico, over a 15 month period, in hopes of following them to the major arms dealers that then supply the cartels. Problem was, the FBI "somehow" lost sight of the guns and no arrests have been made! Many of these weapons have been tracked to various killings in Mexico, including the killing of Customs and Border Protection agent Brian Terry.

Because billions are at stake, the various drug cartels aren't giving up without a fight. Slowly but surely they're finding new methods of getting their product to market. Throw away submarines are one of the newest methods. They can build a 100' submarine for two million dollars that can carry $400 million dollars worth of product and discard the sub when they're done with it.

If I sound worried about this, I am. The long arm of the cartels is reaching further and further into the daily lives of US citizens. The "US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, says the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are active in five Colorado cities." More than likely, that's just the tip of the iceberg. For many years the mass killings were in Colombia, now we don't hear about Colombia anymore 'cuz it looks like those operations have moved in to Mexico. In case you haven't noticed, Mexico is just south of our border.

Perhaps it's time for this country to invade Mexico . We've been known to do that in countries like Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Viet Nam and a few others. This time the prize might be one that will have a long lasting affect on the citizens of this country. Whether we want to believe it or not, we're at war with the cartels and until we step up and show them we mean business, business will be conducted like it has been. I'm not sure why 41,000 people dying at the hands of drug cartels isn't prompting us to do more than we are. We bristle when leaders like Saddam kill their own people, why is this not something we want to stop? I guess until our government figures out a way to make money off it it's business as usual for them, too!

Terminated!

     As many of you know, my wife lost her job last week.  She was the head of the children's dept. at the Greenwood Fred Meyer.  She's gonna miss getting up at 3 AM and starting work at 5.  NOT!

     For the longest time, it was a joke amongst the rest of us as to when Twila would "officially" be off and when she'd get home from work.  Keep in mind that we live 5 minutes or less from the Greenwood Fred Meyer.  She'd continue to putter around the store either working off the clock or shopping, only to show up here usually around an hour after she got off.  Of late, management was trying to send her a message about working off the clock.  According to some by-law it's illegal.  So they suspended her without pay.  (She was so embarassed that she couldn't tell me.)  One day, she worked 2 hours over and only put in for one and they suspended her again.  This time she was warned that when she came back, she was not to wear her name tag or apron when she was off the clock ande still in the store.  Well, while walking through her department, she saw 2 blouses on the floor and hung them up.  Sounds like the right thing to do, yes?  Supposedly somebody saw her and reported this activity.  No suspension this time, she was let go!

     Ya know, at first I was a little pissed off.  I was going to call everyone I know and ask them to not shop at Freddies any more.  We'll show them!  Realistically, that wouldn't have much of an affect on Kroger, the owner of QFC and Fred Meyer.  Sure, I could picket, but they'd kick me off their side of the street and nobody would see me on the other side.  So I decided on this course of action.  I called the office of David Dillon, the CEO of Kroger, and left a message with someone in his front office that told me he'd read it.  Twila called the union and they've responded.  Please know that we're pretty certain she won't get her job back.  That isn't what this is about.  What we want David Dillon to know is how petty they were in letting her go.  Yes, she violated some of the by-laws.  She didn't always take her breaks and she worked off the clock.  Boo f'ing hoo!  She never stole anything, took days off 'cuz the sun was out or refused to do things because she didn't want to.  In our minds, her being terminated was all about them wanting to get rid of a full time worker so they could bring in a part time person and pay them less.  Just forget about the years of service she gave the company, it's time for her to move on.  Bye.  Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

     So tomorrow she'll try and sign up for unemployment.  Gotta start looking for health care coverage, too.  We may also have to rethink our plan of moving to Maui in 5 - 10 years.  We needed another 5 or so years at Freddies in order for her to get a good pension.  We'll not let this get us down, somehow it will make us stronger.  Perhaps she'll find a job for the Holidays that will lead to something after the Holidays, just like what happened at Freddies.  Stay posted.  More later!

Big Dogg out!

    

Life.

Many say life is what you make it.  I agree.  Having reached 60 years of age this year I can tell you that life IS what you make it.  Many people my age tend to talk about how many meds they're on, what operations they've had and what pills they're taking.  The rest complain about things they have no control over.  I figured out many years ago that there's very little you can do much about.  To worry about things you have no control over is a true waste of time.  I read posts on Facebook where someone asks you if you agree please repost.  Before you spend any amount of energy doing anything ask yourself if it will make a difference.  Most of us will have a hard time getting our neighbors to do something we need of them, let alone thinking that our representatives in either Olympia or Washingtron, DC give a rats ass about what we think.  All they think about is getting relected.  That means finding contributors with deep pockets.  I went to high school with Jay Inslee.  Do you think he'd give me the time of day?  Maybe if I represented a PAC, union or large corporation.  If you want to enjoy life, find people that think like you and hang around with them.  Arguing about politics, religion or the 1988 Seahawks is a waste of time.  We all have an opinion.  Unless someone asks you for yours, keep it to yourself.  It will make everyone elses life much more enjoyable!

UFC 129

 UFC 129 is in the books.  (For those of you that don't know what UFC is, it stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship.)  For weeks prior to the fights we chat about them at work.  We read and hear the hype here and there.  Text messages are sent back and forth between friends, then the night arrives.  Everyone gathers at my house.  I've got a 50" plasma TV with a decent sound system hooked up to it.  Nobody much cared about any of the fights except for the last 2.  Randy was/is from this area, so we're repping him for that reason.  Bets are made.  The fight begins and so do the chants in my living room.  Right from the start it's obvious to us that Randy is no match for his opponent.  Guys start calling him geezer.  Then it's over.  Next!  Ten and twenty dollar bills are on the floor.  Most root for GSP.  Yes, Jake has won 15 straight, but who has he fought?  One round, 2 rounds, 3 rounds, 4 rounds and a fifth are in the books.  There's no question amongst the 8 here that GSP won the fight unanimously.  Then the decision.  We couldn't believe what we were hearing!  48-47, 48-47.  We ask ourselves what fight were those judges watching??  Jake threw such weak leg kicks at GSP that I could have dodged them and I'm 59! 

 

    Ya know, it's becoming apparent to us that it is all about the Benjamin's and to heck with the product.  You say you set a record for folks watching a UFC event live with 55,000 in attendance last night.  My son and I attended the Cain vs. Brock fight last July in Vegas and we sat dam near the top of the arena.  If those large screens hadn't been there I'd been hard pressed to see much of the action.  I might as well put my TV across the street and watch it with binoculars!  You and I both know those folks sitting way and the hell up in the rafters couldn't see what was going on, but hey, you set a record.  Product, we don't need no stinkin' product.  You made a bunch of money and the lemmings will be back again.  Our little group has some real diehard fans in it, but you can't feed us mush forever and expect us to keep coming back!

No fees please!

 The Seattle Times recently had an article in it about certain fees possibly going up.  No kidding.  Olympia is in a state of emergency and us folks residing here are all they have to help fix the mess they got us in.  Sure, they tack a little extra on rental cars and hotels, but for the most part, it's us hard working folks that pay the way.  Sooner or later we're going to be taxed right out of our homes, cars and jobs if they don't knock it off!  How high do they think they can run the cost of a drivers license up before people just say screw it and go without one? 

 

    Not everyone living here is a millionaire and can afford whatever price increases come along.  Many of us are struggling to put food on the table and keep the lights burning.  Wake up Olympia and try going without for a change.  Just say NO to new projects for awhile.  I say NO to going out to dinner.  Sell some stuff on ebay to pay the bills.  We are!

Spring cleaning.

     The idea of moving to Maui is still strong in our minds.  So much so, I listed my Corvette for sale.  Someone is supposed to come and look at it tomorrow night.  We'll see.  People call, but don't show or call to say they are no longer intrerested.  Anyway, my neighbor said he'd pay for the thing to get towed to his mechanic and pay for whatever repairs are needed.  How do you turn that down?  So his guy has it and with any luck I will get it back tomorrow.  In the meantime, we've been going through every closet and all the attics digging stuff out and putting lots of it on ebay.  For many years I've collected and just put stuff in the attic.  If you're at all curious what I'm selling click on this link http://my.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MyeBay&&CurrentPage=MyeBaySelling&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1121  Maybe you'll find something you want!  I'm also going to sell some of my pinball and arcade machines.  Lets be honest here folks, I never go up there to play them.  The arcade machines were for the kids.  The kids are all gone.  I'll keep one of the pinball machines and maybe one arcade machine.  One is pretty cool.  It's a 4-slot Neo Geo and they're still used in arcades today.  You can put 4 different cartridges in for players to pick from.  Most of the time you find 2-slot machines.  The carts aren't that bad to buy.  I'm also planning on selling my 2 slot machines.  Not sure how that will go down.  They're still used in Japan so I'm guessing this state my view them as gambling machines.  OMG, we wouldn't want anybody doing that!  The pachinko machine has to go, too.  Did I mention anything you want yet??  There's more. 

     I told my son today that I really never gave it much thought while I was amassing this stuff as to when I thought that day would come when I'd get rid of it.  I guess in the back of my mind I knew this day would come I just never knew what would make it happen.  Maybe I thought the kids would just get it and deal with it.  A good friend of mine collects so many different things that it's hard to walk through his place.  Ceiling to floor and wall to wall stuff.  I think his last move took him 2 weeks.  Anyway, he told me the other day that he has no desire to get rid of anything.  Why collect it if you're just going to get rid of it?  Ya know, a ballon can only take so much air then it explodes!  Lucky for him he's not a drinker or drug user 'cuz he could accidentally trip over something, hurt himself falling down and lay there for awhile. 

     So for the next few days I'll continue looking in closets, attics and behind things that haven't been moved for awhile.  If anyone reading this knows what to do with old newspapers, besides burning or recycling them, let me know.  I have some that date back many years.  I kept them for the headlines.  I'm going to keep a few, but the rest have to go.  I'd like to see someone get them that would do the right thing with them.  Not sure what that is.  Maybe it is burning or recycling them.  It would be a shame but I can't nor do I want to keep it all any longer!

S

Tsunami:3/11/11!

The 16 days we spent on Maui weren't totally about the tsunami, but when you tell anyone you just got back from there, the first thing they ask is were you there during the tsunami?  The answer is yes.  It was late Friday night, March 11th, and I was online chatting with fellow Facebook friends.  The big concern everyone expressed was will we be safe?  I thought so 'cuz we were in a 3rd floor condo with a 4th floor loft if we needed it.  The waves were supposed to hit at 3:07 AM and reach 6 - 7'.  There initially wasn't a guess as to how far inland they'd go, but as time passed, those in the know thought those of us in the "zone" better hightail it outta there.  The sirens went off and eventually a cop drove up and down the road in front of our place announcing that we needed to evacuate NOW!  So we loaded all the valuables, pillows, blankets and some food into the 2 vehicles and headed out.  This is where it gets fun, 'cuz we really don't know where we're going!  You get off the beaten path heading to the high country and there are NO street lights.  Not to mention that the road isn't exactly straight and on either side of you are fields of sugar cane, standing at least 6' tall not allowing any perspective as to where you are!  So what we did is we just got in line and followed some other cars that we hoped were going in the right direction.  Eventually we see a guy standing in the middle of the road signaling us to turn into a parking lot.  Turns out it's a church that overlooks Kehei and the airport.  Prior to our leaving the condo, I called KING 5 TV and asked them if they wanted me to be an on the spot reporter and they asked me if they could call back?  There were 4 of us trying to sleep in this Mercury Marquis and I wasn't having much luck.  I had the radio on listening to the same station that everybody else in the parking lot had on getting the latest news.  At 3:45 AM Maui time, my phone rings.  It's KING 5 asking me if they could put me on the air?  Sure, why not.  So for 5 mins. I got to give my description of the events of that night/morning.  Shortly after the call, the sirens went off again, waking everyone up.  Talk about eerie.  The radio station would go into that noise they make when an emergency warning is about to be broadcast, then a real emergency warning is broadcast.  This was really happening!!  The next morning, I got out of the car as day break came.  Folks were standing around looking down towards the aiport.  I had no clue what to look for, so I asked.  Word had come down that water had come inland 500' and had reached a certain Wal-Greens.  Our next move was to wait until we heard the all is clear siren, then we could go back to the condo.  The news reported that the road to Kehei was closed due to damage along it.  Around 11, we got tired of waiting for the siren and left.  By the time we got back, the road was open and the debris along it had been removed.  You could see how far the water had come, we just weren't sure how it got there.  The rest of the trip was spent listening and hearing others tell their story of where they were the night the sirens went off.  If I ever move there, I think I want to live up country!

Junk email.

Is it my imagination or am I getting more junk email than ever?  I swear I get at least 100, if not more, "automatically thrown into the junk email folder" emails every day.  There's usually a few that sneak through to my Inbox 'cuz I once clicked on one of them, now they feel like they have carte blanche to land wherever.   Many of these junk emails say they can extend the length of my penis if I'll only take their supplement.  Hey, my wifes not complaining, so I'm not going there!  These could be from old girlfriends, but I'm not going there either.  Then there's the emails telling me I'm paying too much for my prescriptions.  Because we have good health care coverage, we only pay $5.00 per medication, so I'm not going there either.  Now that I'm on Facebook, I'm constantly told someone wants to flirt with me on Facebook.  I easily get 10 - 15 of those a day.  Have you gotten any emails telling you about Naughty Facebook?  Gee, I wonder what that is?  I guess if I was looking for a job, the emails telling me about how I can work at home and make $500.00 a day "part time" might be enticing.  You probably have to send more emails to make any money.  Maybe I should take the folks up on the offers I get for "already approved" credit cards.  Now that's spooky.  If they really knew me, they'd stay as far away from me as possible!  Perhaps I should refinance the house? Those emails are in there, too.  Do you think I'll have to fill any paperwork out?  If I refied, then I could buy one of those trucks I keep getting told about.  Problem is, I don't want a truck.  Maybe I should tell them.  One of my favorites is the email I get trying to get me to buy 1,000 light bulbs.  Is this a franchise or do they only last a day or 2?  I'd have to buy more light fixtures to make this one worth while.  It's probably sponsored by the local utility company.  I don't want an iPhone, we already belong to AARP, I don't believe anyone is really going to deposit $1,000.00 in my bank account and I'm not looking for a cheap apartment.  Me and the delete button are going to be regular pals whenever I open my Junk email folder.  If anyone sending me that crap thinks I'm looking at it, they should have their head examined.  By the way, have I ever told you about this doctor I know?  He'll examine you over the computer.  Real talk!

Big Dogg.....out!

Good Times!

I was lucky to have parents that felt young at heart.  They got along very well with my friends and encouraged me to have them over.  I remember having one toy or another strewn around the basement, making it hard to navigate through.  Be it a long slot car track right down the middle or the pool table that really didn't fit, they didn't say much.  When I turned 18, the Vietnam War was in full swing.  All us guys were subject to a draft lottery.  We sat around talking about what we were going to do to avoid being drafted.  Some of us joined up, others went to Canada and some stuck it out.  I stuck it out.  Yes, I was scared.  When I was called to go in for a pre-induction physical, you know my heart was racing.  Due to a numbness in my left hand, I was ruled 4F.  They couldn't and wouldn't take me.  Ah, so sad.  Anyway, as my friends came back from boot camp, my parents allowed us to have a beer.  They figured anyone that could die for their country could certainly have a drink.  Amen!  About the time I turned 19, it was decided that I could invite my friends and they'd invite theirs to a party that I'd throw at our house.  Creedence Clearwater Revival was blasting through the speakers as the beer poured from the tap.  Oh yeah, my parents bought a keg of beer and we all shared it.  Those parties are still mentioned when I talk with friends that attended them 40 years ago.

I was one of the first people in our group of friends to move in to a house.  I was 23 and wanting to party!  So we did.  Every Friday and Saturday night, it was normal for 20 - 25 people to "drop" by.  The music was blaring, smoke was billowing out the front door and I'm sure the neighbors wondered what the heck was going on.  On Sunday, we'd tame things down by washing cars and shooting hoops in the back yard.  As time went on, my friends were getting married and having babies.  The herd was thinning.  So I looked for reasons to get together.  Fourth of July, hyrdro race day gatherings and the occasional BBQ.  I got married at 27, but things didn't slow down too much.  (I have the pictures to prove it!)  I was into organizing dinners at various local eateries.  The Old Spaghetti Factory, Round Table Pizza, The Doodle Sack drive-in and numerous other joints.  The year most of our group turned 30, I secured a banquet room at The Wharf.  I invited tons of people and tons of people showed.  My aunts, uncles, neighbors, parents, and of course many friends.  A good time was had by all.  As time went on, I continued to try and get "the group" of friends together.  It was getting harder 'cuz people had families and just weren't in to doing that as often.  No matter, I didn't give up.  I enjoyed seeing my friends enjoy themselves.  For a few years, I secured a covered BBQ area at Carkeek Park on the Sunday of the 3-day Memorial day weekend.  If it rained we could hang out under the roof.  Some years, 50 or more people turned out.

About the time I turned 40, depression was setting in big time.  It was hard to do much that I enjoyed.  It really took effort.  I tired of doing all that I felt I was doing to keep our group of friends together.  In my mind, nobody else did anything!  Looking back, I guess I was right.  Yes, they'd show up, but few put much effort into making whatever event better.  Thanks to some advice from a customer, I saw a shrink and life got way better.  Through my 40's and 50's, my wife and I continued to try and get a few friends together, but once again, the herd was thinning.  We'd made a few new friends, but not many.  As I look back now, I'm pretty certain that my friends didn't like being around me in a one-on-one setting.  To say it mildly, I was very opinionated.  Republican opinionated with few facts to back up what I thought I believed in.  All this coming from an angry point of view to boot!  Rush Limbaugh all the way baby!!  Thank goodness for Paxil.  I no longer need RL in my life.  Who wants to be angry?  Him, I guess.

So what's the point to this story, right?  This year, what's left of that old group of friends is turning 60.  I'm thinking of making one last attempt at getting them together.  I know they'll have a good time, all I have to do is find them.  (I did a very small get together a year or so ago and everyone had a great time.)  So if you were part of that group, please email me and let me know if you'd like to be included in this one last hoorah.  This might be our last run at remembering the good old times!

Big Dogg Out!

Making movies.

Howdy,

I read an interesting piece, by Chris Daniels, about the number of movies and other Hollywood productions that are or aren't filmed here.  I always find it interesting when watching a movie that is supposed to be taking place here, that seldom do I see actual sites here.  Now I know why!  Apparently this area isn't Hollywood friendly!!  According to Daniels, British Columbia will provide $40 million in incentives, Oregon $12.5 million and Washington $4 million in 2011.  Now I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that when Hollywood shows up to film somewhere, they spend money, yes?  Kind of like when a city hosts the Super Bowl or the Final Four, the area surrounding said event makes out financially.  So what do we do to get back in the good graces of Hollywood?  We know Hollywood will continue to make movies, you and I will continue to watch them and money is going to change hands.  Washington State can use the jobs and money making movies can provide.  I'm not sure how we can reverse our current status, but doing so looks like a win win situation to me.  You?

craigslist

Greetings!

    Ever use craigslist?  I do all the time.  Not every day maybe, but whenever I get a hankering to buy something, and I don't care of it's used, craigslist is the first place I look.  ebay is a great place when you need the world to shop for something.  craigslist works really good when I'm looking for something like a camera for instance.  'Cuz we're going to Maui soon, I decided to look for a DVD camcorder.  The one I have uses tapes and is a bit bigger than I care to pack every where we go. 

   The first day I looked, I put "DVD camcorder" in the search space and back came a number of selections.  I selected one and called or emailed the seller.  No return call or email.  This is the one area that bugs me about craigslist.  When an item sells, the seller will either forget to remove it or they just wait until the item gets taken down I guess.  Anyway, the 2nd time I searched, I found a listing for a "brand new still in the original box" Sony Handycam.  Cool.  It normally listed for $300.00 or more and the fellow wanted $100.00.  Sign me up!  (I did do some research and found them for $300.00.  Refurbished, they sold for $150.00 on up.  On ebay, they're selling for $150.00 up + shipping.)  When I emailed him, he still had it.  We emailed back and forth until last Saturday, when we met up in Lynnwood.  The item is just what I wanted.  It takes stills and video and use 2 different kinds of media for storage.  The thing I really like about is it fits in my hand and can use reusable dvd's.  I can now add this purchase to my ever growing list of awesome purchases on craigslist.  If you've never used craislist, try it.  There are no fees and all items listed are usually pretty close.  Unlike ebay, you can look the item over before handing your money over.  A win win for both sides!

Big Dogg out!

Welcome!

Greetings all and welcome to my first ever blog.  I don't intend to change the world here, I only want to share my thoughts, ideas, musings and play some games.  I won't have much of a blog if I don't get some input from you folks.  All I ask is that we try and keep it clean.

I called my blog what I did 'cuz I couldn't come up with anything else.  I'm up for a new name.  Maybe I'll award a prize for the name I like best.  As I mentioned above, I want to play some games.  I have an idea for a game and we'll see how you all respond.  With any luck, there'll be prizes for that, too! 

One of the games is called, "I'm Thinking of a Person."  At least that's what we called it.  When my parents took us on a road trip, we'd play this game in the car.  No, it wasn't on a Gameboy, iPhone or PSP.  This was back in the '60's when you had to use your brain in more of an imaginative way than kids do today.  Someone would start out by saying they're thinking of a person.  The person had to be someone that everyone playing knows something about.  It couldn't be some obscure person that only people over 80 had ever heard of.  The person could be alive or dead.  The only way for the guessers to extract info is to ask questions like, "Is the person alive?"  The answer giver would say yes or no.  Lets say you want to know what this person did for a living.  You would ask something like, "Was this person in politics?"  I would say yes or no.  A wrong question would be, "Is the person black or white?"  The question should be, "Is the person black?"  I know that not everyone that may play will know something about everyone that I may know something about.  Lets give it a go before we say NO!

I'm anxious to see if I can get an audience.  Your input will be very helpful.  Until we type again, Big Dogg OUT!