Friends, I had hoped to post within the past two weeks, but as usual, good intentions were derailed by getting busy. Family concerns again came to the fore with the sad anniversary of the passing of Steve M.R.'s mother, Bill A.R.'s news of his father's fatal car accident, and assorted tests among Janice's and my immediate family. I'm also pursuing my health insurer regarding planned dental work.
I wish I had heard from Bill under better circumstances, echoing those of Stuart C.G.'s parents in the past year or so. Bill asked me to pass along his contact information (he still lives in California) to our other college friends, which I did. I also plan to visit my growing family in Virginia in late April, but it will have to be for a mere three-day weekend because of mandatory meetings at work.
Janice's and my jobs have gone reasonably well, despite the ongoing lack of technical support as CW continues its stated move toward print/online integration in the newsroom. Our workload has continued to increase. I'll have a lot to say in our annual employee survey. Although I was knocked out in the third round of our pool/billiards tournament, I was pleased to get further than I had expected.
A copy desk lunch at Joe's American Bar & Grill went well, since that was one of the few restaurants we could agree on. At least we telecommuted on Wednesday, 15 February 2007, because of a snow and ice storm. New co-worker Ken G. shares my interest in genre entertainment, loaning me the "Superman II: the Donner Cut" on DVD.
I've had to record more television lately because of other demands on my time. For example, on Monday, Feb. 12, Janice watched the annual Westminster Dog Show, so I videotaped metahuman ensemble drama "Heroes." On Tuesday, my D&D3.5 "Vanished Lands: the Broken Chains" Arabian fantasy group met, so I watched young-adult sleuth "Veronica Mars" the following night.
On Thursday, I played "City of Heroes" online with David I.S., Kim A.G., Steve M.R., and Thomas K.Y. (marking a new high in the size of our team), so I recorded metahuman ensemble drama "Smallville." There's definitely a superhero trend here, and we've been busy creating and managing characters.
Even shows such as the revisionist space opera (some are realizing that it has become more of a soap opera in space) "Battlestar Galactica," ensemble drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and goofy sleuth "Psych" are in danger of dropping off my viewing schedule entirely, let alone movies or DVDs.
However, I have managed to catch the latest decent episodes of the animated "Legion of Superheroes," "The Batman," and "Kim Possible." While I'm disappointed in the Cartoon Network's guerilla marketing of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" in Boston and elsewhere, I'm more annoyed at that network's lack of support for adult comic book superheroes and the SciFi Channel's reliance on schlock horror flicks.
Janice and I got our taxes done, and we were happy to learn that we'll be getting refunds from the federal and state governments. Next year will be more complicated, since we both just enrolled in 401(k) retirement savings plans. I'm annoyed at how the federal government has transferred the risk from guaranteeing workers' pensions to individual investment scenarios that financiers reap most of the profits from.
Janice and I celebrated Valentine's Day by exchanging cards and eating out over the past week at Bertucci's and Acapulco's. Among other things, we watched the Grammy Awards, which reminds me that I need to post again about music soon.
This coming weekend, Dexter V.H. plans to visit from Brooklyn, New York. I couldn't get quorum among the face-to-face role-players, but we hope to screen "Ghost Rider," update Drow Ranger "Faelonia," and have a videoconference session with Byron V.O. in St. Louis. Dex and I are off from work on Presidents' Day, but Janice isn't. Have a good weekend, and drive safely, -Gene
Gene's Worlds 