So Kathy and I went out today. This is the only day we've ever really went out and did anything in months. And what happened? The gas company came by and replaced our gas meter. They had to come in and check the gas appliances to relight before they turned the gas back on, but we weren't here and they never told us. So tonight we're without gas. And since we chose to come home after they close up I've got to wait until tomorrow morning to call and see when they can come by to get us back running again.

Having your own pets is not just a toy or accessory, it's a responsibility to take care of another life. And nothing is more frustrating than when something goes wrong with your pet and you don't know what to do. Whether your cat gets sick, or you have to deal with aggression in dogs you don't want to make an appointment and have to wait to see a vet. You may have to take that step, but you'd like information now. Or you have a less urgent question and don't feel like going all over the web tracking down the answer. PetWave is your one-stop source for answers having to do with pets.

From Yahoo!: the list of worst cities to be a sports fan. In the article they compare sports teams records as opposed to the ticket costs. But no matter what professional sports team you're talking about, ticket prices are through the roof. Like I mentioned yesterday the Colts have their new stadium that was payed for by taxpayers, but a lot of them not only do not to even go in to watch a game (let alone even see a luxury suite that the companies rent) but you couldn't even get free tickets for a tour a month or two ago. They got snatched up in less than an hour and a lot of them sold on eBay.

Looking for sinks? This is the right place to look for them. They have all kinds of sinks, from kitchen sinks to bathroom sinks and more. There's free shipping on orders over $99 and no sales tax outside of New York state. They also offer assistance over the phone.

In case you're wondering why I haven't posted in a couple of days, there isn't any problems. On Wednesday, I cashed in some My Coke Rewards points to get a rent one, get one free Blockbuster Video rental. They used to have free rentals for videos and games, but now they're buy one get one free. Not only that, but the points have gone up as well, for that and for the movie ticket (which they've attached a large drink to the coupon) There were one game I was interested in and wanted to rent it out to try it first before going any further. I should do that with more video games, because sometimes they're not worth getting when they come out. "Enter The Matrix" was a prime example. It was too buggy and froze up, even after exchanging it. I was glad I tried "Iron Man" through X Box Live. It was too complicated for me to be able to enjoy any part of it. I wished I kept my save and demo from it, because one of the games I rented was "Incredible Hulk" and I read you got a Hulkbuster Iron Man skin if you had any saves from your game on your system. I spent yesterday and today on it, getting too wound up on it. It's challenging enough not to be frustrating, except for the amount of time I spend on it. I mishandled the left control knob on my controller playing it yesterday, leading me to the return of the imfamous Atari thumb where my left thumb swole up from pushing the top edge of the direction controller on the Atari joystick for the 2600. I put an ice cube on it last night before bed, and some swelling went down. Putting my thumb in the middle of the left direction control helps some as well.
But you say that I mentioned renting the games on Wednesday. The other game I rented was the one I was interested in trying out, Guitar Hero Aerosmith. I tried to kick off the training wheels and move up from Easy to Medium, which worked until I got to the 5th song on the second level "Sweet Emotion". I tried practicing, even slowing the song down, to no avail. I decided to start over on Easy. I found that I got the same songs as I did on Medium, and like Kathy says you should play games to have fun, so let the baby have his bottle, I say. I enjoyed it better on Easy, having some challenges to keep me interested. I'm not going to be able to enter any Guitar Hero tournaments like that, but at least I'll enjoy playing without the stress of competing.
I'm going to have to get off here. I've got to help get supper ready before we head out to the local movie theatre that's playing Mamma Mia! this week. And the Colts kick off in their new stadium that the poor taxpayers are stuck with the bill, but will likely never get to actually see the inside of. And yes, that's how I know you know I'm gay.

It's Friday so it's time for another installment of Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed. Are the Marvel characters owned by a different company and Marvel Comics has to pay to usethem in the comics? What was Peter David's plans for Aquaman? And was The Wild Wild West movie supposed to have a comics adaptation? Click the link to find out.

I'd have to say that the most humorous vacation I ever had was the first time I went up to Chicago for the Chicago Comicon. Although it was a three day event, we just came up for Saturday. As usual for a major convention first timer, I was way overpacked with books that I wanted to get all the guests I wanted to meet signed. Any artist or writer I had the slightest interest in meeting I brought one of their comics to sign. And the ones I liked more I would bring more, with a couple of favorites I would bring everything I had. I've never had the most organized comic book collection to begin with, so that may have saved me from breaking my back or having to rent a golf cart to bring everything. One of the guests that I really wanted to meet was Stan Lee. I remember the very first thing I did when I arrived at the convention was racing to the Marvel booth to find out when I could see him. Turns out he was doing a panel that was scheduled for an hour after the opening. It was during that panel that he first said he wanted to have Spider-man married. But the best thing was when it was over when I raced up to meet him and asked if I could get my picture took with him. Whenever Stan goes to a convention he's always mobbed, but every single time I've seen him he's been nothing but friendly and approachable, and said sure. I had my then girlfriend now wife Kathy take it. It's in the photo montage hanging up in my living room.
Oh yeah, some of you comics fans especially are wondering how this trip was most humorous. A little while after that, I went out to the car to lighten my load. I put some stuff in the trunk I had autographed, and some I put back deciding I wished not to have autographed, deciding instead to enjoy other aspects of the con. Unfortunately, I put the keys on the cooler in the trunk and left them there when I closed the trunk. The keys, stuck in the trunk.
Did I mention the convention was during July 4th weekend? And I didn't have AAA membership back then?
I called different places to find someone to get the keys out of the car. A lot of places were saying they couldn't come until the next day, but not only did I have my wife, but Shawn and Lee another couple of friends I've mentioned here before. It was all I could do to afford getting someone out to unlock the trunk, but after a lot of persistance, I finally got someone out shortly after the convention closed for the day. We got the keys and was able to go home. That was also the last year for a one day trip, we planned to stay at least overnight after that.
As I've said here before, the Chicago Comicon is gone, but the city's still there. All the better to take a Chicago tour to see the sights and learn the history. Or I could check out their online travel guides for Chicago or the other 22 cities they offer tours in, such as Cypress Gardens Florida. Or you could sign up for their newsletter and be entered to win a $150 Magellan’s Gift Certificate if you sign up by August 31st.

You thought the womens' volleyball uniforms were bad? Check out the cheerleaders! Is W back in the country yet? Good night, internet.

You've probably heard about the Sex Offender List where one can look up offenders and see where they live. And you've probably heard about this coming about as a result of the tragedy that resulted in Megan's Law where people can be informed if such people live close to them. But you probably didn't know where you could go for that information if need be, until now.

You know how people argue whether characters are alive or dead in comics (mainly) and movies (I was thinking of Evan Dorkin's Eltingville Club story "Bring Me The Head Of Boba Fett" as I was typing this)? There's some debate over one of the characters in The Dark Knight. I'm not going to call you a cave dwelling person if you haven't seen it, I'm just not going to name the character in question here. MTV apparently had some people argue about it on their message boards. So they got a copy of the script and reported what it said.

Many times when one wants to start a business the question comes up about accepting credit cards. There are a lot of options out there that can be difficult to sort through. With authorize.net they have a special offer going on until the end of the month if you set up credit card processing with them.

I feel kind of bad talking about Robert Kirkman's video posting about the future of comics since I haven't actually seen it. On one hand, while I can watch videos online, sometimes when I click on a link something happens when I don't see a video. Not a lot, but often enough to make me a little reluctant to immediately jump in and watch a video. On the other hand, since when does not seeing something disqualify somebody from talking about it? Scott Kurtz talks about the matter, wanting to eliminate the battle lines being drawn because 1) a better comics industry will make for better creators, and 2) Creators should see about taking care of themselves since Marvel and DC aren't going to do it, no matter how hot you are.

Did you know that Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) causes 900 deaths a day, strikes without warning, and if not treated within 4 to 6 minutes of it's onset the results could be fatal? You can learn more about the symptoms, warning signs, and treatment of Sudden Cardiac Arrest at this website.

I usually get the fridge and freezer Arm & Hammer baking soda to make sure it doesn't stink in the fridge. Before they said to change it every 90 days. But when I got some more last week, I noticed it was saying to change every 30 days. What happened? Somebody asked Arm & Hammer about it and this was the response they got. I was reading the responses as well, and think I'll stay with 90 days, maybe longer. Might even look into getting some activated charcoal (that you can get at pet stores, for fish tanks) that people say is better for odors. Way to increase business, A&H.

There are certain businesses that you need to use that you want to do more than just play "eenie, meenie, miney, moe" and pick one. One way is to ask around, but some people may have an experience that may be biased one way or the other, skewing their experience. Another way would be to check with Clicksmart, a site that connects people with businesses that qualify for certification, like Albuquerque moving companies. The companies they certify have to pass a qualifying process. So you can have peace of mind hiring a mover in Albuquerque by going with Clicksmart.