New Orleans to San Antonio: PAX South Adventure Part 4

Part 1: here Part 2: here Part 3: here

Learning is an integral part of a nerd's life, which is why our dynamic duo plus Chung wandered the convention in search for knowledge and creatures from a far off place to learn the secrets under the universe and what's under Claptrap's hood.

During an expo/convention there are panels. These panels can run from a wide range of formats and topics. There were the guys from Penny Arcade doing a Q&A, Rooster Teeth previewing upcoming shows, a panel on Game Mastering, and a panel on the discussion on the developing geeky bars and restaurants. These are also places for fans to ask their favorite developers, personalities, and other people within the gaming industry.

Due to the overwhelming number of games that begged for us to play, we only attended two and a half panels. The half of panel was Obsidian Entertainment holding a Q&A to discuss their upcoming game Pillars of Eternity. Pillars is a RPG (role-playing game) and spiritual successor to games like Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale (old PC dungeon crawl and RPG games) that was funded through Kickstarter with a total funding goal of $4,136,208 (yeah 4.1 million) with 77,667 individual backers in 2012. The game is finally being released this year and Pete was a backer so he was interested in the panel. Sitting for a few minutes Pete decided he was bored and we left, so all of that explanation for nothing learned.

The next panel we went to was the guys of Penny Arcade, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik holding a Q&A. Penny Arcade started as a web comic that has grown to be so much more. The convention panel is where Mike draws a three panel comic, while Jerry pulls from a hat of questions. Does that sound entertaining? Well, it f%&king was entertaining. Since 2004, these two have honed their ability to keep an audience entertained through casual conversation, banter, and storytelling. It feels as though you are having a conversation with Jerry and Mike and it just so happens that thousands of others are in the room with you, and you are really high up in the thrid floor of the theater where the poor theater nerds fawn over The Complete Works of Shakespeare: Abridged. I do not know if that is true, but we where on the third floor of the theater looking down or at a large screen.

The third panel we visited was the one concerning Game Mastering or GMing. This refers to the storyteller of a pen and paper role playing game, e.g. Dungeons and Dragons. I throughly enjoyed it as I have always wanted to take that role, usually a role nobody wants to do, and craft a story, but I have feared the game mechanics of most role-playing games. I'll be honest hearing the panel from older and younger GMs alike had me feeling a bit excited about starting a new group in New Orleans and running it. It was primarily an Q&A, but was provided with plenty of great advice and thoughts of running my own game (one day).

In between the panels, scavenger hunts, and games, we explored the various costumes that were proudly paraded throughout the convention. There were many characters that I had no idea where they hailed from, but was impressed with the skill dedication, or purchasing power of the many cosplayers. I believe my favorite was a person that was bound in a motorized wheelchair created Claptrap- a robotic character from the video game Borderlands. Feast your eyes below on the various costumes.

Claptrap!

Destiny

Video Game Characters Gangnam Style!

Dragon Age

Mass Effect Hotness

Looks fun, right? This by no means cover all the cosplayers, but a sample of a few that Pete took some fantastics pictures.

Until I ramble on again. . . 

Part 5 here

New Orleans to San Antonio: PAX South Adventures Part 3- Games

Part 1 here. Part 2 here

Finally, our intrepid heroes make it to San Antonio with not a scratch on them; fortified with good sleep they wake to embark on an encounter like neither have every experienced before. This part covers the games, to a certain extant, that were played by Rob and Pete.

This is the part of the story that is the most exciting, well, to me. Our first day of PAX South, which was Saturday. I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the anticipation was palpable. My nerd cup doth runeth o'er wit feels. With water bottles, hand sanitizers, snacks, and excitement packed in our bags we set forth. There were only a few things that were 'must' on my list, but only needed to be meet at some point over the two days. Pete and I meet up with Chung, Pete's brother, and his ensemble, and into the foray we went. We waited in what I can only describe as a carol of nerd cattle. Bunched together we were entertained and given free items by the volunteers that assist in keeping the peace at these events.

Once the gates were opened people raced to get into the lines to try out, or re-try out, video games that are still being worked on, improved, and will be released at some point in the future. Basically, it is early access to a create some hype or buzz or buildup for a potential new gaming property. The first line I pulled Pete

Others wanting in the azure glow of Gigantic

into was for a game called Gigantic. The game is a team game, also known as Person versus Person (PvP), where two teams made up of five people each fight each to lots of deaths. The cool mechanic of this game is that we fight along side a gigantic (see that there) Guardian that is bolstered (or rendered vulnerable) by the number of kills of each team. The object of the game is to kill the Guardian three times. I jumped in this line because I was instantly pulled in by the art design of the game. A somewhat cartoon-based images with sharp edges that were very appealing. A quick caveat is that Pete and I are both bad at PVP-style games, or so we thought. We don't even do well when we are suppose to be on the same team. When it was our turn got into our little group, developed a strategy, and got into the game. I did not embarrass myself that I'm glad to report. I performed well in the game, and we won. I will say there was a couple of times when I was running the wrong way in the game, but no one noticed.

It would take me too long to go through all the different games that we played, my experiences, and thoughts on the various mechanics. There were many fun indie video games as well. The one that stands out is Steamboat Bandits, a point and click adventure game with (I believe) 40 hours of story. Pete and my description is a simple game that you could easily lose five hours without realizing it. The one common element that I will point out is that there seemed to be a majority of PvP-style games through out PAX South. There were exceptions, but with the popularity of games like DOTA and League of Legends it is a hot market that game developers and publishers are trying to capitalize on, especially with the advent of e-sports.

I love board games. Above is a picture of me at the board game rental area. I have a regular Sunday night gaming group that, honestly, I have the best time playing a varied number of games. Also, shout out to the best book store/board game shop in New Orleans- Tubby and Coo's Mid-City Book Shop. A big must for me was to visit Ape Games. At the time of this writing they are in the middle of a Kickstarter for a game called Spirits of the River Paddy, which looks beautiful (I'm currently a backer). They, in my opinion, stupidly did not bring at least a prototype of it at PAX South. However, I had a great time playing a game of Rise to Power distributed by Ape Games, and after playing immediately bought a copy. It touts itself as a city building strategy card game, but I feel it is a power plant building card game. I saw some really fun potential for various strategies. I have now played it three times, and want to play more times because more times is better times. Here is a picture of me having a raucous good time playing Rise to Power.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Indie Showcase at PAX South. First, it is a dedicated area for small developers to showcase and demo their game that is either on Kickstarter or recently was funded. A noticeable problem with Kickstarting indie developers is that the games seem to cease to exist past the Kickstarter; therefore, the games never getting into shops. Not that this showcase would do anything for that, but would help introduce more potential buyers to the games. There was a panel as well for people to ask questions of the developers. I unfortunately did not attend said panel.

Not only where their new video and board games, but they had areas for PC gaming and renting (for free) older video games systems (with games of course). Here is someone playing Duck Hunt. In the PC gaming area one could wait in line to play hundreds of PC titles, or if you brought your own you could hook it up to a network, and off playing with your new friends around you. Did I mention that there was a game inside the convention? Not to have enough games to choose from, there was a game with the official PAX South app. QR codes were hidden all over the convention that once scanned would provide a piece of a picture. Once you found all the QR codes, you would receive a special prize from the information desk- a mini PAX rubik's cube! 

Do you see how easily I could go on and on about various games writing a large tome that would take me years? I know I'm leaving many things out, but I wanted to write enough to give some sort of indication of how overwhelmed a person is at a PAX convention, even this brand new edition to the PAX series. What does settle in at the end of the day is fatigue, yet that fatigue came much later.

The next part with be about panels and cosplay, and the final one in this saga will be the music of PAX South. 

Until I ramble on again. . . 

New Orleans to San Antonio: PAX South Adventures Part 2

To read Part 1, click here

Sometimes the journey is more than the destination, but that was not the case when two friends journey together for the inaugural PAX South in San Antonio. 

Pete (Ackote from previous post) lives a little over an hour southwest of me, which is in the general direction of New Orleans; therefore, we decided that I would swoop down and pick him up in Houma, LA. It would add negligible time in getting into San Antonio.

Our first major stop was Buc-ee's. What is a Buc-ee's? It is a giant, nay ginormous chain of gas stations that are growing like fungus in the triangle of Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. It takes the simple idea of a gas station/convenient store and pumps steroids to a ridiculous level. With that said, their gas was $1.59 in Baytown, and I bought some homemade beef jerky for convention days. I might sound like a hypocrite with my seemingly derisive description, but there is a love/hate relationship with Buc-ee's. I like to the think the the apostrophizing of "Buc-ee" is showing ownership of me, since it doesn't clarify what Buc-ee actually owns. They have large bronze beavers at the two side entrances. Here is Pete getting friendly with one of them. This was his first time experiencing Buc-ee's, and it wouldn't be his last.

Fueled up, waste released, stockpiled, and ready to go, I pushed forward to our final destination- San Antonio.

A quick rant: I have driven in Houston a fair amount, and decided that 7pm on Friday might not be a good day to travel through the heart of Houston because of all the elements that create gridlock traffic. Also, with the construction on I-610, I thought our most prudent coarse of action was to take Tollway 8. There are signs that state 'No Cash' above the EZ Tag sign along the road once you get on Tollway 8 from I-10, but I figured those were the EZ Tag lanes only as I have experienced in the northern section of Highway 8. So, if you want to take Tollway 8 North from I-10 East, you CANNOT without an electronic Tag. I realized this as I was passing through an area with cameras going off as each car passed through. What the f@*k, Houston. Trying to circumvent the horrible traffic put me in a violation. Here is what you do Houston, you put a big sign that reads verbatim, "Do not enter on this part of the Tollway unless you have a toll tag. I don't care if Google is telling you to go that direction because it doesn't understand that although you are O.K. with paying a toll to avoid sitting in mind-numbing traffic due to our inefficiency with road construction, you have to have a special toll tag to enter here. Trust us you don't want to enter here because we like to create arbitrary violation fine amounts." See what I did there? It is very clear, concise message, and you could get Google to sponsor the signs in exchange for product placement.

Once we got on the other side of Houston, it was soothe sailing. It was so soothing that Pete was snoring in no time. That man can fall asleep at the drop of a head, and he doesn't need to be reclined. No worries, I had Dan Carlin's Hardcore History cued up to learn about Genghis Khan. At the time of this writing, I have finished parts 1-3 of the Wrath of Khan series. Dan's ability to weave a narrative is confounding, bewildering, but mostly entertaining. He is a gifted story teller, and pulls from many sources to construct a vivid story that feels compelling. He offers information and a doorway into my academic prose on the subject matter. I have not listen to anything else, but the three (so far) of Wrath of Khans, and can't speak to quality of the other ones. Keep in mind he is an entertainer doing history not the other way around.

We arrived to our destination in San Antonio around 10:00 PM. As this is my first experience with an AirBnB, I was really delighted. The owners of the home, which was a large home, had several rooms for guest. We had two rooms with a total of three beds. The house is older with lots of character. Harvey and Sylvia were very kind and generous host. We did not interact with them much as they kept to their side of the house, and we were just there to relax. I don't think these pictures do justice of the rooms, but you get the idea. With a quick bite to eat and a couple of celebratory beers, we soon found ourselves in a deep sleep hoping that tomorrow would come sooner.




































Part 3

Until I ramble on again. . .

New Orleans to San Antonio: PAX South Adventures Part 1

The preparation for any trip has its difficulties. From hotels, routes, driving vs. flying, what to bring, wear, and a whole host of other details that go into having fun. In the summer of 2014, three friends decided to attend the inaugural PAX South, and this is my story- part 1- the preparation gibberish.

PAX is the Penny Arcade eXpo, which started in 2004 located at Bellevue, Washington. This convention is simply a gaming convention with publishers, studios, developers, and fans congregating together to share in the love of all types of games. It became so popular that in 2010, PAX East was created, thus we have PAX Prime in Washington and PAX East in Boston. Not satisfied with providing two of the largest gaming expos in the United States with over 70,000 attendees* each, PAX Aus was created in 2013 for thousands of Aussies to have their own PAX down under. When it was announced that there would be a PAX closer to home in the form of PAX South, my friends Ackote and Madlaugher (names withheld for legal reasons[not really]) became enthused, nay, enthralled with the idea of traveling to San Antonio for a weekend of nerd-gaming fun.  The three of us have bonded over playing video games. You can see a short video of us playing Dead Island (2) together here. I quickly jumped on board especially with there being a fair amount of board gaming action, which do not display my pitiful eye-hand coordination like video games, and tickets were purchased. We agreed on Saturday and Sunday, since three day passes sold out quickly.

Finding a room can be difficult around a large convention, plus prices are increased because capitalism, free market, blah, blah, blah. So the market has responded to this ability for people to take advantage of situation. Ackote handled the room arrangement, and he is an avid user of AirBnB, the online website for people to turn a room or rooms in their home into a Bed and Breakfast, of sorts. Basically, it is a cheap way to find a room in lieu of a hotel or actually Bed and Breakfast establishment. This was my first experience with a room obtained through Air BnB. Analysis to come later. So, tickets purchased-check, room reserved- check, and now how to actually get to San Antonio.

The only problem with traveling in a group is that I can't ride on my motorcycle- the best way to travel. I, oddly, have the only car that could handle this trip, a 2001 Honda Accord with over 190,000 miles, a slight gasket leak, and transmission situation. I say a transmission situation because I have no idea what the actual problem is, but it works well enough that I do not feel an overwhelming desire to get it checked out. It also does not have A/C either- so a real gem of a car. When the weather is warm and raining is the worst because the only way to keep the windows from fogging up is keeping the door windows down, and then you get wet from the rain. Remember, this is the best of the three of our cars.

The only problem in the preparation phase came within three to four weeks of the trip and Madlaugher for personal reasons had to drop out the trip. Ackote and I searched for weeks for a replacement, but in the end we could not find a worthy enough person (that is what I'm telling myself not that people didn't want to take a road trip with me), and the tickets were given to a young man. The time came, arraignments, routes, and all where concretized, thus the adventure began and fun was calling like a Siren's Song. Oh, I will willing and warmly step into your gentle embrace PAX.

Part 2

Until I ramble again on again. . .


*It seems that PAX has cease to give out the number of attendees since 2011, or getting a final count with vendors, exhibitors, and fans, so this is the last officialish count since that year. The limited 3 Day Passes appear to usually sell out within 24 hours.

The Devolution of a Ride

"Best laid schemes of mice and men/ Often go awry" - John Steinbeck

Eric and I decided to take Labor Day weekend away from our families and go for a ride of epic intent. Two goals were agreed upon: 1) attempt a SaddleSore and 2) ride through seven new states.

SaddleSore is an endurance test on your motorcycle. It is one of several activities that people can engage in to acquire the moniker of an Iron Butt. SaddleSore is achieved when you ride 1,000 miles in a 24 hour period. There are strict rules and regulations that are involved with acquiring a SaddleSore certificate. You can read all about it here. We felt that working towards this endeavor first and then spend the rest of the weekend traveling to new states on our motorcycles was the best plan.

The forces of nature had something to say about our so-called, "Plans". Rain does not necessary deter me from riding- that's why I bought all my gear with Gore-Tex (super-duper waterproof material that 'breathes'). However, hail does bring about a certain amount of trepidation. Riding at seventy miles per hour with golfball-sized chunks of ice flying at you gives the mind pause. Yet, bravado sometimes trumps sense, and I packed my bags with the intention of riding and headed to Eric's house.

Once there, after pouring over weather maps we decided that we would forgo riding through a total of eleven states and only ride on Sunday with the hopes of unlocking our SaddleSore achievement. The weather was too horrendous. Drinks and merriment were had to celebrate our mature decision of not being struck my chunks of ice.

All systems were a go on Sunday. We woke early, left at our decided time of 4:30 AM. We stopped at the gas station where I added air to my tires, fueled up, and had our SaddleSore documentation signed by a witness (Brandy) with a time stamped receipt to designate our starting time. The Iron Butt rules are rigorous, and they take up to three months to verify your claims.

Riding early in morning on US 190 was a very vitalizing experience. The outline of the trees (cypress, I believe) in the night sky is haunting and beautiful. There was an element of fear due to the darkness, but it heightens your awareness of your surroundings. For several hours the landscape changed from Atchafalaya Basin wildlife preserve to small towns. That juxtaposition is lost when traveling the straight and narrows of interstate paths. For me, it gives me a sense of the evolution of villages, towns, and cities. Back roads remind me of the greater world that exist outside of the city that I live in, and how we are interconnected. These are the thoughts that roll through my head as we travel.

We crossed into Texas with the dawn horizon to our backs. I was excited. We were going to start heading north up East Texas to Oklahoma before turning around and headed back to Baton Rouge. About  twenty miles into Texas, we stopped for some gas, a digital receipt, and a bathroom break.

All things seemed to be in order. Heading north, I noticed a disturbing sound and feel from my motorcycle. It was almost a pulling sensation. I flashed my lights to notify Eric, and immediately pulled over. My first thought was that something was dragging against my back wheel. We took turns riding and looking. I removed my rear guard, but that did not abate the problem. Eric suggested we get off the side of the road and headed back to a parking lot to safely work on the motorcycle.

We parked next to a non descriptor red, aluminum barn*. I was focused on trying to fix the problem- the SaddleSore was at stake. We had only traveled about 220 miles. Since the rear guard did not appear to be the problem, the next thought was that there was something wrong with the back brakes. I pulled out my half-charged phone (didn't think I would need a full charge), and started reading about how to remove your bake breaks. Eric was reviewing some technical information as well. These are good signs of mechanical prowess, right? I got the back brake off and we started the motorcycle, but the jerking was still occurring.

This is where the mechanical declined person makes a bad situation worse. My motorcycle has a computer on it that basically does a lot of really cool things. One of the things it does is not start if there is a problem with your brakes. In all my tinkering, I had, probably, most likely, broke my calipers. Now my motorcycle would not even start. So, we were stranded in the middle of Bruna, Texas, twenty minutes from Beaumont on a Sunday. We had luckily packed some sandwiches and snacks.

We tried calling motorcycle shops in Beaumont on Sunday, the day before Labor Day. Yes, nothing was open. We started calling friends and family to see if we could get someone with a truck and/or trailer to come and pick us up. However, an idea was born- rent a U-haul to strap both bikes in it and drive back home. U-haul was open, which was promising. Eric called the 1-800 number to rent a truck. They had a truck large enough to fit both our bikes. Things were looking up for us because we could get our bikes together and tow them back for relatively cheap without inconveniencing anybody.

Eric drove to the rental place. They did have a truck large enough, but it wasn't going to be available until 4:45 PM. The shop closed at 5:00 PM. The next day was Labor Day. Things were not looking promising. It was about 10:30 AM, and we had been at the same location for about two to three hours. Waiting there until nearly 5:00 PM for a 'maybe' truck did not sound like a good idea. Honestly, I thought we were up a creek without a paddle or piece of board or a boat.

Cue heavenly music.

The newly minted Mrs. Malatesta's mother and step-father had recently acquired a trailer. They lived about ninety minutes from our current location, and were generous enough to offer to come a pick us up form Nowhere, Texas. I am incredibly grateful for this generous act- seriously. The rest of trip went back without a any problems and we arrived safely back in Baton Rouge well ahead of schedule.

The trip was initially to be a nearly epic 2,000 mile trek through eleven states with a SaddleSore involved. Then it was reduced to getting only a SaddleSore in one day to riding. Finally, it devolved to 220 miles and spending six hours on the side of the road next to a drive-thru beer shop.



Until I ramble on again. . .  


*The aluminum barn was a drive-thru for beer. People would literally drive-thru the middle of the barn and someone would grab them the beer, ice, or snacks that they wanted pay and drive out without ever leaving the coziness of one's car.

The Story of Semkye

On May 24, 2014, Rebecca and I went to her parents house to borrow her dad's truck to haul something that is unimportant to this story. Once at her parents' house we noticed a small, emaciated dog hanging out. Rebecca's dad said, "Rob, take that dog, put her in the truck, take her ten blocks, and drop her off." I said, "Ok," with no intention of dumping her. I picked her up with some trepidation, not knowing how she would react to this human interaction, and brought her to Rebecca's house. Some part of me knew right away that I would be caring for this dog.

I have never owned a dog. Sure, we had two family dogs growing up, but those were more do to my brother's manipulation, than any desire I had for a dog. I'm not saying that he would stroke the air as though he was petting a dog, and say, "It would sure nice to have a dog to pet," to con my parents to his will, but he did. About 3 years ago, after almost attacked by two dogs on a run, I thought, "A dog would be fun to have for some protection." Yet, a fleeting thought is not enough or a good excuse for dog ownership. Over the past three years, the idea has passed through my mind at various instances, but not being in a living space suitable for an animal the idea was dropped. Sometimes everything happens in a way that circumstances allow for an idea to become a reality.

Day 1

For my first outing, I found a sick dog. Yet, she was laid back, sweet, and loved hunting for worms. Initially, I called her Priscilla, but I didn't feel like it fit. We decided to try and find her owners, but the way she looked it seemed unlikely that she had been "lost." I posted on Craigslist, and sent in a form for SPCA lost and found program. The only response from Craigslist was a sweet woman that gave me some tips of how to ensure she is not claimed by someone who would use her as a "bait dog," which, confirmed by my veterinarian is a real thing. She is part of a group that monitor Craigslist to help lost dogs find their homes or good homes and do not become bait dogs for dogfighters.

In the meantime, I needed to name her. I wanted to give her an auspicious name, a name that had meaning and weight. Of course, I couldn't give her a seemingly normal name, but had to go that extra mile into my weird mind. I settled on Semkye. Her name literally means "mind generation" in Tibetan, but more accurately it refers to bodhicitta- the Buddhist idea of developing compassion for the benefit of all living beings. I was extending my compassion to care for this obviously sick dog, and found it very fitting.


Rex is Rebecca's dog for almost 10 years. He is often referred to as, "You Little Shit," in both exasperation and endearment. When I first brought Semkye inside after spraying for fleas, he smelled her crotch to determine her sex- a few too many times if you ask me. He was initially put off by her and wouldn't go within 5 feet of her, but slowly he grew to tolerate her. I daresay in time he would have liked her.

Seriously?!?

I was not able to took her to the veterinary until Tuesday because of Memorial Day. First, they scanned for a microchip that people insert into their dogs to help locate if lost, and Semkye had a microchip. I was at once excited and disappointed. In the two days that we had her, I had become very attached. She would sit next to me so I can pet her, and was very easy going. She felt like "my dog."

The people at the veterinary tried the first company, 24 hours PetWatch and success! The mircrochip she had in her was one of their microchips. The company dialed the two numbers that were on file, and both numbers were disconnected. They had an address, but could not provide me with that information. The company used the address to find a third number to call the owner. An individual did pick up, but denied owning Semkye. At this point, what was clear was Semkye was mine because she had been abandoned.


Next, it was time for examination and to find out how her healthy she was, and what we could do to help her. Dr. Janet Tosh is wonderful and was very helpful, honest with Semkye's condition and the care that was necessary. Semkye had a tremendously bad case of heartworms. The blood test showed lots of larva in the blood stream. This would be an uphill battle. Due to Semkye's weight, or lack there of, she would not survive the rigorous treatment. I was sent home with steroids and antibotics and would return in two weeks.

In that time, I purchased a collar from Etsy, a new posh bed, researched different dog foods, and how to house train a dog. We developed a routine. In the mornings, I would take Semkye and Rex outside, sit down, and wait for them to their business. Since Semkye was not house trained, once she urinated, she would get a treat with her medication in it. Afterwards, we would go inside, and I would pour some canned dog food (she preferred this more to dry), while she was eating, I would make coffee and breakfast. After she was done, I would take my coffee and we would sit outside for a few minutes. Rex walked around urinating on anything that was upright. She would wonder around the yard for a few minutes, than come sit next to me so I could pet her. The medication, Prednisone, would make her urinate often, so outside bathroom time was frequent.

Evenings were similar. I would sit in the backyard with a drink, play on my computer, and she would hunt for worms. We played a little at times as well. As much as she could handle. She was smiling and genuinely looked happy. Maybe that is a projection on my part, but she was moving around more and wagging her tail often.

Two weeks had pass and the she had lost a pound. The veterinarian was worried. She took a couple of X-Rays, and saw that her heart was enlarged most likely due to the heartworms. She referred me to LSU veterinary clinic for possible special procedure that would surgically remove the heartworms, which she would have a better chance than the more traditional procedure. However, she was not a candidate.

Two days later we had some blood work done, and things started to look promising. She had gained almost 2 pounds, was eating often, and had even jumped on the car seat. She was mobile. Dr. Tosh, decided to do a slow kill of the heartworms over the next couple of months. This would give her an opportunity to put some weight on, while ridding her of this awful disease.

Everything seemed encouraging. I ordered her some new treats, special food, and a new toy to teach her how to fetch as she became more healthy. I knew that her life expectancy would be reduced, but believed we had time. She was even barking a few times. These positive signs are the reason why when things started changing it was difficult. Saturday evening she only ate about half her dinner, which was unexpected. I chalked it up to me over feeding her. Sunday morning I knew something was wrong when she would not eat her treat after urinating. She did not eat her food. It was all very disconcerting.

Friends came over for a big season finale party for Game of Thrones. Some wonderful friends bought her some special treats and helped to take her medication. For this I am grateful. Something told me that things were taking a turn for the worse when she was vomiting in the morning. I called Dr. Tosh, and brought her into the clinic first thing in the morning. About an hour later, Dr. Tosh called me an told me her kidneys were failing, her liver was enlarged, and there were toxins filling her body. We did all that we could do for her.

As I am typing this, tears are flowing freely. I walked over to the clinic as it next to my office knowing what was to come next. They brought me in the exam room, and brought her to me. I sat with her on my lap for a few minutes, not allowing myself to cry. She seemed to be in pain. Her breathing was very labored. Anger was piercing through my emotions.

We put her on the table, I stood in front of her, petting her as Dr. Tosh injected her with medication. She breathed slower and slower until her breathing was faint and then it stopped. After checking Semkye's pulse, Dr. Tosh stepped out of the room and I took a few minutes.

As soon as Dr. Tosh stepped out of the room, my heart broke. Semkye was dead. Three days ago, I had hope. I imagined her healthy playing in the backyard, going on walks, and being a little pain in my ass. Now she was lifeless. Part of me wants to find her previous owner and punch him or her in the face. Give them a nice bloody nose.

This is what we have put together: Semkye was about two years old, and around the time when she was born she had a microchip put in her body. Due to the company that was used, the veterinary clinic believes that she was chipped at the SPCA. She had been living on the streets for a long time. Her stage of heartworm advancement was very high and very emaciated.

If the speculation is right, than Semkye was picked up from the SPCA, than later dumped by her owners. If anyone is unable to care for their animal there is an organization to drop them off- the SPCA. Yet, we may never know Semkye's past and what a actually transpired before she found us.

I do take some solace in the fact that Semkye lived a wonderful last three weeks of her life. She was cared for, but above all loved.

How Gaming Helped Me Understand Women

Ok, so this is really a misleading title. I don't understand women, but I learned something through video games that has given me insight into a particular area (not sure if I could be more vague).

To the uninitiated, the title seems like a contradiction. It is not the actually gameplay that has taught me; rather, the purchasing of games that inadvertently provided the lesson. Bare with me as I map this out.

Through various relationships with women, I have often been in the situation where a female feels compelled to show me her newly purchased clothing items. Some situations have been more enticing than others when I've experienced the fashion show (wink, wink nudge, nudge). Through all of these experiences, I have never understood why buying a plethora of clothing on sale that you may or may not use was a good idea. You are still spending as much money as though you bought a few items that you actually really want or need. I have over the years been better in not providing my opinion on this topic, which I erroneously thought was the superior perspective.  

I am a t-shirts, jeans, and sandals guy. I don't understand buying more than is needed. If I need a pair of jeans, I go straight to the section, if there is a sale, good, but otherwise I find my size, take them to the counter, purchase, and go home. None of this buying seeming superfluous items because they are hanging precariously on the sales rack. Just because you bought a clothing item at a drastically reduced price does not mean it has any more significance/potential because you know Goodwill or Salvation Army are going to get it near enough to brand-new because of your sale-purchase.

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

I will concede that I have spent a lot of time show shopping before for a new pair of motorcycle boots. Yet, it is playing video games on my PC that the interesting parallel can be drawn. There is a platform called Steam that is a digital distributor of video games. You sign up for free, and can purchase games that are strictly digital downloads- no hard copies to loose or damage. You download the application on any computer, sign in, and your library is at your disposal to download. Steam has sales regularly. On top of this revolving sales, there are the seasonal sale. Hundreds of games are up to ninety percent off regular price. . We are not talking about the boring or bad games that no one really wants; rather, many titles that I did not want to pay the $60 when it was first released. During the seasonal sales, I have to stay away because I will scroll through and fill up my virtual cart. 

As of this writing I have 87 games via digital download. I have approximately six games downloaded to my PC and one game downloaded to my Mac. I generally play one to two games a week, usually the same games for an extended period of time. I now know how women feel when they see a clothing sale. There is something compelling about spending less and getting more items. The problem is it pulls you in and next thing you know you are blowing loads of cash for a bunch of stuff you don't necessary need.

One evening after a particular over indulgent purchase, I realized the connection. Instead of a significant other, I have to communicate with Madlaugher of my most recent purchases. After listing my most recent 'gets,' I realized that this is no different than the various women that have had to tell me about their clothing purchases. I started laughing- a lot. So thank you video games, Steam, Humble Bundle, GoG, you have enlightened me on an area of female activity that I was previously ignorant.

Until I ramble on again. . .