Hi, everyone. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas or whatever you were celebrating. I got a new camera, which I have yet to try out. I also got some X Box games. I lost my first two FIFA games, but I guess you have to learn in everything. I'm also playing a really offbeat racing title, "Crash Time," where you drive on the Autobahn and try to arrest people who are wanted for crimes. It's harder than it looked in the ad (isn't that a surprise). There is a ton of traffic in front of you, and since you play a police officer, you have to not damage the car or stop the wrong person. The crooks are good at getting away from you. I've played twice so far, and both times wound up getting too much damage on my own car... but that's what practice is for. There are a lot of cases in the game. Hopefully I'll be able to solve some of them soon.

I'm watching a pretty good anime series, "Moonlit Mile," and also got a Japanese car show video. It's been good to relax with some Netflix titles. I hadn't slept in two days at the end of the work week, so I was glad to get some time off. If the weather is good today, I'd like to do some things outdoors as well.

I've been watching a couple new things on TV. There's "Campus PD," which follows all sorts of mayhem at different schools. It's just like "Cops," but they follow the college area police, instead of the city and state ones. It's all right as such. Today I watched part of the "National Parks" series on PBS. It's really well-filmed and makes a good introduction, if you haven't had time to travel to many of them. "Cats 101" isn't so new, but it is very cute and has a lot of good details on the different cat breeds. I also have a bunch of other DVDs to get to. A few of them are movies; some of the rest are Discovery specials.

Okay, that's it for the moment. See you soon. Thanks!

(This is a picture of the neighbors' house, with the Christmas lights on. The camera was wobbly... which kind of makes it look better!)

Hello. I watch the teevee every day, and I have learned one thing: the commercials on the C&I (Crime and Investigation network) are longer than the shows themselves. Could they please put a stop to the epic commercials? I swear, they take a break in the night's episode of "The First 48" or something, and several dozen minutes later, you know almost everything about the upcoming episode of "Philly"! All right, I'll watch it! I'll watch it! Just stop driving me crazy!

Whew. On the good side of things, I've been watching Champions League soccer. Today is Arsenal vs. Olympiakos PK. I like the Champions because it gives you a chance to see different teams from all over the place.

My dog wandered over to say hi, but she'll have to know, I'm out of cookies.

I finally did get around to watching the new show, "Steven Segal: Lawman." The verdict is... it's not bad. I've only seen one episode so far, and it was kind of weird, but it's interesting to see how he teaches the other officers about aikido, how he catches people on the run and then what he does to relax, such as play in a band. I'm surprised that I had a good time watching this show. I think I'll keep watching the rest.

That's it for now. Thanks. I'll see you soon.

This is a nice group photo from not too long ago: my parents and Keisha on the couch.

Hi. This past week, I got an Aluratek wi-fi radio. It works with the wi-fi network in my house, and it can pick up literally tens of thousands of stations around the world. I can listen to any type of music, in a zillion different languages. I love it! And it's a stand-alone radio, so I can leave it on the table next to my bed, without having the computer on at the same time.

It's almost the end of the year. I've done almost all my Christmas shopping. Every year on Christmas Eve, I try to catch the broadcasts of the choirs from churches around the world. There's St. Paul's in England, a performance from Dublin and the midnight Mass from the Vatican. Of course, there are time zone differences, so I have to look them up.

I'm trying to catch up on my reading. I was lucky enough to find a good audiobook, which I dubbed off of CDs. When I put the last disc into the computer, it said Disc 92, even though it was only # 12.

Okay, that's it for now. See you later. Thanks.

I don't have one of these, but I hope to next year.

Hi, thanks for reading. Can you believe there are only a few weeks left in the year?

Today I watched a few things-- the "Deadliest Catch" marathon, a movie about Dorothy Day and another about graffiti art. It was cold and windy where I live, so I didn't get to do much, just went to mail some stuff at a shipping center, then went back home to watch TV and play with my dog.

My pedometer broke! You can see a picture of it below. I don't know why it happened. The screen just went crazy one day. Oh well.

Hope you and your family had a good Thanksgiving. See you soon.

Hello. It's the Sunday before Thanksgiving. In the U.S., people are busy buying turkeys and making plans to invite the family on Thursday. I'm hoping we get a chance to watch the football game, because we are inviting a lot of people. There's also the parade in the morning. I hope I get to see a balloon careen into a street lamp and shred its guts all over everything.

Today I got a Sony Reader. It's an e-book machine, which means you can charge it up, carry it anywhere and use it to read electronic book files. It is awesome! The screen looks so much like a real paper, you'll have a hard time believing what you're seeing at first. I love it.

Tonight, they had "The First 48" and "Cops" on at the same time. I loved being able to switch back and forth between the two. There were a lot of good soccer games on Fox Soccer Channel, too. I had a chance to catch up on the Italian and English leagues. Not a bad day, all in all.

That's it for now. See you soon. Thanks.

Some guests at my aunt's birthday party.

It's getting closer to Thanksgiving in the U.S. I don't see as many cartoon specials as I used to. There are a couple, but other than that, I don't know.

I cleaned out some things from the closet today. It left a surprising amount of room. That was a relief-- I hate to clean.

I've been trying to finish some audiobooks this week. I also want to get started on some new artwork. Today I finished watching "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla," which was a lot better than I thought. There were a lot of explosions, and some long fight sequences at the end. Some of the new Godzilla films have skimped on the traditional strengths of the character, but this one lived up to them.

This weekend, my old desktop PC bit the dust. I was furious at first, but then after I set up my laptop (which I am using now), the new system was so much better, I was almost glad about it. The laptop is fast, has better video functions and takes up much less space on the desk. I managed to get the printer to work with it too, so I didn't lose much. I had already put some of my music files on disc before the PC broke, because I expected this to happen eventually. The rest, I will have to download again. I use a subscription service, so a lot of that will be included-- it's just kind of annoying because it's so time-consuming.

This afternoon, I spent some time checking out the high-number channels on our HD lineup. Many of them are foreign-language stations, others are kids' channels. Quite a few we don't get, because they're pay-per-view or premium channels. Someday soon, when I get a new place, I'd like to get the whole slate of foreign stations, plus the sports ones. Once I can watch Armenian public television, there might be world peace.

Okay, that's it for now. See you soon. Thanks.

Some people at my Aunt's 90th birthday party, a few weeks ago.

Hello. It's Monday, the start of a new week, and I'm glad "The First 48" is on at 7:00 tonight. Nice to have something good to watch before work, for a change.

They've added a couple new channels to our cable line-up. One is Epix, which is a movie network that you have to pay to have permanently, and the other is Halogen, of which I have watched a little but still don't know what it's for.

I watched some anime this afternoon. It was an old TV series, "Saber Riders," and I liked it a lot. Did some reading, too. I was going to go buy the new FIFA 10 game, but I thought I'd rent it first. Have to send back the game I have now, "Storm Rise," which turned out to be a big disappointment.

That's it for the moment. Thanks. See you soon.

Cover of Alaska Geographic's issue on the Russian settlements of the pre-statehood days.

Hello, it's the day before Halloween-- did you get your candy ready yet?

I played "Stormrise" for the X Box 360, and it was one of the worst games for controls I've seen in ages. The plot and the graphics were good, but I couldn't move a thing without losing control of the camera, so I had to be stuck in one spot while my team got mowed down around me. Not worth the rental.

"Knowing" turned out to be great for 75% of the film, and for the last part, the most depressing film ever made. I won't tell you what happens, in case you haven't seen it, but it's serious. Yipes. Get something else.

I have only read a paltry 17 books this year. I count the ones that I get all the way through, not ones where I have maybe finished part of them. I hope next year will be better.

We still don't know where we're having Thanksgiving this year. To tell you the truth, I miss the Indian restaurant I used to go to -- their carved turkey was surprisingly good. They know how to do a sauce.

Okay, that's it for the moment. I'm off to get some lunch. See you later. Thanks.

Hello. It's early, and I am passing the time with some music and then reading when I'm done. I just had some graham cereal for breakfast.

Started watching "Knowing" with Nicholas Cage. Liked it a lot better than I thought I would. Yesterday I went to a birthday party for my Aunt and one of my uncles as well. There were a ton of family and friends there. It was very nice, good food, plenty of stories and picture-taking as well. I haven't seen a lot of the people in a while. Good to catch up on things.

It's cold and rainy outside. I was going to take a walk, but I think I'll wait until the sun comes out.

The World Series should be exciting- as usual. I'm also glad it's hockey season. This is a good time of year for me.

That's it for the moment. Thanks. See you later.

Early in the party, when the guests were just starting to come in.

It's already been a fun day (sarcasm): I had to work an hour overtime, then I had to go to the doctor. When I came home, I couldn't find this half a candy bar I know I saved the other day. Oops.

Finally finished watching all my videos for the week. Can't wait to get some new ones. I was disappointed in one film, "Landscape No. 2," which was good in parts but then slowed down. Haven't played "Stormrise" yet. I got it from Gamefly.

I got some new art markers. I've been thinking of lots of designs I'd like to work on. Found some paper the other day, but they had turned bright yellow, for some reason. They turned the same color as the dresser I stored them in. What the--?

I have lots of reading to do. I'm still too stressed from the doctor visit to get to sleep right now. (I work nights, and have to rest during the afternoon.) I think I'll try to kill time before I have to go to work. Thanks, see you later.

Hello. Not much going on today, except that my shift at work will now start an hour later. I also got my new medicine in the mail, after having waited more than a couple weeks. What's nice is I can watch the 9:00 p.m. shows before I leave for work. I used to only be able to catch the 8:00 shows. In case you're wondering, we don't have DVR.

Yesterday, I cleaned out several shelves on my bookcase. I'll be giving away a lot of old magazines. I brought two whole huge plastic crates full of books and other stuff over to the storage center. It makes the bookcase look a lot less sloppy. I even thought that the room doesn't feel as crowded.

My dog has to go to the groomer's pretty soon. She looks like a little walking carpet. She doesn't like to go, but after the haircut is done, she looks like a puppy.

Okay, that's it for now. See you later. Thanks.

Hello. It's hot and muggy here, the perfect weather for sweating and headaches. I'm listening to a very good episode of "Death Disco Radio," one of my favorite podcasts. I didn't feel up to going to the science museum today. Maybe tomorrow morning, if the weather cools down a little.

I've been watching a lot of Italian soccer on Fox Soccer Channel. I also listened to a few audiobooks. One was by Anthony Zuiker, the guy who writes for CSI. I haven't been able to go to the library, because they changed their hours and I'm never sure when stuff is open. Played two games this week-- NHL 2010, and G.I. Joe. The latter was better than I thought it would be. The first was pretty good, beautiful graphics but annoying controls. It did allow you to drive the Zamboni, which is worth a game in itself.

My dog is really fluffy. I mean, really fluffy. If she sits down, you might assume she is a sheep. It's time to get her to the groomer's.

I have some Netflix DVDs to watch. One of them was a good show about artist Richard Tuttle. The other was a depressing German movie, "Landscape Number Two." They just sent me a third one, which I haven't seen yet. It's one of those bonus films they send you because they were slow to ship my last one.

Hockey is at last back on the radio. I didn't think they'd put the preseason on XM Radio, but they got around to it this weekend. I can't wait for the real season to get underway.

That's all for now. Thanks. See you soon.

The end of the swimming season, and the pool is a lovely shade of green.

Hello. My dog is resting on the floor. She's staring at me, hoping I have another chicken sandwich concealed nearby, but I only had the one I already shared with her, so no dice... you can only play this game once...

As far as TV, it's been an up and down time the past few days. They did have a marathon of "Cops" on G4 the other day. They also had a free preview of the Tennis Channel, which had excellent coverage of the U.S. Open. We've also gotten some new channels, such as an entertainment network from the Philippines and a business channel which I think is from Thailand. Wow. I can't wait until I get a new place-- then I'll order the super channel thing where you get all of the stations. I may never have to leave my house, except to go back and forth to work.

Speaking of work, I had a skills test for a possible new job. I need to go to an interview on Thursday. After that, who knows. I just hope it turns out okay.

I bought a DVD set of the U.K. police show "The Bill." It's been going for years and years, like "Law and Order" in the U.S. Can't wait to sit down and watch some of it.

That's it for now. Thanks. See you soon.

(I say hello to my dog. Hi, Keisha.)

Hi. It was a bit of a dull week here, as far as things to watch. I wound up falling back on my DVD collection. I also have some movies that I rented. That should help a bit.

I got the new Pat Conroy novel, and I've just read the first few pages. I was lucky enough to find a Terry Brooks novel on CD at the local library. With an extra day off, it'll be nice to get some reading done.

I did get to see a bit of "Lost in Austen," a BBC series based on the novel by Jasper Fforde. It was really great, about time-traveling into novels. Also, I saw a few of the latest season of "Ice Road Truckers." I have to work at night and I don't get to see many shows on first run. It's good to be able to catch up. 

That's it for now. See you soon. Thanks. 

Hi there. It's August, and I am sitting here enjoying some chocolate ice cream. I am also sitting through another one of those five-minute-long commercials from the C&I Network, for Philly or some or show. I'm going to break down and watch them, although there won't be anything new for me besides the credits, because they've shown the commercials 575 times a day. Yipes.

I watched another episode of "Swamp Loggers," which was good. I'm also watching the Dallas and Detroit S.W.A.T. marathon. I haven't watched "The Colony" yet. It looks kinda scary, but I'll give it a try.

"Cops" just started. It wouldn't be Saturday without "Cops" at 8:00 p.m.

This guy is dedicated, I'll give him that. I just want to know how he's going to build central air conditioning.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll see you later. Thanks.

Hello. It was a hot weekend, and I spent the Fourth having a party with my cousin's family. They came over, and the older kids had sandwiches, while the new baby just sat there and gurgled. I held the baby! Wow, that was an experience.

It was too hot this weekend to really spend a lot of time outside. I watched a couple of DVDs, "Burst City" and "Onmyoji." I also watched the first disc of the "Master Keaton" series. It was all right, some good writing in a couple episodes, but not spectacular. "Burst City" was a good surprise. The music was terrific.

They had a good sale at the bookstore, and I was able to pick up a three-in-one Terry Brooks hardcover collection. Yipee! I can never seem to get his books at the library-- I've read the older ones, but the newer ones are always checked out. This time I figured I'd catch up on my summer reading all at once.

That's it for now. I'm going to try to cool down. See you soon.

This is a yo-yo which had candy inside it. The disc lights up when you use the yo-yo. No, really. It looks like a giant light-up tire.

Wow. We lost Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett within a few days of each other. I'm stunned; I grew up when Jackson was just making his first few albums, and he was such a huge star, you wouldn't believe it. Rest in peace.

I tested out the new dance pad for "DDR Universe" on my new X Box 360, and it works fine! I still have no rhythm, though. I have a habit of staying close to the top arrow and not being able to reach the bottom arrow in time. Yipes.

My dog is all sorts of scared because there's a rainstorm. She'll calm down as soon as I have a pretzel.

That's right. It got the red ring of death the other day. I switched it on and off several times, unplugged it, replugged it and did a bunch of other little checkups, but nothing would help. The rings kept coming back. I had the machine about a year and a half. I checked the ads at Game Stop.com, and a refurbished one is $150-200; a refurbished PlayStation 3 is $350 and up. I also called Game Stop's customer service line, and they said the store does not perform X Box 360 repairs. So I'm stuck with a non-working block of no value. I now have to worry about whether to wait for the sales later in the year, or maybe get a portable system to tide me over. I'll have to go ahead and cancel my subscription to Game Fly. The funny thing is, after the incident happened, I received my previous selection from Game Fly in the mail, and I had really been looking forward to playing it. The game was "Cabela's Dangerous Hunts." Also, I got a game in the mail that I had ordered from Game Fly's used games store. It was a wrestling game. So, I'm stuck here just staring at my TV, and wondering what I should do. My dog used to jump on the bed whenever I was playing X Box and try to eat the controller. Now she has nothing to do...

"Animal Planet" finally has a "Cats 101" show, to match the "Dogs 101" series. I'm glad they're showing it now, because I've been thinking about adopting a cat, and it's good to know what the different breeds are like. I'll have to wait until I get an apartment, maybe later this year, but it'll be fun when I do.

It's really hot in here. The thermometer on the alarm clock says it was 80 degrees before. Yipes. I've got to get some ice water.

That's it for now. See you later. Thanks.

100 colors of awesome.

Hi there. It's been a funny weekend. It was very hot here, and I spent most of the time catching up on my sleep. I did go out on Sunday. There were a bunch of ducks, walking around and probably building nests. I've seen the babies hatch in previous years-- they're as adorable as can be.

One of the new things I hate is embedded sound ads online. I have a pop-up blocker that kills off most ads, but they've been implanthing new stuff that plays whether you click on anything or not. Pleh.

It's been a boring few days for TV. I didn't see anything I liked since maybe the middle of last week. I wound up watching a lot of my own DVDs.

I am somewhat confoozed by the existence of some games that say they are X Box Live-capable, but don't contain any achievements. I rented a couple like that, and I wanted to scream. What's the point of promising us we can play this in the XBL setting, and then making the game no different from any other? Ugh!

That's it for now. Thanks for reading. See you soon.

(This is my new art book. I like to do lettering.)