Thinky’s Blog

On July 1st my wife and I were trying to figure out how we can get our two and half year old son interested in potty training, Since he had no interest at all. So I came up with and idea about offering him an incentive to try. So we asked him what he would like for a potty prize and he Immediately said that much dreaded word parents hate to hear, I wanna go to  “ Chuck E. Cheese ” So I made him a deal that if he went two weeks without having an accident in his pants then I would take him to Chuck E. Cheese, but if he had an accident then the two weeks would start over. We figured we a few months before entering parent hell, We were wrong. The days marked off the calendar very quickly and on the 14th of July he had accomplished what we thought was impossible, Two weeks accident free. I called Chuck E. Cheeses and checked if they had any parties on the 18th and was told they had five parties going on during the time frame we were going to go. Not wanting to have his special day a crowded mess I talked him into going to Caesar Land which is like Chuck E. Cheese but is owned by Little Caesars Pizza. I have to say that Caesar Land was larger and more friendly to toddlers and younger kids by having more games and activities geared towards them, And the pizza was a thousand times better

It goes to show that kids can do amazing things if they want to. My son has had only one accident since the first of July which blows my mind since it was our first try at potty training with him.

Have you ever wondered if you were doing a good job at raising your children? I know most parents have at one time or another, So it’s always nice to have that affirmation that you have done a good job by something that your kids do that shows it.

Yesterday my five year old daughter did just that for me. We were in Kmart when she told me that daddy there is a dollar on the floor, So I told her to pick it up. She told me we should ask the people around where she found the money if they lost any money. No one said they lost any money so I told her to show me the money and if it were just a dollar I would tell her to keep it and put it in her piggy bank when we get home for doing the right thing by trying to return the lost dollar. But when she showed me I noticed it was a ten and three twenties folded together, which is a lot of money to lose. I told her that it was a lot of money and she immediately told me we should ask the ” Store Lady ” if someone lost some money. Which made me very proud of her that she would do the right thing. I took her up to the Service desk were I told the customer service lady that my daughter wanted to know if anybody had lost any money since she found a lot of money and didn’t want anybody to be sad. She said no and I gave her the money in case someone came looking for it, She gave me a very bewildered look like ” why didn’t you just keep it “. She took the money and asked me to write down my daughters name and information in case no one claimed the money. After taking the paper with the information on it she stapled it to the money and placed it in the register.

I hope that if someone does claim the money that they at least tell my daughter thank you or possible give her a small reward for honesty. But I have to be realistic and realize that not may people would do what she did by not taking the money, and just as few would thank or reward someone for giving them their lost money back. My wife and I figure we would call the store in a day or two and inquire about the money and if it was not claimed take my daughter in to get it and let her buy herself something as a reward. If someone did claim it and left a reward or thank you we would take her in for that as well, but if it was claimed and no thank you or anything else was left for her that we would ask the store if they could give her a five or ten dollar gift card as a reward. Of course my wife and I would pay for the gift card and just not let my daughter know that we paid for it, That way she would still see that doing the right thing is what you should always do, and that being a moral honest person does have its benefits. I hope this life lesson is  something that she will keep with her and continue to follow. She made my wife and I very proud of her.

Penny Arcade On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness

Is an episodic RPG game based on the wildly popular Penny Arcade web comic. The game takes place in a 1920’s era City and suburb that has to be seen and experienced to believe. You start out by customizing your character and learn the basics of the game. The game has a very unique combat scheme that is a lot of fun to use, and is very well balanced. The RPG elements of the game a very well done, and keeps the mundane aspects of RPG’s to a bare minimum. The cast of playable characters, support characters, non-playable characters, and enemies are very well done. They have a depth to them not found in many games.  The games play environment and maps are richly detailed and hilarious to say the least. If you are looking for a game that will get you laughing out loud and reduces stress, Then this game is for you. I mean where else can you beat the crap out of mimes, bums, clowns, and barber shop quartets ?

Penny Arcade On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness : Episode One is available on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Xbox 360. You can purchase the game via the link above or through Steam or Direct2Drive and Xbox Live Market Place.

This game is intended for mature players since it has a lot of swearing and comic book violence

Well the time of year has come for me to get all the shit I don’t want anymore out of the house, and ready for the garage sale. I got all the other crap that wasn’t sold in previous garage sales out from above the garage and stacked. Now to get all the stuff I’ll need from the garage out, like the lawn tractor before I set up the tables for the sale. Today will be spent setting up tables and pricing crap as we set it out on the tables. Followed by that last pass trough the house looking for more crap we don’t want or use anymore. I swear after we get all the unwanted stuff out of the house I hear the house let loose a big sigh of relief.

I hope to make a few hundred dollars this time around, or at least enough to pay for our big camping trip. I can’t wait for the first cheap skate of this years garage sale ” I’ll give you $3 for that $50 stand mixer that was never used and is still in the box ” and the ever famous ” Will you take a personal check ? ” in which I will gladly say HELL NO. I think garage sales are actually fun to have, You meet and see some very interesting and weird people. I hate the set up and take down, but I love the extra cash and the less cluttered house

I finished my first play through of Mass Effect’s main story as a Soldier and I must say WOW that was a great game. I also finished playing the ” Bring Down the Sky ” expansion which was well worth the 400 Microsoft points charged for it. The expansion introduced a whole new race and a new world to save, and was enough of a challenge to get your heart racing. I once again highly recommend playing this game.

I can’t wait to play through the game again as a Biotic character this time. Which should add a little more of a challenge to the game play since I will have to learn to play the game differently. I also can not wait for more expansion packs to be released and Mass Effect 2, Captain Shepard and his crew have officially made it into my top three favorite games of all time.

I started playing Mass Effect a few weeks ago on the 360. I was a little Leary of playing a game which combined 1st person shooter with RPG, I was not sure how well the two would combine in game play. I’m kind of a traditional turn base combat system fan, like the type found in such games as Final Fantasy VII and Lunar. It took me a couple hours to get the hang of this combat / RPG system, and I gotta say it works very well with this game. Bioware did a great job at designing the game mechanics, and storyline .

I enjoy playing the game so much that I went ahead and downloaded the ” Bring Down the Sky ” expansion pack to keep the fun going. This game does offer a lot of replay ability since you can choose different classes that will drastically alter how the game is played, and how the missions are accomplished. I hope that Bioware will continue to release expansion packs for this game, and that the don’t screw up the story and game mechanics when they release the next Mass Effect game.

I highly recommend playing this game either on the Xbox 360 or on the PC. Commander Shepard is waiting

Thinky’s blog will be ready for prime time soon