Ding Dong the witch is dead

The wicked witch is dead.
As predicted, (by yours truly) my former employer, Indie Built games has been shut down. When I left a little over 1.5 years ago I predicted they wouldn't last 2 years. They didn't.
Thursday evening the Take Two Interactive 'Mafioso' swooped in and escorted the president out the door and changed the locks. Done.
I can't say I'm sad at all. I won't shed a tear. There were a couple of friends still working there but I'm sure they will do fine. Here is another example of what goes around comes around. If you treat people like SH!T then you will eventually get SH!T on yourself. Karma is alive and well in SLC this week. So, there will be no Amped 4 and Links golf is probably gone forever. I personally think Links should live on but Amped was just never that great and Amped 3 the snowboarding game that is collecting dust on shelves across the world right now was just a very weird statement. That is what happens when you let artists dictate the design of a game.
So, so long Indie. So long Microsoft Salt Lake Games studio. So long Access software and so long to the memories both good and bad from my 6 years there. I made some good friends that I hope to keep forever and met some people that I hope to God I never run across again in all eternity.
It would be decidedly un-Christ like to hope they burn in hell, but I do hope they have learned a lesson. That simple lesson that escaped them in their childhoods. The Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It's not that hard unless you listen to corporate America and all the greed out there that tells our society to do whatever it takes to climb the ladder and make a buck. There is a better way. If you don't know what it is, come see me and I'll sit you down and teach it to you. Kindly.

Pink Boots

The Pink Boots
Most of you weren't aware but a very cool thing has been happening in our home since January. It finally culminated this last Saturday in Shelby purchasing, with her own money, a pair of pink cowgirl boots.
Shelby came home sometime in January and was determined to get a pair of 'red' boots. Usually she will want something and perseverate on it for maybe even a day or two and then forget it. This was different. Shelby was serious. She wanted red boots and nothing was going to stop her. So, I made an appointment with her to take her to the local western wear store. This wasn't easy for me by the way ;) Shelby picked out some snazzy red boots and we priced them so she knew how much she would have to earn.
We went home and drew up a list of jobs she could do to earn the money. She needed to earn quite a lot so she even called her Aunt Raquel to ask if she had any jobs she could do. Well, it took her nearly 4 months to do it but after a couple of lulls where I wasn't sure if she had given up or not, she finally finished off enough jobs to earn the money. She was sooooo excited. It was driving us crazy. Mom made an appointment with Shelby to go purchase the boots, (one trip to the western store per year is all I could handle) and Shelby came home with the pink boots you see here. I guess she decided she liked pink better once she got there. Or maybe it was because they were cheaper and she would have some money left over!
I am so proud of her. She learned some huge lessons by going through this. And, she worked very hard. The jobs we gave her were not easy ones. She really EARNED these boots.

Wii

Nintendo announced the name of their new gaming console today. Code name 'Revolution' is now going to come to market as "Wii" (prounounced 'we').
Uh, I thought M$'s Xbox 360 was stupid but this really takes the cake. I'm sure there are piles of jokes that could be said about this name but everything escapes me at the moment. I think I am in shock. Maybe that is their strategy. To shock people with the name so they can't say anything about it. It worked.
A Nintendo exec said this :
"We think that after some time," Kaplan said, "people will become comfortable with it. But it will strike people as different, and that's what we're after."
This could go down in the books as one of the dumbest product names in history. Or, one of the smartest. Time will tell.

WARNING!!!

This site is fun. You can create your own warning and danger signs. Go crazy and see what you can do.

Shelbyism

I thought maybe I would move Shelbyisms to the main posts since I update the page so rarely.

Anyway, today's is a doozy. I have to say this before I tell the story. I have not indoctrinated my daughter into liking or disliking any particular type of music. It is entirely up to her. It may be true that she doesn't get exposed to country music around the house, but she came to the conclusion that it's evil all by herself and I love her for it.

Shelbyism:

I'm in the shower this morning and I hear this loud knock at the bathroom door. I turn off the water to hear Shelby asking if she can change the channel on the TV. I had left her in the Family Room watching the Ellen show this morning. Anyway, I ask her why she wants to change the channel and she says, "Dad, some guy in a cowboy hat is getting ready to sing 'I'm gonna get drunk and hurt somebody' (Shelby's words) and I don't wanna hear that Daddy." I tell her to go ahead and change it. I get out of the shower and do a little investigating. Sure enough, Toby Keith was on the Ellen show today singing, "I'm gonna get drunk and be somebody."
My kids are far from perfect and make their share of mistakes but when they do something right it really makes me feel good. It warmed my heart today that my pure little sweet daughter didn't want to hear some country singer yahoo singing about getting drunk. You go Shelby!

unbearably sad

I read today about one of the side effects of global warming. I would have never thought of this one. We hear about bad weather, worsening hurricane seasons, coastal flooding and rising temperatures. These are all bad to be sure. However, due to the polar ice sheets melting Polar Bears are drowning by the dozens. It's true. I thought they could swim and they can, but evidently not very long or far. So, if they get trapped on a breakaway iceberg and it melts... well, it's sad. It's time to start a new foundation. Maybe I'll start it, I've never started a foundation before. SAVE THE POLAR BEARS!!!
Now everyone go out and by hybrid cars and buy energy star appliances so we can save some polar bears. Go on now. Do it. I'm not kidding.

Missed Opportunity

Some opportunities only come along once in a lifetime or very rarely. This past weekend was one of those for our country. I am saying this a little tongue in cheek by the way.
The US Government just passed up a major opportunity to really clean up a 'problem'. The problem? Illegal Immigration. Millions of illegal immigrants attended rallies in most major cities around the country this past weekend. All the government had to do was contain those rallies, gather up those that couldn't prove citizenship and load up the buses for Tijuana. Problem solved. Well, maybe not. Most of them would come right back. Our porous borders are really no barrier for those determined to come here. An action like that would have really put a crimp in our economy. Whether you believe illegals are taking jobs Americans don't want to do or not. The fact is that there are millions of them and they are a large part of our society. I believe they are breaking the law and that we should do something about that. Amnesty? I don't like that solution. Bottom line is, that if a Mexican national can find his/her way into our country illegally to pick lettuce or do landscaping or clean a swimming pool etc. then someone like Osama Bin Laden et al can find their way here too. And, they won't be picking any lettuce.

Why didn't I think of that?

A chiropractor in Ohio is claiming to have the ability to heal people through time travel. Neat! He claims he can go back in time to when an injury occurred and heal the patient. He says that 9 out of 10 patients are happy with his service. Yup, you guessed it, he is under investigation by the Ohio Chiropractic Board for being "unable to practice chiropractic according to acceptable and prevailing standards of care due to mental illness, specifically, Delusional Disorder, Grandiose Type." Aw come on give the guy a chance. Besides, they had better be careful, he might go back in time and...

Brokeback revisited

Larry H. Miller the local magnate that removed the film 'Brokeback Mountain' from showing at his Megaplex theatres has finally explained his decision. He says he was 'concerned about the breakup of the family in our society' and that after hearing the contents of the film he felt he needed to make a change. Gay and Lesbian groups in Utah encouraged people to boycott his businesses. Miller says that dozens of people contacted him personally after his decision to let him know they bought a car from one of his dealerships directly because of his decision. You can read all of his remarks HERE.
While I would never buy a car from Miller (the wife and I have had several bad experiences at his dealerships) I applaud his decision and the courage it took to make it. I think Miller is exactly right. It is films like Brokeback being made and shown across our land that is directly adding to the demise of the family. I agree with the right to make and distribute it. Don't get me wrong. However, the fact that it and things like it are being made and that millions are choosing to watch is very disturbing. I'm afraid this won't be the end of this type of controversy and what really scares me is that some day it may not be controversial at all. That will really be a sad thing. I see it coming though. So many in our country just don't care and are just going along with what a minority of really bad people are choosing to do with their free agency. Even if you don't choose to watch or take part, your silence or your tolerance is a vote for it in some way. I know that gets really sticky but the time to sit silent and just choose to not take part and hope that things get better or that the bad choices will go away has expired. We are in a time that we have to take action. We have to be proactive and take the offense. A defensive posture against Satan and his followers will no longer cut it. The gray areas are rapidly diminishing and retreating into the shadows. So, all of us will have to choose. Will you choose the black or the white. There is no longer any 'fence' to sit on. You must choose. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve," This scripture or the general message is found in several places. Joshua 24:15, BofM Alma 30:8, Moses 6:33.

Comedy central

People make me laugh. Some weirdo is now saying that Jesus didn't walk on water, that it was ice. He cites scientific evidence to prove his theory. Do these comedians not have any more material than this?
I want to be standing next to this guy when Jesus returns. He's gonna turn into Homer Simpson right before my eyes. DOH!

Coincidence?

The Chronicles of Narnia and Brokeback Mountain both debut on DVD today.
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction.