Where you been at?

[s-m-r]

I realize that I’ve been away for quite some time, and I miss being here. Judging from the responses of a few other threads, it appears that there are other lurkers around, simmering just under the surface of Markshire forums. Here’s an opportunity to come up for air and enlighten your fellow gamers what’s been happening in your non-game lives as of late. If you have links to online content, feel free to post them here to save space in the thread.

So share your news!!! 🙂

***

I’m coming up to my second-year anniversary at the best day job I’ve ever had: career counselor at a non-profit agency here in Baltimore. To sum up, I help people find jobs and keep the jobs they have. My particular focus is in helping those in re-entry from spending time in prison. You can learn about what we do at our website: http://www.mdnewdirections.org

I moved to a new house at the beginning of July this year. Things are working out, and it’s closer to the day job so I can ride my bike there and back nearly every day.

Back in January of this year, I resigned from the Arts Collective I created back in ’06. The three-legged dog is still walking, but in a different form than that which I imagined when I first started the thing. They’re open again, and still hosting shows; hopefully they’ll stick around for longer this time. They picked up a bunch of permits, so at least the cops will be off their back. 🙂

I’ve expanded my volunteering in other ways. I spent some time earlier this year at a community garden; nearly every Sunday I visit the bicycle collective and fix bikes for a few hours; I help a community center on occasion by running sound for their music and film events. I still give blood ever two months or whatever.

The band, of course, is still going strong. Here are some links of interest:

http://www.flutesquad.com
Home page for The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad. We just revamped the site, as we needed a base of operations for the various directions we’ve gone in as of late. Expect updates–new blog content, venue reviews, insightful articles, etc.–a few times a month.

http://www.hilltophightops.com
This is what we would sound like if we kept all the hard rock tunes we make, but re-wrote all the lyrics so the songs were safe for kids to hear. It’s fun, definitely. This year we have a New Year’s gig in downtown Baltimore, where we’re doing a noon-time orange-juice toast for a bunch of kids on December 31st.

http://www.myspace.com/wildbonerz
This is the bluegrass-country cover project I do with Nikc, one of my bandmates. This is more my baby than anyone else’s, and I’m very happy with our direction. We’re hoping to go busking on the boardwalk in Ocean City later this year.

http://www.create-games.com
This is the website called “The Daily Click,” where hobbyist game-makers (such as myself) post information about their homebrew game projects. Most of the games are made with the MultiMedia Fusion 2 development kit, which helps people with no programming knowledge or skills (again, such as myself) make games.

[Monty]

Good to see ya, S-M-R!! When are you coming back to NYC for another show? We had a great night out, and we got to see why DMFS is a dirty word…..

😉

M3C

[domf]

’cause George W…he stoooole….my weed.

[Lt. Tyler]

That “Lost in Love” Wild Bonerz style is awesome!

Good to hear what you’ve been up too s-m-r. I know Boston isn’t much of a college town, but if you and the DMFS make it up here, lemme know. I’ll be in the front row.

As for LT land, the little girl is 9 months and doing great (if still tiny), the boy has reached super hero fascination stage (a great improvement over Thomas the Tank Engine and Curious George), and the parents remain alive (if tired) and gainfully employed.

LT

[BeyondThePale]

New job last October means I am out of the family business HEL I was in for 5 years. I should have listened to Iathouz and the boys when they snickered at my predicament. Never, EVAR join a small company when you will be the only non-relative. Now in a job I immensely enjoy.

Winter and Spring have been full of soccer madness. Lil’ girl is not so little any more, and is quite the force on the field. I am steadily building a fusion of basketball post moves, football aggression and soccer in her. She’ll either be Olympic of banned from the sport entirely if things go as planned. She is also becoming a rather staunch Steeler fan, and will soon be taught that the best defense is not an offense, but the opposing quarterback being put on his backside. Repeatedly. With great repetition.

We adopted a greyhound a while ago as some of you know. We now foster dogs waiting for homes and have done so for about a year, having 6 or 7 dogs come stay with us in that time. They come off the race track and into our home where we try to acclimate them to things like stairs, people, grass, etc. They really know nothing but the crate and the racetrack until they come to us. I have also become an adoption representative for the group, interviewing folks that want to rescue a retired racer and seeing if they are ready for their quirks. More of that info is here. http://www.greyhoundadopt.org/volunteers.htm

The cat is NOT a fan of our little outreach effort however, and is rather upset whenever a new Godzilla dog arrives.

I still manage the Neverwinter Vault site about 350 days a year, and have taken a course here or there in an effort to get some computer certifications.

[Opinvu]

I am in the same -old- same old as I have been for the past 5 years. Only changes is my haircut and level of frustration with liberal leaders (probably not what you think)

I have cut out media and coffee, I was pretty sure it was the espresso gal that was drugging my coffee with lithium.

[s-m-r]

@Lt. Tyler wrote:

That “Lost in Love” Wild Bonerz style is awesome!

If you’d like to hear the live version we did some months ago, have a gander at this:

http://www.archive.org/details/wb2009-04-21.flac

We had a WB show this past Friday and introduced “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul (the hit of the night), Johnny Cash’s “Delia’s Gone” and “I Still Miss Someone,” and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.”

[Opinvu]

That wasn’t live! It was a recording of a live playing. I want to hear it live damn it! No live as in you play it while we on the phone with you or something near that effect!

Ah heck, just come on tour to our places of work and play for our lunch break!?

[s-m-r]

@BeyondThePale wrote:

We adopted a greyhound a while ago as some of you know. We now foster dogs waiting for homes and have done so for about a year, having 6 or 7 dogs come stay with us in that time. They come off the race track and into our home where we try to acclimate them to things like stairs, people, grass, etc. They really know nothing but the crate and the racetrack until they come to us. I have also become an adoption representative for the group, interviewing folks that want to rescue a retired racer and seeing if they are ready for their quirks. More of that info is here. http://www.greyhoundadopt.org/volunteers.htm

Excellent, man! I remember when you took in your first greyhounds and posted the info and pictures here. It’s so great that you’re reaching out even more as a representative. 🙂 I’m certain they’re appreciating your efforts.

[BoostNJuice]

Great to hear that everyone above me in this post is doing well and achieving their goals…. It must be in the water then because I can’t really report anything too bad in my life either.

I was laid off a year ago from the last auto shop i will ever work at. And as a result that lit a fire under me that got me moving on and forward instead of the downward spiral.

Last november I began a 15 month program to get an AA in culinary arts from the Le Cordon Blue school here in downtown Chicago. I will be done with classes and begin my externship this November and I am proud to say that I have not revived a grade lower than a B- in any class, and that includes some rough classes like the wine and beverage class I just finished, or the menu planing course. If anyone if interested I can post it somewhere. when the classroom studies are done I will begin the online bachelor program.

my family are doing great , kids are nuts, Connor is playing football this year and I am the Defensive coach for his team, thats a good time… lol

hope everyone else is doing great too!!!!

Boost

Go Minions!!!!!!!

[Opinvu]

Congratz Boost! Always inspirational to see some one try somehting they previously thought was undooable (not possible), and acheiving it with strides! Good to hear it!!! 😀

[domf]

Positives here too…so far at least.

I will be finishing up this semester with my Master’s and already have a job lined up for the New Year. I will actually be starting part time while I am in school which I am not too excited about but it is better than the alternative.

Busy busy busy.

The girlfriend still has my laptop with NWN on it. I have to get hers fixed one of these days.

SMR – if you ever had a volunteer weekend or something. I would consider making the trip to come help out. As long as I had a couch to sleep on. Your work is admirable.

[s-m-r]

Way to go, Boost! 😀

[Cayle]

Where you been at?

India

[Thrym]

@Cayle wrote:

India

How terse.

[Opinvu]

Least he didn’t say…..

Out.

[Cayle]

@Thrym wrote:

@Cayle wrote:

India

How terse.

I blogged my entire year there. At some point, I have to shut up. 😉

Edit: seriously, it was an amazing experience. 400 or so days of intensity and stimulus. I think the kids profited the most from it. I fell in love with the jungle.

[muddy]

We moved out of the condo and into a real house finally. Been busy with just living a life with twins. Believe it or not they keep me hopping. I now drive a mini van, it is not souped up nor is it manly, but it is safe. I despise driving it.

Some pics at 10 months, one is walking, the other won’t, they both have 6 teeth and apparently my male pattern baldness is catching up with me.

[Lt. Tyler]

So incredibly cute there Muddster!

[BeyondThePale]

Beautiful babies there Matt. Be proud.

On a side note, Carol ran the Rochester Marathon last weekend. Figured you’d get a kick out of it being a runner.

[img][650:500]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_-0yjSWQWIak/Sq0xFLhypPI/AAAAAAAAUQI/q_uwLzR8lQE/s1024/Picture%20107.jpg[/img]

[Lt. Tyler]

Awesome victory pose there!

[muddy]

Tell her well done on the marathon. Last summer I was busy with work and we had a billion ultrasounds and I lost interest in running… mostly lost time to do it. Been off for a LONG time. Glad she’s stuck with it.

[Corgano]

Well, I’ve been building for Rogue Dao Studios for their Planescape Trilogy for NWN2. You can check it out at:

http://www.roguedao.com

Peace,
Cor

[s-m-r]

I took a visit to Amish Country earlier this year. Here’s a video:

[Corgano]

@s-m-r wrote:

I took a visit to Amish Country earlier this year. Here’s a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPCq50EFFTk&feature=player_embedded

😯 Ha! AND… It’s good to see that you’re still around SMR!

Peace,
Cor

[Opinvu]

Wow Muddy! Great lookin kids! What smiles they got! Make grandma’s proud to be old!

[Thrym]

@s-m-r wrote:

I took a visit to Amish Country earlier this year.

As usual … awesome video.

Looks like you were hanging out across the street from Iathouz.

Say hi to the boys for me.

[Lt. Tyler]

@s-m-r wrote:

…If you’d like to hear the live version we did some months ago, have a gander at this:

http://www.archive.org/details/wb2009-04-21.flac
…

Holy crap, I just downloaded this and it’s totally awesome. Great sound quality, and you guys sound great.

If you folks haven’t checked it out yet, do so.

[s-m-r]

Thanks for the kudos, Tan!

We’ve created a 10-song demo release: “Covered In Bonerz.” If anyone wants a copy and can’t come to Baltimore any time soon, send me your postal address via PM and I will ship it to you.

Among others, tracks include “Friday I’m in Love” by the Cure; “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul; “Ghost Riders In The Sky” and “Busted” by Johnny Cash; and television theme songs from “Laverne & Shirley” (demo version) and “Growing Pains.” Our trademark “F’in With My Head” by Beck is track one. Other than that first track, it’s completely safe for the kids.

[Monty]

send me your postal address via PM and I will ship it to you.

You really are missing the point of the music business, SMR. You SELL the CD’s to help the band out. So, ask for a small, charitable donation for the band. 🙂

BTW, the wife STILL won’t let me wear the DMFS T-shirt… 🙁

M3C

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