Pollen in the Extreme

Allergies are really hit or miss on the types of pollen that get me.  Some parts of the year the white fluffy stuff is in the air and nothing. But, the outrageous amount of yellow powder from the tress this year is overwhelming.

I rinsed my car, it was shiny, and the next morning it was like I had done nothing.

It's been a couple weeks now.  A  little rain looked like it might help, but we ended up with mud puddles, or really yellow pollen mud like puddles.

And then the sun came back, it was dry, and it all kicked back up in the air and on everything and I am well and truly sick of it.

Greater JeffJeffJeffopolis in Minecraft

This has been an intermittent ongoing creative mode build for the couple years we have had the console.

It actually started as a bored build of a giant soccer stadium that became the centerpiece.

There was a suggestion to build a mountain.  There are two secret entrances as of this post.

Giant play fields or stadia for various sports including ultimate, lacrosse, football, cricket, and basketball.  A disc golf course runs through the town. A water slide and a trap range.  Even a rocket is ready to launch.

The build is filled with things like giant places to play MtG or do TKD or play Quidditch. 

A couple of towers, a skyscraper, and a high up observatory are in a few of the corners.

A giant tree house structure is included.

Over time there were buildings like a brewery, wine cellar, greenhouse, and a myriad of others. 

A food truck, pokestop, and campground with outdoor theatre are out there somewhere.

It is now far too big to be viewed from the middle all the way out and I have built to the edge of two rando generated villages and found a third in the distance.

A full mapping and survey really needs to occur at some point.  Scale is often comically off.  JeffJeffJeffopolis sort of rules.

So, a month passes

One month ago today I was subbing at the elementary school near my home.  We knew school closure was coming, but thought it would be for a couple weeks is all.

The announcement was for longer.

The private school I also sub for had already closed and gone virtual, for longer than we originally expected.

The state announcement pushed the private school closure longer to match the public schools.

Somewhere along the way we lost the rest of the year.

The signs at the schools are no longer current and are a reminder that no one is there to update them.

And a month has passed.

I got some things sorted out with a temp PT gig, that isn't much.

I got a favorable ruling on some measure of UI, even though it took a national declaration to make happen.  I am both surprised it did actually happen and grateful for even what they are providing.

But, a month ago, I walked home that afternoon after the state closed everything.  A month. 

Shopping the next day was eerie, an experience I do not want to revisit.

And now, the temp gig has positive tests in the team and district and I wonder how much I will ever get from that gig.

I have been productive, not especially creatively, but I have not let the home and health slide. Who I live with helps in that in that we have a healthy lifestyle and actually enjoy living together.

I miss friends and family even as I routinely contact them because I can't be around them.

And I wonder what month one of will end up being of.

A quarter century apart

So, I get a text today, and this pic shows up.

Me and an old high school bud.  I know this is at his house when we are both home from college like circa 1988 or 1989, but I think summer of 88.

I do not recall ever seeing this picture before and I think it was from his mom.

So I looked up the last time we had a chance to hang out and it is roughly 25 years later.

I know this one was around Feb of 2013. we don't see each other enough.  Old friends though and we sometimes connect.

But, really this post is to remind me that old friends are still out there and I hope they are okay going through all of this.

As of right now

As of right now I am fine.

As of right now I have been pummeled economically due to the nature of how I make my living and how that gets classified.

As of right now my family if fine, although we have had to note that we have been places or worked in places with people who have tested positive.

As of right now I have some hope in that I found something PT and temp starting in a number of days that could at least keep me above water.

As of right now I am still fortunate to be with someone who is well and is able to work from our home.

As of right now I am worrying about people close to me that I can not be in nearly enough contact with for my liking in this time period.

As of right now I will post this and intend to post updates to this post and the like should there be updates or a time where it is reasonable to reflect backward.

As of right now I cannot adequately express how much I loathe certain people in political power that clearly have no business running anything and are proving it.

As of right now I am going to go read and get off line.

Moving to virtual gaming during the sequester

Dndbeyond 

roll20 

FTW

The sign is no longer accurate

Will see everyone in the summer then, like maybe July.  Guess we will see the changes and everything over the coming weeks.

But, given the realities of the situation and the optics, there really was not a choice.

Plus, this city and many long time con goers will remember 2009 and what hit that show.

Now, will this sign stay up til summer?  Last year a PAX sign was up for a full year.

Travels over time

As a list keeper I keep all sorts of odd lists.

Many of the odd lists are sports related or travel related.

I realized recently that I have traveled more in the just over six years since I went on a work trip to CA to this weekend in Chi-town and that is more than the previous 46 years total.

I never flew til I was almost 18.

My first few trips were just this coast.

A few random trips here and there over the years, but not very often, and sometimes with long stretches between, but sometimes like once a year in stretches.

And then, after a fairly long period of not travelling, I am on the go a bunch of times a year.

Suddenly, in a sense, I have been to Texas, specifically San Antonio more than any other flying travel location.

And, I now have a couple trips to Chicago, more than one international flight, and NYC multiple times.  

And most of the travel has been because of a choice a decade ago to volunteer at a con.

The Number 15

This week marks two 15's.

One, the end of something.

The other, the beginning of something.

One, was a failure.  It was probably in many ways for the best and set in motion what has become the life I live.  I like this life.  But, it affected others in important ways they could not control and it wasn't fair. 

The other, the home base of what was launched by one.

It's interesting how some anniversaries fade in importance over time, but we still sometimes note them when we happen to notice them.  Because, the past few years I have not noticed these things until later. I think I may not have noticed them until now.

15.

This doesn't seem like a real thing

Ephemera 2019

The annual Ephemera post.  These lists have been useful and continue to be for me for writing projects mostly.

Movies in the Theatre:
Spider-Man: Into the Multiverse
Captain Marvel (2x)
Shazam!
Avengers: Endgame (2x)
Pokemon: Detective Pikachu
Dark Phoenix
Spider-Man: Far From Home
Ready or Not
Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
Cats

Sports/Live/Stuff:
San Antonio River Boat Tour 1/22
Quest Factor: The Wizarding School 5/13
Brian Cox Live: Universal Adventures in Space and Time (w/Robin Ince) - Moore Theatre 5/18
MagicFest Seattle Standard Main Event (1B Limited Sealed) - WSCTC - 6/20-23/19 (509/1167)
The Museum of Flight: Destination Moon 6/27
Wicked - Paramount Theatre 6/29
Seattle Pride Parade / PrideFest 6/30
Seattle Mariners 10 Detroit Tigers 2 TMP 07/25 MLB Regular Season
The Rolling Stones: No Filter - CLink - 8/14
William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (Abridged) - Shoreline City Hall Amphiteatre - 08/22
Dolly's House Historic Red Light Tour 08/24
Jillian Lindsey - Creek Street Cabaret - 08/24
Puzzle Break - Test - 09/05
Beater Brunch - 09/14
Star Wars Washington Charity Ball - Mercer Island Community Center - 09/28
Waitress - Brooks Atkinson Theatre - 10/4
Runic Writing Basics - Skal Beer hall - 10/28
This is Halloween - The Triple Door - 10/31
Gloria Steinem (In Conversation With Susan Silver) - Paramount Theatre - 11/21
Equinox Studios Very Open House - 12/14
Country Lips - LRH - 12/28
WPZ
MoPop
Seattle SaberFit

Trips:
San Antonio (plane Sea-Chi-SA) 01/17-22/19
Chicago  (plane Sea-Chi) 04/11-15-19
PDX (plane EVE-PDX / train PDX-Edm) 06/7-8/19
Ketchikan (plane Sea-Ket) 08/24-25
New York City (plane SEA ---- NYC) 10/3-8
PDX (bus SEA-PDX / plane PDX-SEA) 12/22-25

 ---

Soccer/Reign FCMedia:
Tacoma Stars 5 San Diego Sockers 9 - MASL Regular Season - ShoWare Center - Kent, WA 02-17
Sounders FC 0 Nacional (URU) 2 - International Club Friendly - CLink - Seattle, WA 02-20
Reign FC Open Practice - Memorial Stadium - Seattle, WA 03-23
Reign FC 5 UW Huskies 0 - Preseason Friendly - Husky Soccer Stadium - Seattle, WA 04-05
Reign FC 1 ORL 1 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA 04-21
Reign FC 2 SBFC 1 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - 05-18
Reign FC 2 NCC 1 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA - 05-27
Reign FC 1 WASH 1 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA 06-15
Reign FC 0 CHI 4 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA 07-28
Reign FC 0 SBFC 1 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA 09-21
Reign FC 2 PTFC 0 - NWSL Regular Season - Cheney Stadium - Tacoma, WA 09-29
MLS Cup Media events - 11/07-10 (Press Conerences/Mixer)
WSU 0 UW 1 PAC12 Regular Season - Husky Soccer Stadium - Seattle, WA 11-08
SSFC 3 TFC 1 - MLS CUP - CLink - Seattle, WA 11-10

Tacoma Stars

Seattle Sounders FC

Reign FC

WSU @ UW

MLS Cup

Cons:
PAX South 1/18-20/19 (Bandland)
ECCC 3/14-17/19 (Starlight) (1/29 Meeting - 3/13 Zero Day)
Star Wars Celebration 4/12-14/19 (Starlight)
Cryptocon 5/5/19 (Autographs)
Renton City Retro 5/25-26/19 (Autographs)
PAX Dev 8/27-28/19 (Security)
PAX West 8/30-9/2/19 (LM)
New York Comic Con 10/3-6/19 (Starlight)
Jet City Comic Show 10/26-27/19 (Mechanics)
Child's Play Charity Auction 12/12/19 ([E])

PAX South

ECCC

Star Wars Celebration Chicago

Cryptocon

Renton City Retro

PAX Dev

PAX West

NYCC

Jet City Comic Show

Child's Play Charity Auction

Reading list 2019

97 Ways to Make a Cat Like You by Carol Kaufmann
The Vikings Begin: Treasures from Uppsala University
Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
Relic by Alan Dean Foster
Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
Steel City Rivals by Steve Cowens & Anthony Cronshaw
The Club by Joshua Robinson & Jonathan Clegg
Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting by Matthew Mercer with James Haeck
Ravnica Allegiance Player's Guide 
Advanced D&D Dungeon Masters Guide by Gary Gygax
The Magic, The Gathering: Pocket Players' Guide by WotC
Alice Isn't Dead by Joseph Fink
A Massacre in Memphis: The Race Riot That Shook the Nation One Year After the Civil War by Stephen Ash
Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana: A Visual History by Witwer et al
Chainmail: Rules For Medieval Miniatures (3rd Ed.) by Gary Gygax & Jeff Perren
The World of Lore: Dreadful Places by Aaron Mahnke
The Sound and the Glory: How the Seattle Sounders Showed Major League Soccer How to Win Over America by Matt Penz
Reign In Blood by D.X. Ferris
Xanathar's Guide To Everything
Girl Genius: The Second Journey of Agatha Heterodyne Volume 4: Kings and Wizards by Kaja & Phil Foglio
The Wonky Donkey by Craig Smith & Katz Cowley
Ravnica: War of the Spark by Greg Weisman
War of the Spark Player's Guide
Saga of Old City by Gary Gygax
Diablo II: Diablerie (Dungeons & Dragons) by J.D. Wiker
At Moonset Blackcat Comes: A Tale of Gord of Greyhawk by Gary Gygax
Magic The Gathering Ice Age Rule Book
Metamorphosis Alpha by James M. Ward
Midnight Waltz by Maria Giakoumatos
The Buying of Lot 37 by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
Advanced D&D Monster Manual by Gary Gygax
Advanced D&D Players Handbook by Gary Gygax
Who's a Good Boy? by Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor
Sounders Together, Friends Forever by Tony Chursky & Adrian Webster
The New World (Avery Cates) by Jeff Somers
Dime a Demon by Devon Monk
13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Glossography: For the Guide to the Greyhawk Fantasy Setting by Gary Gygax
Beyond The Farthest Star by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Potions and Herbology
Dues and Don'ts by Devon Monk

Artifact of Evil by Gary Gygax
Dungeons & Dragons Acquisitions, Incorporated
Scarlet Women: The Scandalous Lives of Courtesans, Concubines, and Royal Mistresses by Ian Graham
WebMage by Kelly McCullough
Hunt For The Thessalhydra (D&D / Stranger Things)
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Divination and Astronomy
The Devil's Bargain (Avery Cates) by Jeff Somers
Harry Potter: A Journey Through Care of Magical Creatures

Dolly's House: Ketchikan's Last Legal Madam by June Allen
Dungeons & Dragons Monster Manual
Sea of Death by Gary Gygax
Carnival Row RPG Sourcebook
MordenKainen's Tome of Foes
Volo's Guide to Monsters
Throne of Eldraine: The Wildered Quest by Kate Elliott

Night Arrant by Gary Gygax
Braun: Techtonic Shift by Shane White
Talking To Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell
City of Hawks by Gary Gygax
Under The Lights And In The Dark: Untold Stories Of Women's Soccer by Gwendolyn Oxenham
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Kriss:The Gift of Wrath by Ted Naifeh
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

Prodigy by Mark Millar & Rafael Albuquerque
Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Authorized Collection by John Carnell & Steve Leialoha
Iron Maiden Legacy of the Beast (Volume One) by Llexi Leon, Ian Edginton, & Kevin West

42 years and an ending

It came out near the end of 4th grade.  I read the comic and novel before I could talk my parents into taking me.  I had an LP of the condensed version of the story. It was as good as could be for a kid of my age, seeing it around 10 years old.

It has been with me since.

I read books, saw the 2nd soon after release.  I saw the 3rd as a matinee after school with a buddy before I could drive and my mom had to take us. The multiplex era was something that had emerged from between when 1 and 3 came out, so it was easier to get to see it than it was merely a few years earlier. This was a ground floor start for me at that age, not like coming upon something already with a history I had to catch up on later.

I kept with it, have no idea how many times I have seen them.  

1 was mind blowing. It really still is.

2 is the best in the franchise.  It really still is.

3 only partially was something I liked. I didn't like the tone of parts of it.  Still don't.

Don't call them by episode titles around me.  The watch order is 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 and you can watch the two spin offs and the Baby Yoda show whenever.

When the prequels came out I was in line early and sat there in utter disbelief in just how much I didn't enjoy them, and how much people at the time did not want to admit they didn't either.

The new ones are a mixed bag.  7 is good.  8 is bold, but really just not great.  9 is a lot of movie.  The two spin offs are really enjoyable and the just about to conclude first streaming series is so good it reminds me just how close to good the rest of them are.

I am 52 and am trying to decide how 10 year old me would have felt if the entire story was available then and he would have been ok with it.  So, that's it.  That's my review.

Last night I got to see something before it could be spoiled that ended a 42 plus year relationship with a story, and in an of itself that is crazy.

Five years of this soccer journalism thing

Five years ago this fall I got a chance to do some writing commenting and covering the USWNT matches from afar for ProstAmerika. During that same period of time I also guested on the Radio Cascadia podcast through them.  It was a chance to do some writing and a little work with a friend Vanya.

It went well, apparently, and so the chance to work with Vanya and Prost continued as 2015 kicked off covering the Reign FC in Seattle with me writing and Vanya shooting pics.  We work well together and started the @GoalieGuys stuff to promote and get ourselves entrenched with media folks.  Over time, the GoalieGuys thing has been a good place to do what we wanted to do separate from and in conjunction with the other coverage.  It has paid off to have that ongoing presence as it is now recognized in the credentialing we do.

Also, it has led to some opportunities I did not expect.  Single match coverage of two NWSL finals and an MLS Cup, some USWNT appearances in Seattle, the soccer version of the Apple Cup a few times, and a Cascadia Derby have all been opportunities that would not have happened without Prost and GoalieGuys together. 

The ongoing GoalieGuys thing also has given me a chance to comment and sort of cover things when not there specifically in media at things like the 2015 WWC in Vancouver or a Tacoma Stars match last winter.  Ongoing presence online is a thing that matters.

In 2016 I got to contribute to a book.  I have a book I have been working on for some time that is going to be cross promoted now and have at least some small starting audience that can view it as legit.  Another couple of podcast appearances on the first and on another  one followed and I am able to work with these interesting folks and found myself asking Victor about the 2nd goal in the final last month in the presser.  This was never actually part of a grand plan, but I will take it.

Onward.

Oxymoron intro paragraph: today's draft

This is the current opening blurb of the draft of the book on soccer fandom I am writing called "Oxymoron: An American Soccer Fan: 5 decades, 500 matches".

“I was 8 years old and in third grade. It was April 25, 1976.  Seattle had just opened the brand new Kingdome and my family was heading to the first regular season Seattle Sounders match against the Portland Timbers in the NASL.  The two years previous, the Sounders had played in Memorial Stadium and we had not been able to attend a match. Seeing Sounders stuff on local television and having a rival team be named the Sounders had me amped up. Pele had just played the preseason sell out of the stadium. We went downtown, a place my dad really doesn’t care for, and were walking up to the new building through the parking lot.  I ran ahead to just touch with massive structure. It was cold and concrete and new and awesome and didn’t last a quarter century, but touching the outside pillar and wall was one of the coolest things 8 year old me had ever done to that point. My brother and I sat with a group of friends and my parents sat with their group of friends. The Sounders won that game on an extra time goal by Sir Geoff Hurst.  I went home and immediately looked him up and saw he was the only hat trick goal scorer in a world cup final ever and that it had happened before I was born. That one game introduced me to so many things and led to me looking up what the world cup even was. Years later, I would interview Houston Dash midfielder Carli Lloyd post Reign FC match in 2015 in Seattle, the only other player ever with a world cup final hat trick.  November 10, 2019 I sat in the press box on the same site in Seattle in a different building and watched the Seattle Sounders FC defeat Toronto FC 3-1 in MLS Cup. This book, Oxymoron, is about everything that happened in between.”