Halo Forever. . .

I would be best classified as a social gamer. I don't own a game system (Sharon does own a PS2 we play once in a while) or have many opportunities to play. But how I do love to play Halo with my brothers, sister, friends and family. I prefer playing cooperatively to defeat alien forces in a wash of their florescent blue blood. I do play a variety of head to head games with my fellow SPARTANs.

There is a bunch of reasons why I passionately enjoy this game. I love the story, concepts and the characters. I love the simplicity but challenging nature of this first person shooter. I like that I can pick it up and put it down whenever I like, if I have an hour or if I have four hours I can play and have a great time. I like that I am eradicating fictional aliens instead of mowing down other human beings (maybe you think I am splitting hairs but it is a subtle perk I appreciate.) Mostly I just love the fun and interaction I have with the other players.

This great game has been converted into a great fictional series. . .

Halo: The Fall of Reach takes place in Master Chief's (main character, the guy in all the pictures) past. It starts off with the beginning of the entire SPARTAN project, talks about all the SPARTAN's and their missions, the MJOLNIR armor, and the fall of the Reach, the human's main defense planet before Earth. It leaves off right before the game Halo: Combat Evolved begins with the actual discovery of Halo.

Halo: The Flood takes place exactly where the The Fall of Reach ends, or, where the game begins. This book essentially fills in the details of the Halo story line you don't get to hear about in the game. The game tells you Master Chief's story, and the book tells you everything else. It ends at the end of the game with John (Master Chief's real name) and Cortana (super AI and companion) aboard the fighter.

Halo: First Strike is the next addition to the Halo book series. It picks up the story after the game and takes to many different places. I don't want to ruin any of the book, but basically Chief and a few close, personal friends of his find out that the Covenant (an alliance of aliens devoted, with religious fervor, to eliminating the human species) are planning a massive assault on Earth (a la Halo 2) after they learn of it's whereabouts. They are all gathering at one location before they move en masse. Chief decides to kick it to the Covenant and delay their assault on Earth by going on a deadly "First Strike".

Now I am currently reading Halo: Ghosts of Onyx. The Spartan-II program has gone public. Tales of super-soldiers fending off thousands of Covenant attacks have become the stuff of legend.

But just how many Spartans are left?

While the Master Chief defends a besieged Earth, and the myriad factions of the Covenant continue their crusade to eliminate humanity, an ultrasecret cell of the Office of Naval Intelligence known as “Section Three” devises a plan to buy the UNSC vital time. They're going to need hundreds of willing soldiers though . . . and one more Spartan to get the job done.

The planet Onyx is virtually abandoned and the perfect place to set this new plan in motion. But when the Master Chief destroys Halo, something is triggered deep within Onyx: Ancient Forerunner technology stirs, and fleets of UNSC and Covenant race to claim it to change the course of the Human-Covenant War.

But this reawakened and ancient force may have plans of its own . . . bump bump buuuuh. . .

I'll have to let you know how I like it when I am finished. If you like action packed sci-fi, great characters, and the intriguing Halo universe you ought to check these books out. I doubt you would disappointed.

Master Chief's Wanted Poster. . . the stuff of alien nightmares . . .

Ditto. . .

Into My Own
By Robert Frost

One of my wishes is that those dark trees,
So old and firm they scarcely show the breeze,
Were not, as 'twere, the merest mask of gloom,
But stretched away unto the edge of doom.
I should not be withheld but that some day
Into their vastness I should steal away,
Fearless of ever finding open land,

Or highway where the slow wheel pours the sand.
I do not see why I should e'er turn back,
Or those should not set forth upon my track
To overtake me, who should miss me here
And long to know if still I held them dear.
They would not find me changed from him they knew--
Only more sure of all I thought was true.

Turn the poet out of doors. . .

To the Thawing Wind
by Robert Frost

Come with rain. O loud Southwester!
Bring the singer, bring the nester;
Give the buried flower a dream;
make the settled snowbank steam;
Find the brown beneath the white;
But whate'er you do tonight,
bath my window, make it flow,
Melt it as the ice will go;
Melt the glass and leave the sticks
Like a hermit's crucifix;
Burst into my narrow stall;
Swing the picture on the wall;
Run the rattling pages o'er;
Scatter poems on the floor;
Turn the poet out of door.

Nate Notes

This poem is really about Spring but my thawing wind comes in Autumn. I pass on spring and all the allergies, I shun and shade myself from the suffocating heat of summer, but autumn calls me out to my loved and native element. This waning season has become my favorite for so many reasons. Like the harvest itself, all things become ripe and vibrant to the senses. I love the all the sights, not only in the forest and fauna but on the people as well, all the rich colors and earth tones loosely draped on branches and beings alike. I love the crisp clarity that comes with the cooling air and in each breath. I love the rich pungent scent of things returning to the earth. I love the crackle of leaves under foot and the cheers of children diving into collected heaps of Nature's cotton candy. I love the chill on my face, the wind playfully tossing my short hair and the cozy warmth that only comes from a well loved sweater or hoodie. I love lazy drives through the winding panorama of color covered canyons in a convertible with inspiring instrumentals providing the soundtrack.

I often stand at my office window watching for the first signs of turning. I am waiting, wishing for my thawing wind to turn me out. . .

Pookah LemonHead

Pookah has joined the very prestigous lemon head baby club. If you ever want to enjoy a laugh or two at a baby's expense. . .look up lemon babies on YouTube.

Here is Pookah's premier video. . . 

Gid-e-update

Here a post to catch you up on where Gid has been and where he is now.

Here the cute guy when he is just new...

Then Gid decided he liked the hospital so much he wanted to go back for a week long visit.

They decided to give him martian antenna.

After he was given the square jaw of a superhero it was time the antenna to go. . .

Unfortunately they hit a nerve and now he looks like Popeye.

It should get better with time and perhaps an additional procedure, nevertheless he keeps half smile.

Love vs. Thought

Bond and Free

by Robert Frost

Love has earth to which she clings
With hills and circling arms about--Wall within wall to shut fear out.
But Thought has need of no such things,
For Thought has a pair of dauntless wings.

On snow and sand and turn, I see
Where Love has left a printed trace
With straining in the world's embrace.
And such is Love and glad to beBut Thought has shaken his ankles free.

Thought cleaves the interstellar gloom
And sits in Sirius' disc all night,
Till day makes him retrace his flight
With smell of burning on every plume,
Back past the sun to an earthly room.

His gains in heaven are what they are.
Yet some say Love by being thrallAnd simply staying possesses all
In several beauty that Thought fares far
To find fused in another star

A little cheer for this election season. . .

Here is a song to bring a smile to the politically and non-politically inclined. Enjoy JibJab's It's time for some campaigning.

You only fail if you stop trying. . .

Fireflies in the Garden

by Robert Frost

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,

And here on earth come emulating flies,

That though they never equal stars in size,

(And they were never really stars at heart)

Achieve at times a very star-like start.

Only, of course, they can't sustain the part.

Nate Note

For me this poem is about striving to emulate the stars. At moments we have a brilliant start, then all too often we fall short. Though we struggle to sustain the part, this should not keep us from trying again. As someone dear to me always says, "You only fail if you stop trying."

Happy Birthday J-Bo

Happy Birthday son!

J-Bo is six years old and all six years he has been a terrific boy. He is a good older brother and sweet to his sisters (at least half the time). He is great with his younger brother Gid. He loves swords, trucks, and cowboys. . . I wonder if he will grow up to be a Mack truck driving, cowboy samurai? Anyway, he also has a terrific sense of humor. He is capable of making you laugh at the most inappropriate times or if he is in trouble.

I love you son. . . and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Fakin' it. . .

I was sick for a couple of days last week. Fortunately, I was able to work remotely from home. As I was coughing and working feverishly I got thinking about my dramatic shift in attitude toward being sick.


When I was a child, being sick meant I could skip school, lay around, eat Popsicles, and drink ginger ale. Not a bad deal and certainly worth the improvised cough and sniffles if I just wanted a break from it all. What is more, I actually got some rest.


As an adult, no such luck. Each day away from work due to illness usually means three times as much work when you get back. Rest is reduced by a factor of ten for each child at home. (This has to be really hard on a stay at home parent, especially when the other is gone to work) There is very little pay off in faking sick as it usually causes more problems rather than give a much need break or an extra party day. In the end, I usually get more sick contemplating a day out ill than I do actually being ill so I end up working anyway. There is something to be said for working from an easy chair in pajamas though.

Now it is your turn. . . vote on my poll and send me a comment. How often do you fake sick? What have you done on a day out sick? Have you ever been caught?

Cheers to a 1,000 milestone!

If you have not checked out Ki's new blog zip pip, be sure to click on the hyperlink. She is a talented and witty writer. Thought provoking and laugh out loud funny, she will become an addiction. She has written 1,000 posts! Thinks about that for a minute, that is roughly a post a day for three years. So give her a read, give her some comments, and props for the consistent posts we all enjoy.