Day 1: (Bugimus sports Seattle's Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame T-shirt)
- I checked into the Con (via WB's) and scored 3 killer 4sq badges: swarm, super swarm, and Comic-Con 2010! It was almost worth the price of admission just for those and the uber braggin' rights
- attended a panel discussing the state of geekdom especially regarding scifi movies
- I heard about Yesterday Was a Lie and I'm watching it on netflix
- Watched Inception and thought it was EXCELLENT.
- Predators sounds interesting so I think I'll go see that today too
- Got lots of pictures walking around the floor and had a great time
- Saw Fidget from the Frag Dolls and told her "hi" from Josh

Day 2: (Bugimus sports Wrath of Khan T-shirt)
- Saw Nic Cage promoting Drive Angry. Got some decent pics...(I hope)
attended Skyline presentation...it looks fantastic! Greg and Colin Strause made it completely on their own...studio doesn't own it... nice!
- skyline promo is inventive...they wrapped the front of the Marriott and release human shaped balloons all day long floating upwards...a shadow of one of them appeared on the sails and it was quite a sight
- pre-ordered Let's Dance 2 Wii game for Wella and Kianna...I bet they'll love it (October)
- being able to tether to my phone is heaven!
- sitting in theater waiting for Predators to begin
- saw preview of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and it looks like something I would enjoy
- after dinner I caught the Worst Cartoons Ever show and it was better than ever
- still need to hook up with some friends

Day 3: (Bugimus sports Babylon 5 G'Kar T-shirt)
- got to the con a bit late
- ate some pizza out on the patio and watched 2 Indiana Jones practice using their whips
- I also observed 2 steam punks compare their blades
- I am now sitting in the presence of Sid & Marty Krofft! Behind the scenes with Sid and Marty Krofft, then to look at the future with Joe Ruby and ken Sp;ears (Scooby Doo , Thundar the Barbarian) they have partnered with the Kroffts in Creations from the World of Jack Kirby. This was a fantastic panel and so meaningful to me having grown up with their creations. The Krofft's basically apologized for the Land of the Lost movie and I was glad to hear they weren't pleased with it. They say a remake is in the making already for about 4 years from now. They are also going to do a PufNStuf movie!
- While waiting to get into Hall H for the Marvel presentation there was a stabbing! Yes, you heard that right a stabbing...with a pen...a ball point pen. Some dork got mad at another attendee for not giving up his seat so he stabbed him in the eye with a pen. There was plenty of blood...the cops took the dork away as he sobbed like a wuss. As he was being led away some could be heard asking, "dude, can I have your badge?"
- met up with Jerome and crew for dinner...they were in Hall H during the fiasco. The Marvel presentation was excellent they said...Captain America, Avengers, and Thor...it all looked awesome.

Day 4: (Bugimus sports Seattle's Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame T-shirt)
- got up early to catch the CCAS meeting but discovered it wasn't happening...oh well
- I continued to take plenty of photos but there are far fewer costumes on Sunday
- I decided to get an official Comic-Con Tshirt and some others from Graffitti and other booths
- Rocena doesn't get down here much anymore so I braved a horde of Marvel zombies groping for swag as if it were fresh brains to get her a deck of playing cards
- grabbed a pretzel and got the call from the Mrs. to head back to the resort for extraction

Aftermath:
To say I'm sad to be back is an understatement. I had a great time this year. I kept it very simple by taking photos and avoiding most of the long lines and draining my wallet. I did get some really nice t-shirts to sport during the year but that was the only thing I allowed myself to spend on. I can't wait until next year and by then I hope to be able to take more time off to surround the experience with family time.

I'm here in Reno, Nevada with my dad attending the 2009 SR-71 Blackbird Reunion. I feel privileged to accompany him on this trip. My mom passed away last June and normally she would have been here. When my dad mentioned this event to me earlier this year he said he wouldn't be attending and I immediately pointed out I would be more than happy to go with him. Upon hearing that he really perked up and the next day he made the reservations and here we are.

There really isn't a whole lot of stuff going on aside from a bunch of old colleagues remembering the good old days when excellence in aviation was still something to be valued. I wish I could say this sort of thing was as much alive today as it was then but sadly I fear it's not. Dad jokingly said we need another good war to kick our collective aerospaces asses into high gear once again. Hopefully that won't be the impetus that's actually required but I'm sure if one were to befall us it would have that effect.

Today we were attending the raffle and I had my dad walk through the reception crowd to see if he knew anyone and it wasn't looking too good. The first pass through and no familiar faces emerged. So we sat down and awaited the raffle to commence. We were probably one of a handful of Northrop folks in the room and wouldn't you know it we won the first raffle. Unfortunately we only won a cheap bag of trinkets no doubt manufactured in the ROC, but hey we still felt special.

As I write this we're sitting in our hotel room watching a beautiful thunderstorm over the city with the sun fully shining above the dark clouds. It's really quite impressive. In about an hour we'll be heading to the main event which is a banquet with guest speakers. I believe one of the speakers will be one of the few, or only, people to have ever ejected from a habu.

I normally order 2 shots of espresso from Starbucks or a cappuccino. This means I like coffee for what coffee tastes like. I don't need hazelnut, vanilla, cherry blossom or any other such frou frou crap in MY COFFEE!!! The "professional" who prepared my coffee this morning got some combination of that flavored filth into or onto my cup and it is serving to ruin my morning!!! Don't tell me I'm over-reacting! Grrrrrrrr.

Am I a coffee snob, most probably... deal with it and especially keep my coffee pure!

This should come as no surprise:

1. Eastern Orthodox (100%)
2. Roman Catholic (100%)
3. Orthodox Quaker (96%)
4. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (93%)
5. Seventh Day Adventist (91%)
6. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (80%)
7. Hinduism (74%)
8. Orthodox Judaism (73%)
9. Baha'i Faith (70%)
10. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (66%)
11. Sikhism (66%)
12. Islam (65%)
13. Jehovah's Witness (57%)
14. Liberal Quakers (57%)
15. Jainism (57%)
16. Unitarian Universalism (56%)
17. Neo-Pagan (51%)
18. Reform Judaism (50%)
19. Mahayana Buddhism (44%)
20. Theravada Buddhism (37%)
21. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (30%)
22. New Age (30%)
23. Scientology (29%)
24. Secular Humanism (24%)
25. Taoism (23%)
26. New Thought (23%)
27. Nontheist (22%)

I just noticed this video from another blog I get twitter updates from. I don't normally post things like this but I found this one particularly appealing, probably because it deals with visualization which is really important to me and who I am.

This was where I crafted my note for Facebook. I'm going to duplicate this info because at least I have direct control over it within my own domain.

The only way I'm going to get a list of 25 things about me is to start collecting them here:

1. I have loved electronica or techno since I first heard it in the 80s. It started with 80s New Wave and European disco dance tracks and it continues today with trance and progressive techno. I was hugely influenced by Depeche Mode, Yaz, Erasure (seeing the trend there?). My favorite internet radio station is ETN.fm. But as much as I love that kind of music I have a varied taste. I just don't think a lot of people would guess that techno was so high on my list.

2. I spent the first 10 years of my education attending the Southern California Military Academy in Long Beach, CA. Yes, that's kindergarten through 9th grade. It was an all-boys school and was also a Christian school. We didn't carry real guns but we did plenty of marching and wore uniforms. One of these days I plan on uploaded scores of nifty photos of this experience. The school is now gone but it had a very interesting and rich history.

3. I absolutely hated high school and most of my college years. I have very negative feelings about schooling in general and don't like to think about it too often.

4. Starting in 1985 and lasting for about 5 years I decided to build and aviary in my parent's backyard. The deal with my parents was that I could have some birds if I helped beautify the backyard. This venture became a refuge for me during the difficult college years. I loved raising my birds and at the peak I had about 200 or so. I raised parakeets, all kinds of finches, pigeons, cockatiels, button quail, weavers and diamond doves. Along with all the birds I also tended a beautiful garden with as many flowers as I could afford. I have tons of pictures and video of this experience that will also make it to bugimus.com one of these days.

5. I was 18 years of age when I discovered I had a half brother on my dad's side. It was another 18 years when he knocked on my door after having found me through my website. I welcomed him in and discovered he had grown up no less than 5 miles from where I did. We are now building a relationship that was denied for all those years.

6. In the last year I have found David Keirsey's books "Please Understand Me" and "Please Understand Me II" profoundly helpful to understanding myself and those I associate with. I have taken the personality test a few times in order to feel confident that my personality type is ENTP (Extraversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Perception) and my temperament is "Rational/Inventor". I don't feel I "belong" in any group but I do have the ability to "fit in" anywhere. It helps me to know this is understandable based on my basic makeup. It also helps to know the information in these books is well supported by decades worth of research data.

7. In June of 1998 I stopped eating animal flesh. I guess you could say I quit it "cold turkey". I'm asked so often why it became clear I needed to write it down and just refer people to my reasons on biography page. For the record, the year before I took this step I ordered a 4x4 from In 'n Out Burger and it was scrumptious!

8. In my junior high years I was near suicidal because I believed a global nuclear holocaust was imminent based on the premillennial teachings of my school. I was not so sure of my salvation and even if I had been the prospect of a rapture, 7 year tribulation and Christ coming back to judge the world was too much for me to take at that age. I kept this intense and paralyzing fear to myself until one day I broke down and wept in my father's arms for hours telling him my fears and what I'd been taught. He was outraged. My father was raised Church of Christ which considers premillennialism heresy. I felt like the world had been lifted off my chest after letting that all out and was able to move forward with my life once again. The closest label for my position on Christian eschatology would be Amillennial.

9. Wella and I have been together since 1986. Doing the math results in 22 years together. We are closer now than we have ever been before. I truly believe that I would be in a seriously bad way or worse without her steady love and support these past years.

10. I absolutely love shows about cryptozoology and UFOs. I can watch them for hours. In that vein I 1) think there is a high probability that the creature known as "Bigfoot" exists in North America 2) am agnostic on extra-terrestrial visitations and 3) do not think the Loch Ness monster exists currently although evidence doesn't rule out it may have in the past.

11. I went through a lot the last few years and have struggled about how much to include in this list. Suffice it to say that a combination of problems culminated into bringing me to the brink of physical, emotional and spiritual destruction. I was cycling through feelings of disgust, anger, resentment and shame which I believe ultimately led to me suffering a stroke because I couldn't/wouldn't let go of the pain. I now live with a permanent blind spot in my right eye as a constant reminder that every day I have a choice between letting the past pull me into the abyss or letting go and moving on.

12. I am 1/16 Chippewa, Bad River Band, which may explain why I still have plenty of hair on my head, can't grow a beard and prefer to wear my hair long.

13. I do not fly. I have flown a few times when I was younger and I thought the actual experience was wonderful and exhilarating. Few people seem to understand that I don't have a fear of flying, I simply choose not to fly. If I'm going to die in a vehicle I prefer to eliminate the airplane from the list.

14. I am the chairman of the elders at La Habra Christian Church. I am the webmaster for the church website and I operate the sound system most every Sunday. This is where my head knowledge becomes action and how I choose to live my faith by reaching out to the local community with the love that God has so graciously shared with me.

15. I have a phobia when it comes to mailing letters, or anything else for that matter, through the post office.

16. I owe a great deal to a one Dr. Thaddeus Ozone and the community of incredible talent he fostered at OzoneAsylum. Were it not for his work and willingness to share his expertise with others I would not have the same level of technical and design skills I have today. Thanks Doc!!!

17. My B-2 Stealth Bomber webpage has been the most popular section of bugimus.com since 1999. For some reason it got indexed very early on and has remained in top search engine results for all these years. Try searching for "b2" or "b2 bomber" on Google and my site should be on the first page. In conjunction with this page I've collected around 150 B-2 patches and am working on a Web2.0 interface for displaying them all.

18. I love coffee. I have some each morning when I wake. Then I have some on the way into the day job. Then I'm done for the day. When I go to sleep I smile thinking about the next morning's cup. I consider drinking coffee one of life's most enjoyable pleasures.

19. I do not believe science and faith are incompatible. I think it's a mistake to choose between one or the other. This is another topic that I could ramble on and on about so I'm keeping this one concise. If you're interested in discussing this just let me know and I'll be happy to engage.

20. I love collecting comic books but I rarely read them. I'm primarily attracted to the art and the popular culture that surrounds them. I especially love the culture that is found at the San Diego Comic Con. I feel "at home" in that crowd more than most. I've attended it every year for the last 15 and can't wait for the next.

21. I've driven the same car for almost 20 years now. It recently hit 200,000 miles and it's still running great. As much as I love my 1990 Eagle Talon I am ready to upgrade and I really like the look of the new 2010 Camaro. I have my eye on a gray metallic V8 supercharged version with orange racing stripes and 22" wheels.

22. I tend toward an "all or nothing" mentality. As a result I find it difficult to see the line between friend and acquaintance, personal and professional, excellence and mediocrity, etc. This has been the source of much pain and disappointment in my life.

23. I have a mental block when it comes to doing math in my head. I also have a mental block when it comes to reading books because I feel I have to read each and every word for it to count. I know that's absurd but it's something that crept into my psyche at an early age.

24. I love to fly kites at the beach. I have a pretty decent collection of them ranging from single, dual and quad line stunt kites to a couple of power sleds that can haul a wide array of line laundry. I also may be the only flier to combine a power sled with a 50ft tail held up by a spinning box kite.

25. I believe as strongly as is humanly possible that Jesus Christ is the best and indeed only hope for life everlasting. My door is always open on this issue and am more than willing to listen, answer questions and explain why I hold this belief so tightly.

I was listening to a podcast the other day. During the talk the speaker asked to "think back to a time when you were the happiest in your life". I proceeded to start this mental exercise and was surprised that I was unable to come up with an answer. Since that time I have thought of a few times that would fit the bill, but the fact that nothing came to mind for a few days was really telling.

I've been living under such a cloud for so long that I hardly recognize the situation. I don't want this anymore. I don't have to be unhappy. In fact God himself commanded we be happy. You would think a person would automatically want and strive to be such. It's just not automatic with me and I actually have to work at it.

The good news is I now know this is something my life has been missing and I wil be a happier person from now on.

A friend pointed this site out to me this morning and I thought it was cool. I enjoy seeing the data visualizations that are becoming more prominent on popular sites. If you type in a name below and submit it will take you to an interactive version of the visualization.

Popularity of names starting with SH

I was talking with some friends the other day about a situation we are all associated with. During the conversation we were pointing out how advantageous it was for all of us and that it was rare. So I emphasized it by saying that it was decidedly "not normal".

Now for me that was high praise because most of my life people have described me that way and I've always felt complimented by it. To me not being normal has always meant I'm special, perhaps better in some ways, more valued like in the world of collectibles, etc. But a friend in the group quickly rephrased my characterization with "not typical" and I was taken back for a moment. I was fine with it of course but it really got me to thinking about why anyone would want to rephrase the praise I had uttered.

It's clear to me now what was going on in this exchange. Now that I'm more familiar with David Keirsey's book "Please Understand Me" which studies different personality profiles I see that for a good deal of people being part of the group and belonging is a huge deal. For them to not be part of the group is insulting and very hurtful. But my personality type is one of the few that cherishes being different even to the degree that I'm considered a true iconoclast. So it makes quite a bit of sense in this light.

I've lived long enough now to also know that group cohesion is a very good thing and there's no need to impose my minority views. So I quickly accepted the term "atypical" to describe our mutually beneficial circumstances and moved on.

This is just one more example of how learning about personality types has aided my understanding of the world.

Why We Can't Redefine Marriage:
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Catholic/2003/08/Why-We-Cant-Redefine-Marriage.aspx

Was Sodom Into Sodomy?
http://www.beliefnet.com/News/2003/07/Was-Sodom-Into-Sodomy.aspx

Tom and George Urge No on Prop 8
http://home.earthlink.net/~tomandgeorge/NOonProp8.htm

How does same sex marriage affect my marriage?
http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008385.cfm

Good statistics to work with here:
http://www.iprotectmarriage.com/the-issue/

Questions:

On what basis should marriage be limited by gender, number, or age?

What business does government have in endorsing any marriage, traditional or otherwise?

If same sex marriage is perfectly moral then on what basis could public schools not teach it as such?

What societies have ever sanctioned same sex marriage as normative?

If there is a down side for society by redefining marriage, then aren't civil unions the best solution to this issue?

-------
NARTH, very controversial but they have been sifting through the data for some time now and have some pretty well researched sources.
http://www.narth.com/

This page has several articles that lead to info:
http://www.citizenlink.org/fosi/marriage/archive.cfm

Here are some stats:
http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/marriage/A000000982.cfm

Here is a discussion of the "sex is fluid" issue:
http://www.citizenlink.org/FOSI/marriage/A000000989.cfm

Finally, if you don’t get Break Point or see their World View section you may want to peruse it. Here is a page using the search term "marriage"
http://www.breakpoint.org/search.asp?keywords=+marriage&siteId=5&submit.x=25&submit.y=11

Ravi Zacharias Response to Gay Christianity
http://jeffbuchanan.org/2008/08/12/ravi-zacharias-response-to-gay-christianity/

Well maybe micro-blogging a la twitter won't kill blogging, but it will take the place of my entries on the BugLOG for a while. My schedule and daily routine really lends itself to short <140 character updates. I've even got them showing up on my front door to make it easy to see what I've been up to.