Hero Inc.

With Iron Man 2 out of the way, Thor and Captain America on the way, it is time to begin with eager anticipation for AVENGERS ASSEMBLE…or to the regular people The Avengers movie.

The move is roughly two years away and currently only has a director and many rumors. After seeing Iron Man 2, I wanted to discuss the subtle hints that the film provided that could (or could not) lead into The Avengers movie. For those that don’t know and didn’t click on any of my links above, The Avengers is a superhero team in the same way that the Justice League is for DC. The Avengers have been formed with many different heroes, but which group will be selected for the feature film? Well my assumptions are going to be based off small rumors and everything I saw in Iron Man 2. Therefore, STOP NOW if you want to avoid even the mildest of SPOILERS.

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Ok, now that we have those that don’t want to know out of the way, we can continue. In Iron Man 2, Nick Fury and Tony Stark are discussing his review for possible team involvement thanks to the Black Widow’s report. The report states that Iron Man is in, but Tony is out. Interesting, but my real focus of the scene was the monitor behind them with several points being tracked around the world. I was only able to remember the following subset of locations.

• New York
• New Mexico
• Los Angeles
• Atlantic Ocean
• Africa
• South Atlantic Ocean / Antartica
• Central Europe

Well, if I’m doing what most other fanboys are doing out there in fandom, I’m matching a location to a member of the Avengers.

• New York – Most might jump to Spider-Man here. I certainly did. However, the Spider-Man franchise is not currently in Marvel’s possession. However, the Hulk is and he just happened to star in a recent reboot of the franchise and it took place in…yes…say it…New York. I’m all for The Hulk as a member of the Avengers but I like him even more as the villain. A hero that can’t control his powers, I believe, might provide more drama and story than some alien beings being sent to destroy/take over the earth. Apparently Iron Man 2 is already helping out in continuity because in the background of the scene between Tony and Nick, a news report is being given of the attack at the university that appeared in The Incredible Hulk.
• New Mexico – If you stayed through the credits of Iron Man 2, you already know the answer to this one. The scene showed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had found Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Thor, a norse god, is one, if not, the strongest heroes on earth. If Thor isn’t happy, no one is happy. I’m pumped for this one as Thor is a very intriguing character and his movie is lining up to be something special as well.
• Los Angeles – Easy one, Iron Man. I mean, the man lives in Malibu. Let’s just take Nick’s comments as more of a way to push Tony forward as a hero and not the fact that Marvel can’t pay for all of these heroes together.
• Atlantic Ocean – This must be the one and only “first avenger,” Captain America. Iron Man 2 gave us his first shield as well as the possibility of Iron Man creating the element for creating his new shield. In the comics, Cap’s frozen body was found somewhere in the North Pole or northern Atlantic ocean. Marvel’s ultimate goal was to do Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor and then The Avengers. Therefore, we have to have Cap to lead the team. Time to see what a real boy scout can do.
• Africa – Another no brainer of sorts. We will stay away from Storm or the X-Men due to a separate franchise and Marvel wanting to build on their “less known” characters. This choice also gives us a more diverse group with the inclusion of Black Panther. Many in Hollywood (Tyrese Gibson and Wesley Snipes) have been trying to get a Black Panther film off the ground for years. I’ll support the inclusion here.
• South Atlantic Ocean / Antartica – Here’s the stretch because I gaurantee most people don’t know who he is and when I describe him, I’ll get the usual response of “That’s just an Aquaman rip off.” We are talking about the prince of Atlantis, Namor. Namor is one of the first mutants/heroes from Marvel. He is often depicted as a villain as he chooses his people of Atlantis over those on land every day of the week if he can. Just think of him as good cop/bad cop, but the good cop always calls in sick.
• Central Europe – For this one I had to turn to the internet. Some are pointing to the Red Skull, but I’m not thrilled with that idea. Why spend a whole Captain America move on Red Skull only to bring him back so quickly to face the Avengers? No. This one needs to be something new. A female? We have the Black Widow, but her background is Russia not Central Europe and why would S.H.I.E.L.D. need to track her? Then again, I listed Iron Man on this list and they are tracking him. Then I guess I have to go after my final long shot with two “originals,” Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. Both can be linked back to Central Europe in some form or fashion so they will have to do.

Well that’s it. Not the best team I could pick but then again I don’t have to do the picking. I’d really like to see a team of maybe 5 (Iron Man, Thor, Cap, Hawkeye, Black Widow) so that each can be built in his/her own right. I don’t want characters lost and thrown in just for the purpose of being there, but I would really love to see Hawkeye being portrayed by Jeremy Renner.

Every time I see the following commercial/promo/trailer, I am just pumped up beyond belief.

That’s right people! World Cup time is almost upon us. A time where everything the Olympics promises actually comes true. Here’s hoping the Hall Monitors of the World provide some excellent drama and even more pride. Let’s just say I plan to arrive late for work on certain days where USA will be playing live.

And if you need more pumping up, here we go. Time to RISE UP!

I’m not sure if it was fate or f8 (pronounced the same) that brought my interest into creating a post pertaining to social media but nevertheless, I’m here and proud of it.

The last few years, the buzz terms in the internet mainstream world have been centered around the aspect of each person on the web interacting socially thanks to new products and services.  We’ve all heard of social media this and that, and I know a few of us are getting sick and tired of it (but not as much as the term iPhone killer).  However, each day it seems that the aspect of the social mediasphere comes out to help or hurt us.

Let’s take a look at is out there (and of course do so in alphabetical order).

Social Media	Description/Thoughts
	Use?: NO It’s a shame that this is the first on our alphabetical journey because when I first describe it to people the reaction explains where most think it is headed. According to the website, Blippy is “a fun and easy way to see and discuss what everyone is buying.” That basically translate to a service that syncs with your credit cards and shares with your friends any and all of the purchases that you are making. Sure, there are controls to allow one to moderate what purchases are shared, but essentially the concept is over sharing one’s pride in the capitalistic society. I can see why businesses would want people to use the system because there is big money in providing consumers with a close relationship in the items people want to purchase and people they know that purchase it. Think about it. Aren’t you more likely to buy a product that one of your friends as purchased because you have real feedback you can trust on if the money was well spent? Since this is the latest social media site (started in December of 2009), we will just have to see if it catches on, even though I know I’m just not that interested in it.
	Use?: PUSH Back during my days in college, Digg (that’s D-i-g-g.com) was my premier site for receiving my news of all flavors. I participated in its social aspect by “digging” stories in order to inform the masses of the particular interest in the story. Wait, I’ve gone too far ahead of myself. Back up. Digg was created by Kevin Rose as a social news website. The basic idea is that the masses now have the power to dictate what stories should be of interest. Everyone’s been there. You go to your favorite news site (CNN, BBC, and yes even FoxNews for some) but the stories that you see presented are not what you find important or interesting. Digg provides you the ability to submit stories from across the web and other users can “digg” the story in order to move it to the front page for more people to see it. The more diggs a story receives, the more popular it is. Each story can also be commented on from Digg as opposed to going to the story’s source. However, outside of college I just don’t have time to participate in the “digg” process as I once could. I still go to digg, but only to view the first view pages of content or the top diggs of the day. And sometimes, I’m even drawn back to leave a comment here or there just because I can.
	Use?: YES Wow, where do I begin on this one? Facebook is one of the fastest growing websites out there, but it is also one that I see becoming the most flawed and dangerous. We all enjoy using Facebook as a way to reconnect and catch up on all of our friends, but how many people really stop to think about all of the information we are providing to it. Its current and potential track record of not giving a crap about the information they are storing or its potential for security issues is shocking. The most recent issue that allowed one to see the personal chats and other information of anyone’s friends was met with a “oops” from the website instead of “we will make sure this never happens again.” I have many friends that are looking to take down their pages which is their choice. I don’t know if I am going to go that far because I can really connect to so many people so quickly. However, I will be looking to minimize the data that I provide to them in order to protect myself and identity online. Maybe their policies and thoughts on security/privacy will change in the future so that we can all be more comfortable in using a site that started with a great idea.
	Use?: YES I originally was against the idea of social media being used to track my movements. Then I changed my mind about the whole thing. Was it the aspect of my new smartphone or just becoming more aware of how something like Foursquare worked? Who knows! At least I do know that Foursquare is just as addicting as it was to play four square with my roommates back in college. Foursquare allows one to “checkin” to locations while out and about. I was drawn to this application with my recent move to San Francisco, which is a major user of the application. Having more people in my general vicinity using it really pushes me to get out and learn the city’s ins and outs. I also control when I want to “checkin” and I can easily track where I have been as well as what places I want to return for business. Overall though, the most addicting part of Foursquare is the ability to earn badges. I often feel like I’m a Boy Scout again, except this time I’m more interested. The badges can be humorous or based on the regular tasks one might perform (such as riding the BART). 10 badges and 4 mayorships and I’m craving more and more and more.
	Use?: MAYBE Ah yes, Linkedin. For those not in the know, Linkedin is the facebook of the business world. Instead of “private” (yes I know that is a relative term after my comments above), it is “public”. It is almost the aspect of posting your resume and network contacts to others online. Your network of “friends” is your network of colleagues. I have previously pushed to not join another online system, but my work has encouraged it for recruitment purposes. Maybe it isn’t a terrible idea to join so that I can connect others professionally as opposed to just socially. Anyone else have thoughts here, besides “yeah join”? So far I’d say Linkedin is working out well because any news stories I hear about it are few and far between which means it is either on its way out (which I doubt) or it is doing something right and people don’t have anything to complain about.
	Use?: NO Here it is. If Facebook is the king of social media, Twitter is the queen or co-king. Since its inception, I have had a hatred for Twitter and its community. I didn’t understand the point of sharing public 144 character messages to the world. Do I really want to know one’s bowel movements cycle? Do I care about the sudden idiotic thoughts that enter one’s mind? I certainly do not. However, as I become more aware of the service’s capabilities, my feelings towards Twitter are changing. In the best example I can give, recently there was a virus issue that affected many across the US and rendered many computers useless for several hours. In order to find out how widespread the issue was, I turned to a recent update by Google where you can search the real time tweets. That day, I searched for “virus” and saw that the issue was not centered to just me, but many locations across the US (Clemson, Chicago, Kentucky, etc.). I continued following the google search and found that many were leading me to why the error was occurring thanks to McAfee’s screw up in an update. Twitter in this scenario worked perfectly for a global messaging system. Just think of its uses during disasters or other real time tracking (epidemics, political situations, etc.). I’ve also used it to find out updates regarding the Android 2.1 update for my HTC Eris. Now this does not mean I’m going to go out and join, but at least my mood when I hear other’s make references to it doesn’t result to pure hatred. And I will still wait with anticipation for my twitter based idea to be implemented.

*YES => I am a member of the social club
*NO => I am not a member of the social club
*PUSH => I am a member but the account stays idle
*MAYBE => I am not currently a member but the status of our relationship could change

So what’s next? Well if I had to guess it would follow the movement of turning the tv into the next social revolution. With TV’s moving to integrating internet capabilities, one could interact with other viewers of a TV show in real time and also encourage others to check out a new show or upcoming episode.

With the recent release of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx), I found the need to help my transition to the new version of Linux that I currently use at home (desktop and netbook). I have become quite comfortable at making certain transitional changes upon upgrading, but why do I need to spend the time to fix a manual step that I can automate?

The script was initially created to make two changes:

1. The location bar in the file explorer is defaulted to graphic based, instead of my personal comfort of text based
2. Ubuntu 10.04′s movement of the minimize, maximize, and close buttons to the left of the window as opposed to the right

The script, found here (right click, save as), simply runs two simple commands within a terminal. However, why type these commands (each on a single line) in when you can just run the script? Like I said, I’m lazy.

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/metacity/general/button_layout" --type string
  "menu:minimize,maximize,close"

gconftool-2 --set "/apps/nautilus/preferences/always_use_location_entry"
  --type bool "True"

Hopefully I will update the script later to include a few of the following features:

• Import a synaptic package list of applications and install them
• Modify the splash screen background image
• Copy a backed up Home folder
• Create separate script to be run before moving to the latest version of Ubuntu to backup the installed applications, bookmarks, and home folders

If anyone wants to help out or have suggestions, let me know.

I’ll try to give a full review of Ubuntu once I spend more time with the OS, but as of right now, its AMAZING. Purple suits me much more than the old brown did.

our score and many months ago, I attempted to help out in fixing a wordpress plugin that I wanted for my site.  In an effort to reach more people to share my stupidity and no real depth or knowledge, I wanted to utilize Facebook’s notes to pull my blog posts to Facebook and then pull any comments posted there back to my website.

After a few successful tries, I started to slowly realize that something was not quite right with Facebook.  The constant change of the site’s HTML made the plugin become a complete waste after a week of quality use after every fix.  I soon decided to take my last effort and release it back to the wordpress community for them to continue updating if desired.

Since releasing it back to others, I’ve always secretly wanted someone to find a solution.  Well, I’m now here to say I don’t want anyone to fix it.  Instead if people want to post to the facebook population, then just use the status messages and inform friends to exit from facebook for a great read.

Facebook, knowingly and purposefully make these consistent changes to the site’s design in order to deter any developers in coding solutions that will crawl the site for any data that Facebook does not allow one to receive via their APIs.  The reason for this has nothing to do with preventing your identity from being taken away from Facebook for security purposes.  They just want full control so that they can exploit the identity and sell the data for their profit as well as force users to stay within the Facebook walls in order to dictate what the web experience can and will be.

Therefore, until Facebook changes their current stance and opens the API to allow access to specific information externally for enhancing the social interaction outside of Facebook, my limited (and terrible developing) skills will not be used for pushing my traffic into Facebook, but to push Facebook traffic out.

Well, another NFL draft comes to a close. This one came with a new prime time format and an ending that was saved for Saturday as opposed to Sunday. While I am not a proponent of the Thursday night start time (really sucks for those west coasters), I loved the fact that the first round flew by in about 3 1/2 hours. That’s definitely better than the normal 5 hours we have endured in the past. Of course, the first round is is even more enjoyable when one has a KFC Double Down to keep you company (better than one might expect).

Enough of those pointless remarks. I need to get to the point on my overall thoughts. I’ll start with the Falcons first as they were my true purpose in watching the draft. My night didn’t start off well once the Eagles were on the clock as they went after my main target of Brandon Graham. However, at least my second prediction came true as the Falcons welcomed the latest member of the family, Sean Weatherspoon (Falcons introduction video). SPOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sean’s presence fills a hole that will VERY soon need to be filled for Stephen Nichols or Mike Peterson.

Wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. This format doesn’t work. Let’s just list and discuss.

Now with the picks out of the way, it is time to grade the draft in a way that is meaningless because we are only a day removed and have no way of knowing what will happen here. I’m guessing not having a second round pick really hurt us. With that being said, I’m giving the Falcons a C/C+. Sure, we addressed the LB and OL needs, but where is the defensive end? The secondary was destroyed last season because of no pressure on the opposing quarterback. Look at the results from 2008 and 2009. In 2008 we were all over the quarterback. In 2009, most quarterbacks were building new homes behind their lines. A Van Gorder defense is built around a strong pass rush. I guess we are hoping to see more production out of the line we have and have more faith in the newly built secondary. Let’s just hope it all works out for the best.

UGA Note: The following players were taken from the University of Georgia.

• Rennie Curran, LB to Tennessee Titans. Round 3, Pick 33 (97 Overall)
• Geno Atkins, DT to Cincinnati Bengals. Round 4, Pick 22 (120 Overall)
• Reshad Jones, S to Miami Dolphins. Round 5, Pick 32 (163 Overall)
• Jeff Owens, DT to Philadelphia Eagles. Round 7, Pick 36 (243 Overall)
• Kade Weston, DT to New England Patriots. Round 7, Pick 41 (248 Overall)

Thursday night is the 2010 NFL Draft and the third year of the Smitty and TD connection. There are of course many others involved in turning the Falcons’ franchise around but we will stick with those at the top for the moment. The current path has looked promising with the addition of Matt Ryan in year 1 and Peria Jerry in year 2. Year 1 gets most of the attention due to the fast start and quick production while Year 2 was riddled with injuries. Regardless of the stance you take, one must not forget that the 40+ curse ended late last season (like really late).

As we prepare for the new season, both sides are the ball are possible within this year’s draft. The hole filling began with free agent signing of Dunta Robinson. We are a team that drafts on need and the current pressing needs are:

• Outside Linebacker (OLB) – Mike Peterson was great last season providing veteran leadership, but his age is a factor and the Falcons have slowly tried to remove the Over 30 Club from the team as needed. Peterson won’t be with us many more years and that needs to be addressed.
• Defensive End (DE) – John Abraham was a beast two seasons ago and one of the main reasons why the defense looked better than it was in 2008. 2009 was a different story and caused the secondary to be called into question on numerous occasions. We all know that Brent Grimmes just can’t do this every week. Well, maybe I believe he can.
• Offensive Lineman (OL) – One must commend Paul Boudreau for what he has put together in order to protect Matty Ice. However, continuing the improvement is a need and possible that it will be addressed in the draft (most suggestions currently are later rounds).

Due to work and other commitments, I haven’t been able to perform my research on this year’s possibilities. I can only provide my quick impression based on what I do know and what names have popped up.

• Brandon Graham, DE, Michigan – A majority of the mock drafts out there have the Falcons picking Graham with the number 19th overall pick. Seems like a good fit as Defensive End is the MAJOR hole in my eyes. With a strong rushing attack, the secondary will seem stronger and hopefully turnovers will increase. We have the interior of the line set with Peria and Babs. Now to just fill the outside and provide opponents with the real choice: real or artificial turf. Here’s someone’s version of his highlights.
• Taylor Mays, S, USC – Yes, I know what you are thinking here. Mays is a safety and that was not a need list. True. But I’ve heard that some teams are interested in moving Mays to the LB position because he does not have the top level speed to play safety in the NFL. He does have the speed to be a great linebacker and who doesn’t love a good hard hitting player?
• Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri – In every mock draft that doesn’t list Graham, Weatherspoon’s name is the next to pop up. I wish I had more to go on here but the limelight is always around the probable pick (see Graham) or the sexy pick (see Mays). I guess this highlight video will have to do the talking for me. I’d be happy with him.
• Demaryius Thomas, WR, Georgia Tech – I’m only listing this pick as it just popped up as a possibility on one of my favorite NFC South blogs. I don’t know how I feel going after a WR with the first pick and no second round pick. There are more pressing needs at the moment. I could see this happening if we trade Jenkins for the second round pick. Highlights are here.
• C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson – The man is a human highlight machine. Some say Reggie Bush. I say something better. Sure we have Norwood, but his durability has been called into question. If Norwood can’t stay healthy, then there really is no change of pace option in the backfield. I only take this pick if he is available. No trading up for this one. It’s just a sexy pick.

As for the other Draft expectations?

1. Who is this year’s cryer? I would assume Tebow due to prior evidence. However, I think it could be Eric Berry just for the fact that he should be the number 1 overall pick and no one will take him. Everyone feels that a safety is not worth that high of a pick which means he will fall and could fall fast and hard.
2. Please someone make certain that Jimmy Clausen stays off camera. He has one ugly mug, but I can’t hold it against him. It does run in his family.
3. Can Oakland out do itself this year with its first pick? I’d bet on it.
4. Will the new prime time airing of the draft really help the ratings that much? Of course they will, but will it really help me staying up so late watching the draft on delay due to timing?

Check back after the draft for full list of Falcons draft board plus any UGA players that were taken too.

Ok this was not the originally planned next post, but this will help me cut down on the slight repetition of retelling the story of my recent engagement to May. It may be a little long to read, but I’m hoping its entertaining. Enjoy

Ben: I chose Tax Day as the best way to keep her from noticing the true nature of the date night. I knew I could offset her by saying we could spend some of my tax return by having a nice evening together.

May: Thursday morning on my way to class I remembered that I still had not talked to my dad in Boston about my upcoming graduation so I gave him a call. Little did I know that Ben had just called him the previous day. So when my dad answered in a very excited voice, I was a little surprised. He asked if I had anything to tell him – to which I responded, “Well, yeah. I’m graduating.” Then his voice dropped a little and he asked if there was anything special going on with Ben and I – to which I responded, “No. Ben’s fine, I’m fine, we’re fine.” Then my dad says, “Oh, didn’t Ben tell you he called me yesterday?” To which I exclaimed “NO!” and he responds with a quick “Oh! I should stop talking now.” Then of course he not so subtly proceeds to gush about what a wonderful guy Ben is and how happy he is that I am with him.

Ben: All my careful planning and it could have been thrown away in a few seconds.

May: This is about the time that I start to freak out! I knew the only reason Ben would call my dad is to ask permission to marry me. I was so excited but I didn’t know when it would happen and I knew I could never let Ben know that I had found out. I always seem to find out about surprises too early. I also didn’t know how long I could keep my composure and was worried that I would just burst if he waited another couple months and I had to pretend to be none the wiser. I called my cousin Janet who sounded so unenthusiastic and unconvinced about the whole ordeal that I was crushed.

Ben: Janet was unenthusiastic because she was one of my many spies and aides. She called me immediately worried that everything was falling apart. I didn’t worry. I could easily explain away my call to her dad if needed. I informed Janet I would just say that I was attempting to see if he could fly out for graduation.

May: I chatted with my close friend Erin online about the spoiler and she managed to turn it into a whole ordeal about how mad she was that she was not included in the planning of it all. This made me feel even worse! Why were all the people around me being so mean?

Ben: Again, spies and aides.

May: Why couldn’t they just be happy for me???

Ben: Because I called them to assess any further damage control on the secret of the evening being spilled.

May: And why wouldn’t any of my other friends answer their phones???? Although it did cross my mind (which I mentioned to Erin) that maybe, just maybe, EVERYONE was in on it and they all knew!!!

Ben: Insert wink here.

May: I would pride myself on my cleverness but in truth, every single possible scenario of what could be happening and what might happen buzzed through my head all day long. I got to school and I confided in a friend who managed to get my excitement up again without getting too excited – though that was hard to keep control of. I went to work but I couldn’t concentrate on anything all day! Despite the spoiler, I was pretty convinced it was not happening that evening. There was a small glimmer of hope but I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen.

Ben: I made sure to head home early to get ready and to calm myself down for any nervousness that would begin to hit me as we moved closer to time. When May continued to ask where we were going, I continued to answer Carl’s Jr (Hardees to those east coasters). She sounded still thrilled to go and they do make a tasty burger.

May: I rushed to get ready after arriving home from work late. I became increasingly frustrated when my roommate, Lindsay, refused to come downstairs so that I could ask to borrow her dress.

Ben: Lindsay has a terrible poker face and attempted to stay on the phone and away from May in order to give away nothing. It’s a shocker she made it that long.

May: Ben took me out to our favorite restaurant in San Francisco, Cappanina. It is one of the first SF restaurant dates we ever had, via a recommendation from our friend Jim, during my first year of law school. We had an amazing meal – the works!

Ben: Part of dinner was a gift from me and flowers waiting for us at the table. Bless you opentable for making my life easy. The gift was a book that she already had. Around the time when we first started dating, we traded favorite books in hopes to “educate” the other. She finished mine, Invisible Monsters, rather quickly while I’ve put off Catch-22 until…well…now. Thanks to the power of the audiobook and my daily commute I was able to comply with a request for me that May had probably forgotten. She was thrilled to hear that I had finally read it and I was just thrilled to finally be able to discuss it since one can find a Catch-22 anywhere and everywhere.

May: Yay, he read a book!

Ben: I even snuck in a Foursquare checkin at the restuarant. I was so proud to see that I was now the mayor. This was truly myour night.

May: After dinner, it was getting a bit late and I was tired so when Ben asked if I wanted to go out after dinner I said that I’d really be happy just going home and watching a movie. So we headed out.

Ben: I made sure to play dumb on the best way to go home as my next planned stop was….well…planned.

May: The route home takes us towards the Golden Gate Bridge. The exit to our house is immediately before you cross the toll to actually get on the bridge. I kept telling Ben to get over or he would miss the exit and when he finally tried to get over we nearly got side swiped by another vehicle – thank goodness we didn’t – and missed the exit. Little did I know this was all a part of the master plan (minus the nearly dying part)!

Ben: For the record I paid that car to do it. It was the best way to throw May off and we practiced the almost crash for weeks. Ok, I was just an idiot and I was nervous. We are all ok now.

May: We are crossing the bridge and I suggest that since it was a clear night we should drive up to the overlook point on Hawk Hill (Marin Headlands). This was apparently Ben’s plan all along!

Ben: She makes my life so easy.

May: We get out and are enjoying the beautiful view. It is a clear night and the city and the Golden Gate Bridge are just lit up and glittering (best view I could find from Google, follow the road off the bridge). I get a little cold and suggest that we get back in the car, but Ben insists we stay out and he wraps his jacket around me. We stay out there a little longer and as I start to head back towards the car he drops down on one knee. I look down at him stunned.

Ben: Here’s the actual conversation at this point. Please keep in mind that the ring I am holding is a little toy ring.

May: Shut up! Get up! That’s not funny! Shut up! Are you serious??? That’s not funny!

Ben: I am serious! Will you marry me?

May: YES! YES! YES! YES!

Ben: I was nervous enough to put the toy ring on the wrong finger. No one is perfect.

May: I had always told him that I would be perfectly happy if he proposed with a toy ring and let me go pick out a real one – I can be a bit picky! Then of course came the crying and happy kisses. We sat out on the lookout point a while longer while he explained to me how he had been planning this for quite a long time and how pretty much everyone was in on it!… all the people who had been so mean earlier in the day were just trying frantically to do some damage control while alerting Ben to the possible spoiler!

Ben: I really enjoyed the part where she was perfectly content with the toy ring for about 20 minutes and not knowing that anything else even existed.

May: We got back in the car and Ben looked at me and asked if I would like an upgrade to my ring. He pulled out a small box and I got really excited. I told him to ask me again. As he opened the box, he asked will you marry me and I exclaimed YES the second I saw the beautiful glittering rings inside.

Ben: I quickly reminded her that she had to actually look at me when she provided the answer and not the ring.

May: I looked at him and said ‘yes’ and started crying all over again. I was so excited and everything was just so perfect. I just don’t know how everyone who knew managed to keep it a secret for so long! Thank you to everyone for making it such a wonderful night for us! It was perfect!

Ben: Yay me!

Much like one of my close counterparts, I too have been away from posting for far too long. I’m not promising anything life changing here, but at least it is more than a heartbeat to let people know I’m here. So like many posts where I try not to say too much, here are the fast facts.

• I upgraded my old phone and am now enjoying life with my Android powered device. Sure it has its cons, but doesn’t every phone? Next path will be to attempt to build my own app for it and see if anyone is willing to download and/or buy it. I doubt the second part of that. Here’s hoping I can put together a better future post talking about apps and how this phone really measures up.
• My newest side project will move any of my future movie posts to The AC Guild or Amateur Critics Guild. I’m hoping to push this really hard because it has been a thrill to create so far. If you don’t believe me, just head over to the About page and enjoy the most random ramblings you will find as well as a good picture or two.
• I’ve just picked up the new The Rocket Summer album. I’m not enjoying as much as the past ones, but it still has a few fun tunes. Check out Nothing Matters.
• In keeping up with my Falcons from my new west coast location, I’m pumped with the new addition of the Falcons family, Daunta Robinson. Now we just need a fearsome pass rusher and other teams will fear the days they have to face us. Saints, we will knock you down first.
• I just enjoyed a wonderful weekend snowboarding in Mammoth. I’m no Shaun White, but I think I’m doing quite well for only having been two times now. The new board, bindings, and boots worked out great. Anyone ready for a fall trip now? Possible picture and video to come later depending on when the one who took the pictures and video lets me get my hands on them.
• I’m a little behind the times, but thanks to a great deal, I just picked up the God of War collection pack. Sure I’ll be stuck playing God of War while everyone else is enjoying God of War 3. That’s fine. I enjoying playing games on the cheap.
• The greatest candy time of the year as arrived once again. I’ve already begun stock piling as many as I can. I will note that the bunny shaped Reese’s are quite good as well so please don’t write them off. You still can write off the smaller easter eggs though. They just aren’t the same as the big ones.

Possible future posts?

• NFL Draft Preview – Sorry Mike.
• All things Android
• My Music History – Have had this one in the works for a long time so we know that it will probably wait longer as well.

Here’s the next set of reviews from my Netflix queue.

Lost Season 5 Thanks to Watch Instantly I was able to quickly remind myself why season 6 will be amazing Rating:	Serenity I didn’t watch Firefly, but I think I might have enjoyed it after the movie. Rating:
The Protector Twitter Movie Review text… Rating:	Sliders Seasons 1 & 2 The visuals are pure 90′s, but I still enjoy the story for some reason. Rating:
Seaquest DSV A boat hasn’t been this entertaining since the Red October Rating:	Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Just another way to make Men in Tights funnier and Morgan Freeman is present Rating: