Diet

by on September 26, 2023 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

My mom died a year ago. That has resulted in a number of changes in my life. One is my diet. Me and Mom ate together every day, and now that I’m buying food for me alone, I pick different things. I eat differently. I don’t eat as much fast or restaurant food. I prepare more of my own food now, and eat less stuff that is made by other people. I don’t add sugars and stuff like that. I feel healthier now. In my most recent blood test, all but one result was at noticeably better levels. And my body processes foods different now. If I eat out with friends on the weekends, my body can react badly to all the things in restaurant food that I just don’t normally eat anymore. It is the little things in life that can make changes one never expects.

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Drafted For War

by on September 25, 2023 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

I played an Alpha Strike Drafted For War tournament this weekend. We used the random BattleMech booster boxes to bring in a completely random set of BattleMechs for all players, and then we picked our armies from those available to us. We each ended up with a semi-random assortment of three BattleMechs that we used to put together a 150-point army to do battle with. It is delightfully fun and random and full of making do with what you get. It was an absolute blast, and I so very much plan to play the format again.

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Family

by on September 24, 2023 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Dad was a Deacon at our Assembly of God as long as I remember. He organized food drives and clothing donations. Worked with the local Lions Club, Salvation Army and other charities. Fundraised for disaster relief missions. There were always people in need, whether locals or outsiders, and he made certain the whole town was ready to help as needed. I remember back in ’93, that was the Rio de Janeiro earthquake, Dad organized all the pickups in town to fly on down there full of disaster relief supplies. Yeah, we didn’t bring much compared to the big disaster relief ships, but we stuck around for a week helping dig people out and all the other things you have to do when the ground goes topsy-turvy. Dad made sure we helped there. A lot.

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Family

by on September 23, 2023 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Dad was the strongest man I knew growing up. He always showed up when the neighbors were raising new buildings, and dragged me along to help. I usually put on a good show of protesting, but always came. The cutest girls showed up for the barn-raising parties, doncha know? Dad was always in the middle of whatever work needed doing. Someone’s finishing a roof? Dad was there. A beam needs bracing? Dad. Raising a wall? Yup. Dad. We were always welcome because Dad helped at the hardest times. And Mom brought all the best hotdishes. I helped both at every opportunity because it was fun showing off for, and flirting with, the pretty girls. We all had our priorities. Dad’s priority was helping build a better world.

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Family

by on September 22, 2023 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Diaries

Dad retired so he could settle down and raise a family. Live the good life he had fought for so long to make sure other people could live. He wanted the American Dream. A house on a lake, a loving wife, a son that would make his hair turn grey, and days spent tossing a lure into the water. Don’t get me wrong here. He was by far the most dangerous man I knew growing up. It was obvious even to my young eyes. The thousand-yard stare they still call it. Sometimes he’d get it. And sometimes I’d see him looking at someone like he was measuring them up for a pine box. He never started a fight that I saw. But the few fights I saw others start he absolutely finished. No one ever won a fight with him until the day the Shang dropped a space station on him.

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