Being Silly for Nearly 30 Years...

Contrary to popular belief, as of today I will have been on this Earth for 30 years. I keep telling myself it's just a number and that it's merely a way to gauge how old someone is. I tend to wax nostalgic about the past decade when I have reached the next tier, but this one just seems off...

Part of it is the feeling of not accomplishing all that I set out to do at 20. It's foolish, at best, to think that we can accomplish things based on a timeframe, not ability. I take so much of it for granted that when I stumble and fall in my progress I think so little of myself. I have a great deal to be thankful for, mainly my wife and children. God does love me a lot, to bless me with a woman who not only accepts me and my weird ways, but has been my rock when I needed her. Not to hide behind poetics to explain her, but Mandy is to me as the Sun is to the Earth; I simply could not function or live without her. Mandy, if you're reading this know that I don't go a day without thinking about how great of an impact you've had on me and how you've truly completed me. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you and look forward to celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary! :D

Our two boys are eerily exact copies of us, Noah like me and Adam like Mandy. After raising these two thus far I must apologize to my parents, for I'm sure I acted just as crazy at that age. I love spending all the time I can with them and hope to make even more memories as they grow. They amaze us every day with their intelligence and ability to push the limits. You boys make me so proud.

It's felt good to reflect a bit as I wound down my 29th year. I'm excited for the future, for 30 is just a number, and I have so many more years to live and grow and accomplish many things. Thanks for so many wonderful memories 20's: Wedding, first house, two births, and so on. Bring it on, 30! :)

Posted by Unknown on Thursday, June 30, 2016 | Tagged , , , , | 0 comments

Change Is Good, Right? RIGHT!?



My wife and I are very much introverts, so in terms of how life is now, we're mostly content. Change is something we both get paranoid about or just worry about in general.


via GIPHY

Maybe not THAT paranoid, but you can't go wrong with a Simpsons GIF.
 
Recently, our biggest change is that we plan to move in the next few months. Without going into detail we just have some variables that have made things a bit tougher with, well, getting by. We'll be moving to the basement apartment of my father-in-law's home. Now before you give me grief about moving in with parents, this isn't that scenario at all.
 
It's a part of his home, but its own separate living space. It's not like we'll be able to waltz on in like neighbors seem to do in every sitcom since the 50's because locks are just there for looks.
 
 
 


via GIPHY
 
Good luck getting through that!
 
We see this as a huge blessing. We can revisit things in terms of finances, health, etc. That and it's been cleansing to start de-cluttering our stuff.
 
SO, with that in mind we need to fix up our home in a couple months, put it on the market, and get moving (literally)! Easier said than done, for many of the projects are sitting at 85% completion and almost every room in the house has something to work on.
 



via GIPHY
This hasn't happened yet, but if it does it'll happen to me.
 
We've already made progress in our bathroom and will move out to the kitchen and go from there. Nearly every weekend will be chock-full of DIY goodness. Big thanks to my dad and Mandy's dad for their help thus far!
 
So if anyone out there is interested in a home built before things like indoor plumbing and electricity were a thing let me know! Obviously we've made some updates, but this is a great first home for young families. It's in a quiet neighborhood so you'll have plenty of peace.
 
Oh, and we have a kitty! This is 6-week-old Pixel. She came into our lives on Sunday and is getting acclimated to our fam. :)
 

Until next time,

Stay Weird,
Stay Retro,
Stay Silly!

~B

***Today's song is 'The Elves' from King's Quest V (one of my all-time favorite PC games). Go check out the rest of the soundtrack uploaded by YouTuber SierraOnLineMusic! I chose this song because in the game you see the Elves are a hard-working group, and we can relate a bit. We're fixing up our home and I feel like we're working as hard as they! :)


Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Why I am Silly #2...



I realized when I picked up this blog again that I would be poking fun at myself once in a while, and this post will reinforce that.

One trait as husband and father I've acquired is, for lack of a better term, selective hearing. It's something that many dads/hubbys suffer from and it's okay: I'm hear for you. Get it? Hear?


Because puns, you know, make you wanna gnaw on your desktop computer after you've heard one too many...
 

Selective hearing can strike at any time, but is more prone to occur at home. With me, it usually happens when I'm focused on something. It's what my wife lovingly calls 'The Meyer Focus', because we've seen it happen to my father and brother respectively. I'll be doing something like playing video games or browsing on my phone and I get into this 'zone' of sorts and have filtered everything out around me.

My 'zone', but with me in the hammock staring at my phone.
 
At some point, I hear a voice, and I come out of my zone/funk/focus just in time to catch the latter half of whatever I was being asked. Here's my wife's favorite example (not exact):
 
Mandy: I'm glad you're here!
Me: You brought me three beers!?
 
I was lucky to have heard anything. Mandy jokes that I probably just hear the ocean sometimes when she or the kids are talking to me when in the zone. It's all in good fun though.
 
Have any of you suffered from selective hearing? :P
 


via GIPHY

Stay Weird,
Stay Retro,
Stay Silly (and selective)!

~B

Thanks to YouTube channel YogaYak for the background sounds. Go check them out for more Yoga-related goodness!

Posted by Unknown on Monday, April 18, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Midwest Gaming Classic, Ahoy!



This next weekend marks an important one, having been a life-long gamer, and that weekend will consist of the Midwest Gaming Classic! A weekend-long convention of all things gaming, focusing on mostly retro stuff (like the Commodore 64, Vectrex, and all the good ole Nintendo/Sega/Sony consoles).

Kids these days don't know how good it felt to ka-chunk on a keyboard and pop those 5.25" disks in the drives!

This event has been going on for over a decade, and seems to expand every year. This is a Mecca of sorts for gamers and gaming enthusiasts alike. No politics, fighting, or nay-saying here! Just a bunch of kindred spirits gathering for a mass waxing of nostalgia.

What goes on at ye convention, thou might inquire? Let me tell thee:

Vendors - plenty of shops and vendors selling retro game memorabilia, games, systems, and the like.
See? Elvis wishes he could go, but can only stare longingly at his bag o' money.
 


Presentations - Each year seems to be peppered with well-known speakers in the gaming industry. You'll see folks who worked on systems like the Atari 2600 (or older even) talking about the programming process and how they helped shape the video game industry. Definitely worth checking out.

 
Competitions - There are competitions for pinball games, arcade games and even console-based games. If you think you can top a high score, or even take down anyone at Mortal Kombat, you need to register for this.
 
Computer Museum - There are rooms dedicated to showcasing the well-known to the barely heard of computers and consoles from the past 30+ years. All of them work. I had my son playing on computers that were older than me, and it was just mind-boggling! Things like the Vectrex and so on are yours to try out.
 
There's still a couple days to register, so if you need to satisfy the nerdy-gamer craving that's been welling up like a bad case of the hives, then check it out now!
 
via GIPHY

Stay weird,
Stay very retro!
Stay silly!

~B

*Shout-out to YouTube account Guy Kazama for the music link above. Good ole Legend of Zelda!

Posted by Unknown on Thursday, April 7, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Shout-Out to...The Bloggess!



I'm calling this my first official 'Shout-Out', and I think it's an appropriate one. I like to blog (hence the nonsense I put out on here), but I also like to read blogs now and again. Thanks to my wife, she introduced me to a well-known blogger called The Bloggess, or Jenny Lawson. She has written two books about her life and the fears she's faced growing up. First off, go buy and read 'Let's Pretend this Never Happened', then continue here. 

Did I mention she loves just about anything taxidermied?

 Part of what makes her awesome and relate-able is her fight with things like anxiety, depression, and social situations. I know I can get down sometimes or anxious about the stupidest things, and I let those demons win. I hate it. It makes me someone I'm not. Granted, those battles happen once in a while, but they're about normal things normal people worry about like money and getting the kids to swim lessons on time. Nothing earth-shattering, but one has to learn to let things go.
Still, there are some things I will never l'eggo...

 I started reading her second book, 'Furiously Happy', and she delves more into what it's like fighting with depression and social aversion, etc. Now go buy and read that book and we'll meet up back here. I want this to be a positive shout-out, so check out this book because if you EVER feel depressed, anxious, or socially awkward she has a good way of (I quote) 'how-to-thrive-in-spite-of-your-brain-being-a-real-bastard. 

I haven't read this all the way through yet, but I'm still pushing for you to. It's good; trust me.

 She regularly blogs, has a Twitter account (@thebloggess), and an amazing following of like-minded people. Her latest post sparked forming a tribe of sorts, like a community of people who can help each other out. I showed my support and made a few new friends. How cool is that? Happened on Easter too. Double win.

 To end this post, always reach out if you need help. Like she said, you are never alone. I have an incredible wife who is my rock when I need her, and vice versa. I have two spirited little boys who make me tear up every time I come home because nothing makes me happier than seeing them run to me for a big hug. I love my family.

 Stay weird,
Stay retro,
Stay silly!

 ~B

 *Today's music is from a favorite PC game of mine: King's Quest V. This is Crispin's Theme,  and I think it's a nice calm tune to read to. Check out the account Maverick1978 for more music like this!

Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 0 comments

Two Things...



First off, I wanted to add a little something that anyone who likes old video games, or just music, will enjoy. I thought it might be fun to embed a music player in my blog, but my downfall was not starting this in the late 90's. It would seem such a task is outdated and has been replaced with either adding video players or paying to have one hosted on your site. Did I mention I'm a tad frugal?

That is nowhere near accurate for my frugality, but this is one of the images that came up when searching. I'll take the money bag, but I'm sure I wouldn't be let out of the house wearing THAT!


For your enjoyment, should you hit play, I embedded a YouTube video which is just really music from the old NES game, Metroid. Think of it as a mood-setter for this post. If you guys like this I'll keep it up, setting the tone with some fun music as you read my nonsense. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Second, I added AdSense to my blog, so you will see an ad over on the right with each post. I was hoping for more customization in terms of what kinds of ads it would show, but you'll have to let me know if they work or are annoying. I don't expect to gain anything from this, but wanted to try it out.

The last thing I want to do is Spam people, so here's hoping my one ad per post is at least retro-related!

Not sure there's much else to tell, so let's end on a funny anecdote from today. My wife picked up our boys from daycare and my oldest (Noah, 5) was throwing a fit. He was tired from the perils of daycare and she thought maybe a nice drive up to my work would help him sleep a bit. I commented that was the equivalent to giving him a Snickers bar when he's cranky. We were thinking of the commercial where Betty White is playing football with a bunch of guys and is getting snippy.

SO...that means my son acts like Betty White when he's cranky. Must remember this for use later...
 
Let me know what you guys think!
 
Stay weird,
Stay retro,
Stay silly!
 
~B
 
P.S. Also thanks to YouTube account GBelair for the music! So glad folks like this have made these songs from retro-yesteryear available for all. Click on the link for more songs. :)


Posted by Unknown on Thursday, March 24, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , | 0 comments

This Silly Husband Loves Retro...

As the title states, I do indeed love the idea of 'Retro' things. That term has become more fluent for people in my age-group that are seeing ideas and products make some sort of comeback. For me, retro applies to old school video games, TV shows and the like. In the gaming world, you'll see retro-themed games released that play on the styles of older generations like the NES or even arcade games.

You get cool points if you've ever played this. That and I'll be jealous if you have because I have not, then take away those points. So...maybe just don't tell me.


A good example of this is Retro City Rampage, a game that embodies (and parodies) the Grand Theft Auto series but is played in good ole 8-bit style!

 I also updated my template for this blog in hopes that everyone who checks this out will not only be able to read said text, but enjoy the retro theme I found.

I have been playing video games since I was 3 or so. The first computer game I remember playing was King's Quest on my dad's PC. Nothing like typing in commands frantically before the random witch or ogre got you!

Yep, somewhat similar in layout to what my Dad had. You can almost smell that good ole DOS prompt!


Switching to the console side of things, I was introduced at an even earlier age to the Atari 2600. This was back when my parents were living in their first apartment and I could barely crawl around on the floor!

And with the introduction to Space Invaders my obsession with video games had begun...thanks Mom!
 

Over the years my brother and I have amassed a collection of over 400 video games, 11+ systems, and pretty much lived like mole people. Who needs that sunshine anyway?

In our defense, we did get outside quite a bit and created some awesome memories. That and playing video games does help with hand-eye coordination and development. And playing DOOM helps you survive a Hell-On-Phobos scenario.

That's all I have for now! I hope you guys like, follow, and share my humble little blog. I plan on doing some sort of review/shout-out deal next.

Stay weird,
Stay retro,
Stay silly!

~B

Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 | Tagged , , , | 0 comments

Why I am Silly #1...

Don't hold back now...

I like to think we are all silly to a degree, but some just won't admit it. I mean, who doesn't think fart jokes are funny? Oh, okay. You. And you. Still, the majority's out on this one.

We all have quirks or habits that, to family and friends, are silly. I think it's only fair for me to uphold my blog's name by posting something that qualifies me as such (once in a while; no need to overdo it right away...) Here goes!

I enjoy puns. Not just any puns, but the dry and stale ones that get those eyes a-rollin'! It's hard to say how I got hooked on such great wordplay, but it's either genetic (because my dad does this too), or I picked it up at some random time during my childhood.

Gave up on using my iambic pentameter, did you?
 
Most recently, our Ford Escape encountered a random road nail. You know, those lovely hardware nails that have been exiled from whatever woodworking project they were bound for and left to wander the highways and byways. I had the misfortune of running over said nail, kind of like picking up a hitchhiker that ends up in a flat, and needed to get the tire repaired.
 
Yeah, I'm looking at you: Nail! No free rides!

If you know me, I am mechanically impaired. I'm about as knowledgeable as Mario trying to unclog a drain. Yes, he's labeled as a plumber, but do you see him working in the royal 'throne' room plunging the toilet? Look at his recent games and you'll see him hopping on Goombas and ditching Yoshi just to make it across  large gaps. Clearly he's found a new line of work that's more profitable. Okay, you'd have to go all the way back to the arcade version of Mario Bros. to see any real pipe-work (did I mention I love old video games?).

Since I need to level up my mechanic skills, I needed help from my awesome wife to get the tire removed without injury. Thanks to her picking up so much from her dad growing up (he knows a little about everything car-wise), we successfully removed said tire and made for the other car.

As we go, I make a pun.

"Let's get rollin'!" (As I roll the wheel down the sidewalk). I get a 'haha' in return.

"You 'tired' of me yet?"

"I'm 'tired' of your puns, mister." She retorts, smiling though.

I tend to push it, but apparently since we got married back in '08 I've been limited to one pun per day. It was in the vows and I can't confirm this with the pastor who married us. Still, when I'm out with friends the sky's the limit! Or until my friends ask me to leave.

And that is my first silly entry in this blog of mine. I hope you didn't roll your eyes so much they rolled right out of your head! Apologies to anyone reading who actually has a glass eye where that might actually happen.
 
I'm watching out for you.
 

I leave you with this: How punny are you?

Stay weird, stay retro, stay silly!

~B

Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, March 15, 2016 | Tagged , , , , | 2 comments

I'm No Medium, But...

I had mentioned the other day that my brother had gotten the writing bug as well and created an account over at medium.com. I too have done so, with the hopes of creating some fun articles for the community to read. We are going to keep each other in check, with the end goal of writing an article every two weeks or so. And with that, here is my first article:

https://medium.com/@sillyhusband/doing-time-in-the-cubicle-16d9836c83ce#.d4e7n2c81

It just covers my thoughts on working in cubicle-populated environment and how I handle it. Maybe you'll get something out of the article too!

As for everything else blog-wise, going to kick that into gear this weekend or early next week. I wish you all a safe and fun weekend.

Stay weird. Stay geeky. Stay silly!

~B

Posted by Unknown on Friday, March 11, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , | 0 comments

Planning to Blog...or Blogging to Plan?

If you were to compare my blogging ambitions to a standard wavelength, the past couple days would have been the trough. Today, however, has peaked at the crest and so continues my blogging quest. 



I've been plotting out how I want to approach this and what sort of message I hope to send to my potential readers. Since I'm considering doing this weekly I don't want to burn out too quickly, so I think doing 3 posts/week to start should be fun for most. As for what in the world I'll write about...here's what I've come up with thus far:

In no particular order (yet):

1. Reviews - things like video games, toys from my childhood, websites I think you all might grow attached to, etc.
2. Throwbacks - getting semi-personal here, but using a picture, toy, other memorabilia to focus on and provide a post about my weird and sordid past... okay, I'm about as far from sordid as you can get. But if that got your interest let's just run with it.
3. Shout Out - taking the time to not so much as review, but boast or promote a site/podcast/YouTube Channel/etc that I truly enjoy. Maybe I'll get you hooked on these as well. As part of wanting to promote more positive things on the World Wide Web I felt that this might be a fun weekly post to do.
4. Silly/Weird anecdotes - Since my site starts off with 'sillyhusband' in the address, you'd probably like to know why that's even there or how I qualify as such. I'll post something recent that happened, or a memory that immediate family will never let me forget and let you be the judge. This isn't self-inflicted torture, it's juicy content for my followers to eat up! 



All in all, I know blogs are popping up every few minutes, but I hope to stand out in a niche of like-minded folks. Many people start blogs, but fewer keep posting, and fewer yet post something interesting. Here's hoping I can meet and exceed that criteria. Feel free to share on your own walls and feeds. I am really looking forward to deleting comments-er-reviewing your feedback!

Lastly (surprise! Not done yet!), my brother was motivated by me a bit to start blogging and has a profile on medium.com. I too have done so and will give a go at writing an article of some sense-make to link to here. It's a way for us to put forth something fun to read and see what kind of trouble we can get into. :)

Stay Silly! (Working on some sort of sign off as well. Excelsior was already taken)

~Brandon

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , | 0 comments

How Ambitious Can I Be?

I am all over the place in terms of what I want to do with my life. I feel more indecisive now vs. when I was in grade school and wanted to be in these obscure job roles. For example:

Paleontologist (thanks to a specific dinosaur movie that had come out in the early 90's):

 
My reaction when I realized at age 7 I wouldn't be working with live dinosaurs.
 
 
Gemologist (not sure, but I blame Scrooge McDuck for this one):
 
 
I'll take my paycheck in gem-form please.
 
 
Detective: I watched A LOT of TV Land in grade school, and for some reason Dragnet had me hooked for some time. It was in 8th grade I thought I could be just as thick-skinned and smooth-talking as Joe Friday himself:
 
"So you think you can be like me, kid? There's more to being on the force than having a reliable partner and a slot on NBC. It takes determination, persistence, and the willingness to do anything for the good of the people. Kids these days lack all that, with your smart phones and social media leading you astray like deer on the highway. Let me tell you the hell I went through to get where I am today. When I first joined the force..." (You're lucky I cut off there. We'd have at least another 1/2 hour of content from this guy.)

 
I didn't pursue any of those careers. When I got to college I went from Computer Science (dreams of coding for video games were dashed after my first programming course) to Theater (the thing my dad said to keep as a hobby). I graduated with a B.S. (I know, normally a B.A. but with my courseload somehow it made sense) and hoped to do voice work.
 
I got married, worked for Sprint at a call center for a year or so, then a small software company where my uncle is the VP of marketing. Now I'm with a major manufacturing company working the internal help desk. See how things streamlined there?
 
I started this blog years ago to talk about a sci-fi novel I was writing, but now want to open it up to be about more things I enjoy and want to share with people. I hope to talk about retro games, action figures, things my family thinks is silly about me, etc. If all goes well I could have a topic of the day kind of thing. Mostly, it's going to be a way for me to keep writing when I'm not working on a story. Feel free to share this wherever you want. The end goal is to put something out there that people will enjoy. No politics or any issue that normally causes people to argue virtually over. So with that, I hope to get this going over the weekend. Thanks and happy Friday all!
 
 
 Who hasn't thought of this when looking forward to relaxing? That and that's what came up in my image search for 'goodbye'.






Posted by Unknown on Friday, March 4, 2016 | Tagged | 0 comments

At Least I'm Consistent!

I'm not surprised that it's been just over 6 months since my last post. I've been a busy guy. Since June we're down a gecko (went back to sis-in-law), Mandy has graduated college (yay!), and my brother just had his second kid (welcome to the world, Milo!).
After learning today about the 2nd celebrity death this year (Alan Rickman, following in the footsteps of David Bowie), I've realized I need to get things in gear. As of this morning I've given up all dairy and eggs. It's possibly been affecting my health a wee bit. I'm also doing my 3rd edit of my sci-fi novel in hopes of entering it in an upcoming contest this April. That and Mandy & I are dieting and working out to better ourselves, and to keep up with our kids.
I'd like to keep busy with writing, but I also need to focus on our home. We want to fix the cosmetics and list it for sale so we can relocate to La Crescent. That means many long nights and weekends getting projects that were started back before Noah was born (shush! I know how long ago that was!) done with. Wish us luck! I'll try to stay semi-consistent with this, but as the past has shown...

Posted by Unknown on Thursday, January 14, 2016 | Tagged | 0 comments