It's been 30 years since I was sitting in my bedroom, with a wire wrapped ROM emulator, writing code on my little Apple ][ computer and making changes to existing Atari 2600 games, so I could learn 6507 assembly language and the art of video game programming. Sitting in my garage and in boxes around my house, are thousands of classic video game cartridges I've collected over the years. Some, I bought brand new in the stores, others, I've gotten from other collectors, and some I created, like the Apple ][ hosted ROM emulator that I used to write the Avalon Hill Atari 2600 games.

I was recently contacted by another collector with whom I've done business with over a decade ago and he asked if he could take my collection off my hands.

For years, I've lamented about my collection. I felt I wasn't doing it justice since I didn't have the time to make displays and share it with other affectionados. It's not doing much just sitting on shelves in my garage. I guess it was fate, but combined with his generous offer and my hopes that he will be able to properly catalog, archive and even display some of my best pieces; I've decided to sell him my collection.

Today, I'm grabbing every little thing related to the collection that isn't nailed down (And if it is, I'm using my hammer to remove the nails), and boxing it up for a cross country jounrey across the USA.

I have a bit of meloncholy as I am packing this up. Many of these things, as I hold them, trigger the memories of the time that I acquired them or in some cases, made them. *sigh* I can't live in the past. I hope I'm remembered for my part in it.

On the bright side, I'll have room again in my garage for my car. :)

As my readers already know, Sailor Ranko, the comic, is on a hiatus for the summer. I've switched artists and now the new pages look far, far better. It will return on September 7th, 2009.

My Reflection is also on schedule and will debut on October 5th, 2009.

I'm working on my Sailor Ranko novels in the meantime, and hope to get back to regular updates. I've got a personal coding project that's taking up my time, which is why the hiatus is in place and why the novels have been so slow in updating. I hope to wrap up this project in another month.

On the home front, my cats are being cats. I've resorted to keeping a lint roller next to my desk so I can keep my blouse free of fur since those furballs are shedding their winter coats all over the place. If anyone knows a decent maid service in the Seattle area, let me know. I need one, badly.

I wonder if I can run a lint roller on my cats? Would that help?

It's been a while since I updated my journal. I needed some time to grieve for the loss of my beloved cat, Bob. Since then, my daughter Cynthia sent me her cat Kimari because she was moving into a no-pets apartment and a good friend of mine, Devi, sent me her cat Amaya because she was moving back to Indonesia.

Now, I've got my other cat, Alucard. This make three felines running around, making my life less "boring". Still, even now, Alucard and I sit on my bed and stare at the empty corner of the bed where Bob used to sleep. It's been over two months since she died, and we can still feel her presence.

XNA Math has been announced and shipped in the March 2009 DirectX SDK and the March 2009 Xbox 360 XDK. Look in xnamath.h for my code (I pretty much wrote the whole thing.)

Writing news: I've gone insane and have gone into production of a second webcomic. It's called My Reflection, written by me and drawn by Asuka of Abstract Gender and Ruby Thursday. I give a big thank you to Jimmy Brimstone for all his conversations with me that allowed me to flesh out Kyle and the story that will be told twice a week, starting in July (Or earlier).

Sailor Ranko is on the verge of hitting 300 paged. Woo hoo! I'll need to start advertising it again to help promote it and My Reflection when it debuts.

In case you're wondering, My Reflection is found at http://www.myreflectioncomic.com and Sailor Ranko is at http://www.sailorranko.com

Tomorrow morning, it's back to work for me.

At 2 o'clock, Saturday February 14th, 2009, my long time companion, friend and anchor in an ever changing world, suffered another breathing attack and I knew, her time was up. My little cat, Bob, looked at me with her big green eyes, begging for me to do something to make the pain go away.

At 3:45, I was at her vet as they administered the medication that would end her suffering. She died in my arms, as I petted her and comforted her before she left this Earth.

It's only been an hour, and I can still hear her purring at the foot of my bed. Alucard, my 2 year old tabby, already knows that the house is even more emptier. The two of us lay on the couch, both showing our grief in our own ways.

She came into my life in 1998, when Dayna, a friend of mine, was moving and couldn't take all of her cats with her. As soon as I saw Bob, I knew that kitty was coming home with me. She was already up there in the years, having been found under a porch in Albany NY at Dayna's mother's house, freezing to death from a New England winter. Dayna and her mother few Bob several cans of tuna before she would even slow down eating. Later, Dayna would move to Atlanta with Bob and stay there for a while. Then, she moved to Covina California, where Bob's journey switched over to me.

My kids and I bonded with Bob instantly and she was the center of attention. Bob and I, we had a special bond. When I felt sad or blue, there was Bob, rubbing my leg or purring in my lap, letting me know that there was someone who wanted to listen to my deepest feelings. We shared many times where I would tell her how I was feeling, and she'd always have a kitty smile for me and I could feel that things would be alright.

In 2004, Bob was nearly killed when she was run over by a car, and the vet did hip surgery on her to put her leg back into her hip. It was touch and go, and the family was there, visiting her at the vet until she came home.

2005, I got divorced, and Bob was there for me. Always being a good friend and looking out for me by just being there.

2006, I moved to Dallas Texas, and Bob got to ride in an airplane for the first time, and she was a hit among the passengers and everyone wanted say "Hi" to the cat in the cat carrier.

2008, I moved to Seattle, Washington and again, Bob was with me, both on the plane, and when I was living by myself in corporate housing. Each night, I would get home from work, and there she was, waiting for me at the door, and she'd escort me to her empty food dish with an expression of "I Can Has Cheezburger?"

Then, she started showing her age. She was not as energenic as she used to be, and it was my turn to comfort her. I fed her her favorite foods (Tuna and Meow Mix Select), I'd pet her each night, and I'd pick her up when she wanted to lie in bed with me since she couldn't jump up anymore.

Today, is supposed to be the day about love. I love my little Bob, and I never left her side as her time ran out. I already miss her so much.

Bob, whereever you are, thank you, for just being there for me all these years. I only hope that I was as good a friend to you, as you were to me.

Bob The Cat, Born before 1995 - 2/14/2009

During the snowstorms of December, I drove my car to the airport. The trip was rough on my steering system and it blew out my power steering pump.

It was going to cost a chunk of change to repair it, so I shrugged and am driving my car without power steering. It was tough at first, and after a month of this, it doesn't bother me at all. I've noticed that my arms a much stronger now due to my daily workout I get when I commute to and from work.

In a way, I got two benefits. Stronger arms and a slight workout, and I don't really have to cough up the money to fix the power steering sub-system. Woo hoo!

As an added note, the valets at my office dread parking my car. They don't have buff arms like me! Hee hee.

As stated in the news all over town, Microsoft had a layoff. Thankfully, no one in my department lost their jobs from this, but it has been the topic of water cooler conversation.

All I can say about this is *SIGH*.

I'll keep my head down, do my job to the best of my ability and keep proving my worth. I really don't need any stress in my life right now, it's finally calm and serene and quite peaceful.

Outside my window, it's snowing just barely. It should all melt by noom tomorrow. Still, it's quite pretty outside.

I've finished chapter #7 of Sailor Ranko the Webcomic, and already have chapter #8 all plotted out. I think my readers will be pleasantly surprised as to who will be guest starring in the chapter. :)

My 18 year old daughter, Cynthia, will be coming up to visit me for a month starting in March. I'm so happy that I'll be seeing her. I feel blessed that I have a strong bond with my kids.

Now, no more procrastinating! Time to finish and release Thrice In A Millennium!

I complained about NIgerian scammers previously, and it's time again to rant about them.

About once a day, I get a message on my myspace page from a guy or sometimes a girl who "fell in love with my photo" and wants to get in contact with me. Shortly afterwards, they contact me on yahoo messenger and profess their love for me, and tell me they are an American citizen on business, visiting family, buying antiques or some other half-baked excuse for them to be in Africa (Nigeria usually, but I had two from Kenya and another from Somalia). Then they immediately tell me they are single (Usually widowed and they have a kid or a sick mother) and they can't wait to come see me. Of course, they quickly tell me they are a few hundred short on getting a plane ticket, or they need money in their bank account to get a visa, or a tollbooth blocks their way and it would be great if I wired them a few hundred or even a few thousand to them.

My record so far is three sentences before I decide that the person chatting with me is not a fan of my comic or someone who has a real interest in speaking with me and I added him to my evergrowing "Ignore" list.

What I find amazing is the sheer numbers of these whack jobs that are trying to pull these scams and how brazen they are with their lies.

It's so easy to tell too. If their myspace page or yahoo messenger profile is pretty much empty, scammer. The myspace page has a single photo and it's flagged as "Recently uploaded", scammer. If they use the "Buzz" feature on Yahoo as their first or second message to get your attention, scammer (They have limited time in the internet cafe). If Africa is even once mentioned in the conversion, block immediately, scammer. If they make excuses not to go on webcam and insist that photos prove who they say they are, 99.999999% chance, it's a scammer.

It's shocking to me that people fall for these scumbags. Sadly, people do.

To avoid getting scammed...

If someone contacts you and wants to "get to know you", have them go on webcam to show themselves. If they don't, NEVER trust a word they say. They are very clever in coming up with excuses, but it costs $30 for a cheap USB webcam and if they can afford an internet connection and a computer, they can afford a webcam.

If they say they are in Africa for any reason. End the conversion and block them.

If they say they are having feelings for you based only on your picture, it is very likely a scammer. They love to find lonely people and prey on their emotions.

If their profile on myspace or yahoo doesn't have dozens of pictures or friends who you can contact and get more information about the person contacting you, likely it's a scammer.

If they send you their phone number or strongly suggest that they can only tell you something over the phone or skype, scammer. NEVER give them your cell phone number, they can use it to do billing scams where they buy things using your number and the bill appears on your cell bill. This is why they want to get your cell number instead of a land line.

These people are scum and should be put behind bars for life. They have no pity. They have no remorse. To them, scamming even $100 is the same as earning two month's pay, so no amount is too small for them. If you send even a dollar to these slimeballs, they will hound you forever.

Today, Jacob took our family dog, King, to the vet for the last time. Almost a week ago, King was diagnosed with Lymphatic Cancer. In simpler terms, he was in constant pain and he only had 4 to 10 weeks to live.

It was heartbreaking to get the news. Over the weekend, Jacob thought long and hard about what was best for his dog and it was decided to end King's suffering humanely.

We spent some fun time with him on Sunday and Monday. Everyone had some moments with him, we fed him some of his favorite foods, took him on a walk, and even a car ride (He likes those).

This morning, I gave a big hug to King before I left for work. It was bittersweet, knowing it was the last time I was going to hold him.

At 2PM, King was at the vet, with Jacob and Samantha by his side during the entire procedure and they stayed with him after it was done.

The house seems a little emptier now. I know Jacob made the right decision and King is in a happier place, free from pain.

Goodbye King. I'll miss you, you silly mutt.

Another holiday season has come and gone. What an adventure it has been!

It started on December 20th, when my 16 year old son was flying from Los Angeles to Seattle to spend the Christmas break with me. That day was the start of Snowpocolyse 2008 in Western Washington, where the entire Seattle and Portland Oregon areas were covered in a blizzard. My son's plane was diverted at the last minute and he ended up in San Francisco.

My son was a bit scared. He had never flown before solo and his first experience was to end up in a strange town and several hundred pissed off passengers. Virgin America put him up in a hotel and booked him on the next flight out on Sunday morning.

On the 21st, my son overslept and missed his flight. He called me in a panic and I talked him through the procedure to get himself booked on the nexr flight. Shortly, he was at the San Francisco Airport, among the thousands of stranded passengers and he was able to make it to a flight leaving for Seattle in an hour.

Once he was on the plane, I got the text message from him, and I got in my car, a second time, and drove to the airport.

In the snow.

On a slippery road.

In a car with rear wheel drive?

And I moved 3 inches before being stuck.

No way was that going to work again.

On the 20th, I drove my Firebird in the snow, blowing out my power steering, and nearly crashing at least four times before making it to the airport. I was not doing that again. I borrowed my other son's PT Cruiser (Light and with front wheel drive) and made it to the airport.

Finally I got my son, and went home.

Then we stayed home.

We were snowed in.

It appeared that Seattle, despite being a city as far north as the state of Maine, is ill equipped to deal with nine inches of snow and they only plowed the major highways. Therefore, it was impossible for my Firebird to move from it's "nest" of snow and down the street to get to a major highway to go anywhere.

At least me, my sons and my daughter-in-law celebrated a white Christmas. Jeffrey got a digital camera for Christmas and he took pictures of everything.

A week passes, and thankfully, I was able to do my job at home as did most of my co-workers. My son was getting restless and bored, since he had a "to-do" list of things he wanted to do in Seattle during his stay.

Sunday, the snow had receeded enough that I was able to drive my car, very slowly, down the road and onto the main highway. We then visited Pike's Market, the Original Starbucks and took a three hour drive all over the Western Washington countryside.

Monday, I went to work, and had my son with me. After that, we had dinner on the Space Needle.

Tuesday, dinner at Marinepolis (A nice budget sushi place)

Wednesday, I had my car looked at since driving without power steering was really bothering my arms (It's tough). Then we yelled Happy New Year, and fell asleep.

Thursday, we Blamed Canada! Jeffrey's biggest to do item was to take a tour of Canada. So, we hopped in the car New Year's Day, and drove two and a half hours north to the border. We drove around the city of Vancouver, and all around the countryside. We also went to a mountain park and drove around the forest, stopping a few times for pictures. On the way back, waiting to cross the border, the wait was so long, my battery died. Thankfully, the US Border Patrol, waited for us as we pushed the car twenty feet until we hit US soil, then they all joined in and pushed us to their service garage where they gave our battery a jumpstart. Later, we found the US agents technically invaded Canada to rescue us due to confusion as to where the border was.

Friday, work was really boring. Hardly anyone was at the office and the cafeteria was closed. NOOOOO! Need food! We left early and hit another local Sushi place for lunch.

Saturday, January 3rd, *sniff*, it was time for Jeffrey to fly back to Los Angeles. We went to Pike's Market one more time because Jeffrey was looking for a Christmas gift for his sister. We had lunch at Marineopolis again and Jeffrey made sure that he got several of his favorite dishes. We drove for an hour in the countryside, burning off the time until it was time to get to the airport. Finally, we drove to SeaTac, and I walked him to security and watched him go.

Of course the adventure had to have a footnote. My Ex was informed Jeffrey was to be at the airport in Los Angeles at 6:30 PM. She didn't arrive until 7:30 because she forgot. *sigh* At least he's home safe.

I went to the company xmas party yesterday. There was much soda and hor 'd orderves to be had. I hooked up with some co-workers and we chatted the night away and it was a really fun evening.

Later, some of us took off to the Old Spaghetti Factory and had dinner.

I really had a fun time at the party. Yay!

One thing, downtown Seattle has a lot of homeless and scary people wandering around. There were a couple of times I held my keys in my fist in case someone attacked me so I could use a key as a weapon. Yuck. I'll make sure if I ever go downtown in the middle of the night to go in a group.