Our Blog

Introducing Bipolar for Beginners

2012-01-21T01:26:00.000-05:00

I've been watching this site ever since I was diagnosed, and it has great info on Bipolar disorder. I'm delighted to see Marcia Purse tackle this project, and I look forward to seeing each new page. For now, though, I'd like to encourage anyone who wants to educate themselves about this disorder - whether they are new to the illness or a family member or friend of someone who suffers from it - to keep an eye on this series of walk-through pages.

Introducing Bipolar for Beginners

A few thoughts on the holidays

2011-11-30T14:52:00.000-05:00

A lot of this has been buzzing around my head today, so I thought I'd write some of it down.

I've been listening to some really great Christmas music in the last couple of weeks. I broke it out early, because I needed a lift while we were going through some tough times and I was having some issues with my meds. The first night I began listening, I cried so much. It was an evening of healing and the peace that had been eluding me. I was reminded of all the reasons I love Christmas - concepts like peace on earth and Christian love for others and selflessness. And that's where my mind has been a lot of the time since then.

However, I've noticed in the last week as Christmas draws nearer and everyone else has begun to turn their thoughts toward the holidays, that not everyone's mindset seems to be on those things.

And I get it. Really. We in the United States have been in a state of war for a few years now, and it seems that it's normal in our culture to find war where ever we look. War on values. Class wars. War on democracy. War on drugs. War, war, war. Turn on the news, and someone's declared war or seeing war or fighting a war.

But what I want to talk about is the war I've been hearing about all my life as a Christian - the war on Christmas. Now, I believe as a Christian that we should be part of our community and embrace our culture, but only to a point. I also believe we're supposed to stand out as different. And I don't mean different as in judgemental and snooty and spouting off about how everyone but us is wrong. I mean our walk is supposed to match our talk. I mean we're supposed to be an example, not a bludgeoning tool.

Maybe, instead of seeing war all around us, we should focus on some peaceful thoughts. Maybe, instead of seeing it as an afront when someone wishes us happy holidays, we should assume they're just trying not to offend anyone while recognizing that Christmas is not the only holiday being celebrated this month.

Maybe, instead of seeing a war on Christ when someone writes Xmas, we should see someone trying to abbreviate a long word. Maybe, do a little bit of digging and find out that this is not even a new way to write the word Christmas, and that there was a time not so long ago in history when it was considered disrespectful to write Christ, and Xmas was used as an alternative. Maybe, consider that X or Xp were used from the Greek for the word Christ. And lastly, maybe in the age of texting and IMs, Xmas is just faster to type out.

Maybe, instead of looking for war, we should be trying to spread a little of that peace on earth and goodwill toward men. I've always thought of Christmas as the time when people can be a little nicer to each other, a little more open to people who are different than them, and the best time to be a little tolerant and generous of spirit.

Food for thought anyway.

Need help, please

2011-09-15T14:51:00.000-04:00

Hey all. I know we don't really post here anymore, because Twitter and FB are so much easier and quicker, but I need more than 144 characters to explain the situation we're currently facing.

A couple of weeks ago, Mike was fired for his sick time earlier in the summer, and even though his job has been reinstated, between that sick time and the near week of work he missed during this last debacle, we've had a lot of financial problems. We've borrowed all we can from family to the point where I think they dread our phone calls. We've applied for rent assistance and are still fighting with paperwork issues to get our rent caught up (though we're told that will be resolved "soon"). We're in the process of trying to apply for SSI for me, as well as applying for every private help program we can find (since the government deems us 'just above' the poverty line in income).

Tomorrow, we'll see Mike's first full paycheck since returning to work. While that's wonderful news for us, we have some very pressing needs that we cannot meet as yet. We're over-drafted at the bank after paying for necessities we couldn't live without, and a good half of tomorrow's check will be eaten by that overdraft. What's left will hopefully cover this week's rent and groceries.

However, the nice people over at the electric company would really like $185 before end of day tomorrow, or they're afraid they'll have to insist on turning us off. If that happens, they will not only require the $185 owed, but an additional month's charges and an additional deposit to turn our power back on.

So, here's why I'm writing. Please help. Even if it's a few bucks. I signed up for a Paypal account this morning under the email leladnut@gmail.com, or, for those of you who know us more personally, you know how to reach us. I realize this whole post is basically me begging for your help, and for a lot of you, this isn't the first time I've had to do that. I can only assure you that our financial situation is progressing toward "better" - just at a slower rate than our creditors would like to see. If you can't help, pray for us, please. If you don't pray, send us a positive thought, light a candle, pour one out, whatever you can do - even if it's just to send me a little hug on FB. If it's a loan, I swear we'll pay you back just as soon as we can. If it's a gift, I will find some way to pay it forward when we're back on our feet.

Thanks for reading,
Lela

Blogging again...possibly...

2011-09-01T17:02:00.002-04:00

I've decided to start updating the City of Heroes blog again. I'll be posting 1-3 characters every day or so to give each character a place for more thought out bios to be written.
Lela's CoX Blog

Unless this becomes another failed project...

This is all Derek's fault by the way since it was his idea: http://derekverse.blogspot.com/

Article about CoX going F2P

2011-06-23T04:52:00.000-04:00

A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Freedom | Massively

New Global channel for Virtue Roleplayers - City of Heroes Forums

2011-05-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

New Global channel for Virtue Roleplayers - City of Heroes Forums

City of Heroes Is Running Out of XP!

2011-04-01T14:01:00.000-04:00

City of Heroes Is Running Out of XP! | City of Heroes

The eternal query

2011-03-29T04:01:00.000-04:00

Ctrl+Alt+Del - The eternal query (2011-03-02)

Woot!

2011-02-07T03:47:00.000-05:00

Mental Health Cuts Put Police on the Front Line of Care

2010-12-07T11:51:00.000-05:00

Mental Health Cuts Put Police on the Front Line of Care - NYTimes.com

"“States across the country are cutting their mental health budgets, and people who are serviced by state mental health programs are the poorest, and they’re unable to get services any other way,” she added. “The community mental health system is broken.” "

There's a good commentary on this article here.

You know, I've said before that our police departments are poorly equipped to handle mental illness issues, and things like this make that all the more sad.

Joss Whedon Reacts to Buffy Movie News

2010-11-23T02:45:00.000-05:00

Joss Whedon Reacts to Buffy Movie News: "I Have Strong, Mixed Emotions" - E! Online

Real World Hero

2010-11-19T13:26:00.000-05:00

Stop by this website and donate to some worthy charities!

Buffy meets Sesame Street

2010-11-10T01:30:00.000-05:00

Best Rally Sign!

2010-11-02T00:05:00.000-04:00

The Funniest Signs From The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear! (PHOTOS)

The 100 Best Signs At The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear: Pics, Videos, Links, News

2010-11-01T01:28:00.000-04:00

The 100 Best Signs At The Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear: Pics, Videos, Links, News

If we'd been able to make it, My sign would've read: I like ICE CREAM! Mike's sign: ICE CREAM And Caedyn's sign: My parents are weird.

What a testimony

2010-07-30T14:32:00.000-04:00

I could say this is a 'sign of the times'. Money problems are certainly going around. I could also say this is a demonstration of faith on the clerk's part. I think mostly, this story just touches a part of me. Believing in Jesus is about love and compassion, and this woman demonstrated that completely.

`Jesus' saves Broward storekeeper from a robbery - Broward - MiamiHerald.com

October 2011? Seriously?

2010-06-12T14:42:00.000-04:00

Generic Zyprexa will likely be available after Eli Lilly's exclusivity patent expires. Until then, those of us struggling to afford our $50+ co-pays every month are stuck. How ridiculous and frustrating.

Darth Vader Had Borderline Personality Disorder, Study Says - Today's News: Our Take

2010-06-10T12:43:00.000-04:00

Darth Vader Had Borderline Personality Disorder, Study Says

Woot! I want!

2010-04-27T11:23:00.000-04:00

Dollhouse Season 2 available for Pre-Order now! - Dollhouse - Whedonesque.com

This week's drama

2010-04-22T17:03:00.000-04:00

Weird Blank Startup Items?? I can help!

2010-04-11T18:25:00.003-04:00

Lemme start from the beginning.

First of all, your Startup menu is completely different from your Start menu. It contains any programs or items that start up when you, well, start your computer up. To view it, you go to Start > Run, type in msconfig, then go to the Startup tab.

So my dad and I were performing maintenance on his computer, and we found several lines in our Startup that had no text in the Startup Item OR Command columns. What I found out was that these were registry errors. They don't harm the computer majorly, as they have no command, but you can still clean them up easily.

First of all, you're going to want to run Registry Editor by going to your Run dialog again and typing regedit. Depending on what user the Startup item once was, you will have to go to either HKEY_CURRENT_USER or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Once in either of these, go to Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Run. Here you might see an entry with -- you guessed it -- no value. You can safely just delete this value. (If you don't see one there, go to another HKEY_) Restart your computer and you're done.

Celebrities are people too.

2010-03-31T09:09:00.002-04:00

I hardly ever post here, but I found this by complete accident. I was looking for a book on recepies, and found this instead. I was so moved and impressed that I feel I have to share it.

Howie Mandel's OCD

Toby Keith...

2010-02-22T15:10:00.002-05:00

...makes me cry

Toby Keith

More CMT Music

More CMT Music Videos

...makes me laugh myself silly

Toby Keith

More CMT Music

More CMT Music Videos

This is so full of win

2010-02-10T12:25:00.001-05:00

If you're a Super Bowl tourist, Do NOT go outside - Dave Barry - MiamiHerald.com

2010-02-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

I laughed so hard when I read this, I had tears in my eyes!

Dave Barry: If you're a Super Bowl tourist, Do NOT go outside - Dave Barry - MiamiHerald.com

Walk for the Animals

2010-02-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

Caedyn and I are walking in this year's "Walk for the Animals", a fundraiser for the Humane Society of Broward County. Any pledge is appreciated!

Lela and Caedyn's Fundraising Page

It's a boy!

2010-02-02T13:24:00.002-05:00

Meet the newest member of our family! His name is Toby, and he's about a year old. :)

Uncyclopedia totally scores!

2010-01-23T17:59:00.000-05:00

Uncyclopedia on CoX.

Revolution: Stop going to church

2010-01-20T14:12:00.001-05:00

Some excellent points here.

Revolution: Stop going to church

Edit: In no way am I saying one shouldn't go to church. I don't think that's the point of these posts at all. I believe that the point being made is that instead of "going to church", the church membership should be a family focused on ministry, rather than the example churches given.

Confessions Of A CF Husband: Bless Haiti

2010-01-14T15:02:00.000-05:00

Nathan Lawrenson explains that he will donate 5 cents for every visitor to his new business website (and 50 dollars of every photo shoot he books between now and the end of January).

Confessions Of A CF Husband: Bless Haiti

Pat Robertson’s Offense - Peter Wehner

2010-01-14T14:05:00.000-05:00

Pat Robertson’s Offense - Peter Wehner - The Corner on National Review Online

'Nuff said.

Because I love NPH!

2010-01-12T14:59:00.000-05:00

Barney from "How I Met Your Mother" on suits

Awesome song

2010-01-11T20:26:00.001-05:00

Switchfoot - Mess of Me

We liked it so much, we bought the album!

Goodbye 2009

2009-12-31T13:44:00.006-05:00

Well, it's been a year of deep valleys for us here in the Danow household, but it's also been a year of blessings.

It started with what is possibly the worst (and definitely the longest) depression I've experienced in my life. However, God blessed us with the most understanding and insightful doctor who helped us find just the right medication cocktail to usher in some of the most stable moments I think I've ever experienced. I went back to therapy (which I love), and even though I still have more than my fair share of mood swings, they seem milder, more controllable, and shorter than the ups and downs of years past.

Then, another blow came in the form of my father-in-law's cancer, which didn't respond to chemo, and we spent a lot of time in the beginning of the summer in the hospice where he spent his final days. Let me tell you people, this was so hard for all of us. We lost a father, a great man, and a good friend. His gift to me was unconditional love and acceptance, and the lessons he taught me will stay with me all of my life. There was a blessing here too, though, in the form of the chance to become closer to Mike's sister, brother, and mother. As a family, they came together in the most extraordinary way to be there for each other (and for me!), and I will never forget their love and warmth.

During all of this, we were also dealing with a compressed disc in my back, likely caused by the weight gain from my new medication regiment and the 3 months of depression during which I was very sedentary. MRIs, pain meds, physical therapy. It was...awful, painful, and taxing. Finally, when I was so overwhelmed by it all, we finally found a doctor who recommended epidurals, and I was blessed again with the end of it all in August!

This year has seen us through a lot of financial hardship as well, and it seems that every time we cried out to God for help, He was there - from Mom winning exactly the amount of money we needed to keep from being evicted to a grant from a foundation that helps employees at Firestone. Not once have we gone hungry. Not once have we gone without the things we most needed. At every instance of financial hardship, God was there with a miracle. I'm so humbled.

Finally, the holidays - my first on this medication. Christmas is by far my favorite time of year, but in the past, it's been marred by anxiety and depression. This year, not only did we manage a little shopping money for presents, but I got to go Christmas shopping! I got to spend Christmas Eve in a house full of people, and not once did I get overwhelmed! I talked, I laughed, I hugged! I can't tell you how wonderful it was! It was truly the best Christmas ever, and it was full of family and warmth and I smiled so much! I even sat in a theater full of people a few days later when we went to a movie and dinner for Mike's birthday. I know that sounds ordinary for most, but believe me when I say it was extraordinary for me.

I had originally thought to say 2009 sucked (which parts of it really did), but I think the lessons we're taking from it and the high note on which it has ended are truly what I'll be taking from it as we go into 2010. I hope you find the blessings of this past year outweigh the valleys and you have a blessed and happy new year!

2009 - Year in Review

2009-12-29T14:23:00.000-05:00

Dave Barry's year in review: 2009 - Dave Barry - MiamiHerald.com

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T11:13:00.002-05:00

May each and every one of you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed holiday season!

Naruto Iron Man

2009-12-21T08:27:00.004-05:00

Pretty cool video... oh for crying out loud! Blogger apparently thinks it's funny to not let me copy-paste the dang code! Frikk.
Just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDY30DqabvY sheesh...

Well crap!

2009-12-21T07:48:00.003-05:00

Sometime yesterday, my PSP's UMD drive got busted. It just up and stopped working. Makes an awful grinding noise whenever I put a UMD in, so now I can't play any games unless they were downloaded, and the PlayStation Network does not have what I want (in downloaded games, I mean). So yea, that sucks. Now I can't play Naruto OR the upcoming Kingdom Hearts game coming for the PSP. Ugh...

My Christmas wishlist

2009-12-06T14:15:00.003-05:00

I decided to post up my wish list just for kicks, since Mom posted up hers on Facebook.

Anyways, in January I'm getting a shiny new PS3, so I loaded it with PS3 games.

I have several sub-lists, too, in case someone actually does want to get me something. Which I doubt, but oh well.

Top 10 Overall:
10. Counter-Strike: Source (PC)
9. Any good manga
8. Snakehead (a book from the Alex Rider series)
7. .hack//G.U.+ #3 (Manga)
6. Virtua Fighter 5 (PS3)
5. Left 4 Dead 1 or 2 (PC)
4. ModNation Racers (PS3)
3. Brutal Legend (PS3)
2. Gift Cards: Best Buy, GameStop, Target
And the #1 spot goes to: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Top 10 PS3
10. Assassin's Creed
9. Street Fighter IV
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
7. LittleBigPlanet
6. Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga
5. Batman: Arkham Asylum
4. Virtua Fighter 5
3. ModNation Racers
2. Brutal Legend
And, again, #1 goes to: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)

Top 3 PC
3. Left 4 Dead
2. Left 4 Dead 2
1. Counter-Strike: Source

This section is for those who don't have that much Christmas cash:

Top 8 Under $20
8. Any LEGO set
7. Alex Rider Series: Snakehead
6. Gift Cards: Best Buy, GameStop, Target
5. Any good manga
4. .hack//G.U.+ Volume 3 (Manga)
3. Any weapons from Brickarms.com
2. Counter-Strike: Source (PC)
1. A Naruto calender (hey, it's the new year!)

Top 3 Any Price
3. Any LEGO set
2. Gift Cards: Best Buy, GameStop, Target
1. Any weapons from Brickarms.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have so much to be thankful for this year, I don't know where to begin. I'm thankful for our family, without whom, there are times we wouldn't have eaten or been able to keep a roof over our heads.

I'm thankful for my meds which have made my life much more livable even with the inevitable side effects (which could have been much worse). I'm thankful that God led us to a good doctor who was very understanding of our situation and knew just which med combination to try.

I'm thankful for my son. He continues to amaze me with his thoughtfulness, his intellect, and his emotional and physical growth. I'm so proud and impressed with the man he is growing into. And I love it when he hugs me!

And then, there's Mike. What words can I possibly use to describe how thankful I am for him? He's taught me so much about unconditional love and understanding. He takes such wonderful care of me without regard to what it costs him. He's a partner, a lover, a best friend, a caretaker, a cheerleader. He's the most amazing man I've ever met. I know God made him just for me, and I could never in a million years be worthy of such a gift.

I'm grateful for the roof over our heads, the electricity being on (no matter how far behind we've gotten on the bill), the water staying on, and for the internet (which is sometimes my only contact with the outside world due to depression or anxiety). I'm grateful that the car still runs. I'm grateful for the food in the cupboard and the air we breathe. I'm grateful for air condition!

And finally, I'm thankful for our friends, both the ones we talk to daily like Derek and the ones we talk to occassionally like Sarah and Amber. I can't tell you how much you all mean to us. I'm thankful for team-up nights in CoX and D&D nights with Steve and Lisa.

All in all, I'm humbled by how truly blessed we are.

May you each have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving.

National Gaming Day is November 14th!

2009-11-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

So sayeth the librarians of our great nation!

Noooooo!!!!

2009-11-11T16:41:00.000-05:00

Dollhouse Cancelled

Happy Birthday!!!

2009-11-11T10:09:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday, Amber!!!

We're 29 again, right? :)

V: Sit Down with Visitors' Leader Morena Baccarin

2009-11-10T15:59:00.000-05:00

V: Sit Down with Visitors' Leader Morena Baccarin - Today's News: Our Take | TVGuide.com

Whoa!

2009-11-04T13:05:00.001-05:00

Wow..... I feel soooooooo stupid right now...

2009-11-03T15:53:00.002-05:00

This is just too funny.

So anyways, I had gotten back from a field trip in which I had kept a close eye on my PSP (since last year someone stole it due to my carelessness). At the end of the day, just before exiting the class, I look down and saw that the pocket my PSP usually was in was open and nothing was in it! I got mad, asked the teacher if he saw it, went to the office to ask for the principal to see if he could do anything, and they said that he was unavailable at the time, but they would remember it. So then I ranted to my friends while waiting for my bus, and went around interrogating different people to get any info on the kid who stole it last year to see if I could find him and confront him myself, so that I wouldn't get yelled at for bringing my PSP again by the principal. I was so mad.

On the bus, after ranting about it to my friend, Abbey and slamming my "lucky" Bakugan against the seat, I start messing around with my backpack, and I notice a rectangular object in the pocket opposite the one my PSP usually is in (the one I said was open).

It was RIGHT THERE. All the time. Along with a pencil???

Flashback moment!

I was putting my PSP back into my backpack after taking it with me during the trip to avoid its stealability getting it, well... stolen... and I had the backpack backwards. So I was confused when I found a pencil in that pocket (I keep nothing but my PSP in my PSP pocket).

Another flashback moment!

I found a pencil on the ground. I put it in the other pocket so my PSP had enough space in its pocket.

Back to present!

I stuttered, looked at the PSP, then the pocket, and back, and proclaimed, "I feel so stupid right about now..."

What did this teach me? That I just suck at remembering where I put things. XP

There's gonna be a sequel! SQUEE!!!

2009-11-02T18:48:00.000-05:00

EXCLUSIVE: Nathan Fillion Says ‘Dr. Horrible’ Sequel Has A Title, Several Songs Written

Desktop Stress Relief Game

2009-10-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

Take a flamethrower to your desktop.

Termite Tool Box - Desktop Stress Relief Game Free Download - AllPest

Via Caedyn

Tonight!

2009-09-25T13:30:00.002-04:00

Don't miss Dollhouse tonight on Fox!

Seriously.

Watch it or I hunt you down. :P

And yes, they won!

2009-09-22T14:25:00.001-04:00

Dr. Horrible hijacks the Emmys!

2009-09-20T23:40:00.001-04:00

What You Don't Know

2009-08-29T17:07:00.001-04:00

If you missed the first season of Dollhouse, you really missed out on a great show. I highly reccomend catching season 2!

The Guild

2009-08-25T13:48:00.000-04:00

Season Two of The Guild can be found here!

The Guild

2009-08-25T13:38:00.002-04:00

First of all, if you haven't seen The Guild, I highly reccomend you head over there and catch yourself up. It's nerdarific funny.

Secondly, a friend of mine sent me this (which is much funnier if you've seen The Guild, trust me) which was directed by Jed Whedon (who also wrote the music), Joss Whedon's brother. (Thanks, Sam!)

This tickled me

2009-08-06T15:25:00.001-04:00

For Caedyn

2009-08-05T22:08:00.000-04:00

Stuck in my head

2009-08-05T13:50:00.001-04:00

Right Now

2009-08-04T16:56:00.000-04:00

Van Halen - Right Now

Attention Browncoats

2009-08-03T16:30:00.002-04:00

Nice little Firefly wallpaper at http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/31/desktop-wallpaper-calendar-august-2009 about halfway down the page.

Health care reform is the Matrix

2009-07-25T03:12:00.000-04:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Health Care Reform Is the Matrix

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Mark Sanford

Dr. Horrible is up for an Emmy!!!

2009-07-17T12:43:00.001-04:00

KJ-52

2009-07-09T15:22:00.001-04:00

Dear Slim

Wake Up

Memorial Service Information

2009-07-01T00:34:00.000-04:00

It will be at Tamarac Community Center on Commercial Blvd between 2 and 3pm this Sunday. If you need the address and directions the number there is 954-597-3620.

Asleep

2009-06-30T00:06:00.001-04:00

My 'Other' Dad...

2009-06-29T14:45:00.001-04:00

"Everyone's Dad" Harry Danow passed away this morning at 4:50am. If anyone wishes to attend the memorial services I will give details as soon as they are planned. For sympathy cards the address is 6507 NW 70th Avenue Tamarac, FL 33321. Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and visits. He will be greatly missed.

Excellent message: We are one

2009-06-28T14:09:00.000-04:00

To Bowser...

2009-06-17T23:10:00.000-04:00

You're the best, darlin. *hugs*

Thanks.

Family update

2009-06-16T13:43:00.002-04:00

This is one of those times where I hesitate to write anything, because there is so much going on that bears telling, but so little of it is positive that I'm worried about depressing the few of you who read this blog.

As mentioned before, Mike's dad is in hospice care. When he was originally diagnosed with liver cancer, we were told it was totally treatable with chemo, but now we know that the chemo did not work, and the cancer has spread to his bones, lungs, and brain. Please pray for Mike's family. This has been breaking our hearts. He's like my other dad, accepted me with open arms into the family when I married Mike, and I love him dearly.

I'm not sure if I actually wrote about this here, but a couple of months ago, my "occasional" back pains became "daily". An MRI turned up something called Degenerative Disc Disease, which has to do with spacing between the discs in my spine, as well as some buldging in one of the discs. I started physical therapy yesterday, and with time, it should be better. In the meantime, I get to take lots of percocet.

In addition, it seems we've found a good med combination for my bipolar (knock wood)! I've had milder swings and shorter dips into depression since starting on a Zyprexa/Cymbalta mix, and I'm back in therapy with a very good therapist that I like very much.

Caedyn's out of school and making games like crazy. I keep encouraging him to post them here so that he can share them with you, so when he does post, check his stuff out. He's had a hard year in school and is currently enjoying the break.

That seems to be just about everything I can think of. Take care all and God bless!

Family update

2009-06-09T11:15:00.003-04:00

As most of you know by now, Mike's father has been admitted to hospice care as his cancer has spread throughout his body. As you can imagine, we're spending most of our time at the hospice.

If anyone would like to visit or send any get well cards to Mike's Dad, the address is Hospice By The Sea c/o Memorial Regional Hospital South 3600 Washington Street Hollywood, FL 33021 Room 635. The phone # is 954-518-2470. His name is Harry.

Updated TF/SF list

2009-06-01T12:01:00.003-04:00

Again, moving the list up to keep from having to scroll back into the archives to find it.

Champion
Heroes
Dark Scorpia - Statesman, Lady Grey
Synoptic - Faathim, Statesman, Imperious
Midnite Tempest - Hydra Trial, Statesman, Justin Augustine, Faathim, 44 Respec
Pearl Thunder - Sewer Trial, Quarterfield, Statesman, Lady Grey, Imperious, Sara Moore, Faathim
Lela - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Synapse, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Hess, 24 Respec, Katie Hannon, Manticore
Kool-Kin - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess
Tenacious Inferno - Transcendence Trial, Synapse
Sounds Crazy - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Synapse, Sister Psyche
Radical Weed - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Synapse, Sister Psyche, Moonfire
Mikey's Troller - Transcendence Trial, Sister Psyche
Essence of Shadows - Transcendence Trial, Positron

Villains
Wicked Sinful - Silver Mantis, Renault, 24 Respec
Savannah Star - Tarikoss, Renault, 24 Respec, 34 Respec, Ice Mistral, 44 Respec, Lady Grey, Lord Recluse
Sabrina Nysorm - Tarikoss, Silver Mantis

Pinnacle
Lela's Bandits - Tarikoss, Silver Mantis, Rhenault, 24 Respec

Victory
Dark Souls - Virgil Tarikoss, Silver Mantis, Rhenault

Virtue
Heroes
Tara Hellshot - Transcendence Trial, Hess, Citadel, 24 Respec
Wintry Dross - Transcendence Trial, Citadel, Hess, Katie Hannon, Manticore, Numina, Sewer Trial, Eden
Frost Enchantress - Transcendence Trial, Sister Psyche, Citadel, Hess, 24 Respec, Katie Hannon, Manticore
Cerulian Sapphire - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Synapse, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess, 24 Respec
Dark Liberator - Synapse, Sister Psyche, Transcendence Trial, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess, 24 Respec, Katie Hannon, Manticore
Zellar Tempest - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess, 24 Respec
Midnite Tempest - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Synapse, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess
Angel Timmons - Transcendence Trial, Positron, Synapse, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess
Phoenix Thunder - Positron, Synapse, Transcendence Trial, Sister Psyche, Moonfire, Citadel, Hess
Sheridan Zila - Positron, Transcendence Trial, Synapse, Sister Psyche

Villains
Rose Lucian - Silver Mantis, SF Op Renault, 24 Respec, Ice Mistral, 34 Respec
Evilember - Silver Mantis, SF Op Rhenault, 24 Respec
Icey Thorn - Tarikoss, Silver Mantis, Rhenault, 24 Respec
Iryanx - Silver Mantis, Rhenault, Ice Mistral
Vicious Deception - Silver Mantis, SF Op Renault, 24 Respec, Ice Mistral
PsiReaver - Tarikoss, Silver Mantis
Crimson Thorne - Tarikoss
Criminal Possession - Tarikoss

Synapse on Champ

2009-05-28T17:58:00.002-04:00

We're gonna be trying for a Synapse run on Champion server on Sunday, May 31, at 3pm EST. Anyone who'd like to join us is welcome. Just send one of us a tell. :)

Mega Mugen Fighter 47 New Version!

2009-05-25T13:13:00.002-04:00

A new version of Mega Mugen Fighter 47 is well on the way! This new version includes the following:

-2 new characters
-All-new renovated Naruto Uzumaki
-Nerfed the attack power of Konata
-Redone controls for Haruhi, it is now easier to do her Hyper Attack.
-Compatibility with the NEW version of my All-New Toolbar for Internet Explorer letting you play Mega Mugen Fighter 47 right on your browser!

The .zip file will include my new toolbar for Internet Explorer! Get your copy of MMF47 today!

Double Uber Win

2009-05-25T13:06:00.002-04:00

Two winners combined!

YES!!!

2009-05-16T15:13:00.000-04:00

FOX renews ‘Dollhouse’ for second season.

Biiiiiiiiiig update on the Battle against Vundo

2009-05-13T16:58:00.003-04:00

Kablam! Kapow! Kablooie! Kaswoosh! After several attempts at defeating the dreaded Vundo Trojan of Popup-y doom, I finally delivered a lightning-fast karate kick to its... okay, I'm getting waaaaaaay too overdramatic..... eheh...

Anyways, as you probably guessed, I finally got rid of the Vundo trojan thingy that avoided capture by three different programs. Funnily enough, those other programs took HALF AN HOUR just to scan my computer and say "Trojan.Vundo was not found" while this new program, VirtumundoBeGone (Virtumundo is another name for Vundo) took two seconds and a reboot and, in this time, both located AND disabled Vundo. A little ironic there, huh? Cool part is, it even wrote a log file! Which was uber cool. I sent some people the log file, but I might upload it to my MediaFire soon.

In case you don't know, Vundo is a Trojan Horse family. What am I blabbing on about? Viruses have families? Yes, they do, and you can find out all about it with the power of http://www.wikipedia.org/ and Google.

Finally, I may be moving soon. Not just houses, but emails, too. Coming soon will be xperimental02@gmail.com. Remember the address as it will be my new one. I will send you a confirmation email when finished.

Peace out,
Caedyn

There's an app for that, too...

2009-05-13T16:57:00.002-04:00

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=3854&tag=nl.e550

Yes, the iPhone app companies are really capitalizing on this...
(Thanks ZDNet)

YES!!!

2009-05-12T12:29:00.001-04:00

City of Heroes: Going Rogue

Love this trailer and can't wait!

Official press release

Team-up on Virtue villain side

2009-05-11T13:21:00.000-04:00

The Order of the Bloody Rose will be holding their next team-up event on Wednesday, May 13th, at 8pm EST. Anyone with a villain on Virtue is welcome to come along. Just send a tell to @Lela or @Derek. Hope to see you there! :)

What is the Order of the Bloody Rose, you ask? They're a lite rp group on Virtue villain side. The theme centers around a self-proclaimed goddess and her followers that regularly hire mercenaries and assassins to fill their lower ranks as guards/bodyguards/temple guards/etc. Team-up nights are on the second Tuesday of each month, and anyone with an rp villain on Virtue is welcome to join. We love new people!

Anyone who is interested in our group calendar can find it here!

Click to join The_Starchasers

Mother's Day treat!

2009-05-10T23:41:00.000-04:00

The guys and I went to Dairy Queen to share a Fudge Brownie Temptation Waffle Bowl Sundae after dinner, and it was soooo yummy!

I hope all you other moms out there had a great day!

Rest in Peace

2009-05-05T18:06:00.000-04:00

Dom DeLuise is Dead at the Age of 75

Team-up night on Champion villain side

2009-05-04T12:27:00.000-04:00

The Company VG will be hosting their next team-up event on Wednesday, May 6th, at 8pm EST. Anyone with a villain on Champion is welcome to come play with us. Hope to see you there! :)

What is the Company, you ask? We're a villain group on Champion themed as a mafia style organization. We have a team-up night on the first Wednesday of each month to which anyone with a villain on Champion is invited.

Anyone who is interested in our group calendar can find it here!

Click to join The_Starchasers

In case you've missed it...

2009-05-02T01:04:00.002-04:00

...here is an excellent highlight compilation of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse that will get you up to speed for next week's season finale (though if you can go to Hulu and catch tonight's ep, it's a CAN'T MISS).

My Guys

2009-05-01T01:11:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, a few more inches, and the kid's gonna be as tall as me.

Statler and Waldorf

2009-04-29T12:55:00.000-04:00

Just because.

My Mother's Day wish...

2009-04-24T14:11:00.003-04:00

...is for tickets to see this or this or this! (with my mom!), in the movie theater.

Third Day - This Is Who I Am

2009-04-23T13:12:00.000-04:00

Next song I just -have- to get...

Team-up night on Champion hero side

2009-04-13T13:02:00.001-04:00

The Mavericks will be holding their next team-up night on Wednesday, April 15th, at 8pm EST. Anyone with a hero on Champion is welcome to come along with us regardless of SG affiliation, so please come join us!

What are the Mavericks, you ask? We're a non-rp SG on Champion that is open to anyone. The basic theme of the group is a neighborhood bar catering to heroes (though, now that we've absorbed what was left of the Liberty Force, we've got a back room operation of sorts for them). The group meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Anyone who is interested in our group calendar can find it here!

Click to join The_Starchasers

Team-up on Virtue villain side

2009-04-06T12:40:00.004-04:00

The Order of the Bloody Rose will be holding their next team-up event on Wednesday, April 8th, at 8pm EST. Anyone with a villain on Virtue is welcome to come along. Just send a tell to @Lela or @The Mike. Hope to see you there! :)

What is the Order of the Bloody Rose, you ask? They're a lite rp group on Virtue villain side. The theme centers around a self-proclaimed goddess and her followers that regularly hire mercenaries and assassins to fill their lower ranks as guards/bodyguards/temple guards/etc. Team-up nights are on the second Tuesday of each month, and anyone with an rp villain on Virtue is welcome to join. We love new people!

Anyone who is interested in our group calendar can find it here!

Click to join The_Starchasers

Just one of those neat-o things :)

2009-04-04T16:06:00.002-04:00

So, I listen to 4 or 5 different radio stations, different genres, whatnot...

And the country station is talking about being at a shopping center near us while we were running errands today, so we stopped by...

Because, you see...they were giving away the new Rascal Flatts cd (which isn't in stores until Tuesday), and I was hoping maybe we could win it...

Well, we found them, and Caedyn spun the wheel for me, and we didn't win. I was disappointed, but hey, we got to meet the DJ, and he was nice, and they took our picture.

And then, they told me to go ahead and spin one more time, and the girl running the game cheated and grabbed the wheel and made it stop in the right spot just so I could have my cd.

Say what you will about country music, but they're so often the nicest people in the business.

And now, I'm listening to my new cd, which includes the tear-jerker below!

Rascal Flatts - Here Comes Goodbye - Official Video

Sometimes

2009-03-30T16:17:00.000-04:00

Sometimes:
"Sometimes I just need to be alone. It doesn't mean anything, I just need to unpack my brain.
Sometimes I get angry about things that maybe aren't worth getting angry over. I'm sorry.
Sometimes I don't talk about what's bothering me. Usually it means I'm embarrassed about it.
Sometimes I don't want to held, supported, protected. I want to do things myself.
Sometimes I need to pull all-nighters. I just do.
Sometimes I am illogical, or impractical, or somehow against my normal personality. I'm sorry.
Sometimes I just forget things. Please remind me.
Sometimes I get sarcastic at innapropriate times. It's because I just don't know what to say.
Sometimes I'm so unstable that I might seem like two or three different people. This confuses and frustrates me, too.
Sometimes I'm lazy. Sometimes I'm tired. Sometimes I'm frustrating.
Sometimes I just don't know what to do with myself."

Sometimes, a friend describes you so perfectly that you just sit back in awe. I wish I could've been the person who wrote this amazingly accurate portrayal of what it's like to be a "head case".

Thank you, C. *hugs*

Team-up night on Champion villain side

2009-03-30T14:33:00.001-04:00

The Company VG will be hosting their next team-up event on Wednesday, April 1st, at 8pm EST. Anyone with a villain on Champion is welcome to come play with us. Hope to see you there! :)

What is the Company, you ask? We're a villain group on Champion themed as a mafia style organization. We have a team-up night on the first Wednesday of each month to which anyone with a villain on Champion is invited.

Anyone who is interested in our group calendar can find it here!

Click to join The_Starchasers

Team-up night on Virtue hero side

2009-03-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

The Starchasers will be holding their next team-up event on Wednesday, March 25th, at 8pm EST. Anyone with a hero on Virtue is welcome to come with us. Hope to see you there! :)

What are the Starchasers, you ask? We're a medium rp hero group on Virtue themed around the idea that some heroes don't quite "fit in" with the status quo for whatever reason. It's basically The Isle of Misfit Toys for heroes. :P
We meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month, and anyone with an rp character is welcome to come along!

Anyone who is interested in a full listing of team-up plans for all our groups can find it here!

Click to join The_Starchasers

LOLOL

2009-03-13T14:50:00.000-04:00

xkcd - A Webcomic - Two Mirrors

Interesting, but someone tell me what it means to crave pickles!

2009-03-11T16:04:00.001-04:00

And don't say pregnancy.

Food cravings and emotional/physical needs

Long overdue update

2009-03-10T10:52:00.000-04:00

It's hard to write this in light of how long it's been since I updated the blog and shared any news of what's been going on here.

In short, it's been a long, strange trip through my first major depressive episode in a few years. Being bipolar means a lot of ups and downs as a general state of being, but this has been a very deep down - deep enough to warrant new (for me), more traditional treatment. I'm now on a mood stabilizer and anti-depressant and have started talk therapy.

It's hard to talk about this for a couple of reasons. First, I hate being given those same, tired lines borne of pity or discomfort like "I'm sorry you're going through this" or "I hope you feel better soon" and a dozen others that strangely make me feel a little worse. It's like...I feel guilty for making others uncomfortable or unhappy. Secondly, I don't want everyone "looking" at me rather than people who really need to be looked at.

Like Mike, for instance. Mike's the one taking the brunt of all of this. He's the glue holding everything together while I stop functioning. People should be supporting him while he supports me. The guy's working 11 hour days and then coming home to take care of the household stuff I haven't done. I'd rather see people worrying about him.

A friend of mine and I often have the same reaction to the "How're you?" question. We hate it. So, we've decided on "Hi. Drink?" I like that better. No awkward. No saying "Still in suck land". I get a little tired of it. I hate giving the bad answers to that first question.

Caedyn accomplished his walk-a-thon for the Humane Society and raised 95 dollars in the process. I can't begin to tell you how proud we are of him. He's been amazing.

He did, however, give us a good scare on Sunday. I woke up to "Ow! Ow! Oh god, it hurts! Why won't it stop hurting?" and found him laying on his bed holding his stomach. One trip to the ER later, and we have no clue what it was. It could've been some particularly bad gas, or some fluke, or even an allergic reaction to something. (His hands were splotchy, and he was pale.) He's fine now, but we're keeping an eye on him as he heads back to school today.

I'm on Twitter now (as evidenced in the sidebar here), and I'm hoping that the idea of mini-blogging there will be less daunting than updating this blog (as little accomplishments seem easier than big ones right now), so please add me to your follow list if you've got it. I like that I can update it from the cell, and I'll be figuring out how to post pictures here at the blog from the cell as well! The thought occurred to me when I got my hair lopped off last week that it would've been neat to post before and after pics, so I'd like to start doing little things like that. :)

Hope all is well with you all out there in the blogosphere!

A new game by yours truly

2009-03-09T20:22:00.002-04:00

You got to check out the game that I, Caedyn Danow, am currently in the process of making. Its name is Mega Mugen Fighter 47, a fighter game made with the infamous Win Mugen. The characters featured are numerous, and they come from everywhere:

Lucky Star
Street Fighter
Naruto
King of Fighters
Smash Bros. Brawl
Kingdom Hearts
Sonic
Megaman
Shaman King
Final Fantasy
The Simpsons
Family Guy
The Incredibles
and more to come!!!

Beta 2 will be out soon, as soon as FileFactory.com finishes its upload. If you want the website for more information, visit www.cdano95.webs.com and read aroound there.

Well, the download's 75% complete, so watch out!

Joss interview from TV Guide

2009-02-27T14:43:00.003-05:00

So Very, Very Good

2009-02-21T16:30:00.002-05:00

Mom and I just got back from the theater. Liam is just fricking awesome and kicks some serious ass.

Taken

Dollhouse premiered last night!

2009-02-14T12:35:00.000-05:00

You can check out the first episode here.

Of course!

2009-01-30T12:14:00.001-05:00