justin-shepard.net

So, way back in spring I decided to shave my head (and then never post about it =) ). Here’s what I looked like then:

Then with winter coming, I started to grow it back:

Then a coworker (who also has shaved his head), suggested we do mohawks for halloween. And so, here’s me with a mohawk:

I don’t think I’m punk enough to pull it off, but I’m still gonna keep it till the weekend.

From Autoblog, their first look at the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette. I highly recommend watching the video, if for nothing else than the sound of the engine. Mmmmmm.

But it isn’t mine. I was a groomsman in Jeff and Becky’s wedding this past weekend, and they asked for someone to store their wedding cake while they finished their wedding time off (honeymoon isn’t until January). I’ve also got flowers and a few other things, so party at my place?

It was a lovely ceremony, though it started a bit late due to forgotten flowers. It was an outdoor wedding, and the weather was perfectly cooperative. The reception was nice and the food was pretty tasty. Not much dancing, which is kind of to be expected. And the bride had to retire early when it was discovered she was laying on the floor and wasn’t inclined to stand up. There were some ups and downs in other areas, and I wish I’d been less me during it all, but there’s only so much I can do.

Also, yesterday was my birthday, for which I am taking today off of work. The morning will be spent largely apartment bound, as I’m getting some work done on my car. The afternoon, running errands. And sometime this week, meat!

In the latest meme, here’s what I found:

1. Conservator
2. Agronomist
3. Pharmacologist
4. Computer Support Person
5. Heavy Equipment Operator
6. Tree Harvester
7. Road Construction and Maintenance Worker
8. Arborist
9. Computer Engineer
10. Lineworker

Interesting choices. I guess that’s what I get for liking both the outdoors and big machines.

So I’m finally getting around to posting the picture mentioned here. Here’s the picture with just us (click on it for the full size view):

And here’s the full page for the curious: The Whole Article.

The past several years, for whatever reason, I haven’t been able to recollect my dreams. I’m pretty sure I have them, but waking up in the morning the only thing I remember is going to sleep the night before. So remembering two dreams in as many weeks is a little unusual. Granted, the first of those I’ve since forgotten the dream itself, but remember remembering it. This morning’s dream, however, is still fresh as a newly picked flower. It was pretty short, dream-time-wise only a minute or two, but it packed an amazing amount of hope and promise for the future. And then I woke up.

There’s probably some deep meaning there.

Sorry to keep on rolling with the less than happy posts, but I felt the need to mention this one: Michael Jackson has died. Not the reclusive pop star, of course, but the Michael Jackson who wrote on a subject much more near and dear to my heart: beer. He wrote and contributed to a large number of books on the subject, and a book I purchased was my first introduction to the man. I haven’t read much of what he wrote, but I recognize that he made a significant contribution to the world of beer and for that, the next time I have a beer it will be in his honor.

Or so it seems at the moment. I’m in Tulsa as I write this, where my Grandparents live, where my Mom and Dad grew up and where the extended family is now gathering together. The why is that my Grandmother passed away last Thursday at the age of 82. If it were only that, this might not qualify as “Saddest Weekend on Record”, but other things have been happening as well (though I won’t say what specifically, as it is not my place to do so) that increase the sadness index. Enough for top honors? Seem likely. But certainly putting it in the Top Five at the least.

At any rate I still own you, my fine readership, a scan of the Dragon magazine picture (I’d link to the post, but really, just scroll down the page a bit) as well as an after-action report for GenCon (which was last weekend). These things will wait until Tuesday (at the earliest), however, as I won’t be back in Cleveland until then.

If you were to pick up the most recent copy of Dragon Magazine (Issue 357, to be specific), you would find a small article about NASCRAG (A GenCon role-playing tournament) near the front. This article would also contain a few pictures, one of those pictures would be a large number of NASCRAG teams lined up waiting to be assigned judges. If you were to then look very closely at this picture, you might spot a familiar face. Several of them in fact.

Yes, it’s true, there is a picture of me (and some of my friends) in Dragon Magazine. How cool is that? I’ll try to get the article scanned with picture in the next little bit here, so you won’t actually need to pick up Dragon #357.

Tom Wilson is funny! (If you don’t recognize his name, I’m sure reading his website or looking at his IMDb entry will set you straight soon enough.

Some friends and I went to see his stand-up show last night. And man, is that guy funny. His act opened with him doing a little muscial number and some audience interaction, which lead to him mocking those who were just there to see him say things from that famous trilogy he was in and ended that portion with a hilarious song about all the questions people ask him. I laughed long and hard, largely because I knew he was talking about people like me. With that out of the way, he proceeded to tell humorous stores about himself, which included some hilarious audience interactions and finished with some funny songs.

All in all, it was quite enjoyable, and I’d say that if you ever get a chance, you should definitely see him in person. Just don’t expect him to say more than a few lines from those time-traveling movies he was in.