Oh, gods. It's me, in 1995. I've already posted this old id card about but I like having it saved. I was into NASCAR in 1995, hence the Miller Genuine Draft Rusty Wallace #2 cap. I was actually 17 when this photo was taken. Gods, I was a nerd. A terrible greasy nerd. Until I learned the dual tasks of washing everything daily and brushing my teeth, I was something to behold. It took a while, but I finally got my act together.
My freshman year of school was fun and it taught me and awful lot. For you potential freshmen, here's some hard earned lessons:

1. Get the fuck out of your dorm. I knew nobody until the last bit of Fall, 1995. I stayed and played video games. Games are great fun, but I had so much more fun after I started to get to know people.

2. Wash daily. You would think most people know this, for some reason I would skimp. I showered everyday day, to be sure but never cleaned good enough. Gods. How embarrassing.

3. Women, can't live with them, pass the beer nuts. I saved myself involuntarily by not bothering to meet girls. WTF? Get out of the dorm and meet chicks; it will pay off, trust me.

4. Expand your wardrobe. I am certainly not saying to go and spend money on a $100 pair of jeans. But wash your clothes once in a while. It almost does not matter what you wear, but have clean, decent fitting clothes. It will help!

5. Do not throw food out the dorm window. Me and my buddy Steve emptied his fridge of expired food by chucking it out the window. Big Mayo jars travel VERY nice and make a satisfying splat. Especially when filled with mayo yet.

6. Drink once in a while. I'm not saying turn into a drunken hobo, but a few beers with your friends will always be fun. Trying to hide those beers as you sprint towards the dumpster will also be fun.

OK, that's it. For now. I remember freshman year with an awful lot of joy. I had alot of fun. From blasting Led Zeppelin with my buddy Steve out Conklin's courtyard to making an ass of myself with the BG Gaming group, I had fun. 1995-1996.

Astronauts

After the whole Astronaut in a diaper occurance and the recent fallout today from it (fired!) I was thinking about the modern NASA Astronaut selection program. Like most things with a large, bloated bureaucracy NASA is exceedingly political. Playing the game gets you into space, not your skill. I propose a revision of this broken method of space recruitment.

First, Buzz Aldrin will be in charge, because he's awesome. Buzz will set the mood by being the first to travel to the frozen forests of Norway where he will strip to his skivvies and hunt a bear with his bare hands, hold the still-beating heart of the beast triumphantly over his head while screaming a manly roar of victory. In order to even be considered every Astronaut must do the same thing.

For an Astronaut to get promoted he will have to wrestle Buzz for the half-eaten bear heart, Only when they win do they get to command a Shuttle Mission. Until then, Buzz is in charge. Other old-time Space Explorers will be re-recuited in order to provide a base of awesomeness for the Astronaut corps. Jim Lovell, Alan Bean, Zombie Deke Slayton, Gordo Cooper, Wally Shirra, Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, and the other men who pioneered space. Even when selected for a mission a potential cherry will have to run the gauntlet of old-timers who will beat them with large sticks. If they make it past the gauntlet, they get on the mission.

Finally the pussy ass Shuttle will be replaced with museum piece Apollo capsules and Russian tech. Cheaper? You bet! Less safe? Unfortunately. But if the old guys could do it, then the new blood should be able to as well. Maybe the Shuttle will be kept as a reward, make it past the Russian tech and a old Gemini capsule and you get your ride in a Shuttle.

Multiplayer

I found out something the other day: the computer they gave me here plays Team Fortress 2 like a dream. This is not good. TF 2 is a simply awesome game. My screen name is Idi Amin, btw. I just purchased a good set of earphones and a built in mic so I can chant Amin style as I die every 10 seconds or so.
I have always like video games, perhaps too much. From the glory days of the Atari 2600 and the NES to my trusty Xbox and the reliable PC.. games upon games. Games always advance faster than my equipment though, that can often be a big problem. That's why I like my Xbox, I never have to worry about system specs.
When I reenact I often find kids who know all about firearms from games. Even the Lee-Enfield has been making appearances as of late in some games. I suppose any history they get can be good, but sometimes I wonder if it's the right kind of history. What is the right kind of history? That's a good question. A mix of reverence, knowledge, honor I suppose.
You will have to excuse me now. There are people on Counterstrike that need annoying with Billy Mays voice.