Best of Comic-Con 2008 Photos

Best of Comic-Con 2008

I was surprised to see that I took over 60 photos! I uploaded the best ones, or at least not the ones that were blurry.

Bobble Heads

These are the only action figures I bought at the Comic-Con. I got all three for $10. There wasn't much of a selection, but who doesn't like Quagmire - giddedy, giddedy gid!

Comic-Con 2008: Sunday

I arrived before the doors to the dealers room opened, and had to wait in a queue upstairs. However, I was in the room by 9:30, before it got too crowded, in time to snap a few photos. This was the busiest Sunday I've ever seen at the Comic-con. It was as busy as Saturday used to be ten years ago. I ended up buying nothing, because either the stuff I wanted to buy was still too expensive, or I could just buy it online and not have to carry a big bag full of action figures all day long.

I walked the main floor, up and down every isle, checking out each booth for something to buy or photograph. I made an effort to stop at the Cinequest boot to say "hi", like their web site said to do. I told the man I just bought a Tooned-up Buffy from them and he recognized my name and said he packed the figure for me. How nice! Around 1:30 I went to Room 6CDEF for the Ghost Whisperer Panel, despite the absence of Jennifer Love Hewitt. They had three of the actors, including the newest member, played by Jamie Kennedy, who hopefully is not as annoying on the show as he was in person. I guess they needed a new character to replace the professor, who is leaving the show after the first episode this coming season.

After another quick walk around the dealers room, I joined my sister in room 20 for the showing of "Once More With Feeling", the Buffy musical. It was strange, I had an uneasy feeling before the showing, afraid something weird was going to happen. However, despite the hype, there was no dancing and if there were people singing along, I couldn't tell. We were in the back of the room, in seats with a good view of the back screen, and the audience in the front was more into the musical. I think most people were too interested in actually watching the classic episode, that they didn't have time to sing along. However, it was a good way to end the Comic-Con, other than the dinner and beer at Dublin Square afterwards.

Comic-Con 2008: Saturday

I got to the Convention Center before nine and was surprised that they were letting people in to line up for each room. I somehow got a good place in line for Ballroom 20 and after 45 minutes I got a seat near the very front. The Futurama panel is always funny, and they had a preview of the 3rd new Futurama DVD, and I still haven't seen the first two.

The Simpson's panel followed, with Matt Groening being the only one sitting on both. The Simpson's panel was not as funny, because they only had producers and writers, unlike the Futurama group with the four main characters participating and having a good time. They had a preview of the Halloween episode, which had a really funny scene with the Simpson's characters taking the roles of the Peanuts characters in the Charlie Brown Halloween special.

I took my chances and left the room because I needed a break and didn't want to sit through Dean Koonz. I quickly ate some food and wandered around the dealers room, snapping some quick photos. All my photos seem blurry or grainy. I was either moving when taking the photo, and some were taken of the large screen since I was sitting in the back of room 20 for the next two events.

Josh Whedon was there with Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett (plays Helo on BSG) to talk about his new series Dollhouse. Josh in never serious and always has something funny to say and Eliza seem to be having fun, but Tahmoh seemed a bit out of place. He returned for the next panel where he fit in better. They played a shot preview of Dollhouse, and it is hard to tell if it is going to be any good or not. So far, Fox has agreed to 12 episodes, and all they have shot is the pilot.

This panel was very entertaining because Kevin Smith was the moderator. In the previous panels, they followed the "new" guidelines of not swearing, but Kevin didn't care, and once he started, it turned into an anything-goes discussion. They also had a short preview of scenes from the final 10 episodes, which have already been shot, but they were careful not to give away any secrets, such as who the "5th" cylon is or how the series ends.

I left at six and met up with my sister and her friends at Dick's Last Resort for dinner. Most of the staff was dressed up in costume, including our waitress, who looked much more "blue" than this photo shows.

After dinner, I headed home to rest up for tomorrow. I plan to buy some more stuff (I bought three bobble-heads for $10 today) and catch a few more panels.

Almost at Comic-Con

Looks like I'll be in Ballroom 20 for four straight events. I'll bring food and water for survival. Any event I can see after that would be a bonus. I'll wait until Sunday to wander the dealers room They've updated the Sunday schedule and it looks like Jennifer Love Hewitt has been scarred-off and will not be at the Ghost Whisper panel. Bummer.

Not at Comic-Con 2008 Yet

When I left work today I drove past the Old Town Trolley station and saw people with Comic-Con badges, backpacks and plastic bags filled with free handouts walking around, and I thought, "I should be one of them!". Even though I was supposed to be traveling this week, I should have bought a four day pass for Comic-Con. My work trips always get postponed. At least I'll be attending Saturday and Sunday. However, I'm afraid that since all four days are sold out, that even Sunday will be as crowded as Saturday, assuming they sold the same amount of tickets for each of the four days. I feel bad for the people driving down from Los Angeles this morning. There was an accident early in the morning that caused the southbound I5 to close, and traffic was backed up for miles. In fact, traffic was bad all over San Diego today. I'm looking forward to Saturday at the convention center, even if it is too busy. My goal is to see the Futurama, Simpson's and Battlestar Galactica panels in Ballroom 20, assuming I'll be able to get into the room. Sunday I'll roam the dealers room, maybe buy a few action figures, and then attend the Buffy musical showing. I'm sure I'll have my fill of the "nerdiness" adventures that Comic-Con always entails.

"Tooned Up" Buffy the Vampire Slayer

No, this is not Buffy "tuned" up, like a car or piano, but "tooned up" like a cartoon. When I saw this action figure announced months ago, I wanted to buy it. However, I waited too long and it was sold out at most online stores. Then Cinequest had it available again so I ordered it, and two week later, my largest Buffy action figure arrived. She stands, 10 inches tall on her base, and comes with a total of four hands. I opted to attach the hands with weapons, because it look better.




Yes, I even opened the box! I had to because she was packed inside Styrofoam, inside a very big box. I have seen other live-action characters turned into an animated version, such a Princess Leia and R2D2. The version of Buffy was designed by Electric Tiki.

I'm not really into flowers

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

Got this link from another blogger. I have no plants in my house, or outside, but the quiz is still kind of interesting.

Here is what it said about me:

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

I guess that might be true, as I post my accomplishments right here on this blog for the whole world to see.

Reading Glasses :-(

Well, it finally happened. I couldn't put it off any longer. I went to the optometrist last week and decided I really did need reading glasses. After having LASIK 4 1/2 years ago, I was hoping I'd never have to wear glasses again. But, shortly after turning 40, I started to notice it was difficult to focus my eyes while reading. So I waited one more year before getting these glasses. My biggest problem was that after spending nine hours a day at work staring at a computer screen, my eyes got tired and I was having trouble reading street signs while driving home. So my optometrist says that if I wear these glasses during the day, then I'll have better vision for distance viewing. I can still read without glasses, but these lenses make the print slightly clearer. However, I've had them on 10 minutes and already my nose and ears are bothering me - just like before.

Comic-Con 2008

I was lucky enough to get a pass for Sunday. Two days after I bought the pass, all tickets to Comic-Con 2008 sold out! I believe this is a first. I would have bought a 4-day pass months ago, but at the time I had a work trip planned that week. I didn't know my work schedule until two weeks ago. So at least I'll be able to go on Sunday, and buy a few action figures, maybe on discount. There are a few events on Sunday I want to see, including Ghost Whisper, with Jennifer Love Hewitt, and a showing of "Once More With Feeling", the Buffy musical, with audience participation encouraged. This ought to be fun. My only conflict is that "Starship Smackdown XI" overlaps with Ghost Whisper. But Jennifer Love Hewitt? I'll be there with my camera and my zoom lens!

Zonealarm and Microsoft Update Problems

Last week, my computer lost connection with the Internet suddenly. I finally got it connected by connecting my computer directly to the cable modem, bypassing the wireless router, and disabling my Zonealarm firewall. I assumed it was the router causing a problem, until a got an e-mail from Zonealarm notifying me that a recent Microsoft update (on July 8th) broke the Zonealarm fire wall, and a new version of the firewall was available to fix the problem. This update worked, allowing me to connect to the Internet with Zonealarm running, but when I reconnected my D-Link router, no Internet. What was strange was that I couldn't connect to the Internet using the router with my Macbook Pro either, which is not running Zonalarm or Windows XP, of course. I did lots of searched on Google and found other people having the same problem as me with their routers, but no solutions. So I just spent an hour or more just getting my Apple to connect through the router, which required many reboots of my modem and router. Then I turned on my PC and at first it wouldn't connect, but suddenly it too was able to access the Internet and e-mail. I really don't know what I did to fix it, and don't know if it will stay fixed. At least for now, I'll stop looking to buy a new router, although, my D-Link still "hangs-up" a few times a day. During the whole process, I also re-installed the firmware for the router, thus erasing all my settings. I still have a few more filters to add before all is normal again.

Edit: D-Link router still working after 24 hour. Internet access works. Web camera works.

Last of My 2008 Summer Vacation Posts

Scary picture of me. Well, I have uploaded all the best photos and videos from my 2008 Summer Vacation. I don't plan to take any more time off work until November, but in August I'll be flying to Salt Lake City for a family reunion. Then I'll have a work trip to Key West. If I'm lucky, I'll have a local weekend camping trip too. Then, there is Italy in November!

Monument Valley Video

A short video I took at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park.

Best of Las Vegas Area Photos

Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Mt. Charleston

The last stop on my trip was Las Vegas. I spent two nights there with my friends. The only casino I went to was the Red Rock Casino, which is a very nice place. On my way into Vegas, I briefly stopped at Hoover Dam to take pictures of the new bridge. We spent part of the 4th Of July at Mt. Charleston, enjoying cooler weather and wonderful views.

Best of Monument Valley Photos

Monument Valley (And Four Corners)

These are the best of the photos I took at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and Four Corners.

A Note About Picasa

As you might have noticed, I have been uploading my photos to a web site called Picasa. Picasa is owned by Google, and I was looking for a free place to upload my pictures where everyone can view them (other then my own web site/domain). I was surprised to find out that once I signed up, with a user-name and password, that I already had a private album, which consisted of all the photos I have uploaded to Blogger! I also download the Picasa program to my computer, which organizes all your photos and makes it easier to upload an album to Picasa. What I didn't like is that after installation, it automatically scanned my computer for all photos and documents. I wish I had the chance to specify what folders to scan, so after it was done I had to delete some file just make sure they wouldn't be uploaded to web. For those albums I do upload, once on Picasa, it is easy to organize the album, add captions, and get the html code to paste into Blogger so that the album is easily accessible to everyone. I have been uploading the full-sized photos, which uses more space and takes longer, but the pictures look better when viewed, and allows friends to download the best copy of the photos they want. There is a limit on free space, so I might end up having to pay for more room, which I will probably do if it isn't too expensive.

Best Of Mesa Verde National Park Photos

Mesa Verde National Park

Next time I visit Mesa Verde National I'll sign up to tour Balcony House and Long House, the two other sites that require tickets. Otherwise, I'd say I got my monies worth during my one day at Mesa Verde and I'm glad I visited the park.

Best of Canyonlands National Park Photos

Canyonlands National Park - Needles Section

I took less pictures in Canyonlands National Park. I was there for less than three hours and it was getting hot, plus, unless I did more hiking, or drove on a long Jeep trail, I saw the best parts of this section of the park. Next time I'll visit the north section of Canyonlands.

Step House at Mesa Verde National Park Video

For once I filmed a movie without talking. Since there was no body around, and it was so quite, I felt like my voice would ruin the mood. The only other person nearby was the park ranger, who was probably too far away to hear me talk anyways. I wish I had spent more time talking to her. I had a few questions about how these people lived, plus she was the cutest ranger in the park.

Hoover Dam Bridge

To get to Las Vegas from Flagstaff, I took the road across Hoover Dam. I hadn't been to the dam for over 20, if not 25 years. As you approach the dam, you pass through a police check-point, to make sure your car is not loaded with explosives. The road still takes you right over the Hoover Dam, because the bypass bridge is not yet finished. What they have constructed so far is very impressive, but it is clear that there is lots more work to do before the new bridge is open.

Wheeler Peak 1995

This is a photo of Wheeler Peak as it was in 1995, the first time I was there. This picture was taken the first week of July, and as you can see, there is lots of snow - all the way down to the trail head. So much snow, that my friend and I had no chance to hike to the peak. It took 13 years before I made it back and hiked to the summit, thanks to much less snow.

The best of my Great Basin National Park Photos

Great Basin National Park

Enjoy my pictures of Great Basin National Park and my hike up to Wheeler Peak.

Best of Arches National Park Photos

Arches National Park Photos

I sorted out the best photos I took at Arches National Park.

Canyonlands National Park Video

Next in my series of national park short videos is the Needles section of Canyonlands National Park. I only spent a few hours here, and unless I did more hiking, I saw all there was to see.

Enhanced Lake Tahoe Photos

Tahoe 2008 Enhanced Photos

I am experimenting with Picasa. These are the best of my Lake Tahoe (and before) photos.

Video At Arches National Park

Another national park video to add to my collection. Once again, this video can be viewed using Google Earth if you zoom in on Arches National Park.

National Park T-Shirts

I added three new national parks to my list of parks I have visited, and bought a shirt from each one. I tried to get a Great Basin shirt, but the visitors center didn't have any - however, I had been to that park before. This photo has my Joshua Tree shirt just to make the picture symmetrical. As you can see, I get a different color shirt from each park, making for a colorful assortment of clothing.

Video at top of Wheeler Peak

I overcame the thin air at 13,063 feet (even though I say the wrong altitude in the video) to take a short movie at the top of Wheeler Peak.

4th Of July At Red Rock Casino

After an afternoon rest, we drove over to the Red Rock Casino for gambling, dinner and then to watch the fireworks show. Overall, I lost money on the gambling, of course, but had fun. Dinner was good. We all ordered the all you can eat meat plate, and it was more than enough food, including the sides. My friends also showed around the casino, which is located on the northwest side of Las Vegas, not too far from Red Rock Canyon. We went into the dance club, Cherry, even though it was not open yet. The bathroom stall walls are see-though until you lock the door, but for some reason they weren't working right, because I could still see inside. I guess the necessary electricity was not turn on to turn the glass opaque. My friends also pointed out the entrance, which was used in the movie 21, which we watched later at home on DVD. We found a place to sit outside on a couch for the fireworks show, which started at 9:30. This is the first 4th of July fireworks I've seen in years. They were quite bright and loud. The evening was fun, and good ending to my vacation. I am now home, after driving 2804 miles in 17 days! I did everything I had planned to do and more. I'll have more photos to post, plus exciting movies I filmed at each location, such as the top of Mt. Wheeler.

Fourth of July On Mt. Charleston

We drove up to the mountains to get away from the heat of Vegas. It was a good 30 degrees cooler up there, but still warm. On the way up, there was a checkpoint where the ranges and police were checking each vehicle for fireworks. We got up to the upper lodge, walked around a little, and then had lunch and a couple of beers outside on the deck. Now it is cat nap time before heading to Red Rock Casino for dinner and fireworks.

In Las Vegas

I left Flagstaff this morning, and it was warm and sunny. I got to Las Vegas, via Hover Dam, in the early afternoon. It was over 110 in Vegas, and since I got there early, I went to see a movie at the Red Rock Casino. I finally saw Iron Man, which was as good as people say. And just so you know, stay until the very end of the credits. I'll have some photos to post tomorrow. We might go hiking at Mt. Charleston, plus I took a photo of the bridge they are building across the Hover Dam.

Navajo Rock and Galaxy Diner

Yesterday in Mesa Verde, I stopped at a site where there was a view of the valley below. From there, I could see a big rock formation. The plaque at the site showed this rock and said it was located on Navajo territory. I tried to take a photo, but the formation was too distance. Today, I drove past what I think was the same rock, as I was driving in Navajo Nation. It was hard to believe that this was visible from Mesa Verde, but even though I drove for hours to get there, my route wandered south and west this morning, so it could have been within 100 miles.

For dinner, I walked down the road to the Galaxy Diner. I guess it was semi-famous just for being located along old Route 66. I was kind of worried that it took five minutes for the waitress to get me my beer, a Fat Tire Ale, but only a few minutes to bring me my turkey dinner. Can you say "microwaved"? I must admit, the turkey plate was good and so was the service. There were only a few customers in the diner, but it was still early. My body is on Mountain Time, so at this rate I'll be asleep long before eight!

Four Corners and Monument Valley

I like the setup the Indians have at Four Corners. They have fenced it off and charge $3/person to enter. The lady at the booth was nice, but seemed disappointed that I was the only one in the car. They have the site set up with an elevated deck to take photos, but I had someone standing in line behind my take me photo. In fact, the man and his family, I saw at breakfast earlier in the hotel for breakfast. I hope my feet are in all four states, as I stand up extra straight. I didn't want some funny, "on-all-fours" photo. After taking a picture of the flags flying above, I quickly left and headed to Monument Valley.

Like I said in a previous post, I don't remember being at Monument Valley before, and I certainly don't remember driving on a rough dirt road in a blue Mustang. The entrance fee here was $5, and the booth was on the passenger's side, so I had to lean way over to pay the woman. I followed the dirt road to most of the sites, and I was glad I was driving a blue all-wheel drive Rav/4. The road was very bumpy and in some places sandy. Even though the speed limit was 15 mph, when I got behind a slow sedan, I found myself passing them. I wasn't too worried about getting a ticket.



I could have found someone to take my photo, but I set my camera on my bicycle seat (I forgot my tripod) and took this photo of me in front of the monument that is in the cover of the brochure - one of the Mittens Butte.

There were many photo opportunities, but enough is enough. After a while they all begin to look the same. It would have been neat to be there at sunset to see different colors and shadows.

After leaving, I set my GPS to Flagstaff, Arizona. As I got closer to Flagstaff, heading down the 89, I saw rain clouds in the distance. Sure enough, it began to rain and wash some of the red dust off my car, as well as cool down dramatically. I found another Super 8 hotel in the center of Flagstaff. Tomorrow I'll take my time driving to Las Vegas, possibly stopping at Boulder Dam.

Other Sites and J. Fargo's

First, I'm not implying my car is a ruin. I took the photo and didn't realize my car was in the picture. After I saw the sites I wanted to see, I then stopped along the road to visit the smaller ruins. Most were right off the road or within a 10 minutes walk.

For dinner tonight I found another local brewery. The bartender was much nicer. In fact, when I ordered the Dark Bock, she worked for like five minutes to get me a foam-free pint. I guess I was the first to order this beer since they had changed the kegs. I'm not a big bock fan, but the brew was good. I then order a classic calzone for 2-3 people, or one person who had just spent the whole day exploring a great national park. When I got the bill, I noticed she didn't charge me for the second beer, a dark wheat. I let her know and she thanked me for being honest and charged me for the smaller size. A much better experience than last night's meal.

Mesa Verde National Park

I was able to get to the visitors center at Mesa Verde National Park about five minutes before it opened. There was already a line of people lined up to buy tickets for tours of one of the three sites that required reservations. I decided to buy just one, for Cliff Palace, the easiest of the three tours. I was worried that the heights of Balcony House, the most popular spot, would be too much for me. I kind of regret this decision, but that will give me something to do next time I visit this park. Cliff Palace is the biggest cliff dwelling, and the hike down to it was relatively easy. The tour was full, so there were lots of people. The range did a good job moving people along and explaining the history and culture of the people who lived there, but the tour was shorter than I had expected.



I did take the hike where there was as view of Balcony Palace across a canyon. Even though I had to zoom in to get this photo, you could hear the people as they climbed the ladders and made there way up to the dwelling. There were lots of cheers, I guess as someone made a difficult climb.

By this time, it was getting hot, and I left my cooler packed with water in the hotel room, so I ended up buying a few bottles of water.

For the rest of the day, I hiked to the ruins that were "self guided". The Step House was located on the far side of the park. It took almost one hour to drive there. However, the short but steep hike led to a small cliff dwelling where the only person there was a nice park ranger who took my photo. The previous site I walked to, Spruce Tree House, was very crowded, and I didn't get any good photos there.



My goal was to see all I could before the afternoon thundershowers started. I heard that some people yesterday got caught in a hail storm in the late afternoon. I saw the clouds forming over the mountains as I headed out. I snapped this photo from high in the mesa of the valley below. Mesa Verde sits between 7000 and 8000 feet above see level. Having spent the past two weeks between 5000 and 10,000 feet, I don't think the altitude really affected me. All the recent hiking I've done did slow me down a little, but tomorrow I'll take it easy. I don't have any real plans, other than stopping at Four Corners and perhaps Monument Valley.