Thank you Wil. I read your words, but I saw my childhood. I'm an odd mixture of content and sad now. I miss the wonderful, inexplicable, astounding place the world used to be when I was young. But this perspective wouldn't be possible without the intervening years of maturity, so I can't say I'd want to go back to those days, I'd lose the very thing my emotions are trying to recapture. Anyways, way too deep for Friday afternoon, so I'll just say again: Thank you.

Thank you sir! My day is now complete.

Way to rock the plaid!

You're gonna love it Wil. I used to make beer and wine with my old man, always had a blast....except the process and equipment 20 years ago weren't the best. Before the autosiphon got popular, decanting by suction (ala fuel tank gas theft), was NASTY when you were decanting just a week or two into the process. The liquid you ended up tasting bedore moving the hose to the new carboy was NOT beer yet *yuck* Things have gotten alot simpler since then, and it's been my experience that most homebrew stores (as long as they're not huge chains), are staffed by kind, intelligent and helpful souls. If you've got a taste for wine, you may want to look into homebrewing that too, it's even easier than beer, damn cheap, and uses mostly the same equipment!

Nice to know I'm not the only one who read "self-sealing" and had their brain automatically insert "stem bolt"! heh those two crazy kids and their One Red Paperclip type shenanigans!

8. For some reason, I never really publicized my Tumblr. Well, here it is. I put shit there all the time that amuses and enrages me. So now you know. And knowing is half the battle! Sorry, couldn't resist, Zanzibar made me do it. Also: MST3K post? EPIC. "Watch the hands Cal!" and as always WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES!

So Wil, I'm sure you mostly just want to catch up with family and sleep for days (not necessarily in that order!), but I hope you happen to read this post and have time to answer. I haven't hit the site over the last few days, so this morning I read Fedcon updates 2, 3 and 4. It really got me thinking about the way the internet in general, and blogging specifically has changed the actor-fan dynamic. Growing up I can remember the pedestal I put my favorite actors on. They weren't really PEOPLE, they were ACK-TORS (note the pronunciation!), these amazing creatures with the ability to fascinate and entertain. Now we fans can hear about your ups and downs (those you wish to share), your views, beliefs and what you had for lunch today. It really is humanizing, and to me at least a leash to the uber-geek inside me. I used to think to myself, "If I ever meet [insert actor's name here], y'know see him/her in a restaurant, I'll be cool, I won't interrupt or pester them, just a mellow 'I love your work' as I leave to make him/her know I appreciate their efforts". Who was I kidding? Had I seen RDA, Mira Furlan or yourself, as that younger me, I would have annoyed the hell out of you. I'm sure most actors take it graciously and put on a good face, but really, can't they just have a meal without interruption? =) About 20 years ago, my wife was downtown (Winnipeg MB, yes I'm sure you've never heard of it heh) and spotted a blind man who looked a little turned about. Being the kind, caring soul that she is, she asked him if she could be of any help. He was looking for his hotel but got lost in our amazingly convoluted street system. So my wife walks him back to the hotel and says her goodbyes. At this point the man started chuckling and says "You don't know who I am, do you?" My wife of course has no idea and says so. "I'm Jeff Healey" (insert mandatory mental Peter Griffin "ROADHOUSE!" here). From what my wife has told me, I think he appreciated the fact that she helped him out because he needed a hand, not because he was famous. I always tell her I "hate" her for this story, since she didn't know who he was and I'm a HUGE fan of his music, but really I'm proud my wife is such a kind person. The point of that last story is this: You ever out and about (at home or travelling) and just enjoy not being recognized (if that happens), or appreciate the (sometimes) restrained fans who keep their adoration to a simple nod or thumbs up?

"Come along, Pond," - BRILLIANT! This kept me chuckling for quite awhile, thanks Wil.

Ok, so 2 things: 1 - gonna have to check those out, although I've played PvZ for PC and know I already love that =) 2 - WIL TALKED TO ME! I'm the luckiest girl in the worl--- wait....guy, luckiest GUY in the world *shifts around uncomfortably* *ahem* So, how bout them Dodgers? =)

“From a lizard to a bird in about 40 minutes,” I said. “Suck on that, evolution.” That wasn't just funny in your head Wil, had me just about tearing up I was laughing so hard. On a side note about living in The Future™, what's your favorite, must-have iPad app (not including social networking tools)?

Love reading about your Cal&D sessions, this one had me holding my breath so I wouldn't I wouldn't get the "why isn't he in a straight-jacket?"-look at work this morning. To quote Sheldon: "WHEEEEATOOOOON!" (if you're confused, that's an explosion of nerdrage). My group (like so many others I'm sure) has a hard time fitting in sessions around Real Life™, and as much I enjoy reading about yours, the green-horned Enchanted Bunny of Jealousy rears its fluffy little head. So despite my foibles, keep up the stories Wil, I'll keep laughing while I cry inside! heh

I hear you on the gaming Wil. Had a regular group for the past few years suddenly implode. Two of the guys had kids and just couldn't get away. We were on extended hiatus for over a year (during which time a 3rd guy had a kid). I'm past this stage myself. Like you, have 2 stepkids (my oldest just had a little girl 6 months ago and made me a 31 year old grampa yay!). So now that their new little bundles of insomnia are a little older we decided to get things rolling again. None too soon either, I had already passed from the itch to the twitch stage and beyond, quickly approaching the permanent thousand yard stare. Had our first session in early Dec, then couldn't get a working date (what with holidays and careers) for the 2nd session until last week. Was the most fun we I've had in years. The utter ridiculousness we bring out in each other just can't be beat!