Picture of the Day - Rainbow Over Lancaster, California

Hey there. Rainbows are awesome. Saw what you will... but whenever a rainbow appears, I make sure to catch a glimpse of it! This particular rainbow appeared over the skies of Lancaster, CA a few days ago and my wife managed to capture a full arc. Actually, this picture is of a double rainbow... but the second rainbow is very faint and kinda hard to make out. Another cool aspect about this picture is that the rainbow is the star of the show. There are no people, no buildings in the way, no nothing. Just the rainbow.

Picture of the Day - Orion

 

Hey there. I love space. I love the stars. I love the unknown. But you know what I don't love? That I haven't been able to capture a nice picture of the stars. Generally, when I attempt to take a pic with my camera or my phone, the stars disappear and I end up with a picture with nothing but the black void of space. But now... my brand new tripod has allowed me to keep my camera steady for longer exposure times, giving the opportunity to capture awesome pics like this one!

Picture of the Day - Starting Life in Another World

 

Hey there. I absolutely love Re:Zero. I am an anime only fan and I finally decided to change that and jump into the light novels to see where the story goes after the anime. My daughter picked up the first volume of Re:Zero for me on my birthday and I cracked it open for the first time this morning. I know... I know... I'm horrible. The thing is that I have been reading manga and books on my phone and it's a difficult to break the habit of reaching for my phone to read. Having to reach out for a book is starting to feel alien to me and I need re-train my brain to pick up a book to read.

Picture of the Day - Morning Haze

 

Hey there. This morning was a bit of an odd morning. I woke up before 7 am to catch the World Cup match between the US and the Netherlands and when I peeked out the window, I didn't see any haze. Within minutes, this dreary haze washed over the neighborhood and I had to get a picture of it. 

Picture of the Day - Sleeping Laptop

 

Hey there. Having young adult girls as daughters is a weird time. I tend to find some of their items scattered around the house from time to time but the one item that always gets me chuckling are eyelashes. I've found them in the weirdest of places: window sills, coffee tables, kitchen counters, and on the side of a bookshelf. lol Like... is it a girl thing to leave eye lashes just about anywhere? 

Introducing the Picture of the Day Series

I love taking pictures! Especially of the goofy variety!

Hey there. I've been on a bit of a sabbatical as of late. I haven't really been posting online, I haven't been active in podcasting, and I haven't been doing any type of writing. But you know what I have been doing?  I've been learning and have been taking pictures. You can see the evolution of some of the pictures that I have taken over the years here on this site, but I've been learning about taking photography to the next level. The majority of the pictures that I've taken before have been on the most basics of settings or on "Auto" mode. You know... of the just point and shoot variety. But I've been reading about Aperture, about ISO settings, about F stop, and about shutter speed. So... in an effort to keep that fire for photography burning, I'm going to start a new series of posts here. I'm going to call it... Picture of the Day. And it's going to be just that... a picture that I have taken that day. It may be mundane... it may be awesome... or it may just be an experimental pic that sucks. Either way... I want to post those pictures here to keep as a catalog that will capture any progress I make. Also, I'll write a little blurb about it. What I thought of the picture. Maybe even post the camera settings just for those that would like to replicate it. So that's enough of an intro... let's get into our first entry of the series!

To Draft or Not to Draft? That... is the Question

Started this article on Joe and Megalobox and I started thinking... 

Hey there. Quick question for all of you out there. If you post or write articles, how do you about doing it? Do you write a draft and then go over it many times before you write your final draft? Or do you write on the fly and essentially post your first draft? Late last night, I started writing an article for The Domain and started to wonder if I should change how I go about writing, or at the very least, tweak it a bit. For as long as I can remember, I rarely made any rough drafts. Need to write an essay for school? Just put down what comes to mind and submit. Get a short story going? Just start off with the main ideas and add in the details later. Rarely did I ever write something and then go back and make several changes to, "make it better." But maybe I should be... 

Writing for The Domain and Writing for Myself

Hey there. I wanted to check in with you guys real quick. I've been without my computer for some time (busted for quite some time) so I haven't been able to really write or post anything of substance. But I have my computer back now and I'm good to go! With that being said, I've been thinking of how I'm going to go about my writing going forward. If you've been following my work throughout the years, I'm sure you've noticed that I'm all over the place. The reason for that is because, I, myself, am all over the place. I am a jack of all trades, my interests are all over the place, and if something grabs my attention, I go with it. But I'm thinking I'm going to change that a bit... at least when it comes to what kind of content I post here. 

Stepping into the New Year with New Goals

Time to work on my craft!

Hey there, friends. It's been awhile since I last checked in with you. It's been a super hectic second half of 2021 for me. But I'm sure it's been the same for many of you. Covid is still wrecking havoc on a lot of our plans and we're all still trying to make life as normal as possible. The silver lining amongst the chaos is the opportunity to work from home. Not only does it offer me more time to spend with my family but it also offers me the opportunity to work on podcasting, reviewing, and expanding my horizons. With that opportunity now there, it's time to step up my game. Time to step up my podcasting goals, time to improve on my reviewing skills, and time to let the creativity flow. Today, I took in additional step to getting better.

Excellent Topwater Fishing Lures for the Fishing Enthusiast

The young man finally can fish on his own!

Hey there. This past year or so has been pretty hard to get out and about. Pandemic restrictions have really hampered what what kind of activities our family can partake in. One of the few activities that have not really be affected by restrictions is camping and fishing so I told myself, why not hit up Lake Cachuma for some camping and fishing. I was really looking forward to some fishing. Especially since our good friends at Hefulland provided me with some Topwater Fishing Lures to try out! 

Day in the Life of Softball, The Dragoncast, and Home Improvements

Perfect day to be out, catching a softball game!

Hey there. Looks like I'm going group the weekend into one post. I planned on doing daily posts but that just wasn't in the cards this weekend. Maybe this will be the norm, maybe this will be just a one time thing. Let's see how the weekend went down.

Day in the Life of the First Day of School, NBA Top Shot Cool Cats Pack Drop, and Softball

Nothing like a nice, cold beer to end your day.

Hey there friends. My day job kept me busy today, but that didn't mean I didn't have an eventful day. Let's get into it.

Day in the Life of Driving to Los Angeles, the Death of Buffets, and the Covid Vaccine

I'm tired, guys. I'm beginning to feel yesterday's jog. I'M SORE!!!

Hey there. There wasn't too much to talk about today. I spent about 3 and half hours of the day driving to and from work and didn't get much down time. But that doesn't mean I didn't have any thoughts and conversations. Let's get into it.

Day in the Life of XYO Token, NBA Top Shot, and Daily Fantasy Sports

Rockin' the mad scientist hair today. It's what happens when you spend most of the evening cleaning.

Hey there. Today we have a few topics to discuss. We have XYO and digital assets, NBA Top Shot, health, daily fantasy sports, and some spring cleaning. Let's get into it.

Starting the Day in the Life of... Series

Just a typical day at the computer. I swear... this is my home within my home. lol

Hey there. So we're going to attempt to get back into writing on the daily. I started this blog years ago as an outlet to put my thoughts in writing. So we're going to attempt to get back into that. Especially now that I'm sitting in front of a computer for most of the day. So what I'm going to do is start a blog series named, Day in the Life of... It's going to essentially be my personal highlights of my day. Will it be interesting? Who knows. At the very least, it'll get me to start writing and that's my goal. But I do want to make it clear that I do have a day job but I WILL NOT be posting about that on here. There's no need. No one wants to hear about the typical work day of a number cruncher. lol 

Happy New Year 2021

 

Hey there, friends. No New Year resolutions this year and no New Year wishes. Only hope. I hope that government officials can get it together and help slow down the spread of this Covid virus. I hope that the people of our nation can get it together and do what they can to help keep themselves, and others safe from sickness. I hope that those that have been severely affected by the virus can get help without having to jump through hoops. I hope that we can all get along better, without discrimination and segregation. We had a really shitty 2020. We lost great, influential people in 2020. We lost close friends and family in 2020. We lost some of our freedoms in 2020. Frankly, we lost a bit of our senses in 2020. But we managed... we survived... what will be known as a pretty crazy 2020 and I hope, that this year, is an exponentially better year than the last. Stay safe, friends. Later.

Back to Being Metallman

Oof... the worst is over now and I'm ready to take on the world!

Hey there, friends. It's been awhile, huh. I've been on and off the interwebs throughout the years. Recently, I went through surgery and had to deal with some complications. Hospitalized for a few days and what not. Scary stuff, especially now since this Covid 19 pandemic has turned our world upside down. Anyways, I wasn't in the right state of mind to write. I wasn't in the right state of mind to review. I've had a few posts here and there, but they are far and few in between. There was no consistency or motivation on part during that time. But that dark period is over now. I have a renewed sense of life and my motivation has been renewed. Overall, I just feel better about myself and about life. With that being said, I am back to being an online person. Back to being a podcaster (back on The DragonCast with Brian), back to reviewing, back to giving stuff away to my readers... back to being Metallman.

Serious Case of Writer's Block

Ugh...

Hey there.  I'm sorry, friends.  I've had one serious case of writer's block for like... the past year or so.  Like, seriously.  Somewhere around a full year where I have started many posts, went through the process of reviewing, jotted notes for thoughts on posts, but... I just couldn't finish the process.  It's been frustrating to say the least.  I've felt like I've had so much to say, but I couldn't get it down in blog post form.  Why?  No idea...  Even this post, I'm struggling to write down.  You see, I've always prided myself in being able to write with ease.  What I write is what I'm thinking and in essesnse, it's how I speak.  I don't give too much thought to my words, since I feel that it will take away from what makes my writing style unique.  So... does that mean that I've lost, "it". ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Metallman Hiatus is Now Over

"I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." - Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Hey there friends.  I've been away for awhile.  Not physically away... but mentally away.  I've taken the last couple of months to find myself.  I needed that time to recharge... to reconnect... to refocus.  You see, I'm a guy of ambition but I sometimes lack the motivation to get things done.  Well, let me rephrase.  It's not hat I lack motivation, it's that I have so much that I want done that I don't know where to start.  I have so many pending projects that some end up falling by the wayside.  In essence, I over extend, and to an extent, over exert myself.  I was mentally and physically burnt out... but now I feel ready.  I feel ready to take charge, I'm connected, and I'm laser focused.  I'm ready to take steps forward again.

I know I've been away from my website for quite some time and I wanted make this quick post just to let you guys know that I'm back at it.  I started drafting some reviews and I'm getting some giveaways lined up for you guys.  I'm sorry that I was gone for so long, and I know that I lost some of you along the way, but for those of you that stuck with me, thank you.  The hiatus is now over and Metallman is coming back at full force!  Later!

2016... The Year of Better Health

Doc... you sure I can't walk this off?

Hey there friends.  Let me start off by offering you all an apology.  I haven't been as active as I have hoped and I haven't been as prompt to reply to Emails as I would have liked.  I have plenty of reviews coming in the next few weeks and I'll have plenty of blog posts that are scheduled.  The reason for my lack of involvement has been my shift in focus.  This year... I plan to focus on my health and fitness.  Now... that doesn't mean that I'm going to ignore my online duty as an awesome reviewer and giverawayer of stuffs.  lol  It just means that I'm actually going to spend some time and take care of myself.  I promised my significant other that I'll finally get to it.  I've been one of those that would avoid doctors like the plague and just walk off whatever is ailing me, but there is something that I just couldn't walk off...