Here you go folks, pictures like I promised. I’m sorry they are a bit late, but it looks more like a game store. We had to wait until Monday to get the shelving for all of the board games, and I underestimated how much we needed. So, when we get the spare cash, more slat board and shelving.

Here are the pictures. As always, click on the picture for the full size picture.

So, that’s what the store looks like. It’s a couple hundred square feet smaller, but it’s all usable space, we don’t have the bathrooms sticking out in the middle, forcing us to not use a lot of space when it came to big tournaments.

I hope you approve, and I hope you come by and check us out!

The time has come, Gamerz Depot will be open come 5pm TODAY! I’m taking the day off to spend with family, so the mantle of the last finishing work goes to others. Which is good, because I was worn out and in pain last night. I hung the electric open sign, the notification board, and more like 70 feet of slat board, rather than the 100 feet I thought it would be. In no air conditioning. We didn’t get power until late afternoon. So, doing all of the stuff that I did, especially what I did by myself, had me drenched in sweat the whole day until the power came on.

The new store shelving (hopefully) comes today, and from now on our product will be put up on shelves, rather than on the floor.

I would like to thank all of the gamers who showed up yesterday and lent their backs and hands to help out. Without them, we couldn’t have made it to this point by last night.

Pictures will come Sunday, so look out for those.

Well, it’s almost complete. After two hard and sweaty days of packing, and a hard and sweaty day of moving, Gamerz Depot is completely in our new space. Now the only thing left is to setup and unpack. That will be the fun part. Today is “slat board day,” where I’m going to hang about 100 feet of slat board, all the way down the left side of the wall. Hanging that much of used slat board straight will be a real challenge. I also want to commend Greg, the owner for putting his real business on hold for three days while he waded through the Memphis bureaucracy getting us utilities, a business license and all of the other paperwork necessary for us to operate. It might sound like he had the easier job, but I’m not quite sure about that.

We should get our power today, so once the lights are on, everything will be copacetic. And cooler.

This has been a hard week, and the rest of the week isn’t looking any better. But with a bit of luck, and a lot of help, Gamerz Depot should be open tonight for Magic Constructed.

Come on by and check us out, and if you do show up, be prepared to be put to work!

Gamerz Depot is now located in the Hacks Cross Centre, 4205 Hacks Cross Rd, Suite 104, Memphis, TN 38125. This is on the West side of Hacks Cross, just South of the Bill Morris Parkway/385. We are behind Chow Time, right next to “Nuttin But Wings.” We hope to see you there!

Well, the air conditioner at Gamerz Depot has finally been “fixed.” They did a half assed job, with used equipment that is underpowered. It still gets hot in there when there’s more than five people in the store. Which is killing our business. Who wants to game in a hot store?

So, we are counting down to the move. There are a lot of things going on that I can’t talk about, but keep your fingers crossed that they all break the right way to make things smooth. I am hoping that the lease on the new space is signed on Tuesday. That gives me Monday to pack up and inventory the store, and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to unpack it. If I get the orders I need in for the fixtures I need and delivered by Thursday, I’ll be a happy camper. The bad news is I probably won’t get the order in until Tuesday, and delivered by Friday.

I have to wait until the painters and carpet cleaners to do their thing hopefully on Monday, then cut and hang a bunch of slat board. You see, the space used to house an HR Block office, and one wall is that atrocious green they use.

So, as always, I have a long way to go and not a lot of time to get there. Hopefully I will have some help this time.

I’m also beginning to get suspicious here. Every time I take a week off, I work harder on my days off than I do at my day job. I have got to stop doing this!

Well, I have to stop from time to time and remember to breathe. In. Out.

The lease for the new Gamerz Depot location is not signed as yet. But I been kept on the edge of my chair for the last three days. Depending on when we can get the numbers together that the new landlord likes, we are talking anywhere between this instant and Monday. The packers are primed for Saturday, the movers are set for Sunday, so this has got to happen soon. I have it set for me to take all of next week off, and I figure it will take that entire time to set up the store to my liking. So, either everything goes off smoothly and I get to work reasonable hours next week, or things get signed late and I work like a madman. Everything is an unknown at this moment, and if there is anything that bugs me more than this kind of situation, I can’t remember what it is. I’m a real detail oriented kind of guy. I live by my Gantt chart.

I am scheduled to see the property this afternoon, so I can start making mental plans on where to put what. The only view I have gotten to see as yet has been through the front windows. I want to see the storage room in the back and the bathroom. I need to step out the size of the bay and see how much of what we need.

I plan on getting all of this done during the day, then opening up in the afternoon and continue working. Now that we have more staff, we plan on opening earlier in the afternoon, hopefully to even catch the lunch crowd at the local eating establishments before or after they have eaten.

We have lots of plans for this new location. As soon as I have the exact address I’ll be sure to post it here and tell everybody I know. If you could do the same when you learn where we landed, I’d greatly appreciate that.

Well, I got in the store this past Wednesday, and I was hit by a blast of hot air when I opened the door. The temperature indicator on the thermostat was pegged above 95 degrees. So I closed up the store early with a Store closed, AC dead sign, and headed back to my air-conditioned car. Friday wasnt too much better, we held a Magic tournament, but I escaped early because I had to be at the store at 8am Saturday for the AC repairman.

Saturday morning came, and the repairman put a firecracker capacitor on the AC to jumpstart it, but the compressor just sat there. So the repairman declared the AC dead, and drove off.

So, for the Flames of War tournament we all sat there in the heat, sweating all day. I took next to last place. But thats another post.

Sunday, we looked at some locations around the 385/Hacks Cross neighborhood. We found a bay in a small strip mall that used to be an HR Block office. That address seems to have the most consensus.

So, by the end of the month Gamerz Depot will have a new address in Tennessee, and hopefully a lot more traffic. There are several eating establishments in the same parking lot, and a couple of other places where we might be able to cultivate more customers.

So yours truly will be extremely busy in about two weeks tearing down, moving and setting up the store at the new location. We have until the end of the month to set up the new lease and move. Not a lot of time to do things in. But we should be able to get things done by then.

Here you go. The Tax Tsunami On The Horizon.

Your taxes are going to go up because the President wants to spread the wealth around. In other words, the government is going to take away what you have earned and give it to someone who hasn’t earned it. You can read the article for the particulars about what the tax rates are going to do, and the return of the Death Tax, and so on.

Why would someone want to take away your hard earned money? Because he thinks you stole it from the poor. Instead of helping to poor with a hand up instead of a hand out, he exercises control over the lowest part of the economic ladder. He cuts the rungs out of the ladder so they can’t advance, thus keeping them on the dole, barely subsisting and dependent on the government for their very existence. The only thing spoon-feeding teaches is the shape of the spoon.

So, by letting the Bush tax cuts expire, our taxes will go up starting January 1, 2011. If you have a rich relative almost dead at the end of the year, you better hope they pass before midnight or their estate will be subject to a 55% death tax on estates over $1 million. If someone leaves a farm to you next year, you’ll have to sell it to pay the tax on the estate bill.

I heard a remark from my Congressman this morning on my way into the store, “Tax cuts should be targeted and temporary.”

Nevermind the facts that when you cut taxes, economic growth goes through the roof. But you see, those in power at the moment don’t want that, except for themselves. They would rather see the economy limp along, nobody getting rich and everybody one step away from economic ruin.

Vote the bastards out this November. That includes both parties. Vote someone new in, someone who understands that the government derives its power from the consent of the governed. Don’t vote for someone who thinks they know better than you.

I cant believe that July is almost done, and I havent made a single post. Well, the reason is Ive been going until I drop, getting up before Ive had a full nights sleep, and going at it again.

I dont know how long I can keep this up. Even my beautiful wife was grumbling that she doesnt see me anymore. Hell, *I* dont see me anymore. Im way behind on a lot of things, simply because I spend so much time at the store, plus the day job. Practically all I have is Sunday and Monday evening to do house and family stuff. Not a lot of time left for me.

I think Im going to take some time off from everything. Maybe spend some time painting and going to bed early. I just have to find the time that I can do it. Im a cornerstone at the store, and Im starting to get groomed for stuff at the lodge. Breaking commitments is hard, but I have to start saying no at some point.

Wish me luck.

Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry, that you can easily find more information about anywhere on the Web.

Well, my beautiful Hawaiian wife asked me if there was such a thing as redneck haiku. Having written a couple some 20+ years ago, I immediately proceeded to assail her with the two that I remembered. After recovering from the initial shock, she asked me to write some more.

Here you go. Enjoy!

Ducks overhead
Shotguns raised on high
Plum blossoms fall

Youre pretty
Six shots, four beers
Its closing time

Wide river rages
Going to jump it on ATV
Hold my beer

Untimely death
Cause was being stupid
Alcohol was involved

No! Stop! Wait!
Overflowing tube top
Thats your cousin

Strippers all night
My money is gone
Lets have breakfast

Ive mentioned in one post before that I am following my fathers, grandfathers, and at least one great-grandfathers footsteps by becoming a Freemason. I started the process in January and finally completed the basic process in March.

Between each of the three degrees I was required to learn a recite a lecture describing the degree I had gone through. The third degree lecture was optional, but necessary to visit other Lodges where they don’t know you and no one can vouch for you. These lectures are not written down and must be learned from mouth to ear.

When I received my Master Mason, one of the things I was awarded was a book of the rituals of Freemasonry in Tennessee, each state being different. I have had my nose in this book ever since. Now, after three months, I am ready to tackle a small part of a degree work. Bigger than some, smaller than others. Im memorizing three paragraphs of lecturing, and starting to realize what I have gotten into.

Freemasonry is a men’s fraternity that is united in the belief that there is a Supreme Being. Who that is is up to each person. The brother who sponsored me in is a Pagan, so you can see how open we are.

One thing I have found is that you get out of it what you put into it. Learning the parts of degree work, mentoring those who aren’t Master Masons yet, and just the fellowship gives me an enormous emotional boost after visiting the Lodge. In each of the degrees, I have sworn to many things, mainly to support other Masons wherever I may find them.

If you want to know more, let me know and I’ll see what I can’t do.

The time for rescuing our country is quickly closing. Our debt is climbing at a hundred thousand dollars every 3.5 seconds, the load is, as I write this, per citizen is $42,328. And its going up by a dollar every 40 minutes. Thats $36 a day every citizen is owing that much in their fair share of the national debt.

We dont have a Liberal President, he is an unabashed Socialist. He has openly acclaimed his distain for private business, and favors taxing the rich until they are rich no more. If you and your spouse are making $50,000+ each per year, guess what? Youre rich.

Our illustrious President is an integral part of the corrupt Chicago political machine, where union thugs are used to enforce the will of those in charge, namely President Obama. But you have to wonder, whos on the other end of his Blackberry? Obama fought hard to keep it, and as the most powerful man in the world, you dont need email, you have dozens of staffers doing mundane tasks as that. Unless you want to keep the man behind the curtain back there. President Obama is communicating with somebody, and it is likely outside of a .gov email address.

The expansion of Federal (and personal Presidential) power is growing by leaps and bounds, all be Executive order, or by union force. Obama has taken over personal control of the banking industry, the auto industry, and the health care industry. Unless he is stopped, he will have enforced massive and detailed governmental control over every large industry on American soil.

Remember these things when it comes Election Day. Everyone says Throw the bums out! except for their Congressman, hes okay. If he voted for the bailout(s) and the health care bill, hes not okay, he needs to go, and your vote, when applied to his opposing candidate, counts towards getting rid of him. Dont sit home and think everyone else will vote him out, YOU HAVE TO.

Remember what Conservatives stand for. Smaller government, Cutting Federal spending. Having a surplus, not deficit. Paying off, not expanding the debt. Lower taxes. Helping those who cannot help themselves. Giving a hand up, not a hand out to those who can help themselves.

These are not mutually exclusive things. Lower taxes means more economic growth, which results in more tax revenues, not less. With cutting spending, increased tax revenues mans we can start paying off our debt. Helping those who are disabled is Gods work, and is a necessary duty of government. It is understood there is times when a family or a citizen falls on hard times and cannot support themselves. This is when a hand up should be offered. Retraining, or other temporary help is dictated at this point. However, those who existing for years on food stamps or give birth to child after child to increase income from the government do not deserve this help.

For those of you who might think Im a hypocrite, Let me explain a few things. I became disabled in January 1999. And I remained on that disability until December 2008. That disability money went to my family because I could not support them. I was working, part time the first moment I could. I worked continuously from that point until I was able to be hired at a job that paid enough so that I could support myself and my family. Thats when my disability stopped. This is the definition of a hand up, not a hand out. I did not sit on my butt waiting for the Welfare check to come, I was out there humping it as best I could, every second I could.

Some people, due to their mental illness, developmental disability or physical disability will never be able to work. Those who will never be able to work deserve help. Those who can work, but who are illiterate because they chose to be by dropping out of school to join a gang, or have a baby, they need to live with the consequences of their actions.

As an additional disclosure, when I bought my home, I took part in that $8,000 first time home buyers program. This is another instance of a hand up, not hand out. I would have bought this home without that tax credit, but it enabled me to purchase better appliances, and hold on to more savings for those expenses that a homeowner inevitably has. I did not buy a home that I could not reasonably afford, on a note that Im paying off early. I have been a good steward of the money entrusted to me by the government.

Back to our original point. There are hands up, and there are hands out. Know the difference.

Cutting the budget back is going to hurt everybody. It will quite possibly cause a lot of chaos for a period of time. But when we, as a people, come out of that time realizing that we have been living on credit cards for too long, we will be a stronger country.

The first step is we have to get rid of the entitlement mentality. We have to restore a sense of the rugged individualism that this country was founded upon. Once we get on that road, we will be moving toward greatness again.

I have told my son multiple times, when faced with a decision, the hard choice is the right choice at least 99% of the time. We have taken the easy choice for far too long.

Cowboy up, America.

I just got the protective case for the iPad yesterday. I ordered it back about 3 weeks ago, it took this long to make it in China and ship it to me FedEx. It actually showed up a week early, so I was happy about that. Like the iPad, there were no instructions, other than a picture on how to slide the iPad into its case and tuck the little flap behind it.

The case is very minimalist. It has a tab on the back where you tuck the cover into, and that provides an angled iPad, making it easier to see and type on the on-screen keyboard. It will also flip almost straight up so you can use the Bluetooth keyboard and/or view movies. My only complaint is the fact that the Home button is on the left instead of the right when you use the on-screen keyboard. But, if you use it upright, the Home button is on the right.

Simple, direct, intuitive, like most Apple products. I like it. The only question is how many flip arounds the case can take before failing. Ill let you know in 30-60 days.

The Apple wireless keyboard is another piece of Apple technology that I have acquired for the iPad. It uses Bluetooth to communicate with the iPad, and it is also very minimalist. It did come with an instruction manual, but I just tossed that aside and hooked it up. I turned Bluetooth on in the iPad, hit the power button on the right side of the keyboard, and selected the keyboard when the iPad detected it. It then performed flawlessly. It comes with its first load of batteries already in the keyboard (2x AA) so that tells you the keyboard shuts off automatically when no one is pressing the keys. Once Ive gone through a couple sets of batteries, Ill be able to know how long they last.

Between the base model, accessories, books and apps, I have spent close to $700 on this thing. Its still a deal. It does everything a laptop would, with some additional functionality that a laptop cannot do. I have already described the mild shortcomings of this machine, so there is no reason to go into it again.

The main thing is, I am productive and having fun while doing it. Thats the first and second criteria. I am productive, so I get things done. I am having fun while doing it, which means I will use it more than if I was productive and hated it. Thats what counts.

I spent this past week on vacation from my daytime job. Just because, however, I took time off from the job does not mean that I actually took some time off and did nothing, or took a vacation somewhere.

I spent this past week, delivering my son to a class, the dentist (twice!) and the doctor for a physical. Then my wife wanted to go plant shopping. In the week leading up to this vacation, I developed (and downloaded an iPad app) a to-do list of things that I wanted to get done. Things like clean and organize my office, clean out the garage and things like that.

I am proud to say that I managed to complete 24 of 31 items. That was no small feat. That averaged out to five items a day. And I still have Sunday to knock out another one or two items. The rest will have to wait for Monday nights and Sundays, as those are the only times I am home and not asleep.

So, I am back off to work Monday morning. I’m looking forward to the rest.

I am more and more amazed with this device every day. The iPad fills the bill. If you have a laptop, or if you have need of using a thumb drive/CD/DVD on the road, this is not for you. If you want mobile computing that turns on and off like a light, then this is for you. I prefer this to my company laptop when it comes to personal computing. I dont have to wait for Windoze to boot up, or shut down when Im done.

The question of to 3G or not to 3G is one based on circumstances. If you can jump from Wi-Fi hot spot when you need Internet, then you dont need it. If you cant find hotspots, then you might want to consider 3G, if you can afford the extra cost and monthly data plan.

The phrase theres an app for that is very true. Of the 95% of the things I need this to do, I have found an application that fills the bill. I even bought the Bluetooth keyboard, and the only gripe I have with it is the special things like hitting Space twice to get a period only works with the on-board keyboard.

My final words on this: Two Thumbs Up. If you are thinking about mobile computing, and you dont need stuff like mentioned above, get this device. You wont regret it.

Well, I just discovered that there is a WordPress App for the iPad. It allows me to post directly into the blog, without going through the normal web interface. This is just a test to see how it works.