My Friend Tom

I have a very dear friend .. his name is Tom Nowicki.

Now you might wonder why on earth I would post his name on a blog .. but it's perfectly fine. :)

You see .. he's an actor. And not just some fly-by-night one either .. he's actually been in some REALLY GOOD movies .. :)

Here are a couple of my favorite professional pictures of him. :)





And one of him that I cropped from a picture he sent me (I don't know that the other people in the pic want their faces splashed onto the internet O_O ) .. taken just after his roller-hockey team .. the Wolves .. had won their tournament. He was pretty happy about this .. btw. :D



He's been at this a long while now .. with guest spots on TV shows like 'Matlock', 'Walker Texas Ranger' and 'Dexter' .. and he starred in 'RollerJam' as the rather intense 'Kenneth Loge III' .. league commissioner hell bent to clean up the game and restore it to a 'former glory' .. that seemed to exist only in his mind. lololol :D

He performs .. as often as he can .. in plays in areas close to where he lives in Florida .. such as 'Proof' a couple of years ago .. in which he played the mathematician father, 'Robert' .. and .. more recently in 'A Number' .. in which he plays the father, 'Salter'.

He's been in dozens of movies, too. Along with the usual unnamed '5 (lines) or under' characters .. such as 'man with money' .. LOL .. that earlier careers are filled with .. he's also had some roles that had a bit more substance to them.

He played 'Lonnie Tombstone' in the movie 'The Punisher' (the picture on the IMDB site is of that character) .. 'Mr Rutherford' in the Disney movie 'Flash' .. and 'Coach Ed Henry' in 'Remember the Titans'.. to mention a few. Most recently he's starred in a horror film .. 'Hallows Point' .. as a resurrected serial killer .. O_O .. and in a beautiful film called 'Descansos'. He plays 'Ken' .. and is the fella' in the trailer with the longish blond/red hair. :)

I 'met' him nearly 10 years ago now .. writing a letter to him .. partly on behalf of a friend of mine with a fan website for the old sci-fi show 'Swamp Thing' .. in which Tom had guested in several episodes .. but also to tell him how much I enjoyed his work too. He had guested in 5 episodes of the one season series 'The Cape' as a Russian astronaut 'Andrei Mikoyan'. It was a good role and he played it very well .. in my somewhat biased opinion. ;)

We have become very good friends .. and have been writing ever since. And I mean 'writing' as in actual paper correspondence .. as he is a self professed 'technophobe' .. and doesn't even own a computer. Something about a strange inversion of the medusa effect .. turning him instantly to stone .. if he so much as glances sidelong at one .. O_o

He is also a dog lover and is a good 'daddy' to Shea .. the dog of his heart and the pup of his dreams. On top of acting .. he also has a clinic set up .. using hydrotherapy to help ailing and injured doggies recover .. or at the very least improve the quality of their lives. It is called 'Hip Dog' .. and it is a wonderful thing that he and his associates are doing to help animals recover and lead happier, more pain free, lives.

What had prompted me to write this here .. is that I recently got a great letter from him .. one that is in his usual funny, intelligent style .. and .. seeing as he's my friend .. I figured I would give him a good mention in this space of mine. He's a very nice person .. a gifted actor .. and he deserves the attention. :)

I've been thinking of starting a blog just for and about him .. but for now .. until I decide .. I'll update here on what he's doing from time to time .. cuz .. he deserves it. :)

Of New Things ...

We got that new age we've been promised for a while now. It's called Eder Delin .. sort of a perpetual twilight Eder Kemo .. and quite beautiful in it's own way.

It has a new, intriguing puzzle that I've been working at .. ooooohhhhhh .. I DO love my puzzles. :D

I've got the symbols sorted out .. which goes with what cloth .. but .. I've been disappointed to discover that it's NOT designed to do on my own .. leaving me robbed of getting that rush that only comes with getting the reward for figuring the puzzles out .. and earning that successful payoff. :(

Seems that a lot of others are disappointed too .. and I don't blame them. It's not that I don't mind working with others .. it's fun too .. in it's way .. but just not the same feeling of satisfaction I get from doing it ALL myself.

I spent a LONG time the first night .. with my Greeter friends .. helping to try to get the timing down for this thing .. what a royal pain .. btw. Me'thinks a few tweaks might be in order .. with dealing with the BUGS at the top of the list here. O_o We never got it .. at least not while I was there .. and we all worked hard and seemed a couple of the others were quite discouraged by it all.

The next night I joined them again .. determined to make it through the door .. and .. after a couple of more hours .. we made it !! A group of us made a beeline through .. before it slid back up and shut .. and got the 'donut half' as our reward .. O_o .. LOLOL

I went right back to that Delin and stuck around in case a few didn't make it .. which a couple didn't .. so we completed the puzzle a couple of more times and got a couple of other small groups through the door. Myself, I don't know about this .. I can see it being a HUGE problem getting a group together in a month or so .. maybe sooner even .. and lots of people NOT being able to do this puzzle. I really HOPE they make it doable by a single person. I LIKE doing my puzzles myself. Take that gear/power puzzle in Gahreesen for example .. sure .. it's a LOT faster and easier with someone standing on that pressure grid .. but .. it is still doable by timing your moves on and off of that same spot. I was elated .. when that quick pan up to watch the gears engage occurred .. after all my careful trips back and forth !! And even in Teledahn .. so easy to do that bucket ride with someone else there to flip the lever AFTER you climb in .. but still .. quite doable by yourself. :)

I've watched others getting trounced by those who like it 'their' way ingame .. screaming their defenses of the group way. But .. to be fair to everyone .. it shouldn't be an issue for this puzzle to be played either way. Those who like the group aspect .. I say 'have at it .. and have fun .. in *your* way' .. all I ask is that you say the same to those who would like to have a shot at it on their own. :)

We're all (mostly) grown ups here .. sure would be nice if we could all act that way .. and be supportive of each other here .. in this game we all love so much. It is the one thing that keeps me out of those forums .. except for a rare posting .. too many people far too happy to beat on anyone who has an opposing opinion. Now THAT 'fix' is one that is badly needed .. and one I'm behind 100 %. Because I'd like to see us ALL enjoying Uru .. the game AND the forums. I used to have a blast on the Ubi forums .. so many nice people .. all helpful and fun. It'd be nice to see that flourish in the Cyan forums now too. Here's hoping .. :)

About Those Petty Fissure Gods ..... O_o

You know .. I had the neatest thing happen last night .. :D

Every time I go into my Uru Live game .. as if performing some twisted avvie sacrifice .. I toss my avatar into the crevice in the middle of my relto island .. always with the dim hope that THIS time those petty fissure gods might be sleeping and let me make it to the desert. And always with the same result .. I take the 'long' way to my relto hut .. with this time being no different than usual.

I was on to check out a new 'sizzling shiny' thing they gave us .. that was to be found in Gahreesen. I went there and after investigating the arrival buildings hallways .. and finding nothing there .. realized that .. "Oh great .. I'll have to borrow someone elses Gahreesen to even GET to the main building". *cries* .. I've had 'issues' with my Gahreesen. But .. even beyond the gear/power room .. which I've had friends get going for me .. and who seem to have NO problems in my Gahreesen - btw .. my avvie has not been able to land on the (supposedly) solid pinnacle with the journey cloth on it .. falling through and panic linking out EVERY time I try it. That jump happens to be the ONLY route to make it to the main building. I decided .. that since I was already there .. ONE try wouldn't hurt .. as I'd have to leave to my relto anyway before I could make a visit to the Guild of Greeters hood .. asking one of my friends there to let me 'borrow' their Gahreesen for a bit. As I seem to have NO problems with others Gahreesen ages. O_o

I rode the elevator up .. enjoyed that moment of the beauty of Gahreesen that always hits me when I arrive up top .. then out to the end of the rotating ramp .. waiting for it to reach the rock .. jumped .. fully expecting to fall on through it .. as per usual .. and promptly landed solidly on it !! Oh .. she was ankle deep mind you .. but she was ON THE ROCK !!!! :D /dance I IMMEDIATELY touched the cloth there .. the easier to return when I needed to .. made the next jump to the other rotating platform and was on my way into the building .. found what I was looking for .. and linked back to my relto to have a peek. /cheer .. :D

After investigating the 'new and pretty' thing that the powers that be gave us .. I crashed out of the game. I relogged back in .. headed my avvie back for her 'long way' trip to her relto hut .. and threw her back into the fissure .. again .. as per usual. So .. it is with no small amount of SHOCK .. that .. after weeks of some pretty serious avvie abuse .. I wound up IN THE DESERT .. like I'm supposed to !! O_O

Well .. not quite .. AT FIRST .. I wound up back in my relto hut .. same as usual .. but .. THIS time .. AFTER arriving in the hut .. the screen suddenly faded to black .. and I started linking again. I figured it was the rare re-linking to the same place as happens from time to time. (I did mention this is Beta .. right ?? :D ) But I didn't link back to my relto hut .. I landed in the desert .. O_O .. and I FINISHED MY GAME !!!!! :D /moredancing .. /morecheering .. :D

I still can't believe it. O_o

I had reposted a help ticket .. in the hopes that there might be something they could do .. offer me hope that a fix was imminent .. but .. got the reply .. 'sorry you're getting discouraged .. we are working on it .. thanks for your patience' .. ticket closed. But even IF they sneaked a bit of help my way for the relto fissure .. that wouldn't explain how or why I made it to that rock pinnacle that I always fall through .. and I've been regularly trying that jump every time I go on too.

I've had some well-meaning friends 'suggest' it was my satellite connection .. but that night .. I was voice chatting with a friend on Yahoo (a resource hog like you cannot imagine !!) .. and had a bit torrent dribbling in in the background .. it was snowing and blowing with intermittent freezing rain .. AND my daughter was on her computer .. sharing the same signal .. with several bit torrents downloading .. while surfing and downloading a bunch of items for her Sims from various places on the web .. AND playing games on Pogo !! (Quite the multi-tasker that girl o' mine. LOL) There was NO WAY I seriously thought I'd make any of that with the signal eaten up by so many things .. IF indeed it even had ANYTHING to do with my satellite. Which I now do NOT believe it did.

I'm thinking that that shiny sparkly thing that now lives on one of my relto islands must have caught the eye of those petty fissure gods .. and while their attention was distracted from that pit .. I was able to make good my escape into the desert. It's the only thing that makes sense .. so I'll take it .. :D

I am now officially done my ages .. and am ready for the new garden age that we should be seeing soon. lol

At Last .. :D

You know .. I sorta' forgot about this .. shows how devoted I'll be to posting the inner workings of my mind for all the world to see. LOL

So .. let's play a little catch up here. :)

We had a great Christmas. I got some beautiful gifts .. from people who know what I love the most. My daughter went to my favorite antique china shop and got me a half a dozen beautiful pieces that shows that she knows her mama well. She has a good eye for the 'shiny' things that I love .. got me a crystal vase last year that is just the most beautiful thing .. and .. for a little special added touch .. filled it with gold wrapped expensive chocolates !! Only drawback is .. NOW .. I'll be needing a new china cabinet to display them in .. as the 2 buffet hutches that I have are now full to capacity .. LOL :D My best friend also gave me a miniature porcelain china tea set .. that sits on a matching porcelain tray .. just exquisite .. and also now needing a permanent home for display.

My favorite gift, though, was the loveliest set of earrings with matching necklace .. square cut rainbow topaz and set in gold .. VERY nice .. :D .. Also from someone who knows me well. :)

We also decided to have a go at satellite internet. Chose the second company that made it available in the area and had it installed right before Christmas. O_O .. oh WOW .. my first download with speeds over 200 kB/s ... I nearly fainted .. when it slid dangerously close to 300 kB/s .. I nearly wet myself .. lololol Pretty cool if .. prior to that .. you got excited when the speed strayed occasionally up over 3.0 kB/s . :D

Armed with this .. I decided to give GameTap a shot. HA .. I say 'decided' like I mulled it over for a week or something .. I was signed up 10 minutes after buddy the installer left the yard !! GameTap had no issue with my satellite broadband and was happy to accept my money. I downloaded and installed their client .. then .. downloaded and installed the Uru Live Beta client as well .. with not so much as a hiccup. And then .. I was IN !! :D .. Even got to be there as 'Cierdwyn' .. I had been a teensy bit worried that someone .. amongst the fast growing crowd .. might have snagged my name .. but they did not .. so I was a happy camper. MC also got signed up .. I set up a separate sub account for her .. and we've been in and out a bunch of times since then.

I even managed to get myself a super tricked out hood too .. without even trying .. :D I've got the clock .. the lanterns around the clock area .. and in the light garden .. a bunch of mushrooms in the light garden .. and the 'bud' shaped lights in my hood .. pretty nice !! :D And it will NOT let me make it public .. lolol .. oh .. well .. /shrug

There are a few new things .. but mostly it's the same old game I've done more times than I can remember. I used to joke that I'd run the cleft so many times that I was going to start wearing a blindfold just to make it challenging again .. but I would have missed a little new thing if I'd done that this time .. ;) It's even buggier then I remember too .. with me being unable to complete Gahreesen on my own .. some bug some people get that blocks them from accessing the gear room through the rotating crack .. NOT related to satellite broadband .. so they told me .. but you CAN work around it with the help of those with stable Gahreesens.

Unfortunately, I wound up with the relto fissure bug too at the end .. which has brought my game to a dead stop. I ticketed it all .. and was told they are ALL known bugs in their bug database .. and that they are 'working' on them. After nearly 2 weeks of fruitlessly pitching my avvie in the fissure .. only to have her wind up standing in her relto hut .. I even got ahold of an ingame ResEng .. who .. though VERY nice .. told me there was really nothing he could do .. but that they WERE working on the relto fix ASAP .. as even HE had the relto fissure too .. lolol So .. for now .. I just wait .. fingers crossed .. that they get a working fix for this .. or .. keep tossing the avvie in the hole .. with the hope that I catch the petty fissure gods asleep .. and I wind up in the desert where I have an appointment for tea with Yeesha. :D

There IS supposed to be a new mini age .. a garden age similar to Eder Kemo .. being released soon .. so that will be especially nice for those of us who have been around here for the past several years .. and I'm really looking forward to it. You know .. it's nice being back in Uru .. one that's alive with so many .. and .. even nicer to be running into friends from Until Uru .. and getting snippets of the storyline that is supposed to accompany it all. I hope to even be online when some of it's happening too .. :D

Myst Online: Uru Live KI # 475530 - Cierdwyn