Well tonight i got the call and we talked for like an hour. Seems like a pretty cool guy, we are gonna meet sometime in the next couple of days.

PS3? Don't like the shape, but I do like the finish.

OK here we go. So yesterday evening I am at work and a guy I knew from highschool (Josh Long) walks up and asks if he can talk to me for a second. I thinking he had a complaint said, Yes. He said, "I know this probably isn't the right time but there is something I need to tell you. Do you know you have a brother? And I am thinking, uh, yeah Rob, and I say, "What are you talking about?" He said, "Your dad has a son named Brian who's 31 (3 years older than me) and he lives here in Astoria." So by this time I don't know what to think, is he high? is he confusing me with someone else? what the fuck is going on here?

He goes on to tell me that my real dad had a son with this woman (Cindy) before I was born. She broke up with my dad and then she hooked up with this guy named Al, who takes the boy as his own, and they never tell Brian that Al isn't really his dad. Then when Brian is 16 he has doubts about his dad being his dad, considering he looks nothing like his father, and decides to go through his parents yearbook. There he finds a picture of a guy named Mike Sims (my dad) who he looks just like. He confronts his parents and they tell him the truth and then Brian decides he wants to meet my dad and his family, and he does. So 15 years ago he met my Grandpa Sims and both my uncles on my dad's side, but for what ever reason, it didn't go well or whatever and they never really had a relationship after that. And supposedly he really wanted to meet me, but my mom didn't think it was a good idea considering my dad and I already had a strained relationship and all.

So he tells me that it just clicked a while back when he read my last name on my name tag, and it donned on him how much Brian and I looked alike. He said he had told Brian he should get to know me cause I was a good guy and all. He then asked if I wanted to meet Brian on Thursday during their weekly Poker night where they play texas hold 'em at the Moose Lodge. So I tell him sure, not really thinking and still kind of being in shock. He tells me that he will call me if Brian is weirded out about it and I told him if Brian was uncomfortable just let me know and we could cancel it.

So now I am damn upset, and am in shock. I didn't even know what to think. So I get off work and call my mom and ask if she knew I had an older brother. She tells me that she knew, and that she thought I knew. She assumed that my Grandpa and my Dad had told me and that she had never asked me about it because she figured I just didn't want to talk about it. So apparently damn near everyone in my family has known that I had another brother for the last 15 years and didn't tell me. How messed up is that, I am 28 years old for gods sake, it is not like I am a child who couldn't cope with something like this.

So my Step Dad and mom tell me that my dad and this Cindy woman dated for 2 or 3 years and that she broke up with him when my Dad was like 18 or 19 after getting pregnant, and they don't believe she ever told my dad that she was pregnant or for that matter that the baby was his. So he apparently found out 15 years ago when Brian came looking.

So last night, I am going through the gambit of emotions, trying to figure out how I feel about this, and how I feel about meeting this guy. Does he want to meet me? And then I think, do I really want to spend 3 hours with total strangers playing poker. Especially if I don't like the guy. So I talk to a friend at work, and she tells me that he went to school at Knappa High, and that he served in Iraq. She says, "Now that I think about it, he does look just like you only he is bigger, he even has the same hair cut. And I think he was in the store yesterday while you were working."

So I am guessing he probably already knew who I was and just never wanted to make anything of it. Then this evening I got a message from Josh to call him so I am assuming that Brian is pissed that he told me and wants to call it off. How am I supposed to feel right now? I am so many things right at this moment, confused, pissed, sad, just plain fucked up.... Who the hell wakes up one day when he is 28 goes to work and finds out from an almost total stranger that he has an older brother? What the fuck?

So I called Josh back and got voice mail, and I basically told him that I really didn't feel comfortable meeting Brian this way but that I would like to get to know him just maybe in a different setting and to let Brian know he could get ahold of me if he wants to. I think I want to meet him and see what he is like, but part of me doesn't, and I am not really sure why. We will have to wait and see.

Halo 2 expansion? God knows the ending left it wide open for some type of sequel, and this was posted to an official microsoft site. Who knows, but I would be damn hard pressed not to download it. Makes a lot of sense.

God Damn this is good NIN. Click the link to take you to a quicktime video of "The Hand That Feeds" off the upcoming album "With Teeth" perfomed in the studio. It's large, so it may take a while to load. Wait for it.

I was always a fan of Sonic in my Sega Genesis, Saturn days, but haven't played since. Not sure about this one though. Shadow the Hedgehog, looks like Sega is trying to be dark, not very successfully though. Download the trailer from the article.

I thought this was a pretty interesting interview of former President George Bush on his experiences with former President Bill Clinton on their Tsunami trip. Clinton slept on the floor so Bush Sr. could have the bed. How sweet is that? I probably would have made him sleep on the floor.

Here is an interesting article about Xbox 2 (or Xenon, XboxNext, Xbox360, XboxHD, or whatever you wanna call it) and it's specs per the Game Developers Conference this week. I think the mandatory Live enable, high definition, and Surround 5.1, are good ideas that will force the game makers to push the envelope with new games. The best feature on the new system in my opinion is the mandatory user created soundtrack option. I can't tell you how much it improves the gameplay experience to play your own songs. And I think it is great that it will play mp3s on the new box. I don't know what I think about the camera though. I will have to wait and see on that one. All in all pretty cool stuff to look forward to. Yet, I almost wish they had waited another year before releasing new systems. I think xbox was just starting to hit its stride, and we are just now seeing some of the best games the system has produced and what the system is capable of with games like Riddick, Doom 3 and Halo 2. But you know I will probably end up being one of the first people to go out and get one, seeing as I am an xbox freak.

Best WWII Shooter ever? Gamespy thinks so, 1up.com thinks so, and so does Teamxbox , IGN says it is the best shooter on xbox. Could they all be right? Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 very well could be. I bought it yesterday, and I have only played a couple of hours, but I am damn impressed so far.

"Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 puts you in the boots of a 101st Airborne squad leader in the most authentic WWII shooter ever, earning endorsements from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Foundation and the Patton Museum. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is based on the true story of the famous paratroopers who led the D-Day invasion and will immerse gamers in the gritty, uncensored and emotionally-charged side of war." - Xbox365.com

From the opening scene you know this game is serious, and not something you play in front of the kids, that's for sure. If you don't like profanity, this game is not for you. If you don't like blood, this game is not for you. It is by far the most realistic war shooter I have played yet. Check it out.

And for the Star Wars junkies out there, go rent or buy Star Wars Republic Commandos. It is a lot of fun, and I can't stop playing it. Though keep in mind, this is not a realistic FPS, but it is extremely true to the Star Wars universe. And hell of a good time playing it (single player that is, I haven't tried online yet.)

Sick as all hell.
Well I finally got whatever it is that has been going around. And I now feel like death. I am so sick that I think I am gonna call in sick tomorrow for the first time in like 8 years. I worked most of the day yesterday putting in more wiring for my father in laws new house, then I went to work at Safeway last night at 7:30pm I left work this morning around 8:00am and slept all day. In other news, I watched Shaun of the dead yesterday morning, and it was funny as hell for the first 3/4ths of the movie, then it got a little sad. But all in all a very good flick. I also went and saw Constantine, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a damn cool premise, and I love religious movie shit anyway, which is funny since I don't buy into the whole god and satan thing. Have to admit the guy who played Satan, played the russian cosmonaut in armageddon, was fucking hilarious. Definately one to go see. Oh and as you already probably know, my mp3 deck in my truck broke last december, and so I couldn't stand it any longer and I bought a adapter for my ipod. It is pretty cool, you plug it in to the cigarette lighter, it holds the ipod in a holster and charges it while it plays, which is nice. And the coolest part is that it broadcasts to any open FM frequency. You just pick the chanel you want to use on your stereo, and put the adapter on that chanel and it plays cd quality sound. It is damn cool. Now if only I had a real deck other than the stock deck, it would sound a hell of a lot better. Anyway, I am gonna go fall into bed now.