Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on August 2nd, 2023 in Main 
For Susan’s fiftieth birthday I wanted to get her something she would love and didn’t already have. I decided to go with a 1,000+ pound poolside chair, sometime I was sure she didn’t already have. Over the past 30 years Susan and I have visited all fifty states together, and along the way we’ve seen an awful lot of interesting and unique roadside attractions. We’ve seen a silo painted like a gigantic can of Coca-Cola, a 20′ tall Transformer statue made from scrap automotive parts, and even the Biggest Ball of Twine in Nebraska (long story), but nothing gets Susan… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on December 26th, 2021 in Main 
In 2020 I wrote the fewest amount of blog posts I’ve ever written since I began blogging more than two decades ago. In 2021 I wrote even less than that. When you stop leaving the house and going to work, it’s hard to find things to write about on a regular basis. The COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, and we spent the majority of that year hunkered down in place. In March/April of 2021, Susan and I were able to get vaccinated, and the kids got their shots a couple of months after that. Being vaccinated while wearing… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on June 19th, 2021 in Main 
When work began on the pool back in January, the contractor we hired told us we would be swimming by the end of March. By the beginning of June, all we had was a concrete hole in our backyard and a bunch of disconnected pool equipment. The contractor that built my workshop gave me an estimate of four months; it took eight to complete. The pool guys gave us an estimate of three months; it took six. The next time a contractor gives me an estimate I will immediately double it before taking blood pressure pills. The pool’s delay was… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on June 11th, 2021 in Main 
Vacation! Thursday morning, Susan and I hopped in the car and headed east. We’re headed to Florida, but decided to split one long of day of driving into… well, two long days of driving. We’ve been waiting on the liner for our swimming pool to be delivered since March. The liner’s arrival kicks off a week’s worth of activity that culminates in the completion of the pool. Like clockwork, the liner arrived the day before our vacation began. We will have a steady stream of workers finishing up the pool while we are away. Between that, the electrician running the… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on April 19th, 2018 in Arcades/Arcade Games 
In 2013, I traveled to Denver, Colorado to attend the Kong Off 3, an officially sanctioned national Donkey Kong tournament. That weekend I got to see some of the world’s greatest Donkey Kong players play live in person, people like Hank Chien, Steve Wiebe, and Robbie Lakeman. Of everyone there, the person I was most excited to see play was Billy Mitchell. At least in video game circles, Billy Mitchell became a household name after the release of the 2007 documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. The film follows two gamers, Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe, on… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on August 19th, 2015 in MainI’ve never had more trouble writing a single blog post than I’ve had writing this one. In the dozen or so openings I’ve scrapped so far I’ve compared my relationship with my wife to the ebb and flow of the ocean, two symbiotic fish, and, in one particularly dorky attempt, two celestial bodies orbiting one another. Yes. I tried comparing my marriage to a couple of meteors. According to Susan, she knew the two of us were going to get married the first time our paths crossed in seventh grade. I, on the other hand, still wasn’t sure we were… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on December 30th, 2014 in MainPeople have said that the O’Haras are not happy unless they are busy. If that’s the case, our family stayed pretty happy in 2014. We did lots of things, went lots of places, and saw lots of stuff. Mason and Morgan turned thirteen and nine, while Susan and I both turned 41. Last year we took four vacations: two long ones to California and Florida and two shorter ones to Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado. I’m now down to about five states I haven’t visited. I ate so much good food this year. I ate shrimp and crayfish grits in… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on September 19th, 2014 in MainI don’t remember what I ate last night before bed, but whatever it was, I need to eat more of it. Last night I had a bizarre dream. Last night I dreamed that Eddie Van Halen was having a meet and greet in the back of a restaurant in Florida. MTV had held a contest where people had to submit their dream vacation and in my entry I said I wanted to go on a cruise with Eddie Van Halen to Fiji and that I would write and blog about our adventures. MTV was announcing the winner at the meet… (read more)
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