Sounds like you had a blast Wil. My daughter started school on Tuesday last week, 1st grade. She is wholly enjoying it....

I dread when she decides that school is not fun anymore.

I am a first time poster here, been reading your blog since I found it only 2 months ago. I am loving it. Keep up the great work!

Hi Wil
I know I can hardly believe I am the mother of a 10th grader too! I am fairly young for that as well at 34. I love reading your blog! I have been a fan of yours since SBM and my son and I loved watching you on TNG. He had all the action figures and when he was little, he had this cute trick of mimicking all the characters hands. For instance, you would say "Do Capt Picard" and he would put his index finger and second finger together on his right hand (as in "engage"). It was really funny. He could do all the figures but that is the only one I remember!
I love being a Geek

Hah! You're getting OLD, Wil! I remember being in 10th grade ... and now that I think about it, that was in '94. Great. Now *I* feel old!

I'm going to go sulk now.

Can't wait to hear the poker story Wil, you always make those hands sound great. I had a similar great poker weekend, although my favorite hand was one I lost, which can be found here, Second Nuts

*laughs* wait until collage! only a few years away!!!!

It sounds like you had fun Don't freak out but soon he will be learning how to drive and Then Freak out.

Dictionary.com sez:

octogenarian: n. A person between 80 and 90 years of age

If you like grilling, you should check out Steven Raichlen and his BBQ Blog. He's got a great show on PBS and he really knows his stuff. He's got about 1000 different "$beverage Can Chicken" recipes including Ice Tea Can Chicken. I used to hate grilling until I saw him. His book "How to Grill" taught me everything I know and now I'm a Grillin' Masta.

And I always use charcoal, none of that gas crap.

I kicked butt last Wednesday in 4/8 at our local card club. Next month, Vegas baybee and the Bellagio Poker room.

My mom bought me Bobby Flay's "Boy Meets Grill" book and he (surprisingly) prefers gas. I am a huge pile of suck when it comes to cooking, but even I have been able to pull off a few successes by following his lead.

Otherwise, Robert, he didn't say that the waitress was an octogenarian. Or am I missing your point?

Rock on, Wil! Glad that you guys are having so much fun. I've been reading JAG and am taking great delight in seeing a real person, a real geek, make good. Take care.

"but this time something went horribly wrong, and when I opened the grill to turn the bird around, there was fire shooting out its ass, and smoke shooting out its head!"

I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing!!! SUPER BEERCAN CHICKEN OF DEATH!!!! LOL

Goodfellas is awesome... I haven't seen it in aaaaaaaaaages. Hmm... maybe its time to rent some movies. :o)

Sounds like one hell of a great weekend Wil...I'm a tad jealous. Swimming!! 100 degree weather!! Argh! I want that!! heehee I'm not a parent...but in a small way I feel your pain about Nolan entering Grade Nine. I'm an aunt to 6 awesome and brilliant nieces and nephews. Today my 13 year old niece, a young lady I helped my parents raise, entered Grade eight. Grade eight!!! I mean wasn't it just yesterday that she was standing in her play pen, clad only in diaper, saying "Tanty I want Noke (milk)"?!!??! Yeah...I'm not taking it too well. hehehe Why do they have to grow up so damned fast?? I'm not a parent and I'm going insane with this!! ACK! I think I need a Guiness...

I really wish you would have taken a picture of the charred chicken. That would have made an awesome addition to the photo blog. I could tell my wife "Come check out Wil Wheaton's flaming chicken!"

Last time I was out in LA, my buds and I hit Canter's, and yea, verily: it doth rock.

The wife and I are hoping to get out to LA in late October, and we're definitely gonna stop.

CU

I'm a sucker for summer family stories. It makes me all happy and stuff. Ryan's in tenth grade...like me. *giggles like a fangirl* I have a wireless thermometer and it is fun...but my mom says I'm off my mind. It's fun!

Wil,

Good luck with the 10th grader. If you need anyhelp let me know.iam in 10th too.

email: cody_harrell2000@yahoo.com

I have a question. if I want something signed how to I go about getting that done? There are never any conventions where i live soo I can go there and see you personaly... I live in Tallahasse Florida. well ttyl bye

cody

Wil,

Sounds like you had a great grilling adventure! Amazing how something can appear to turn out so wrong only to be SOOO right! Been there, done that.

Have fun with your son....as someone else pointed out, soon the driving begins (if it hasn't already) and then WATCH out! I'm sure he'll have a great teacher and be just fine. Ahhh parenthood! I may not be among that group, but I have a 14 yr old nephew that will be looking to me for driving assistence and possibly a car. Of course finding one he will fit in may be a challenge..he's already 6'3"!

Sounds like a fun weekend...

Hey, I just opened up 'Just a Geek' and saw the Neil Gaiman wrote your forward. Holy, crap! That's sooooooo cool.

Hehehe...that chicken story is just what I needed to cheer me up. Thanks. :) Glad you had a great weekend.

"wiffle ball"??

I'm the mother of an tenth grader too, and I'm also old enough to be your mother, too, Wil! Sigh. My daughter is several years younger than you, and we kept waiting for her brother and figured that he was a no show. Then we moved to another state -- and bam! Finally got pregnant again. Just remember -- parenthood is a state of mind. Though first you have to find your mind. When I find my mind -- I'll let you know.
Yeah for autumn -- the best season of the year!

Hey Wil...

Are you sure it wasnt a Phoenix you were grilling by mistake?

/I'll go away now

Not only can I not believe that I'm now the mother of a kindergartener (thank God for all day kindergarten) and a first grader, but I cannot believe that I'm actually a freshman in college. With the kids gone now all day, I've decided to go to college after an 18 year absence from school. Think I'll need a note?

POKER! I want to hear the story soon.. don't leave us hangin!

LOL @ the Christmas Vacation beerchicken :P

104!...whoa!...i i think it topped out around 78 in my part of southtern illinois today...pity on you when you have to step outside...

Dude, I got you beat. My stepson is in 11th grade and started driving last week. I remember when he was 8 and obsessed with fart jokes. Now HE'S driving and about to go to college, and I'M obsessed with fart jokes. Time, you play such horrible games with us.

LOL that chicken story is pretty funny. And Goodfellas is an awesome movie. (Ray Liotta is hot. Hehe.) And you know what else? My sister is in tenth grade too. We both started school in mid-August (but we've been out since Friday because of the hurricane. Hopefully we'll go back tomorrow). Anyway, it sounds like you had a good weekend. Take care!

-Vanessa Nichole

im the mother of a 10th, 9th and an 8th grader!! lawdie lawdie someone pray for me hehe

sounds like ya had a wonderful weekend Wil, and all i can say right now is...ohhh the joys of raising TEENS >:o)~

Wil,

Congratulations on getting A/C, finally. The blackened chicken could have been improved with a little pork and beans with pineapple.

Freeman :)

Dude. Have I been reading your site for that long?? They were babies 2 weeks ago.

You say "It was over 100 all weekend" like that is super hot or something. I am from the sticks in the middle of Australia where we average around 105 degrees in summer and get up to 115 degrees when it starts to bake. Suddenly makes 100 seem like a cool breeze doesn't it?

Anyway dude, glad you had a good weekend, I am going to start my second "sitting" of JAG today and hopefully finish it off. So far, SOOOOO good! :)

Hey, wait a sec, if you're on your game, I am *NOT* playing against you next month. I don't make enough money to risk losing it to a shark like you.

I think, looking back, that 10th grade was my favorite year of high school. I was just starting to really come out of my shell, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. (And it was the first time a teacher insisted on calling me "Andrew" rather than "Andy" . . . and I discovered I liked *that*, too.)

Reading about what you did to that poor chicken reminded me of a similar bbq flare up I had this past summer. I was cooking about 30 hot dogs on the grill and it was very windy. So I had the gas on FULL BLAST to generate enough heat to cook them. Well it got real hot when all the collected fat from previous birds went up in a ball of fire. Well I managed to get all the dogs off and the guests couldn't get over the wonderful smokey flavor the hot dogs had. Success arose from the ashes...literally.

Happy grilling,
Bart

Heh. I remember when I was about 14, and my mother was overseas. My father wanted to cook crispy skin chicken for us. His recipe? Pour oil over the chicken, and then light a match. Idiot.

And congratulations on getting air conditioning!! I remember moving into my new house, which had an air conditioner in the bedroom, and it was absolute bliss. You might freak out a little once you get your power bill though.

Wil,
My wife and I have been the foster parents to 26 kids over the last 10 years and most of them have been teenagers. We have had Elijah for the last 5 years and he just entered the 11th grade. I love him as much as my 9 year old birth son. Oh how I wish I could have raised him as a baby. I missed so much of his life.

We go to court next month to make him our son forever. I cherish every moment I spend with him. I hope you too have a special relationship with your step children. Time lost can never be made up.

It's hard to believe you have teenagers. I remember when you couldn't say "Indians" without raising your lip.

I new to this site and this is my first time posting. I can't get over how real you are. Thanks for letting us into your life.

Hehehehe

Watch out, Wil! You and Anne have got football games and girls on your parental agenda!

:)

hehehehe - I loved that chicken story, and I will never know if what I'm seeing in my mind's eye is what you saw when you lifted your griller lid.

Enjoying other people's BBQ stories as well.

Hi Wil,
I enjoyed the chicken story, it was great.
And please, post soon the poker story.

"Holy crap. I'm the parent of a 10th grader." Though I'm a few (and I do mean a few I'm still 30something) years older than you... I started my family at a very young age and now I have a 20 year old son and daughters 16 and 13 and another son 6 and I am in a daze at how quickly those years pass. It's impossible I have aged 20 years since my first was born. I have that Holy crap moment everyday!
Anyhow I just want you to know how much I enjoy reading this blog of yours!

Hey Wil,
I just wanted to say a HUGE thank your for putting a link to your friend Shane's blog. It was through his site that i managed to get in touch with an old college teacher of mine! it was incredible! I also went to Keene State College for a time, (i was on an exchange programme from the UK) and Shane had a link to a website set up by said teacher (who also taught him). anyway...thanks again Wil, i will be reading shane's blog from now on! YEY!!

take care
rach

I can't believe you said you "went" in your Mom's pool. EWWW!

::Laughs with Ronnie.:: ::Snicker:: That's sad that you DID go in their pool! Shame on you!
*Melinda*

Can't wait for the poker story. I mean, Star Trek was pretty cool and all, but poker is awesome. Just kidding. I read for the writing, and poker content is bonus.

Beercan Chicken is something that every griller should do once just to get it out of your system... and then learn how to spatchcock. You'll never go back!

"there was fire shooting out its ass"

Did you name it "Eric Cartman"?
The skin is bad for you anyway.

Cheers.

You think 79* is cool?!? Try 68*. My oldest is in Kindergarten this year, while my best friend from highschool has her oldest in 9th grade. At the same high school we graduated from. The reign of terror continues...

What scares me about having kids (I'm not quite there yet but am peering over the brink of the chasm known as parenthood) is paying for college. I can barely get my ass through grad school, whaddawe gonna do about potential-future-college-kid's tuition?

In Star Trek they always went on about how disease was irradicated and wars were ended...they never told us how the heck they put their kids through college in the 24th century! Who foots the bill for Starfleet Academy, anyway? Do they take any wastrel who passes the test?

Just a comment on the Beer Can Chicken. There's a site out there written by one of the guys that writes for Alton Brown. He's also a hoopy flash animator on top of that.

Thus http://www.deepfriedlive.com was born.

Pretty cool site and hilarious in that stupid slapstick sort of way. ;-)

Mike

inzest fick http://inzest-fick.inc-diary.com/