Furry Friday

Prepare to meet Matt's scaly friend: Smaug!

A real bearded dragon!

(Photos from Scott Kinmartin's flickr site)

Age: 2.5 years

Gender: Male

Length: 22 inches (most of it tail)

Weight: ? Smaug hates the bathroom scale- he hisses uncontrollably whenever it's in sight.

Origins: Smaug is the result of much begging and pleading on Matt's part. Just after his 14th birthday, Matt began his campaign for a pet of his own- one that could be kept in a controlled environment. And voila! A few months later, Matt successfully converted his mother to buying Smaug!

Favorite Game(s): Smaug and Matt are often found on the floor with Matt pretending to be another lizard. This allows Smaug to "fight" Matt as he would another member of his species- no one harmed, its the same in the wild. Smaug also enjoys riding on Tolkien's back whenever the german shepherd comes to visit.

More info: You may have noticed that Smaug is the name of the dragon in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Sam's dog is also named Tolkien. Coincidience? Sort of, but not really. First of all, Tolkien's works are favorites of Sam and Matt. In eighth grade, they both re-read his books as part of a school project. They got pets within a few months- and the names just kinda happened.

Come next week to meet Alex's furry friend!

Who's Who Wednesday

This week features Matthew (Matt) Collins!

Age: 16

Description: Matt is in possession of short, dirty blond hair topping his 6 foot plus frame. This makes him about a foot taller than Sam, much to her perpetual annoyance. His baggy jeans, t-shirts, and ripped up sneakers are a constant. His hand-held gaming system and iPod are always stuffed into his pockets when they aren't in his hands.

Driving Status: Learner's permit. He's been too busy to take the driver's ed class so far.

Favorite Class(es): Physics and band- composition's the name of the game.

Instrument: Marches lead bass drum on the battery and plays any drum part he can get during concert season.

After-School Activities: Marching band keeps Matt pretty busy, but he's still managed to maintain a decent presence at the computer club meetings. There's nothing like web page design and learning java script and html code to pass the afternoons by.

Hobbies: Matt is a master gamer and a major computer junkie. Always up-to-date on the latest games, platforms, and software, Matt's the go-to guy for technology. He makes a decent buck helping teachers and small businesses set up web pages. On occasion, he has been known to enter himself in video game tournaments and delights in gaming online.

Weekend Stuff: Matt is either hanging with the others or is camped out on his sofa with his various gaming parephenalia. He loves poning his Sam and the rest whenever they game together, but is usually a decent sport. If he's watching movies, they're action and if he's feeling musical, it's usually classic or soundtrack instrumental. Or anything with a piano.

Next week will feature Alan, so don't miss out! And this Friday, meet Matt's beastly buddy!