Patrick

Hey all, Today marks a big milestone for Noah (Wastelander), as it was 10 years ago today that he joined our staff at KarateForums.com. During the last 10 years, Noah's contributions to this community have been many. Certainly, if you've spent much time here, you've likely bumped into him, and he's probably asked you a thoughtful question, provided you with a reasoned perspective, or made you feel more welcome here. Beyond the public contributions, Noah has been dedicated and ever-present as a moderator, helping to maintain the friendly and respectful atmosphere that our community has known for. In addition to being on staff for 10 years, Noah has been a member for 12 and a half years, and during that time, we've had the good fortune to watch him grow as a martial artist. Noah began training in the martial arts in 2006. 2010 was the year he joined KarateForums.com and that same year, he started training in Shorin-Ryu, which put him on the path to becoming an instructor and eventually starting his own school in 2019. As an online content creator, Noah has always set an impeccable example of how to participate in a community like this earnestly, in a way that builds respect, without being self-promotional or falling into the temptation of linking to yourself. Personally, though much of my interaction with Noah involves KF and staff members, I've also been able to interact with him outside of the community through other platforms, and to further broaden my perspective on the type of person he is, and I'm proud to call him a friend. Sooner or later, I hope Noah will find himself in Los Angeles or I'll find myself in Phoenix, and we'll have a chance to get together in-person. In reaching 10 years as a staff member, Noah joins an exclusive club of 6 KarateForums.com members, all of which have received a physical award, which represents the appreciation that we have for the outstanding contributions that they have made to this community. Noah already has the award, and posted a photo on Instagram with it. Here's a picture I took before shipping it: http://www.karateforums.com/img/photos/wastelander-award.jpg Noah, thank you for being a part of this community, for all of the amazing mark you have left on it, and for all of your kindness and support over the years. It means a lot. Everyone reading this, I hope you'll join me in congratulating Noah, and feel free to share any memories of your own. Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for the update, Fat Cobra! Congrats to your wife on the rank, and you both on running a program! Patrick

This is really nice to hear. Congrats Bob.

Hey DarthPenguin, hope you are well. Just seeing this post now. Thanks for making it. I used to play every year, but stopped probably 15 years or so ago... that said, I'd be happy to give it another go if that would help field a league of KF members. I know that only makes two of us so far. I'm guessing we need at least 8-10 for it to be viable, right? Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for February is... Fat Cobra for the second time! Congrats! It's great to see you back on the community. Thank you for all of the amazing contributions that you have made over the years. Thanks, Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for January is... ryanryu! Congrats! What is amazing about Ryan is that they just made their first post on KF in almost 12 and a half years! I love when a member comes back after such a long time. It's great to have you back, Ryan. Thanks, Patrick

Welcome back, Ryan! Was delighted when you emailed me. Patrick

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for December is... Montana for the 2nd time, and the first time in over a decade! Congrats! Glad to see you back around here. Thank you for your contributions over the years. Thanks, Patrick

Congrats John! Patrick

All the medical disclaimers included... I've been dealing with some back pain, too, for 18-24 months or so. Stinks. I went to PT for a few months before the baby was born, and it was a lot of stretches for sure. They gave me a routine that I sort of follow. Just started working out again for the first time since the baby was born 8 months ago... so that's a win. One of the worst moments? When you bend down to put him in his crib! I want to say it is generally better, but part of me wonders if I am just getting used to it. sigh.

Glad you were able to bounce back relatively quickly!

Thanks. The menorah is on clearance if anyone wants one! https://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/happy-hanukkah-countdown-banner/

Happy New Year!

Fixed the song link in my first post. Nice. I made a sweet potato one with just egg for the baby. Found a nice cloth wall hanging with a Velcro menorah, too, so he could "light" the candles without actually getting near any fire. But, we lit a couple of menorahs, too.

Have enjoyed that, as well.

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. Our honoree for November is... Nevinyrral for the 3rd time, becoming one of only 3 members to reach that mark. Congrats! Good to see you back, and thank you for all of your contributions over the years! Thanks, Patrick

Hey all, If you're seeing this, thank you for making KarateForums.com a part of your life. Happy holidays! Made latkes tonight, going to like the great Tom Lehrer tomorrow, and get back to my annual Christmas movies the next day.Hope you're able to find some peace this holiday season. Patrick

So far, I've used it to play the Zombies Outbreak mode in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Paid for the PS5 upgrade. Love that mode. Also played a bit of the new compilation of old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games. One thing I'll say is I love the in-controller mic. Works great.

Will do. Still waiting for it because I bought 2 copies from GameStop but when I opened the box, there was only 1. So, they are investigating. I'm hoping I can get a decent bang for my buck for what I paid on Black Friday. I enjoyed Avengers, too, though it didn't grip me enough to keep going. I might go back at some point as I never finished the story mode and there have been a few chapters released since then.

That stinks.

Thanks for the updates, Bob.

By the way, I picked up Arkham Knights during Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales. (I also picked up Doom Eternal to play on PS5 but obviously that's a PS4 game).

I appreciate all of the replies to this thread. Yes, aurik (Ken) recently joined our team. We normally don't announce new staff members or, at least, haven't previously, so that is why there wasn't a post. I also didn't want to impact the awards in any way, as he was eligible for Member of the Year, and not Staff Member of the Year, based on when he joined our team, so I didn't want to confuse anyone in voting. Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for the info, DarthPenguin and Zaine!

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. After more than a month of nominations and votes, the 21st edition of the KarateForums.com Awards have come to an end. It is now time for us to announce the winners! Before I do so, I wanted to once again congratulate everyone who was nominated. Regardless of whether or not you won the award, the fact that you were nominated means that, when asked to identify a member who really stood out in the past year, your fellow community members thought of you. Out of the 18,542 registered members in the history of this community, only 168 have ever been nominated for an award. To be nominated is pretty cool, and you should be proud. If you did not win or were not nominated, please don't take it badly. These awards do have meaning, but they are also for fun and not everyone can win or be nominated. Please join me in congratulating our winners. I would like to specifically thank everyone who participated in the process by nominating and voting. It is the community that selected the nominees and decided the winners. There are no KarateForums.com Awards without you. Several nominees took the time to vote in categories where they were nominated. Since you can't vote for yourself, your choice is to vote for someone else or not vote at all. Though I can't reveal who voted for whom, please know that I appreciate everyone who thoughtfully voted in the categories where they were nominated. It says a lot about you, and I love to see it. If you are reading this now and realizing that you accidentally voted for yourself: Don't worry, those votes were deleted. Without further ado, here are our winners: 1. Member of the Year: (tie) aurik and Zaine (for the 2nd consecutive year!) 2. New Member of the Year: DarthPenguin 3. Community Spirit Award: bushido_man96 (for the 7th time!) 4. Staff Member of the Year: bushido_man96 (for the 6th time and 3rd consecutive year!) 5. Funniest Member of the Year: ashworth 6. Karate Contributor of the Year: aurik 7. Health and Fitness Contributor of the Year: bushido_man96 (for the 5th time!) 8. Instructors and School Owners Contributor of the Year: Wastelander (for the 2nd consecutive year!) Congratulations to bushido_man96 (3 wins!), aurik (2 wins!), Zaine, DarthPenguin, ashworth, and Wastelander! We had 3 first time winners this year, including aurik, DarthPenguin, and ashworth! In addition, bushido_man96 had reached an incredible milestone of 20 KarateForums.com Awards wins, now at 21, which puts him 2nd all-time. Another fun detail, which gives perspective to how long-running these awards are, is that bushido_man96 won the Community Spirit Award for the 7th time, but it was his first time winning that category in a decade, as sensei8 has won it for the 9 consecutive years prior. Amazing marks for both. For past winners and all of the awards historical data, please check out: http://www.karateforums.com/awards.php Thank you for reading and for supporting the KarateForums.com Awards. Sincerely, Patrick