Stale Knowledge

Websites and Beatdowns

2005-04-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have this friend... I am not sure why I am saying friend when I really mean Jay. It's not like people who read my blog don't know who Jay is. Let me simplify things and say that this friend is none other than Jay. I will leave it at that. Anyway, for some reason when Jay comes to my house my son feels the irresistable need to beat the living daylights out of him. Maybe it's because at some point Jay played with my son a little rough, and my son liked it. Then Jay was forever trapped into repeating the rough housing that he so fatefully started. Maybe my son started it... I don't know... The point is, my son absolutely loves to play with Jay. When I say play I mean kick, punch, and jump onto Jay. I hope Jay likes it deep down, because I don't think it will stop anytime soon.

Websites. I am on the kick right now. The freak of the week if you will. My focus is completely driven to the creation of websites and the learning of the website technology. I am big on CSS right now and that is consuming much effort. I don't think I have wanted to understand something as much as I want to understand CSS. Speaking of that... I want to be working on it right now. I have to go to my truck to get my work computer so I can do some stuff... Wish me luck.

Birthday for young master Theran

2005-04-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

Yes. My son had his 4th birthday on Wednesday of this week. He had a nice little party today at the city park. A few of his friends were there and we all had fun. Now we have more Power Rangers toys than Wal-Mart.

In other news... I mowed my yard again on Saturday. I figure if I can mow it every weekend, the normal grass will choke out the field grass. So far so good, the yard is nicely cut and it is generally green and smooth, not brown and rough. I have lots of plans for the summer months. Yard work galore. I need wood, cement, and a nice push weed trimmer. Oh, and a four wheeler with a strong chain to pull huge rocks around.

In still other news... Another friend from the group starts work at Pre-Paid Legal tomorrow. I am really excited about that.

Ok. Well that's all for now folks. Come back soon for another exciting blog posting.

Position that page, and put some stank on it!

2005-04-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

I am in a CSS class right now. We are on a break and I am taking a few minutes to reflect on how wonderful CSS really is.

Some people don't understand the full power of CSS and how much it can help the web. Most people don't know what the heck CSS is. Some people might not know that this page... the blog... is entirely dependent on CSS for it's appearance. If you have Firefox and you download the free developers extension that can turn off CSS you will quickly see that this page would look like nothing without CSS. Well, it would look like something... It would look like a webpage circa 1996.

What does this mean? Well to most, nothing. People will not care how the webpage works, as long as it works. To blind users it will mean the world... well the world internet anyway. To nerds like myself it will mean a lot less time fighting with delicate table structures in Dreamweaver.

So anyway. Sorry for the boring nerd speak that you don't care about.

It's my blog and I will talk about boring web stuff if I want to.

PC's are dead as F'ing dead. Mac is coming back in a big F'ing way

2005-04-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

"I am all out of balloons. Would an expensive printed box be ok?"

What is the deal? Are people suddenly realizing that they can have a computer that costs a LOT of money but looks really good? Are people realizing that they can have a computer that won't do all the stupid crap they don't need, but will do everything that do constantly? What people don't realize is that they can have a computer that currently is virtually impervious to viruses and spyware. Yes I am talking about MAC. Apple. The big plastic piece of crap that sat on the tragically hip desktops for so long strictly based on appearance. I see a huge move toward MAC and after doing a little homework I can see why.

If you are a gamer who loves to play the most recent first person waste of time then you should ignore this post. Mac is still not up on the most recent gaming software. Macs are much more for the person who is business minded. If you are one of those people who surfs the internet, checks your e-mail and creates a few posters for your annual fish fry then you might consider the virus-free spyware-free computer that looks good without a PC cozy. I thought a co-worker had gone nuts recently when he purchased a Mac. He hated Mac! Suddenly he is all about it. He can't say enough good things about Mac. It's really strange to hear him talk about it. Well I looked into it and turns out that there are lots of cool things about it besides the out of the box tricked out factor. Sure there are a few drawbacks too, but they are manageable if you are going to be business minded and not gaming crazy.

I have to go to bed so maybe I will talk about them later.

Surfing on Air

2005-04-09T20:28:00.000-07:00

With the help of a co-worker I have solved my dial-up problem. I am now getting a broadband signal to the outreaches of space... or Reneay's cousin's house about a football field away. Either way I have some fast Internet up in this mug. I am a little concerned about the signal strength right now. I fear that it will drop as summer causes the trees between here and there to bloom. Nothing a little raising of the antennas won't mildly fix.

Ok so anyway, I have broadband again. I set up a wireless antenna on my house and another on Reneay's cousin's house and then I set up her house on Cable Modem. Boom instant fast Internet. Well not boom exactly. It took the better part of a day to complete the entire job. The initial equipment cost is around $400 or so, but I will more than make up for that in freelance jobs that I can now complete at home.

All I need now is landscaping and my empire will be complete.

What's up San Francisco! (David Chapelle moment)

2005-03-23T16:43:00.000-08:00

I am in San Francisco right now for the Web Design World 2005 conference. I am here by myself, which I hate, but so far it has been a fair trip. I haven't gotten to see the landmarks of the city except that I can see a small portion of the Golden Gate bridge from my hotel window and I can clearly see Alcatraz from my window.

At first the conference itself seemed less than spectacular. The company paid $1200 for me to come here and there is no flash and pizazz that I am used to seeing from the Macromedia conventions, which are cheaper. Sure, there is about 200 or so people here and Macromedia has about 2000 at their events. Then the events started and I was very surprised and happy with the content. Full of information and I got many ideas from what I saw.

...

Day 2 and 3 were much like day 1. The content of the conference was very good and I am very glad I came here. I still have not gotten to see any of the major landmarks (because of rain) except that last night I walked to Chinatown and to the Italian district on the other side. I should have asked the concierge here at the hotel for a Chinese restaurant recommendation. I didn't see anything that looked very good, but I didn't wander to much on the side streets. I ate at an Italian restaurant called "The Stinking Rose". Or course it was referring to Garlic. It was very good, and not to stinky. On the way there I had to buy an umbrella, and by the time I was finsihed eating it was raining at a considerable pace, so I took a cab back to the hotel.

Coming to these events always puts me in this mood to start working on my personal website and re-focus myself on my web responsibilities. Right now I have the mind to really get my website going and start trying to do more freelance web work. I actually have some freelance work to do that will pay a decent rate. Maybe I can keep the ball rolling and really get some extra income out of it.

I think it all boils down to the fact that I need some focus. I get all charged when I am at events like this, but the second or third day I get home I run out of steam. I might need to look into the ADD factor to make sure I am not just lazy or if there is a drug that will give me the drive to achieve some web greatness.

My new focus: The new web. Blogging, CSS, 501 compliance, XHTML, Drugs.

Oxycoddddooosnnnennlsnienlglka

2005-03-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

Oxycodone. I think that is how you spell it. I can't really tell you exactly how to spell it because after taking it I can't read anymore. Mainly because I am constantly falling asleep. Let's rewind a bit shall we?

Ok. Tuesday afternoon I come home to get ready for the dreaded operation. I am REALLY nervous at this point and my heart is pounding. I am really quiet because I can't really think about anything else and I am REALLY nervous. At 3:00 I call the doctor to ask if I should take the Vallium and head that way. They say call back at 4:00. I call back at 4:00 and they say come on in, but don't take the valium yet. Ok... That intensifies my nervousness and I start heading that way. I sit in the waiting room for like 4 years and the longer I am waiting the hotter I am feeling. I am breathing heavily and I start imagining that I am going to have a heart attack on the table during the procedure. Finally they instruct me to take the Vallium. Within 20 minutes they call me back. It's funny how when you get into that situation you don't really have much modesty. Let's move on to the procedure.

The first injection of local anethesia was very uncomfortable. It kind of felt like someone was grabbing the jewels and squeezing them. Not pleasant, but not unbearable. He starts moving along and I started to feel a few things so he gives me another shot, and another, and I think another... Then he is done with the first side. Yay!! Half done????!?!?!??!!!!?!!!! Then he says, I don't know why but the second side always hurts more than the first.... Boy was he right. This was not pleasant at all! I was VERY uncomfortable and he had to give me a few other shots to get the pain away. At one point when he thought he had sufficiently deadened the area he burned one of the deferens and I felt a horrible shooting pain. I jerked considerably and he immediately applied more local. That was not at all pleasant.

All in all, it wasn't all bad. I did not enjoy the procedure, but I still see it's value and I am happy that I have done it. I felt fine after the procedure except that I was tired and after taking one oxycodone (pain medication) and eating dinner I went to bed. The next morning I was a little soar so I decided to take the maximum dose of oxycodone. It said to take 1 to 2 pills every 4 hours for pain. I took 2. As I swallowed the second pill I saw a blurred message on the bottle that said "May cause drowsiness". This was Wednesday, I just woke up 10 minutes ago. It was kind of funny. I started feeling really good but really sleepy. I moved to the couch with the ice pack and I started taking it easy. I could not keep my eyes open for more than a few minutes. I slept on and off for the entire day from that one dose of pills. It ws unusual that every time I got up and fully awake I would lay down a few minutes later and be just a sleepy as I was before I had to get up. Oxycodone is really strong and really good for it's intended purpose. I can see how people become dependent on that drug. It's a little dangerous.

So, I came through the procedure just fine. I do not have any major bruising or swelling, but I am just a little soar on occasion. I am getting tired again, so I am going to bed.

And the time table moves up!

2005-03-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today I got a call from the Urologist. They asked if I wanted to move the time table up on the vasectomy. I told them I would have to find out what Reneay was working but I think it would be OK. Well it turns out that it is OK and I will be going under the knife tomorrow (Tuesday) rather than Wednesday. I am very nervous, but I have been told by countless people that it is no big deal and that I will be able to handle it just fine. I am still scared though.

Wheeeeeee!!!!!!

I can't really talk about anything else.

True Driving Pleasure

2005-03-05T19:19:00.000-08:00

I went to Norman this weekend to buy some things from Sam's Wholesale. It's hard to drive an hour and a half just to get a few things and come right back. So I decided I would make a fun trip of it for my son and I. My son loves to look at cars. You would think we were at Disney, but that would not be true because I think my son likes to be at the car dealer more than Disney. So anyway, I looked around at a few places. I saw the new Honda full size truck.. not terribly impressed. It's kind of ugly a little on the smaller size of full and the bed is not much to speak of. So I moved on over to the Toyota dealership. No one came to talk to me at either place and the doors were all locked on all the cars so I didn't really get a good look. I moved on to the Ford dealership. Someone came right out to me... Well that is all ok. I looked at F-150's which were all above $30,000 and then I looked and test drove an Explorer SportTrac. It was nice, but not really special. I could see myself owning that kind of vehicle, but I was not terribly excited about it. Not sure why... After I drove it I actually got inside an F-150 and I must say it was no comparison. I love the F-150, and I just like the SportTrac. I didn't punish myself by driving one of the massively expensive trucks. So I left the dealership with a card and a handshake and a personal greeting and invitation from the sales manager. I left the place wiping the saliva from my brow and rubbing the teeth marks on my wallet. Funny how I can drive in and out of some dealerships two or three times and feel like I am the only human on earth and other places practically want to have my children. So satisfied that I made it through the afternoon without sitting down for 18 hours talking to salesmen and finance people I left Norman with the lingering smell of new car on my clothes.

Rather than take the normal Wayne Payne route home I decided to take the Pauls Valley route home. I thought maybe I would stop at another car dealership on my way home. I hoped that maybe I would make the brand route complete by finding a Nissan dealership or a Dodge/Chrysler dealership. I was happy when I saw the Chrysler sign just over the hill as I entered Pauls Valley. I was hoping beyond hope that they would have a Magnum for me to look at. So I made all the right turns and to my extreme joy there were two Magnums sitting in the lot and even better... one was that really great bone white color (off white). So I stopped and looked at the wonderful mean muscle of it all. A salesman pops his head out of the window and yells out to me asking if I want the key for it. Of course I said yes. We spoke for a bit and he almost forced me to drive it. Not that he had to try very hard. He started it up for me and I could feel my knees getting weak listening to the 3.5 liter V6 growling like a big V8. I buckled Theran into the car and moved around to the open drivers side door. I stepped inside the car and it was nice... It was really good actually. The last thing I remember the dealer saying was, "Don't be afraid to really take it for a drive. Punch it and see what it can do". I can only imagine how he felt when he heard the engine cutting loose only a few feet out of the driveway. I was in driving heaven. I could not stop myself from speeding up even faster. It was like the car was begging me to set it free and I was the key to it's freedom. I got to the end of the road... Or at least to a stop sign. I whipped it back around and started heading back. I think when I turned it around it was the only point of the test drive below 60mph. I rolled back into the dealership and any poker face I could have had was definately in my truck. There was no way at all I could hide the huge smile on my face. I loved every second of that test drive and it was showing all over me. I told the dealer straight out that I loved it and that I was definately going to buy one some day. He knew that I was not in the market to buy today and he didn't care, and that my friends made it even better. It was all part of his evil plan to sell me that car because I have not stopped talking about it since I got home. I even called my mom and told her what a wonderful experience it was to drive the thing. I am definately sold on this car. Dodge has done a wonderful thing in making this vehicle and I can certainly say that I want one of my very own. I came home and told my wife about my new pet and asked her if I could keep it.

And the nervousness sets in

2005-02-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow. Monday Feb 28, 2005 I will be having a consultation for an elective surgery. This is the first time I have done anything like this. I am a bit nervous already even though I know that it is just a consultation and there will be no big deal at all tomorrow. I don't know how long it will be before I have the actual procedure, but I am sure I will be even more nervous the night before that happens. You know... I am getting nervous typing this...

Some of that Stale Knowledge

2005-02-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

The Ford Five Hundred. Granny car or hip 4 door? I think the jury is still out on this one. For those that do not know, earlier in 2004 Ford announced a new car in their line. The Ford Five Hundred. Seems like ford is unable to resist the current trend to name a car with a number (Chrysler 300M). So this car is supposed to replace the Ford Taurus and of course the Mercury Sable with the Mercury Montego. What kind of name is Montego? That sounds much more like an SUV name to me. How can Ford replace the Taurus? I mean really!
This car is being advertised as a young friendly car, meaning that a 25 and up crowd would like to drive it. Well I don't think I could personally. The car is larger than the Taurus and the high end model has all the features of the GIANT Crown Victoria. My vote... Sorry Minisa (a co-worker who recently bought one) Granny car. Only older women and men will be driving this car.

The aforementioned Chrysler 300M. This car appeals to the younger crowd much better with its unique styling. Daimler/Chrysler is trying to keep with the new "old" look to their cars that started with the PT Cruiser. I think they did a much better job with this one. Although I don't think many of the younger crowd will be drving this car I still give it the hip vote.

Another Daimler/Chrysler car is the awesome Dodge Magnum. This vehicle is a really nice twist on the old station wagon idea. It looks like a really mean station wagon with immense power under the hood. I would be more than happy to drive this car.

Nissan has done well in the last few years. They are reinventing the look on their entire line of cars. I think they successfully updated the Pathfinder into an acceptable choice in the auto world. I expected that SUV to fall off of the planet in favor of the larger Armada and the smaller Xterra. I guess they wanted to play with the other car companies who have 3 SUV's in their lineup. Just to show my geekdom I will mention the other options here.

Ford: Escape, Explorer, Expedition, Excursion
Nissan: Xterra, Pathfinder, Murano, Armada
Chrysler: PT Cruiser, Pacifica
Dodge: Durango
Jeep: Liberty, Grand Cherokee
Chevrolet: Blazer, Equinox, Trailblazer, Trailblazer EXT, Tahoe, Suburban

Hey Chevy! Enough is enough already. To many choices guys.

Ok. So I don't have any idea at all where this entry came from. I guess I noticed that this blog is supposed to be about my infinite useless knowledge of the available products on the market and it has turned out to be more like a diary. So, for those of you who were looking for this type of reading, and you didn't give up LONG ago. There you are, a complete entry to useless product knowledge. I might have another entry similar to this one about trucks.

Man I'm a dork.

Plagued with Wildlife

2005-02-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

So, we all know about the rat problem. I have mentioned it a few times I think. After speaking with a few people about this problem I have gotten all kinds of rat killing ideas. It's nice to hear that there is a rat the size of a small cat crawling around under your house. I think if I see one of these infamous rats, I will be overcome with the urge to kill or overcome with the urge to RUN.

So anyway, when we had the dog around she was destroying the house. Now that she is gone we just have the rats to worry about... Or so I thought. We have not had trash service running to this house yet. I know that is really sad and that I should have gotten that going LONG ago, but I am lazy. ANYWAY, I have been putting the large trash filled bags in the $250 dog cage that the dog escaped from the 2nd day we had her in it. So the $250 trash bin. Well some lovely animal worked it's way into this impenatrable fortress of dog holding/trash keeping. Trash everywhere! Well everywhere inside a nice neat little 10x10 square. All I have to say is ARRRRGH! Please animals, leave me alone! It all started with the dear that cost $800 in damages to my truck and now they are pulling my home apart piece by little rat mouthful piece.

I am waiting in my office for the Kodiak Marmaset to carry me away.

So what's up?

2005-02-19T05:57:00.000-08:00

Well let me tell you. Things have been either really good or really bad here in the Smith household. Let's start with the really good.

Valentines day. I wanted it to be a special day for Reneay and I. Unfortunately we both had to work, but I had decided many weeks ago to make some good plans anyway. First I ordered 6 roses to be sent to Reneay at her work. I wanted 5 red roses and one white, yellow, or pink. Well on Monday they delivered the roses and did not make one of them a different color. So she had to settle for regular red roses. I am glad she called and told me she got them because I asked her about the different color and she told me they were all red. So I had to explain that I ordered something different and that when she read her card/letter at home there would be mention of another color. Ok so anyway. I also had gotten her the traditional stuffed animal that I always get her and a card with a lengthy letter inside. I arranged for Theran to stay with the babysitter late so we could be all alone. So when I got home I set I set the mood for a romantic evening. When she got home we spent a few hours together, just the two of us. I was really great getting to tell my wife just how I feel about her and getting to spend good quality alone time with her.

Ok. Now with the not so good.

The freakin rats and or rat that has been living under my house is back. You know, I have some strong language in my heart for this, but I have to resist. For those that do not know, a few weeks back we had a rat problem under the house. We could hear them chewing and chewing and chewing on the house at all hours of the day and night. So I called Terminix and it was good. They came in and baited under the house and sprayed some stuff and put some granules around the outside of the house. Within 2 or 3 days the rats had stopped. I was so happy. It had been almost 2 weeks with no rat noises and suddenly the chewing began anew. I called Terminix again and they said I had to wait 2 full weeks before they would come out again, and that time would be up on Saturday... today in fact... Well I don't know what happened but a Terminix man called on Thursday morning. He came out Thursday afternoon and baited again. The good part of this is that I can't hear the rat anymore, so it might be gone again. The bad news is that they have done damage under the house. Buck Creek had to come out and fix the sewage leak under the house and repair some of the insulation damage. Freakin rats...

I guess the good part of the rats thing is that when the guy from Buck Creek came out he fixed a few other things that were broken. I am happy about that.

Ok. So last thing... We are all sick. In one way or another my whole family is ill. Theran is coughing up his lungs. I am congested and have constant sinus headaches. Reneay seems like she is mostly fine, but she is extra tired because of Theran and I. I hope she does not get any of what I had (which I think was allergy related) or what Theran has now. Wish us luck.

Wastes of Money

2005-02-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

My friend Jay posted something on his blog about wasting money on kitched gadgets that he knows he would rarely use, but standing in the store staring at an impressive mound of the product can somehow justify the purchase. Maybe staring isn't quite right in this case. Gazing longingly? Lusting? I think they all apply. And although I made a comment about being able to avoid the particular product he was talking about I am surprizingly weak when it comes to other products. When it comes down to it I can justify almost any purchase in one way or another. I think I have commented on this type of purchase before. It probably had something to do with my annoying habit of buying almost every watch I see. Not to mention that I HAVE TO HAVE THAT DVD! RIGHT NOW!!! I mean it, they won't have that DVD tomorrow. Well here is to the old college try. I am planning to avoid many of my frivolous purchases for the next year. There are some things that I am sure I can't avoid, but for the most part I am going to try to stay away from silly purchases of things I will never use, play, watch, or see again. The first of my grand attempt is to avoid the purchase of new camera lenses. I am about to get paid for a freelance web design job and I had planned that money out to the last penny. I was going to buy 2 lenses and a bag. Well, although I am not going to buy the lenses, I am going to buy the bag. Why the bag? Well I will explain that along with the reason I am trying this grand scheme.

I have to save as much money as I can! This adoption is going to cost MUCH money and I need to put all of my effort into it. I am going to need that bag for the trip to the Ukraine, so I can justify it easily. There are a few other purchases I am planning to make before the trip, but those can wait a little longer. I am sure before we actually get to go I will have purchased the lenses, but I have to pace myself better. I need another memory card for the trip too, but that will come all in due time.

What I am basically saying is that I am trying to cut costs and save where I can. This will not work unless I give it my all. So anyway, speaking of the adoption, I have started a blog about it. "The adoption". This is where I will keep you posted on current events and recent developments throughout the adoption process. It will also serve as a journal for our adopted child to read when he or she is old enough. So keep the comments somewhat PG.

And so it begins

2005-02-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Short post this evening. I just wanted to stop in and mention that I submitted the application last night. We have begun our journey to adopting a child from the Ukraine. I am sure the journey will be interesting and full of surprises. Part of my journey includes learning to speak the Ukrainian native tounge. Not a requirement, just something that I think I should do. I don't want to remove the child completely from his/her native land.

Trying to tell me something?

2005-02-06T13:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, so today in my Sunday school class I made the announcement about the adoption. And instantly one of our teachers got really excited. Turns out that she works with the local DHS foster care system. I told her that we were thinking about International adoption and she seemed disappointed. After class I spoke with her about it and later tonight we are going to hear what she has to say.

First let me explain a few things. Our class has been taught by Bob and Judy Cantrell, and Dan and Retha Asklund for more than a year. They decided 4 weeks ago that it was time for them to move on and so ended our Sunday school class. Or so I thought. Our Associate pastor and his wife took over the class because he did not want the class to disband. So after going to another class the next week and missing class the following week I attended my first class taught by John and Nancy Haynes. Nancy Haynes works for DHS foster care system locally. It seems kind of funny that she came into the picture the day I decided to announce our adoption plans. Almost like God is telling us to adopt a child locally rather than from the Ukraine. We are going to hear what she has to say and make a decision based on that. The problem is that I am scared to death of the American adoption system. There are two main reasons. First I am afraid that we are going to adopt a child and the mother will change her mind after a while or that a deadbeat dad will come back and say, "I never agreed to this adoption, the child is mine and I want her back!" I know two people that either lost a child or almost lost a child. Second is that I am afraid we will get a baby who is chemically dependent because the mother was smoking crack or something while she was pregnant with our new baby. It's not the sickness in early childhood, that will be apparent. It's the emotional problems that could develop later in her life. I guess some people could say, "Beggars can't be choosers", but I don't agree. I can be as choosy as I want! I don't even know why I think that these things couldn't happen with an international baby, I just feel like it won't.

I think it costs less to adopt locally, and there is the "no travel" factor if we go locally. Well, no travel in the since that we will not have to be on a plane for a day and spend 3 weeks in a country where we don't speak the native language. I am saying all of this, and I have not spoken to Reneay about it yet. Maybe she has her heart set on adopting internationally. We really have to talk about it and make a good decision. Anyone else have an opinion?

The News of many subjects

2005-02-04T23:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have not been updating the blog again. It's hard to get back into the swing, but once I make it a habit, I will blog daily.

Ok, so what's new? Well first Reneay and I made a decision last week. We decided that we are going to adopt rather than having another biological child. The risks involved in having a child of our own are to great. I don't want to see Reneay in paid while we try to get pregnant, and Reneay doesn't want to be in pain. There is also a chance that not only will Reneay not feel better while she is pregnant it could even get worse. The drugs she takes may still cause problems even if she gets off of them for the proper amount of time. So we decided we could adopt and we would be happy. This decision leads directly to two other decisions. 1. We got rid of the great dog of disappointment. We didn't think a giant intimidating dog would do well on a home study to determine if we are a fit family for adoption. Theran is saddened by this, but I am confident he will forget all about the dog while we shower him with new stuff to get his mind off of it. 2. Since we will not be having any more children I am planning to get the snip snip of doom. Yes fellas, grab your jewels as you cringe in pain at the very thought of minor surgery of the genitals. We cannot get pregnant while she is on her medication, so I am taking steps to make sure that never happens. As soon as I muster the will power to "get the job done" I am going to make an appointment to have the procedure completed.

So other than that, I don't really have much going on here. It's been an exciting week, and I am very excited about getting the "paper pregnancy" started.

Not sure if I mentioned before, but I had some sort of Rodent living in my floors and walls. They were constantly chewing all night long! Not anymore my friends! One quick call to Terminix and they are sleeping in Rat heaven now. Ahhhh. The magic of poison.

The Giant Dog of Dissappointment

2005-01-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, so all my life I have thought about owning a big big dog. I always thought about how nice it would be to have a huge dog to have around the house. Ahhhh. Well I could not possibly have been more wrong! I should have seen it coming. I lived in house in college where 2 of my roomates had cats. They never took care of them and the house smelled like CAT all of the time. I dreaded walking in the door. I got to the point where I would rather be at work than sit there in the amonia and cat crap. Well like an idiot when I came across the opportunity to get a big dog I took it without really thinking about it. And I got the biggest dog available. A Great Dane. This dog weighs over 100 pounds. That is like a person running around the house with ZERO control. Yeah, running! She is destroying the house! She broke a couch, the carpet looks like crap, and I was really excited this morning when I found that she had gotten into the trash last night. I had to clean it up before I left for work. That is a really good way to start the day. So I am really disappointed about the whole dog thing. I think to myself often that I wish I did not have the dog and that I wish I had never gotten the dog to start with... Well actually I am rather verbal about it....

My advice. No living creature other than humans should live in your house with you. No dogs, cats, fish, rats, gerbils, hamsters, camels, llamas, aardvarks, platypi, humpback whales, or dogs. Yes I said dogs twice.

Pinnacle of What?

2005-01-20T17:46:00.000-08:00

So at work we have this thing called a Pinnacle StreamFactoryX2. First I want to know what is is the Pinnacle of? It sure isn't Windows and Real media
streaming (which is it's intended purpose). Second, at the time of purchase I didn't realize that the stream was made of urine. This piece of crap factory
is worthless. On fairly regular occasions it decides that it does not want to work anymore. So I spend an entire day trying to fix it, only to resort to
rebuilding it which takes a very long time and is filled with problems of it's own. One day a message popped up on the screen telling me about an upgrade.
I thought that sounded great. An UPGRADE! My problems were over. Yeah. The upgrade completey destroyed the entire system. I had to rebuild from the factory
installation disks. So now I tread lightly on the StreamFactory dreading the day that something breaks.

But Smitty! What about Tech support? you might say. Well apparently there is one person on the planet that is qualified to work on the StreamFactory
machine, and he is on the road today... Thanks for the help StreamFactory repair man!

So... Today is the day... It broke. I am currently rebuilding the StreamFactory and dealing with all of it's crappiness. So if you are looking for a media
encoder, I cannot recommend the Pinnacle StreamFactory.

UPDATE!! It's a few days later and the re-build didn't work. In fact, it has suffered a catastrophic hardware failure! The machine is finally dead. I am
not happy that the company has to buy another machine, but I am happy to see it go.

I told you it would happen...

2005-01-14T20:24:00.000-08:00

I mentioned this in the first post or two that this would happen. How long has it been since I posted an entry into this blog? LONG TIME! Well I just have some issues getting to spend any time on the Internet on a dial up modem. Right now I am at work getting some files I need to work on the weekend, and while they are moving to my computer I thought I would post a quick entry. I know... It's a miracle.

So let's see. What's new... I hate having a dog in the house, which is the same house I endlessly complained about getting in many previous entries. That house is now dirty and in desparate need of cleaning, which I will do tomorrow (Saturday). I went hiking with Michael, and although I had a lot of fun you would not know it because of all the childish whining I did about my legs which fell off about 3/4 the way to the end of the trail. No, really I had a lot of fun and I am very glad I went. My new hobby is photography, which I am hitting fairly hard. I hope I don't get tired of it. I got my cool dragon watch mentioned in a previous entry, and now I have shifted focus to 2 other watches. The first is a Fossil Speedway with a bright yellow face. The other is a watch/mp3 player/USB storage/voice recorder. The Fossil Speedway has a cool factor and the "uber" watch has a superior nerd factor (much like the word "uber").

Other than that I am dealing with Sarbanes Oxley at work. For any of my loyal readers who stopped looking at my blog for updates long ago who know what Sarbanes Oxley is you understand my pain. For you other people, lets just say it's "uber" red tape.

Ok. Well I think that is it for the update. Maybe I will keep it up and update again within a reasonable amount of time. Keep your fingers crossed.

Long time no Blog

2004-11-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well what can I say? Dial up has really hindered my web surfing abilities. So I don't do as much surfing and stuff while I am at home.

Oh well... I turned 29 yesterday. I was in New Orleans at a convention, so I spent my birthday evening on Bourbon Street. I don't think I have ever felt so much like I was going to be assaulted by any random person. I don't know why I felt this way, I was just uncomfortable. Maybe it was the massive number of Homeless people I saw while I was in New Orleans. I don't know... When I got back to the room I had to take a shower because I felt dirty and I knew I smelled like smoke. I am not sure what the appeal of Bourbon St. is. All of the bars have drink minimums and they are all over priced. I guess if you are in to the clubbing scene it would be heaven, so I guess that's why I wasn't really into it. Well I still had some fun and got to hear some REALLY good live blues.

Back in the age of Dial up

2004-10-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

I am getting tired of it. The dial up connection to the internet at home is getting on my nerves. I have things I want to do, but it takes so long to do there here at the house that I don't do them. Today I have a blazing 4.8kbps because of some strange line noise. I hope it can be easily fixed...

I am falling asleep here... I need to get in bed... More later...

Rough Seas

2004-10-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Things are kind of weird right now. I had an argument at work and got really mad at someone for going off the deep end because of something little. It's one of those things where you tried to tell someone how you made a mistake and that you are sorry about it, but they take your excuse and cram it up your a** and give you the finger. I am not going to go into what happened, but lets just say that it was not worth the pit of hell I was thrown into, or even a rude comment.

I have a sister-in-law that is having life troubles... Wait... Make that 2 sisters in law. I also have a friend that is having a rough time of it lately. I can't stop worrying about them all. It's one of those weights on my shoulder that I have a hard time thinking about or to stop thinking about. I just want things to get into some sort of normal pattern again.

On the other side of things, I am going through another hobby phase. I got my new camera, and I keep thinking of places I would love to use it in, but I have not had time to get to it lately. Photography is my newest thing, and I have even thought about getting my company to sponsor a photography course (corespondence). I will have to figure out a justification for that, I am not sure I will be able to pull that off. I do, however, get to go to New Orleans in less than a month to the Macromedia Convention. That will be fun as I do plan to spend a little money at the Jackblack tables. My wife has even told me to practice on the internet before I go. At this point I plan to win enough money to pay off all of my bills and let my wife retire from work. I won't have to focus so much on overtime either, which will be nice. I don't think I will be able to win enough to stop working, but I plan to give it the old college try. Realistically, I am going to lose about $100 on the blackjack tables and wish that I was the guy who won the Million Dollar slot machine pull...

Wondrus Employee Purchase

2004-10-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I am familiar with the song that says something about another day older and deeper in debt. I think there is also something about selling one's soul to the company store. Well I have done this three times now. The first was a camera, the second was a monitor and video card and the third was a computer... Oh wait. 4 times. I just bought another camera through the company employee purchase program. I know what some of you may say... You are just putting yourself in a bad position and one day it's going to bite you in the butt. Well I don't think it will be that bad, and hopefully this will be the last time I do this for a while.

Anyway, this go round I got the big guns. I got a Canon 10D with a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Image stabilized Ultrasonic lens. I also got a set of Tiffen filters. All of this for $1000.00. BUT HOW you may ask? Well I got them from a friend at work. He wanted the 20D and I wanted a big bad camera. So the deal was set. Oh I forgot to mention the extra grip for the bottom of the camera that holds an extra battery and has a shutter release on it so you can fire the shutter in portrait mode with ease. I also had to add a Tamrac Veloctiy 7 5747 sling bag, 1GB memory card and another battery.

I am pleased with the whole set and I can't wait to start taking some awesome pics. I think I might get a chance this weekend. It's going to be BIG FUN with the BIG GUNS!!!!

Just posted....

2004-10-04T19:54:00.002-07:00

Just posted....

2004-10-04T19:54:00.001-07:00

Well I had this nice long post written up. I typed it all in the entry field here, and when I click Publish... I got a page cannot be displayed... Now it's gone... All gone... I am going to bed.

In the dog house, or is it the dog is in the house?

2004-10-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well, it's the dog is in the house. Now that we have moved into the new house and we are somewhat settled, we have gotten the dog from my wife's cousin's house. I have to say that the first night, I never regretted anything more than getting the dog. She annoyed us all night long. The last time I looked at the clock it was 3:45am and I was getting up to go back outside in my underwear to get the dog. She was barking endlessly and my wife and I both had given up. We let the dog curl up at the end of the bed. The next few nights were a tiny bit better, but she was still annoying us at every turn. I think the worst I felt was when she broke out of the $250 kennel I had put in the yard. It is short work for her to get out of that kennel now. It drives me nuts.

I wanted to get rid of her immediately. I was going to ask the people we got her from if they wanted her back, and if they didn't I was going to search long and hard for a new home. Well things have started to calm down now. She is not annoying us nearly as much and even though she refuses to stay IN her outdoor kennel, she at least stays close to the house.

I still do not know what to do with her. She is not really a problem while we are home. It's the escape routine that is a problem now. I feel stressed about the whole thing, but my son is really attached to her. Another good thing about that is that my son plays with her all day and gets really tired at night. Now that is worth something. I don't know... I guess we will see how it goes. I know that if she keeps escaping from her kennel, she will end up run over or taken or she will find a new home where the owner will build a better kennel for her.

Ahh some time away

2004-09-27T22:05:00.000-07:00

So I just got back into town from a short but "Oh so needed vacation". Once again the vacation plans were not what I expected. We went to my wife's parents house and I thought we were going to Sea World and maybe Schlitterbahn, but it turns out that this weekend just happened to be the Comal County Fair weekend. Ok, so I guess I was a little dissappointed at first, and I kind of didn't want to go to a Rodeo, but I enjoyed myself. It was interesting and I got to see how excited my son was to see all of the animals involved. Well so I thought the second day we would get to go to Sea World, but before the first night was over I learned that my wife's sister had to be at the fair on the second night as well. Again, for some reason, I was a little dissappointed, but strangely excited to go. So we get there and looking around and thinking about my new property, I started thinking how I am now partly able to participate in such events. I now have the land to raise and show some type of animal. I was telling my wife that I would not mind having a Ford F-250 crew cab and she says, "Well you're going to have to get something that will pull a horse"... What was that supposed to mean? Did she know something I didn't? Well thankfully she was talking about when our son would want to have a horse and do things at the fair or whatever on it. I thought for sure whe was going to say that we were getting a horse from a family member and that we would have it in the next year or two... I was a little worried, because I just KNOW that we are going to get some sort of livestock from a family member any day now. It could be a goat or a cow or who knows. I already got the dog from a family member... and she is kind of a horse (Great Dane). So maybe it's the country livin or maybe it was the atmosphere, but I wanted to get a tractor and start plowin... What's happening to me?

Getting back to da blawg

2004-09-21T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, So now that I live in the boonies and have severely diminished surfing ability I have not really kept up on the blogging frequency. Yes, Jay and Michael, I admit that I do not blog as often as I should. I am a busy person since we have a convention coming up at work. The last 2 weeks I have gotten over 50 hours on my paycheck and it's looking no better this week. So I do what I can... Sorry to be such a disappointment.

Ok, so my last blog was a little weird and a lot angry. It was stupid of me to watch the video and I think I have learned a valuable lesson about heeding warnings provided by someone with a level head when it comes to stuff like that. I have seen a part of humanity that I never wanted to see and I am paying for it. The video was the last thing I thought about last night and the first thing I thought about this morning. All day the images kept playing through my head and I could do very little to stop them. At least now when the thought enters my head I don't think I am going to vomit. I heard today that another hostage has been killed in a similar fashion and a video will be released soon. Well you can count me out of that viewing. Unless the demands are met there will be a 3rd video tomorrow. I can only hope that there won't be any further kidnappings, but I know that is to much to hope for.

It's my wife's birthday tomorrow, and I will be working... late... I am not very excited about that. She starts her vacation tomorrow, so that will be good for her, but I have to keep working since our convention is at the end of this week. Friday we plan on going to her dad's house in San Antonio. It will be a fun trip and hopefully my plans will actually work out and we will arrive in San Antonio before her dad and stepmom get off of work. It will be nice to have dinner with them more than one day during a visit.

One of my friends made a comment on his blog about backpacking through the woods. He is hoping that his hobby will spread to me like Anime ( one of my personal fav's ) spread to him. Why do I mention this? Well, it's because I am hoping that he is reading either my comment or this particular entry. Why? Well because I am willing to backpack with him through the woods. He need only tell me when he would like to get this party started and I will start making arrangements. Hear that Michael? Let's get this backpack on. I might mention this to you next time I see you. I mean why should you check my blog? I don't update it... right?

I have seen true evil.

2004-09-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Today someone mentioned how another American hostage in Iraq was beheaded. They also said how you could see the horrible videos of the beheading on the internet. Well I am not sure why I wanted to do this, but I decided to look for myself. I thought it would not be as bad as everyone says it is. Don't get me wrong, beheading is not pleasant and I knew it would be really bad at the very least. I guess I wanted to see it because I hoped that it would be quick and that you would not be able to see much of anything and I could be somehow comforted knowing that the victim was at least killed quickly and that they did not suffer as much as I had imagined. Well I could not have been more wrong. This was by a landslide the most horrible terrifying disgusting thing I have ever seen or even imagined in my entire life. I wish I could go back and not watch it. I was warned by a co-worker not to look at them, but I just had to see it.

I can't imagine a people who can be so full of hate that they would be capable of performing such a terrible crime against humanity. I know that they are trying to spread fear and terror with these horrible images, but all I feel is hate and disgust right now. The men who did this were masked to hide thier identity. Why? Are they afraid or ashamed of what they are doing? They should be. I think that I am a relatively calm person. Sure I have a big bark, but I couldn't get in a physical fight with anyone. I can barely get into a verbal fight with anyone. Some soldiers who see this video will be filled with the same feelings I am having right now. These horrible people have to know that all this is going to acomplish is more death to thier own people. They have done nothing but shown that we should show little to no mercy for them when they are caught. You know, it's one thing to kill to protect yourself or your family. It is another thing to cut off an innocent man's head with a survival knife just to try and prove a point.

I hope that no one related to those poor people who were senselessly killed see those videos. I don't think I could bear it if I saw my brother being beheaded. I could barely handle what I saw happen to this total stranger.

I wish this all could stop.

The Hamas or whatever said they did not support the kidnappings. They are the group that sends suicide bombs into public. Great... Thanks... We don't kidnap and behead people, but we will send a 12 year old into a crowd and have them blow up killing dozens of innocent people. Good on ya mate. Keep up the humane effort there.

All of this makes me very upset and sad for everyone in those war torn countries. I hope that sometime soon things will calm back down and we can go through a day without hearing about one of the appauling events.

Man that tasted like....

2004-09-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if anyone else has this problem, but occassionally I will eat or drink something, and it will taste like something else smells. It is a weird sensation, but it happens every once in a while. A few days ago I decided to try Diet Mountain Dew to see if I could force myself to like it. Well, I must say that it was unsuccessful. I took one drink and thought it tasted like something familiar, but it took a little bit to place it. I took another drink and at that point I could place it. The Diet Mountain Dew tasted like oil paint smells. I recognized the smell that I experienced in college almost every day. It was nasty, so I couldn't even take another drink, I could either throw it in the trash or develop a taste for oil paint. I just threw the rest of it into the trash and grabbed a tube of Titanium White.

So I guess I am not going to be able to drink diet drinks. I am hesitant to try Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper, one of them is bound to take like crap.

That wasn't so painful

2004-09-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Back in June I posted an entry titled "No pain no gian". It was about how I wanted to lose some weight and get generally healthier. Well I don't know about healthier but I have lost 20 pounds. I started at 230 and after weighing my self this morning I weighed in at 210. Cutting out the soda was the main vehicle in this journey and I must say I am doing well. I am pleased with my efforts and I plan to continue. Now I need to get back into the excercise routine to tone up.

Communing with Nature

2004-09-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

For those who may not know. The Home buying Nightmare is over for now. I am finally in the home that I worked so desperately hard to get into.

Now I am in the country. All of the benefits and disadvantages apply. I think for now, the benefits definately outweigh the disadvantages. Tonight my wife looked out the back door and saw 4 deer standing in the back yard. These are the kind of things you don't get to see in the city limits. Unless you are on the outskirts... 4 deer. I got to walk almost all of the way onto the back porch and film them for just a moment before they scampered off. I thought this was cool and my son was really excited about the whole event.

Maybe it's owning this house that makes me want to survey all that is mine or something, but I never used to go out onto the porch unless I was leaving or coming home. I never just went out and sat in silence, or otherwise for that matter. I have been going out and sitting on the porch fairly often since I have been living here. In the morning before I get ready for work, in the evening after I get home, or on the weekends just about anytime the mood catches me. Most of my time here so far has been working on the yard or arranging the stuff in the house, but now that I have gotten it to a livable point I get to enjoy it.

Modern Miracle of Lawn care technology

2004-08-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so most people who have been home during the day with the TV on have seen the commercial for something called a "DR Trimmer Mower". This device is the perfect tool for someone who has a lot of brush or weeds that is treacherous or impossible for standard lawmowers. These tools will cut down weeds like a weedeater would. The difference is when you are done, your arms will not suddenly fall off. I have recently had the immense pleasure of using a similar device. This particular model was made by Craftsman. Well let me tell you, I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!! This thing is AWESOME! I cut down weeds and field brush like mad. Pushing right along with no stalling or choking with an evil grin on my face watching the weeds and brush FLY from the ground and into fields of death. It was like I had a giant schythe and in one giant swoop I cut the unwanted weeds from my new lawn. If you have brush and weeds in your yard that seem completely unmanageable, get one of these miracle devices. It will change your life.

Much thanks to the Davis and Rutledge families for allowing me to use this wondrus machine. I will be forever in your debt.

I am linked to the earth...

2004-08-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, if you have paid attention you may have picked up on the title above... I am now using earthlink... DIAL UP ACCESS!!! My empire is crumbling. Well actually my empire is establishing, with the exception of bad communications. I have a phone and I have Satellite television service... but my internet is a snail. How long will I have to live in this horror? Well, who knows. It will be as long as it takes for the telephone company to figure out how to make their DSL service run longer than 3 miles, or until I win the lottery and pay the local cable company 6-11 THOUSAND dollars to run cable less than a mile... less than half a mile to my house. I don't need cable that bad...

Ok, so maybe I am over reacting. Maybe this dial up thing won't be so bad... I got to blog didn't I? It may not be as convenient, and I will have to teach my family how to function in the stone age, but at least we have the internet. Sure it's at 28.8k because of the crappy quality of the lines...

So, goodbye days of lightning fast web surfing. Goodbye video clip downloads. Goodbye anything but e-mail and a few little things like blogging and an occasional shopping spree on a graphically limited website.

Philip Who?

2004-08-06T15:52:00.000-07:00

Philip Persio. That's who.

So I have furthered my watch collection by 1 watch. I surfed e-bay and after finding a $32,000 Rolex I found some other watches that were within my buying power. Which would be $10.00. So I find this watch and it has an amazingly low bid on it. It was like $5 or something like that. It is a Philip Persio, and according to the decription that is a WORLD RENOWNED brand of watch. It even has a $295 retail value. No reserve! So I thought, hey I might get lucky on this watch I have never heard of. I doubted it's $295 retail value, but thought that maybe it was worth $50 or so. I put a max bid of $20 or so on it and let it go. A little closer to the end of the auction the price jumped up a few dollars to make the price around $9.00 or so. Still safe. So I win the auction at $9 or so. After shipping the total price was $20.79, kind of high on the shipping, but not to bad for a Sub Mariner watch with day and date. It looked good and that's all that really mattered. So I get the watch a week or so later. I opened the box with much anticipation. What do I find inside? A $10 watch. It looks really nice, especially in the pics of the watch. Holding it on the other hand was a little different experience. The band is thin for my taste and does not feel like the substantial bands that are on my Fossil or Columbia. The watch just isn't that heavy, in fact it's rather light. Some might think that is a good thing, but you know how a GOOD watch feels, and it's not really light. I was hoping for a watch that I could barely hold up. I am not really worried about it though. It's a nice watch, and it looks really nice. I will wear it until I replace it with an Omega.... Ok, well maybe I will replace it with a Fossil, but I will get that Omega one of these days.

This just goes to prove that you can't really find a SUPER SUPER "I hope no one else sees this deal" on e-bay. Millions of bargain hunters will make sure that never happens. Although, I did see 4 watches go for $125 and two of them were authentic Rolexes. I find that hard to believe, but maybe it was the real deal.

A haunting thought

2004-07-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

I am going to move into the new house sometime this year... When I do I have to face the fact that Cable does not service the area where I will be living... I am doubtful that the phone service will be able to provide DSL either. That of course means... NO BROADBAND!!!! I will have to suffer through a dial-up connection. What did I do before Broadband? I don't even own a modem anymore.

I could get that Satellite service that provides broadband, but I am not sure how good it REALLY is or isn't and it is a bit more expensive than any other connection. The equipment costs $600! I might just have to suffer through it until Cable is able to provide a connection in my area. Or maybe I will get lucky and the phone service will be able to give me DSL... Yeah, and maybe I am a Chinese fighter pilot.

A time to waste money...

2004-07-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

My wife brought home a Fossil watch that has been in the McDonald's lost and found for a few months now. If someone were going to claim it, they would have done so by now. So she was probably cleaning out the lost and found items that had been there a while. Most of the time you will have wallets that children brought with them to the playground. Inside would be various items such as lip gloss, pictures, a few pennies, you know... kid stuff. Well this particular case the lost item is a watch. And it isn't a bad one either. This is a Fossil Kaliedo watch. It has an analog face with a digital background. Very neat idea brought up by the folks at Fossil. It probably cost it's original owner $85 or so. Not bad for a lost and found item. I had a link taken out of it today and it fits nicely. It is not a replacement for the watch I had, which is a Columbia (made by Fossil), it is simply an addition to the collection. It has a red face whereas my Columbia has a Blue face.

This watch brings up an idea that I have always thought I would like to pursue. A useless collection of watches and I have already found my next watch. I will ask to get it for my birthday or Christmas. This one is on Fossil's website and it costs a reasonable $65. I have quite a few Dragon Themed things on my truck, and I thought maybe I would carry that into a few other areas.

Oh yeah, well I know what you are saying... Just a few posts ago I was talking about how I don't need to have all these things to make me happy and what is the use of spending money on things that don't really serve any purpose. I didn't say that I was going to stop buying these things... I just want to know why we have to have them.

I have always liked browsing through the watches when I enter a fine department store. I see some that I like and wish that I had a few dollars to spend on one. I don't know if this will ever happen... Maybe if I get a good collection going, I can build up to an Omega Seamaster or something. This fine timepiece could cost as much as $4500.00. Yeah... I will get this watch when I find it in some unsuspecting old person's garage sale for 50 cents.

Maybe I could build up to it. I can start by buying less expensive watches and slowly build up to an Omega.... Or maybe if I won the lottery.

Did you call each other?

2004-07-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

One of my very best friends is also a co-worker. We work on similar things because we have similar interests and therefore work in the same field. Well the only problem with that is we very often work together on things and when people see us together they treat us like we are one person. That gets annoying, but I get over that quickly.

The problem is that we can wear clothing that is in the same color range and people immediately say, "Hey did you guys call each other?" Yeah it never gets old either... So about a week ago I showed up in almost the exact same outfit. We immediately noticed each others clothing and actually considered going home to change. What's funny is that for the entire day, not one person said a thing to us about our clothing... It was weird. If we wear similar clothes people mention it, "Hey you guys both have on white underwear... Did you call each other?", but when we wear the exact same outfit... They don't mention a thing... Strange...

I had my comeback all prepared and everything. I was going to shock them by saying, "Nope, just rolled over and asked!" That would have been funny, but then people would really start spreading that rumor, and we don't need that.

I wonder what he would say if he realized we are both wearing a Macromedia Contribute shirt in our blog pictures. Yes.. The exact same shirt...

Mini Update

2004-07-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

Hey, Why does this blog look different?

Well folks. I thought this template looked a little better. A little easier on the eyes.

Hey, you look familiar. Don't you drive a ...

2004-07-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

So I see this guy at the local Technology center... Vo Tech... and he says to me, "You look familiar". I recognized him too, so I told him I thought he looked familiar too. So we get into a conversation and I discover that his wife is this manager of the local Blockbuster. What is really bad about that is the fact that when I find that out, I immediately think of the car she used to drive at least 4 or 5 years ago. It was a Maroon Mercury Mystique. Am I suprised? Are you?

No.

The Blogging Phenomenon

2004-07-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

So, I recently discovered that another one of my friends has a blog. I was unaware that his blog existed until just yesterday. So I did the nice thing and returned the patronage that he has so loyally paid me. I know that one more of my group has a blog, but I am unsure of the location. I should read his blog too. I am not sure he is reading mine though. I wonder if he knows it's here. Michael? Are you reading my blog? Where is yours? How about an attendance check. Leave a comment. Say hi. If you have a blog, drop in an address so we will all know where we all are. Seriously... leave a comment... Please... I mean all of you that reads this. Not just Michael. I want to have all the addresses in one convenient location. We can call this the first blog party... This time it's at my place.

So anyway this phenomenon is really nice. It's the journal that I never had the patience to keep. I guess it's not really a full journal, because I don't think I would put some things here that I would put into a journal. I guess I journal is a little more on the private side. Kind of like the monologue in Bubba Hotep when he is talking about the growth on his penis. Huh Huh... I said penis. I should take a moment now to say that I do not have any entries in any journals that state that I have a growth ANYWHERE much less on my penis. There are no entries on that subject because there isn't a growth to talk about.... You know what... Let me just end that little stream of thought right there. It has the word penis in it WAY to many times...

So anyway. Fortunately this blog isn't costing anything. That way if I don't keep it up I won't be losing anything. If I had to pay for it, I would not keep it going, but I would feel complelled to keep paying for it. ***If you haven't read my previous blog about spending money on needless toys, this would be a good time to do it.*** I know a few other people are paying for their blog, but they are also WAY more likely to keep it going for a long time. There are also some really nice things they get with their service. A log of how people get to their blog for one. That would be cool. Then again, I would discover that someone found my blog by looking for penis growth... EW.... There are some disturbing results that I have heard about from a friend. One day he told me that someone found his blog by looking for "Morrowind Rape Patch". Yeah... That's nice... I don't know which is worse. The fact that someone was looking for that, or that there probably is one.

My wife told me today to update my blog again. That's kind of funny. I updated it last night and she is already telling me to update it again. I guess she is getting into it too.

My life sure is complete with this "...."

2004-07-22T22:19:00.000-07:00

Well I am sitting here in the dark waiting for my wife to get home. She is closing tonight at McD's, and we get to spend such a small amount of time alone together we have to resort to late night rendezvous. So to keep my mind off of sleep I have finally caught up on the housework that I have been needing to do for a week. Folding clothes.

So I jumped the gun and started folding clothes to early. It is 12:30 and I am done with all of them. She won't be home until 1:00.

I read a friend's blog... Ok, it was Jay's blog. How can I expect readers of this blog to know who Jay is? Probably because 99 - 100% of my readers are also reading Jay's blog. If not, Jay is a friend of mine... There, now you know... So anyway, I read his blog and he has an entry about his massive collection of DVD's. He says that he has spent thousands of dollars on DVD's, most of which he will never touch again. They will just sit there and collect dust. I think I have a few of those things too. I am sure much like Jay, the collections do not stop there. Video games, Action figures, books, you name it... I probably have hundreds if not thousands of dollars invested in things that do not serve any purpose. An occasional glance is all these objects get. I glance at my 400 Hot Wheels and a warm feeling washes over me as I think... I sure am glad I have those... I don't know what I would do without them... So what is that? Why do I buy these things? I think I have gotten better than I used to be. I don't buy Hot Wheels any more. I still buy DVD's that I will hardly ever watch. I have limited my Anime memorabilia purchases considerably.

What is this drive that makes us buy these silly things? Is it subliminal messages? Is marketing that effective? Do we have to own things to make us whole? I think my wife has beaten this craving. She never buys anything unless it serves a purpose for her. She will want the occasional DVD, or music CD, but that is even rare. I buy one stupid thing after another and they all just pile up. I am having to move it all slowly into my new house that I still can't live in now, so I will soon know just how much crap I have. Maybe I need to start getting rid of some of these things that I don't need. Maybe that will make me feel better. Money always makes me feel better.

With all the money I make from selling all of these silly 5 minute hobbies I can buy that drumset I have always wanted. ** Here is where I take the trumpet I had to have and play the typical Waa Wa Wa Waaaaaaaa sound that always follows some silly irony**

Thump Thump... Is this thing on?

2004-07-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

So I am always thinking of things that I can post here during the day. The only problem is that when I get home I can't remember what I was going to post. So... I guess I will just post some random journal like material.

The other day at work I was sitting at my desk working on a new web design. And of course I had to get up a thousand times for whatever. That's funny how that works out... I have no motivation for a week or two... Ok maybe 3... FINE 4 weeks, FOUR WEEKS, are you happy? Anyway, nothing to do for a FEW weeks and the minute I start working on something, BAM! I have 1000 other things to work on and interruptions to deal with.... Um... What was I talking about... Oh yeah. I was sitting there working on a page and I hear a knock at the door. I should not have heard a knock at the door because Telecomm installed a phone at the door that people can use to gain access to the room.... Well it has only been a day so I get up to answer the door. It's the Coke man. Ok. I forgive a non-employee for not using the new device and explain it's usage. The he says, "You remember me?" And I can't... I hate that... He then tells me that he dated Randi (babysitter's sister) for 3 years. Then it pops magically into my head. **Oh yeah, this guys drives a regular cab Black Dodge Ram truck**... I could not remember anything about this guy 2 seconds ago, and now I can remember what he drives. That is what this blog is supposed to be about... The fact that I can remember the most meaningless of things and forget important ones.

Hey what's this thing?

2004-07-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

I just noticed this "Change time and date" thing on my blogging console. I wonder if I can delay a post.... So this is me trying that thing out. I am going to change the time and see if this will show up later..... I am easily impressed....

The Home Buying Nightmare pt. 5

2004-07-17T10:46:00.000-07:00

Well here it is a full week after work actually began on my house. I called the builder and he said it would take him until Friday. I thought... WOW, I will get to start moving in this weekend. I will be living in my new house next week! I am so happy, but I probably should not get my hopes up because we know how these things work out.

OK, so all week I drove out to the property to see how things were proceeding. And I thought things were proceeding well. Then things started slowing down.... On Wednesday they had put in the trench for the water line, but the line was just lying on the ground outside of the trench. Hmm. It was close to 6pm so I knew that they were going to be leaving before to much longer. I got to the house and sure enough they were getting into the truck to leave for the day. The guy rolls down his window and says that the inside is almost done and that they ran into a few rocky places for the water line and that they would finish it the next day. Ok I thought to myself. That will be good. They were also scheduled to finish the septic system the next day too... So I came back out the next day and although they had made progress, there was not enough progress to have the house finished on Friday. So I was a little disappointed, but I thought they would have it finished on Monday at the latest.

I called the home builder and he said he lacks about a day. Then they will be finished. The porches will be ready and installed by mid next week and things are good.... Or so I thought... The bomb dropped when he said, "We are waiting on PEC (electric company) to come out and connect the line to the house." Now the poles are done, but the line is not coming from the pole to the house. He said they had called and let them know, but he did not know when they would be out to finish it. So I decided to call PEC.... ... .... Two Weeks........ Two weeks to come out and look at it with an engineer. You know, not only is this the worst thing they could have said, it is also very scary. The last time I talked to an engineer, which took 2 weeks to get to talk to him, it was going to take 6 more weeks to actually get the job done. If he tells me that it is going to take an additional 6 weeks to get that line run from the pole to the house I am going to completely flip out. The house will be completey done and all I will get to do is stare at it longingly.... I am getting mad just thinking about it. If it indeed does end up taking 2 weeks to get him out there... which it will... He better say that the crew will be out that afternoon or the next day. I am already mad at PEC for taking more than 6 weeks to get the poles done.

If I could cancel this whole thing, I think I would do it. The only thing I can think about at this poing is how it has taken us more than a year to get to this point, and even now we are adding even more delays to the already long list. Just when I get to the point of getting to move in, I get another delay. This has been the worst experience of my entire life. If you want to simulate this experience I have a good way to do it. First find something you want more than anything. Then find someone who can give it to you. They should tell you that you can have what you want in just a few days. At the end of those few days they should punch you in the face as hard as they can and then tell you that you will have to wait a few more weeks. Repeat this process, getting punched in the face every few weeks for at least a year. Then they should show you the item you want more than anything. As they start to hand it to you, they should punch you in the face again and say that you have to wait another 2 weeks. When that two weeks is over they should let you hold the item for a few minutes, telling you that it is all yours and that you will not get.... Then you get punched in the face again. As you recover from getting punched, the item will be taken from you and you have to wait 6 more weeks to get it. We will see how it turns out from there.

Glucosamine Chondroitin?

2004-07-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hmm. Well it turns out that this is one product that I will not be able to take advantage of. Even though I will never be able to forget it's name, and any time someone tells me that they have OA (Osteo Arthritis) I will be able to say... "Are you taking Glucosamine Chondroitin?" It apparently helps to replace damaged cartlidge. Well RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) does not deteriorate the cartlidge, it just makes it hurt really bad and deforms it. So we have to use other alternatives.

Omega 3,6,9. You may be asking Omega 3? 6? 9? And I would respond Yes, Omega 3,6, or 9. These are oils. You can get them in Cold Water Fish like Salmon. You can also take them in a supplement. So we are trying this. Fish Oil supplements and eating lots of Fish. There are a few other items that help reduce the inflamation or increase the effectiveness of NSAIDS (pain killers like Ibuprophen). I got all of this information from the public library in BOOKS! I looked on the Internet a little, but I found most of my information in the Library. Where you can get information without pop-up ads and OH YEAH, Paying for it. I guess I am paying for it, with my taxes. Hey At least I am paying taxes for something I can enjoy personally. That is nice.

So anyway, if you are looking for some pain relief from RA or OA, check out the libary, they have a few books on the subject that I found very useful.

Wha!?!?!?!?! I can't believe it...

2004-07-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

I was informed that someone heard noises of work being done on my property last week. Friday to be exact. I thought it was some twisted joke designed to break my will. After speaking with the dealer who said that he would need at least 2 days of complete dryness? So I went out to the land and saw the most wonderful thing. They pulled the two halves into one! My home is whole again. I am one step closer to moving into my first home. Now if I can get them to really finish it. Maybe even this week! I shouldn't get my hopes up.

The Home Buying Nightmare... what part is this? Oh Yeah... 4

2004-07-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

So they finally got the house moved onto the property.... Great.... So now I have 2 halves of a house sitting really close to each other. I can't wait to move into one side or the other... It has been 1 full week and they have not been back. Of course the rain had a little to do with that... Again... I can now stare at my house longingly on my property. I would plan a camping trip to the land so that I could at least enjoy it's wonderus secluded nature... BUT OH YEAH. There is a horrible trailer sitting atop the hill right in front of my land and there are about 5 billion bloodsucking insects waiting for a fresh piece of meat to come walking through the grass aka their home. Nothing pleases me more than an insect that embeds itself into your leg sucking the life from you until it dies.

So that is about all that has happened with the house for now... Maybe in a year or so they will put it together. Then we will really be close to moving in.... And I am a Chinese fighter pilot.

Viva la Who?

2004-07-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

Ok... So they had this show on anything but Music television (MTV aka "The Real World / Road Rules channel) called Jackass. Now that all of the middle school jokes have worn off they have a few spin off shows. Viva la Bam and Wild Boys... I don't think I really need to say to much about this. I also don't think you could bring television any lower. Ok, maybe if you made a bunch of couples compete to adopt a baby and systematically voted all but one couple off through some series of silly contests that didn't really prove that these people were fit to raise a child. ***Whoever can eat this rotted coagulated blood ball will get to raise this baby***. Well anyway, just a few minutes ago I saw the beginning of Viva la Bam where in the first few minutes they cut down a tree on Arbor day, destroyed his uncles car, and built an illegal casino on another group of trees.... Yeah... Quality TV.... Will the juvenile highjinks never stop? The Adopt-a-thon is sounding better all the time.

Now I am trying to decide between going to watch some Judge Joe Brown, or jabbing ink pins into my eye sockets... Man this is a hard decision.

Has that new smell already worn off?

2004-07-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

Man! That was fast. I could not get enough of this thing when I started it, and now I am to the point where I am getting complaints about not posting. Well I have to say I am sorry to all of my loyal fans that I have disappointed over these past few weeks. I will try harder...

No Pain, No Gain

2004-06-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have admitted to myself that I need to lose a little weight. I didn't say, a lot of weight, I just said a little. 25 - 30 pounds to be exact. So I am taking action by not eating as much when I eat (portion control) and I am going to start working out in the company fitness center. Like any other idiot that does not know a thing about working out, I went in full steam first time out. I pumped some iron, I briskly walked a mile on the treadmill, and I did the normal rough housing with my son, which is a workout unto itself. It is now 10:17pm and I think my right arm is going to fall off while I am typing this entry. I just hope the newness of this whole deal doesn't wear off before I lose a little weight and become a buff international superstar.

Grab the speedo and the baby oil, I am going for the gold!

The Home Buying Nightmare. Part 3

2004-06-19T21:40:00.000-07:00

Finally, the day has come. You are finally approved. You reflect at the time over the past year and think... That wasn't so bad. What is a year in the scheme of things.

So it's back to the salesman to talk about getting your house. You are silently thinking that you can be moving into the house within a week. That would be great wouldn't it. The salesman says everything is great, except for the house you had decided upon now costs $20,000 more than it did when you picked it out a year ago. Hmmm... Well I guess we will have to decide on another. Not such a big deal. You decide to get your original second choice. Still a good and pretty house and still you think that everything is going to happen in a timely manner.

Well you will have to get Home title, electricity, Water, phone service, cable service, and a perk test. Ok... Simple enough right? WRONG. Try Eight weeks for what should have taken 4 weeks for a home title. The electricity costs $2500 to put in, the water cost $1000, the phone is not that bad, cable will never be in the neighborhood you are in.... EVER.

Ok finally the home title is in and you are ready to move in. The salesman is ready to start moving the house to the property. As soon as he finishes with the 6 other people in front of you. So when he finishes with them his equipment is broken and you have to wait another week for repairs.

Alright, the repairs have been made in just enough time for the rain to fall for a straight week. The following week it stops raining and things are looking up. Cement is poured, but for some strange reason the electrical poles are not up yet. You call to discover why. Well they hired a contractor to do that job and they have 7 other people in front of you. It is going to take 2 more weeks to get that done. Of course the salesman is going to have the house done well before that... Nothing like looking at your house and it screaming back at you, "What cha lookin at" as it slams the door in your face.

Reality Reality Reality

2004-06-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Will the man who came up with the idea of Reality TV please present himself for execution?

You know... I can't blame that person. If they would have known that it would become this horrible thing, that keeps thinking of worse and worse things to put on TV, they would have never brought the idea to the light of day. In fact they probably would have had a big press conference where they would have said, "I have come up with the worst idea ever for a TV show. If this idea were to escape my demented mind it would spin out of control ultimately ending in the destruction of the known universe." And with that said this person would jab ink pens into their eye sockets and slam his/her head on the podium driving the pens deeper into his/her skull. (Ok that pen part came from the Onion)

My problem is that reality TV is the only thing on TV anymore. If that isn't bad enough, the ideas for these shows are getting worse and worse too. "Why don't we take a group of loving couples, separate them on a fantasy island and try to get them to cheat on one another. When they cheat on each other we will secretly show the other person what happened. We will tear these people apart right in front of millions of viewers. If they don't cheat, we will fabricate something. It'll be great. I hope someone loses it and kills someone else. RIGHT ON TV. the ratings... THE RATINGS!!!!"

I have heard a rumor that they are going to have a show where couples get to compete to adopt a baby. WOW that sounds great. What better way to crush someones dreams of having a child than to make it a competition where if you "get voted out" you have to say goodbye to the baby you wanted more than anything. Maybe the voting out ceremony will include an option to blow out your brains if the pain is just to much for you. What about me? the pain is to much for me too! The end is going to be a tie and they will have to cut the baby in half to keep both contestants happy.

I saw a commercial for a show called "Wife Swap"... I don't even want to think about the premise... I bet I could do a search for "Wife Swap" on the internet and get some interesting things. Kind of like searching for "Three the Hard Way"

Next on ABC, watch the hilarious new reality show, "I want to lose my virginity to one of these 50 men... While America watches" followed by the hit new reality gameshow "Running Man"

What do we need? Sticky Tape!

2004-06-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

What is it about childrens entertainment that forces to be so horribly annoying? Let me pay a song from my son's favorite, Dora the Explorer... "I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the map. I'm the MAP." By the end of the song I am left asking who this guy is that is singing on the screen.

I think the main problem with that is that as an adult I will remember who the map is the first time he says it, but my son will not unless he hears it 35 times in a row to a cute tune. So I am at work hours late and I catch myself singing... Yep you guessed it, I'm the map.

Well at least with that I can quote it safely without getting fired. Unlike the new Beastie Boys album. They have a new song that repeatedly says that they are going to rock that Mother F'er like Three the Hard Way. So I am walking past my bosses office and I catch myself sining, We gonna rock this mo.... For anyone who may be unaware there is an old Blaxpoitation film called Three the Hard Way. Before you jump to conclusions about whether or not is is a porno, it's not that one. ***Free tip: Don't search for Three the Hard Way on the Internet... You will not like what you see... Well maybe you will*** I The movies is about a white supremist group putting a chemical in the water that only kills Black people. Good classic Martial arts insue.

So for the next few hours I will have "I'm the map in this mother f'er like Three the Hard Way"

The Home Buying Nightmare. Part 2

2004-06-18T21:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we have covered living beyond one's means, which is what gets you into all kinds of financial trouble. Let's move on.

At this point you are doubting whether you can finance a candy bar, let alone a complete house. The salesman assures you that you can get a loan one way or another. He tells you that he can take your application and he will have word within a couple of weeks whether or not you will get the loan. Well you thought that sounded great. He was confident that you can get the loan for the house you want (which in this case happened to be a manufactured home). You leave the place feeling like you can take on the world. All of the destructive things you have done to your credit and they still cannot bring you down. You are the king of the world and no creditors phone calls will stop you from getting further into debt.

The two or three weeks fly by in like 5 minutes. So you call the salesman and ask if he has heard anything. "Well no, he cannot work on your application until next week." The words hit you like a knife in the stomach. "Buh Buh Buh But I thought you said 2 or 3 weeks and you would know!" He calmly tells you that you are a fool to have thought that and a person with your horrible credit should feel lucky that he did not have you sent to debtors prison for even suggesting that you should get to buy a house. So you wait. You finally hear from the lenders and they want paperwork like you would not believe. War and Peace is a pamphlet compared to the 18 volume set of your complete life history they want you to provide along with interviews, videos, and various bodily fluids. Then they send you the "Application". The application, which is normally followed by ominous music and howling wolves, comes to you via large freight. You open the crate with fear and see the mountain of papers inside. It's at this point you should realize that this paperwork is really nothing. It's a fairly small amount of paperwork. You only have to sign your name until your fingers bleed. Besides, you won't even think about this paperwork when you are signing it for the 5th time because of a mistake on page 463.

It is at this point you go through the long process of waiting and waiting and waiting. They will call and ask for more blood. You happily provide it to them thinking that any minute I am going to be approved and we can start packing our stuff.

Pimp my Computer

2004-06-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

I am not sure when it started, but at some point people thought it would be a good idea to put some ground effects into their computers. Well I have officially joined the populous of tricked out machines.

Here it is. The "Demon". I got the parts to build this machine from newegg.com. I had gone to a store to purchase the parts to build this machine, but they refused to take my out of state check, so I refused to purchase anything from them or their website.

This is an AMD 2.8Ghz with 512MB 3200 DDR RAM. It has an 80GB SATA HDD, and a DVD Burner. Of course it has a super keen case with a window and light up fans. I also got 2 4" UV lights for it along with multiple UV reactive cables. It was not bad at all. I got the whole deal for $581. I already had a Video card. Geforce FX5600 with 256 MB RAM on it.

I love that new insert object here smell

2004-06-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

This post is all about how I am sure I will think this is the greatest thing since sliced bread for at least a week. Maybe I will think it stirs up creativity and that will make it last another week or so.

*GASP*! What are you trying to say Smitty? Is this non-stop laugh a second riot going to stop?

In a word? Yes

Oh, I have best intentions... ***This is the part in my mind where I say something that loosely relates or sounds like something from a movie that I have seen anywere from 1 to 500 times and I finish out the quote, which in this case would be... BANG... "Go on. You were saying something about Best Intentions?"..."Oh you were finished!..." Hopefully you can finish the quote from there. This will happen... a lot...*** to keep this going for as long as I am able to type on a keyboard. I know me though... This will last for a short very intense period where I will post almost non-stop. Look at tonight. I am working on post number 3 with no end in sight.

Well here is to hoping that I promote mental health in myself by putting my thoughts on paper.. or screen... Do me a favor and keep checking on this for new entries. Make some comments, they are greatly appreciated.

The Home Buying Nightmare. Part 1

2004-06-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

I think anyone who has bought a home can appreciate at least a little of what I am saying when I say... Buying a home is a complete nightmare!

The first step of buying a home is to find out how much of a complete loser you are. Of course I mean the credit report. Nothing says deadbeat better than a 50 page document full of late payments, charge offs, drawings of creditors middle fingers, huge payoffs, and the occasional on time payment. The first thing they teach you in college is that if you get a credit card they give you a free shirt, koozie, frizbie, pen, or some knick knack that cost the credit company 2 cents to produce. Sure it all sounds great to you! Afterall there is a free shirt in it for you. Well this is what they call the beginning of the end. The credit company now has it's fangs in you and now it's time for the blood.

Let me take you back, all the way back to 1997. I got my first credit card, and complimentary free shirt of course, because I needed art supplies. Well I got the card and I was so happy I could finally get those art supplies. So which art supply should I buy first? Paint brush? No... I have a few already. Canvas? No... I am in printmaking this semester. Ink for printmaking then? No. The school supplies that. Oh I know then. My first art supply will be... A PLAYSTATION!!!! I can get Mario paint for it. (knowing fullwell that Mario Paint was only available on Nintendo).

Well that folks is what they call, impulse buying. It can also be referred to as "living beyond ones means".

An explaination of "Stale Knowledge"

2004-06-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so have you ever known anyone who has a wealth of useless knowledge? Something that you have never cared to remember or even think about? Well I remember all of those things, ok so maybe it just has to do with BRAND NAMES. What kind of car do you have? Sure you know that, most people do. I think it becomes a problem when I can remember what kind of car you drive, your spouse drives (I could have put wife/husband, but that was to much to type there), your kids (if you have any), your brothers, sisters, mom, dad, uncle... chances are if I have seen it once, I will probably remember it. Prove it? I have a friend who drives an Isuzu truck (they don't have model names, it's just called a truck... kind of lame of the makers (GM by the way) to not think of a name). His wife drives an Acura Legend (made by Honda by the way). His Mom drives a Honda Accord, and his dad has one too but he only drives it occasionally because he normally drives a Ford Ranger with a Line X bed liner. His sister drives a Honda Element and her husband drives a Civic (2 door hatchback with a few engine mods that make it really mean). Yes these people are really into Honda, but can you blame them? They are great cars. Well anyway, this is just a small sampling. For some reason I make an effort to take notice of what vehicle people drive. I know what my boss drives, my bosses boss, his boss, and my bosses bosses boss... crap... The COO of my company... I know what he drives. Yeah, I know what the CEO, CFO, National Marketing Director, VP or Corporate Development, VP of Corporate Communications, National Group Marketing Director, and the CEO's assistant drives... It does not stop there. I know what brand of grill the CEO has on his balcony. I know what brand his refrigerator, cook range, and dishwasher is. His wife carries a Nokia 3560 cell phone. Why do I remember all of these things? I have no idea. It's kind of fun, but a little nerdy. I don't deny my nerdyness... "nerdyness"? Saying that was nerdy. I wear it proudly. What's my point? I don't know. Maybe it's, don't waste your time remembering everything about nothing. Personally I think it's kind of fun... but like I said, I'm a nerd...

Stale Knowledge

Websites and Beatdowns

Birthday for young master Theran

Position that page, and put some stank on it!

PC's are dead as F'ing dead. Mac is coming back in a big F'ing way

Surfing on Air

What's up San Francisco! (David Chapelle moment)

Oxycoddddooosnnnennlsnienlglka

And the time table moves up!

True Driving Pleasure

And the nervousness sets in

Some of that Stale Knowledge

Plagued with Wildlife

So what's up?

Wastes of Money

And so it begins

Trying to tell me something?

The News of many subjects

The Giant Dog of Dissappointment

Pinnacle of What?

I told you it would happen...

Long time no Blog

Back in the age of Dial up

Rough Seas

Wondrus Employee Purchase

Just posted....

Just posted....

In the dog house, or is it the dog is in the house?

Ahh some time away

Getting back to da blawg

I have seen true evil.

Man that tasted like....

That wasn't so painful

Communing with Nature

Modern Miracle of Lawn care technology

I am linked to the earth...

Philip Who?

A haunting thought

A time to waste money...

Did you call each other?

Mini Update

Hey, you look familiar. Don't you drive a ...

The Blogging Phenomenon

My life sure is complete with this "...."

Thump Thump... Is this thing on?

Hey what's this thing?

The Home Buying Nightmare pt. 5

Glucosamine Chondroitin?

Wha!?!?!?!?! I can't believe it...

The Home Buying Nightmare... what part is this? Oh Yeah... 4

Viva la Who?

Has that new smell already worn off?

No Pain, No Gain

The Home Buying Nightmare. Part 3

Reality Reality Reality

What do we need? Sticky Tape!

The Home Buying Nightmare. Part 2

Pimp my Computer

I love that new *insert object here* smell

The Home Buying Nightmare. Part 1

An explaination of "Stale Knowledge"

I love that new insert object here smell