Just Stuff

Another General Update

2006-12-05T15:44:00.000-05:00

* Work is insane, but good. Reviews were just completed, and mine was glowing. Thanks to all my work peeps that had such nice things to say. It's very much appreciated. Raises should be announced soon, too. *Crosses fingers!* When I'm up there next Monday, I'll make sure to buy a round of drinks at the party! Yay!

* My visit to Salt Lake City is rapidly approaching. Got in touch with a childhood friend of mine, and we're going to hookup for lunch while I'm there. I'm looking forward to seeing her and my family.

* Left arm has been driving me absolutely batty. Both wrist and elbow are having lots of problems lately. I'm sure it's directly attributable to my awful posture and excessive time at the computer, but still. *hrmph* Should pay a visit to my local, friendly orthopedic surgeon, see what he has to say. Dr. Roz is the shiznit...

* Not a whole lot going on right now—it's been relatively uneventful. My druid in WoW is up to 45 (and half-way to 46!), still feral, but now she's a corporal. That girl's going places, I tell you.

(* Heh - just got off the phone with Sprint. My Blackberry is now data enabled. Oh joy of joys.)

All Glory to the System

2006-12-05T15:37:00.000-05:00

I know it's tacky to post song lyrics to blogs, but I really, really like these lyrics:

Egobrain.
Man-made shame.
Shame, love after it rains

You see my pain is real.
Watch my world dissolve
and pretend that none of us see the fall.

As I turned to sand
you took me by the hand
and declared that love prevails over all.

Annoying Coffee Accoutrements

2006-10-12T13:01:00.000-04:00

Stir sticks. I use mine for hot chocolate, but the result is the same. If you use one, they end up bending in half, rendering themselves nearly worthless. I usually grab two, but then it annoys me that I can't get two sticks of the same length. There are 1,000 stir sticks in a box, and none of them are equal in length to another in the same package; sure seems like I should be able to have a matching pair.

Naughty Naughty

2006-10-12T12:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't posted in, what, over a month? So lazy. Here's what's going on, for those of you that care.

Getting ready to move on Saturday. House isn't even close to packed. We'll be doing the mad dash tonight and tomorrow night to get ready, and still may come up short. We'll end up moved, one way or another. :-)

Work is nutty, as usual. Still understaffed considering the amount of work that we have, and I feel like I'm barely managing to keep my head above water. I hope they start fleshing out our team a little more in the near future.

WoW Update: Level 27 Night Elf Druid (Feral), rank: Private. Can you say kick ass? I knew you could...

Through some strange changes, which I will not delve into here, the step-son (SS) is living with us now. We modified our living arrangements so that we'll be in a large, three bedroom townhouse, instead of the two bedroom apartment we were originally taking.

Thyroid treatment is coming along well. The medication that I'm on doesn't seem to have too many negative side effects. My weight has held steady for the last couple of weeks, but I think I'm about to see it start sliding back down again. Just bought new pants, and I've come down another size (that makes 4 sizes since June).

I can't think of anything post worthy at this point. As always, looking for good book recommendations (finished both Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion; both were good, once you got the half-way point), and have started on The Eye of the World (a Wheel of Time novel by Robert Jordan, recommended by a friend. Very good so far.)

General Update

2006-08-23T12:05:00.000-04:00

The goings-on for the past couple of weeks:

* The SD got back from her mom's house. It was a very good visit, and I'm happy that she and her mom got along well.

* We flew out one of SD's friends from SLC, and she spent nearly three weeks with us.

* We went camping (SD, her friend, me, Ed, and then our two friends, TSJ and DBA. Girls took a tent, adults were in the RV). The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it wasn't a long drive, so it was a good weekend for camping.

* Took a little shortie cruise to Nassau (Bahamas) last weekend. SD and her friend had fun (first time the friend had been out of the country), and it was cool to just relax. I'm very glad that we didn't pick a super long trip - 3 days was a little short, but by the end of 7 days I'm climbing the walls, ready to go home. TSJ watched the kitties for us (thanks again!). I managed to set of the Geiger counter at DCA (Reagan National Airport), but no one stopped me. Go figure. (Just as a side note, we had a bunch of pictures taken on the cruise, and I look like crap in every single one. What's up with that? Why didn't the photogenic gene pay me a visit?? WTF?)

* SD is all registered for her new school (Ed took her in this morning to finish the registration process). I can't believe what a PAIN changing schools has been. First, show up with a copy of your new lease, and documentation showing that you're actually planning on moving (utility disconnect notices work), and present all of that information to the residency baoard—because we want to start her in school a mere two weeks before we move!—and wait for an approval letter. Then appear in PERSON and withdraw the student from the original school, making sure to get a copy of the withdrawl notice, and then take all of that information to the NEW school (again in person!) and wait several days for them to check it all out. Then, discuss class schedules & levels, and then appear one more time (in person) to finish the registration process. What BS.

* Mom and Dad aren't going to make it for Thanksgiving. I'm pretty bummed out.

* Work is insane, as usual. All sorts of things going on that have to be finished now. It's been pretty quiet the last couple of weeks, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

* The State of Maryland has graced us with it's ineptitude. We have to go back and pull the cancelled checks for our 2005 taxes, 'cause they don't think we filed (even though they cashed the checks). Idiots.

Business as usual...

A Return to Normal

2006-08-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

I've been feeling much better, lately. I'm starting to return to my pre-depo, pre-hyperthyroid self (and she's not so bad, if I do say so!).

Lots of little things that add up to a huge difference. I'm far more emotionally stable. I don't feel shaky all the time. I eat alot less, so I'm loosing weight. I feel energetic - like I can stay up all night again, and be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the morning. My brain is starting to work at full capacity again (I can form sentences, and I don't have to strain for words).

I'm back, baby!

Iceland Pictures

2006-08-09T11:55:00.000-04:00

I finally have a few Iceland pictures to post. Took me long enough...

This is the south-western shore of Iceland. The picture does not do it justice - it's breathtaking, magnificent; the sounds of the water, the feel of sea-spray on your face, the wind in your hair. It's beautiful.

This is the waterfall Gullfoss. It's not very tall, but the river is wide, and the water cascades down several steps at this point. If it weren't so cloudy, you'd be able to see the Langjokull glacier in the background on the left-hand side. Langjokull (translates to "long glacier") has an area of about 950 square kilometers, and rises in between 1200 and 1300 meters above sea level. Langjokull is about 1/8 the size of Iceland's largest glacier, and Europe's biggest icecap, Vatnajokull

This is Ed with one of the many geyers in Iceland. This particular geyser, Strokkur, feeds from the same hot spring that gives life to Geysir (the one and only - the geyser namesake).

Ed and I at one of the many small falls in Iceland. There are a million little waterfalls, rivers, ponds, hot pots, and steam vents. This one was particular pretty - we were on our way to one of the smaller glaciers, Snaefellsjokull, and stopped on the way back.

Lucky Girl

2006-08-08T12:33:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to post Iceland pictures for the last half-hour. Blogger keeps timing out. Lucky me.

StReSs!!

2006-08-08T11:41:00.000-04:00

It's been a stressful couple of days here. Ed's been working incredibly long hours, I'm still feeling side-effects from my treatment, SD has a friend visiting & they've both been doing teenager-y things, the ex has called to make a stink about the living arrangements of the kids (specifically, she wants the SS to come live with us), Mom & Dad aren't going to make it out for Thanksgiving, work is very amorphous right now, Ed's stressing about our scuba trip to Rawlings (although I'm stoked - it's the only diving we've done this year, and it took lots of sweet talking & promising to my endocrinologist to get clearance - thanks, Doc! I'm forced to play delicate little princess for the weekend, but I'll still get to dive. :-).

The list goes on and on.

Last weekend was good, but busy. We had a good time with our friend Anton for his birthday, including a quick trip to Dave and Buster's (never been before, but definitely planning on going back!). For the first time in several weeks, I went without a headache. It lasted all of two days, and now it's back with a vengeance.

I'm tempted to cram the next couple of months full of things, because who knows what'll happen when I start on the thyroid medication. I know that in time it'll be easy and beneficial, but getting the right dosage of the right drug will take time.

I'm at the end of my post, and I never know how to conclude. I don't like those cheesy sign-offs ("Well, talk to you later!"), and I don't feel that there's any resolution to any of the above issues that would provide closure. I guess I just leave it as is.

Updates

2006-07-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

Iceland was great. We took a ton of pictures, but I haven't done more than copy them to CD. I haven't gone through and named anything yet, but when I do I'll post some of the better shots.

I completed the I-131 radioiodine treatment last Thursday (the 20th), and have been feeling some of the effects. Mainly, I'm tired & have a sore throat. I've also been plagued with a headache the last several days, but I think it's starting to subside.

I believe the worst part of the treatment was the pill. Not actually taking it, but the nuclear medicine tech bringing it to me. The pill itself is a blue capsule, less than half an inch long (think of a Tylenol extra-stregth capsule - about that big). The storage container, however, is close to 8 inches tall, 5 inches wide, made of lead, and weighs probably 15 pounds. The tech brings out the container and sets it next to you, but you have to open it, retrieve the vial with the pill, and do all of the medication handling - they won't touch it.

That, in conjunction with "DANGER! Radiation Area!" signs all over the place left me not-so-comfortable ingesting that little blue pill. Ed was fantastic, afterwards - picking out movies that I liked, going into work late to make sure I was alright, making dinner, and tending to other things that I couldn't do. It was nice to have him so supportive.

We got out new bedroom furniture on Friday (the 21st, one day after my treatment), and it's bee-YOO-tiful! The wood color is called "Espresso", and it contrasts nicely with our light walls and carpet. The mattress is fantastic too!

SD finally got her report card for the end of last year, and she got straight A's, again! She almost had A's for the entire year (three B's at the beginning). She also had a great visit with her mom & brothers, and is looking forward to another visit. On the flip-side, we had a great time with SS over the summer too. He was pretty well-behaved for the duration, which is all we could've asked for!

Work is great, same as usual. It's been really nice to be out of the frantic "too much to do" mode that we were in for so long. Nice and quiet. I got the meet the new VP of Technology, and he's a pretty cool guy. I'm looking foward to having all sorts of new, cool projects!

Looks like we're going to a movie this weekend, either Pirates of the Caribbean or Cars. Either way, fun fun fun!

Update (round 2)

2006-06-26T13:41:00.000-04:00

I just finished writing several paragraphs, and the website ate it. Stupid pop-ups. Let's try this again.

It's been about two months since my last post, and Ed's recent blog revival prompted me to write this. Thanks, honey!

Things have been going well. We've been pretty busy the last two months. We just finished a site redesign at work. The actual setup wasn't bad - server configuration went together really well. I expected big problems, and we were lucky. There have been a handful of emails from users about the design, and we've already fixed most of those problems. I was at work 18 of the last 24 hours, so I'm going back to bed when I'm finished with this.

I've been having thyroid problems & have been seeing an endocrinologist. She wants me to get radiation treatment, but because were A) Going to Iceland in two weeks (YAY), and B) I don't want to be setting off radiation detectors in foreign airports, she has me on medication instead. The main concern with the drug is liver damage, so I'm going for more bloodwork today. I'm a human pincushion.

The SD is out at her mom's house for the summer, and we have the SS (step-son) instead. We went camping two weekends ago in Pennsylvania, and had a blast. SS goes home the same day we leave for Iceland.

I've nearly beat Diablo on Nightmare, I finished Tomb Raider:Legends, and am back into WarCraft. I also have friends that keep talking about Oblivion, so I'd like to give that a try too.

There's a leak in our roof right over our bed. This is on the heels of three air conditioner failures (complete with water leaking through and setting off the smoke detector), maintenance being in my apartment with no notice, while leaving the window open (screen out) for 10 hours, and the apartment manager telling me that he's sorry he can't keep track of the movements of his staff. I hate this place. I can't wait to move.

Everyone is healthy and happy (cats & fish included). I'll make sure to post pictures of Iceland when we get back.

An Ode To Dell

2006-04-24T09:12:00.000-04:00

My cd-rom drive doesn't work;
it simply won't read discs.
I called to see if you could give
the steps to get it fixed.

"Have you rebooted since this occurred?"
you ask time and time again.
"Yes I have" I always state
although it never quite sinks in.

"It must be something you installed"
(this statement seems knee-jerk)
But I haven't installed anything
because the cd-rom won't work!

I tell you all the things I've done
to make this thing work since it shipped.
You have me repeat them anyway
because you're reading from a script.

You finally concede my points
and claim the drive is dead.
You say you'll send a replacement drive
but tell me my warranty is expired, instead.

So here I sit, forlorn and lost,
a techie without a cd-rom.
I'll pick one up at Circuit City
and replenish my aplomb.

Life

2006-04-20T14:55:00.000-04:00

I'm feeling incredibly stressed out right now. Things are in a state of mild turmoil at work, and it doesn't show any sign of settling anytime soon. My boss, the tech manager, gave his notice a couple of weeks ago, but isn't planning on leaving immediately—he'll stick around until the middle of May. But, since the announcement, the upper echelons of management have been tweaking out. I don't think that the managersÂ departure will be the end of the organization, but the lack of direction is hard to stomach. Part of it stems from the vague delineation of departments and reporting structure in the overall hierarchy; some of it is just the natural and expected shift that happens when team members try to pick up the slack when key players leave. In any event, I can't wait until this particular problem is no longer so.

On the home front, we're trying to assist (both in terms of finance and morale) some family members in making the move from Utah to Maryland. These particular family members are having a lot of indecision, and find themselves going back and forth trying to make up their minds. Moving is a hard thing to do, and depending on how world savvy you are, it can be very, very scary. When Ed and I moved from Utah to New Jersey, we didn't have any family members in the area, Ed was starting a new job, I didn't have a job (and I barely had my GED), he was leaving his two kids behind, I was leaving all of my family, and I hadn't traveled anywhere really. Plus, all of our stuff was on the road, headed for the East coast, and we didn't have a place to live! Still, we saw the benefits for getting out of Salt Lake (an economically depressed, religiously oppressed part of the country) and growing roots somewhere else.

Ed and I have talked often about what makes us more successful than other people that came from the same background. We've decided it's the ability to take risks and deal with the consequences of those risks. Moving from Utah, where we had a large support structure of family, to New Jersey, where we were on our own, was risky. What if we couldn't find a place to live? What if Ed's job didn't work out? What if we hated the environment? So many questions; none of them had good answers. We just knew that if something happened, we'd find a way and deal with it then (like the problems caused by Ed's ex-wife, and our subsequent move to North Carolina—now that's rolling with the punches!).

When we moved from North Carolina to New Hampshire, it was not a beneficial move for us. We didn't like the people, Ed didn't like his job, the state had no economy to speak of—we felt isolated. Didn't we cry about it? Did we throw up our hands and admit defeat? No. We looked at the situation objectively, and decided that we needed to get out. We didn't just hop in the car and pick somewhere at random, either. We spent a few weeks looking at the job markets in several different regions (Houston, Atlanta, New York, San Francisco, several others), and talked at length about what our goals were. We're very happy here, and feel that it was worth the risks we took to get here.

I firmly believe that you are the master of your own destiny. Anything can be accomplished with enough guts and hard work. Sure, there will be problems along the way, but nothing that can't be overcome with perseverance. Sheesh. I almost sound like an optimist!

Enough venting. On to good news. The SD received her report card yesterday: straight A's for the second marking period in a row! We're quite proud of her.

Annie (Gummy the Wonder Cat) went to the vet on Tuesday for a follow-up to her dental surgery. The vet says she looks fantastic, and has gained almost a pound since late December (nearly 1/6 of her body weight). Finished our taxes and mailed checks, and actually received a $5 refund from the State of Maryland instead of owing them money, thanks to their working spouse law—not sure what it's called, exactly. It was a damn good thing, too, since we ended up spending nearly $300 on the vehicles last weekend on oil changes, a new battery, and 4x4 maintenance on the Durango. We still have to spring for new tires before we can tow the RV with peace of mind, and that's gonna be a hefty chunk.

I'm very much looking forward to the Orlando trip we have scheduled in a month. We're going to pay a visit to Universal Studios, and I think the conference will be a lot of fun! It's exactly what I need right now!

Get Cerealized

2006-04-12T09:08:00.000-04:00

My new mp3 player has this built in "ZENCast" functionality (obviously trying to compete with iTunes and the podcast phenom). One of the comedy feeds I'm subscribed to is "Cerealized", and so far, it's hilarious. They are short (3-5 minute) clips of roommates around the breakfast table.

If you've got a couple minutes to spare, you can check them out here. Season 1 is comprised of 24 episodes, all of which are currently available. Their website says they're taking a break before getting into season 2.

Movies Pt. 2

2006-04-12T09:04:00.000-04:00

We finished Brokeback Mountain. It was okay. I think that the Academy made a good choice when it made Crash the Motion Picture of the Year. If you're up for a good "Romeo and Juliet" style love story, Brokeback will scratch that itch. The gay scenes didn't bother me, but there may be some who would take offense.

Movies

2006-04-10T10:59:00.001-04:00

We watched the first half of Brokeback Mountain last night, and this movie, once again, proves my theatrical ignorance. Putting aside controversial subject matter, this is just another movie. Some of the scenery pans are incredible—gorgeous, sweeping views of the mountains and valleys, vivid sunsets, and stark, bleak in-town shots.

Understandably, the most engaging part of this movie for most people is the love trist between Jack and Ennis (I'm sure there's an "anus" joke in there, somewhere). The first scene was pretty graphic and shocking, only because it moved so quickly. Then, so far, the rest of the movie is kind of a bore. We've got another 45 minutes to watch, so maybe it will redeem itself.

This is not a movie that's keeping me glued to my seat. I think it says something that I turned it off half-way through and went to sleep.

Loose Wad?

2006-04-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

Okay, Ed is no longer a tight wad—Ed has agreed to replace my broken Dell mp3, all to make my listening day at work a little better. The picture on the left is what he bought me!

It has all sorts of cool little features, like video playback, photo gallery, FM tuner & recording, color screen, it'll sync with my Outlook calendar at work, so on and so forth. I'm SO excited! I'm going to load it up with pictures & videos from our vacations so I can view them at work! It should be at the house in a few hours! *tweek tweek*

Creepiest. Bug. Ever.

2006-04-04T16:11:00.000-04:00

This creepy looking thing is a house centipede, and last night we found one at the bottom of our 15 gallon fishtank. We didn't know what it was, though, so there was some speculation as to how it got into the fishtank. Had there been an egg in with the last batch of feeder fish we purchased? No, the egg would have been huge (the centipede we found at the bottom of the tank had a 2 inch body, and probably spanned 5 inches from tip to tip including antenae), and we certainly would have noticed it.

We came to the conclusion that it had snuck in during this last week. We've had the doors open, enjoying the warm weather, and he must have decided that our house was a great place to shack up.

We did some looking around online and found some information about house centipedes (including what they're called!). They aren't aggressive, and they actually eat smaller arthopods like spiders. I'm kind of sad the poor little guy drowned to death. Still, I wouldn't want to find one in my bed!

Tight Wad

2006-04-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

Ed's a tightwad. My mp3 player is dying a slow, tortured death, and he has "put his foot down" about buying a replacement. Why? Because he's cheap. So instead, we're going to rip it open and see if we can fix it. I'm looking forward to cracking the player open and seeing the insides, and I really, really hope that we can fix it. I don't want to be tuneless at work. :-(

Work Upheaval

2006-04-04T10:22:00.000-04:00

My boss gave notice yesterday. He's been with the magazine for 7 years, and has been the tech manager for who knows how long. This is on the heels of the resignation of the VP of Technology. Changes are afoot, and that leaves me wondering what's going to happen. I'd estimate that for most people, at least 50% of your work satisfaction comes from the boss you work with. You have a lousy boss? You hate your job. Your boss rocks? You think your job is the shiznit.

I don't know who will replace my soon to be ex-boss, but I hope they make a good choice. *worry*

End of the Dry Spell

2006-03-31T15:40:00.000-05:00

I haven't had much to blog about lately. Things have been very quiet around the house, and there haven't been any crazies on the metro in the morning. Both of those things changed today.

Yesterday we noticed our A/C wasn't blowing. The house was really warm, and though we could hear the thermostat click over, no air was coming from the vents. We turned off the A/C, and planned to call maintenance in the morning. We've been lucky weather-wise lately, so it's pleasant enough to just open a door and let the breeze in. Besides, the cats love the fresh air tinted with all those nature scents.

This morning at 3:20 our smoke detector went off. Now, for those of you that've had the privilege of waking in this fashion, you know it's not all that great. Ed and I lunge out into the living room, expecting the house to be ablaze and find....nothing. I'm standing under the smoke detector in question, and I notice that my shoulder is awfully wet. I look up and see a growing droplet of moisture—the smoke detector is peeing on me!

The A/C, which is upstairs, directly over said smoke detector, evidently defrosted enough during the night to start leaking, and it appears as though there isn't a drain pan for the A/C, or the apartment folks have bypassed it in some way. Then the A/C thawed, the water ran down through the wall and into the smoke detector, setting it off. We called the emergency maintenance number, and maintenance showed up about 20 minutes later. They just disconnected the detector, and said they'd be back to assess the damage during normal working hours.

Maintenance showed up this morning at 10, as promised, but found that the A/C was still partially frozen. We're going to have to wait until tomorrow to get resolution.

So, I'm late getting to work because of this, so I don't actually leave for the train until about 10:30 or so. I get to the Metro Station, and it's PACKED. There are tourists EVERYWHERE. This is the first official weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival, and the gawkers have shown up en masse. Kids screaming, parents on their cell phones (yelling when we go into the tunnel, because duh, when the signal drops, all you have to do is scream to be heard!), strollers in the aisle, and so forth. I don't want to think about my commute home tonight. It's going to be awful.

Seriously Delinquent

2006-03-23T11:54:00.000-05:00

It's been nearly two weeks since I made a blog post, and that's far too long. Here's an update on the goings-on as of late:

On Monday my sister had a baby. No one knew she was pregnant. We're happy for her, none the less.
I recently called to catch up with a friend from middle school (Tabitha). I spoke to her mom for 15 minutes, and got some general updates. I'm hoping to hear from Tabitha herself this weekend sometime.
I finally mailed a letter & pictures to my family in France. I've had the finished letter in my bag for nearly three weeks, and I've wanted to send something for 7 months or so. Took me long enough!

That's about the extent of it. Been pretty quiet lately. We're still fighting with Carnival over the hassle that was our last cruise, but so far we've had no resolution. Oh, and South Park last night was AWESOME! We knew that Parker and Stone would have some sort of retaliation, and Ed nailed it on the head—he said they'd eliminate the Chef character, probably by making him a child molester or something. Hilarious!

One of us. One of us.

2006-03-10T06:45:00.000-05:00

I've been experiencing an increasingly annoying phenomenon. While reading a book, people, whether at work, in elevators, or on the train, tend to ask if it's any good. Lately, I've been doing alot of repeat reading, so my answer is usually "It's good, but I've read it before."

This is when the conversation turns dire. The questioner gives me the "Why would you read a book a second time?" look, at which point I offer up guiltily, "I'm a reader." This is always a mistake. Usually the response to that is just to repeat my statement: "Oh. You're a reader", their voice drippping with near palpable disdain. It's the same tone you'd use to say "Oh. You have leprosy," or "Oh. You have a dead man's liver in your shirt pocket."

I tend to believe their unspoken message is "What? Is that book really a good replacement for human interaction?" To those silent querents, my answer is, no, it's not a good replacement for human interaction. However, it is a good replacement for interaction with humans like you.

Jury Duty

2006-03-06T11:02:00.000-05:00

Ed will be participating in juror service today. While he's hoping to get out of there at noon (like I did!), I hope that he at least gets through the voir dire stage. I really wanted to at least go through jury selection when I went. Instead, I spent 4 hours sleeping in the jury lounge...

No More Dominos Pizza At My House

2006-03-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

CNN reported this morning that Thomas S. Monaghan has gathered $250 million to construct the town of Ava Maria, surrounding Ava Maria University in Florida, and that the town will be founded under the guiding principles of the Roman Catholic Church.

Part of the plan for his city includes inserting provisions into retail and business leases (since he plans on holding title to all of the retail-zoned property in the city) that restricts the peddling of such abhorrent things as birth control pills, pornography, and condoms. Monaghan also says that there will be no place in his town to receive an abortion.

Even with all of that, it doesn't bother me (much). If this guy wants to spend his money in this fashion, and there are people willing to live behind the curtain of his rules, then they can have at it. Obviously, I won't be purchasing property in Ava Maria. I'll exercise my voice of dissent by not purchasing products or obtaining services from Monaghan's company again.

What does raise my hackles, however, is that Jeb Bush, an ELECTED government official, attended the ground breaking ceremony and praised the town!

I think it's highly inappropriate for Jeb to throw his weight behind a project so steeply rooted in religious beliefs. The spokesman for the governor said that, obviously, all rules and lease restrictions would have to follow Florida law. How long will it take for the state to strike down or change said laws, so that these folks can do as they wish without impunity?

I can't remember where I saw it, but I once read something that said people don't create laws so that their own actions can be controlled. Laws are always created to save other people from what one person sees as immoral. I guess now we can add incorporating a township into that as well.

This has Waco written all over it. Can't you just see, 10 years down the road, a stand-off Branch Davidian style between local law enforcement and the residents of Ava Maria , who have secluded themselves in their town, surrounded only by people to bolster and reinforce their beliefs, without the benefit of disagreement, debate, or outside influence?

Out Of Touch...

2006-02-28T11:34:00.000-05:00

I've really been out of touch lately, I know. Ed, Brinley, and I were out on vacation this last week, and getting back up to speed with work is always such an ordeal. I have lots of pictures, and the details of much Carnival ineptitute to bestow via my blog. Also, in the meantime, check out this website Ed and I are doing to share our Cruise Reviews.

Religious Fanatacism

2006-02-10T08:48:00.000-05:00

Ed recently received an e-mail from an old friend of his, and sent out a mass reply, in which I was included. In addition to e-mail, he posted it on his blog. I originally replied to the email, but figured I'd post my response here as well.

I think that the original motto "E Pluribus Unum" is far more moving than "In God We Trust", and not just because I'm not religious. I think the imagery of many people, with different backgrounds and beliefs, coming together to form something wonderful (a nation based on freedom and equality) is more significant than claiming were are a group of people who are at the whim of a man who lives in the sky.

I also believe that the attitude and behaviors of the religious majority directly conflict with the good will and moral superiority they believe they hold. When I was going to school in North Carolina, I frequently helped other members of my class when they had problems, and I felt it was the right thing to do, and it made me feel proud to help others when they needed it. Not far into the semester, I walked into a discussion on religion (before class had started) to hear that "godless people are heathens, and they wouldn't care if they passed someone dying on the street". I turned to that person, whom I had helped on several occasions, and pointed out my lack of religious affiliation, meaning to point out the fallacy in her statement. Her reply was "That's your problem".

At the time I chocked it up to bible-belt belief systems, and didn't make much of it. However, after giving it some thought, and living in two states consecutive to that, I no longer disillusion myself that it was just southern mentality. That's not to say that all people holding religious beliefs behave this way.

I am frequently appalled at the hateful, vengeful, and mean-spirited actions that the religious take to defend what they hold so dear, at the expense of the freedom and liberties of others. I would love to see the motto and pledge returned to their original state, and "In God We Trust" removed from our currency. I hardly feel that our nation would disintegrate into a heap of hedonistic behavior, mass killings, and rioting over the changing of a few words.

Well, Now What?

2006-02-07T16:30:00.000-05:00

I finished Project:Snowblind last night. Now what am I gonna do?

Insurance Woes

2006-01-31T06:07:00.000-05:00

In August of 2004, I went to my doctor because I was having some relatively constant pain in my left hand. My doctor then referred me to an orthopedic surgeon, who diagnosed it as a combination of tendonitis and carpal tunnel, probably from typing all day at work in a less-than-ergonomic position (I'm a sloucher). He gave me braces to sleep with and exercises to do.

After a while, I was feeling pretty good. I changed jobs, and as a result my desk layout was modified significantly. In May of 2005, my left hand started twitching uncontrollably, so I went back to the orthopedic surgeon. He said this time, the problem was an issue with the ulnar nerve in my left arm; evidently I was pinching it at work. He sent me to the rehabilitative sports medicine place. They gave me some tests and made a dumb elbow brace to wear in conjunction with the wrist braces, along with the admonition that I am not to lean on my elbows at any time.

Now, keeping in mind that my last round of visits occurred in May of 2005, would you be surprised to hear that I'm still going through the motions with the insurance company? First they wanted to know if it was a pre-existing condition (it's not). Then they wanted to make sure that my initial visit didn't occur during a lapse in coverage (it didn't). Then they wanted to know whether I had a referral for the service (I did). The latest round is whether this problem is due to an accident or work injury (it isn't).

The stupidest part is that they already paid the sports medicine place, which was $200 more than the orthopedic surgeon. So they'll pay for the treatment, but not the diagnosis. That makes a lot of sense.

Crowds

2006-01-30T06:22:00.000-05:00

This post is being salvaged from December - it was written about the time I was wrapping up my Christmas shopping.

I'm sure there must be some mathematical expression for determining the aggravation level associated with interacting with a large crowd of people. For example, a small crowd of people (let's say the folks at the gym at 2am) is not very frustrating. A large crowd of people (read: the mall this whole week) is very, VERY frustrating. But it's not linear; it's exponential. Assume the following:

Let x = size of location in square feet
Let c = the current individual
Let b = number of people in the crowd
Let n = time spent in said crowd (b)
Let a = level of agitation

So, c(a) = b^n/x.

The gym at my apartment complex, which is about 300 sq. ft., has an average of three people in it (that's a guess - it's normally pretty empty), and I normally spend about a half-hour, when I go. That would work out to c(a) = 3 X 30 / 300, or c(a) = .3. That's pretty low.

Now, let's take the mall (remember - I'm pulling these numbers completely out of my, uh, brain).

I'm guessing that the mall is about 300,000 sq ft, which is based on a phone call to the personnel at the mall information desk. This may be a bit on the small side, but this is an example. I'll try to find better information later.

Anyway, so let's call the mall 300,000 sq ft. And let's assume that, during the week before Christmas, you have approximately 2500 people in the mall at any given time. I think this number is small as well. Let's also assume that, if you're a normal shopper, and spend some time browsing, looking for the perfect item, you'll spend about 2.5 hours in the mall (including dealing with parking), which is 150 minutes. So here's my equation: c(a) = 2500 X 150 / 300,000 so c(a) = 1.25. This is about 4 times higher than my gym example. I'll get to work on my Nobel acceptance speech.

The Dungeon

2006-01-26T06:30:00.000-05:00

Here is an excellent re-creation of The Dungeon, a text-based adventure game (you can create a player account, and save your game, so you don't have to finish it all in one sitting).

I Can't Believe It's Not Fake!

2006-01-23T18:43:00.000-05:00

This was taken from the Hall of Technical Documentation Weirdness. I was thumbing through, and when I got to this one, I couldn't help but e-mail Ed, because I thought there was no freakin' way this was true. Turns out I'm very, very wrong. These are the exact directions used on the MRE heaters. How disillusioned I am...

Awesome Aussies

2006-01-23T06:08:00.000-05:00

Tripod is an Australian musical comedy group. They have a slot on an Australian radio program (Pete's Show), and once a week they write and perform a "song in an hour". Here are a few that I like.

Lucifer's In Heaven Now

King of the Video Arcade

Stay Alive

Controversy

2006-01-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

Ed's recent post re: the Patriot Search Engine, while not by itself outlandish, has sparked quite a heated discussion in the comments. As I was reading through said comments, a few thoughts struck me.

1. While I agree that the government is a terrible custodian of public funds, I can't help but feel that it's our own fault. Most people in this country are content to stick their heads in the sand and completely ignore the actions of our government. This doesn't just relate to fiscal status, either. Recently we've seen what should be regarded as huge breaches of protocol regarding the spending of public funds, the right to privacy, our role in world events (war in Iraq, anyone?), and a multitude other things.

2. Our form of government is vastly ineffective, as pointed out in Ed's blog. Government employees are encouraged, nay, rewarded for sloppy management practices. Instead of being promoted for their lack of basic reasoning skills, these people should be banned from public service, as they are performing no such thing.

3. Our government is simply too large, and like any organization, when it gets too big, it fails to have the interest of its customer (or in government's case, its citizens) at heart. The organization becomes so wrapped up with simply keeping the wheels turning that it has lost the reality of its purpose.

And while we're complaining about government, I would like to voice my biggest complaint about tax season. Why is that I pay $12,000 a year in federal taxes, just to see it go to families with too many children and no means to support them, and have it be referred to as a "tax refund"? In many cases, these people are getting BACK more taxes than they PAID. I agree with Ed - lets call it what it is: welfare. I hate feeling robbed by the people who are purported to serve me.

Friday Blog Hunt

2006-01-20T12:34:00.000-05:00

I'm going to (try to) start a new recurring Friday post - I'll call it the Friday Blog Hunt. I'm going to post links and snippets that I think are funny, interesting, or containing any number of particular attributes.

I'm starting with the Dilbert Blog, because A) I read it often, B) Scott Adams is hilarious (and offensive, on occasion - a bonus!), and C) I didn't feel like hunting down a new blog to read.

The Devil

According to MSNBC, about 50 people died in Saudi Arabia during the annual ritual of throwing stones at the devil. Apparently a stampede broke out when somebody tripped on luggage. That sounds like a poorly conceived punch line, but it actually happened. And it isn’t the first time. In 1990, 1,426 people died in a stampede while throwing stones at the very same devil. (No word as to whether luggage was involved.) And in 2004, the devil killed another 244 stone-throwers the same way. By my count, the score is Devil 1,720 and Believers 0.

This is on the same day that the guy who shot John Paul II was freed. Clearly, the devil is having a good day.

I think it’s interesting that when you pray to God for a new bike, it hardly ever materializes in your bedroom within seconds. But when you throw stones at the devil, quite often you get an immediate response. That’s an example of good customer service.*

I wrote this entire blog entry while waiting for the TypePad page to open.

* emphasis added

Cute Lil' Froggy Pic

2006-01-19T06:06:00.000-05:00

Ed made this for me - I particularly like the tag line. :-)

More SLC Pics

2006-01-19T05:23:00.000-05:00

Here are more pictures from our SLC trip.

This one is the entire family gathered at the end of the birthday party. We should have taken the picture before hand, because all the kids are dirty from playing in the yard. Still, better than nothing.

This is me and my mommy in the back yard. What you can't see is all of the things that kids get into to make themselves so dirty - sawdust pile, ditches for water run-off, haystack, lumber pile, sandbox, etc.

This is my grandma, Mema, with a cigarette & beer. Anyone who knows mema will be laughing their asses off at this picture - Mema is the prim and proper one in the family: insists on wearing white shoes, even though she knows they'll get dirty, house is always perfectly in order, doesn't smoke, goes to church every weekend, the whole shebang. This is probably the second best picture of the entire weekend (excluding the group picture, of course).

This is Ed and his brother Jeff, sister-in-law Stephanie, and the niece and nephews, Caitlin, Alex, and Miles. Very cute kids, and pretty well-behaved. Jeff and Stephanie are trying to arrange a Maryland visit in April sometime.

And, finally, a nice picture of the mountains in Utah. Aside from my family, that's the only thing I miss about Utah. I wouldn't trade in all the tress on the east coast, though, so I guess it's a draw.

Great Visit

2006-01-17T07:01:00.000-05:00

So we made it back to Maryland. Our visit to Salt Lake City was very nice, if not a little short. From the time we landed, it was basically non-stop until we left again. So many people to see and so many things to do...

We landed in Salt Lake City around 8:30, picked up the rental car, and dropped SD at her mom's house around 9:30. We were at my parent's house by 10 or so, and Dad had made us a big batch of nachos with his homemade salsa. Very yummy.

We sat around the kitchen and talked, and looked at his new website until 1 in the morning or so, and then went to bed.

On Friday, we went to lunch with Ed's friend from Jr. High School, Bret. We also went to Ed's son's school and met with his teacher. Smart kid - just doesn't like doing his homework (who does?).

After the teacher conference, we went back to my parent's house and saw my sisters Margaret and Brieanna. Hung around for a couple hours, then went to pick up Ed's son, and go make dinner for Ed's brother, sister-in-law, and the assorted rug-rats.

We got back to my parent's house around 10:30 or so, and went straight to bed. Saturday morning, Ed went to pick up SD from her mom's house while I made breakfast, so we had both kids with us. Brieanna brought her kids out at 10:30, and we got to see them a little before we went to pick up my grandma. My mom and dad had a group birthday party (the cake said "Happy Birthday To Us" - very cute). There were 18 people present at the party - my mom and dad, Ed, me, Ed's two kids, my sister Brieanna and her boyfriend, Brieanna's three kids, my sister Margaret, her ex-husband Jerry, her 5 kids, and my grandma, Mema. We all crowded into the clubhouse (a converted barn with a wood-stove & pool table), ate grilled hotdogs, and ate cake. I got a very nice family picture with everyone in it, so that was definitely worth it. The only person missing was my other sister Liza, but I don't know when I'll see her again—it will probably be a long time.(not everyone is in this picture - my dad is on the far left, my sister's boyfriend is in the baseball hat, Margaret's little girl Abby is in between my Dad and Brie's boyfriend, Mema is sitting in the background in the pink, with Brie's girl, Marci, Brie's other daughter Krista is in the purple, and you can see Ed's son's head. I'll get the group picture up soon.)

At 6, we took Mema home, and then dropped SD back at her mom's house, so she could visit with her grandmother, while we went and had coffee with Ed's brother. I got a nice picture of Ed's brother's family, so I'm glad we could find another time to see them. Then, we picked SD back up, and went to my parent's house. We watched a little TV in the clubhouse, and then went to bed.

The next morning, we were up early to catch our flight out. I don't think that two days is enough; next time, I'd like to have at least three days, just because there are so many people to see.

Ascot Gavotte

2006-01-17T06:51:00.000-05:00

Every duke and earl and peer is here.
Evr'yone who should be here is here.
What a smashing, positively dashing
Spectacle, the Ascot op'ning day.

At the gates are all the horses
waiting for the cue to fly away.
What a gripping absolutely ripping
moment at the Ascot op'ning day.

Pulses rushing.
Faces flushing.
Heartbeats speed up.
I have never been so keyed-up.

Airing Dirty Laundry

2006-01-11T08:46:00.000-05:00

In response to Ed's post re: towels, I would like to clarify this situation for all of you out there who may be feeling sorry for Ed and his morning shower dilemma.

First, let me point out that Ed is responsible for laundry as of late at our house, and has been slacking on his job with near fanatical accuracy. So if he was stuck using a towel that was sub-par for his tastes, he should point his finger at himself (staying clear of any orifices).

Second, last night Ed removed the towel that I was planning on using, and replaced it with the last folded, easily accessible thin towel in the bathroom. Right underneath the towel that he gave me was a big, fluffy, blanket-type towel that would have suited me just fine. So again, Ed's drama this morning was of his own making.

My only other complaint is that the situation was not really Hobson's Choice, as Ed could have used toilet paper, or the bath mat, or even smaller hand towels from the rack...

Mildly Amusing

2006-01-09T07:20:00.000-05:00

I was Stumbling today, and I found a website with some funny bumper-sticker sayings. I've picked out a few of my favorites.

Carpe Diem = Seize the day. Carp In Denim = Fish in pants. Not sure why I think it's so funny, but it is, damnit.
Forget world peace; visualize using your turn signal. A favorite for anyone that's driven on the Capital Beltway, I'm sure.
Every time you open your mouth, some idiot starts talking. Hehehe...
Save the trees, wipe your butt with an owl. So absurd, it's hilarious.
Let's skip the insults and get right down to your butt kicking! They've packaged my entire approach to life in one tidy, easy-to-manage sentence!
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? Deliciously witty.
If going to church makes you a Christian, does going into a garage make you a car? My point exactly.

Doctor Fiasco

2006-01-09T07:10:00.000-05:00

Last night, Ed had a rather unpleasant experience, which has prompted me to push for a doctor's visit. I won't outline every single sentence of the heated exchange; however, I will arrange my thoughts into a tidy little bullet list, so as to use them for ammunition in the next great Doctor-debate.

Ed vomited blood. Doesn't matter who you are, that's never good.
While Ed has an unusually touchy stomach, I have never seen stuff that should stay on the inside being heaved into the toilet.
Ed has an overwhelming—and completely irrational—fear of doctors. It's true that I'm not fond of them, but mostly because going is an inconvenience, and I feel like they're trying to rip me off, but that's another blog post.
We're not poor, and we have insurance that's actually really, really good.

So here's my issue: given all of those things, it seems like he should just suck it up and go to the doctor. What if this is something serious? It would be absolutely terrible to have something happen to him because he was pigheaded, especially when peace of mind (or a fix to a larger problem) will cost him $20 and an hour of his time, don't you think?

House of Wax

2006-01-09T07:09:00.000-05:00

Saturday night, I finally used the parafin hand wax thing that our friends got me for Christmas. It was my first time doing a hand dip, and it was, um, interesting. By the time I had enough wax on my hand (the instructions say you're to dip your hands 5 times), I felt like an android. It did feel pretty good, and it was fun playing with the hand-mold byproducts. I didn't feel any difference in softness, even though that's the main benefit from a parafin treatment. I think I'll do it again just for the heat.

Obligatory Catch-Up Post

2006-01-08T11:28:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if I should keep this blog. It's one more obligation that makes me feel guilty when I don't take care of it. At night, when I get ready to go to sleep, I usually think of all the things I should have done but didn't. I didn't do any laundry, or I didn't sort the huge pile of mail on my desk, or I didn't shred all the old mail from last week, or I didn't clean the bathroom like I had planned, or I didn't go to the store for item X, or ...

Then again, most of the time I feel it's a constructive outlet. I guess I need to reconcile my guilt with the fact that my blog is not an obligation, then I'll feel better.

Game Night 2.0

2006-01-05T06:06:00.000-05:00

We've finally (and officially) resurrected Game Night! Last night was the first night with all four of us playing (one of our quartet was AWOL last week), and I've forgotten how much fun we have. It's a nice mid-week chance to blow off steam. We were also invitied to a party for the Buckaneers/Redskins game this weekend. Giving that some serious thought. Stayed up way too late last night, though (nearly 1am), so I'm a little tired today. Guess I'll be sleeping in this weeeknd.

MCP? Why, Thank You!

2006-01-02T17:56:00.000-05:00

WOO HOO! I passed the dreaded Web Development with C# test, and am now an MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional)! Didn't do as well as I could have—791, when passing is a 700—but I did well on Consuming and Manipulating Data, Maintaining and Supporting, and Configuring and Securing. Need some work on Deployment, User Services, and Assemblies. None of these are a surprise, though.

In any event, I passed, and that's what matters. At least I didn't spend $125 for nothing. :-)

Escaping TV's Stifling Grip

2005-12-29T06:40:00.000-05:00

We reached the breaking point with our cable finally. We've been paying nearly $130 every month for the enjoyment of 160 channels that we don't watch nor want. Granted, $43 of that bill is our cable modem, with which we cannot part, but the rest is pure fluff. We're dropping down from the package we have now—every channel they offer, including pay channels like HBO—to just the basic stuff, like local channels. The cable guy should be at our house sometime between 2 and 5 (what's with those abnormally long windows of time, anyway?). The net result of this change is an extra $65 in our pockets every month.

All of this is happening much to SD's chagrin; she insists there simply cannot be quality of life without cable. Her biggest sticking point is South Park, which is an awesome show, I agree, but for the past 5 months we've mostly forgotten to watch it. So, really, is not having it available, and not remembering to watch it, all that different? I think that in a month she'll wonder why she was so concerned about it in the first place.

Bad, Bad Pet Owners

2005-12-27T06:19:00.000-05:00

WARNING: IF YOU'RE SICK OF HEARING ABOUT MY CAT, SKIP THIS POST!

I am the worst pet owner on Earth. On Monday morning (the 26th), I gave Annie her medicine (Clavamox, Clindamyacin), but didn't feed her breakfast. We're moving them from twice a day to once a day, just to make it easier.

A half-hour after I administered medicine, the cat started throwing up. She continued to throw up every 45 minutes for the next 5 hours. I was nearly 100% certain that she didn't need to eat with her meds, but I checked the containers just to make sure. It turns out that Clavamox has a ten-day shelf life after you constitute it (it's a powder, and you add water), and that it had expired a day or two before her Monday dose.

I mixed her up a new batch, and she seems to feel just fine. I feel awful though...

Past-Due

2005-12-27T06:10:00.000-05:00

It has been 21 days since Ed has posted anything to his blog. I sent him a threatening email, but I'm tempted to refuse him access to the bathroom until he writes something. *hrmph*

Wonderful Weekend

2005-12-27T05:56:00.000-05:00

What a great weekend! I managed to come home from work a little earlier than normal on Friday because the building I work in was closed (ruptured water main, or some such nonsense). Ran to the pet store on Friday night, and got a few new fishies (a few more cichlids, feeder fish for the gar, a replacement Oscar for the one that died) and a new rock for the aquarium; looking mighty fine, now.

Saturday morning was slow; made breakfast, lounged around, played some video games. Ed and I did some last minute shopping (he's the WORST procrastinator I've ever met), but that was it. Opened presents on Christmas Eve, but didn't tell SD we had a whole stash in the closet for her. We had an extra dozen presents participating in the Present Relocation Program, and we didn't get authorization to move them to they're new address (1010 Under The Tree Lane) until late Saturday night. Coincidentally, right after SD went to bed. Weird. It was a nice surprise for her, I think. We got her a lot of little fun things, like Play-Doh, light-up Magnetix, cool magnets for her locker at school, etc.

Sunday was more of the same; lounged around, did some laundry. I only left the house on an emergency sweet-and-low acquisition mission. Monday was just like Sunday, so I'm feeling very well rested for this short week at work. I'm sure it'll go fast!

Holiday Dinner

2005-12-22T11:56:00.000-05:00

Last night, in the midst of taking care of our little Snaggletoothed Annie, regular day-to-day chores for the house, and prepping for a nice long weekend, we had a little holiday dinner with our friends, whom I will call DBA and TSJ .

Our little group has an odd dynamic. TSJ is Jewish, DBA is Christian (not sure what flavor, precisely), and Ed and I are none of the above. We tried to make our meal well-rounded, and cover a little bit of traditional food for everyone.

We had roast chicken, a nice glazed ham, mashed potatoes, latkes, green beans, stuffing, apple pie, and rugelach. We opened a nice bottle of 1999 Côte de Castillon Bordeaux wine, sat around, and bullshitted for a few hours. It was very pleasant.

They brought SD a very nice scarf, and a large Sponge Bob body pillow thing (the source of many jokes; what do you think about two guys walking around the mall together with a huge Sponge Bob pillow?). Ed got some very cool South Park Cartman slippers (they say "I'm not fat" on the heel of the left slipper, and "I'm big boned!" on the heel of the right...hehehe..). They gave me a really cool foot jet bath massager thing and it came with a parafin hand bath, and then I got a totally kick-ass fondue/s'mores set! Can't wait to try it out.

Last weekend, we gave TSJ his signed copy of Flowers for Algernon, and we gave DBA a DVD player and the three Harry Potter movies that are out.

All in all, a nice start to the holidays!

Something Smells Fishy

2005-12-20T22:21:00.000-05:00

So, all the freakin' fish in my 15 gallon tank died. Not long after we brought the new fish home, the swordtail wag died. He didn't look too hot, but I thought it was stress. Then everything else started dying, so now I think it was disease. I'm pretty irked at Petsmart.

We got our 55 gallon tank up and running a couple weekends ago. We have an albino oscar, a needle nose gar, a couple of bumblebee cichlids, a kenyi cichlid, two firemouth cichlids, three giant danios, and a couple of rosy minnows for food. We still need a few more. I'd like to get a couple of piranahs, and possibly a couple red-tailed sharks. Maybe Santa will bring me some!

Sister Visit

2005-12-20T05:51:00.000-05:00

My sister Margaret was out for a visit weekend before last and I keep meaning to get a couple of pictures sized and ready, but I never seem to get around to it. With the long weekend coming up I'm pretty sure I'll be able find some time. Just know that a picture post is on the way!

Promises, Promises

2005-12-19T06:50:00.000-05:00

I have been totally lazy about updating my blog. I promised myself this morning that I would do a better job of keeping it up-to-date with the latest goings-on. As I told my family, I really don't care if anyone reads this; it's mostly for me, so I know what was happening in my life at any particular time. I'm awful about remembering timelines.

Wild and Crazy Weekend

2005-12-19T06:27:00.000-05:00

This weekend was crazy busy! I ended up staying home from work on Friday because I felt awful: running a fever, coughing like crazy, and sore from head to toe. When SD got home from school, she started making preparations for her birthday party, which somehow included ME driving her to the video store. First thing Saturday morning we had to go get the RV from the dealership; their service department fixed the bulge in the water tank for us. Then, straight home to finalize preparations for the birthday party.

Arrivals started promptly at 2, and continued until about 2:45. At 3 we left for the ice skating rink. The open skating session didn't start until 4, but they strongly recommend showing up early to get admission and skate rentals taken care of, and who am I to argue with the find folks at Montgomery County Parks and Recreation?

The girls were on the ice promptly at 4, except for one. She'd had a nasty accident before that involved some falling and broken bones, she was reticent to skate at all. The short version is: Ed and I rented skates, and took her around the rink once, which ate up about 45 minutes of our time. For the remainder of the hour, we stood on the sidelines and took pictures.

The rest was pretty standard birthday party stuff: pizza, movies, lots of giggling and laughing. The peak of the weekend for me was at 10p on Saturday night. All the girls were in the loft watching The Village, and I was in the kitchen getting a drink. I didn't think they'd heard my bedroom door open, so I oh-so-quietly snuck up the stairs to the loft. I was crouched really low so they wouldn't see me, and just as I got to the top, I jumped up and shouted. It was HILARIOUS! I've never seen a group of girls jump that high! And the screams!! Priceless.

Sunday morning I woke up around 7 to get breakfast started. One of the girls had to leave early on Sunday, but we didn't want her to go without some food. We had waffles, sausage, bacon, potatoes and eggs. After breakfast, we all went upstairs and I played a game of Halo 2 against SD and 2 of her friends. Not really fair, since Halo is pretty involved. Still, 68 kills during King of the Hill is pretty cool (but, in all fairness, I treat EVERY game like a kill-fest, no matter the purpose!)

Then the girls did girly things, and everyone left around 2 on Sunday afternoon. Sunday evening our friends came over, and we gave them their Christmas/Hanukkah/Birthday/New Years/Every Other Event gifts. They seemed happy, so we are too. Had Chinese for dinner. Made macaroons. Played some computer games. Pretty standard stuff. I'm looking forward to a week at work so I can relax! Annie goes to the vet tonight for surgery, and I'll pick her up tomorrow. SD has a winter band concert tomorrow, and then we have our holiday dinner/game night on Wednesday. Busy busy busy!

Annie Update

2005-12-14T06:27:00.000-05:00

She's been on Clindamycin since Monday the 5th, and her CBC two days ago show that her white blood cell count has gone from around 25,000 to 31,000, so Dr. Orenstein is adding Clavamox.

Doc is absolutely positive this is because of her mouth problems, and that it won't go away without the procedure, so he's not going to wait until the level drops to normal, which is good news. I hope that the double-whammy antibiotics bring her counts back under control.

Birthday Bash

2005-12-14T06:06:00.000-05:00

SD's birthday is this weekend, and we're pretty geeked up about it. She's having a small handful of friends over (6 at the most - we haven't had RSVP's for all yet, so it'll probably trim down a little). We're taking them all ice skating on Saturday, and I know that SD's excited. We'll come home and have pizza, cake & ice cream, she can open her presents, and they'll go upstairs and watch movies and do girly things while Ed and I hole up in the bedroom with an XBox.

We'll make pancakes and waffles on Sunday morning for breakfast, and they can continue to watch TV and chat, unless there's somewhere they want to go (read: the mall). In any event, it will be fun. I'll have a good two hours of reading my book while they're skating, and, as Martha Stewart would say, it's a good thing, just like the exercise yard, or Salisbury steak day.

Gaming

2005-12-07T06:43:00.000-05:00

WARNING: GEEK ALERT

So, Ed and I beat Halo on Heroic. We've been tackling the Legendary, and I've gotta say, I'm not as good as I thought I was. Still, it's a good way to fine tune playing abilities.

In our search for games with good cooperative, split-screen (or system link) campaigns, we ran across Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Brute Force.

Castle is alright--in-game graphics are a little weak, so it doesn't have a very natural feel to it. The one thing it DOES have that I've found myself enjoying immensly is the stabbing. Sounds morbid, I know, but I love it. You weild a knife and can squeeze the trigger to stab someone, and if you hold down the trigger, the guy goes stab-stab-stab really fast. It's great for breaking open boxes and stuff, plus the noise is really funny: whoosh, whoosh, whoosh (at about 5 stabs a second).

Brute is good; I like being able to switch characters. Sometimes, you want Hawk for her "cloaking" abilities. Sometimes you want Tex for his awesome Berserker mode (grab two guns and go to town!). It's an older game, so again, the game play is a little cheesy, but the campaign is fun, and at $5 a copy, we can each load up our own XBox to play system-link without getting a loan.

I'm always looking for recommendations on games with great two-player cooperative campaigns. I like first-person shooters and strategy games (just like the games mentioned here). RPG's are alright, as long as they're not too weird - loved Parasite Eve. We have multiple computers, two XBoxes, a PS2, a PS1, a Dreamcast, a SNES, and two Game Boy Advances with the link cable. If you know of a game that works on any of these systems that you think I'd like, please comment.

Vet Saga

2005-12-07T06:23:00.000-05:00

First, a little history on Annie and the vet.

Last February, we had a little problem, and accidentally folded Annie up in the sleeper sofa (and by "we", I mean "Ed"). During her struggle for freedom, she ripped one of her back nails completely from the nail bed. When in a couple of days it hadn't healed, we took her to the vet. While we were there we asked him to check her mouth because she'd had some awful breath, and her mouth was sore (she would cringe when you'd pet the side of her face).

Dr. Orenstein managed to get her mouth open, and it turns out that was a much bigger problem than the toe. She had two walnut-sized sores in the back of her mouth--nearly blocking her airway--and a mouthful of rotten teeth. Her CBC (a test for white blood cells) was showing a count of approximately 29,000 when average is 15,000-17,000. She went in for surgery in early March to have the teeth extracted (7 or 8, can't remember), and the abscesses removed. They also performed biopsies on the growths to make sure they weren't cancerous. At the time of that surgery, he said there were a few "suspect" teeth, but he was going to leave them and hope that they would heal. When the biopsies came back, it wasn't cancer, but a form of lymphocytic plasmacytic stomatitis, which is an autoimmune disease that attacks the teeth; there is some speculation that the cat develops an allergy to plaque. The funny side to all of this? He did nothing about the toe; it healed on it's own.

We brought her home, and her mouth healed amazingly fast (kudos to Dr. Orenstein). We noticed a marked improvement in her halitosis, and the most pleasant side effect was the return of her purr. We could hear her for the first time in years!

That was nine months ago, and recently we've been noticing the bad breath and the mouth tenderness. We took her back in last night, and a quick look inside revealed that the inflammation is back, and it's bad enough to cause her to bite the inside of her mouth, so there's a lot of blood too. Doc put her under a mild anesthesia to get a better look, and ten minutes later we were hit with the news that all of her teeth--minus canines--should be removed. Her white blood cell counts are elevated again to 25,000 (I think - it might be higher or lower - I didn't see the CBC sheet, so I'm running off heresy and memory), so they gave her an antibiotic injection, as well as home antibiotics. I have to take her back next week on Monday for another white blood cell check, and she's scheduled for the procedure the following week. She'll be down for about 3 hours while he pulls ten teeth and removes the inflammation. I struggled with the thought of having a cat that didn't have teeth, a condition that seems not very cat-like, but Doc says she'll be such a happy kitty when this is done, and Ed is reassuring the neurotic part of me that she won't even miss her teeth - she doesn't have the cognitive ability to miss them. I hope they're right, and that Annie remains the sweet, cuddly cat she's been, and that she'll no longer be in pain.

In preparation, we're going to start moving our cats from dry food out all day, to canned, prepared food in the morning and a little snack at night.

Snarky

2005-12-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

Ed called bullshit on me this morning. I used the word "snarky", and he said that it didn't exist. Now, to maintain my integrity, I've posted the dictionary.com definition here, as well as the Urban Dictionary definition.

Long Weekend, Part 2

2005-11-29T06:56:00.000-05:00

On Saturday we started gutting the house. I went through the closet & my bedroom and started throwing stuff away with extreme prejudice. I've already chucked out three big boxes of stuff, and have a table ready to depart as well. Not surprisingly, it took a long time. After that, we played some Heroic Halo 2, and are now pretty close to the finish (huzzah!). Around 7, we left for Target/Petsmart/Walmart to do some shopping for the house. Here's what we bought:

Target

Dinner, I guess. We ended up grabbing pizza in the Target cafe - pretty gross, actually, but we were all a little low on blood sugar and consequently cranky.

Walmart

Waffle Iron (yay! I've always wanted one!)
Pots and pans - a very nice house present, since all we've ever had was cheap dollar-store items
A new knife block (our old one was held together with packing tape) with unserrated edges, so we can sharpen them
New cooking utensils, like spatulas, flippers, cooking & measuring spoons, and a meat thermometer
A new flat griddle for french toast

Petsmart

A flourescent tube for the light on the tank, although it looks like we need a whole new light strip, because the light won't stay on
Fluval filter media (pre filter, carbon, and peat granular to handle mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration, respectively)
A new bubble wall, for water aeration
A new manual tank vacuum, to get the yucky stuff out of the gravel

Sunday morning I got an early morning call from work (I'm on call for two weeks at a time, with a two week break in between), but managed to get everything working. Yay for me. Otherwise, it was more of the same - got up, made breakfast, including waffles on the new iron, played some computer games, screwed around. We watched The Aviator on Sunday afternoon, and I recommend just turning the movie off after the first hour and 30 minutes -- the last half is depressing and slow. After the movie, I washed all the old gravel for the big tank, put together the Fluval with new media, placed the fake plants, and organized a bucket brigade to start filling. It didn't take too long, and the filter started right up as soon as it was primed. By this morning, the water was crystal clear. I still want to add a background, and maybe throw in some feeder fish to get some good bacterial growth.

A good, relaxing holiday. On Thursday, I thought the weekend would last forever. On Sunday, I wanted to know where all the time went.

Long Weekend, Part 1

2005-11-29T06:54:00.000-05:00

It's been almost a week since I last posted. Here's what's been going on, split into two parts to help break it up.

Thanksgiving was nice. It was just the three of us, and we lounged around while the turkey was cooking. I screwed up and put the turkey breast-down, so it took a little longer than expected, but everything turned out just fine. We made a couple of menu modifications, though. Here's what was on the menu:

Turkey
Stuffing (that wasn't very good)
Mashed potatoes & gravy
Watergate salad
Fruit salad
Cheese ball
Deviled eggs
Veggie platter
Pumpkin pie, apple pie, apple crisp, and a Skor cake
Strawberries & a fruit dip made from marshmallow fluff & cream cheese

In standard form, I forgot a couple things: rolls, which I seem to forget every time I make a big dinner, and a green bean casserole, which I don't feel too badly about because I was only making it for traditions sake - I don't know that anyone was really craving it in the first place.

Friday (Ed's birthday!) we cruised to Petsmart to get some new fish for our 15 gallon tank in the bedroom. I added three neon tetras, a black molly, a swordtail wag, an algae eater & a frog (that already died - I think we got a sick one from the petstore). We also exchanged a couple of XBox games at EBGames, and picked up Area 51 for me, Heros of the Pacific for Ed, and two copies of Rainbow Six 3, so we can system link.

After I got home, I floated our fish in the tank (this is done to match water temperature, so it's not a shock to the fish when they're introducted to the new environment), and got to work cleaning and prepping our 55-gallon. I was very close to getting rid of the large aquarium, mainly because it's been sitting empty and unused since April of this year. However, when we were at Petsmart, I spent a lot of time admiring some of their large tanks, and it made me want to get mine going again.

I scrubbed the inside with a diluted vinegar solution, and then attacked the hood sections with straight vinegar. There was some awful hardwater build-up on the hoods, so it took a lot of elbow grease, as well as some scraping with a butter knife. It took me about an hour and a half to get the tank scrubbed down and ready, but it looked almost brand-new when I was finished. Not bad for a 5-year old tank. :-)

Harry Potter

2005-11-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last night. It was a lot different from the other HP movies, and I think I enjoyed it more. Less childish, more dark and dangerous. I get a little irritated watching a mob of pre-pubescent students quibble over stupid things (classes, teachers, homework, sports, etc), so this movie was definitely more my speed.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT

First, nearly the entire movie is dark. It starts with Harry having a dream about Lord Voldemort & his cronies at a house in the middle of nowhere - you can't see anything, and that adds to the creepiness.

Later in, during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the under-water scene really gives a feeling of claustrophobia. If you've ever done a scuba dive in a murky lake, you'll quickly be reminded of how frightening it can be. The final stage of the Tournament, the maze, is dark as well. The fog and tall hedges are quite creepy. Then, in what amounts to the final good scene, Harry and Voldemort are in the graveyard outside the house that Harry has been dreaming about - this is where Wormtail finally gets blood from Harry. Again, the entire scene is dark & dreary.

All said, I think I preferred this movie to the others for its more adult element. Yes, they still have magic & Quiddich, but by and large the subject matter is more dark (except for the Yule Ball, which at times seems slightly gothic, but is more cheery and happy than other parts of the film), as is the cinematography. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, you won't like the movie either way. But even if you only slightly liked the books, I think you'll be pleased with this movie, more so than others. Just my $.02.

Music Revolution

2005-11-19T21:34:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been plugged into Pandora all day, every day at work. You give it the music that you like, either artists or songs, and it will scan the Music Genome project for songs that it thinks match your style. It's incredible - I've already found artists that I love, that I've never heard of before. It's also tracked down some stuff that I'd completely forgotten about. Give it a try - you'll probably like it too. Only genre it doesn't handle right now is classical - too hard to categorize.

Hey! Who Turned Off the Internet??

2005-11-17T19:59:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, two seperate parties severed the Internet backbones fiber optic cable (one in New Orleans, one in Washington D.C.), effectively shutting down Internet service to the southeastern United States. Lame. The worst part? The most affected ISP just happens to be Comcast, who can't keep Internet connectivity up even under the best of circumstances. Extra lame.

Salt Lake City, Here We Come

2005-11-16T21:23:00.000-05:00

We finally have tickets to go see all the assorted family members in Salt Lake City. We're going to leave on January 12th, and then come home on January 15th. I'm going to ride my new bike to get as skinny as I can before I go out (with any luck, Kate Moss will look like a fatty next to me ;-).

I'm excited, and I'm kinda glad that we're not going over a holiday. It means that no one will have the burden of cooking or hosting a large Christmas/Thanksgiving/whatever get together, and we can relax together as a family. My parents, grandmother, sister, uncle, nieces, nephews, and cousins are there; Ed's brothers, nieces & nephews are there; SD's mom, brothers, and grandmother is there as well. There's plenty of reason to go, so now we are.

New Bike

2005-11-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Woo hoo! Check out the new bike that Ed got me for Christmas. I'm going to pick it up this Friday.

It's a beautiful teal color with big, white-wall tires. The only things it doesn't have is a banana seat & cool streamers from the handle bars. I'll take a better picture of it once I get it home. I'm going to ride it in the morning as exercise, and then when the weather is warmer I'll ride it to the Metro station. I'm so excited!!!

Legendary? No, merely heroic...

2005-11-15T06:12:00.000-05:00

I played Halo 2 last night, but bumped up the difficulty level from "Normal" to "Heroic". There are quite a few things that I noticed right from the get go. Listed, in no particular order, here.

I can't find ammunition anywhere. In the normal game, all you have to do is run around a room a little bit, and you'll pick up assorted goodies: ammo, different weapons, grenades, etc. Not the case with Heroic.
The CGI Marines are relatively ineffectual. On normal & easy, the Marines tend to take out a good portion of the baddies for you. Not on Heroic. They spend most of their time talking trash and getting killed. Worthless.
The Covenant is much more organized. On the lesser levels, they seem to just come at you with no real tactics. In a Heroic game, they plot and scheme, work together, and generally just make the alien-killing experience much more difficult.
When I shoot aliens in a Heroic game, they don't damage as quickly, and it seems like there's more of them to begin with.
I miss having a sword. In all of the group games I play (Oddball, King of the Hill, etc.) we have a sword as a secondary weapon. I really, really miss having it now. I feel like I'm more skilled with the sword than any of the other weapons.

So let's recap: tougher Covenant(and more of them, at that), not as much weaponry, more organized tactics from enemies, less help from CGI Marines, and weapon-of-choice MIA.

It's a good deal harder than the normal game, so it's a nice, renewed challenge, but it can also be a little frustrating. I'm not even through the first level yet. In fact, I'm just now past the hangar where you encounter a lot of Covenant storming in from ships docked with the station (it's the hangar where you hear the CGI Marine say "We won! They're retreating!", and you just keep telling yourself what a dumbass that guy is). I died probably 7 or 8 times in that room, before I developed a reasonable assault tactic. First, I run in, kill the plasma cannon gunners, then take out the Grunts and Jackals on the ground (if you can take a few swipes at the Elites, that's good too). After doing some minor clean up downstairs, I headed upstairs to the plasma cannons. This made it easier to pick off the Covenant coming in through the airlock, and gave me an edge up on the left over Elite on the ground. This was a difficult task - since they have personal shielding similar to Master Chief's, you have to take them out quickly, or they'll hide & regenerate. This was a game of patience. I eventually prevailed, only to go down into the tunnel and meet a super Elite (he's gray - those dudes are tough). I'm still thinking about a strategy for him. It may take me a little while, but I'll get him.

Scuba

2005-11-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

I just found myself getting all tweeky about my next scuba dive. Don't know when or where, but I'm sure it will be awesome.

Following this train of thought, I wanted to post the few invaluable rules learned on the last dive in Grand Cayman (Eden Rock, for those who are interested). Here they are, for all prosperity.

Never dive if you have less than 4 hours. No exceptions.
Never dive if you haven't eaten in the last two hours. Scuba is a calorie-burning sport, at least until you get into the water!
Trust your instincts. For example, if you tell the dive shop operator you need 22lbs of weight, and he tells you that you only need 15, insist on the 22 (especially in salt water with a 3 mil wetsuit!)
Remember to set your underwater camera to the "take a picture" mode, instead of the review mode. Otherwise, you'll miss all the pretty fishies.

That said - I CAN'T WAIT! Nothing beats being in the water, hearing the sweet reassurance of your reg, and knowing that, for just a little while, you're in a completely different world. I'm hoping that we'll get back to Cayman for another dive, although I don't know what the conditions are after this year's hurricane season. I'd also like to dive the Florida Keys, although they are a slightly more beginning dive. The coast of North Carolina would be nice as well - plenty of shipwrecks - but they can get some nasty currents. If we can't make any of those places in the next year, there's always Lake Rawlings. I'm going to make a list of the gear that I have, and the gear I'm looking to get, and post it. That way, if any fellow divers happen along, they can offer advice.

Uber Lame

2005-11-13T15:46:00.000-05:00

I just got slammed in my step-daughters blog for not finishing a shopping list & menu application I've been talking about. Totally weak. Just to clear my good name, I'm going to devote the next week to getting that damn program done (or, at the very least, started). I already have a few home projects I'm working on (one of which is a nifty backup service that will do incremental backups between two specified locations).

I have been giving this food calendar management thingy some thought, so I think I already have a good approach, but what should I call this app? I want to have a catchy name. You can't become a millionaire unless your product has a cool name. If it's going to be marketed towards women, we should call it the "Super Fast Ultra Hunk-Catching Wrinkle-Reducing Food Management and Youthening System". If the ad campaigns are directed at men, we should call it the "Super Fast Mega Penis-Enlarging Porn Download-Enhancing Food Management and Hot-Chick Attraction Tool". Aren't those cool names?

I'm gonna be rich...

Thanksgiving

2005-11-11T21:23:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling some anxiety about Thanksgiving this year. For the past three or four, we haven't been home (either at my parent's house in Salt Lake City, or at my mother-in-law's in Missouri). The last time (and coincidently the first time) I made a whole turkey was when I still lived in Utah. Granted, it was an excellent turkey, but it's been a while. I've made some regular turkey breasts since then, but it's just not the same.

I know all the rules (20 minutes per pound, blah blah blah), but there's more finesse to good turkey than following the cooking times.

I have what I consider to be a pretty good arsenal of spices (rosemary, thyme, caraway, rosemary, dill, and if I'm feeling lazy, trusty ol' seasoning salt), so I'm hoping it turns out well. If not, McDonalds (puke) is open on Thanksgiving day.

So for those interested, here's the line up:

Turkey (duh)
Stuffing (Cornbread or regular? I can't decide. Probably regular.)
Mashed Taters & Gravy
Marshmallow Candied Yams
Deviled Eggs
Watergate Salad * (I love this stuff! I always had it as a kid! Yum!)
Clam Dip
Cheese Balls (salty chocolate balls? WARNING: LINK IS NOT WORK SAFE!)
Veggie Platter (carrots, celery, black olives, etc.)
Fruit & Cream Cheese Dip
Pumpkin Pie (my favorite Thanksgiving morsel)
Pecan Pie

*For those of you that have never had Watergate Salad, it's pistachio jello pudding, pineapple, whipped cream, and occasionally nuts & coconut. Sounds like a horrible cooking experiment gone awry, but it's pretty tasty.

If anyone has any recommendations for additional food, lemme know. Also, I'm going to be eating turkey until Summer 2006 unless I have some assistance with leftovers. If you're family (or adoptive family - you know who you are), and need/want some Thanksgiving grub, come on over!

Veteran's Day

2005-11-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

To all of those who fought or served to protect this country: Thank you.

Impotent? Incompetent?

2005-11-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last night, SD and I were hanging around playing our instruments (me: bass clarinet; SD: trumpet), and we were discussing the other trumpet players in her class. One, in particular, is really annoying. Said person will go through and write the letter(A, G, F#, etc) under every note on her sheet music. This is, obviously, bad form for a player. I asked SD if this other person was any good musically. SD's words were "No, she's completely impotent".

Wait. WHAT?

I asked her if she meant "incompetent", to which she reponded "I don't know what that means". I then proceeded to tell her that "incompetent" means that this person is inadequate, or not fit to perform the function they're in. "Impotent" means that this trumpet player (a female, at that) is unable to get and keep an erection.

The look of abject horror was priceless. She then said that she hoped she hadn't used the incorrect word too much (like, say, with her teachers).

I hope so too.

How to Work With Women

2005-11-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Found this especially entertaining (kudos to Snopes and Ed, some emphasis added on stuff I found funny). It's hiring advice from 1943 regarding women in the workplace.

Eleven Tips on Getting More Efficiency Out of Women Employees

There's no longer any question whether transit companies should hire women for jobs formerly held by men. The draft and manpower shortage has settled that point. The important things now are to select the most efficient women available and how to use them to the best advantage. Here are eleven helpful tips on the subject from western properties:

1. If you can get them, pick young married women. They have these advantages, according to the reports of western companies: they usually have more of a sense of responsibility than do their unmarried sisters; they're less likely to be flirtatious; as a rule, they need the work or they wouldn't be doing it — maybe a sick husband or one who's in the army; they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Most transportation companies have found that older women who have never contacted the public, have a hard time adapting themselves, are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It's always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

3. While there are exceptions, of course, to this rule, general experience indicates that "husky" girls — those who are just a little on the heavy side — are likely to be more even-tempered and efficient than their underweight sisters

4. Retain a physician to give each woman you hire a special physical examination — one covering female conditions (Wow - hello Dark Ages. What do they expect to find in there? An alien civilization?) This step not only protects the property against the possibilities of lawsuit but also reveals whether the employee-to-be has any female weaknesses which would make her mentally or physically unfit for the job. Transit companies that follow this practice report a surprising number of women turned down for nervous disorders (yeah, because that's where I always put the letter from my shrink detailing my neurosis).

5. In breaking (Breaking? WTF?) in women who haven't previously done outside work, stress at the outset the importance of time — the fact that a minute or two lost here and there makes serious inroads on schedules. Until this point is gotten across, service is likely to be slowed up.

6. Give the female employe in garage or office a definite day-long schedule of duties so that she'll keep busy without bothering the management for instructions every few minutes. Numerous properties say that women make excellent workers when they have their jobs cut out for them but that they lack initiative in finding work themselves.

7. Whenever possible, let the inside employe change from one job to another at some time during the day. Women are inclined to be nervous (only because we're surrounded by testosterone pumped, power hungry creeps who have nothing better to do than screen us for mental disorders by giving us pap smears) and they're happier with change.

8. Give every girl an adequate number of rest periods during the day. Companies that are already using large numbers of women stress the fact that you have to make some allowances for feminine psychology. A girl has more confidence and consequently is more efficient if she can keep her hair tidied, apply fresh lipstick and wash her hands several times a day.

9. Be tactful in issuing instructions or in making criticisms. Women are often sensitive; they can't shrug off harsh words the way that men do. Never ridicule a woman — it breaks her spirit and cuts her efficiency (and increases the risk that she'll come to work toting an AK-47, assuming that she can pull the trigger without fear of chipping a nail.).

10. Be reasonably considerate about using strong language around women. Even though a girl's husband or father may swear vociferously, she'll grow to dislike a place of business where she hears too much of this.

11. Get enough size variety in operator uniforms that each girl can have a proper fit. This point can't be stressed too strongly as a means of keeping women happy, according to western properties.

Tan M&Ms

2005-11-09T21:04:00.000-05:00

What happened to tan M&Ms? Those were my favorite. Something about the tan ones made them better than the blue, or the yellow, or the red. Maybe it was the lack of that pesky cancer-causing red dye #40. In any event, there is a petition to bring back the tan M&M. The tan would replace the new purple one they're trying to come out with. How stupid. Purple. Bah. Tan would be so much better.

Guitar History

2005-11-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

This is a long post. Consider yourself warned.

As mentioned before, I am currently taking guitar lessons. Also mentioned before, I play a gloss black Schecter Omen 6. Funny story how I ended up playing it. Want to hear? No? Too bad - I'm telling it anyway.

My husband, Ed has always wanted to play guitar from what I understand. At his last job, he worked with a guy that became a pretty close family friend (along with his room-mate). Said friend had been involved with guitar lessons at our local Guitar Center, and I think it gave Ed a renewed interest in learning to play.

A couple of months passed, and we started getting closer to Christmas, so I thought a guitar would be a nifty present. So I spent the next few weeks doing research on the different models, reading reviews online, talking to guitar players, and trying them out myself in the store. Ed's totally into 80's music, so I was looking for a guitar that produced that kind of sound, as opposed to an alternative rock sound à la Green Day or Blink-182 (and if you don't think there's a difference, then you've got your head in the sand).

I finally settled on the Schecter line, which got incredible reviews online - a good, thick sound for a reasonable price (in between $300 and $500 for the models I was looking at). I went to Guitar Center and snagged a floor rep. He told me that they had two Omen 6's in stock, and a handful of the Omen 7's. I didn't want a 7 string, so I looked at the Omen 6's. Of the two they had, one was a mahogany wood finish (ick), and one was a floor model in gloss black. "And," says the sales rep, "I'll give you a discount on the black since it's got a small scratch on the back.". Sold!

So fast forward to well after Christmas. Ed's been playing off and on at home, just fiddling around mostly compliments of Comcast and the OnDemand guitar lessons, but then the guitar lessons start. He's VERY excited when he leaves, and then evidently they gave him a prostate exam or something during the lesson, because he comes home looking defeated (violated?). He says that the lesson went horribly, his fingers won't do what he wants them to, and that he's frustrated. I tell him that it can't be all that bad, and so he gives me the guitar & the lesson sheet he brought home: "Here, YOU play this." So I did. And evidently I did better than he did, because he got irked.

Fast forward again to the next week. It's right before lessons, and Ed is dragging his feet. He hasn't touched the guitar all week, and has even gone so far as shooting dirty looks in passing (I've heard the guitar weeply quietly in the night: "Why doesn't he love me?!"). I keep asking him if he's going to practice even a little before he goes to lessons. Then he drops the bomb: he's not going to lessons. He's not having fun. He's looking at me like I'm going to be mad. Ha ha, here's fooling him! I didn't care - I told him that if he didn't enjoy it he could stop, and that wasn't a problem. The whole reason I bought him the guitar was so that he would have fun. It certainly wasn't meant as a crude form of torture. Only problem is the Guitar Center's cancellation policy - you have to give at least 24 hours notice, or you have to pay for the lesson anyway. So I figure what the hell - I'll give it a try. And what do you know? Love at first strum - I enjoy it alot, so it worked out alright.

Fast forward some more, about two months. We're all at Guitar Center (Ed, SD, and I had been out at dinner that night, and Ed was tagging along to lessons). While we're upstairs in the lesson he's downstairs in the drum room playing around. When SD and I come down from lessons, he says he wants to play drums & take lessons in that, in effect making lessons a family activity (which is nice). Only problem - we don't own a drum set. Wait, that's not the only problem. Well, we live in an apartment. Here's some very simple math for you. Loud Drums + Pissed Off Neighbors = Eviction Notice. Wasn't that easy? Instead of risking, ahem, domicile displacement, we started looking at the electric drum sets. Very cool. They plug into an amp, just like an electric guitar, and you can use headphones when you play. The end result is a lot less noise and happy neighbors. Only problem is there about twice as expensive as normal drums (a decent starter kit will set you back about $2000), so we were going to give it some thought.

After his first lesson, we're all standing around talking to the instructors, and Ed's drum teacher says something to the effect of "Wow! Ed is like, so good. Are you sure that he hasn't played before?". Well, yeah, I'm pretty sure. Guess he's just a natural. Now we're even for the guitar (even though when I'm practicing, he'll still tell me what a bitch I am, laugh, and then say "No, just kidding, it sounds good" - too funny).

We did cave and buy the electric drums - they're very cool, although Ed still has a problem with the crash symbol malfunctioning. Nothing major. It's just irksome. He's only gotten better though, so that's cool. In fact, his ability surpasses my guitar playing. I'm hoping that one day we'll be able to rock out "Mary Had a Little Lamb" together. Totally killer.

Christmas Present (addt'l)

2005-11-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

I've been learning to play the guitar(badly). My step-daughter (SD) and I go to lessons every Tuesday. Recently, our teacher has been splitting us up - I've been playing the normal 6-string guitar (a gloss black Schecter Omen 6 that was originally bought for my husband - another post later, maybe, if he'll consent to it), and SD has been playing a bass guitar.

Now, SD really likes the bass - she says that it's so much easier to play, because you can mush your fingers on the strings; you don't have to worry about staying on your fingertips like you do with regular guitar. It also makes our songs sound really cool. Two guitars playing the same part is kinda lame - but one guitar playing chords & a bass rocking out - now that's awesome!

So, in the interest of continuing the musical experience, I've found an awesome deal for a bass guitar through Musician's Friend (e-commerce website associated with Guitar Center).

Metro Complaints

2005-11-09T05:59:00.000-05:00

If you already know me (and I assume so, since you're reading this), then you already know that I take the Washington DC Metro. If you don't know me, then what the hell are you doing reading a stranger's blog? Pervert.

In a similar fashion as Ed's Don't Block The Box post, I offer these few kind words to the commuters on the Metro.

1. Don't stick your arm in the doors after you hear the chime. You had your chance to get on the train. Please don't make every person on the train wait for you, you self-important ass.

2. Don't stand in the doors unless you plan on getting off the next time those doors open. You're just blocking the way for all the other people trying to get to/from their destinations.

3. For those of you that have those roller computer bags, please pick them up when you're in the station or on the train. That damn thing you're dragging behind you is tripping other people, rolling over my toes, and generally making the traffic flow a mess. You can stand to carry your bag for 15 feet to the escalator. This is very important during rush hour, but not as vital in slower times of the day.

4. Have your fare card/SmarTrip card ready when you get to the fare gate. It's not a surprise that you have to PAY when you get to your destination; the gates aren't new - they're the same in every station in the Metro system. Do us all a favor and be proactive about moving through the turnstyles.

5. And please, Please, PLEASE, STAND ON THE RIGHT, WALK ON THE LEFT. This is common escalator courtesy for those of us who want to sprint up the escalator to catch the train already on the platform. This also means keeping your kids, bags, luggage on the right side as well.

If you already observe these rules, you get a gold star for Metro etiquette. Congrats.

If you don't observe these rules, you should be snapped in the ass with a wet towel.

Wish List

2005-11-08T17:26:00.000-05:00

Okay - so the economically sanctioned spend-fest otherwise known as Christmas is coming up soon, so I thought I would do my part to contribute to the country's financial well-being.

Froogle Wish List

First. Post. Ever.

2005-11-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

So I can't say that my driving force behind a blog is entirely pure. I'm basically only doing it because my husband has one, and I can't let him feel like he's superior to me. That just wouldn't be, well, just.

As you can probably gather from his blog, we're both programmers, so there's a lot of technology in our house to begin with. People are outnumbered by computers 2:1. That's sad.

We travel a lot - I'm hoping to use this as a repository for our pictures. It's also a good place to let friends & family know what's going on. I probably won't get around to a meaningful update for a couple days, though, so check back later.