Slightly South of Sane

Update Update Update

2008-11-08T10:13:00.003-06:00

If you are still seeing this then you need to update your bookmark.
The correct URL is http://www.slightlysouthofsane.com

Why is that important? Because I've gone back to using my own host, that's why. Blogger and WordPress are great free tools but I really want to have more control over how things look and what I can do. So, update your bookmarks to http://www.slightlysouthofsane.com

The Barack Says

2008-11-07T20:01:00.002-06:00

Has anybody else noticed that Barack Obama sounds just like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?
I'm waiting for the day to come when Barack says "I'll lay the smackdown on your roodie-poo, candy ass!" to somebody.

Congratulations

2008-11-04T22:40:00.001-06:00

Congratulations Mr. President Elect, Barack Obama.
You ran a clean campaign and the people have spoken. I wish you the best of luck in your new position.

I do have one favor to ask.
Please don't fuck up.

Vote Vote Vote

2008-11-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

It's time. GO VOTE!
If you didn't get to take advantage of the early voting then get out there today and VOTE!

Vote Democrat. Vote Green. Vote Independent. Vote Republican.

GO VOTE!

Yay Me!

2008-11-02T00:34:00.001-05:00

I've been cigarette free for four years now.
Yeah!

Go Vote!

2008-11-01T08:34:00.001-05:00

Friday afternoon my wife and went and voted. It took us about 15 minutes from the time we arrived at the Supervisor of Election's office to get in, cast our votes and get back out. I hope you vote and that you consider voting for Obama for President.

For the first time in my life I found myself voting mostly for Democrats. I hate that. Well, I don't hate that I voted mostly for Dems. I hate that I realized I was voting mostly for any one party over any other party. I'm not a fan of political parties in general. It just seems to me like too many politicans worry about "what is best for the party" instead of "what is best for the people." You cannot win a major election without the financial backing of one of the big political parties. One person has come close in my generation but he bailed out towards the end. Keep in mind that he was filthy rich and could afford all of the expenses involved.

So why did I vote mostly for the Dems? Because I found myself agreeing with more of the things done and said by the Dems candidates in my voting districts than I did with the others.

I'm sure some of you are still sitting there undecided on some of the issues, I can understand that. You may not even know what all of the issues are, I still don't myself. There is one issue though I want to point out if you are voting in Florida. Amendment 2 is on the polls and we don't need it. Not now, not ever.

Amendment 2 in Florida says: "Inasmuch as marriage is the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife, no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized."

My objections to the Amendment start with my view that marriage is an institution of religion not law and should not have any legal impact or standing. I do not believe two people should be forced to agree to a religious ceremony/right to be able to express their love for each other and enjoy the legal benefits of such a relationship. There's that word "legal" again. Sadly the religious institue of marriage has become a matter of law in our country. I don't care if the two people are both men, both women or a man and woman. If you can find somebody in this world that loves you as much as you love them then you have done something right. You shouldn't need a 'marriage' to make it 'ok.'

The big problem with this amendment is the line "...no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent there of shall be valid or recognized." Jack and Joan have worked hard all of their lives to provide for their families. In their later years Jack lost his wife to breast cancer and Joan's husband died in a tragic automobile accident. By chance they happened to meet at a formal dinner party and felt a connection. Over time they realized they loved each other and wanted to spend the time they had left together. Having spent so many years in wonderful marriages they decide not to get married to each other because they don't want to tarnish the memory of those they lost. Instead they decided to file for a legal domestic partnership so they can take care of each other should anything happen. They sell their homes, pack their bags and move to sunny South Florida. Things were great for the first couple of years but then it happened. Was it a heart attack for Jack? Did Joan have a stroke? I don't know. Sadly one of them wound up in the hospital and the other one could not legally speak on his/her behalf. Perhaps Jack had a great insurance policy provided through is retirement and he added Joan to it, now those benefits to Joan are gone. Maybe the property was paid for in Joan's name, now Jack has none of it. Look at that last line again. See how it could have a negative impact on Jack and Joan?

There are two groups out there on Amendment 2.
One is opposed to it: http://www.sayno2.com/
One is supporting it: http://www.yes2marriage.org/
Before you go vote in Florida's elections take the time to hear both points of view.

When I got home after voting I found an interesting piece of mail waiting for me from the Republican Party of Florida. Take a look at the picture below:

Isn't that exactly what Osama, the guy in the picture, has done? He has run and he has been able to hide. Hell, we haven't been able to find him for the last seven years. I think that makes him the Hide & Go Seek champion of the world!

In March of 2002 President George W. Bush held a press conference where the subject of Osama bin Laden was brought up by reporters. Only six months into the war in Afghanistan President Bush indicates he has given up on finding the guy in the picture above. You know, the picture the Republican Party of Florida is using to say the search for Osama bin Laden won't be given up. My source for the quotes below is: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020313-8.html

Q    Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden.  Why is that?  Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive?  Final part  --  deep in your heart, don't you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won't really eliminate the threat of  --
THE PRESIDENT:  Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all.  Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time.  And the idea of focusing on one person is --  really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission.
Terror is bigger than one person.  And he's just  --  he's a person who's now been marginalized.  His network, his host government has been destroyed.  He's the ultimate parasite who found weakness, exploited it, and met his match.  He is  --  as I mentioned in my speech, I do mention the fact that this is a fellow who is willing to commit youngsters to their death and he, himself, tries to hide  --  if, in fact, he's hiding at all.
So I don't know where he is.  You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you.  I'm more worried about making sure that our soldiers are well-supplied; that the strategy is clear; that the coalition is strong; that when we find enemy bunched up like we did in Shahikot Mountains, that the military has all the support it needs to go in and do the job, which they did.
And there will be other battles in Afghanistan.  There's going to be other struggles like Shahikot, and I'm just as confident about the outcome of those future battles as I was about Shahikot, where our soldiers are performing brilliantly.  We're tough, we're strong, they're well-equipped. We have a good strategy.  We are showing the world we know how to fight a guerrilla war with conventional means.

Q    But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him.  And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure.  And, again, I don't know where he is.  I  --  I'll repeat what I said.  I truly am not that concerned about him.  I know he is on the run.  I was concerned about him, when he had taken over a country.  I was concerned about the fact that he was basically running Afghanistan and calling the shots for the Taliban.
But once we set out the policy and started executing the plan, he became  --  we shoved him out more and more on the margins.  He has no place to train his al Qaeda killers anymore.  And if we  --  excuse me for a minute  --  and if we find a training camp, we'll take care of it. Either we will or our friends will. That's one of the things  --  part of the new phase that's becoming apparent to the American people is that we're working closely with other governments to deny sanctuary, or training, or a place to hide, or a place to raise money.
And we've got more work to do.  See, that's the thing the American people have got to understand, that we've only been at this six months. This is going to be a long struggle.  I keep saying that; I don't know whether you all believe me or not.  But time will show you that it's going to take a long time to achieve this objective.  And I can assure you, I am not going to blink.  And I'm not going to get tired.  Because I know what is at stake.  And history has called us to action, and I am going to seize this moment for the good of the world, for peace in the world and for freedom.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sounds like there might be some communication issues in the party.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T21:17:00.000-05:00

"Oh Rocky!"

The One In Which I Am Sick

2008-10-26T11:02:00.000-05:00

Monday my wife wasn't feeling too good and by Wednesday she was just miserable. I started feeling the effects of this nasty little thing Thursday night and yesterday was no walk in the park. Friday after work we went to see our doctor and he gave us some antibiotics to help get rid of this thing.

So what happened with the haunted walking tour I wanted to go on? My wife and I went! We made it to the Pensacola Historical Society Museum about 650 thinking we would go on the 700 Red Light Distrct tour. Wrong! The earliest tour we could get on was the 800 tour. Luckily that was one of the RLD tours. I never knew Pensacola had an unoffically designated red light area. The area was in operation from the late 1800's through the late 1920's. Thirty years after the district had been cleared out by the city parents would still tell their daughters "Don't go South of Government St" because they didn't want them to be mistaken for working girls. The tour lasted an hour and we really had a great time. We didn't see any ghosts but it was very entertaining. If you're wondering why I went on the red light tour the answer is simple: I just didn't want to deal with screaming and/or silly kids.

At the end of the tour we learned something we didn't expect to learn. There is a peep show in downtown Pensacola! If you head down to the Pensacola Little Theatre on a show night you might get to see more than you expected. The PLT is showing The Rocky Horror Show to celebrate the season and the fans are showing up in costume. Watching the "maids" show up was quite entertaining, but that wasn't the peep show part. The PLT was the last stop on the walking tour. Because we couldn't go into the building we stood across the street and listened to the story of the haunted stage. It turns out that in the past the town gallows stood where the stage now stands. Creepy. While listening to the story the people in the tour noticed that windows on the second and third floors on the left side of the front of the building were frosted. We quickly learned these windows are frosted to provide privacy as they are in front of the ladies restroom on the second floor and a changing room on the third floor. When it's dark outside and light inside the frosting on the windows doesn't hide much. I never realized how many women take the time to cover the toilet seat with toilet paper before they use it.

Click the image below to see a larger version.

Oh That Johnny

2008-10-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

Johnny Depp is an incredible actor. There, I said it.

Here is today's Halloween Movie Suggestion: Sleepy Hollow!
Didn't I recommend that one already? Sort of. This time I expect you to put the kids to bed and get the Sleepy Hollow DVD staring Johnny Depp out and settle in for a nice scare.

This time around Ichabod Crane isn't the awkward school teacher of old. This time he's the awkward police officer sent from New York to investigate the murders in Sleepy Hollow. Ichabod has some new detecting theories to test and the Headless Horseman is going to give him plenty of opportunities to test them. This is a great take on a classic story. Turn down the lights, find somebody to hold and get ready to scream together.

Night Of The Living Dead

2008-10-19T08:24:00.002-05:00

It's not October without a showing of Night of The Living Dead. The modern zombie got his brain craving start with this George Romero classic and every horror fan should take time to watch it.

The movie hit theatres on October 1st 1968. This is significant because the MPAA rating system did not come out until November 1968. What did this mean for the movie? It meant that theatre owners weren't overly concerned about who saw the movie and sold tickets to anybody that had the money to buy them. The level of gore in this movie was unprecedented and nobody really knew what to expect. Young childern that saw the movie were blown away. The following excerpts from RogerEbert.com make this quite clear.

There were maybe two dozen people in the audience who were over 16 years old. The rest were kids, the kind you expect at a Saturday afternoon kiddie matinee. This was in a typical neighborhood theater, and the kids started filing in 15 minutes early to get good seats up front. The name of the movie was "The Night of the Living Dead."

I went to see it because it's been a long time since I saw my last horror movie. I vaguely remember some stuff from the 1950s, like "Creature from the Black Lagoon" or "Attack of the Crab Monsters." They were usually lousy, but it was fun to see them.

But that was 10 years ago. Since then, there's been a lot of talk about violence in the movies, and it seemed about time to see another horror film. The audience for horror movies is mostly drawn from children and adolescents. They usually play in drive-in or neighborhood theaters, and by tradition they're the most frankly violent kind of films. "Night of the Living Dead" seemed like a reasonable choice; it was selected by the National Association of Theater Owners as "exploitation picture of the month."

Well, the kids came early, as I said. There were a few parents, but mostly just the kids, dumped in front of the theater for the Saturday matinee (admission 40 cents). A lot of kids were racing up the aisles on urgent missions, and other kids were climbing over the backs of seats, and you'd see a gang of kids passing a box of popcorn back and forth. Occasionally some kid would get whacked by his big sister because he wouldn't shut up.

There was a cheer when the lights went down. The opening scene was set in a cemetery (lots of delighted shrieks from the kids), where a teen-age couple are placing a wreath on a grave. Suddenly a ghoul appears and attacks the boy and the girl flees to a nearby farmhouse. The ghoul looked suitably decayed, with all sorts of bloody scars on his face, and he walked in the official ghoul shuffle. More screams from the kids. Screaming is part of the fun, you'll remember.

(spoilers removed)

The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying.

I don't think the younger kids really knew what hit them. They were used to going to movies, sure, and they'd seen some horror movies before, sure, but this was something else. This was ghouls eating people up -- and you could actually see what they were eating. This was little girls killing their mothers. This was being set on fire. Worst of all, (spoiler removed).

I felt real terror in that neighborhood theater last Saturday afternoon. I saw kids who had no resources they could draw upon to protect themselves from the dread and fear they felt.

Wow! When was the last time you saw a review like that? Now do you see why I consider this one of the greatest horror movies of all time? At Google Video you can watch the movie in full as well as download a copy for your iPod/iPhone. Simply click here. Did I just say Google will let you download a copy? Yes I did! Due to a mistake made during the titling of the film the copyright notice was left off and the movie has become part of the public domain. You don't even have to go to Google to enjoy the film because I present to you: The Night Of The Living Dead!

Avast Ye Scurvy Dogs! Perpare To Hand Out Candy.

2008-10-18T19:56:00.000-05:00

Pirates of The Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl is another great Halloween film. Wait, a pirate movie? Yes, a pirate movie! But not just any pirate movie because this one is full of the undead!

A lot of the Halloween fun comes in the form of make-believe. We put on costumes. We fire up our imaginations. We look for monsters in shadows. This movie inspires us to do all of these things.

Want to know what the best part of the movie is? The fact that it was the inspiration for more and more people to dress up like pirates for Halloween. Have you seen some of the pirate costumes for women? Thank you Mr. Disney.

And Now For Something Different

2008-10-18T07:58:00.000-05:00

Get Your Haunt On

2008-10-15T19:55:00.000-05:00

Are you planning on going to any haunted houses this year? I would love to hear about them. Leave a comment and some links!

This year I don't want to go to the typical haunted house filled with actors, stage blood and strobe lights. What is with the damn strobe lights anyways? They aren't scary and they cause headaches. Because I am on call Halloween night I actually won't be going anywhere that night. I'm hoping to go out the weekend before and taking one of the haunted walking tours in downtown Pensacola with my wife. There are guides that take you on a tour of downtown Pensacola to the places that are supposed to be haunted. Will we see a ghost? Probably not. Will we have a good time? I sure hope so.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

2008-10-12T19:13:00.000-05:00

Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is perfect for Halloween. This movie is old enough that some of you probably haven't seen it. Too often we're spoiled by computer effects in film and computer generated animation. This film takes you back to the days of hand drawn animation. A half hour of animation narrated by Bing Crosby tells the story of awkward Ichabod Crane as he falls for the local beauty. Her suitor knows how superstitious Ichabod is and tells him the story of The Headless Horseman in an attempt to scare him out of town. But is it just a story? Is there some truth to the legend? Watch the movie and find out. This is great Halloween fun for the whole family.

Mostly Harmless

2008-10-10T20:49:00.000-05:00

I saw the urologist today and I have both good and bad news.

Good news: The backup of shattered stone fragments is gone! The last week I have felt like I worked for the Slate Gravel Company. Also, most of the remaining fragments in the kidney is gone as well! Wahoo!
Bad news: The few pieces left in the kidney are going to hurt if and when they come out. The doctor says I may never get rid of all of them but the few pieces are so small it's not enough to worry about. The down side is one is working it's way out now. Ah well, so goes life. I'm still upbeat from the good news part.

I recently learned that I work with two of the three authors of Pro SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services. Granted, we don't work side by side but we do see each other every day in the work environment and I have used one as an on the job resource for SQL Server & Studio questions that have come up at the help desk. Knowing an opportunity when I see it, some of the time, I've asked one of them for pointers and help in learning SQL and it's like tore down a dam holding back a lake of knowledge. I plan to learn as much as I can.

Here's another on the job benefit that just came my way. The corporation I work for has spent I don't know how much money on training resources for the help desk. Why don't I know how much money? Because when I saw the resources that are being made available to us ran into the thousands of dollars I decided I was better off not knowing the total. We have training resources available for most CompTIA, Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle and you name it certifications. Because they are online resources (videos/books/software/etc..) we can use them from home or work. Hot damn!

Halloween

2008-10-07T20:38:00.000-05:00

It's October and the greatest holiday of the year is coming. Halloween!
So, what movie should you watch this month? Halloween!

There's a catch to watching Halloween. You can either watch the original movie or the Rob Zombie directed re-make. Although you could watch both the original and the re-make if you're really dedicated to the cause. You cannot watch any of the insane sequels that followed. The sequels started poorly and only got worse.

If you are looking for the original edge of your seat, creepy music and young Jamie Lee Curtis thrill then you want the original. If you are looking for more realistic gore, a deeper story line and more exposed female flesh then you want the remake. You really can't go wrong with either choice.

A brief plot summary: Young Michael Myers murders his sister one Halloween night and is committed to psychiatric hospital. Years later Michael escapes and the slayings begin. But what motivates Michael? Is it his baby sister he left behind when he was committed? If so, will she live? Will she die? Will her friends run naked through a deserted house for no real reason other than putting some flesh on film? You'll have to watch the movies and find out.

Grab that DVD, or VHS if you still have it, pop some popcorn, turn down the lights and let the movie scare the hell out of you.

More movies to come this month!

Octoberfest

2008-10-06T21:57:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year. Octoberfest!

No, not the beer. The movies! There is no better month in the year than October to watch scary movies. During the month I'll provide suggestions of movies you may enjoy. You can have your own scary movie festival.

Ok, it's a great month for beer too. I had McGuire's Octoberfest brew for my birthday plus I've enjoyed some pumpkin ale and cherry wheat ale so far this month.

Malaysia Has My Money!

2008-10-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

You have probably received an e-mail like this before.
I couldn't help but reply to it

Hello,

My name is Mr AZRA JEFFERY SALLEH . I am a legal practitioner with Hat Law Firm in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

I saw your contact and profile i decided that you could cooperate with me in this proposition.

I have a client who was deceased in November, 2001, in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

I'm contacting you because you have the same surname as my deceased client and i felt that you could help me in the distribution of funding that were left in my deceased client's bank account. This funding is closed to be declared UN-serviceable by the bank as there were no indicated next of kin or next of beneficiary of the funding in the bank account.

The bank had issued to me a notification to contact the next of kin of my deceased client for either to re-activate the bank account or to make claim of beneficiary, of the funding in the bank account, with a month surcharge of 6% to be deducted as an Escrow safe keeping fee of the bank account,so as to avoid the indefinite closure of the bank account.

My proposition to you is to seek your consent, and to present your kind self as the next-of-kin and beneficiary of my deceased client, since you have the same last name with him.

This means that the proceeds of his bank account would be paid to you as his next of kin or the legitimate beneficiary. When the proceeds in his bank account are paid to you, we would share the proceeds on a mutually agreed-upon percentage of 60% to me and 40% to your kind self.

All the legal documents to back up your claim as my client's next-of-kin would be provided by me. The most important thing I would need is your honest cooperation to in this proposition.This would be done under a legitimate arrangement that would protect you from any breach of the law.

If this business proposition offends your moral and ethic values, do accept my sincere apology. Please contact me at once if you're interested by replying this mail and ignore it if you are not.

Best regards,

Mr AZRA JEFFERY SALLEH , Esq

My response:

You're the son of a bitch with my uncle's money?

You will promptly release 100% of the funds owed to me as the next-of-kin or I will bring the US government down on your ass so fast you won't have time to yell "Holy Shit!"
You KNOW how the US government is. We'll bomb another country back to the stone age, a short trip for some, over the smallest thing. Hell, we'll do it just because we can.

Now quit fucking around and give my my uncle's money. Small, non-sequential bills are preferred.

Sometimes I just can't stop myself.

Z Is For Zombie

2008-09-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

I saw this in the book store tonight.

Om mani padme braaaaaains.
Om mani padme braaaaaains.

A Year Ago & Tonight

2008-09-27T10:13:00.000-05:00

Last year my wife and I went out for a nice lunch to celebrate my birthday. Sadly, as we were leaving the restaurant, our vehicle was hit by another driver. Luckily the damage wasn't too bad and we could still drive, although my wife did have a nasty bruise on her back.

Even though my birthday isn't until tomorrow we're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Let's hope the other drivers out tonight are more careful than last year.

Damn

2008-09-26T18:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had a couple of x-rays done in preperation for my visit to the urologist's office today. I also shot a stone fragment at the back of the urinal at work. It made a lovely *Plink!* sound and I was able to save it. Why save it? Because it was the biggest fragment yet and the doctor wants those to help figure out what causes them in me. That way we can adjust my diet to help prevent them, I hope.

So, how were the x-rays? Disappointing in my opinion. I would estimate 3/4 of the giant stone is still in my right kidney. Only instead of being one big mass it has shattered into many little pieces that simply haven't worked their way out yet. The doctor wasn't worried about that but I was really hoping the kidney would be clear. Ah well. Then things got worse. Forgive me for not knowing all of the correct terms. The prostrate puts pressure on the tube that allows urine to flow out from the bladder. The pressure from the prostrate is enough to narrow that tube enough that I now have a back up of shattered stones that can't get out. To fix this the doctor has me on some muscle relaxers (Flomax) that will, hopefully, open that path enough to let them out.

I did get some good news from the doctor. My birthday is Sunday and I plan on going out to dinner with my wife Saturday night to celebrate. At dinner I am quite sure I will have a beer and I was worried about alcohol and pills being a bad mix. I asked the doctor if I should be worried about any interactions and he told me that wasn't a problem with those pills. Then he said something intersting. He pointed out that in today's society doctors really shouldn't say anything positive about alcohol but went on to say that beer is a great diuretic for people that can drink without becoming drunks. Do you realize what this means? My doctor has told me to drink beer! YES! I still have some of the pumpkin ale left and I picked up a six pack of Sam Adam's Cherry Wheat at the store while grocery shopping with my wife after the appointment.

How is it...

2008-09-24T16:56:00.000-05:00

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies but we can't provide more affordable health care?

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies but we can't provide more affordable mental health care?

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies but we can't put more money into the public schools?

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies but we can't provide more cost effective and environmentaly friendly public transportation?

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies but we can't provide more affordable housing?

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies but we can't find a way not to pay close to $4 a gallon for gas?

How is it we can have $700,000,000,000.00 to bail out Wall St. companies and the people don't take to the streets with thoughts of a revolution on their mind?

Nein!

2008-09-21T13:06:00.000-05:00

With Fall at hand I had a craving for a pumpkin ale Sunday. To cure the crave I decided to stop at the grocery store after picking my wife up from work and buying a few bottles. Care to guess what happened? I was told I couldn't buy any. Not because I'm underage, I'm going to be 36 on the 28th. It's not because I was broke, I had the money. It was because the time was 12:54pm and I wasn't allowed to buy beer. Apparently there is some dumbass law here that prevents the sale of alcohol untl 1pm.

Haven't we evolved enough as a society that we can do away with the religion based laws in this country?

Yee-Haw!

2008-09-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

When I woke up the other day I expected a number of things to happen during the day.
One thing I didn't expect to happen was to look up and see a black guy dressed like a cowboy riding a horse while listening to his iPod in downtown Pensacola, FL. I know, it sounds hard to believe. Good thing I had my iPhone handy.

Now I know why so many UFO pictures are out of focus or have motion trails or just generally don't provide the visual detail you would hope for. It's because when you see something so striking you simply take the picture as quickly as you can. Click the picture to see it in a larger format.

Hat?

2008-09-17T17:29:00.000-05:00

This morning I was sitting at my desk at work getting ready to enjoy a little Pop tart breakfast and reply to some e-mails when I took a good look at the Pop tart cover. That looks less like a hat and more like a .....well....you decide.

Sick & Work

2008-09-16T18:58:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I caught a cold. Lucky me.

I can't believe I'm still passing blood and stone residue. In my normal way of over reacting to the mundane I worry so much damage has been done to the kidney that the doctor will have to take it.

My friend got the job where I work. It'll be fun to work with him again.

There was a communication error last week about my work schedule. I thought my new hours would start on Monday the 22nd and my boss thought my new schedule would start this past Monday the 15th. What was the communication error? My boss thinks he told me the change started this past Monday when I know he didn't. Of course he probably knows he told me while I think he didn't. Either way, it's a decent schedule.

A Week

2008-09-14T20:15:00.000-05:00

Wow! Has it really been a week since I wrote anything? I'm such a slacker.

I stayed home last Monday while I moved yet another piece through. It really sucked. I'm still getting some bleeding and the occasional small piece. I'm not sure how much longer the bleeding will last but I really wish it would end. The best part? I think I've caught a cold.

One of my co-workers got a position with a different department so I'm taking over his schedule at work starting the 23rd. My new schedule has me starting thiry minutes earlier but I also get off thirty minutes earlier. I can handle that. Also, I'll have to work out of two offices now. On Tuesday & Thursday I'll work the entire day at the main office on N. Baylen but on Monday, Wednesday & Friday I'll spend the first half of the day at the Garden St. office. The half days I spend at Garden St won't mean less work but they will mean less noise. Yes, I'll still have to answer the phone when people call the help desk & yes, I"ll still have to work on e-mails users sent in. The advantage is I'll be the server room by myself and I plan to enjoy the quiet.

There is another advantage to my co-worker accepting the new position. It creates an open slot in my department that I am trying to get a former co-worker to fill. He's been on a work break but he's ready to get back into IT work. This would be a perfect spot for him. We'll see how it goes.

Monday Night

2008-09-08T18:49:00.000-05:00

I have made it to Monday night. There was a fragment that felt stuck Sunday night through this afternoon. With any luck that was the last of them.

I'm worried that I will have to go through this again at some point in my life but I sure as hell hope not. Maybe the doctor can recommend a special diet or something.

A very special "Thank you!" to my mother for coming over and playing driver/sitter for the weekend. My wife can not drive and I was in no shape to do any driving so my mother willing took over those duties. I am grateful.

Never Again

2008-09-08T10:40:00.001-05:00

I never want to experience this again. It's been pure torture and the thought of going through it one more time scares the shit out of me.

Maybe Not

2008-09-07T16:02:00.001-05:00

Based on the amount of blood that has started flowing and the pain in my side there are more fragments left to pass. Sucks to be me.

Sunday Morning

2008-09-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

I think, I hope, the worst is behind me now. I believe most of the pain I'm feeling now is from the stones cutting a path out of me. We'll see.

Welcome To The Dope Show

2008-09-06T11:18:00.001-05:00

While I'm having a moment of clarity let me share a bit of my story from yesterday. The pain is coming and going with the waves and right now the waves are covering the pain.. I think Stephen King described it best in his novel Misery. Go pick up a copy and give it a read. I'm trying to avoid taking any of the prescription pain killers today as I don't want to sleep the entire day away. I feel so physically and mentally drained that I may go to sleep whether I take a pill or not. On with the story.

Before I was taken back to the operating room the hospital had my wife come get my clothes and shoes. It was nice to have a few minutes with her as I was nervous wreck. Just as she was about to leave so they could wheel me away a man walked up and introduced himself as Clint. When he said he was the assistant anesthesiologist I just had to get my wife's iPhone and snap a picture of my new dope dealer.

The last thing I remember in the operating room is Clint saying "You are going to feel a warming sensation in your arm and then......" Suddenly I felt a dull fire run up my left arm and that's simply all I remember. He injected the magic go to sleep dope into the IV and it was lights out for me. I have now idea what he said after "and then.."

Now I to solve a mystery. The mystery of "why I have a large sore bruise on my chest." Right where you place your hand to say the pledge of allegiance I have a bruise I can't explain. It wasn't there before I went to the hospital but it was there as I was leaving. Did something fall on me? Did I fall on something? Did I get sudden CPR in the operating room? I'm afraid I'll never know because it would mean the doctor would have to explain something that happened while I was out that he didn't volunteer to my family or myself.

The Morning After

2008-09-06T07:23:00.000-05:00

The big stone is gone thanks the procedure yesterday. Well, that's not entirely accurate. The big stone is now many many many smaller stones thanks to the procedure yesterday. Some of the stones are so small they pass right through without me noticing, some are big enough to cause discomfort and some are big enough to cause PAIN.

The most annoying part of last night, besides the pain, was constantly having to go the bathroom to dribble out a few drops of blood. I came up with a solution to that: Depends. I wore, and am currently wearing, adult diapers. Hey, you do what you have to do. It finally took a combination of Meprozine (Pethidine combined with Promethazine) and Lortab for me to get to sleep last night.

This morning I'm still in pain but not as much pain as last night. Hopefully I can rid myself of the rest of the stones today.

Home

2008-09-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

I'm hurting and high on the meds but I'm home. The stone has been shattered.

My mother came over from Ocean Springs to play driver for my wife and I today and tomorrow.

I'll give details later about the procedure based on what the sugreons told me. I remember very little because I was knocked out.

Is That A Thumb?

2008-09-03T18:31:00.000-05:00

Today I saw the urologist and he ordered an X-ray so he could see the stone in my right kidney. If you saw the x-ray you might ask "Is that a thumb?" because the stone is so damn big. It is literally the size of my right thumb from the tip to the first knuckle. No wonder I've been in so much pain.

The doctor told me I need to get the stone out NOW and scheduled an Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy for Friday monring at 8am. I have to be at the hospital by 6am for the check in procedures. This is the procedure where they dunk me in a tank and hit me with sound waves to break up the stone. When I asked the doctor how long it would take so I could tell my boss when to expect me on Friday he looked at me like I was talking in a different language. He explained the pain of having this done is enough that I will be doped up in advance and will be out of commission the entire day. I have to plan for a ride to the hospital and a ride home. Luckily my mother has offered to come over from Mississippi and take me.

The doctor explained that I will be passing the fragments of the stone for at least two days and gave me a painkiller that he explained is way more potent than Lortab. Am I the only one getting nervous yet? It get's worse. The doctor went on to explain there is a 15% chance that not all of the fragments will be small enough to pass. If that happens there is tube that goes in through the penis and up the urninary tract that will grab and pull out any stuck fragments. Oh man...this sucks...this really sucks. Let's hope that 15% doesn't happen.

Gustav Surf II

2008-09-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

The power was off at my home most of the day today. Now that it's back on I can scale down and upload the following photos I took at Perdido Key this morning. As I'm writting this there is another storm band moving through the area and there is a tornado warning issued for the area where I took the photos. As usual, click them to see the larger versions.

Gustav Surf

2008-09-01T14:35:00.001-05:00

After the initial storm bands passed this morning I drove out to Perdido Key, FL to see what Hurricane Gustav was doing to the Gulf of Mexico. I took this picture with my iPhone right after I hit the beach. I took a few more with my camera that I"ll post later. You can get a larger view by clicking the picture.

Negative

2008-08-29T19:43:00.000-05:00

When I went to see my doctor on Tuesday I was worried that I might have an infection because of all the damage done by passing so many stones. Doctor Kasabian agreed it was something to be worried about so we did test. Good news, there is no infection. I'm feeling better tonight but I have no plans to cancel my appointment with the urologist next week. I am determined to be done with these stones soon.

Click

2008-08-26T18:52:00.000-05:00

Looking out at the world.

Pain Limit Reached

2008-08-26T18:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, enough is enough. I'm sick of the damn pain. Ever since that last stone went through I have been hurting. Some days are worse than others and Monday night simply sucked. I went to see my primary care doctor today and got a referal to a urologist for next week. I'll probably wind up in a tank of water being assaulted by sound waves to break up the stone(s) that is still in me.

I'm not worried about the procedure or even any pain it can lead to. I'm worried that the doctors might find something else wrong with me and that scares the hell out of me.

Fayed Away

2008-08-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

So I spent two days watching TS Fay get closer and closer. What happens? At the last minute she skipped North of us. While I'm glad to have avoided the storm I was looking forward to the rain.

Get Moving!

2008-08-21T22:35:00.000-05:00

This has been a hectic week at work because two departmetns are trading places. The theory, as presented to me, is that this change will allow both departments to grow. Looking at how each group is losing seats due to the move I don't understand the logic. What do I care though? As long as the check clears the bank the company can rearrange seating until the end of time. The frustrating part is each day my group has a list of people and equipment that should be moved and by the end of the day the list has changed, gotten longer and usually doesn't have the same names on it as it did at the beginning of the day. Ah well, it's good exercise.

Tropical Storm Fay appears to be headed my way. It seems we'll get some wind and rain out of it but not as much as the rest of the state has. This is one storm that just seems to love Florida.

I finally got to try hitting some golf balls at a local driving range. It's exactly what I expected it to be: hard but interesting. I even sent a club flying 30 feet, only it flew behind me instead of in front of me. That's a story for a different day.

Ewwwww

2008-08-16T17:59:00.000-05:00

I've heard you can find almost anything at Amazon.com and I believe it.
Quite often you can find things for sale at Amazon.com that are used and you can save some money that way.
I have now discovered there are some things you really don't want to find used at Amazon.com or anywhere else even if you can save eight dollars.

I know it sounds crazy so feel free to search for Trojan Condoms at Amazon if you don't believe it.

More OT

2008-08-16T17:48:00.000-05:00

Friday was another over time day. This time I was given the choice to opt-out of the over time because we were given less than 24 hours notice. I worked it anyways. So far I'm really enjoying my job and the company so I don't mind doing the extra. We'll see how the future goes though.

I've spent most of this week in pain. The stone on Monday cut one helluva path on it's way out and I'm still aching today. My soda intake has gone way down while my water intake has gone way up.

Ugh

2008-08-11T19:31:00.000-05:00

I simply could not stay asleep Sunday night. It seemed every twenty to thirty minutes I would wake up either nauseus or sweating. I climbed out of bed at 5am so I could get my wife to her job on time. There were a few moments on the way there and back that I though I would need to pull over but about two blocks from the house the pain hit me. Kidney Stone! I realized that I was not going to be able to make it through the day at work so I sent an e-mail to my boss and loaded up on Advil and Nyquil. It was a hazy day to say the least. Now I'm groggy and sore as hell.

During moments of clarity today, much like this one, I've tried to think of what could have caused so many stones recently and I have some ideas. First, I think I've been taking in too much soda so I paln to cut it back and ramp up the water. No more stopping at the gas station on the way to work. Second, I think stress has contributed to the stone formation some as well. I have no idea what is going on with my son. He won't pay attention in school, he's smoking and he doesn't communicate with me. My wife and I have had some problems lately too. It's nothing major but the little things add up. I need to find a less stressful way to communicate with each of them. I pretty satisfied with my job and that's a positive thing.

Music In / Music Out

2008-08-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

I started my day with Alice Cooper's "From The Inside" and I'm ending it with Colin Hay's "Man At Work."

Friday I have mandatory overtime at work. There was a time when "mandatory overtime" would have made me mad but I don't really mind now because it's IT related. You know what I like about my boss? He's not afraid to use words like "Shit/Damn/Fuck." I was tying to help a user today when I heard my boss using those words along with a few others while he was talking to a different department manager on the phone. It was everything I had not to bust out laughing during my call. I eventually asked the user if I could put her on hold for a minute. Once she agreed I yelled "Robert! You're fucking killing me!" His response? "Who gives a shit?!" We both laughed and he continued his call. When I finally stopped laughing I finished my call.

I still haven't found anybody willing to pass along a set of golf clubs. Oh well. I'll see if one of the local golf courses has any rental sets I can try.

Fore Play

2008-08-03T16:19:00.000-05:00

With my new job I have weekends free and I'm looking for things to do. Something I've never tried but often joked about is golf. If you are in the Pensacola area, or know somebody who is, and have a set of golf clubs collecting dust and you don't mind giving them away let me know at traveler[dot]the[at]gmail[dot]com. I would like to hit a driving range and maybe a few holes to see what it's like but I would hate to invest in a set of clubs only to have it turn out golf isn't the game for me.

If I get a set and don't like the game I'll find somebody to pass them on to.

The Pain

2008-08-02T12:08:00.000-05:00

Friday was a long day, but it was Friday night that was the worst.

On my way to work Friday morning I had a dull ache on my right side. By 700 pm Friday it had developed into a stabbing pain. Once again my right kidney had ejected a stone but this one was bigger than normal. At one point I considered dragging my ass to the ER but realized it would just be a waste of time. All the ER would do is dope me up, pump me full of liquids and then bill me. Instead I chose to take a few Excedrin, some ibuprofrin, NyQuil and a bottle of water. I woke up in pain a few times but I made it through the night.

Today it's more of a residual pain than an active pain, if that makes any sense. I am incredibly exhausted though.

A Dozen Lincolns

2008-08-01T07:04:00.000-05:00

Since I last wrote about the price of gas at my corner store the price has fallen another twelve cents. Am I happy about that? Yes! Am I still mad about the price of gas? Hell yes!

Ah well, life goes on.

Dumb Kid

2008-07-31T06:38:00.000-05:00

Last night my ex-wife informed me that my thirteen year old son has taken up smoking. Sometimes he steals her cigarettes and, supposedly, her soon to be ex-husband has been buying him packs of cigarettes. What is my ex doing about it? Not a damn thing. I'm glad I live as far away from them as I do. Otherwise my ass would probably be locked up.

Speaking of her soon to be ex-husband. During the time they were married my son told me over and over how bad the husband treated him and his mother. Insulting, shoving, sometimes a punch. Hell, his own damn kid has a restraining order against him. Now my son can't get enough of the bastard. On the rare occasion that my son calls it's usually because "I'm bored so I thought I would call" and then I'm treated to stories of how great this guy is.

If he comes to visit and I catch him smoking I'm dropping his ass off at the bus station and he Go Greyhound to get home.

Sudo Sandwich

2008-07-27T16:21:00.000-05:00

From xkcd.com

Along Came A Spider

2008-07-27T12:10:00.001-05:00

Enjoy.

What A Pain

2008-07-26T17:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, here's another cool thing about the iPhone...I can blog from it.

So what is a pain? Fixing computers! Well......not really.
Wednesday my computer died. I was surfing when all of a sudden it shut down. I looked under the desk and saw a wisp of smoke drift by. The power supply died. I spent a good bit of this afternoon piecing together parts I have to get a working PC. Luckily my hard drives survived so I was able to save data. The problem is that Windows was unhappy with all of the hardware changes and I had to re-authenticate XP, install new drivers, and resolve a few conflicts.

Here is what really sucked: When I hooked up my iPhone to do a back up it went into brick mode. The iPhone and the PC rebuild just didn't like each other. It took another hour of work but I finally got the iPhone unbricked, updated and even some new songs added.

Here's the part that is a pain. I work on computers Mon-Fri for a living. Do you really think I want to spend my weekends fixing them to???

In the end it wasn't too bad because I learned some new things.

What The Smoke?

2008-07-26T14:32:00.000-05:00

I don't smoke. I did in the past but I don't any more. If you want to smoke that's fine, just don't smoke around me. I like the idea of "No Smoking" areas and it pisses me off to see people smoking in them I complain. If I am in an area that isn't marked as "No Smoking" area and you light up then I can simply walk away or stand there and not bitch about it. To make it simple, as long as I don't have to put up with smoke in a "No Smoking" area I'm ok.

So why am I bitching about smokers again? Actaully I am on the smoker's side here. Escambia County here in Florida has announced that as of October 1st 2008 smokers will not be hired. Current county employees have until 2010 to quit smoking or find work somewhere else. Also, there is to be no smoking on any county property. And, testing for tobacco will be part of the new hire process just like testing for drugs.

I don't like this idea. Tobacco is legal. As long as it's legal I really don't think any company should be able to refuse to hire somebody that uses it. We're probably going to see some lawsuits over this.

The county's reasoning is that tobacco users cost more when it comes to medical bills. It would save the county money to not have to pay out higher medical charges on the company insurance. Wouldn't it be easier to charge tobacco users higher insurance rates and leave it at that? Other companies do.

Just A Test

2008-07-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

Trying an iPhone test.

Posted with LifeCast

Too Cool

2008-07-22T13:50:00.002-05:00

Other words fail me. The iPhone is just too cool.

I Joined A Cult

2008-07-21T20:19:00.003-05:00

I am now a member of The Cult of The iPhone.

With the new 3G iPhone available people with the first generation EDGE iPhone are running to the stores to upgrade. This means there are plenty of first generation phones out there. Luckily I have an online friend that upgraded. When I mentioned I was thinking about getting a first generation phone used he offered me his. Sometimes it's good to have friends.

Some of you may remember a year ago when I said I didn't want an iPhone and you're wondering what made me change my mind. The new App Store for the iPhone and iTouch. There are a ton of applications now available for the iPhone that makes it more than a music playing phone and quite a few are free. Plus, an offer of a phone is just too damn good to pass up.

Another thing that had me thinking about it was standing in the book store and not being able to remember the name of the book I was looking for. I had stopped at Books-A-Million on my way home one day to browse and remembered there was a book I wanted but I couldn't remember the title. I started to use the customer care computer to browse for it but there was a line waiting to use it. It hit me that if I had some kind of portable internet device I could simply surf for the information. What kinds of portable internet devices are out there? The iPhone for one.

Why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit

2008-07-20T18:18:00.000-05:00

Awake

2008-07-20T13:09:00.000-05:00

I managed to get about two and half hours of sleep. I've managed to keep myself occupied so I don't fall asleep so far today. The goal is to get a good night's rest and be fresh for work in the AM.

Insomnia

2008-07-20T01:51:00.002-05:00

It's almost 2am and I can't sleep. In three and a half hours I need to be on the road taking my wife to work. I'll probably fall asleep after and sleep most of the day meaning I'll be up tonight as well. Damn.

Generation Bum

2008-07-19T20:18:00.002-05:00

What do we teach our kids when we have them stand in front of Wal-Mart asking for handouts? Once again I was surrounded by kids today asking for money so their basketball team could go to a tournament when I walked into one of my local Wal-Mart stores.

I've seen kids from 5 to 18 years of age asking for money in front of these stores and it drives me nuts. Sports teams, church groups, clubs/organizations, it's ridiculous! I can't even narrow this down to race or economics because of the groups I've seen.

Once on my way into a Wal-mart I saw a nice BMW stop and a little boy in a baseball uniform hop out. He joined the rest of his team asking for money at the door. If mommy can drive around in a BMW on the weekends I feel no guilt in not giving her kid money.

I've seen adult organizations, usually churches, in front of these stores asking for money as well. Of course that pisses me off as well but to see parents encouraging kids to ask for handouts is absofuckinglutely disgusting.

Is all hope lost? No. When I left the store I saw another group of kids across the street trying to raise money by washing cars.

If your kid's group needs money let them earn it. Please don't teach your kids to be beggars.

Penny

2008-07-18T06:04:00.000-05:00

Today I saw that the gas station on the corner has lowered the price of gas by a penny. I'm thrilled and disappointed at the same time. I'm thrilled because even though it was just a penny the price of gas did go down. I'm disappointed because it's still too damn expensive.

Yo ho ho

2008-07-16T20:19:00.002-05:00

I have never read Treasure Island. I've seen plenty of film adaptations of the book but I've never sat down and read it. This week I am correcting that. I'm up to the point where Jim has just arrived at the port where he will board the Hispaniola.

It's not a thick book and one I could easily sit and read cover to cover on a day off. I've decided to just take my time and really try to enjoy it.

As long as I can keep the image of Tim Curry as Long John Silver out of my mind I'll be ok.

Sunday Update

2008-07-13T06:19:00.003-05:00

I'm two weeks into my new job and so far everything is ok. The biggest hassle of the job is dealing with the end users on the company's computer network. Actually, dealing with the end user is exactly what my job is so let me clarify that statement. The biggest hassle of the job is dealing with end users that have little to no computer experience. Let me give you an example.

Me - Can I help you?
Them - Yeah. The um.......thing? It's not working.
Me - Ok, which thing?
Them - You know. The.....ah.....it's rectangular......uh....window! Yeah! The window isn't working.
Me - Ok, which window?
Them - (exasperated) The one I'm trying to work in.
Me - Ok, what are trying to do exactly.
Them - I'm trying to work in Windows!

See what I mean? They aren't all that bad but some are.

My last employer has screwed up again. The July bonus checks are not going out on the 18th like they are supposed to. There was a list of excuses made but the bottom line is the checks won't go out until August 1st and it wouldn't surprise me to see them hold those checks until the August bonus goes out on August 29th. The longer the money stays in the bank the more interest it draws. Why do I care? Because the company owes me one last bonus check! Damn bastards.

Noticed yesterday our local Steak & Ale closed. I've been to it once and have visited another one twice in my life. It's a good restaurant but not exactly cheap. There was a bright orange sign on the front door and curiosity got the better of me so I stopped to read it. The sign was put up by the local tax collector's office to let everybody know the property had been seized. I don't know if that indicates the economy is that bad or that the accounting department for S&A isn't doing it's job. Either way, the place is closed now.

Vote!

2008-07-09T18:44:00.001-05:00

Outlook Lesson

2008-07-02T20:00:00.002-05:00

Here is what I learned at work today.

Outlook 2003 by default saves mail and calendar appointments to .pst files instead of the server.
Outlook 2007 by default saves mail and calendar appointments to the server.
When installing a new PC for the VP of IT make sure you copy the .pst file from the old pc running Outlook 2003 before you take the PC away from him. That way he doesn't have to wait for you to boot it up at another network drop and move the files to his new PC running Outlook 2007.

Now that you know what I learned you won't look like an idiot in front of the a VP.

It wasn't too bad really. The VP and I both started with the company on Monday and realize we each have things to catch up with. I am so used to having Outlook keep data on the server instead of the PC that I never thought to see if a .pst file was being used. The VP didn't think of it either and we both wound up confused. Luckily the MS Exchange Server admins pointed out my mistake without making me look like an idiot and made sure everything was done right.

Day One

2008-06-30T18:27:00.005-05:00

Today was the first day at my new job. There are a lot of new things for me to learn but they are built on concepts I am already familiar with. I've worked an IT help desk like this one before. In 2002 I was employed by a company that had a contract to provide IT people for the state of Alabama Department of Human Resources.

My desk is located on the second floor and I plan to use the stairs every day. There is an elevator I could use but I know I can use the exercise. I also don't plan on parking in the spots near the door.

I had two surprises on my first day:
Surprise 1: Even though we are closed for the 4th of July I still get holiday pay for it!
Surprise 2: My right kidney spit out a stone this morning and I got to pass it at work!

If you guess that one of the surprises wasn't so good know that you are correct.

Free At Last

2008-06-28T15:45:00.001-05:00

I am now free of the NY Times. Actually, I am free of the company the NY Times contracts out it's customer support to. Either way, I'm free! My last phone call was a customer that did not want his paper delivered over the 4th of July weekend.

If you do subscribe to the NY Times I have some bad news. As of July 7th the price for home delivery is going up. Sorry.

Behold The Mighty Oz

2008-06-25T16:50:00.001-05:00

Oz, the greatest cat in the world. Straight from the couch to my phone to you.

Mobile Blogging

2008-06-25T15:47:00.003-05:00

Here I am testing out my Moto Q Global with Blogger. If you can see this it means I can blog from my phone now.

Sam Crow

2008-06-25T14:48:00.002-05:00

There is a new series coming to FX in September I'm really looking forward to titled "Sons of Anarchy". You can visit the official website by clicking here. Be sure to check out Kurt Sutter's blog by clicking here to see more than the official site is showing.

SoA is about a gun running motorcycle club and family/community/brotherhood dynamics. This show has the potential to be a great anti-hero series. There are supposed to be some comic elements to the series so that it's not all doom and gloom.

I can't help but wonder if there will be "Support your local Blue & White" merchandise available.

I Ain't Dead

2008-06-24T18:45:00.000-05:00

I ain't dead yet even though I shut down the WordPress blog.

Life really sucked from late May to mid June but things are looking up. My kid still doesn't call very often. What can I say? I like blogging.

I start working in the IT field on Monday the 30th. Maybe a change in careers is just what I need. At least I won't have to hear people bitch because they didn't get their damn newspaper any more.

Hello World

2008-06-18T09:34:00.001-05:00

This seems to be how most blogs start. Hello World!