Belle
A couple of pictures of Isabelle's Elfin Magic (the puppy). One of her on the bed, and another where she seems to be saying, "Huh?" :-)
I'll probably post some more later, but I've got stuff to do to get ready for the trip, so the others will have to wait till we get back.
Sunday, January 25, 2004
See ya
Last chance I may have to get on for a while. Leaving tomorrow moring at 4:00 (or some ungodly hour) for the airport. Probably be busy most of the day. Up getting my last on-line connected to work, just surfing around, fix before getting ready for church. Well... have a good week if I don't see ya again before I leave! Oh... and we got our digital camera replaced (we meaning Tina got it replaced), so I *might* get on later today and post a few pictures of the puppy... if not, then when I get back, along with the obligatory "here I am by the pool, here is our room, here is tons of shots of the cool food I ate", trip photos. :-)
Last chance I may have to get on for a while. Leaving tomorrow moring at 4:00 (or some ungodly hour) for the airport. Probably be busy most of the day. Up getting my last on-line connected to work, just surfing around, fix before getting ready for church. Well... have a good week if I don't see ya again before I leave! Oh... and we got our digital camera replaced (we meaning Tina got it replaced), so I *might* get on later today and post a few pictures of the puppy... if not, then when I get back, along with the obligatory "here I am by the pool, here is our room, here is tons of shots of the cool food I ate", trip photos. :-)
Friday, January 23, 2004
Answer to pray
So last night I discovered that I had lost my wallet. This upset me to the extent that I was up most of the night worrying about it and I left for bible study early so I could stop at church and see if it was there. No such luck.
I had it yesterday morning, but not last night after practice. I checked the: car (which I had driven during the day), jeep (which I had driven last night), house (where I last had it), office (where it may have fallen out of my coat); all with no luck. Tina suggested I pray about it and see if God would tell me where it was. I did this... but again, no luck. I was feeling quite paniced about it. We are going out of the country and a) no license or credit cards didn't seem good and b) I didn't want to arrive back home to find out that someone had run up my limits. Plus, as I have mentioned before, this kind of thing drives me nuts. The thought of reporting them, getting a new license, etc.; just makes me sick.
Luckily Tina is my answer to prayer.
T: I found your wallet!
M: Really! sigh of relief, where was it?
T: In the jeep.
M: What!? I looked there!
T: Yeah... I know you did. I was praying about it and thought "You know, he never looks for things very good... I should go check again."
I checked twice! Luckily Tina (and God) know me way better than I know myself and didn't let the fact that I had already looked stop her from checking again. :-)
God... please tell me where my wallet is... "OK... but why don't I tell Tina who hears better, and she'll let you know." ;-)
So last night I discovered that I had lost my wallet. This upset me to the extent that I was up most of the night worrying about it and I left for bible study early so I could stop at church and see if it was there. No such luck.
I had it yesterday morning, but not last night after practice. I checked the: car (which I had driven during the day), jeep (which I had driven last night), house (where I last had it), office (where it may have fallen out of my coat); all with no luck. Tina suggested I pray about it and see if God would tell me where it was. I did this... but again, no luck. I was feeling quite paniced about it. We are going out of the country and a) no license or credit cards didn't seem good and b) I didn't want to arrive back home to find out that someone had run up my limits. Plus, as I have mentioned before, this kind of thing drives me nuts. The thought of reporting them, getting a new license, etc.; just makes me sick.
Luckily Tina is my answer to prayer.
T: I found your wallet!
M: Really! sigh of relief, where was it?
T: In the jeep.
M: What!? I looked there!
T: Yeah... I know you did. I was praying about it and thought "You know, he never looks for things very good... I should go check again."
I checked twice! Luckily Tina (and God) know me way better than I know myself and didn't let the fact that I had already looked stop her from checking again. :-)
God... please tell me where my wallet is... "OK... but why don't I tell Tina who hears better, and she'll let you know." ;-)
Mountain climbers, window washers - same thing
Its a nice day today, here in the Springs. In the 50s.
I'm sitting in my cube coding, listening to the window washers tapping on the window as they swing back and forth. I turn and watch them for a minute. (They soap up the window and then swing back and forth with a squeegy.).
Nice day for it!
Its a nice day today, here in the Springs. In the 50s.
I'm sitting in my cube coding, listening to the window washers tapping on the window as they swing back and forth. I turn and watch them for a minute. (They soap up the window and then swing back and forth with a squeegy.).
Nice day for it!
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Modem Hijacking
FYI: Guinea-Bissau seems to be the lastest country involved in modem hijacking. If you end up with big phone bills to Guinea-Bissau, you'll know why.
FYI: Guinea-Bissau seems to be the lastest country involved in modem hijacking. If you end up with big phone bills to Guinea-Bissau, you'll know why.
Classic Game Programmers
I was googling around the other day and found that a friend of mine, Steve Bittrolff is on The Giant List of Class Game Progammers. Cool!
I was googling around the other day and found that a friend of mine, Steve Bittrolff is on The Giant List of Class Game Progammers. Cool!
Who says science can't be fun!
Flash Laboratories on the Cheap: Building a Mini-Edgerton for $40.
Things that geeks do for fun on vacation. I thought this was pretty cool. Kids... don't try this at home!
Flash Laboratories on the Cheap: Building a Mini-Edgerton for $40.
Things that geeks do for fun on vacation. I thought this was pretty cool. Kids... don't try this at home!
news.telegraph.co.uk: Atkins diet works simply by 'filling you up'
Yeah... protien is more filling. Makes sense to me.
Yeah... protien is more filling. Makes sense to me.
Yeti batting practice
I got 205.4. Give it a try! Ah... then I got 220.3 on a low bounce and 276.4 on a high bounce. Hitting it high into the air seems to just cause a face plant. :-)
I got 205.4. Give it a try! Ah... then I got 220.3 on a low bounce and 276.4 on a high bounce. Hitting it high into the air seems to just cause a face plant. :-)
Now I'm getting excited
Steve, Lana, Tina and I are going on a cruise next week. Its the We Still Kiss cruise with Impact Ministries. I usually don't get excited until I'm off work and about ready to go. But since we are going to be in New Orleans when we get back for most of the day, we decided to eat at one of Emril's restaurants. I went on-line and used OpenTable to book a reservation at Nola. Can't wait!
Steve, Lana, Tina and I are going on a cruise next week. Its the We Still Kiss cruise with Impact Ministries. I usually don't get excited until I'm off work and about ready to go. But since we are going to be in New Orleans when we get back for most of the day, we decided to eat at one of Emril's restaurants. I went on-line and used OpenTable to book a reservation at Nola. Can't wait!
Wednesday, January 21, 2004
What someone deserves vs what God wants
Commentary on Erika's post about The War on Terrorism and Food for Thought. Speaking about what does Saddam deserve - in quite stark terms. She ends with
Hopefully I will never personally be put in a position to make such a decision or worry about such a decision.
Commentary on Erika's post about The War on Terrorism and Food for Thought. Speaking about what does Saddam deserve - in quite stark terms. She ends with
However, I am a Christian, and mercy is something I do consider quite frequently--which is the Biblically-correct, God-loving thought process for us Christians? Life or death, hatred or compassion?Yeah, I've wondered that too. Trying to put aside personal feelings and all that, and just go with "What does God want", I think I have to go with "God desires that every man be saved." And so on that basis, I think the death penalty is wrong... purely on that basis. If you don't kill someone then there is hope. They could come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, which is what God wants. If you kill someone, and they aren't saved, then you have ended all hope for them. This has nothing to do with what they deserve, how I might personally feel, etc. It just has to do with what I believe God would want. As the Word says, we all deserve death. It is only because we have accepted what Jesus has done for us, and have become children of God, that we have eternal life!
Hopefully I will never personally be put in a position to make such a decision or worry about such a decision.
CNN.com: Army deployed in beer rescue
MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian troops have retrieved 10 tons of beer trapped under Siberian ice, the Itar-Tass news agency has reported.Way to go guys! ;-)
What to do with $500K
Michael mentioned this story. Yeah... hard to imagine what you'd do with $500K in a strip club. I've often thought of what I'd do if I won this kind of money in the lotto too. We have some close friends who are missionaries that we support. I've always thought it would be so cool to just send them a check for $500K. Not even tell them. Just imagining the look on their faces when they opened it is priceless. Weird that it was the same amount. Me - send $500K to missionaries. This guy, spend it in a strip club. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Michael mentioned this story. Yeah... hard to imagine what you'd do with $500K in a strip club. I've often thought of what I'd do if I won this kind of money in the lotto too. We have some close friends who are missionaries that we support. I've always thought it would be so cool to just send them a check for $500K. Not even tell them. Just imagining the look on their faces when they opened it is priceless. Weird that it was the same amount. Me - send $500K to missionaries. This guy, spend it in a strip club. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
State of the Union
I watched the state of the union last night on Fox. I thought it was pretty good. Nothing earth shattering perhaps, but still pretty good. I also watched the Democratic Response. Nothing against her personally, but Nancy Pelosi's response (House Demcratic Leader) is exactly the kind of reason I'm not a democrate. I must admit that I don't follow politics all that much, so I don't know the congress and senators. But I liked some of what Tom Daschle had to same. It was much more positive than what Ms. Pelosi had to say.
Some highlights from Bush's speech:
While I don't follow policitcs closely, I usually try to catch this. I think it is important to see what the President has to say. It kind of shows where we'll be going. And personally, I liked quite a bit of what he had to say. And as a high-tech professional - in a math and science sector, with a teenage daughter who plans on going to college, a wife who is a pastor, and a tax payer - I think the plans he outlined could effect my life. So I'm glad I took the time to watch it.
I watched the state of the union last night on Fox. I thought it was pretty good. Nothing earth shattering perhaps, but still pretty good. I also watched the Democratic Response. Nothing against her personally, but Nancy Pelosi's response (House Demcratic Leader) is exactly the kind of reason I'm not a democrate. I must admit that I don't follow politics all that much, so I don't know the congress and senators. But I liked some of what Tom Daschle had to same. It was much more positive than what Ms. Pelosi had to say.
Some highlights from Bush's speech:
- Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including a uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons. He doesn't want to be another Hussien
- Some critics have said our duties in Iraq must be internationalized. This particular criticism is hard to explain to our partners in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Italy, Spain, Poland, Denmark, Hungary, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, the Netherlands, Norway, El Salvador, and the 17 other countries that have committed troops to Iraq. A frequent democratic response is that this was a US only show. OK... so that isn't a list of every country in the world, maybe not even a majority, but it isn't like ALL our allies thought this was a bad idea.
- We expect third graders to read and do math at third grade level, and that is not asking too much... This nation will not go back to the days of simply shuffling children along from grade to grade without them learning the basics. I refuse to give up on any child, and the No Child Left Behind Act is opening the door of opportunity to all of America's children.
- So tonight I propose a series of measures called Jobs for the 21st Century. This program will provide extra help to middle- and high school students who fall behind in reading and math, expand Advanced Placement programs in low-income schools, and invite math and science professionals from the private sector to teach part-time in our high schools. Cool - I'll be interested in seeing the details of that program.
- I propose larger Pell Grants for students who prepare for college with demanding courses in high school
- What the Congress has given, the Congress should not take away: For the sake of job growth, the tax cuts you passed should be permanent. The democrats hated that. The 'we don't want to give money back to the rich' rethoric. Hey, I'm not rich and I'd like to keep my money please.
- Younger workers should have the opportunity to build a nest egg by saving part of their Social Security taxes in a personal retirement account. We should make the Social Security system a source of ownership for the American people. No kidding! Again, the demoracts respond with 'the republicans want to give away all the old people's money and gamble with our future.' If congress thought that Social Security was so great, than why aren't they apart of the program? Why do they have their own fund? Because they know it doesn't work.
- We will double federal funding for abstinence programs, so schools can teach this fact of life: Abstinence for young people is the only certain way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. I think it is quite a stand for him to state these kind of things. Again, not earth shatterning, but it will draw some real opposition.
- A strong America must also value the institution of marriage. I believe we should respect individuals as we take a principled stand for one of the most fundamental, enduring institutions of our civilization. I thought this was a great way to state it. Said No to same-sex marriage - but that people should still have rights and we should be compassionated, etc.
- By Executive Order, I have opened billions of dollars in grant money to competition that includes faith-based charities. Tonight I ask you to codify this into law, so people of faith can know that the law will never discriminate against them again. That is what separation of church and state is all about. That the state doesn't discriminate against religion... it has gotten so twisted.
While I don't follow policitcs closely, I usually try to catch this. I think it is important to see what the President has to say. It kind of shows where we'll be going. And personally, I liked quite a bit of what he had to say. And as a high-tech professional - in a math and science sector, with a teenage daughter who plans on going to college, a wife who is a pastor, and a tax payer - I think the plans he outlined could effect my life. So I'm glad I took the time to watch it.
Tuesday, January 20, 2004
Weird things
As you may recall, I redid my home page. It is now using frames, the top one containing links to all the sub-pages. I checked on this over the weekend and the ads that AngelFire are putting on my pages seem to be showing up in both the top and lower frame. I had it fixed at one point... and when I first checked today it was fixed, but not right now. Oh well, I think I'll leave it for a while and see if it settles down. If not, I'll have to either hack it some more, or as some people have told me, got buy some web space and have a site I totally control... which has its good points!
As you may recall, I redid my home page. It is now using frames, the top one containing links to all the sub-pages. I checked on this over the weekend and the ads that AngelFire are putting on my pages seem to be showing up in both the top and lower frame. I had it fixed at one point... and when I first checked today it was fixed, but not right now. Oh well, I think I'll leave it for a while and see if it settles down. If not, I'll have to either hack it some more, or as some people have told me, got buy some web space and have a site I totally control... which has its good points!
My daughter, the nurse
Jaime has been wanting to go into nursing "when she grows up" for quite some time. One of the local hospitals has a volunteer program where juniors can get involved, see what nursing is all about, etc.
Jaime signed up a while back and had her interview on Saturday. Cool stuff. I took her down and we talked about it on the way. It was supposed to be a 20 - 30 minute interview. About 10 minutes after going in she came out, "I got it." She has orientation on Friday and Monday and starts the Tuesday of the following Week. (Feb... 3rd I think).
Very cool stuff. I'm so proud of her. She really did this all on her own, calling the hospital, getting the paperwork, filling it out, etc. She'll be working in the NICU for 6 months and then can transfer into pediactrics... which is what she really wants to do. She's pretty excited and talked about it some on her blog.
My baby is growing up... more and more all the time.
Jaime has been wanting to go into nursing "when she grows up" for quite some time. One of the local hospitals has a volunteer program where juniors can get involved, see what nursing is all about, etc.
Jaime signed up a while back and had her interview on Saturday. Cool stuff. I took her down and we talked about it on the way. It was supposed to be a 20 - 30 minute interview. About 10 minutes after going in she came out, "I got it." She has orientation on Friday and Monday and starts the Tuesday of the following Week. (Feb... 3rd I think).
Very cool stuff. I'm so proud of her. She really did this all on her own, calling the hospital, getting the paperwork, filling it out, etc. She'll be working in the NICU for 6 months and then can transfer into pediactrics... which is what she really wants to do. She's pretty excited and talked about it some on her blog.
My baby is growing up... more and more all the time.
Monday, January 19, 2004
So much for not being involved
So we got another dog. OK... I'll wait for you to stop laughing.
As with all our animals, I have been told that I don't have to have anything to do with it. It isn't that I don't like pets. I do. Its just that I know we will end up giving it away within a few years... so wants the point? Why spend the money, take the time and effort to love it, train it, etc.; just so we can give it away.
Anyway, we got it yesterday. This morning, I'm up working on the computer, it hears me and starts whining. I have two choices: a) ignore it and let it keep whining, waking up Tina and Jaime, or b) go get it.
Its sitting on my lap, coughing, as I type this.
So we got another dog. OK... I'll wait for you to stop laughing.
As with all our animals, I have been told that I don't have to have anything to do with it. It isn't that I don't like pets. I do. Its just that I know we will end up giving it away within a few years... so wants the point? Why spend the money, take the time and effort to love it, train it, etc.; just so we can give it away.
Anyway, we got it yesterday. This morning, I'm up working on the computer, it hears me and starts whining. I have two choices: a) ignore it and let it keep whining, waking up Tina and Jaime, or b) go get it.
Its sitting on my lap, coughing, as I type this.
New Blogger
Michael, the Fusion Worship Leader, has started his own blog, ArdentFueler. I've mentioned him here before and have talked about him quite a bit on FusionWorship. He just started it, so there isn't much there yet, but he did say,
Cool. I look forward to it.
Michael, the Fusion Worship Leader, has started his own blog, ArdentFueler. I've mentioned him here before and have talked about him quite a bit on FusionWorship. He just started it, so there isn't much there yet, but he did say,
Just to let everyone that ends up reading this one day (all three of you), I am a very intellectual person. God gave me a brain, and so I like to work it out and think about things that are a little bit deeper than say talking about what happened in school or something. So If you read my blog, I will challenge you to think hard, and question things.
Cool. I look forward to it.
Friday, January 16, 2004
Geek Happiness
Grabbed the Spread kit today. Unpacked it, configured it, made it and installed it. Then ran several tests. Its working. Very cool.
I now have open source middleware that I can wrap to give me publish/subscribe. I'm psyched.
Grabbed the Spread kit today. Unpacked it, configured it, made it and installed it. Then ran several tests. Its working. Very cool.
I now have open source middleware that I can wrap to give me publish/subscribe. I'm psyched.
President Bush Offers New Vision For NASA
Press release on the 14th. Going back to the moon and then on to Mars. Very cool.
On the other hand, this article talks about shutting down the shuttle and the space stations in order to finance it. I kind of understand why they are shutting the shuttle down, but not the space station. In my limited understanding, the idea would be to create long range vehicles on the space stations and launch them from there. This allows one type of vehicle to launch from the earth (which is costly due to breaking free of the earth's gravity pull) and others to launch from the space station (which is much cheaper).
But then again, I don't follow this much, so what do I know? Guess I'll have to read up on it more.
Press release on the 14th. Going back to the moon and then on to Mars. Very cool.
On the other hand, this article talks about shutting down the shuttle and the space stations in order to finance it. I kind of understand why they are shutting the shuttle down, but not the space station. In my limited understanding, the idea would be to create long range vehicles on the space stations and launch them from there. This allows one type of vehicle to launch from the earth (which is costly due to breaking free of the earth's gravity pull) and others to launch from the space station (which is much cheaper).
But then again, I don't follow this much, so what do I know? Guess I'll have to read up on it more.
CBSNews.com Bush Sought 'Way' to Invade Iraq?
That is sure to have people up in arms. Frankly I just don't get it. So Bush was out after Hussein. So there have been no WMDs found. So what. Was the guy a tyrant? Did he kill tens of thousands of his own people? And the list goes on. Iraq and the world are better off w/o him in power. To me, that's the bottom line.
“From the very beginning, there was a conviction, that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go,” says O’Neill, who adds that going after Saddam was topic "A" 10 days after the inauguration - eight months before Sept. 11.
That is sure to have people up in arms. Frankly I just don't get it. So Bush was out after Hussein. So there have been no WMDs found. So what. Was the guy a tyrant? Did he kill tens of thousands of his own people? And the list goes on. Iraq and the world are better off w/o him in power. To me, that's the bottom line.
eXcite: MCI planning to lay off 3 pct of work force
Heard this might be coming. Well 3% isn't too bad (although it is 1700 people). Our group should be pretty safe.
Heard this might be coming. Well 3% isn't too bad (although it is 1700 people). Our group should be pretty safe.
Government at work
Yesterday I went down to the local IRS office to pick up some tax forms. Took me quite a while to find the building (I won't bore you with all the details). So by the time I get there I'm stressing because I need to get to work and what I thought would be a 20 minute drive turned into about 45.
So this Other Guy and I step into the elevator. IRS is on the 7th floor. When the door opens he lets me out first, so when I get to the IRS door I hold it open for him. He walks in and there is a Security Guard sitting there, a couple of posters with things like "Don't bring weapons into this office" (kind of like an airport), a machine against the wall, and a counter off to the left behind which is a Lady at a window, 3 people talking about something around some office desks, and rows of shelves (like a library) with forms on them. There are no other "customers" in the place besides the two of us. The Lady is looking kind of bored, because nothing is going on.
OG: I need to pick up some forms
SG: Take a number
OG: Looks around What?
SG: Take a number! Right there - points to this machine against the wall
OG: Walks over, looks at it for a minute, pushes a button and a computer written number is spit out. He takes it
M: I see this, walk up to the machine that has about 6 green buttons on them: Tax forms, Tax assistance, etc. I push the Tax forms button and the computer inside prints a 307 on a paper and spits it out to me. I take it.
L: hears something on her computer, pushes a few buttons and says 306!
OG: Walks forward to the window. I'd like some 1099s and W2s.
L: How many?
OG: 30 and 10
L: OK. walks over to the shelves, gets the forms, returns and hands them to him.
OG: Turns and leaves.
M: Being the only person on this side of the counter - besides the security guard, step up to the counter
L: Looks up at me - raises her hand Just a minute!
M: Oh sorry. steps back
L: taps on a few buttons on her computer, glances at the screen, says 307! and glances around.
M: steps foward
L: Looks up at me, gives me her best customer service grin:How can I help you?
If I wouldn't have been so stressed from trying to find the building I would have cracked up. I've only seen this kind of thing in a movie before. But then again... it was the IRS.
Yesterday I went down to the local IRS office to pick up some tax forms. Took me quite a while to find the building (I won't bore you with all the details). So by the time I get there I'm stressing because I need to get to work and what I thought would be a 20 minute drive turned into about 45.
So this Other Guy and I step into the elevator. IRS is on the 7th floor. When the door opens he lets me out first, so when I get to the IRS door I hold it open for him. He walks in and there is a Security Guard sitting there, a couple of posters with things like "Don't bring weapons into this office" (kind of like an airport), a machine against the wall, and a counter off to the left behind which is a Lady at a window, 3 people talking about something around some office desks, and rows of shelves (like a library) with forms on them. There are no other "customers" in the place besides the two of us. The Lady is looking kind of bored, because nothing is going on.
OG: I need to pick up some forms
SG: Take a number
OG: Looks around What?
SG: Take a number! Right there - points to this machine against the wall
OG: Walks over, looks at it for a minute, pushes a button and a computer written number is spit out. He takes it
M: I see this, walk up to the machine that has about 6 green buttons on them: Tax forms, Tax assistance, etc. I push the Tax forms button and the computer inside prints a 307 on a paper and spits it out to me. I take it.
L: hears something on her computer, pushes a few buttons and says 306!
OG: Walks forward to the window. I'd like some 1099s and W2s.
L: How many?
OG: 30 and 10
L: OK. walks over to the shelves, gets the forms, returns and hands them to him.
OG: Turns and leaves.
M: Being the only person on this side of the counter - besides the security guard, step up to the counter
L: Looks up at me - raises her hand Just a minute!
M: Oh sorry. steps back
L: taps on a few buttons on her computer, glances at the screen, says 307! and glances around.
M: steps foward
L: Looks up at me, gives me her best customer service grin:How can I help you?
If I wouldn't have been so stressed from trying to find the building I would have cracked up. I've only seen this kind of thing in a movie before. But then again... it was the IRS.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Pippin's Girl
I usually don't check PippinsGirl too much, because she rarely writes. But I'm sitting at work waiting for a process to finish so I can head home, and so I clicked and WOW - she has actually written something.
Of course it is somehat ironic - "I haven't written for a while. I'l try to write more often" - which was her last post... over a month ago. But hey, at least she wrote something! ;-)
I usually don't check PippinsGirl too much, because she rarely writes. But I'm sitting at work waiting for a process to finish so I can head home, and so I clicked and WOW - she has actually written something.
Of course it is somehat ironic - "I haven't written for a while. I'l try to write more often" - which was her last post... over a month ago. But hey, at least she wrote something! ;-)
No good deed goes unpunished
So then I'm heading into work and their is an accident on the highway. Big large sign "Crash ahead. Merge right" Of course everyone ignores this because, hey, if you stay in the left lane as long as possible you might gain 2 seconds of trip time on everyone else. So I of course stay in the left lane along with them.
So we are going slower and slower - waiting for the last possible - OK... I guess I REALLY DO have to merge over second. And there is the occasional Hey look, there is no one in the left lane up ahead, why don't I just tick everyone off by zooming down it right up to the crash and then try to squeeze back in.. When all of a sudden the cars in front of my kind of surge forward and then all pull right. Cool. Someone is letting us in. So I move foward and there is this guy on his motorcycle just sitting in the right lane - holding all the cars up, and letting us merge over. Cool. What a guy!
Of course the car right behind him fails to see the nicety in this and rewards him by laying on the horn and yelling at him, to which he replies by just sitting there and yelling back at the guy.
Last I saw the motorcycle was cutting the guy off and not letting him pass. I figure there is a good chance they got in an accident as well... so much for being nice I guess.
So then I'm heading into work and their is an accident on the highway. Big large sign "Crash ahead. Merge right" Of course everyone ignores this because, hey, if you stay in the left lane as long as possible you might gain 2 seconds of trip time on everyone else. So I of course stay in the left lane along with them.
So we are going slower and slower - waiting for the last possible - OK... I guess I REALLY DO have to merge over second. And there is the occasional Hey look, there is no one in the left lane up ahead, why don't I just tick everyone off by zooming down it right up to the crash and then try to squeeze back in.. When all of a sudden the cars in front of my kind of surge forward and then all pull right. Cool. Someone is letting us in. So I move foward and there is this guy on his motorcycle just sitting in the right lane - holding all the cars up, and letting us merge over. Cool. What a guy!
Of course the car right behind him fails to see the nicety in this and rewards him by laying on the horn and yelling at him, to which he replies by just sitting there and yelling back at the guy.
Last I saw the motorcycle was cutting the guy off and not letting him pass. I figure there is a good chance they got in an accident as well... so much for being nice I guess.
Blow their minds
I'm standing in the post office this morning (so I can ask them if they have 1099 forms - which btw they don't because there is an IRS office in town. Apparently the fact that there are at least 5 post-offices in town and only 1 IRS which is way across town failed to convience somebody of the need of a duplicate source of forms :-() - anyway, I digress.
So, I'm standing in the post office and I'm 2nd in line (the guy in front of me being helped by the post office person).
P: That will be $22.30
G: $22.30?
P: Yes
G: Sighs... - I only have $20 and stares at her
P: Well you can ship just one package and bring the other back later
G: reaches into his pockets, searching for money - stands there with the same look I get on my face when something like this happens to me
M: Excuse me, how much did you say $22?
P: twenty two 30
M: reach in my pocket and pull out $2.30 - There you go
They both just look at me. She says, "Well that is mighty nice of you". The guy just looks at me... looks around, she takes his packages and he kind of wanders off in a haze.
It was well worth the $2.30 just to see the looks on their faces. Besides... I hate feeling helpless like that... kind of like "OK... I'm on my way to work. Now what.... go home and get the 2 bucks and be late for work. Or maybe just not send it now and hopefully it will be ok or ..." Given my personality type this throws me into a stupor where I just kind of freeze up... wishing the problem would go away. So I decided to make his go away. Maybe someday someone will help me with some similar "great problem." :-)
I'm standing in the post office this morning (so I can ask them if they have 1099 forms - which btw they don't because there is an IRS office in town. Apparently the fact that there are at least 5 post-offices in town and only 1 IRS which is way across town failed to convience somebody of the need of a duplicate source of forms :-() - anyway, I digress.
So, I'm standing in the post office and I'm 2nd in line (the guy in front of me being helped by the post office person).
P: That will be $22.30
G: $22.30?
P: Yes
G: Sighs... - I only have $20 and stares at her
P: Well you can ship just one package and bring the other back later
G: reaches into his pockets, searching for money - stands there with the same look I get on my face when something like this happens to me
M: Excuse me, how much did you say $22?
P: twenty two 30
M: reach in my pocket and pull out $2.30 - There you go
They both just look at me. She says, "Well that is mighty nice of you". The guy just looks at me... looks around, she takes his packages and he kind of wanders off in a haze.
It was well worth the $2.30 just to see the looks on their faces. Besides... I hate feeling helpless like that... kind of like "OK... I'm on my way to work. Now what.... go home and get the 2 bucks and be late for work. Or maybe just not send it now and hopefully it will be ok or ..." Given my personality type this throws me into a stupor where I just kind of freeze up... wishing the problem would go away. So I decided to make his go away. Maybe someday someone will help me with some similar "great problem." :-)
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Defective Yeti
Defective Yeti is one of the blogs I read frequently. His pushing daises post on the 12th was great. :-)
Defective Yeti is one of the blogs I read frequently. His pushing daises post on the 12th was great. :-)
Eye update
Check-up #2 was today. I'm still seeing about 20/30, but it is correctable to 20/15. Apparently that means that they may heal to 20/15 and/or with glasses they can get me to 20/15. That is cool. My near vision is getting better, its just taking time.
Comments from the Dr.
D: Looks pretty good. Your vision before was, lets see flips thru the chartWOW.
M: Yeah.
D: We must have worn out a lazer on your eyes!
D: OK, well your eyes are doing really well for being that bad. Still a little astigmatism, flips thru the chart, wow, that was pretty bad too.
M: Yeah.
D: OK. Well that should improve over time as well.
Its fun to be a medical curiosity. ;-)
Basically, my night vision and close vision will improve over time, with spells of getting slightly worse now and then, until my eyes are totally healed. Given how bad my eyes were, this will take approximately 10 MONTHS! So... for 10 months I can keep thinking, "Hmm... not as good as I'd like, but it should get better". He also said they can do an enhancement if they don't improve enough.
All in all, very cool. Again, kind of a drag to wear "grandpa" glasses at work, but hey, if I can see this well after 10 days, then in 10 months I should be seeing excellent.
Check-up #2 was today. I'm still seeing about 20/30, but it is correctable to 20/15. Apparently that means that they may heal to 20/15 and/or with glasses they can get me to 20/15. That is cool. My near vision is getting better, its just taking time.
Comments from the Dr.
D: Looks pretty good. Your vision before was, lets see flips thru the chartWOW.
M: Yeah.
D: We must have worn out a lazer on your eyes!
D: OK, well your eyes are doing really well for being that bad. Still a little astigmatism, flips thru the chart, wow, that was pretty bad too.
M: Yeah.
D: OK. Well that should improve over time as well.
Its fun to be a medical curiosity. ;-)
Basically, my night vision and close vision will improve over time, with spells of getting slightly worse now and then, until my eyes are totally healed. Given how bad my eyes were, this will take approximately 10 MONTHS! So... for 10 months I can keep thinking, "Hmm... not as good as I'd like, but it should get better". He also said they can do an enhancement if they don't improve enough.
All in all, very cool. Again, kind of a drag to wear "grandpa" glasses at work, but hey, if I can see this well after 10 days, then in 10 months I should be seeing excellent.
Monday, January 12, 2004
Will wonders never cease?
Tina never wanted to go get Vietnamese food, because it was "too weird". Now she loves their egg-rolls and we usually go a few times a month.
Last week I asked her if she wanted Thia food. "No - too weird". So I stopped and got her and Jaime KFC twisters and I got Chicken Satay from the Thia place and some veggies from the Korean place. She loved the Chicken Satay.
Today is her birthday.
M: Do you know where you want to go for dinner?
T: I want you to stop at Saigon Springs and get egg-rolls and then go over to the Thia place and get Chicken Satay with peanut sauce.
Who would have thought when we celebrated her first birthday together, that 25 years later she'd be wanting Thia and Vietnamese for her birthday dinner! Cool.
Tina never wanted to go get Vietnamese food, because it was "too weird". Now she loves their egg-rolls and we usually go a few times a month.
Last week I asked her if she wanted Thia food. "No - too weird". So I stopped and got her and Jaime KFC twisters and I got Chicken Satay from the Thia place and some veggies from the Korean place. She loved the Chicken Satay.
Today is her birthday.
M: Do you know where you want to go for dinner?
T: I want you to stop at Saigon Springs and get egg-rolls and then go over to the Thia place and get Chicken Satay with peanut sauce.
Who would have thought when we celebrated her first birthday together, that 25 years later she'd be wanting Thia and Vietnamese for her birthday dinner! Cool.
Friday, January 09, 2004
World-Wide Sushi Restaurant Reference
I was googiling AI Sushi in Colorado Springs and came up this link. Wow... a world wide listing of sushi restaurants. How cool is that?
BTW: I was googiling AI Sushi because I had forgotten that their menu was off of LetsEatOut. Turns out LetsEatOut had their menu, while AI Sushi's own web site does not... and LetsEatOut is currently ''under construction''. Drag.
I was googiling AI Sushi in Colorado Springs and came up this link. Wow... a world wide listing of sushi restaurants. How cool is that?
BTW: I was googiling AI Sushi because I had forgotten that their menu was off of LetsEatOut. Turns out LetsEatOut had their menu, while AI Sushi's own web site does not... and LetsEatOut is currently ''under construction''. Drag.
Tuesday, January 06, 2004
newsgroup readers
Google groups is another tool provided for free by google. Not only does this give you access to newsgroups, but it provides google search capabilities as well. Nice.
Google groups is another tool provided for free by google. Not only does this give you access to newsgroups, but it provides google search capabilities as well. Nice.
BBCNews: What the net did next
The internet is set to become the basis for just about every form of communication, according to net pioneer Vint Cerf, and he should know what he is talking about.
NEWS.scotsman.com: Crocodile Hunter Snaps Back over Baby Stunt
Blogger was down when I tired it yesterday, so I didn't post this then.
Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin is getting all kinds of flak for this. I believe he is on Larry King live tonight. Tina and I were watching TV and saw a clip of this when it happened. Tina said, "Oh man. This is going to be just like Michael Jackson". I said, "This is totally different. This is his environment. I bet his Dad and Mom did the same thing with him when he was a kid." As usual Tina was right and I was wrong.
You'd think people would have better things to do. Sigh.
Blogger was down when I tired it yesterday, so I didn't post this then.
Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin is getting all kinds of flak for this. I believe he is on Larry King live tonight. Tina and I were watching TV and saw a clip of this when it happened. Tina said, "Oh man. This is going to be just like Michael Jackson". I said, "This is totally different. This is his environment. I bet his Dad and Mom did the same thing with him when he was a kid." As usual Tina was right and I was wrong.
You'd think people would have better things to do. Sigh.
Tackling hunger
Tackling Hunger raised their 5 million cans of soup. Broncos came in 12th... which is better than they did on the field the other day. ;-)
Tackling Hunger raised their 5 million cans of soup. Broncos came in 12th... which is better than they did on the field the other day. ;-)
Get Well card contents
A co-worker had his gall bladder removed on New Year's Day. (What a drag). A card is being passed around to send to him. This was printed on a printer and contained the following two pages, which got a good laugh out of:
Top Ten Things You Don't Want To Hear During Surgery:
A co-worker had his gall bladder removed on New Year's Day. (What a drag). A card is being passed around to send to him. This was printed on a printer and contained the following two pages, which got a good laugh out of:
The patient awakended after the operation to find herslef in a room with all the blinds drawn.
Why are all the blinds closed?, she asked her doctor.
Well, the surgeon responed, They're fighting a hugh fire across the street and we didn't want you to wake up and think the operation had failed.
Top Ten Things You Don't Want To Hear During Surgery:
- Don't worry. I think it is sharp enough
- Nurse, did this patient sign the organ donation card?
- Damn! Page 84 of the manual is missing!
- Everybody stand back! I lost a contact lens!
- Hand me that... uh... that uh... thingie
- Better save that. We'll need it for the autopsy.
- Accept this sacrifice, O Great Lord of Darkness
- Whoa, wait a minute. If this is his spleen, then what's that?
- Yah know, there's big money in kidneys. Hell, he's got two of 'em
- What do you mean "You want a divorce?"
Sunday, January 04, 2004
Sara's Secrets - The Nightgown
had to get up early to check the weather, just in case we cancelled church today. It was snowing pretty good when we went to sleep last night, but looked OK this morning. Turned on Sara's Secrets and she was making The Nightgown. Looked really good. I'm going to have to give it a try. It kind of looks like a Chicken Cordon Bleu, only made with veal, prosciutto and mozzarella, and then additionally wrapped in deep-fried eggplant - covered with a tomatoe sauce.
had to get up early to check the weather, just in case we cancelled church today. It was snowing pretty good when we went to sleep last night, but looked OK this morning. Turned on Sara's Secrets and she was making The Nightgown. Looked really good. I'm going to have to give it a try. It kind of looks like a Chicken Cordon Bleu, only made with veal, prosciutto and mozzarella, and then additionally wrapped in deep-fried eggplant - covered with a tomatoe sauce.
I can see... sort of
Surgery was as easy as everyone said. Kind of weid, but went very smooth. They put some numbing drops in your eyes, "clamp" your eyes open, which really just feels like they put some tape on your face, and then tell you to look at the flashing red light. Which is the lazer. "You aren't going to be able to see for a minute"... which is a little scary to hear. Rather than everything going black, it all went white with colored lights everywhere.
They don't really explain what they are doing (which is good for me), but you can kind of tell. Hmm... that must be them cutting the cornea (or whatever) and folding it back. Now the lazer is zapping my eye... Now they are putting the flap back down.
The lazer was about 38 seconds (which is long than most, but my eyes were really bad). All in all pretty simple.
I can see at a distant now pretty good, but my up-close vision isn't great. I'm having a hard time making this out as I write it. I can see the letters... but have to concentrate, and this is a good size font. Not as big as most the stuff I look at. So, I'm hoping my vision improves (which it is supposed to over a few days). I really don't mind if I have to have reading glasses for reading papers up close, but it would be a drag if I can't see the computer w/o glasses, since that is what I pretty much look at all the time.
But it is very cool to be able to see the clock in the middle of the night, wake up and see, etc. How amazing!
Surgery was as easy as everyone said. Kind of weid, but went very smooth. They put some numbing drops in your eyes, "clamp" your eyes open, which really just feels like they put some tape on your face, and then tell you to look at the flashing red light. Which is the lazer. "You aren't going to be able to see for a minute"... which is a little scary to hear. Rather than everything going black, it all went white with colored lights everywhere.
They don't really explain what they are doing (which is good for me), but you can kind of tell. Hmm... that must be them cutting the cornea (or whatever) and folding it back. Now the lazer is zapping my eye... Now they are putting the flap back down.
The lazer was about 38 seconds (which is long than most, but my eyes were really bad). All in all pretty simple.
I can see at a distant now pretty good, but my up-close vision isn't great. I'm having a hard time making this out as I write it. I can see the letters... but have to concentrate, and this is a good size font. Not as big as most the stuff I look at. So, I'm hoping my vision improves (which it is supposed to over a few days). I really don't mind if I have to have reading glasses for reading papers up close, but it would be a drag if I can't see the computer w/o glasses, since that is what I pretty much look at all the time.
But it is very cool to be able to see the clock in the middle of the night, wake up and see, etc. How amazing!
Friday, January 02, 2004
2 hours and counting
3:05 PM I go in for my eye surgery. No more contacts... maybe no more glasses (may have to have reading glasses). Yeah... I'm nervous. But everyone says it is great.
Have to leave work a little early because they said to make sure and eat a good lunch and the cafe is closed here and the store only had 2 sandwhiches left... neither of which I was too impressed with.
Next time I blog it should be with my "new eyes"... or maybe a better term is reshaped eyes... slightly modified eyes... I don't know. Anyway, my different eyes. :-)
3:05 PM I go in for my eye surgery. No more contacts... maybe no more glasses (may have to have reading glasses). Yeah... I'm nervous. But everyone says it is great.
Have to leave work a little early because they said to make sure and eat a good lunch and the cafe is closed here and the store only had 2 sandwhiches left... neither of which I was too impressed with.
Next time I blog it should be with my "new eyes"... or maybe a better term is reshaped eyes... slightly modified eyes... I don't know. Anyway, my different eyes. :-)
Rose Bowl
Well we lost :-(, but it was fun watching the game anyway:
Nope, I didn't have to play the "I'm the dad" card. I discussed it with her, and although she really wanted to stay home and watch the game, she had committed her D*group function and felt she should keep her committment. I totally agreed with her on this, and was very proud of her integrity. But then her D*group leader caught a cold and couldn't go, so Jaime ended up not having to go anyway!
Erika and Laura spent the night, so the four of us watched about 20 minutes of the game, then the other girls had to get home so Jaime and I watched the rest.
Lots of food (tuna dip, guac, subs, nachos, salsa), Vernors (Michigan Ginger Ale - which I always have to drink when watching a UofM game - not so much because it is a U of M drink, but because it is from Michigan) and yelling. We lost.... but it was still very fun.
Well we lost :-(, but it was fun watching the game anyway:
- We just got a 55 inch TV, so that was cool, and more importantly
- Jaime was home to watch it with me
Nope, I didn't have to play the "I'm the dad" card. I discussed it with her, and although she really wanted to stay home and watch the game, she had committed her D*group function and felt she should keep her committment. I totally agreed with her on this, and was very proud of her integrity. But then her D*group leader caught a cold and couldn't go, so Jaime ended up not having to go anyway!
Erika and Laura spent the night, so the four of us watched about 20 minutes of the game, then the other girls had to get home so Jaime and I watched the rest.
Lots of food (tuna dip, guac, subs, nachos, salsa), Vernors (Michigan Ginger Ale - which I always have to drink when watching a UofM game - not so much because it is a U of M drink, but because it is from Michigan) and yelling. We lost.... but it was still very fun.
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