Freaky stuff...   
Monday, May 19, 2008, 7:50 AM
 
mood: sympathetic
Ok, so yesterday morning, Sunday, about 8:30 AM. My wife and I are sleeping peacefully when it's all disturbed by sirens somewhere in our neighborhood. Shortly after, there's the constant thrum of diesel engines from just outside our house, and the occasional sound of heavy machinery, like a garbage truck. So, I finally decide to pull op the window shade and see what's going on.

Outside I find four fire trucks, and lots of black smoke coming out of the neighbors' house across the street.

That wouldn't even have been my third or fourth guess.

Anyway, just because it's life happening around us, I grabbed my camera and took a few shots of the firemen at work; I don't think I'll post any of them to be respectful to the neighbors (I wouldn't want everyone's pics of one of my greatest disasters all over the web). But, to the FD's credit, they responded within about ten minutes, pretty well contained this thing to the upper floor, and everyone and their pets escaped unscathed.

It's this kind of thing that proves to me that I'm an optimist. So many people were talking about how sad this was and what these families lost (the house is a duplex). As for me, I'm happy that no one lost anything irreplacable, like their lives.		  
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Doing much better now...   
Thursday, Oct 11, 2007, 12:23 PM
 
mood: okay
Well, this week started out rough. Yesterday was particularly rough. Today is going better so far. Something that helped me out a bit is finding something out there called Lilformers.

What is it, you ask? Well, it's this weekly one-frame webcomic based on the classic Transformers that I grew up with. It's drawn in this unbearably cute style, and there are some real belly-laughs in some of the comics. [info]sinspired and [info]morchades especially, this one's for you.

Well, I laughed, anyway.		  
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That does it...   
Thursday, Apr 19, 2007, 3:11 PM
 
mood: irate
I'm really not happy about this. My top news story on comcast.net is titled, get this:

Va. Tech Shooter was Laughed At


Then, the first paragraph goes on to continue the inanity:

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at over his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in the Washington suburbs, former classmates say.

Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School in Chantilly, Va., with Cho in 2003, recalled that the South Korean immigrant almost never opened his mouth and would ignore attempts to strike up a conversation.

Once, in English class, the teacher had the students read aloud, and when it was Cho's turn, he just looked down in silence, Davids recalled. Finally, after the teacher threatened him with an F for participation, Cho started to read in a strange, deep voice that sounded "like he had something in his mouth," Davids said.

"As soon as he started reading, the whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, `Go back to China,'" Davids said.


I'll tell you right now, my friends, you'd better not hang around me anymore. My high school days were anything but glorious. I was the shy, quiet one; the computer nerd, the band geek, and I might even have joined the chess team, if we had one. I got laughed at, I got my ears flicked, and I got some wicked wedgies in my time. If that were the only criteria for what makes a future killer, then lock me up, because I'm a ticking time bomb.		  
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What to say, what to say...   
Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007, 7:18 AM
 
mood: depressed
By now, everyone knows of the horrible events at Virginia Tech. [info]beegirl_01 told me that she knew someone on the campus, and we both wonder whether she's all right. And yes, [info]clayrobeson and [info]sinspired, it immediately brought to mind the time at PSU. The strange thing is, it also set in motion a rather depressing train of thought.

It led me to the Columbine High School shooting eight years ago. That reminded me of how things have changed at high schools; during my own high school years, I never worried that someone I knew (or didn't, for that matter) would bring in a gun, let alone put it to use. Then I got to thinking about the fallout from that tragedy, how everyone was looking to blame someone, from The Matrix to Marilyn Manson. It's only natural to ask why something like this happens, but it's a barbaric mob mentality that drives us to pick up our torches and pitchforks to rage against the first possible cause, just so we're doing something.

Another thing it led me to is the stereotypical American "Blow 'Em Up" mentality. We've got a reputation for solving a problem by destroying it utterly. I often joke, "If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer." But that's what I see so many people do because they don't take the time to think their problems through to come up with a good solution.

This led me to another observation on the stereotypical American mindset: we want - no, expect - everything to be handed to us. Heaven forbid we be inconvenienced in our pursuit of happiness by such obstacles as work or other people. We want it now, the end.

I know it's a negative mindset. I know it's not how I'm supposed to look at my own country, my own people. But so often, that's what the rest of the world sees. Maybe I notice it because I'm self-conscious of my own behavior. Either way, if more people looked inward like this, maybe we could become the high-class, noble people that we claim to be.

Thanks for listening; I'll put away my soapbox now.		  
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Another new year...   
Monday, Jan 1, 2007, 10:59 PM
 
mood: happy
Well, Happy New Year everyone!

I've had a good holiday break, and I hope the same can be said for all of my friends. I've been mulling over what to do for my resolution, and I think the best one I can settle on is to follow through on more of my projects. I've got a bad habit of starting up projects (like that Clobber Fairies video game, and many others), and I think it's about time I started completing some of them. I'll take some time to write a bit, but not a final draft; I'll be writing a few short stories just to get myself into practice, or I'll work on a few scenes at a time to perfect them, and someday, I can connect them into a complete story.

And, one week from today, [info]beegirl_01 and I will hit the 6-month mark. It might be good enough to go unsaid, but I'll say it anyway: Another resolution is to be sure that I'm a good husband to you, [info]beegirl_01. That means a number of things, but a lot of it ties in to my first resolution above.

Meantime, I'm on the lookout for a new desktop. I've looked around at Circuit City, Best Buy, and Dell online, but I'm not quite ready to jump on one yet. I've got a lot of spending to do this year, and I'd prefer to be absolutely sure that I'm buying what I want and need. Plus, there's about a month until my birthday, so I'm thinking of just requesting a bunch of gift cards to one store or the other to offset the price of this thing.

Meantime, I'll just keep posting either from work, or my laptop here. Like I said, best wishes to everyone on my friends list, and to all my friends who I may have missed!		  
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Computer Blues...   
Wednesday, Dec 13, 2006, 12:24 PM
 
mood: pensive
Hey, guys...

It looks like the time has come. My home computer is bogging down to the point that the built-in disk fixes don't work; I think I'm going to have to get a new one.

I'm looking for other opinions, though. My personal favorite as far as boxed computers go is eMachines, so I'll probably stick with it. The big thing keeping me from just running right out and doing it is the operating system.

I've heard about a lot of problems on Windows XP Home Edition, so I've been wary about getting a PC with that version. Strangely, XP Home seems to get very good reviews... Anyway, there's also XP Media Center edition, which focuses on TV, Movies, and Music. It says that it can do "anything that any other Windows XP PC can do," but I've never seen it because they're always showing off the media functionality. The other half of this equation, though, is the upcoming Windows Vista. The computers I've looked at so far are saying that they qualify for a free upgrade to Windows Vista, in various versions, if I buy my new PC before March 31, 2007. However, XP Home will net me Windows Vista Basic, which is pretty much stripped to the bone. XP Media Edition is upgradeable to Windows Vista Premium, which comes with all the bells and whistles. I'm kind of going back and forth, but I think I'm leaning toward a Media Center Edition PC so I can get the Vista Premium later on.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on the various versions of Windows out there or soon to come? Any good/bad experiences? Recommendations? Anecdotes? Poems? Advice? Please? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

EDIT: Ad-Aware found a bunch of stuff, and I got rid of it. SpywareBot found a few things, too, but wanted $20 per year to get rid of it all. I was bitching about false advertisement, but as I think about it, it's really not. The download was free, and the search was free. I should sell stuff like that. Offer my video game as a free download, and then at the title screen, ask for a credit card number so I can charge $0.50 per game.		  
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Because You Demanded It!   
Thursday, Dec 7, 2006, 12:11 PM
 
mood: creative
Well, OK, you didn't. But I'm giving it to you anyway.



This is a screen shot of what I've got so far. The fairy in the green dress is you, the player. Those colorful blobs are wicked enemies who chase you about the screen. They can jump up and down between levels, and know when to turn around if they come to a ledge.



This is my Clobber Fairy hero, showing off her moves. As you see, her wand transforms into a hammer, baseball bat, and golf club so she can execute her various attacks. Don't she look like she could do some clobberin'? Player 2 will be blonde with a ponytail, blue dress, and green wand effects.		  
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And, just because I've seen these recently...   
Monday, Dec 4, 2006, 7:54 AM
 
mood: crazy









And...
You are 74% Scranton!

Pretty Good! You probaby live somewhere in NEPA, maybe Wilkes-Barre or the Poconos. Or maybe you are from New Jersey and and graduated from "Da U." You know enough to get around and have some fun, but there's still lots to learn about Scranton.

how Scranton are you?
Quizzes for MySpace

  
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More progress...   
Wednesday, Nov 29, 2006, 12:35 PM
 
mood: geeky
Hey, guys...

Remember Clobber Fairies, that I posted about a while ago? Of course not; no one seems to have read it. No comments. Well, anyhoo, I've made some more progress on it. The little blob enemies now come in five colors, with at least two more potentially in the wings. Player 1 now has her golf swing attack, and respawns safely if there are enemies in her spot. I'm thinking of re-doing the way the players respawn, which may correct for that even better; it's a royal pain when you respawn right on top of an enemy only to die again!

I also have a solid idea for a Boss monster using these blobs. It would be some kind of living container that just sits in the middle of the screen, spitting out the various blobs for you to use as ammo against it. It will also occasionally shoot at you directly, as it tracks the players with its eyes. I just know the effect will be very cool; I can't wait to get started on it!

Anyway, I'll try to make a couple of pics to show you guys how stuff looks. So far, things are relatively unclean; the background is non-existant and the scenery is very plain, but I hope to change that once I get a feel for how the rest of this is going to go.		  
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Lost night was... lost...   
Thursday, Nov 2, 2006, 12:02 PM
 
mood: weird
Hey, guys. No one came over for Lost last night. That was rather lonely. Especially because the episode kind of left me feeling sad.

But, since I picked up Weird Al's latest CD, I decided to check out his MySpace page. Cool stuff, man! I even downloaded a copy of "Don't Download This Song."

...

Well... it's right there, on his own site. I think it's OK. I mostly did it for the irony(?).

Anyway, he also mentions that his next performance is... tonight, on the Tonight Show! I'll definitely be tuning in for that one!		  
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Good weekend, and stuff   
Monday, Oct 30, 2006, 4:05 PM
 
mood: cool
Well, [info]beegirl_01 had pretty much said it all about this past weekend. It was a little busy, but we got in time to do just about everything we wanted, and we had a really good time all around.

So, today, here I am, again posting late from work, because I've got one more little thing to handle before I go home. It's not much; it should only take me to about 4:30 or 5:00 at the latest, so that's cool.

Then, I'll be able to handle a couple other little bothersome items, like getting my hair cut, finishing laundry, and paying all the rest of my bills.		  
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A cute story...   
Tuesday, Oct 17, 2006, 11:39 PM
 
mood: okay
OK, so I get up, get my meds and lunch from the kitchen, and head out to work this morning, just like I always do. That much of theday is typical.

When I came home, I was met with...

...nothing. Not that I was expecting to find a couple large sacks of unclaimed currency in my living room, but normally, Naomi is there, greeting me by rolling around on her back on the rug. This time, no sign of the cat. A little abnormal, but no big deal. I think I called to her, but still nothing. Silence where I was expecting that little bell on her collar.

So, I proceed through the house, moving toward the kitchen whose door I close habitually on my way out of the house to work. As I approach, I hear a familiar cry of kitty despair.

Sure enough, on the other side of that door is Naomi, who apparently had been in my kitchen when I closed the door as mentioned earlier, purring gratefully as she came out to meet me. One of my cabinet doors, removed from the cabinet to be taken in for exchange due to some slight damage, was laying on the floor when it had once been upright against the wall. Naomi seems to be alright.

So, I ask her, "Well, what have we learned today?"

I still got no answer.		  
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Life is good.   
Monday, Sep 18, 2006, 12:23 PM
 
mood: ecstatic
Dude. Yet another kick-ass weekend, brought to me in part by a grant from the [info]tiggerjs corporation. Here goes:

It started off as a typical Saturday for me, at least lately, getting up early in the morning to work on the kitchen with my dad and uncle. Over the eight hours (!) we put in on it this time, we got the countertop screwed down, the backsplashed glued on, the sink installed, the drain connected, the water turned on, and that last piece of wallboard up in the laundry room. I even got to run my first two loads of dishes in the dishwasher (yay!) before the weekend was up. I figure about seven more, and I'll have all of my estranged dishes clean and put away.

So, anyway, we finish up on Saturday, I take my shower and head out to the local gaming store where I expect to meet up with [info]rainyear to teach him how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! The moment I walked through the door, I was greeted with unexpected energy not only by him, but by [info]tiggerjs as well. It is at this time that they inform me that I'm going to New York tonight. Again. I'm going to see Bill Engvall. For free.

OK, sure. Why not?

The next couple hours are a flurry of phone calls and car rides to Pocono Pines and East Stroudsburg to consolidate our travelling group as we collect [info]beegirl and [info]kerryannmccabe. The trip this time is just as adventurous, as the car I'm in gets separated from the other car, who knows where it's going, and we have to get directions from the others via cell phone. Everyone in our car had a turn holding the phone as we spent about 20 minutes or so deciding that we didn't know where we were or how to get where we needed to be. We finally got close and took the first parking garage we found that sounded close to where the other group is. Turns out, we were around the block. Not a bad shot, but still a miss...

The rest of the trip was largely uneventful, save for the fact that we got there just in the nick of time for the show. The opening guy was kind of weak, but that may be only because our standards were set on "Bill Engvall" high. Naturally, he did a great performance, despite the utter lack of "Here's Your Sign" jokes.

Besides him, though, we caught sight of Caroline Rhea in the audience, and we also saw when Ron White came in. He surprised Bill by coming on stage at the end of his time and giving us a story about tanning lotion that I wouldn't do justice to if I were to try to repeat. Then, the only thing left was for us to wait while [info]tiggerjs went backstage to meet Bill Engvall. After free tickets, I didn't whine much.

The trip home was very uneventful, as most of us were trying to sleep in the car.

So then, on Sunday, I took care of a few more little deatils in the kitchen, not the least of which was running the loads in the dishwasher (yay!). I also replaced the faucet that had been damaged somewhere between the original demolition and now, and I got the soap dispenser installed with a little ingenuity to compensate for a missing washer.

And now, I'm back at work again.

[info]tiggerjs, when's the next trip?		  
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Holy crow, what a weekend...   
Monday, Sep 11, 2006, 8:07 AM
 
mood: happy
We had a wonderful weekend, thanks to [info]tiggerjs. Besides redefining "generous" in my internal dictionary, the journey was several times more interesting than the destination, which is saying something.
( The Short Story Long... )

So, like I said, one great, big adventure for the weekend, and a fantastic time. It just goes to show me, once again, that it's who you know. I can't thank or repay [info]tiggerjs for all this, so I'm just waiting for her to show up on my doorstep and demand my first born son.		  
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Kitchen Update!   
Tuesday, Aug 29, 2006, 7:45 PM
 
mood: satisfied
Yeah, it's been a while, but I haven't had the time to do this, so now, here it is: the latest in the ongoing saga that is the remodelling of my kitchen! I'll give you the tour, online-photobucket style...


This is the soffet above my new kitchen window, ripped apart, so we can install stuff.



The plumbing, after the plumber finally came and did his thing. Reasonable price, too...



Once we closed up all the walls and got them primed, we put down the linoleum. Nice stuff. Then, as you will see, lots and lots of stuff happened.



This just shows the basics of the walls and moulding around the doors, and how it goes together around the chimney built into the wall. Yes, that cover is going to come out.






In these three, you see the cabinets and appliances in place. I just got done putting the hardware on the doors, by the way, and pinched my finger in a clamp in the process.

So, that's where I am now. The countertops are on the way, and that tall pantry cabinet got lonely, so there's another one on order, too. It's almost a kitchen now, but still not quite... gotta get that plumbing in so I can use the sink and the (woot!) dishwasher.

Oh, and by the way, I'm doing this on my new, reliable (woot! again), fast cable internet connection.		  
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Rollercoaster week...   
Friday, Aug 25, 2006, 8:00 AM
 
mood: calm
This week has certainly had its ups and downs. Lots of 'em. So, I think I'll best put it in a Sucks/Cool post. Behold!

Sucks: Refrigerator stops getting cold enough to make ice.
Cool: The fridge, now! (ha) Seriously, [info]beegirl_01 called the repairman recommended by my mom, who did the really easy fix, and says that this is a good fridge to have, because they don't make 'em like they used to.

Sucks: My old Verizon DSL internet service.
Cool: My new Adelphia cable internet service.

Sucks: Aforementioned adelphia internet service refuses to accept the expensive wireless cable gateway I bought.
Cool: [info]beegirl_01 makes the right calls to get it working.

Sucks: They don't stock the kind of countertops we want at Lowe's.
Cool: We can special-order the kind we want, in the color we want, for a little less than I expected, and the entire thing will be factory-assembled.

Sucks: Starting a fight with [info]beegirl_01.
Cool: Making up later.

So, as you can no doubt see, [info]beegirl_01 has been unbelievable this past week, and I don't know how I'd have made it without her. I wanted to give her a very public "Thank you for everything!" so there it is.

P.S.: I know, I know, I'll post photos soon; I'll try for tonight. [info]beegirl_01 will probably remind me, since she's helped out with everythig else this week.		  
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Well, here we go...   
Friday, Aug 18, 2006, 7:24 AM
 
mood: Mmmm...
I know, it's been a while, and stuff has been happening in my life, but I was hoping to bring pictures (see below). So, instead, I'll just tell you guys what's up.
  • The Kitchen: This is where I wanted the pics. I've got one or two of the floor after installation, but I wanted to post one of the walls in their now-painted state. Tomorrow we start putting in cabinets, too, so there will be plenty to view.
  • The Appliances: [info]beegirl_01 and my mom went out and purchased the appliances I'll be getting for the new kitchen, a dishwasher (woot!) and microwave/range hood.
  • The Pets: Mia, [info]beegirl_01's poodle, went home end of last week, and Naomi has never looked happier. It wasn't that the two would never get along; they were making some pretty good progress by the end of that week. But, looking after them both was a little too daunting for now. And yes, we know that later on, passing her back home won't be an option.
  • The Car: It's had some work done on it recently. It was making noises, and it turned out the front coil springs were broken. But, because Ford admitted that they were pieces of junk to begin with, they replaced them for free.
  • The Wednesday Night: ZOMBIES!!! rules. 'Nuff said. And [info]beegirl_01 totally kicked our asses at it. Next time, I play for real.
  • The Video Game: While searching for information online about ZOMBIES!!!, I ran across this. Consider this a little gift for [info]joshabd.
  • The Gift: [info]sinspired gave me a lovely gift here. Again, I say thank you, and now I have to dig through my old box to see how many Lego figures I have.

OK, I'm gonna get going now. I could swear there was more to discuss than that, but it escapes me right now. Have fun, and I'll post pics later.		  
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THAT IS IT!   
Monday, Jul 31, 2006, 11:57 PM
 
mood: aggravated
Brace yerselves, people...

It's over a month since that service guy from Verizon was in my house, rewiring my phone lines to get the DSL "working." And it did "work..." for about a week, pretty damned good. Then, the same - REPEAT - the same problem I've been having has crept in again. The DSL router will not maintain a signal predictably.

So, I try to maintain a little faith in this company, and I call tech support today after work. I've got a 15 minute wait, according to their recording. No, thanks; I've got a life to live. So, we wait for the next available moment that the router shows 5 lights to do our thing online, and turn off the computer, leaving the router on (and blinking... again...)

Later tonight, I want to get online again. Surprise, surprise, that pesky little LED by "DSL" still flashes slow, then fast, then slow, then fast, etc, etc, etc. So, I call Tech Support again, navigating the same path through the voice-activated menu system whose recording I now feel I have a personal repoire with ("Connection Problems. Oh, by the way, how are the kids?"). This time it tells me that due to high volume of calls...

...I should hang up and try again later.


Hmm... High volume of tech problems... Wonder why that might be?

So, I've made the decision that I started to make late last night. I'm cancelling my DSL service with Verizon (they're lucky they're not losing my phone account, too) and switching to a Cable modem. I'll get a nice wireless router for that, hook it up downstairs with the TV, get a wireless card for the desktop, and bask in the glow of uninterrupted internet service.

By the way, you're probably asking right now, "How are you writing this entry?" Well, it turns out that I get a marginal signal from someone in my neighborhood on my laptop, so I'm borrowing that connection for now. I wouldn't intend to do such a thing long-term, mostly because the signal is so weak, but also because it's just a little more honest to get my own.

Well, that's my rant on that. Time for bed.

I think Cable is faster anyway...		  
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Back from Vay-Cay!   
Sunday, Jul 30, 2006, 10:23 PM
 
mood: hot
Well, [info]beegirl_01 and I are back from vacation at Ocean City, Maryland. It was a very relaxing time, and unfortunately, it has come to an end. It's taken a little time to get back into the swing here at home, and I know it's going to take more when I go into work tomorrow and try to catch up with things that have gone on (ugh)...

Meanwhile, my dad and uncle spent the week doing more work on my kitchen. I feel guilty as hell that I wasn't home to help them, and I'm deeply and bottomlessly thankful for what they've done. The boxes of salt water taffy I brought home aren't nearly enough to thank them properly for all the work they've done so far; I owe my family big time.

Anyway, where we sit right now is that the walls have all been drywalled, spackled, and primed white. At this point, Dad thinks he needs to do some repair on the spackling job, as well as do a little additional drywalling around the new kitchen window. A brand-new layer of plywood is down on the floor, ready to be covered with the vinyl flooring I just picked up today. And, I think that [info]beegirl_01 and I have settled on the rest of the colors for the room, so we might just be ready to get the wall paint and countertops. I'll post new photos soon.

I'll post this now while my DSL holds out...		  
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Kitchen Update!   
Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006, 11:15 AM
 
mood: satisfied
The plumber did his thing over the past two days, and that's one big obstacla out of the way! Check it out:


  

  

Shown here is the new plumbing work completed. New pipes running upstairs to the bathroom, the old drain line cut off, the new drain line installed as white PVC, and the new faucet lines in place, ready to go. I've got a shot there of the open soffet as well; we had to open that up to install the new vent fan and lights, and plus we're building it out a bit to match the built-out wall so the wall cabinets don't look different between the two sections.

That's the big news. Other than that, it's just a smattering of little things; I'll list them later when I've got more time.		  
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zuke174
 
 
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