I've been insanely busy with the holidays, that's why I haven't posted of late. Between that and school, I haven't had much time at all to post...not much going on, bought Office Space in wide screen, got a digital camera for christmas (most excellent), counting down until the Detroit Auto Show...that's the five minute run down, I think, may post later...

Thanksgiving has come and gone, we ate way too much and then came and collasped into bed. Today was actually kind of sane, didn't get up until 8:30, then threw on clothes and got some christmas shopping done. After that, we did school work for the rest of the day...and now cooking dinner.

Posting from lynx for no particular reason other than I can...there's just something cool about text based browsing and I can't put my finger on it. (edited in safari...cop out tonight)

On the Mernovigain, there's something weird there, him being married to Persephine and all (Hades reference). After plugging "Mernovigian" into Google, I found two things: 1) Gave Frankish throne away to "mayors" who ran kingdom/court and eventually became Caroligians and 2) Gnostic sect claiming descendence from Christ. Okay, so I think the Mernovigian ran the Matrix creating Agents to make his job easier. The Agents took over and he lost his kingdom. Hence his collection of rogue programs and why the Agents didn't attack the Twins. Now to maintain any kind of power, the Mernovigian is forced to traffic in information and create "mystery"...I think my thought is half done but that's the gist.

Yea! Blogger has returned to the old post/publish screen...but I digress, I fear...

I finially saw The Martix and Reloaded after beginning woefully behind pop culture for a while. Nifty, although I understand the Big Deal about the first one, Reloaded was cool in a detached, intellectual sense and an action sense...it didn't have that je'nesequois of the first one, tho....and what's up with the Mernovigian being married to Persephine? All my googling just muddied it further, other than saying he's Gnostic (traffics in data) and is some kind of gate keeper...maybe Revolutions covers this one better, maybe not...not I have to figure out when to go see that...

I have a semi-complete working thesis on the Mernovigian to be released at a later date....I need to write that one down...

It is now a week later...I have not much to report...work and school, same old, same old...

Okay, so I installed Fink Commander and it's easier to see what I have installed but it still won't do tex so I can install KDE stuff...damnit...have to mess with this week end, I guess...but I really, really, really like Jaguar...very nice...

Blast from the past on my now dearly departed domain name...the Internet Archive project is cool...

ugh, I'm tired and don't feel like doing anything which completely blows...bad, bad, bad...I need to work on my laziness and I just lost AIM which is very bizzare, as I know I have internet and it just got right on...

I have two mid-terms to write (no big deal, I don't think) and reading to do...I want to start programming, haven't got to that between school work...very annoying...

DSL is setup and working, running through a 10/100 Router/Switch now....much better, I had it setup on the XP box and shared and it was crap for the laptops. Now everything works like it should (lost iTunes and Sherlock for some inexplicable reason) plus everything is behind a firewall...we'll see how it does but right getting 120K/s or there abouts (!!!) downstream...don't really upload that much, so I dunno where that is now...

Unintentional double post deleted...may post tonight, may not, dunno...

greetings from lynx...this is cool, i am running lynx in terminal window on a mac...dig it

I went war driving with the iBook today...all I have to say is sweeeeet...I was semi-surprised at how many networks were on my street (2-3 not including ours)...here's the breakdown:

- Went from house to UT Library, turned laptop on about half there - 8 networks (2 WEP, 6 wide open)
- Got needed items at library
- Drove from UT Library to pick up Lee from Volleyball...14 networks (5 WEP, 1 hidden SSID, 8 wide open) (15 if you count our WiFi network, which I had to drive by to pick her up)

Anne really got into the war driving thing, probably because I had her running the iBook...on the other hand, she does take a moderate interest in computer stuff, so I dunno...

i have been rather lax in posting of late...been busy with work and school and illnesss mon and tues...which sucked totally...

I have too much to do and not enough time, and right now I've being lazy...at least I have Mon and Tues next week off school, so I can hopefully get reasonably caught up.

The Friday Five actually on time...

1. What vehicle do you drive?

1994 Buick Roadmaster

2. How long have you had it?

Since Febuary

3. What is the coolest feature on your vehicle?

Auto-headlights get kudos, I like those. It has everything, tho, leather, automatic climate control, power seats...so it's hard to pick a best feature...

4. What is the most annoying thing about your vehicle?

The automatic climate control only works really well in the summer, I can never get the temp right any other time...

5. If money were no object, what vehicle would you be driving right now?

right now? Subaru WRX or BMW 330Ci Coupe...as far as "money no object" and cars, I would like to a own a vast collection ranging from a 1969 Maserati 3500GT Mistral to a 2003 Porsche 911 Turbo to a 2004 Jeep Wrangler...of course, any given moment I'd driving something different...

My finger still hurts from when I dropped a rather hefty set drawings/desktop on it...although it didn't come out broken. My brain is very much mush right now...and I have much to do and finte time to do it. I don't need motivation, I need a job that isn't killing me...I come home and I'm done...it's awful...

I'm entirely sure what I'm posting tonight...I feel mostly out of it and probably need to eat something but the whole thought of dealing with the kitchen at this hour right now is really unappealing. I had pondered posting song lyrics but decided against it or least shelved the idea right this second. Other than thinking I need to start a bidness (which is a real challege with no bidness plan, capitol, or ideas), no great ideas have struck me...

no wires good...most excellent to be able to use laptop anywhere in house. I'm tired and worn out and generally feeling a lack of anything interesting to post. Happy 40th to the Porsche 911. Although I have to admit to being kinda of purist and really consider the last real 911 to be the aircooled 993.

My motivation has completely run away and gotten killed in the middle of the street...that sucks...

I'm not sure I like the blogger interface, it took me needless clicking and poking to finally type in the box...very annoying...

I have been extraordinary lax in posting, although there is not much of anything going on as far as notable events. Work continues to be taxing drudgery while school has begun and ended up being moderately taxing although interesting. My Toshiba begin its death rattle which preceded christa's all out crash. I caved and bought a new computer for the first time in five years...which is the how and why of posting from an iBook right now...I am very pleased with it. I've gotten it pretty well setup with Office and X11 (although I haven't delved into getting Gnome to run in window yet) plus Bochs which apparently emulates an x86 via software and allows full monitoring/picking/probing/prodding of a virtual machine. I haven't played with that either and it seems to be overkill to get trillian...which is sadly deficit on both *nix and Max support.

Yes, this post is on 9/11 and, no, I don't really have any thought regarding this day other than disgust at the whole spectacle. The war on terror which has become a joke, the war in Afghanistan which has been forgotten, the war in Iraq which has nothing to do with either other than the main foe speaks Arabic...

The Friday Five actually on time, amazingly enough...

1. Are you going to school this year?

yes

2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate?

The University of Toledo working on my B.A in English (Literature)

3. What are/were your favorite school subjects?

English, calc (although my brain has issues with higher math now), that's about it...

4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects?

physics and foreign language, Spanish has been and continues to be challeging in the worst way...I make it through that class a week at a time...

5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite?

Yes, a few, all of them because they changed the way I thought about the world.

this weekend was, uh, interesting, I suppose. We found a computer desk at walmart a couple weeks ago and it was perfect for the living room...which is all good and well but when we went back to get it, they were sold out at oregon. So we figure, no big deal, banner mattress should have it (since it was sauder) and they didn't. Then we tried the Bowling Green Walmart and they were out...the closest store that had the desk was findlay....so we ended up spending all afternoon driving northwest ohio trying to find the desk...I have it put together and everything on it now....just need to move the old desk upstairs and put together the one for our room...ugh...really unmotivated right now.

theis week was spent working and dealing with house...the living room is mostly put back together, the dining room and kitchen are in states of semi-chaos...and i'm tired and hurt and school starts tomorrow much to my chargin...tues i have to go to the doctor...this week is going to suck...

yes, the floors are considered done (I'm not sure if that made it in here yet) although we only got three coats of polyurthene on them before the foreshortening of the abscence of children. I did end up putting the stuff in the closet but that's about all that's gotten done downstairs...today has been fairly lazy although I have to return to work tomorrow and then school starts for UT next Mon and the girls start this Wed...it seems like the summer has completely flown by...very odd and disturbing...in no time it will be Christmas and I will be wondering where the year went...

this weekend has been a distaster thus far...thurs went okay, we ran a little late but ended up having dinner with my dad and generally having a good day despite the blackout of '03...friday, however, proved to be rather trying as the girls came back early from vacation and her brother calls and screams at us at 10 in the morning because of him having to take care of the generators at 3am...which I understand but there's no reason to get pissy with us when no one calls my cell or her cell. Oof, then today we had to check out of the condo by 11am and book back to toledo to get the house in a semi-habitable state and then pick up the children. right now i'm sitting on the floor of our bedroom because i'm worn out and don't feel like dealing with the contents of the downstairs closet. I should...it's a daunting task and I hurt and all the help has disappeared to finish school shopping which we thought we finished but appparently didn't. So i'm lost my wife and the older two and have ended up babysitting the little two....which is annoying since they're not even supposed to be here...the only solace i have at the present moment is knowing that we get to annoy the hell out of them in 10 or so years....

i took off thurs and fri, this is good...i'm planning on golf, sleeping in, and working on floor...which hopefully won't kill me this time...

the floor is progressing nicely, it had the first coat of poly yesterday and just to be safe we're letting it dry 24 hours to make sure it cures all the way through....it was dry-ish this morning but probably not quite enough. This evening was spent relaxing, which was good...my joints are killing me anyway and hopefully the break in floor will do the floor good and I'll be up to working on it...

everything has more or less been shoved in the nook and kitchen...6 hours and U-Haul and we could have been gone...at any rate, after 9 hours of sanding and 2 odd hours of cleaning and sealing, the floor is prepped and ready for its first coat tomorrow...which would be great if i didn't have work to deal with and have acquired an hour commute for a week...d'oh...i'll be very happy to get the house back. we did end up tearing down most of the important bits of the network and dragging them with us....mmmmmmm, wireless internet....

oh, plus, so tired and my joints are killing me and I've been sick for the past couple of days. work blows, too much to do, and her laptop broke...

the living room is half empty and the dining room is probably a third empty in preperation for refinishing the floors...hopefully everything can be crammed into the nook or elsewhere (the girls are gone for 10 days) so the hall/room may end up holding easy to carry stuff like the TV, stereo, speakers, and DVD player...computer, too, maybe...I'll have to see after I get back from work tomorrow...I think the butcher block is going to be a pain, not sure how it's going to work out. Making this all possible is having a condo in Erie Islands Resort for a week. The floor should get three coats and be dry enough to walk on by the 20th....however...gotta wait a week before moving furniture or otherwise across it. It's a major pain all the way around...not cool at all...

tired and lounging in bed...really not to much to post about it...work was interesting today....not quite sure to what think. I wouldn't say things are messed up but something isn't quite right and I can't place my finger on it. I'm not even sure what exactly bothers me, either, which is more annoying than being bothered in the first place. I suppose it could just be the general uneasiness at this time. Our room smells like mineral spirits and it's making me hungery...very odd...having sherbert because of it...sucked into sienfield...I can't remember what I was going to write now....I hate that...

watching Fellowship of the Ring, kinda, it's paused while the children get around for bed and finish playing with their newly acquired bright, shiny school supplies. The downside of this is I have more than half a movie and it's twenty to eleven...which means I don't think I'll be finishing it tonight. It doesn't help it's the extended version either...although I haven't noticed any extra stuff yet and there's still a bunch of stuff cut from the book.

I have become bored with the internet, it's sad...here's what I did online:

check e-mail
take care of school stuff
read journals/blogs
read Something Positive
read slashdot
read userfriendly
look at trucks - my truck was only 200 bucks more then an indentical 2003 F-150...conclusion, incentives are just to get people to buy cars and don't offer any substantial value
catch up on car news...highlights - 180HP Turbo in PT Cruiser, Aviator gone in 2005, Mazda considering RX-7 (two seat version of current RX-8), 3.7L V-6 in Dakota in 2004, new Durango in 2004 with 3.7L, 4.7L, and 5.7L
read ex-gf's journal

and now i'm debating whether to go to bed or laze around online somemore....I think Christa has decided to chat, tho, so who knows....i could do both but that means moving...

another week, another post...work was interesting this week...I spent half the week waiting for work and half the week down in the shop entering CNC data, which is no where as interesting or cool as it sounds. Hit 100 balls at the driving range yesterday and was doing good until the heat just hit me and after that I acquired a nasty hook which is worse than my usual slice....200 yards on my driver RULES...although my irons hit like shit off of astro turf/lawn carpet...totally crap...I need grass or dirt or something...I think maybe I was hitting the ball too low, when I lined it up, it was okay but not great...

Today was Christa's birthday so we went up to her parents for the afternoon and dinner...we had Beer Butt Chicken which was pretty good...put a chicken on a beer can 1/2 full of beer, topped off with butter, salt, pepper, paprika, and cook for 3 hours on low grill heat basting every 15-20 minutes with the other of the mixture....makes a good chicken.

Bought Diablo on Thur and it's been sucking up my free time between refinishing the floor in the little room...it's going pretty good other than it taking 10-12 hours for the polyuthrene to dry (too damn humid and it's been raining all weekend, real pain)

No plans for tonight other then going to bed at a reasonable time and a little diablo after the girls go to bed...

haven't posted in week due to work and life...today was kind of interesting...ended up golfing in the rain and shooting my best hole ever....i'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't be golfing...although I didn't get into my groove until the 5th hole and rain...oh, well...

back from vaction earlier because of thunderstorms and we weren't going to deal with that in tent the size of our living room with four kids...on the upside, i got my golf on and only ended up in the pool twice immediately followed by hot tub time....very nice...going out and doing something tomorrow, either COSI (hands on science/industury museum) or Zoo, depending on weather...good to be home and on internet, tho.

in other news, i finished Lord of the Rings that I will invariably end up reading again...however, after plowing the 1st and 3rd books, really not in mood (bought 2nd years ago by mistake and read it this spring after seeing Fellowship of the Ring)

got off at three today (good), off tomorrow (better), running away on vacation until monday (best)...planning on doing not much of anything...golf and lazing and sadly getting dragged into pool at least once...

one week since my last post mostly because of work and secondily because of brother-in-law's surprise birthday party on saturday which consumed the whole week end...it was more fun finishing the keg (miserable failure with 2 or 3 gallons left of beer) than the actually the party mostly because I was pretty ornery and exhausted sat after golf and work....

woo-hoo! golf saturday...which kinda makes up for work saturday and this crazy week....i've been looking foward to it all week and now it's offical...yea!

not much going on, work is more crazy than usual and i'm beat because i've slept like crap as of late...i hate low pressure/high pressure flipflops....kills my joints...and i flip flop all night...

well, I finished 1 through 4 last night of Harry Potter and was pleasently surprised...though I must say I didn't expect the climax in the fourth one at all....

we had a weird fourth, having to cover for Anne while she went out of town and I had to go to a birthday party for a co-worker's daughter....after I got back from that, we put the kids to bed and lazed around until 10:30 when we finially got home....then today we went to a birthday party for one of Christa's professors' daughter....it was fun although I felt kinda out of place...everybody else being techies or of university background....

She's just jealous I read faster than her and she has a ton of reading to do...oh, well, I figured she'd be happy I quit floppping in front of computer every night..

Well this sucks. Adam has decided that he is going to read the Harry Potter Series. He started it on Friday(6/27/03) and is now currently in the Fourth book.... Yeah, that is right... he has read approxiamately 800 pages or so in the last four days. And he didn't get a chance to do any reading on Saturday. Plus, 8 hours at work on Monday and today. So you do the math... I and the girls have gotten ignored for the last four days. However, on a brighter note... the kids that Ann is babysitting like him. Especially the baby, Kay. She is one year old and sat in his lap for over an hour, perfectly content to watch him read.... weird eh? Oh well hopefully he finishes them soon so that I can go back to getting attention ;)

I think it is a diversionary tactic on his part so that he doesn't miss his best friend. He has been gone to Vegas for four days now. But we do know that he safely got there.

not much going on, just work and life...my best friend is moving to Las Vegas finially, although it's going to suck not to see him anymore...this week has just been work interspersed with life...not much else going one....I am glad it's summer and I don't have to deal with school anymore although I keep thinking I need to be doing something with my time. Maybe I should try and work the book I've always wanted to write although I don't have a plot, characters, or even some situations that I want to write about...that and I always keep thinking I should work on my programming/Linux skills but never feel like messing with it after working all day. It seems like I never get anything done or started or finished, all I seem to manage to do is go to work and come home...it sucks...

really important, unimportant stuff here....I think I have achieved the zen of journal....it's time for bed...

sitting at home and feeling slightly bored...once again I've gotten home and nobody's here (which sucks) although today that's because we had a meeting most of today and only got half an hour lunch...we're going out with matt from work and his girlfriend tonight at 7....other than that I haven't done much of anything this week although I desperately need to go to the driving range....I think I may go golfing with my dad tomorrow but I haven't decided...

I had a couple of things I wanted to post about and they've flown out of my head...I need to jot this stuff down or something....I hate that...I do know that curved stairs are evil...a pox on whoever thought it was a good idea to have one from the first floor to the fourth floor....ugh...

The cat has the right idea... stretched out and passed out on the couch...this weekend was pretty relaxing. Went and saw Matt from work drum at the Strawberry Festival on Friday. I golfed with my Dad on Saturday and shot 90 on 9 holes...it was pretty bad...between my driving and my putting (and the fact I lost two balls)...I really, desperately need to get to the driving range before we go again. Today, we went up to her parents for a cookout for Father's Day...the really annoying thing was getting home at 10 but, oh, well, not much I could do about it...it's time for bed, me thinks...

The Friday Five on time, technically, although there is only two hours left of Friday...

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?

Play bass in band

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?

Yes, occansionally brutal

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?

I think so but I've repressed it....

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?

One where I'm rich, own 32 cars, and live in mansion...

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?

actually being able to finish anything I start to write

so much for the count down of dread, the reunion has been cancelled due to lack of interest...7 out of 154 people responded...

my weekend just got a whole lot freer, now I dunno what we're going to do...

ready to pass out right now, although it's due to wisky and beer rather then just being worn out...which should be some kind of consultation condsidering last night we both ended up passing out downstairts (her on the couch, me on the recliner). Begining coutdown of dread to high school reunion...

sipping single malt scotch and chillin' on the couch...it's been a long day after work and then softball at 7 (watching Jay play)...I'm the mood for a cigar but not motivated to drag myself outside or allowed smoke in the house...bother...

chip, the man who links to everything, had a link in one of his posts to Something Positive...a very warped and a wickedly funny web comic...

since I've posted, I've put 500 miles on my car, gotten my motorola v.66, and pretty much have our vacation plan which is spread out over six days and three states...I'm looking foward to doing it although tent camping seems a little daunting. Basically, we're going to two six flags in New York, seeing Niagra Falls, going to the Six Flags in Springfield, Massachusetts, and then coming home (stopping in Brockway, PA where my Dad grew up and a lot of family still lives)...we came up with this while driving back from Zanesville on Saturday from my cousin's graduation (420 of the 500 odd miles). The rest of it I put on going out to pay matt for internet service...that was cool, hanging out and all...which we haven't done in forever between my schedule and his schedule (first) and the fact he's moved 40 miles away (second)...we used to go for a walk once a week or so, and I think it helped keep us both grounded...at the very least, the company was good and I got to smoke a cigar...oh, well, I guess that's life (things changing)

damn you, cleveland... (I was really hoping that the tigers would win again...although there are still one and half innings left)

watching the race and chillin', not much going on although I went to work yesterday and I'm going to go tomorrow morning so hopefully I won't have much to worry about this week....working holidays sucks, double time doesn't (actually it's time and half plus straight but who's counting....)

I tried to post from the BE-300 from Pocket IE 3.0 but can't get scripting to run...bother...on the upside, it is reasonably internet functional now...

I bought a compact flash card for my be-300....it's slick but I haven't decided if it's going back or not...

well, I sold Jade today...I have very mixed feelings...I needed to get rid of the car but I'm not sure if I wanted to sell it...hopefully it has gone to a good home...

watching 50 years of abc and feeling very bored with the internet...bother

someone sent this song to me in a letter once and I didn't get it...now I don't know if it was about me or them...

"Motorcycle Drive By"
Third Eye Blind

Summer time and the wind is blowing, Outside in lower Chelsea.
And I don't know what I'm doing in this city,
The sun is always in my eyes,
it crashes through the windows, And I'm sleeping on the couch,
When I came to visit you,
That's when I knew, I could never have you,
I knew that before you did,
Still I'm feeling stupid,
And there's this burning, Like there's always been,
I've never been so alone, And I've never been so alive.
Visions of you on a motorcycle drive by,
Cigarette ash flies in your eyes, And you don't mind, And you smile,
And say the world doesn't fit with you.
I don't believe you, You're so serene.
Careening through the universe, Your axis on a tilt, Guiltless and free,
I hope you take a piece of me with you,
And there's things I'd like to do that you don't believe in,
I would like to build something, You know it's never going to happen,
And there's this burning, Like there's always been,
I've never been so alone, And I've never been so alive,
And there's this burning, There is this burning.
Where's the soul. I want to know, New York City is evil.
The surface is everything, but I could never do that,
Someone would see through that.
And this will be the last time, We'll be friends again.
I'll get over you and you'll wonder, Who I am.
And there's this burning, Like there's always been,
I've never been so alone, And I've never been so alive,
I go home to the coast. It starts to rain, I paddle out, On the water Alone,
Taste the salt and taste the pain. I'm not thinking of you again,
Summer dies and swells rise, The sun goes down in my eyes, See this rolling wave, Darkly coming to take me, Home,
And I never been so alone, And I've never been so alive.

The party thing was a flop, unfortunately...nobody I invited showed up and only one person christa invited showed up....it sucked...I did, however, have a few beers and the house is clean...now to keep it that way...the best plan I've come up with is not coming home and just going out every night...if we just sleep here we can't mess it up...however, I don't think that's going to work out...so it's the constant battle for clean now.

It's the Friday Five, a couple of days late...

1. What drinking water do you prefer -- tap, bottle, purifier, etc.?

whatever's in the whisky...actually, bottle or britta pitcher...which defintely improve whisky and water without the chlorine and/or metal taste

2. What are your favorite flavor of chips?

cool ranch doritos

3. Of all the things you can cook, what dish do you like the most?

a good medium steak

4. How do you have your eggs?

scrambled

5. Who was the last person who cooked you a meal? How did it turn out?

my wife and good

got the yard cleaned up and weed whacked, tired and ready for bed...now we have to finish cleaning up the inside of the house...oh, well...don't really have much to post about...although the BMW is fixed and crammed in the garage...runs pretty good now...

ugh, i need to go whack weeds and mess around with yard work...the absolute last things I feel like doing right now....oh, well, I don't think I get much choice in matter since we're having a shingding on Saturday...

I have tight vnc setup and running on the tv computer and it's cool...I also set it up on my computer and posting from my computer right now but controlling it from my laptop...very cool...I am impressed given 800k and a freeware license...

my car is fixed...after a sawzall and about few hours...much better in the ride and handling department...and I had the foresight to put in HD bits so hopefully this won't have to be done again...

this week has been the week from hell....between finals, work, and being sick, I'm am sooo glad it's friday...although I get to go to work tomorrow...

I'm home sick today....I was up all night and still feel queasy when I drink water (food is totally out of the question). Once again, something I don't have time for. I have a job to finish at work and finals to study for and here I am laid up in bed...I've only gotten up to grab water, my laptop, and use the facilities...or in short, I slept most of the morning until now....the worst part is I have a pounding headache, don't think I can take anything, and know I need to be semi-awake so I don't mess up my sleep schedule.

In other news, Alyce's first communion was this weekend...it was one frustrating weekend because of this but she got there and everything got sorted out...thankfully this was the last one...now we get to deal with high school...ugh...

GM is doing 24 hour test drives....I'm half tempted to get a different chevy every day for a week just to mess with people at work...especially since I know a chevy salesman...um, lessee, Monte Carlo, Trailblazer, Tahoe, Avalanche, and Silverado (preferably diesel although I doubt there be one)....hehehe...oh, well, not this week...maybe some saturday I'll get a saab 9-3 convertible....that sounds like fun....

I've just had a surreal week...it was like one crisis after another with Thursday just being weird in a good way, I suppose...completely not what I expected in the good sense, I suppose, very strange...and the today and Tuesday were defintely freakout mad insane fix this now kind of things...which usually suck and in this case, did. I hate when work seems tame and managable...I miss bidding 4 jobs a day for a month and working Saturdays and just pressure, pressure, pressure...it made coming home relaxing and pretty much anything relaxing and minor...now it seems like I spend more time fixing stuff at home than spending time with my wife and children....I hate that...but I guess that's life....

and somehow I managed to lose most of tonight to Quake...oddly enough in deathmatch against Anne...which the odd thing is she enjoyed it and thought it was fun....I was ready to quit and just surf the web and she wanted to keep going....I didn't figure Quake DM would be something that appealed to her...*sniff* I have a gamer grrrrrl for a daughter....I think she's growing up

sitting on the front porch, smoking a cigar, surfing the web, and relaxing...wireless is good

no real news, just work is nuts but at least school is winding down

sitting on the front porch, smoking a cigar, surfing the web, and relaxing...wireless is good

*sigh* Is it really too much to see the Tigers break 500??? Why, god, why?

Things I need to do:

1) update linux (recompile kernel & update x-windows)
2) build web server and buy domain
3) brush up on coding & work on spec sheet
4) do other stuff: like re-install XP, setup wireless security, network install linux on the laptop...maybe...dunno...haven't decided...

went out to dinner last night and had an excellent steak, average sorbet, and two martini's, in addition to finding at least one thing that doesn't change...came up with plan to make fortune, however implementation may have issues....or not....considering the competition is using visual foxpro, I'm pretty sure that I can whip out something in C just as adequate, if not better...although I think I'm too sane be programming....

Today, went to work and made mucho dinero....mmmmmm....time and a half...did stuff outside, now posting and checking e-mail...I'm thinking I shouldn't surf the web but it just sounds so damn good right now...especially on laptop with wireless....maybe go on the airing deck and chill....although it's about 10 degrees too cold for that....and I have no beer and my cigar supply is running dangerously low....*sigh*

I have lost upteen hours to warcraft II, mostly playing against my wife...thankfully I am almost done with the term...and I had been working feverous on finishing everything for my classes...between that and work, I've pretty much been coming home and dying...it sucks....

I took yesterday off work and was shocked how relaxing it was even though all I did was work on my term paper...it was a great day, too, much better than today with the wind and heat although I'm now freezing my ass off in every building I walk into...I hate A/C...I always freeze...

A plan to empty the garage of computer bits has also been hatched and the best part is it makes money....now all we need to do is get everything together and sell this stuff on ebay....somebody has to have some use for half a dozen pentium 166, motherboards, and cases...plus there's a bunch of mice and keyboards...I'm sure those will sell...

I have the TV computer setup and running....now all I need is the right adapter...

right working on setting a P166MMX TV computer....setting up win98 now and all I need to get after that is the splitter to go from 3.5mm out to RCA for the sound card and I'm in bidness...I think I may have to swap it into a different case or something, tho...haven't decided where to stick it yet but I'm kinda limited to six feet from the TV/stereo setup...d'oh

what I'm going to do: absolutely nothing about laptop but I do need to get more desk space (or banish winblows to the basement)

I think I've gone to the darkside...I kinda *want* a mac that runs OSX just so I can have Linux but still have windows compatiblity...something which really isn't offered built in with any other GUI...that and I would like to put linux on a notebook but have two problems with this plan: 1) no way to get linux on my current laptop (which I'm kinda squeamish about messing with since I depend on this thing right now) and 2) no other laptop handy...so I dunno what I'm going to do...I do know that Quadra 610s are pretty damn worthless for anything...although I was pondering putting linux on it and doing something server based with it...but that's out since I can't network da bitch and it's only a 25 mhz processor anyway...ah, well...thinking am havink computer addiction problem...

culled from User Friendly LOTD or chip depending on which you read first...

I amHastur! The Unspeakable One is the master of those who seek to unveil the mysteries of death. It is through meditation upon the Yellow Sign that the devotee of Hastur seeks transcendence to the city-realm of dim Carcosa. Through a complex series of visualizations that expand the aspirants void-consciousness, the final age will arise. Ruled by the ominous King in Yellow, a new stage of reality will come to fruition. Of the Olde Ones, Hastur is considered to be one of the most difficult to work with, his teachings being reserved exclusively for the Cthonian Adepts and Lords.

Which Great Old One are you?

I have started browsing in lynx periodically...somehow it's life affirming to browse the internet as it was...without ads, just black and white text...

I am so bored...I can't find anything on the internet...it sucks...by the way matt post to your damn journal already!

I continue to spend more time fixing typos than posting...although of late my posts have really sucked....I need to work on that...oh, well...

I have linux running and have the networking/internet configured finally...I have decided I like gnome better than windows...this could very easily replace my windows box although I see that going over like a lead ballon with everyone else...

despite the fact that my wife and I have a nine year age difference, I still don't think that a 14 year old marrying a 42 year old can be construed as a reasonably idea....um....yeah....weird... (found on chip's site)

last night was a good time and the food was excellent....scatterigories was really interesting with some very questionable answers being used...

This week was just exhausting...there are really two things of note:

- went to a "premium" "high-end" resturant for my brother-in-law's birthday last night...I was not impressed with the food...for what I paid I should have at least gotten what was described on the menu with some flair....asparagous and no hollendaise??? Five star resturants are made or broken on their hollendaise...the setting and presentation were okay but medicore at best when the food is the center piece. Adding insult to injury, the sour cream on my baked potato gave me food poisoning (my wife suffered the same fate which lead to driving home in freezing rain while both of us needed a bathroom *now*...even worse, the house only has one bathroom...so you can just imagine the fun...)

-going to house warming party for a guy I work with tonight...which translates into everybody at work drinking and bitching about work...I am fairly certain his sour cream can be trusted

wireless revived although now I cannot access the setup util over the network...very bizzare...

I hate wireless phones...specifically 2.4ghz home phones....they keep killing the wireless network...time to find a new channel...again...

things have been very crazy, I have had too much to do and not enough time to do it, which unfortunately does not include posting to my journal/editorial thing...and I have defintely not had time to go read the news, so expect less politics and more personal stuff...

Excellent Way to Waste Time Link of the Week (EWWTLW): musicvideos.com - which happens to have Sum41's Hell Song...absolutely hilarious...especially if you're into action figures, pop culture, and comic books....broadband only, unfortunately...but it rocks (I have found using the ethernet at UT's library much more efficent to waste time than messing around at with dial-up)

no news today, spent it all doing homework...really not much to comment on, I don't think, as the War continues on. N. Korea, Syria, and Iran are next but, who knows...depends how quickly the war ends.

Stone Temple Pilots I Got You

I Got You
But it's the craving for the good life
That sees me through troubled times
When my mind begins to wander to the spoon
And I Got You
Because you're there to bend and nurture me through these
Troubled times
'Cause the fix begins to twist my troubled mind
And I Got You to paint the sorrow on my day
And I Got You to paint the roses on my grave
And I Got You
I Got You
But it's the feeling that I get when you're away
Twist my mind 'cause when I'm alone and cold, I feel like dyin'
And I Got You to fill the craving that I get inside my mind
When you're there to fill the space I have inside, I feel like cryin'
And I Got You to paint the sorrow on my day
And I Got You to paint the roses on my grave
And I Got You
All the slippin' that I slap me
I Got You, I Got You
All the slippin' that I slap me

Music is being reviewed in my living much to my annoyance...needless to say, I am listening to a CD...The All American Rejects (which my wife bought for her collection)....I'm surprised how well Swing, Swing has held up under multiple listenings...I like that song....I have also determined that after graduating college my only goal in life is free beer 2 or 3 nights a week by being a bass player in a band....I figure that lack of inhibition will defintely improve my playing...therefore free beer will increase the quality of my playing....hmmmmm, yes, must have free beer.....mmmmmmmmm, duff

personal stuff today - the air cooled engine killed the corvair, not the camaro

Friday Five on time this week...oddly enough...

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?

Utter outrage at the Kurd's situation and China's posturing...see below...

2. What one person touched your life this week?

No idea

3. How have you helped someone this week?

Define help...can sarcasm be helpful?

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?

English paper and not Strongbad's version (see Strongbad's e-mail under toons/features, I think)

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?

Continue to give three cats a good home...I dunno...try to be a good person...

Right, so I maybe I will return to less cerebal affairs and more of journal type format. I am considering divorcing the current events/editorials into a seperate blog (eventually a section of the website)...athough this would entail me either posting to one or the other rather my current concentration on one thing at a time.

Well, at any rate, in Asia two things indicate furthering destabilization in the region in light of the distraction of war...first, North Korean grandstanding and hyperbole continues with the Firm belief that the U.S. is trying take over the world and simply walking out on UN talks

second, India and Pakistan are exchanging tests again, grandstanding and saber rattling with Ballistic Missiles for now (although both are nuclear capable)

The third item for today bolsters my contention that Pakistan is a Chinese issue, despite the US considering it an Indian problem or a central Asia problem. Granted, North Korea is the real bone of contention here but Pakistan's Chinese ties certainly aren't helping matters when Pakistan happens to be one of the two or three nations performing nuclear testing in the past fifteen years.

Well, so much for the hope of a balanced and diplomatic response to the North Korean issue although N. Korea certainly isn't pushing for a non-military solution...

As I mentioned yesterday, China is considering the War to be a firm U.S. policy shift in dealing with nations who do not conform to U.S. ideological beliefs. However flawed this conclusion, it brings up a thought that I had a week ago on the impact the War does and will have on U.S. foreign policy. Like Germany, Russia, and France, China considers the action in Iraq as a unilateral action (nevermind Britain and Australia as well as the support of other European nations such as Belgium, Spain, and Italy) of the United States enforcing its own version of international law i.e. without the consent of the U.N. As such, China is now reformulating its domestic agenda towards nationalism, internal security, modernization of its Military Weaponry, and controlled economic growth (read: so much for capitalism, there are some industries such as heavy manufacturing that really are better off under state control). What brought on this knee-jerk, dead panic reaction as far as I can tell is two things: 1) The Chinese failed to build up even a 30-day supply of crude oil before the war spiked oil prices* and 2) Iraq is in central Asia and very much in the neighborhood of China. The Chinese have now seen two major interventions by the U.S. in their own backyard in the past 18 months since September 11, 2001. First in Afghanistan (literally in their back yard) and now in Iraq (which is very much in the neighborhood). Now that these two factors have sent Chinese policy makers into a tizzy, two very big problems arise in Asia: North Korea and, to a lessor degree, Pakistan.

The United States framed the War in Iraq as being over Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and failure to comply with U.N. Inspections, firstly, U.N. Sanctions, secondly, and the assumption that WMD would be dispersed to terrorist, thirdly. This attitude of the United States has very much alarmed the Chinese as the North Korean regime is both part of the Axis of Evil and staunchly backed by the Chinese. Needless to say, the posturing of the United States towards Iraq and the UN indicates to the Chinese that once Saddams's Regime has fallen, Pyongyang is next. Unfortunately, the Chinese analysis has one fatal flaw.

The UN failed after the Gulf War to remove Saddam Hussein, choosing instead to end the war at 12 miles (or whatever it was) over the Iraqi/Kuwait border. China has nothing to fear except the actions of a rogue statement and perhaps Pakistan internal unrest, both of which could provoke a military reprisal only if 1) UN failure to resolve the conflict diplomatically or 2) Neo-conservative policy reigns in the Whitehouse as opposed to the Pacifist Policies that the U.S. exercised under Clinton. The Neo-con adovocates of the Whitehouse may staunchly back military action against North Korea while I would like to believe that the Neo-con faction preveiled because Clinton and the U.N. failed (re: Iraq) and not because of hawkish neo-con tendencies of George W. (A foolish hope, perhaps)

*This is a news flash to me since gas prices have been consistently dropping since the war started here due to falling crude prices...something's out of whack but I'm editorializing, not fact finding here.

it's late, I'm tired and I really don't feel like shifting through The Washington Post, The Guardian, and MSNBC to find out if CNN really has unbasisedly and accurately reported on the Turk's Asserting Their Buffer Zone.

Suffice to say, I don't see refugees as a valid reason for a build up of the Turkish Army on the Iraqi border when the Kurdish rebels in Turkey have been fighting for the past 15 years against the opression of the Turkish government...the Kurds treat Turkish intentions with a great deal of suspicion considering the track record of dealing with Kurds in Turkey. I am having a great deal of difficulty believing a few things with this scenario:

1) That Kurdish refugees will immediately flee to Turkey
2) That Iraqi refugees will not be welcomed by the Kurds or flee to Iran, Syria, or Saudi Arabia (all of which have refugee camps)
3) That the U.S. military forces/advisors in North Iraq will support military management of refugees by Turkey 20 km over the border without A) Bringing it up with NATO and/or B) Questioning the sanity of Turkey when massive amounts of aid will be flowing through Iraq as U.S. Policy has been containment and the fall of Baghdad i.e. the capture/assignation/ouster of Saddam Hussein

I was going to mention China's preparing for confrontation with the US in more detail although it's not exactly war related. I think it really deserves a seperate post considering it poses a definite paradigm shift in foreign policy...

9:45
Nothing new to report, although troops are now within 50 miles of Baghdad

written at 5:45 or so...
Currently, I do not have access to web, so I have no idea what Turkey has been up to or if they have been up to something, if it made the wires or the news. As far as I know, Turkey has refrained from sending troops into Iraq although that maybe have changed in the last 24-odd hours (doubtful)...

Troops are now within sixty miles of Baghdad, although bogged down in fighting and with supply lines open and unprotected whilist the Iraqis are acting as terrorists, as far as I'm concerned, it's an open question whether they are diehard supporters of Saddam or actually cilivians who are viewing the invasion as a colonial military action. It's foolish to believe that the coalition will not spark Arab indignity, with Arab CW seeing going from Saddam's boot to Coalition (read British and American) Governorship...which wealthy donor of the Republician cause will be named Viceroy of Iraq while rebuilding takes place? Or perhaps Bush will name Al Gore, giving him the booby prize for losing the presidential office...

The conflict in Iraq is beginning to turn into an all out, rough and tumble war now...so much for shock and awe the first night, I'm getting day it day 4 or 5...mostly because although one Iraqi division surrendered, the whole campaign was moving much too swiftly and easily to be believed. The port town of Umm Qsar that supposedly fell Saturday has apparently done nothing of the such (although Marines have eliminated a pocket of strong resistance near port facilities) and heavy fighting is being reported in Nasiriya...although Basra is encircled and troops are rushing toward Baghdad....I suspect by Wednesday the rose colored glasses will come off...we will be bogged down in urban warfare, making Somolia and Bosnia look relatively tame by comparsion.

Today Turkey denied deploying troops into Iraq although they have no problem setting up a military zone on the border, depolying 5,000 soliders, and banning journalists....so crossing the border certainly appears to be not whether but when now...

I e-mailed Andrew Sullivan the missive below in response to When Iraqis Cheer...which sums up a lot of my sentiment about the war...besides the fact it sets the stage for World War III...

Mr. Sullivan,

While I agree that blanket opposition to war is not a legitimate reason for
protesting this war, I think that the terrorist connection is the shakiest
argument for invading Iraq. It does not help that we had no problem funding
and supporting Saddam Hussein back in the '80s when it suited our purposes
in attempting to overthrow Iran (lest anyone forget, at one time Osma Bin
Laden was backed by the CIA fighting the Afghan communists)...so for today's
(3/21 - 2:16:44 PM) e-mail corresponder to consider all anti-war dissidents
as apologists for evil, maybe history should be consider. I am not ashamed
to admit nor do I feel I need to apologize or hid my views that the U.S.'s
misguided Middle Eastern containment policy brought 9/11 upon us. Rather
than considering the consequences of dealing with "evil" regimes or
individuals, we considered only whether it would contain or further U.S.
interests. It was inevitable that an event such as 9/11 would happen after
backing Israel, supporting Iraq, supporting a coup in Iran, covert backing
of the Afghan civil war, and Iran-Contra, all of which has consistently show
the U.S.'s tolerance and/or support of terrorists. While I do believe that
Saddam has (or had) material breaches and the U.N. should have responded
with approiate military force, I do not think it should fall to U.S. to
correct the U.N.'s failing nor do I think that the case for terrorist
support has been made. As far as I can tell, the only connection Osma Bin
Laden and Saddam Hussein have is U.S. government backing in '80s.
Considering history and the seeming lack of connection, the whole
justification to invade just seems like a lot of spin...more so than any
anti-war protest...misguided as it may be.

Adam

Slight correction, the MLA is stationed 30 miles from Baghdad and has fought for Saddam...however, they are Iranian and operate under (or as part of) the Iranian dissident groupe MEK...slate has a good article...The Enemy of My Enemy is My WHAT??? (emphasis added)

expect much more blogging as regular journal entry has been interupted for war blogging...

Turkey has deployed an advance force of 1500 troops into Northen Iraq...the past few days will look like nothing once US Troops hit Northen Iraq...welcome to full scale, all out war...people think casualities are bad now at one or two troops? Things will get far worse...Baghdad isn't the problem and Saddam is now chump change, it's the Turks, Kurds, and Iranians......waging all out war in the richest oil fields in Iraq....in other news, Russia is rightly concerned that war will destablize central asia....hmmmm...yeah...why didn't we think of that before sending in troops and sparking an international incident? Once upon a time the assignation of a not so note worthy duke who would have otherwise been forgetten by history awoke the ottoman empire and created one of the worst conflicts of all time...this time it's not just assignation, it's all out military intervention

I have come home and fallen into bed the past two nights due sickness...I actually feel better today and I think my fever broke last night...

We now have a full scale war in a region with three factions gunning for each other and waiting for an opening: the Kurds, the Turks, and the Iranians (dissendent or not). Right now, it looks like the Turks will deploy troops into Northen Iraq (Kurdistan specifically) having voted to allow US flyovers with that as a rider...the Kurds have already made statements that they will consider Turkish occupation an act of war...if a Turkish/Kurd war breaks out, then the Iranians will have little or no opposition to sieze Iraq's northen oil fields. Add to the mix the Iranian dissendent army backing Saddam Hussien (and residing in Baghdad) which could go either way (attacking the US or backing the US) and the US has officially stepped into one mess of a conflict...right now the stage is set for World War III....lord knows what will happen in Europe if Turkey gets bogged down in the Iraq-Iran-Kurd war and Russia/German/France get a bug up thier ass when there's a war at their back door...

I didn't post yesterday and matt posted today and yesterday...apparently there are a finte number of 1s and 0s in the internet...so, um, yeah....i'm going to start instituting random rolling internet blackouts in the house (as we have six computers online) to insure that matt posts...I just hope all those unhooked ethernet cables don't cause blacking out or worse...

and there really is nothing going on...other than work, school, and life...or I need a vacation....desperately...or something....new reality...bigger paycheck...who knows...

I think I spend more time fixing the typos in this than actually posting.

I have to go to work tomorrow, I have homework to do, and it's 11 and I don't really care....I think this quote from chip's site sums it up best..."I maybe apathetic but I don't care enough to find out."

Today was spent finishing cleaning and rearranging for Kay's family birthday party today...which went uneventfully. We talked, ate, talked some more, had cake and ice cream, and then capped off the evening with more talking. I did have a cigar with my dad and it was great day outside so we opened up the house...very nice...of course, it's inevitable we'll get one more snowfall but, hey, spring is more or less here (as here as it gets in Toledo at least)

okay, now the page is viewable...I have spent today playing with an HP Brio BA200 and getting it working again (password on bios, lost CD-ROM driver)...it's now pieced together with Win98 and the usb wireless adaptor for the little girls...I really wanted to take it for my linux box and lost on that one....it totally sucks....oh, well, I have a P166 MMX to load up and a 4 gig harddrive for it....although, it may have a 1 or 2 gig in it now....have to see...I do miss building and messing around with computers...it's remarkable relaxing frankenstiening machines together.

For some reason, the journal is pulling up other random blogs at this point in time...not sure what the point is in posting it but hey, that's the latest news

quote of the night: "Our roof is made of abestos, it can't burn." - me (while listening to Fire Water Burn - Bloodhood Gang

Shakespeare was a frickin' hack...if anybody wrote what he did now, they would be derided as cheap whores selling out to the masses....except if they were female, minority, or homosexual...then they would be hailed as mainstream visionaries. I think the only appropiate response at this juncture is to fuck modernism or post-modernism or whatever the hell liberal intellect is passing for these days and go to bed....

Also, what could be better than an anarchist? What other belief system allows anyone to take their stuff and the victim rationalize it? You win, it's one giant shopping spree at anarchist-mart with use of sufficent force and anybody can a handgun nowadays...what's to lose...in fact, a good shotgun available at any Wal-Mart would work come to think of it.

I am posting while in the kitchen cooking dinner...it's very nice...plus it kills time & allows musical enjoyment in the kitchen....now if I could just stream TV over the network, that would be sweet....we'd never have to buy another TV again....hmmmmm....I'm thinking I may want to look into that....

I did get stuff accomplished on my half day off plus relaxed a bit and did something (actually two things really) that will be very foolish, very great, or inconsequential...right now it's the not knowing that's killing me...I hate that...I wonder if there are working crystal balls for sale on E-bay...

Secret Smile - Semisonic

Nobody knows it but you've got a secret smile
And you use it only for me
Nobody knows it but you've got a secret smile
And you use it only for me

So use it and prove it
Remove this whirling sadness
I'm losing, I'm bluesing
But you can save me from madness

Nobody knows it but you've got a secret smile
And you use it only for me
Nobody knows it but you've got a secret smile
And you use it only for me

So save me I'm waiting
I'm needing, hear me pleading
And soothe me, improve me
I'm grieving, I'm barely believing now, now

When you are flying around and around the world
And I'm lying alonely
I know there's something sacred and free reserved
And received by me only

chip has started deafgeek.com. Although I think everyone who reads this probably reads chip's site, I still felt I should post it since our oldest had (or has) hearing loss which has been corrected by surgery in one ear and we're waiting for the doctor's to say "yes" to correction in the other ear.

In other news, today did suck for a variety of reasons:

1) I washed the car and, of course, rather than raining it decided to warm up and melt all the snow so that the car was covered in road grime on the way home.

2) I bought nestea and lemonade at lunch...I grabbed the lemonade wrong so it exploded all over the parking at work...I was running all over the parking lot chasing cans of lemonade....it might be funny but at the time it was just further annoyance....

today sucked, I'm in a bad mood, and tomorrow doesn't look much better...

major restructuring at work...desperate measures call for desperate times...too bad nobody seems to realize that's backwards, apparently. I am of the opinion that a slippery slope has started that ultimately leads to unintended consequences. What we have here is a failure to understand the basics of business, rather than the wrong answer exactly.

I have a winner in the motorcycle contest....

nope, not on TV...it worked out I forgot to say anything after all...I would have really looked stupid if everybody knew and we weren't on...

anyhoo, went to work, worked, came home, mucked aroud the completely rearranged house, cooked about half of dinner, ate, took the older two the library, came home, and now we're watching TV...

we may or may not be on TV tonight, update when I know...I totally forget to say anything about the Las Veges Fear Factor we saw on being taped when we went...we were down on Fremont Street when they taped the dark haired white chick swinging from platform to platform...all I have to say is it's all faked...really bad...

Summary in one run on, sentence like list....

Today was more of a lazy sunday than anything...got up, went to church, went and ran errands, had world famous Tony Packo's chili mac, went up to michigan to examine her parents computer and get the internet working better, played with ad-hoc peer to peer wireless and found it remarkably robust, ate dinner up there, came home, watched Goldmember, took back the movies, got ice cream, poured a glass of cabernet sauvignon to have with my ice cream, and now am posting to my journal while eating dessert and sipping wine.

The cabernet s. could be a bit fuller (it's french...whadda want?) but otherwise they complement each other nicely....oooooh, there we go....I need more ice cream for this wine...the wine just doesn't hold its own by itself...of course, that's fairly typically with french wines.

Posted in honor of lent, found on sadukie...

Seven Deadly Sins Quiz
ANGER
1. Who did you last get angry with? Christa
2. What is your weapon of choice? Words
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex? I don't think so, I've never been that angry or can imagine being pushed that far
4. How about of the same sex? Depends, over my wife or children, yes, over myself, I doubt it
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you? Christa
6. What is your pet peeve? Right now, driving when its raining or snowing and having people go 25 mph for no good reason
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily? depends on who and what, I don't usually hold a grudge but I have...

SLOTH
1. What is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you have not done in a long time? I keep putting off homework in the worst way
2. What is the latest you've ever woken up? 4 or 5 pm
3. Name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't? Mother
4. What is the last lame excuse you made? I don't know, I really don't remember
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through (one of the long ones...)? A coupla of times but not recently
6. When was the last time you got a good workout in? Erm, uh, October
7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today? Zero

GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice? Martini, I suppose
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat? Either or both, whatever's on my plate
3. Have you ever used a professional diet company? No
4. Do you have an issue with your weight? Only in so far as I probably need to gain a few pounds...and not in the beer gut...
5. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods? salty or spicy
6. Have you ever looked at a small house pet or child and thought, "LUNCH!"? No, I do joke about chinese and cats...

LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)? One
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)? One
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation? Maybe, refrain comment
4. Have you "done it"? Done what?
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice? It's a toss-up, butt and thighs or breasts...either way, healthy female form
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute? Nope
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy? Nope

GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own? 2
2. What's your guilty pleasure store? Port Royal
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it? Pay off all the bills, the house, and buy 31 odd cars...
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous? Rich
5. Have you ever stolen anything? Nope
6. How many MP3s are on your hard drive? Dunno, 100 or so

PRIDE
1. What one thing have you done that you're most proud of? Successfully marriage
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of? I honestly don't know nor have any guesses
3. What thing would you like to accomplish in your life? Getting a college degree
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place? No, I'm usually the guy in last place
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors? No
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score? No
7. What did you do today that you're proud of? made my wife a happy person

ENVY
1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own? Job where I'm appreciated and paid well even if it means craziness
2. Who would you want to go on "Trading Spaces" with? No clue, no cable
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be? I'm pretty happy with who I am, I can't think of anyone else...I wouldn't mind being a chick just to see what it was like for awhile...
4. Have you ever been cheated on? Confident no
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own? yeah
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself? charisma
7. Do you wish you'd come up with this survey? Nope

Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin? Greed, all the way

The late as usual Friday Five:

1. What was the last song you heard?

something from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

2. What were the last two movies you saw?

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
shortly...Austin Powers: Goldmember

3. What were the last three things you purchased?

Dinner
Pet Supplies
Haircut

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?

nothing
spending time with wife
setup my wife's laptop (done)
more nothing

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?

Christa
Beth
Waitress
Peter
Hair Dresser

links fixed, dunno why it didn't work earlier...

okay, I tried to add links and it didn't work....gotta mess with it later after we get back from errands and food...damnit...

tweaked the journal a little bit, changed description based on article and because I'm a smart-ass plus added sadukie and chip's whytry.cc to the links...I was kinda suprised to see chip's link to my journal.....just noticed that today....thanks, chip

ad hoc works in so far as the two computers see each other and network (I think). Her laptop was acting flaky about seeing the network but I dunno why...nor do I really care, I've hard my fill of windows, hardware, and software for awhile. I've done alot of computer stuff this month (the only reason I noticed was my journal is a month old, more or less)...so far I setup my laptop, the wireless network, and her laptop...plus tomorrow I have to go check out her parents computer and see if I can figure out why a gigahertz machine is running no better than my PII 300 collection.

It sucks that I wiped my MP3 collection during a linux install about 2 years ago....right now I have a much reduced 300 meg collection on the laptop to work by...I must say that at work I've been spinning NINs, System of a Down, and Stone Temple Pilots mostly with Blue Oyster Cult, Coldplay, '80s Party, and '70s Funk Classics mixed in....there's just something about working to James Brown's Sex Machine....plus I can always give Matt shit when he walks by.... (and, yes, I had the CD before the pontiac commericals of late)

windows is now functioning and I think all the drivers are loaded that need to be...although there's still an annoying unknown device...

now I need to play with ad hoc wireless networking....joys of joys...

fdisk /mbr

good news, I now have windows working (sorta, it's in setup)

aaaaaargh.....damn you LILO....damn you to hell.....in what universe is it a good idea to make program that cannot be uninstalled by anything?????

All of my experiencs with linux have been bad....the streak continues....USB cd-roms aren't adding much either...

I have officially forgetten more about DOS that I care to admit...

I am now understanding why I got a deal on a Portege 3110CT trying to get Winblows 98 on my wife's newly acquired Portege 3015CT...

I want a motorcycle but unfortunately have to wait a very long time to get one. Right now, if by some miracle we become fablously rich and I could negoiate one, I know I want a BMW, Triumph, or Ducati. I would like a sport tourer, something that I could ride for 2 or 3 hours or even up north and still be comfortable on....I don't see that happening with a crotch rocket/sport bike. On the otherhand, I don't want a big, fat loafer of a touring bike...it needs to be quick and agile. While the Japanese make good bikes and Harley's are the quientessial American motorcyle, neither one seems to fall into my requirements. Harleys seem too soft and not quick enough while the Japanese are either focusing on the sport bike or the tourer, but not in between.

Join my army at Kings of Chaos and make chip a happy overlord/commander guy...

This article describes the difference between a journal and blog...mine defintely leans toward a journal since its mostly my thoughts and feelings but it defintely has some blogging thrown in (more of a what made think that day than anything else)...matt had that in his journal

chip's mom is in the hospital...sending good karma that way, especially after the whole experience of the past two weeks.

I am so glad this week is spring break although all it really means is I don't have class...I have a ton of work to do that more than makes up for it. Not only do I need to play catch-up, I also need to get ahead....I think I'm going to end up not worrying about this stuff until sunday or monday....I need a couple of days to decompress and not be worrying about school....at least work is going smoothly...that's something...

well, matt finially posted the now infamous 1000th post...it took like two weeks....but it's finally here...it's about time...and I thought I was a slacker....I'm doing better this time, tho...

Watched The Family on ABC for no apparent reason...all I have to say is they cancelled the new Beverly Hillbillies for this??? How is it any less basised? WTF? Did I mention I hate reality TV?

I was not, however, so fortunate on my other quiz...I did indeed fail it like I thought I was going to...and I have another one just like it on Wed....great....I hate college...

5:35pm

I really wish UT would deploy wireless throughout campus...that would be so nice to be able to be online when I have 15 or 20 minutes to kill before class or between class...especially when I need to do research or find journal articles like right now...on the other hand, it could totally kill productivity although I didn't get much done this weekend due to life rather than the internet...that's what really sucks...at least at work I'm caught up and on top of things even without going in on Saturday. Five more minutes until class starts and I'm sure I'll be desperately wishing to get out of here...thank god spring break is next week and I'll be able to concentrate on getting ahead rather than playing catch up.

Just popped wireless card in to see if it would find a network, no wireless, it seems, where I'm at...

I don't believe it, I got a 100% on the quiz...I was sure I flagged it...

I have just found out that everybody's job is basically the same in the suckage department...it's just how many hours you work...or don't, as the case may be...

our weekend has been nuts...we are now going out to get breakfast because the whole house smells like bleach rather strongly and we're both feeling sick as a result....why the house smells like bleach:

the sewer got plugged up somewhere between the house and street with tree roots so the cleanout cover relieved the pressure and spewed sewage over about half the basement....the floor has been fully cleaned and bleached. Actually, clean up is going pretty good, all we're working on now is finishing up laundry. But, yeah, yesterday was shot and today is getting there...I'm so tried to this thing until I get my essays written....apparently having a laptop is double edge sword. I can work whenever I want but I now I feel like I have to get to work NOW...

christa finally talked me into a cell phone again...it turns out that for not that much more than her phone per month, we got two phones through T-Mobile with real coverage and free calling between our phones...while you can download ringtones, it's costs 99 cents for every one...sheesh....right now I have the free Vanessa Carlton Thousand Miles ring just to see how well they come out...it's very much like the bad old days of midi before mp3....

Dave Barry's Blog is a good read...the infamous enormous cheesy proof (also mentioned by sarah) made it in there along with the usual smattering of nonsense....I'll be tossing a link over to the right there since I have ended up reading it pretty much everyday....

we just got all the wireless bits and I can walk down to the used car lot at sylvania ave and it still works...the signal goes really weak but it works....so we now have a wireless bubble about 8 houses around our house...sweet...

Now I can post anywhere at anytime in the house....which is bad thing in the eyes of my wife...

Mr. Rogers passed away today...that'ssuch a bummer, the world just keeps changing and I keep feeling older everyday...that's depressing...I keep feeling nostalgic which is weird...I'm not old enough to be nostalgic...but anyway, it's sad to lose a truely great person and one of my favorite TV personalities from childhood...I remembering watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and seeing how crayons are made and it just being so cool. *sigh*

now that I've posted my interesting stuff for the night while christa was letting the dog out and kinda watching the Robert Blake interview on 20/20, I'm going to bed...

Greasel.com is interesting stuff, especially since you could in theory run a vehicle that gets 49 mpg on free fuel and only have to buy fuel to start it...personally, I'd rather find a way to make biodiesel but I get the feeling I'd be arrested for terrorism in about two seconds...

100 Years of Ford Progress...and Deception is an editorial on Allpar. Interesting stuff...

not much to post tonight, just tired and going to bed, once again life is getting in the way...

Dammit - Blink 182

It's alright / to tell me / what you think / about me
I won't try / to argue / or hold it / against you
I know that / you're leaving / you must have / your reasons
The season / is calling / and your pictures / are falling down

The steps that / I retrace / the sad look / on your face
The timing / and structure / did you hear / he fucked her?
A day late / a buck short / I'm writing / the report
On losing / and failing / when I move / I'm flailing now

And it's happened once again
I'll turn to a friend
Someone that understands
Sees through the master plan

But everybody's gone
And I've been here for too long
To face this on my own
Well I guess this is growing up

Well I guess this is growing up

And maybe / I'll see you / at a movie / sneak preview
You'll show up / and walk by / on the arm / of that guy
And I'll smile / and you'll wave / we'll pretend / it's okay
The charade / it won't last / when he's gone / I won't come back

And it'll happen once again
You'll turn to a friend
Someone that understands
And sees through the master plan

But everybody's gone
And you've been there for too long
To face this on your own
Well I guess this is growing up

Well, I guess this is growing up
Well, I guess this is growing up
Well, I guess this is growing up
Well, I guess this is growing up
Well, I guess this is growing up
Well, I guess this is growing up

I am so far behind in everything, it sucks. Fortunately, I have gained a reprieve from my exam although I now have twice as much work to do. The BMW is causing much consernation...*sigh*...I have way too much to do at work...I'm pretty sure I'll be going to work on Saturday.

I'm so tired....thank god we get to sleep in our bed and everybody's home where they belong...

Now

Well, okay, so I didn't get around to posting or typing until now....Jay was released today at 11 and is doing well, the stairs are a little difficult but otherwise she is doing well. The really fun part was finding out that Christa was struck in the driveway after calling her when they said that she was being released. So I went and got her, shoveled out the sidewalk and part of the driveway, then we went back to hospital. More waiting ensued. After collecting her stuff, we went home and I went out and shoveled. The project cars are still buried but there's a path to the garage.

Now that spring is impeding (I admit it, I'm jumping the gun in ohio but damnit, I hate snow and cold), I need to decide what to do with the Monte Carlo. The cheif priority is sorting out the electrics and the carb is hosed somehow (either the accelerator pump or tuning or it could just be the fact its a two-barrel)

9:27am

Johnny Cash's cover of NIN's Hurt is just, um, weird. What I don't understand is why that would be considered a good idea and by who...

my dad did get the grand marquis...peter and I picked up a BMW 325e today that he bought for 450...it is now sitting in my driveway awaiting spring and wrenching...unfortunately, it does have the BMW Shimmy in the front end and few other issues, the most concerning being the coolant leak and the power seats not working. Everything else is minor, annoying stuff...once it gets screwed back together, it is the $500/500k rally car...while James (peter's brother) doesn't think we'll make it past St. Louis, damnit, it's California or Bust....although I have to admit that running a car 3,000 miles cross country and the racing it means that there is a lot of prep work to do....

Jay is doing well and eating and feeling much, much better...I think she'll be ready to go home tomorrow night if she can stand walking around and sitting up most of the day....I think the doctor's said once she eats three full meals and can walk/sit up, she can go home....

Here's the Friday Five only a day late this time...
1. What is your most prized material possession?

my wedding ring...everything else I own can be replaced or is unimportant...

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?

I don't know off-hand, I have stuff animals from when I was 4 or 5...somewhere...the children have run off with them...oops

3. Are you a packrat?

yes, although I'm trying to change...I'm getting better about keeping useless junk

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?

spic and span but I'm so tired after work, it's not much of priority...or I'd rather spend time with my wife....

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?

theme - lived in, knick-knacks - stuff that's not where it belongs

Another one of my mega-posts written earlier today....she's now back in her room and out of recovery....going back to the hospital in a few minutes as we had to stop at home and grab stuff after getting Ann from school....

12:23pm

Jay is now out of surgery and in recovery...Christa has gone back to sit with her, so she's fully awake. She won't go back to her room for at least two more hours, I think...as she had to held until she woke up and the she has to be in recovery...good news, her appendix was inflamed (the doctor described it as abnormal blood vessel growth which sounds like inflamation to me) and her gall bladder had abnormal fatty desposits (the technical term just flew out of my head). Judging from what the surgeon said this will clear up the persistent pain and on again/off again vomiting...then again all their tests have been inconclusive to this point and it was an exploratory surgery...

10:51am

we're sitting and waiting right now, which seems to be one of the secondary functions of hospitals. Hopefully a verdict will be returned with the hour and it will her gall bladder. If not that, at least an answer as to what's wrong. once again, I'm posting (or at least writing since there's no free internet here) instead of doing work...it would be nice if you could get wireless or even ethernet in the waiting areas...it certainly make me much happier...I just realized I need to get online and find two more psychology articles plus I have all the blasted online assignments for spanish (which isn't due until next fri but it doesn't do me any good since the only time I have to work on it is the weekend.

Excellent, they did take the gall bladder which means more than likely it was her gall bladder...so hopefully after they stitch her and she'll wake up and we'll send her home tomorrow.

quiz-fest courtesy of Kristyland

the how british are you quiz is sadly true....I know enough to understand but don't care enough to bother...


I am 57.5% British, just like
Hugh Grant
Thought you drive a British sports car you are most likely to have a blowout in LA.

Take the Brit Quiz at
www.darrenlondon.tripod.com/britquiz1.htm
Quiz written by Daz

I am so depressed right now...although I don't hate my life...life is good


Pre-Hyptnotized Peter


What Office Space character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

I just realized that I spelled obvious correctly and incorrectly in the same post...I need to be getting more sleep before posting to this thing...

In other news, Jay is back in the hospital after getting horrendously sick at 11:30pm and ending up in the hospital at 1:30am. They are going to actually do something tomorrow (after two inconclusive tests today)...primarily exploratory surgery and see if there's anything wrong and, while they're in there, remove her appendix...it ain't a cure or a solution, really, but I'm hoping that it's her gall bladder and they nip and snip it and she's cured...however, I've learned that nothing is ever really as simple as it should be...

I am now officially a pimp or a geezer, having taken care of title, plates, and insurance on the 1994 Buick Roadmaster Limited that my dad is apparently replacing with a 1994 Mecury Grand Marquis...no word if he got it yet...

yak, yak, yak

I hate reality TV, just hire some freakin' writers already....even so, I wouldn't be above cashing in on an office space-esque reality TV show with office politics and silly challenges. That would be cool....it would be even better if it was like I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and I got like, Matt Damon, to mock and make fun of and do mundane office stuff....hehehehe...

How did it take two hours for the Bachlorette to wrap it when it was already painfully obvious what was going to happen? I hate all these fake voyoueristic shows that make it painfully obivious that its all staged for the camera....at least journals are mostly honest and reasonably truthful even if they may omit and/or change details....I can get all my reality TV from the internet....and satisfy my voyoueristic interest without having totally fakeness and shallow people preening for the camera....

Friday Five was done by matt and chip a couple weeks ago and I'm posting it late and before either of them this week...

1. Explain why you started to journal/blog.

because it's cool and I'm kinda of a lemming...also for the self-gratification even if only three people read it...

2. Do people you interact with day to day or family members know about your journal/blog? Why or why not?

Yes and no, friends from work, my wife, personal friends...people who know me well....kinda of an editorial about adam by adam that only makes sense if you know adam, so it's needless to say, it's people that know me...

3. Do you have a theme for your journal/blog?

I summed it up best above: An editorial about adam by adam that only makes sense if you know adam (although "Journal about nothing" could be in the running)

4. What direction would you like to have your journal/blog go in over the next year?

nothin' much, consistly posting and moving it back to a real domain, although what that maybe is unknown right now...

5. Pimp five of your favorite journals/blogs.

here's the one's I read (or have been reading of late...)
mattopia - see link to the right
chip
kopi
sadukie

and I don't have a fifth.....mine, I suppose, since christa can post, too...

I'm so tired and christa is sick...I have my work for tomorrow done but this week is far from over. I spent three odd hours in a car by myself today for work related reasons. I spent alot of time thinking about how much I missed my wife and how nice it will be when it's saturday morning and all we really have to do or worry about is cuddling....I'm either a hopeless romantic or just clingy....I dunno which...it's getting late and I'm not really making much headway on my paper or reading....I think it's time to go to bed...

Posts written today but not posted until now because they were on my laptop...

5:40 PM

I am now awaiting for pyschology to start, which is somehow completely and totally disinteresting to me...I would much rather be at work checking drawings than be here...unfortunately, I'll get my wish tonight but not until 9:30...which is only slightly tempered by the fact I can do it at home on the dining table. We're supposed to have a meeting a work to discuss what direction to take estimating after a bad year and major restructuring of the division...the first thing we need to fix is deadlines and understanding of what exactly we taking off...even if it's simple shit like what I'm checking. So needless to say now, but my day is ending on a sour note...I can only think of that quote from Office Space because it's so true... "Every day since I've started working is worse than day before, so you are seeing me on the worst day of life every day..."

hey, my day got marginally better...I didn't flag the quiz I took basically cold last wednesday after being sick and finding out that I'd have to ask someone for the notes (which I didn't because I don't know anyone)...4 out of 5 is more than adequate although I had no reason to miss the last one...ah, well, that's life...

psychology has started and I'm now wondering what I'm doing here...

12:00 PM

Here it is lunch and I have more work to do...it seems like that every time I stop to relax for two minutes, I just get further behind. I was actually reasonably productive last night and got homework done in spite of beer, tobacco, and The Simpsons.

Now I'm screwing around and writing a journal post instead of working on The History of Henry IV. It actually isn't too bad to read, I thought it would center so much on English history and obscure historically references (it does have a few) as to be too dense to really suck the reader in. However, it centers on the characters rather than the events and Falstaff is pretty good reading, if you can get over the constant sexual inneudo...

CDs I have been listening to (despite being hopelessly out of date, it seems))

Coldplay - Rush of Blood to the Head
Warped Tour 2002 Compliation
Nirvana - Greatest Hits Collectors Edition (Between You Know You're Right and The Man Who Sold the World, I couldn't pass up this CD...I do wish Lake of Fire was on it, tho...)

I have about a dozen hulks of P166s in various state of disassembly in my garage...I keep mean to paw through them and screw together a linux server but I just didn't get to it this weekend...nor did I accomplish my goal of sleeping until noon and then watching the Daytona 500 on Sunday. I flipped it on at like quarter after 4 and found it was delayed for rain...it blows that they ended up declaring a winner after barely half the race, I would consider that a hollow victory if it happened to me, but, hey, a W is a W...although history will invariably have an asterick as the 2003 Daytona 500 being 1 of 3 Daytonas ended early due to rain...

NASCAR is BACK!!! Bring on Spring! And pox to those who don't appreciate the great american sport...fuck football, fuck basketball, and baseball's golden age is gone (like when ballplayers being paid 2 million dollars a year struck for being underpaid...humpf), the american sport is NASCAR...oh, how I wish it was like it was in the bad old days...with cheating galore, real cars, and horsepower wars...but hey, where else is good old american excess celebrated with such aplomb?

A moment of silence for the heyday of straight 8 Hudsons and other such forgotten beasts...

I didn't get around to posting again last night like I meant to, mostly because we popped in the Banger Sisters and then I ended up drinking two glasses of port and we ended up going up to bed.

I had so much to do today and instead I ended up doing nothing....I spent time with my wife and family and generally relaxed (we did get our taxes done...yea!) but didn't get any of my work done...I'm not sure which was more important, getting my work done or recharging and relaxing....

I saw a blog called Living Can Kill You on the main page just now...which seems silly since life kills you.

I went to work today, it sucked...then I came home, worked on shakespeare and fell asleep in the recliner....christa fell asleep on the couch, too, it was pretty bad...I think everybody should get a nap...

We're watching the Country Bears....I can review it in three words: Rent Something Else...more words...Unless You Have Kids Then Consider It Only If They've Seen Or Own Every Other Freakin' New Release Even Then Plan On Doing Something Else In Another Room

The movie thing is throwing me off, I'm gonna have to post later.

I had some stuff I wanted to type in here and, of course, have promptly forgotten it so I can I remember it at midnight.....nuts...barring brillance, I am left to what actually happened today...

work...fish out of water hilarity and the usual off the wall antics...cursing, dirty jokes, and TMI flying around...although, Matt, Christa can post here....so...just for the record...

"Did Adam get, um, er, ya know....on valetines?" Answer tomorrow...maybe...personally, I'd like to see an e-bitchslap on this one...

My dad dropped me off the Buick Roadmaster as mine indefintely....I'm greatful for the car because it's a great car and didn't want to give back but I wanted a Cherokee....I love those things....or another truck....

Tonight, I've just lazed around and watched TV....went out and got chinese (much to my consernation, I'm so tired of running my ass off)...I did get to my martini, with fablous garlic olives from Messina's Italian Deli in the Erie Street Market....oh, yeah, went to lunch wiht my wife at Messinas....anyway, that's a mostly complete re-cap of my day.....