Ever get that feeling that it's going to be one of those days?

Time for work! This pretty much sums up how I feel today. This is what happens when you don't vent a tank while pumping it. I think it was a demonstration... judging by the crowd.




We're going to build a retaining wall around the front garden this weekend. Since this is the first time I've tried something like this I'm sure it will go perfectly. I'll get pictures so at the very least it'll be entertaining.

Oh, GTA IV is out! I'm going to grab a copy this weekend. It's going to be great. Too bad I have to wait till the kids are in bed before I can even open the box... that game is a little mature.

Search me

Searchme.com is a graphical search engine. Check it out. It looks like how I-tunes handles album art, but with web pages. It's pretty cool.

Also, I am on XboxLive now. I'm Catalyst2k and I suck! Man, I thought that I'd be able to hold my own in Halo 3 but I'm getting spanked. I still hold firm that FPS on a console game is a sin against nature and any true gamer uses a mouse but... I really do suck.

So, if you're out battling the flood and want an easy kill... look me up.

Xbox 360

I've had a 360 for about 4 months now and I never really tried setting it up as a media center. I run wireless N at home and I didn't want to shell out the bucks for a WAP that would do N. Well, I decided to just go ahead and get the wireless G and I'm so glad I did. I got the wireless USB NIC that is made by MS for the 360. It got great reviews and was pretty cheap too (I bought it with Best Buy points). The cool thing is that I've been changing all my DVD's to AVI so I could build a Ubuntu media box but the 360 can stream them from my big server and play AVI's, so I'm just going to use it instead... YAY saving money! It also works with WMP 11 so it has all my music, family videos and pictures on it. It's really cool because now I can sit at the TV and scroll through all my movies, select one and play it. Also, the music player has a pretty cool screen display when playing music. Here's Hayden looking tough in front of it.


It looks really cool in 1080p!

I had some trouble with the 360 wireless only allowing TKI encryption of its WPA key... but that was a quick fix. It doesn't have the 270 Mb connection my wireless N has... but 54 Mb is all good. I even got in some Halo 3 on line... wow I suck! I have to say Microsoft did a good job with their on-line content. I found a TON of Guitar Hero songs, picked up a bunch of new skins and even played some Burnout Paradise. I'm going to do some dogfighting with Ace Combat 6 tomorrow... and then maybe some Gears co-op. Goot suffin!

Seri got some sunglasses for the summer which she loved. I can't believe she will actually wear them. Hayden wouldn't wear hats or anything... he'd freak if you put something on his head. Seri will wear hats all day... but hates shoes. Weird huh?


Other than that it was a pretty slow day. We discussed the placement of all the plants that we bought. They should be in soon... I am not looking forward to all the work involved. I think I inherited my mothers Polish thumb. The Polish thumb is like a green thumb, except you can only grow cucumbers successfully, everything else dies. Mom could kill a plastic plant... but managed to grow enough cucumbers to feed a small country every year. That meant I had the joy of growing up with all sorts of cucumber meals. Cucumber bread, cucumber lasagna, cucumber tea... you ever have to go to school with a bag full of cucumber jerky? That ain't cool! It's like asking to get beat up!

But I digress...

Here's the lasted Iron Man trailer. It's good ju-ju. I have to say this is the first movie that I've been really excited about for a while. I hope they don't screw it up. I'm not a huge comic fan but Tony Stark is a really great anti hero... and I think Robert Downey Jr really 'got' the character. Now, I don't know how much acting is involved for him to act like an egotistical alcoholic.. but, as long as the film is good... then it's all butter.

Whelp, time to hit the hay, I have a big day of saving the world tomorrow... one e-mail at a time!

Study says 58 percent of music isn't paid for

Read it here.

Wow... I really don't care. If you start feeling bad for any of today's 'artists' just watch an episode of cribs. Personally, I think it's funny. You know that the big wigs in the music industry really thought that P2P and file sharing was going to be a fad. If they would of capitalized on this in the beginning they'd be doing awesome right now... oh well, hindsight.

I have a headeache...

We've all heard that one before. Well, read this... it's good stuff.

Serenity Turns One... (two months ago)

Yep, Seri is now the big 1. Well, she actually turned one in late February but we didn't have a real party for her. I know that some parents go all out for the first B-day but not us! We did want her to have some cake though so we had a little celebration for her.


She really enjoyed her cake, and by enjoy I mean rubbed it all over her face. So what do you do after you mush your birthday cake all over your face? Why you sing of course!



I've uploaded some more pictures onto Facebook. Oh yeah, have you heard of Facebook? It's one of the latest social networking sites that my brother has conned me into using. He gives me these empty promises of updates and pictures of his kids and then leaves me alone with a page full of comments from his youth group. The thing that ticks me off about the whole thing is that I've had a site for years with tons of pictures on it. About 6 years ago I built a web server at home out of my Xbox so I could sneak music into work. I was going to use another PC but the Xbox was just sitting there... begging for Linux. Anyway, I've since moved the server to a pretty beefy Terabyte server... which I use to sneak music into work. I work for the gov't and they don't get down with the thumb drives... or MP3 players... or any media for that matter. I can bring in store bought CD's and the day I buy one... I'll bring it in.

Anyway, I gave my whole fam the password for the site and they can see all of our family adventures... which they don't. I know this because I log access... you know, tech wienie stuff. So when my brother tells me of this new site that will allow us to share pictues... well, you get the idea.

All in all it was a good weekend. Joy and I rounded it out by buying some trees for the yard and spending way too much money at Garden Ridge. So everything was going well, and then the Jehovah Witnesses came by. Man, that sounds like the start of a joke or something.

We get a lot of people trying to sell a lot of stuff around my neighborhood. I put up a no soliciting sign but thanks to the awesome education system here in Texas that just means I spend as much time explaining what no soliciting means as I used to spend explaining that I don't need a new whatever it is... even if you're giving a free demo. I think that Jehovah's Witnesses are immune to no soliciting signs anyway. I didn't really have time to chat so I just asked if they believed in intelligent design... (one of them said no and the other said yes) and then I asked if there really is a rhythm or reason to our creation then why do we expel compressed air from our rear ends. Anywhere else and it would go un-noticed... our ears, through pores in our feet, from our belly buttons... but we squeeze it out from these two pressed hams so it sounds like this. Why?

Not my best argument... but it perplexed them long enough for me to close the door. Besides, I just got Halo 3 and I had to check it out. You know... no time for religion when there's vidier gaming to be done!

Educational television doesn't work

Everyone has a vice. Most people have more than one. One of mine is South Park. Now, I'm not saying it's all good but I watch it whenever I can.



Last night they had an episode where the Internet goes down... and hilarity ensues. It was pretty funny because I often run into people who think that the internet is a 'thing'. I did have someone ask me once if I could 'put the internet on a disk so they can have it at their house.' I'm not even kidding about that.

Anyway, it turns out that the Internet is run by one giant router... it looked like a Linksys. After the military tries to reason with the router by playing the sounds from Close Encounters, they fix it by unplugging it and then pugging it back in. So Joy and I laughed and then she went to work and I went to bed. Joy works at home but at night. Then, around 3 am, Joy wakes me up because our internet connection was down, which she needs to work. Sure enough, I unplug the cable modem and then plug it back in. She asked me what I did to fix it and I think I mumbled South Park and went to bed. See what I mean? Also, I watch Good Eats on the Food Network and I can't cook my way out of a wet paper bag!

Joy and I also started Netflix. So far it's pretty good... except that we decided to rent War. Here's a brief synopsis:

Some stuff happens... there's a horse. Jason Statham gets attacked by axes for the hundredth time. FBI agents have a license to kill.. and use it... throughout the movie... and nobody cares. Jet Li kicks people. Oh... every Asian in LA carries a samurai sword (my personal fav) ... then there's this big shootout and the end sucks.

It was a pretty crappy movie... better than Transporter though. Honestly, most movies of late are pretty crappy anyway.

Lastly, I've been watching House. Now, I'm not a TV guy and I really have a hard time staying interested in any shows these days but House has got me hooked for the time being. I think that the writing is pretty intelligent and I like where the story's going.

I can really relate to the main character, a socio-path that everyone tolerates because of his brilliance. Man, if he was managing a 2003 environment instead of being a doctor it'd be my life! Anyway, It's good ju-ju. Check it out.

I think I'm going to check the dark corners of the Interweb for seasons one and two... I mean, I am going to go to Best Buy and purchase this fine program with my hard earned money.... because P2P is the devil.

The Poteet Strawberry Festival

Today I had to mow my lawn... and I mean I really had to mow my lawn.



So we went to the Strawberry Fest in Poteet instead. Hayden gets another week with the 'jungle' in the backyard.

Poteet is a little town that is literally in the middle of nowhere. We're talking redneck, banjo playing, NASCAR loving nowhere. Luckily the GPS is good at finding nowhere so we were on our way.

The Festival was great. They had some good rides that were really expensive and some great food that was pretty cheap. As soon as we walked in a carny started his schpeal about me winning something for my kids. I was going to avoid it but Joy decided to take his side.

Guy 'Step right up, you can't loose'
Me "No thanks'
Joy 'He said you can't loose... and Hayden really needs a $2 bear.'

So $15.00 later we got a bear for Hayden.


We went of a coule of rides which gave us a great view of all the things we could do.


I personally came for the food and I was not disappointed. The smokers were out in full force and I grabbed a brisket fajita and a BBQ sandwich that were both awesome!


Unfortunately I couldn't debase myself enough to buy the hot beef sundae.


What was that? San Antonio is one of the fattest cities in the US? No... I don't believe it.

Of course we had some strawberries. We had strawberry ice cream, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry wine coolers (just me and Joy) and we ended up buying 6 pints of fresh strawberries, which we pretty much ate on the way home.


All in all it was a good time. We came home with full stomachs and sticky fingers and all took a nap... except for Hayden who still had energy somehow. That's my boy!

Some geek goodness

Here's a cool little snap-in for Firefox. It's called Adblock Plus and it'll get rid of all those annoying ads on your favorite sites. It's pretty easy to use. Here is a pic with no adblock and we get a nice little "you need a new car!" ad from Jeep.



After I do some ad blocking on it that add disappears.




Pretty nice huh. I don't know about you but some of those ads drive me crazy... especially the ones that talk or make noise.

If you get a sec check out Marc Broussard. He sings this song called home and it's my current favorite.



I really dig the southern soul sound of it. Do people still say dig? Well, I dig it. Man... I used to be with it, then what I was with wasn't it anymore... and what was it seemed strange and scary to me. It'll happen to you someday, mark my words!

There is also Appleseed Ex Machina which I just saw.



It's the sequel to Appleseed which a really cool Anime flick. Now, I'm not a big Anime guy but this is definitely worth checking out. The original is better but this is really worth a watch.


Lastly is Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. This is an old game that came out in 2003 but I still play it all the time. I've probably reloaded it a hundred times on my PC just to get that light saber itch out of my system. Anyway, these guys at Knights of the Force made a mod for the game that puts in players and maps for all the movies. It's pretty awesome. They've been at it for a while and most of the bugs are fixed. It's just a really cool mod for easily the best Star Wars game to date. You gotta try it. What can be better than a light saber battle? A DUAL light saber battle!



Ok... geek hat off.

(note* we're taking the kids to Austin this weekend so I should have some good family pics to share)

Quoth the raven...

There he stood, like a bone weary soldier on a scared battle field with nothing left but grim determination in his eyes. He found himself in a position that he had spent each day fearing, yet constantly preparing for. An inevitable situation that as much as it was dreadful was also the very thing that gave him a reason for existence. He was stuck in an ironic situation where he hated where he was and the task ahead of him yet he knew that without the task he would be without meaning, without purpose. It was with that mindset that he stood and stared at the amber light blinking methodically back at him. The light that gave no answers, no clue as to why it was there or how it came to be. Yet as the light kept so much shrouded in mystery it give one silent statement with every repetition of its incandescence… something was defiantly wrong.

Yeah, so one of my servers went down today. Good times. I got it fixed... after 5 hours or so. There goes my 5 9's. In other news, Microsoft may try to steal Nintendo's idea for the Wii remote.




I am personally shocked and appalled. To think that Microsoft would blatantly rip off another company's idea and then sell it as their own is just horrible.... oh wait. I wonder if they give out prizes at their company picnics to the biggest cooperate thief.

Check this out, Florida lawmakers make it legal to take your gun to work.

Man, that'll spice up Disney World a little!




Lastly, if you don't have kids I hope you don't know about the Wonder Pets. It's one of Hayden & Serenity's favorite. The duck runs around saying "This is serious!" pretty much every episode, so now it's Hayden's new catch phrase.

Me - 'Hayden, clean your room now!'
Hayden - 'This is serious!'

Here, check out an episode yourself. I think they're trying to save Canada from universal health care... or mounties or something.

Time to go to work...

Well it's time to hit the road for another day at the office. With gas prices being what they are that city bus keeps looking better every day. Lets take a look at how Japan does it.



On second thought... I'll just pay the extra money for gas. Ah Japan... the world leader in weird crap since 1956.

Then there was the one about the guy who punched a police horse in the ass... no seriously... read it here. I'm thinking alcohol may have been involved. This is why we should legalize marijuana. If he was high he would have just tried to feed the horse candy... which is all good as long as the horse isn't diabetic.

Lastly we have another suit against Google and it's street view service. The Boring family (not making that one up) wants to sue because you can see their swimming pool in the Google pictures of their street. It's funny because these suits have already been tried and failed. Google has a team of lawyers that where genetically engineered using DNA samples taken from Johnny Cochran and common New York sewer rats. That created lawyers with the skill of Cochran who have a little more moral value. Yep, I think all the Borings are going to get out of this is a nice bill for their lawyers retainer fee.

Everbody say hurl!

heh.

Are you sitting down...Hillary Clinton may be lying!

Hillary lies about pregnant womans medical tragedy to garner support for her health care plan.


Here she is telling a story about the time she invented the Internet. (wait... didn't someone already use that one? Gore - 'During my service in the United States Congress, I took the initiative in creating the Internet.' yep... he said it!)

In other news, America is riding the stupid train to hell... and apparently that train stops in fats-ville

Woman sues McDonalds for getting fat while employed there for 7 years

I don't know if this one is true, but I hope she wins millions... why not. The suit claims that the 'air' in the restaurant has 'fat particles' that are absorbed through the skin. So, I'm guessing she never ate there. Yep, that case is bullet proof! Maybe I can sue my work for being surrounded by stupid particles. Oh well, that's the life of a Sys Ad. It's kind of like herding drunken monkeys, except with more poo flinging.

And with that I leave you with the German Coast Guard commercial. Like my Russian teacher used to say "Vat is this flying squirrel you speak of?" Ah... nevermind.

Who invented fire ants anyway?

Since I bought our house I've been entrenched in a battle with the lawn. Where I grew up we always had a lush green lawn that was perfect for football or wrestling... but that wasn't in San Antonio. Here I have a lumpy dry lawn full of prickers and rocks... and most recently fire ants. We have a service that is suppose to take care of pests but I guess they missed some. Luckily the little bastards only got me. So now I have about 15 red bites all over my feet and they'll probably hurt for awhile. Just another wonderful addition to living here. Man, I can't wait to move!

Besides getting bit, I took the kids shopping. We try to go later at night to avoid the crowds which means Hayden is usually out of it by the time we finish.


I also got the chance to swing by the mall and get a look of their cool new Segway security team. It's funny because the lady on the thing was 100 years old. I was just dying for someone to do something stupid so I can see them give chase on the Segways. I wonder if they make siren sounds when they go. Not the Segways... the old people.

It's also Final Four time here, which means Joy is working some ungodly hours at the stupid hotel this week. I really hate that place and cannot wait for her to quit... if she ever does! I did get to see a live broadcast of Sports Center though.


I tired to get my buddy to swim naked behind the set but he was a little chicken and wouldn't do it. I would of but I had just had lunch and didn't want to cramp up. Other than that it's the same old same old around here... I'm suppose to be cleaning now that the kids are in bed, but I'll probably just hit the hay. It's like my dad always said... "You'll have time to clean when your dead!" It might have been "You better clean this time or your dead!" Either way, I'm going to sleep!

Sen Obama's speech on race

Read the transcript here

If you haven't read it yet, maybe you should. I'm not saying that I support any of the candidates but, I think that this speech was a rare thing. I think we saw a politician be honest. There were some things that I didn't agree with but some things really hit home. As a white male who has worked for everything I have, I think that Sen Obama has a very good grasp on what worries my demographic when it comes to race. I think the fear of having my family suffer to support another family is a real one. But, (there's always a but) as much as I think Sen Obama has a good grasp on the problem I disagree with his optimism of the American people... or of people in general. He talked about working to allow people to help themselves. It's a conservative stance and I really like that idea but then he went onto say that most people want what is good for their family and will work towards that end. I think some people want what's good for their family and will strive to achieve a better standard for their family then they had themselves. I also think most people are lazy sacks of crap that would lean on Uncle Sam's dime until the second coming.

A long time ago I asked my mom a question that still nags me to this day. Why are there 35 yr olds working the drive through at McDonalds? The ideological answer might be that everyone has their demons to face and these people hit a rough patch and are going to work their way to a better life. That they know the minimum wage isn't a living wage and they are striving to a better tomorrow. The truth is that some people are happy being sacks of crap. When I asked my mom this she gave me a piece of info that I have found true over and over again.

80/20

It goes something like this. 80% of the people you meet are lazy poop bags and will be content just making it through life. 20% will work hard and achieve. So, 80% 'bad' 20% good. 80% of the parents of your childs classmates will not go to PTA meetings, meet with teachers or investigate their child's progress. 20% will. Also, 20% of America owns 80% of the stuff, and 80% owns 20% of the stuff. I've heard this from a good amount of people since then and it usually fits in most situations.

So I have a quandary... a quagmire of logic if you will, I like small government. I love this crazy idea of state sovereignty and a federal government that is in charge of a standing military, regulating currency and managing trade between states and internationally and that is it. If Arizona wants to make marring a horse legal then its ok. If Alaska wants to regulate marijuana sales then so be it. Small government... get out of my life, get out of my wallet.

On the other hand I feel that if left to their own devices most people would simply self destruct. I really do feel that some people are too stupid to govern themselves. I would love to have a law that states that a parent must meet with their students teacher three times to discuss their students progress every year or that student does not complete that grade. I would love to force idiot kids to pull up their pants. I would think it would be great to take all the cars that have stereos over a certain decibel and have them incinerated. Yep, there's a part of me that wants the 1984 - big brother, we have a camera in your house so do your exercises and you better mow your lawn, government. As long as they don't have any laws that infringe on my rights. Funny how that works huh.

So, in conclusion... I feel that we are coming close to a time that your level of achievement is based by a far majority on your ability and work ethic then it is on your race. I think that the major problems in this country are perpetuated and often created by our media. I do not think that the government should have the authority to tell us what can be broadcast on TV but I also have no faith that anyone in any of the media would stand up against the crap they are shelling out at the risk of even a minor pay cut. Honestly, I think MTV has done more to ruin this country then anything else. BTW... the television station that tells you what cool is and how to wear your pants is run by old white people and you're making them rich.