Merry Christmas!

I've heard the facts on Christmas. I don't care.

Many of the traditions of Christmas may have been 'pagan' traditions, but it just showed what the Church was willing to do to try to get the bigger message across.

The Holy Church knew it had to adapt to the enviroment. It was Darwinism at it's most basic. Find out what the local beliefs are and use them to convince people that 'our God is the same God as your God . . . but better' (ok, I exaggerated a little).

I don't agree with the whole matter, but I kinda' understand why it was done.

I will admit that I'm not a practicing Catholic, but I have my reasons. Some of it is pretty obvious from my previous statements.

The whole point of this post is to state that the season of Christmas is meant to remind us that the Lord Jesus was born during some hard times, and that Mary and Joseph made sure that Jesus was safe and comfortable. In other words, Christmas is a time for family.

It is a time to give of yourself if you haven't already. Almost a kinda' like a time to redeem yourself for what you may have not done for others yet.

You don't have to go out and buy gifts for others. If you do, buy the gifts for the kids! Spend time with family and friends.

Now, I'm not sure what other religions do, but I do know that other important Holy Days occur for those other religions at this time of the season. I'm pretty sure a lot of it is about family and God as well.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Peace, love and God bless you all!

GD

Yeah, I'm a blog thief.

Taking a cue from Erin, I took the following test:

You are Agnostic

You're not sure if God exists, and you don't care. For you, there's no true way to figure out the divine. You rather focus on what you can control - your own life. And you tend to resent when others "sell" religion to you.

What's Your Religious Philosophy?

I answered the questions honestly, and the test was still wrong . . . on one point.
I know God exists and I do care (at least for myself).

The rest of it is true.

GD

The Birthday Massacre . . . Kick Ass!!!

So as I'm having to fill in for one of my vacationing employees, I've got the computer free and I decide to load up Pandora.com. It's a pretty nifty music website that kinda streams music (to your hard drive, not RAM) of a whatever style of music you feel like listening to (ie: type in a band you like, similar music plays).

Anyway to the point of the title . . . so I load up Pandora and there is nothing on my list that I really feel like listening to, so I type in Voices Carry by Til Tuesday. One song loads up and it ok, and few more play until it hits Nevermind by Birthday Massacre. Wow, I thought it was a band from the 80's, but I'd never heard of them.

They're not. They formed in this century as Imagica for a few years, had a change in members between then and The Birthday Massacre and BAM! Badass music.

This happened this afternoon and I've already ordered the Violet album and I'm on the hunt for the Nothing Nowhere album.

Check out the following website, it has a couple of clips from Violet. Let me know what you think!

Oh, and the clips don't really do the music justice. The other songs I heard really do sound like they're from the 80's! The clips aren't bad though.

Metropolis Records: The Birthday Massacre

GD

I feel dated now . . . <: (

Stolen: Meme #15

I've stolen another meme from Erin. Thank you Erin!

Meme #15

Would you rather:

Have a head that looks like a lollipop OR hands that are three times their normal size? Hands! Imagine the possibilities. It's just more likely you'll get caught!
Have sweat that smells like bacon OR like a flowery air freshener?
Hm. Tough one. I'd have to go with the air freshener
Tell your deepest sexual desire to a complete stranger once a day OR clap your hands in a highschool cheerleader style everytime somebody says "OK"?
Clap, and I'd move to Zimbabwe or something.
Dress like elvis at formal functions OR dance like him?
Too easy, I'd dress like Elvis. He had his moments of lucidity.

And to end on a lighter note . . . after two years, we finally received our raises! Woo hoo!!!

GD

Yes, I am a gamer . . .

. . . and I found something I thought was funny seeing as how it applies to me. I don't really game online or anything, I mainly do the console thing (xbox, ps2, gamecube). Let me know what you think.

Here is the actual link to the site that has the article:
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000733067601/

and here is the article:
29 no-nos for gamers over age 30

Posted Nov 11, 2005, 9:57 AM ET by Vladimir Cole
Related entries: Culture

The ESA says that the average gamer is 30 years old. It’s time that those of us who are 30 or older realize that some of the things we grew up doing as gamers are no longer really appropriate, cool, or kosher given our new demographic bucket. Here, then, is a helpful guide to 28 things a gamer should never do past the age of 30.

1. Participate in LAN parties with minors
2. Quit your job to pursue a pro-gaming career
3. Start a Star Wars themed PC case mod in the living room
4. Ever use the jargon OMG, BBQ and WTF together in the same phrase
5. Pirate games - shouldn’t you have an income by now?
6. Find the idea of teamkilling funny
7. Choose a female avatar so that you can try to upskirt her
8. Refuse to play games that are rated lower than mature
9. Tea-bag a downed opponent in Halo 2
10. Play any game with Princess Toadstool in it
11. Choose a gamer handle including any form of the words “hell,” “killer,” “death,” or ”-inator”
12. Yell “pwnt” in a public virtual space
13. Play a female character in an MMOG in order to troll for “Crying Game” victims
14. Disconnect when losing at Starcraft or any other RTS
15. Ninja loot
16. Get your gaming news from a print publication
17. Replace the letter S with a dollar sign when writing Microsoft, Sony, or PlayStation
18. Live in your parents’ basement to support a gaming habit
19. Break mice in a fit of rage after being served in an FPS game
20. Try to win an argument in a gaming forum
21. Pretend that movies like Doom and Tomb Raider are anything but crap
22. Carry softcore anime porn on your PSP to show the guys at work
23. Hadoken someone as a greeting, complete with hand motions and sound effects
24. Play competitively against anyone under the age of 10
25. Read or write fanfiction
26. Yell or type, “Laggg” when losing an online game
27. Bogart the controller
28. Work at GameStop “just for the discount”
29. Type liek JeffK

My version of Meme #13

I'm lazy (anything different?) and I'm gonna answer Erins Meme #13.

1. How many times a day do you wash your hands? Before I walk out of the restroom and everytime I mess around with mushrooms and mushroom related products. Pretty much means prun(e)y hands.
2. How often do you get the flu that's going around? Flu . . . been a couple years
3. How often are you really "sick" when you take a sick day? Whenever I'm "sick and tired" of work.
4. Who would you like to see in a cage match? Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh
5. Name 3 things you absolutely love: Tesla (my car), Baby (matriarch of my chihuahuas), and an engrossing book.
6. If you had to give 2 of them up which would they be (and why)? Telsa and the book, because nobody puts Baby in the corner (sorry).
7. Name 3 things you absolutely loathe: Annoying dogs and night, annoying cats at night, and a really fucked up ending of what was a really good book (read Snowcrash, Neal Stephanson)!
8. What is your all time favorite memory EVER? You want me to think that far back?!
9. What is the one thing that happened in high school that would make you avoid your class reunion? This is a stupid question!
10. What is your dream job, no matter how untrained you might be or unrealistic and bizarre it might be? Being Alan Moore!
11. If you could write yourself into any tv show, which show and how would you do it? I'm gonna be a typical guy and say Las Vegas. I would be the only guy to make Sam Marquez (Vanessa Marcils' character) fall in love. God I'm such a dork!
12. If you could replace anyone on a tv show, who would you choose to replace on what show and why? The James Caan character (Ed Deline) on Las Vegas. Hey, he's a badass!

Meme repost . . .

I figured since I put all that time into it, I might as well repost my answers to Erins Meme thing. Get ready to do some readin'!

1. What is your occupation?
Analytical Supervisor / Research Assistant
2. What color is your underwear?
White (and blue).
3. What are you listening to right now?
My typing.
4. What was the last thing you ate?
Oatmeal.
5. Do you wish on stars?
Nope.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Green.
7. How is the weather right now?
Flippin' cold and cloudy
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Hey, I'm just visiting. And yeah.
9. What happened to question 9?
It was written.
10. How old are you?
32, and happy birthday erin!
11. Favorite drink?
Non-alc: OJ, Alc: Beer
12. Favorite sport to watch?
Hockey and baseball.
13. Have you ever dyed your hair?
What?! Am I a chick (no offense)!
14. Do you wear contacts or glasses?
Contacts out and about, glasses at home.
15. Pets?
Dags-Chihuahuas: Baby, Chiquita, Gorda, Pee-wee, Princess (in that order)
16. Favorite month?
June (not birthday month like some people).
17. Favorite food?
Chicken w/rice.
18. What was the last movie you watched?
High Tension (gory and fun).
19. Favorite day of the year?
July 4th!
20.What do you do to vent anger?
Draw, read and walk (not in that order)
21.What was your favorite toy as a child?
Believe it or not, my imagination!
22. Fall or Spring?
Spring!
23. Hugs or kisses?
Too touchy feely!
24. Cherry or Blueberry?
Cherry.
25. Do you want your friends to email you back?
Sometimes, if necessary.
26. Who is least likely to respond?
My mother, she'll call.
27. Who is most likely to respond?
My brother, always online (Birthday today - 10/27).
28. Living arrangements?
House, rent.
29. When was the last time you cried?
???
30. What is on the floor of your closet?
Boxes of books.
31. Who is the friend you have had the longest?
Huerta, since high school.
32. What did you do last night?
Hung out with little bro'.
34. What inspires you?
Too much.
35. What are you afraid of?
Pain.
36. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers?
All of the above.
37. Favorite car?
Maclaren SLR!
38. Favorite dog breed? Irish wolfhound (agreed!)
39. Number of keys on your key ring?
Several keyrings, max of 4 on one.
40. How many years at your current job?
8 years.
41. Favorite day of the week?
Duh, Friday.
42. How many states have you lived in?
Two
43. How many cities have you lived in?
Two
44. Song that lifts your spirits?
Lots!
45. Alternate career choice?
Writer for Cartoon Network!
46. Who made you laugh 'hard' recently?
My brother.
47. Sunrise or sunset?
Sunset.
48. What book are you reading now, or what was the last book you read?
Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
49. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Doing my bosses job!
50. What is the most surprising answer above?
The Irish Wolfhound.

It's almost Friday!

\Bike update
I can't seem to get the geometry right on the frame I'm building. Everything works out great until I'm about 3/4 of the way through. I've gotta figure out what's wrong. It's a good thing I haven't started on the expensive material yet. I've been using spare bike frames and such. The last frame I almost finished, then it went horribly wrong. It was just a small little error that seemed to multiply exponentially. The next frame should be completed now that I know where all the little problem areas are. Wish me luck.
\Bike update

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a new cell phone. My two year contract with Verizon was up and I needed to upgrade my plan and phone. I liked my Motorola C343 but it was beginning to crap out on me. After doing some research to find the best phone available that I could play with (i.e. hack) and not break the bank, I decided on the Motorola e815.

The e815 through Verizon is hobbled. You have Bluetooth, but you can only use for wireless headsets. You can transfer files to your computer, as long as it's only contacts and dates. I wanted it to be completely open to me, so I found some websites and links to get the software I needed to break the e815 and make it whole again.

After some nervous hacking, I am now able to transfer files wirelessly, play my music and videos on it and store files on it. The amazing thing to me is that it comes with 40mb of onboard memory. And you can pick up a transflash card to expand it's storage capacity. By January of '06, you'll be able to intall 1gb of memory into the phone. I've got a 256mb card in it right now, I'll be picking up the 1giger early next year.

Luv my phone!

GD

It's Friday!

I am outta here in 25 minutes! I am planning to enjoy a couple of beers and take care of my yard this weekend.

Maybe have a small barbecue.

I just want to rest. Get some sleep.

I'll probably finish building my work table tomorrow. Not much left to it. Just the legs.

My first prototype bike looks ok. It appears solid. I need to improve my welds a bit. Otherwise the bike is solid. It won't be coming apart on me any time soon. I may post pictures up Monday. We'll see.

Everyone, have a good weekend. I may post from home.

GD

p.s.
you may be seeing a better looking portabello mushroom in stores pretty soon. all from monterey mushrooms.

Smurfs . . .

This morning while getting ready for work, I was watching the Daily Buzz. The Daily Buzz is a morning show that's actually funny at times. Anyway, one of the topics was . . . Smurfageddon!

Yeah, exactly!

Apparently Unicef has a commercial in Belgium where the Smurfs are bombed. Read the article.

So while trying to find the download for the commercial, I found some other things as well.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm tolerant of other peoples beliefs. I didn't write this up, but I've heard of similar things from other JW's. I remember hearing about this when I was a kid. The Smurf tie-in is in the last five or six paragraphs of the 'rant'.

JW/Smurf Rant

Let me know what you think. Have you heard of this too?

GD

. . .

So! For the second time in as many weeks, I've burnt my index finger and thumb. And by the same instrument even! You see, I manage and supervise a compost analysis lab. One of the instruments that we use analyzes nitrogen. Basically there is oven that is at 950 degrees C.

I didn't get burned by that. I got burnt by another part of the machine that uses a catalyst tube that is usually at 750 degrees C. Fortunately for me it had been removed about 5 minutes prior to me grabbing it to clean it out.

The tube was "cool" enough to just get the skin to near blistering. Because of my many experiences with major burns ( I used to work in a pizza place) I immediately doused my fingers in cold water. As luck would have it, the water was near freezing. Painful, but not as painful if I'd just left it alone.

After about four or five minutes in the freezing running water, I turned it off and checked out the damage. You couldn't see the damage yet, but I could feel it.

The pain was excruciating for about 15 seconds, and then it was fine. I applied some burn ointment and bandaged them up. I'm typed this up with the burnt digits, no problem. Just a slight ache. By tonight, the damage will become visible. I won't be able to feel things too well with them for a while, but that's not too bad.

Like I said earlier, this was the second burn in as many weeks. A couple of weeks ago, I burnt the same digits with the same type of tube. That time though it was completely my fault. And it was a stupid way of doing it.

Not to get into specifics, but I knew what I was doing, knew what was going to happen if I didn't stop my hand from grabbing the tube. But my hand was possessed and it was insistent on finding out if a cold looking piece of quartz tubing was really hot. That burn hurt a lot more.

GD

Speakin' of Birthdays . . .

My birthday was a couple of weeks ago, August 31st. What'd I do? I went to work. My birthdays are mine alone. I don't want anybody making a fuss. I have my reasons and if I were to explain them, you'd wish I'd kept my mouth shut.

Suffice to say, when my friends become aware of my birthday, all hell breaks loose. I don't know who told them but I really regretted it the day after. Let me tell you the story:

My birthday was on a Wednesday. Somewhere between then and Friday, my friends remembered and I paid for it. I had just got home from work that night. It had been a long day and I didn't leave work until after 6:30pm. I picked up something lite to eat and I had planned just watching a bit of tv and begin reading Neal Stephensons' Quicksliver. It's a book I've had for a while and I'd been meaning to get to.

I never had a chance.

I had just opened the door when one of my friends showed up and said we were going to get some pizza and beer at the local Round Table. It's the only RT that makes their pizza right! It sounded good at the time. When we show up, there's one of my cousins and two other friends waiting. We have our pizza and beer have a good time. Someone mentions it was my birthday and everyone feigns surprise and say we gotta do something. I tell them I just want to relax and read my damn book and get up to go to the restroom. By the time I get back, it's been decided that we are going to The Penny Farthing, a british pub. It's a great place when you want to relax. I just didn't feel like relaxing the same way my buddies wanted to.

From that point on, things get a little blurry. I remember having a couple of beers first then a Kickin' Chikin', another beer, a couple of expensive tequila shots me stumbling to the restroom and everyone finally deciding we should leave. Everyone but me, I was waaaayyyy to buzzed/drunk to voice an opinion.

My cousin receives a call on his cell and informs everyone there is a party we were just invited to. I was conscious enough to realize what that would mean. I'd be fucked. I had hit the wall ages ago and if I went to that party, the wall would be bashed and broken through. No amount of water was gonna flush all that alcohol away.

I think I remember saying, "Let's GO!!!"

My cousin informed everyone it was my birthday once we hit the party and somebody said "Happy Birthday" and handed me two warm screwdrivers. I pounded them.

That's all I remember.

I asked what happened after that. I've heard that I'd had two beers a few more screwdrivers . . . and then the stories get a little crazier. Stuff I know I would never do (fighting, manhandling and disrespecting women . . .). If any of that had occured, I wouldn't have left that part without some bodily injury.

I remember getting home, and having to toss my cookies once. When I woke up around 7am, I found a couple of under-shirts that had been used to puke in. Those went in the garbage immediately. I was feeling ok then. After throwing the shirts out, I went back to my room. Oh . . . my . . .

My room smelled of alcohol. It smelled like somebody had just sprayed alcohol everywhere and it would never dry. It was horrible. That's when the joys of metabolic alkalosis began.

When it started, I was pukin' about every fifteen minutes. I tried holding my breath to balance my bodies' pH level. It wasn't helping. I was really screwed up. The every fifteen minute thing went on for a couple of hours. It then went to every half-hour. I would get some water down and feel ok for a bit but it would all come out in the first heave. I'd be dry-heaving after that. My stomach would lock up in a heave and nothing would come out. It . . . really . . . sucked.

At some point it finally got to an hour between chunking and then it stopped. I was in my recliner at 1pm, not moving. I didn't want to risk another onslaught. I stayed that way for a couple of hours, but I was beginning to feel really hungry. By around 3pm I got some chicken soup down. By later that evening, I was eating all kinds of food.

It usually takes me days, if not weeks, to get over something like that. That was the worst I've ever had a hangover. By Sunday, it was like I hadn't done anything all weekend. I even had a couple of beers. And I enjoyed them.

I never want to do that again.

GD

Another . . . Bike update!

So . . . last week before leaving for my trip I went to visit the local big box store where I had requested some prices for chromoly metal tubing to be used for the bike I want to build. It turns out that they cannot get a hold of the tubing.

I am going to have to find a local metal shop and find out if they can get a hold of some for me. I don't need much, but chromoly is mainly used for bicycles and for airplane building. Not that many homebuilders in this part of the world apparently. But I hear that some people use the chromoly to make roll bars for cars. There are plenty of car homebuilders in the area so I still may be lucky enough to find a shop.

For now though, I will be building an original GroundHugger (look it up). It's a pretty neat lookin' bike. It's what originally got me interested in building my own recumbent! I finally got ahold of some of the original plans from the Popular Mechanics magazine (Build PM's GroundHugger, April 1969). Not a lot of info, but the dimensions are on there and so is some of the important information needed on what parts to get. Boy that was a pain to find because a lot of the local libraries don't carry magazines that far back. I had to have them photocopied from the Naval Post-Graduate School here in Monterey.

In the article it says you can build your own rear wheel stays but it also says if you have access to an old bike, use those. So I started shopping around for beat up cruiser style bikes all over the place.

No luck!

That is until yesterday! My cousin needed a computer moniter for his pc because the one he had been using up and died on him. Well I happen to have access to a bunch that will never be used again, but still work. I grabbed a couple of them and took them to his place. He lives with his fiancee and her dad. Once there I find out that her dad is an avid bicycle collector (sort of). I told him my dilemma and he said we could trade! I had already brought the moniter over so he let me have a cruiser frame he had sitting around! KICK-ASS!!!

I now have my rear wheel stays for the GroundHugger and I believe I have the main tubing sitting in my back-yard right now from one of those attach-a-tandem kid bike thingies you can get so you can take a kid around on a half-a-bike attached to yours. I think it'll be perfect. All I gotta do is bend it. I'll have access to a torch this weekend. I'll bend it then and thus, the building will begin!

GD

Sooooo . . .

Last Thursday my parents, brother, Issac (brothers friend) and I went down to Chula Vista to visit my sister who I recently wrote about having her baby. My dad didn't have a chance to go the last time so we planned the trip for this weekend.

It was a good time. Thursday, we arrived at Universal Studios and stayed there for a while. We left about 4pm and then we drove down to Chula Vista. It wasn't horribly bad, but it was trafficky. It took us a while to get there.

Friday, my parents crossed the border to TJ to visit my sister and David (my bro'), Issac and I drove around the area and found a mall. We walked around, checking out the chicas until it got a boring and went to see a movie.

The Skeleton Key is pretty good. I thought it was gonna be crap, but it was alright. We went back to the hotel and crashed for a couple of hours. The day before had been a long day. We were still tired.

At some point somebody was knocking on the door. It was my sister! And the baby! I've said it before, newborns are UUUUgly. Not this one. Somehow this baby dodged the ugly stick. My sister had brought my parents back through some short-cut that she knows about and they cleared the border in 20 minutes.

She hung out a while and then my mom and my sis' took off to do some shopping. My mom didn't get back until after 10pm.

Saturday we didn't wake up until somtime after 10am. We all got ready and decided to go check out this place called Horton Plaza. I have an uncle who won't stop harping about it, so we went to check it out.

Horton Plaza is a three story outdoor mall. Of course it works in San Diego because it hardly every rains there ( I guess). It's almost crescent shaped and it has a big movie theater there as well. As far as malls go, it's a'ight.

What we should have done is check out the Gas Lamp district. To me, that was more interesting. We left there and on the way back to Chula Vista everyone wanted to go see a movie. David, Issac and I recommended to my parents, The Skeleton Key. It's the kind of movie they like. Since my crew had already seen that one, we decided on The 40 Year Old Virgin. That one is a must-see. Go now. Skip work and go now!!!

After the movies, it was getting late. We bought a couple of pizzas and went back to the hotel and spent the night watching Cartoon Network. By-the-bye, my parent were in one room and we were in another. We went to sleep late even though we knew we had to be up at 9am at the latest.

Sunday was hellish!!! We were on the road after "breakfast" by 11:30am. From that point on, we would hit traffic all the way until after LA where all the highways and interstates merge. We weren't completely free, but it was much better than goin' 35mhp.

We didn't get home until after 8pm. I did all the driving and I went to sleep once I my bag in my room. I didn't even change.


Soooo,
See ya' tomorrow!

GD

Bike Project update

It's been a while but at least I'm posting!

I went to Home Despot last Friday to find out if they could possibly order the metal I'm going to need for the bike.

I'm still waiting on their call!

But from the sounds of things, it looks like I'll be able to get everything I need at Home Despot. Which means I can finally use their credit card for something else other than the welder I bought a year ago! Woo Hoo!!!

I'm gonna give them a call today and find out what they can tell me.

GD

Monday afternoon update!

Last Wednesday my mom got a call from my sister in the evening that the her doctor was a couple of weeks off and she was due 7/25/2005 not 8/14/2005.

I didn't find out until I got home at 7pm. I had to pack everything, call my boss and let him know I was gonna be gone for the rest of the week (privileges of management). We left Salinas at 9pm and arrived at the hospital in Chula Vista around 3:30am. Pretty good time.

I'll update more later.

GD

Yup!!

You can throw my three week plan out the window. I've gotta wait till I've learned a little more welding in the damn class!!!

GD

dammit!

Gotta do it.

This weekend I'll be heading over to the local big-box home-supply store to purchase a few items that I'll need to begin my bike project. I've got my little Lincoln MIG welder already so all I need are the parts for the bike.



Of those parts for the bike, I already have the "front" forks and the "rear forks". If you look at the picture of the bike, both of those parts are reversed. The reasoning behind this is that it'll keep from having to run a chain Aaaalllll the way back the rear wheel. If not done right, it can be a mechanical nightmare.

So like I said, big-box store for lots of metal and a couple of tools I don't have yet. Thank goodness for credit cards and no interest for a whole year (it's one of their newer promotions)! I may have to scrounge around a local metal shop to get those parts. I think I have a friend who may be able to get a hold of some of the metal I'll need.

This first bike is going to be pretty expensive. But if I play my cards right and this bike is successful, I could make a little business out of it. I've already come up with a couple of designs that could work for the local kids. And those call just for some bike frames that can be picked up at a dump for cheap, almost nothing.

This could be the start of a new career! Ok, maybe not that far . . . but in these times, a little more gas money!

GD

I can't wait!

Braaaiiiinnss!

Sorry, I'm a zombie right now. I've been up since five in the morning yesterday, with only a two-hour nap in between today and yesterday.

Let me explain . . .

I while back I had promised a cousin of mine I'd drive her to the Oakland airport today. Her plane was scheduled for a 6am flight, but she wanted to beat all the people and traffic, so we left at 1:45am!

I had let my boss know last week that I would probably not even show up today because I needed to sign up for a class, aside from the early morning trip. It was all well and good . . . until Monday.

Mondays always suck, this Monday was exceptionally sucky. We had a bunch of visitors from all over the country, all somehow tied to the company in one form or another, here at the lab. That wasn't so bad, what was bad was that I NOW had to be here early in the morning Wednesday (today) to provide a tour for some potential client interested in how we analyze . . . shit.

No, no. Don't get me wrong, that's the technical term we use to refer to compost. Ok, not really. I'm just a little upset . . . and tired . . . and mentally gone from all the questions slung at me to keep me on my toes. I tell ya, those guys knew something was up. I've had visitors before and none of them were asking such technical questions. THOSE BASTARDS WERE INTENTIONALLY . . . TRYING . . . TO TRIP ME UP!!!!!!!!

But they all suck and I shot down all their questions from the hip.

Gotta go. I still need to get to Hartnell and sign up for that welding class.

Oh! And I received that "F'Lowroller Cookbook" from Mr. Horn. Wow. He really put his love behind that instruction manual. Great instructions, excellent pictures, all bound together in a nice package! This is gonna be a fun project!

GD

Aarrrgghhh!

Have to bring it up again.

This morning was turning out to be pretty bad. All work related crap that wouldn't interest the common mushroom consumer (I work for an mushroom research facility). Suffice to say that I needed a pick me up.

A while back, I read one a blog from one of my old friends who still lives in Phoenix. He had found a blog called Stuck in Rehab with Pat O'Brien. It's one of those blogs that once you start reading, you'll be chuckling like an idiot throughout.

I decided to revisit the blog and find out if it could still pick me up.

I'll tell you what, I feel much better. And sure enough, I was still chuckling all the way through.

When you open the blog, scroll all the way to the last post and begin reading.

If you don't find it funny, you gotta see a shrink!

GD

I know I should!!!

Hmmm.

I just got an e-mail from Mr. Horn letting me know the book is on the way. I really can't wait to start building the bike. I've got registration at the local community college this Wednesday to sign up for the welding class.

I've had my welder for the last year and I haven't really used it. It's still brand new. I was Billy-Badass when I was in high school, but high school was over 13 years ago. I haven't touched a welder since then. I know better than to play with a machine capable of vaporizing metal. I remember the basics, but I wanna be safe. What's the use of building the damn bike if I can't ride it?!!

GD

can'twaitcan'twaitcan'twait

Patty, I reposted in less than five.

A little boy walks into his parents' room to see his mom on top of his dad bouncing up and down. The mom sees her son and quickly dismounts, worried about what her son has seen, she dresses quickly and goes to find him.

The son sees his mom and asks, "What were you and Dad doing?"

The mother replies "Well you know your dad has a big tummy and sometimes I have to get on top of it to help flatten it."

"You're wasting your time, " said the boy.

"Why is that?" asked his mom, puzzled.

"Well when you go shopping the lady next door comes over and gets on her knees and blows it right back up."

GD

I'll have to post some of the others I've heard.

My New Bike!

Robert Horn has a bike that I fell in love with the first time I saw it. He calls it the F'Lowroller. This is the bike I'm going to build. Just give me three months!





I've already e-mailed Mr. Horn for the plans!

GD

Here are the cats!!!

A while ago, a commentor on a blog I used to read (until she got fed up with posting new stuff) mentioned something along the lines of posting something to do with cats.

So . . . I was watching G4 tonight and they showcased a website I remember them showcasing once before. But the first time they showed it, I had no interest in it . . . UNTIL NOW!!!

The website is called Stuff On My Cat. Here is an assortment of pics from the site.
















They don't realize she knows they're piglets . . . and breakfast!















This is for you OFFICE SPACE fans!






















I used to love doing this . . . until it was done to me.



















No Perplexio! This isn't that "Kitty Porn"!


















And this is for that "awwwww" part of all our hearts.



GD

G4, where would I be without you!

Twilight time.

I don't know what this means to anybody else, but I always refer to it as the time in your sleep cycle where you're between waking and sleeping.

Anyway, I always remember the most vivid dreams at this period. My favorites are the flying dreams.

This morning I was dreaming I was Superman.

Spying on the three "evil" geeks from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Now what the hell does that say about me!

GD

Butt-Monkey

. . . . . ?

Lately at work there has been word of the possibility of shutting down the MMI-Royal Oaks facility. This is the largest mushroom farm in North America. It's huge! But because of union squabbles and quality issues, 'shut down' has been on the mind of everyone.

I'm not sure, but I think I may be safe from that. If this facility does go down, the lab will probably be moved to San Juan Bautista. The lab may be on the farm, but we're not part of the farm. The lab belongs to Amycel/Spawnmate. If the lab doesn't make it, I've got other prospects. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a job with my qualifications.

I hope.

GD

Target, here I come!

wow.

I was gonna erase that last post, but Erin posted a comment on it before I had time to reread and dump it.

Darn you Erin!!

Well, here we are the day after Independence Day. And what did I do on my extended weekend?

I went to a flea market.

I went to Los Banos and had BBQ and beer with family.

I went to antique shops all over the place and polluted the air.

I had a BBQ at my place and had a few friends over and we had a blast.

I read a book.

And finished it the next day.

Goooood boook!

It was one of the books I found at that thrift shop I mentioned a while back. It was The Cabinet of Curiosites by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. It got me curious about cabinets of curiosities or wunderkammer. They were something where amateur collectors or even scientists would display their wares.

I thought they were real cabinets. At first they were, but later the items would be so big they wouldn't fit in a cabinet. Like say an Allosaurus skull. So these collectors would make displays and call them cabinets of curiosites.

Some of these collectors would charge a fee to check out their items. These were in a sense the first museums. P.T. Barnum had a cabinet. You may have heard of it. His cabinet/museum was so popular he had to find a way to get people out. So, he had a sign made that said "This way to the Egress". All the patrons would make a beeline to the Egress and find themselves outside with no way to get back in unless they paid admission again.

Barnum was credited with saying "there a sucker born every minute". According to the Ringling Brothers website, there is no proof that he ever said that.

But you gotta admit, the Egress is pretty funny!

GD

This way to the Egress!

My views . . .

. . . on relationships.

My cousins (male- 21, female- 16) had a discussion tonight. We discussed the point of view from a male/female perspective.

I just want to say these are my views and no one elses (but I'm right).

As civilized as we think we are in this world, we are still a primitive race. Men still think with the little head and women . . . well women think with their hearts.

It's not until much later in a relationship that a man can . . . I said "can" . . . think with his heart. A man will not realize that using his heart to make a decision with his heart will be one of the most important decisions of his life.

I'm not talking about one decision. I'm talking about THE decision. Most men in my opinion (even married ones) have not made a heart-felt decision . . . ever!

I myself have made only one heart-felt decision in my life and it was THE most heart-wrenching decision in my life. The fact that I've not had another relationship in my life because of that has caused most of my family to question the fact of my sexual preferences.

I need to say it somewhere and I figure this is the best place to say it. Nobody knows who I am, and if you do . . . I don't give a fuck.

I've put up with my family thinking I was a homo (gay for you that don't know what a homo is in todays society). Even my mother thinks I may be gay.

It's been years since I've been in a relationship. I was in high school. I know that I should pursue a relationship, but I always have an excuse. Right now, my excuse it that I'm financially unfit to even consider a relationship.

I know that is not an excuse. But I use that to fortify myself from any pain that could be felt again from an emotional tear-up. I don't need that any more.

I am beginning to feel the emptiness of my emotional needs.

I've been fine all these years . . . why am I feeling these needs now?

I thought that I would be fine with having my family near me. That is not helping any more.

I see a lot of my friends with their partners and I can not hang around. I had no problem before. Is it a seasonal thing? I hope it is. I really don't need somebody in my life right now. Or maybe I do?

And the only reason I am posting this right now is that I wouldn't be doing this completely sober. I read somewhere that if I wanted to post something very personal, I should do it a little imbibed.

Yeah, I'm a little unsober. I just came home from polishing off a whole pitcher myself . . . with no food even!

GD

"I'm all fucked up"

So much for posting everyday!

Here we are.

Monday.

Vacation over.

Back at work!

Ppphhhhtt!

I didn't even get to finish the damn bike. I'm going to have to go to my local community college to take a welding course. I used to be a bad-ass at welding when I was in high school. Then again, that was about thirteen years ago. And I haven't touched a welding apparatus since that time. I burnt through three frames before throwing in the towel. It was horrible. Good thing the frames were practically free. I bought them at a last chance store for two bucks. Five frames in good condition for two bucks.

I could have put together some good bikes for the kids in the neighborhood to use.

But nooOOOoooo! I went and destroyed them all.

One of the classes available is one night a week for four and a half hours. Two credits. Not like I need them any more. But I do need a 'refresher' in welding because right now I have $500 in welding equipment that's junk until I learn how to use it.

"Classes start soon! Register Now!"

Done and done!

GD

"I am the Dog-Welder"

Vay-Kay . . . Day One

Well, guess what?

I accompanied my mom to a local thrift shop which I like to go to because they have a big selection of books that nobody buys. And I found three books which intrigued me.

Book #1 - Hominids: Volume One of the Neanderthal Parallax by Robert J. Sawyer
What's it about?
Neaderthals from a parallel universe are experimenting with quantum computers and a strange accident happens to transport a Neanderthal physicist to our universe.

Book #2 - The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
What's it about?
Scientist tell the guv'ment to sterilize all space probes before study. A satellite falls to earth and bodies are found heaped everywhere near the crash site, faces "locked in frozen surprise".

Book #3 - The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
What's it about?
A charnel pit is discovered near a famed but lost Cabinet had been hidden. 36 dismembered bodies hidden for 130 years. Who did it?


I was gonna wait to read the books but we had a little barbecue for my dad yesterday and I began reading one of the books while I 'cued.

I got so engrossed in the book that I didn't go to sleep until after 3:30am this morning.

And then I woke up again a little after 9am and finished the damn book!

I was gonna begin the prep work for the bike today. Now I'm too tired to get started!

You should pick up Hominids. It's not a simple sci-fi story. I can now understand an atheists point of view a little more. It's a good book!

I may begin Crichtons' book tomorrow.

GD

I am goin' on Vay-kay!!!

I found out today that I've maxed out my vacation accrual hours. That means I can't save up any hours any more. I'm losing them to THE MAN.

I haven't had a chance to take any time off because of the craziness of things at work. If it's not one thing, it's another!

So I've come up with a remedy! I'm taking next week OFF! And my boss said it's ok!!! That's surprising as hell!

I'll still be posting from home, though. Luv my DSL!

And it's time to build my bike. I hope to have it done by Friday. Wish me luck! I'll post pics of it when it done.

GD

WOO HOO!!!

I knew I wasn't the only fan of Futurama!

So this morning I was checking out my Digg stories and one pops up at me.

Futurama Tag Lines!

You know, at the beginning of the show where it has the title of the show and "presented by" or "presented in" blah.

Below is the link. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did/do!!!

Futurama Tag Lines!!!!

Here we are.

It's barely Tuesday morning and I'm already planning my weekend.

It's nothing really important. I just want to drive. Especially if the weather gets better. It's been a little cold in the mornings here. But it warms up all right in the afternoon. 'Bout high 70's. And that stretch of road to Chowchilla (I know, I was just there), I just set the cruise control and blast The Pixies. Woo hoo!

I think the only reason I'm lookin' forward to the weekend is that right now I feel like crap.

My ear aches, my body aches and I just want to sleep. It's not the flu, fortunately. It's seasonal allergies. My sinuses get all tore up and that in turn causes my sinuses to fight back at everything else . . . just because. I've always had this problem since I was a kid. But as a kid, you don't really mind it too much. You forget a lot of this crap. It's just as an adult that you begin realizing how much of a pain in the ass it is to have these frickin' allergies! Keeee-ryste!

Uarghh!! Sorry about that. Ranting a little. Not your fault.

Gotta go. Have to do a couple of work reviews now. Wish me luck!

GD

NEED SLEEP!

Dune . . . and related ramblings.

Years ago, when I was a kid, I remember watching a movie on a local t.v. station (KTVU) about giant worms and black leather-clad sand people. When I found out the movie was called Dune, I looked for the book in the library and read it. Keep in mind that the whole political and reglious context of the book was way over the head of any 9 year old. But for me, it was an addicting story about this far off desert planet, teleporting spaceships and warring families.

When I finally was in high school and had learned a little more about life and such, I picked up the book and re-read the story with new eyes. Wow! There is a lot going on in that book I hadn't realized was there! I searched and found the other books Herbert had written in the Dune series. I always trip out on the subtleties of the story.

When Frank Herberts son, Brian, began co-authoring the newer Dune books with Kevin J. Anderson, the story was there . . . but not the smaller hidden details that Frank put into it. When Frank wrote the main story, the other part of the story was subliminal. Where Frank was using a quill, Brian and Kevin were using charcoal. The story was interesting because it was bold and in your face, but it didn't make you think.

I'd like to believe what Brian and Kevin have said. That they are using the notes Frank left behind to complete the Dune series, but I really don't know. I do gotta say though, the prequels have been really good.

The only reason I'm even writing about this is that there is a new re-release of the David Lynch / Alan Smithee version of Dune coming out soon and I think you should know about it. It should have been out this month, but there have been delays for one reason or another. One of them being that Lynch may actually be involved with this release somehow. That would be awsome simply because that movie is soooooo gooooood!

The movie, for the most part, is written for the person familiar with the Dune books . . . or a David Lynch fan! The soundtrack is incredible considering that Toto performs it. Do you know who Toto is? Ha! See? Anyway, the music is awesome, the visuals are incredible and it all complements itself so well.

Another reason I'm looking forward to it is that this is supposed to be the longer version of Dune that was shown when I was a kid. The version that made me pick up the book in the first place. The one scene that I always remember that isn't on any official version of the movie, is how the "Water Of Life" is milked out of a baby Arrakeen worm. Sure you can buy a bootleg of that version, but it'll look and sound like crap. I want a pristine version with all the bells and whistles!

I know that there is a six-hour version out there. But trust me . . . nobody wants to see a six-hour David Lynch movie. Don't get me wrong, David Lynch kick some major booty. But anybody . . . ANYBODY . . . watching six hours of David Lynch movies has some serious psychological problems that must be seen to. You either have problems or you will have problems after that much time with Mr. Lynch.

Well, I think that's enough rambling . . . until next time kiddies.

GD

Shai'hulud

Chowchilla = Bust!

Yup, that's right. Two hours of driving on a gorgeous day and I found a ton of razors.

But not ONE adjustable razor to be found!

But as Stuart Smalley would say, "That's . . . ok."

I wasn't able to find a good BBQ place at all, either. The one I'd heard about was closed Saturdays! What kind of shit is that!

Anyway . . . we ended up just going to a local Mexican food place. Not bad. Had a roasted-chicken burrito with all the fixin's. Very tasty.

I'm actually looking forward to going again in a couple of weeks. My mother wants to check it out. She likes lookin' for knick-knacks to fill up the back-yard with. We live in the middle of Salinas and she has a wagon wheel as a center-piece of one of her garden patches! I mean, I know Salinas is kinda well known for being part of the whole rodeo thing . . . but Salinas is an agricultural landmark. Not a western landmark!

Well, I hope your weekend was fun-filled and fancy-free (whatever that means).

GD

MAN! I want some barbeque!!! >:o(

Ok, this time I am going.

Maybe not to the flea market, but something similar.

I'll be driving over to Chowchilla.

"Why Chowchilla" you ask? Let me tell you why!

Antiques!

Last weekend as I was coming back from Delano, I passed a sign just as 99 merged with 152. It had big bold lettering stating that it had eight huge antique shops conveniently located in Chowchilla! What else could I do other than think about it this whole week between the activities of conflict resolution in the workplace. It was the one thing, I believe, that kept me sane and stable . . . other than the beer . . . and hockey.

I only drowned out this weeks problems with alcohol on Tuesday. I'm still sorta kinda payin' for it. I was a little too aggressive in hockey. I may have checked some guys, but they decided to check back . . . HARD! It was still a good way to release some aggression.

Anyway, I just want to enjoy this weekends drive to Chowchilla and try to look for a good take-out BBQ spot along the way. I feel like ribs . . . or skirt steak . . . or tri-tip . . . mmmmm! It's going to be (new word) scrumtrulescent!

GD

Bleaaaggghhhh.

Well . . . I decided to relieve some stress in the time honored tradition of drinking mass quantities of alcohol. Beer to be specific. And it wasn't even good beer at that. I was getting wasted on MGD. Bleagh!

I wish I could relieve stress another way . . . but the simplest (and definately easier to come by) way was to drink beer. I'm tired of being a mediator!

I gonna try getting rid of this stress by playing hockey tonight. I'm gonna strap on my rollerblades, put on my gear, grab my stick and smash somebody into the boards! No more MGD tonight!!!!!!

GD

bleagh!

How was your Memorial Day?

Aside from the shameful watching of "Project Runway", yesterday was the highlight of the weekend.

I love driving. So Sunday night my grandmother calls and asks my mom if she could take her to Delano. It's a good three hour trip and my mom doesn't really take to driving so long. She asked me if I wanted to take her. So . . . guess what I did yesterday?

It was a GREAT day to go driving. Clear skies (one or two clouds here and there), warm to hot the closer south and inland you went. Hardly any traffic, which was a surprise.

Once we got to Delano, I visited the cousins, said hello to my aunt and split.

I took another route home so I can visit some other family members in Los Banos. It's about two hours from Delano and from Los Banos, it's a little over an hour home. So it wasn't too much off from my original trip.

I must say Tesla did well. She appears and feels like she can run forever (knock on wood). Boy! I love my bug!

GD

It's like I have to make sure the rumors are true!

Even though they aren't.

As I type this, I'm watching the last episode of the full day marathon of "Project Runway".

Oh. My. God!

It's like I can't find something better to do on a gorgeous Sunday!

GD

Sux to be supervisor!!!

I guess that why I get paid the "big" bucks.

Today I had to hear one of my direct reports complain about my other direct report. Having spoken with the 'other' party, I'm gonna have to bring in the HR rep to mediate this problem. I got a feeling the word 'termination' will be uttered.

I've got to say it, but the 'other' party is in the wrong here. He doesn't want to make an effort to fix the situation. He plain and simply doesn't like her. He actually said he 'hates' her.

My boss will not do anything about it. He didn't even want me to bring in the HR rep so I suggested to the complainer (not derogatory) to e-mail the HR rep so I wouldn't get in trouble by going over his head. Oh the games we must play!

I had to get this off of my chest. I needed somewhere I could vent and I didn't really want to "tell" somebody. I apologize if I burdened you with a complaint.

Here is a joke to lighten the end of this read. Stop reading if you've heard this one or if you get easily offended (By the bye, my mom and my grandmother on my dads side were both born in Mexico):

Q: How do you stop black kids from jumping on a bed?
A: You put velcro on the ceiling!

Q: How do you get them back down?
A: Tell a bunch of blindfolded mexican kids they're piñatas!

Q: How do you clean up the mess after?
A: Tell a bunch of philipino kids it was a dog fight!

(I'm gonna end up taking the express train to hell if I keep this up!)

GD

Urban legend?

A while back I remember reading something that had been posted on Digg that was supposed to be true. Recently I came upon a copy of that same article and it got me to thinking: It's too strange to actually have been true.

So, I googled some of the more important parts of the article and came up with waaayyyyyy too many hits. MY thinking is that somebody made it up and a lot of people took it for gospel. And even if it isn't true, it's still funny! Tell me what you think, real or not?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HELL BONUS QUESTION

(The following is an actual extra credit question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term.)

Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Note: Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law, (gas cools off when it expands and heats up when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time, i.e.,we need to know the rate that souls are moving into Hell and the rate they are leaving. I believe we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, lets look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Some of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there are more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially.

Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the

temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Ms. Teresa Banyan during my Freshman year—that "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you", and take into account the fact that I still have not succeeded in having sexual relations with her, then it cannot be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and will not freeze.

( The student received the only "A" given.)

"What's a wetshaver?"

A month or two (or three) ago there was an article in MSN about the pursuit of the perfect shave. I didn't know about it because I rarely even check out my Hotmail account. The only reason I found out about it was because I saw it in Digg.

As with most of the people that may have read about it, shaving was a necessity. Something that most people have to torture themselves with several times a week. Some people have to do it EVERY DAY. Fortunately, at the time, I wasn't one of those people.

After reading the article there were several links as to where to get more information and find support groups (my wording).

Wetshaving is a process of shaving methodically and enjoyably (sp). Most of the process is mainly directed towards the male. But having read through the forums, women can and have used the tips given by the wetshaving community.

The main tools in wetshaving are as follows:

A good quality shaving brush (to make a good hefty lather)
A good quality shaving soap or cream
A good quality razor (A DE - double/dual edge, or a straight razor)


Those are just the basics. Many wetshavers are completely dedicated to the process and have accumulated several hundreds of dollars of equipment and supplies. I personally have spent less than fifty bucks total in my equipment. I purchased a brush for thirty-five bucks, found a horrendous looking razor for five bucks and bought some decent soap for five bucks.

The razor was badly crusted and wouldn't use it on my worst enemy. But I know a few tricks. I soaked and cleaned the razor in a hot solution of water and Alconox (laboratory cleanser) for a few hours. After it was done, the razor came out gleaming. I wasn't done yet, though. I placed it in an autoclave for twenty minutes to finish sterilizing it. The razor is now a thing of beauty!

If you check out the Wetshavers link, go to the Wetshavers FAQ section and choose General. There is a LOT of information to be gleaned by reading. I got a ton of info and it has helped make my shave more enjoyable.

GD

p.s.
hope this answers your question Erin.

Quick update.

Didn't have a chance to go to the flea market after all. Too nice a weekend to blow at a flea market to find a stupid razor. I'll find one next week.

GD

And the addiction gets worse!

It's not a chemical dependance. No need to worry! I'll just be running all over Monterey and Santa Cruz counties to find a soon to be cherished Gillette Adjustable DE razor!

I'm obsessed with finding one. The ones on eBay are going for too much! Damn wetshaving addiction!!!! >: (

I'll also be going to the Santa Cruz flea market tomorrow morning to look. Wish me luck.

Maybe, one day, I'll explain the whole deal with wetshaving. It just feeeeels . . . soooo . . . goooood.

I'll post tomorrow and let you know what happend.

GD

Yes. I am a nerd. part ii - I waited in line . . .

. . . for four and a half hours. Ep. III was almost worth the wait.

The movie starts off with a bang. Very entertaining.

Things get a little slow for a bit then picks up again.

Another slow bit, and then a smash/bang finale. Kick ASS!!!

The very end of the movie. Hmmph. How can I describe it? It kinda tasted of cheese.

GD

p.s.
I did say I wouldn't give details. ; p

Yes. I am a nerd.

Tonight's the night. Of all the boring things that can be done on a Wednesday night, I'll be waiting in line at the local megaplex for Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

I was planning on watching the midnight showing of the movie, but that was sold out last week. I ended up picking up tickets to the 12:10 showing instead. Damn! I've gotta wait 10 minutes after the first group?! Anyway, I've got my foldable chairs in my car waiting to be used. I'm not going alone though. Unfortunately it's not a female companion to share in the joy that is Star Wars.

I've read a review by Kevin Smith, and the one line that sticks in my head is "This is the movie fanboys have been waiting for since Phantom Menace", or something like that. As soon as I get outta work, I'm gonna meet Ernie (my bud) at Round Table for pizza and beer. After that, the waiting begins.

I'll post my personal review of the movie tomorrow. I won't go into too much detail, I'll just let you know if it's worth the eight to ten bucks you have to pay for the movie.

GD

Thank God I'm back!!!

As you know, Thursday was the beginning of my weekend. It didn't go as good as I'd hoped.

Thursday night I went home and was immediately bombarded and told we were leaving ASAP. I was gonna take my time to pack and I ended up throwing everything I needed into a backpack. I didn't forget anything I must say. So we split Salinas by ~5:30pm and arrived in Los Banos about 6:30pm. We (my mother, brother and I) picked up my aunt and were on the road by 7pm.

Averaging 80mph (about 129kph for you in the Great White North) on I-5, we arrived in Chula Vista, CA at ~12:30am. Pretty kick-ass time in my opinion. I rarely took the car off cruise-control during the trip.

Now when I said we were going to San Diego in the previous post, that was the initial plan. My mother got the bright idea of going ahead and taking a visit south of the border to visit my sister. My sister lives in Tijuana with her husband (psycho mofo) and her baby boy (1yr old). She has another boy on the way and is due in mid August (it's those terribly mild weeks in November that brings us Augustans out). Though we were going to VISIT, it didn't mean we were gonna stay south of the border for ANY reason. So we went to Chula Vista and got a couple of rooms at a very nice Days Inn right off of I-5. Easy highway access! : )

Later that Friday morning, after getting a few hours of sleep, we went across the border on Mexicoach. Mexicoach is a bus company that allows one to leave a car in their parking lot (surrounded by security) and go across the border on their bus for cheap without having to worry about getting shit stolen if one had decided to take one's car across the border or waiting for HOURS at the border to try to get back across in those atrocious lines without having an inspection done.

Whew! Sorry about that . . . anyway, as I was saying:

So we waited in TJ in the Mexicoach depot for my sister to show up. It's been a long time since I last saw my sister and she looked radiant. She glowed. Motherhood did wonders for her. Her baby boy was gorgeous. A rambunctious little bugger, too! Kept on running this way and that! We said our hellos and went to their car.

Picture this, I'm "big boned" and so is my aunt. My sister is pregnant. So . . . my sister, her husband, her baby, my aunt, my mother, my brother and I were all to squeeeeze into a Honda Civic Si. Believe it or don't, we all fit. After and uncomfortable 20 minute drive, we got to my sisters' place. We had a few refreshments and my brother in law suggested we go to Ensenada. He got a hold of another car from somewhere and we took off, a little more comfortable on this ride . . . until we got back on the road.

I swear, the guy took . . . every . . . single . . . pothole he could find. And stop signs?! What stop signs?!! And to fan the flames even further, he started drinking beer on the way! I couldn't take it any more. The guy has always been an asshole and he'll never change! I told him off! He just laughed it off saying that there was no need to worry. He's got connections with the cops all over this part of Mexico. I obviously wasn't worried about the cops, I was worried about our lives! He kept drinking all the way to Ensenada.

When we got there, my brother and I separated from that crazy bastard and toured the shops on our own. We were there a couple of hours when we finally decided we should leave.

This is where it got REALLY hairy. As we're driving back on the fudged up highway, it's getting dark and my brother in law says everything will be "OK". He goes on to say that he has reeeealllly bad night vision . . . and laughs! We thought he was trying to kid around, he wasn't. He was swerving all over the place on the way TO Ensenada and it was even worse on the way back to TJ.

We eventually made it back in one piece, but we made it back 12 minutes too late. The last Mexicoach bus leaves the TJ station at 9pm. We had to walk back across to good'ol U.S. of A. We really didn't have to wait too long though, mostly everyone was getting ready to party in TJ that Friday night so the walk back was fairly quick. I was sad to have left my sister, but I was done with TJ for a while.

The rest of the trip was ok. We visited Universal City and ended up going to the Universal Studios theme park. It was pretty neat! Last time I was there, I was sixteen. With the cost of entrance, you qualified for a 2005 pass. All you gotta do is fill out some info, get your photo taken and the park gives you a 2005 pass. Of course, there are blackout dates. Only on weekends for the most part. But the rest of the year, you're golden!

I think I may take another trip next month. If I go visit my sister, I'm stayin' near the Mexicoach station and checking out the shops near it. There is plenty of places to eat and shop. I ain't goin' nowhere with my brother -in-law!

GD

p.s.
Please excuse the grammer. I didn't check it this time.

T.G.I.Th.

Boy, the last couple of days have been insane. I'm so glad that at the end of today, my weekend begins! I'm goin' to San Diego tonight to visit my sister.

MMI, the company I work for has a problem keeping us up to date technologically. If you're not at the corporate office, you're five years behind. A couple of weeks ago we finally got the approval to purchase a new PC for our analytical lab. We have a specialized database that was created in Access 2.0.

Access 2.0 for those of you not in the 'know' was part of Office 6.0. Office 6.0 was made for Windows 3.11.

Let that sink in a bit . . .

When corporate finally let us be only a couple of years behind and got us a PC that was an AMD K6-2 running at 433MHz in 1999, we were happy. Until we tried using the database. The 'new' PC had Office '97. Office '97 didn't like the taste of the database and kept on spitting out these errors. I informed the MIS department at corporate and asked them if they could figure it out. They couldn't.

So . . . with my knack at hammering at things until they work, I broke out the sledgehammer and got the database to work in Office '97!

Now we're five years behind (kinda, if not more) and we were still running that AMD K6-2 on its last legs. We received a BRAND NEW DELL PC that is running Office 2003. Can you guess where this is going?

Sure enough, even with the assurances from corporate that we were NOT going to have ANY problems converting the database over to 2003, I knew we were.

Guess what?

Since Tuesday afternoon I've been swinging away with that sledgehammer and I've got most of the kinks out of the database . . . except for probably the most important part. The Client Report. That is the Analytical labs lifeblood. If we can't send that out to our client farms, we're screwed.

In the meantime I'm going to have to copy and past data into Word and send out a crappy lookin' report. But if I know our clients, they don't care about looks. Think about it . . . mushroom growers? They just want clear numbers. I can give that to them.

Now I apologize, but I must leave. I've gotta get back to swingin' the hammer . . .

GD

Morning. Time for Spanish lit.

This is from one of the blogs I read. Unfortunately it's in spanish. The title is "Ene, Ce, Ese" or "N, C, S". It can be translated but it wouldn't have the same impact. The blogger is La Princessa Radioactiva.

Check it out. You'll like it.

Ene, Ce, Ese

Nada, nunca, no, nariz, necesitar, nihilismo, natural, negativo, noviazgo, necio, neutro, nulidad, niño, niña, necesitar, nivelar, nicho, nervios, navegar, núcelo, noble, nube.

Nosotros.

Calentura, cuidar, crimen, corsetería, cosquillas, creíble, contender, consejo, conjunto, comprometer, compenetrar, combinar, coerción, claro, carcajada, calmar, corporal, candor, cómico, comprensión, contar.

Contigo.

Salvaje, sable, sacrificio, salivar, sangrar, sana, sabor, sentada, sanatorio, serena, sesos, sentir, soberbia, sonora, sanatorio, solitaria, sombría, sudor, sueño, susurro.

Sintigo.

"Wubba, wubba, wubba! Good night! God Bless!"

Everybody have a good weekend, and good luck on the training Erin!

GD

It's gonna be a good weekend (knock on wood).

It's been a while since I've had a FULL week. This definately counts as one. Even though my busy-ness began Tuesday, I'm counting it as a full week because of the trend analyses for all the farms. I just finished those right before lunch. WOO HOO! I rewarded myself with a kick ass chicken tostada at Sarita's (decent mexican food).

After getting back to the lab, I went to check out some of our testing rooms to find out how some of our treatments are doing. There seems to be a lot of promise in one particular strain. I gave the good news to my boss. Boy, did that ever make his day. He's been stressing over tiny things lately. I hope this bit'o'news helps out.

Also, I'm gonna watch Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy tonight. I read the book years ago, I've been busy but tonight is a good night to watch the movie. Hardly anybody at the theater tonight. It's gonna be excellent!

Tomorrow's looking good, too. I'll be running a TH4 and verticillium PCR in the morning and by the afternoon, the gel should be done and I'll have the results for the requesting farm by the time I'm done for the day!

Aaaaand . . .

My uncle told me last night that his boys (23 and 25) will be racing their bikes at the Salinas Sports Complex, Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are cheap, beer isn't. It all works out in the end. I'll be tailgating!



Now time for another joke. This one requires a visual aid. What I want you to do when I say "NOW", make a fist with either hand and place your fist on your nose with the opening on the thumb side wrapping around your nose. This works better if you're telling it to someone. Trust me.

Now for the joke:

"Why don't roosters wear underwear?"
"Because their pecker's up" (NOW!) "HERE!"

GD

boy, that was bad!

This one's for Baabblu

Why do brides wear white?
So she can match the stove and refrigerator.

Pa da pump!

GD

p.s.
i feel a little guilty about that one.

Losing . . . focus! Must . . . stay . . . awake!

There is something that I have to do at work every few months:

Trend reports! These things are the most boring pieces of crap you can look at if you're not a mushroom grower.

Though I was a grower for a while, being a grower is not my cup'o'tea. I understand all the numbers and the graphs that go with the trend reports. I know what the growers are looking for. I just hate having to copy, paste and edit all the data so it all makes sense to the grower. Under the whole MMI, Inc umbrella, there is maybe . . . mayyybeee . . . two other growers that would be able to sort out all the information direct from our database. And of those two, I think only one of them knows how to copy, paste and edit from Access to Excel.

Each one of these damned things takes an hour to do. And guess what? Thats with me using the last report as a template. I open up the previous report and I copy the data from Access and paste that data to the old Excel report and edit the hell out of it. If I were to start from scratch (IF!) it would easily take me three hours per report.

I've got ten to do. I'm lucky most of the other farms don't need them. They do their own.

I've completed three this morning.

Lord help me . . .

GD

New image . . .

I figured it was time to change my profile image. I'd like to thank Sarahbelle for the link to Planearium.

Chances are that Sarahbelle has no idea who I am because I've never commented on her blog nor do I know her. I feel like a stalker just reading her blogs. I read them because they really are funny at times. I try to bookmark any good funny blogs I happen to chance upon. Anyway . . . try to make up your own Southpark character. I showed the image to one of my friends and he thought I had somehow got Matt Stone to draw me Southpark style. It's a pretty good resemblance of me.

GD

p.s.
move mouse over About Me on the top left of this blog.

Too heavy . . .

Ok, the last few posts have been a little heavy. Let's change it up a little . . .

Guy 1: OH MY GOD!! Did you hear?!!!!
Guy 2: No. What?
Guy 1: It's been all over the radio! Michael Jackson just died of food poisoning!
Guy 2: What?!! No way!
Guy 1: Yeah! He ate a ten year old weiner!

Ba da pump!

Here's another one, but this works out better telling it to someone in person. My barber told me this one.

Guy: Did you know that Micheal Jackson is tired of all the child molestation charges and the whole court issue that he's now going after twenty-eight year olds?

That's my time for tonight. I'll be here all week. Try the veal.

Ba da pump!

GD

Mother II

Ok, I reread that last post and I want to clear up something.

I know who my mother is. Here's the thing: My mother gave me up to my father and his wife when I was six because I was a pain in the ass and I screwed up her plans. My fathers' wife is the person I now consider my mom. My mother is my biological mother and my mom is the person who raised me since I was six. She put up with all my shit growing up and she still considers me her son.

In all that time, my mother has sought me out only a few times and then dissappeared.

I had a brother who would have been 26 this year. He passed on a couple of years ago.

By his own hand.

I blame my mother.

I didn't know my brother.

He was in juvenile hall somewhere in California since the age of 14. He took the blame for the "accidental death" of a friend of his. Eventually word got out that the person that caused the accident was an uncle of mine. He let my brother take the blame. He told other family members what really occured and nobody said anything. My own mother knew of it and she still let my brother rot in juvenile hall. My uncle was later shot and killed in a failed home robbery a few years after my brother was sent to juvenile hall. I don't really know my mothers' side of the family. My father wouldn't allow me to communicate with them. You can see why. Most of them are all fuck-ups.

Anyway, during all this I wasn't allowed to write to my brother. Nobody would let me know where he was. I was told that it was better this way.

I don't know when he was let out. It was sometime in the last few years. My brother had been wanting to visit me, but my mother said it wouldn't be a good idea to bother me. This is what I've been told by one of my mothers' sisters. She is one of my aunts on my mothers' side that actually followed the straight and narrow. My aunt kept telling my brother to visit me just the same. That it wouldn't be a burden.

I wish he would have listened to her.

My brother really loved the uncle that put him in junenile hall. He looked up to him for some reason.

The morning that he shot himself, my brother asked for my uncles favorite breakfast. That was a huge red flag there and my mother missed it. After having breakfast, he went to his room, pulled out a .22 and tried to finish his days on earth. It didn't quite work out too well.

He survived almost twenty hours on life support before my mother decided to take the advice of doctors. He was brain-dead. It was another five hours or so before his body decided to give up.

I tried to have some sort of relationship with my mother after that . . . but I couldn't keep doing it. She's made too many bad decisions. And as far as I'm concerned, only one good one. I could have been a major fuck-up myself if she hadn't been so selfish and given me up. I look at her and I always think what could have been.

I could have gone to baseball games with my brother.

I could have taught him how to rollerblade and play rollerhockey.

We could have gone to the bars, had a few beers, talk to some girls . . .

We could have been great friends. I could have had the relationship I see with my best friends and their brothers. I don't have that opportunity now.

But I do have another chance. I have another younger brother. He's 15. I have to make the most of it with him. You never know what may happen.

GD

Mother

"Mother! Tell your children not to walk my way. Tell your children not to hear my words, What they mean, What they say . . ."
- Danzig

Yesterday as I was arriving home, I passed my mother. She waved frantically at me with a big smile, I waved weakly back. I guess that run-in had me thinking enough of her to have caused the following dream . . .

I find myself with her and her husband. She's driving to her business just outside of town (as far as I know she doesn't have a business) and drives up to a mail box where she punches in a code and she gets her mail. I know what you're thinking. You've never seen computerized mail box. Neither have I, which was weird but it's a pretty good idea!

Anyway, it appears her business is supplying convenience stores. We walk in to her warehouse and there are teens working inside. One of them drops something and I help him pick it up. The place is buzzing with activity. Everyone knows what to do. My mother still has that big smile on her face while she explains what's going on.

We go to another section of the warehouse that appears to have been converted to a shelter and chapel. My mother leaves me to prepare for her sermon. Her husband appears and begins telling me that they help the community by hiring the teens and help the homeless with shelter and counseling.

I wake up.

Now, as far as I know none of what happens in the dream is real. I don't believe she is involved with stores, warehouses, shelters, or chapels.

I don't talk to my mother. I don't know her.

GD

The Pixies

Well, last night I found a whole crapload of cd's I'd bought when I was in high school and a few years after graduating. I think I was the only one listening to The Pixies at my school. Everyone else was listening to KDON, a popular top 40 station. You know the kind, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Boyz II Men . . .

Anyway, I just found some cd's I thought I'd lost or had stolen. I'm especiallly happy to have found all my Pixies cd's! I've just ripped them onto my pc. I'm ashamed to say that I also have some of those shameful top 40 albums (cough)hammer(cough)!

Since last night, I've probably listened to "Hey" about 20 times. That song just kicks ass! At work I just had my Rio Karma going all day with all the albums. Probably my favorite album is Death To The Pixies. It has some truly great live versions of their hits. The live versions of both "Hey" and "Where is my mind" are mind blowing. I get goosebumps every time!

I was also surprised to have found Nine Inch Nails' "Pretty Hate Machine". I gave a listen to it. It'd been a while. I finally listened to the lyrics after all these years. Pretty powerful stuff. That Trent sure had no luv for the guh'ment!

In the same genre, I also found Ministry's "Land of Rape and Honey". Boy, was I into some weird shit! I guess I was the typical angry youth. Of course, I was the quiet angry youth. My parents really had me in check then! I couldn't get away with almost anything.

Almost . . . >: P

GD

I luv my baby! <: (

For the last few months I've been putting off changing out my sparkplugs. I mean, to have it done at the stealership, it would'a run me almost $800!!!

At first, I didn't have the money. So I purchased everything I needed little by little. Then it was not knowing how to do it. So I went online and visited my New Beetle family on NewBeetle.org and searched the forums. Finally it was excuse after excuse: it was raining, it was too hot, it was too cold, I was too tired, I had to go to a party, I had to go to Penny Farthings (a pub) . . . excuse after excuse.

Well Tesla ,my New Beetle, finally said "ENOUGH!!!"

She put me in check. Literally! Her CEL came on. For those of you unfamiliar with automotive technical terminology, a CEL is a Check Engine Light.

When that happend, I nearly crapped my pants. I knew I was pushing it. That same day it was raining and cold, but I still changed out my sparkplugs. My fingers were raw and numb from the cold.

I know that once you've taken care of a problem, the CEL will clear and you can go about your merry way. My hadn't cleared. It took a whole week of driving and and reminding myself that it would eventually clear. It finally did.

But now I have an intermittent CEL. It's either my gas cap not tightend properly or the MAF sensor. The MAF is the Mass Air Flow sensor. It basically tells the computer how much air is available for the engine to use. Apparently the MAF is sometimes a problem in New Beetles.

I'm gonna wait until the CEL lights up again so I can take it to the stealership to read the code and figure out the problem.

Wish me luck!

GD

You're money, Baby!

Friday after work, I had dinner with mom. Later I was having a beer with a friend (Ernie) at Applebee's. A couple of hours after that I was on the road to Vegas . . . on a whim.

I got to Applebees a little after Ernie had arrived. I hadn't even finished my first beer when he gets a call from a friend of his asking if he wanted to go to Las Vegas. Ernie half-jokingly asked me if I wanted to go. We paid our tab, finished our beers and split!

We picked up some clothes and things, and left to pick up Ernies' friend, Raf.

When we got to Rafs' place, Raf and Mike were waiting. I've never met Mike, but he was coming along as well. We had room in Ernies' Vitara, so we all boogied.

We arrived in Vegas roughly at 3:30 in the morning. The Strip was kickin'! I mean the place was packed! People were cruisin' the Strip, music was blasting, people were drinkin' . . . and we had just arrived from an eight hour drive with no idea of where to start.

After cruisin' the Strip ourselves, we decided to head off to the Luxor (the black pyramid w/the Sphinx). We wandered a bit, hit a card table, lost some money, won some money and we separated into two groups. Ernie and I were done for the morning and we went to the car to nap. Raf and Mike were just getting started and kept on.

We woke up a couple of hours later and hit up a breakfast buffet next door to the Luxor, some castle looking casino that I can't remember the name of right now (great scrambled eggs). We hadn't seen Raf or Mike in a while and got back to the car for another nap. Raf and Mike arrive and woke us up and figured we should find a place to stay. We drove around some and found a ratty place for cheap.

Mike stayed to crash, Raf wanted to be dropped off somewhere and Ernie and I had slept enough to keep us going for the day.

After dropping off Raf at some chicks place he knew of (long story), Ernie and I took off to check out Fremont street. Now Fremont street is that one place you see in some movies/shows/commercials that has the ceiling that's a giant big screen. During the day, it's used as an awning. Nighttime is when the shows begin. As fortune would have it, we had arrived there at ten in the morning. No big screen shows for us.

We did the tourist thing and checked out the various shops and the clones of those shops and the clones of those shops. It was fun! We played cards at the Horseshoe just to say we did and lost some more money there. About three o'clock we called it quits and took off to the hotel to sleep some.

After a few hours of sleep, we took care of the three S's and had breakfast at Denny's. It was dark now and we figured we should be able to check out the Fremont street show now.

When we got there, the place was packed! All the kiosks were open now and selling their wares. There was this kick-ass artist there that would make awesome, detailed paintings with spray-paint. There were a couple of bands playing that were quite impressive. And the best part of all, some casino was selling monster cans of Fosters for a BUCK!!! Boy, did we take advantage of that! Whooo!

Well to make this long story short, we got back to the hotel about 1am, got some sleep, woke up about five, were on the road by 5:30 and arrived home at 1pm.

There's some more to this story but, I wanna have more material for later.

So much for the Histories!

GD

The Histories

I purchased a book about a year ago. It's probably something someone would read in Lit class. It's a book by Herodotus called The Histories. I like the era, I've read other books from about that time. I've picked it up several times since I bought it and I never get passed page 5.

Now, I've read the Oddysey say, ohhhh about fifty times since I discovered it in elementary school. I've read about ten different versions of it. I've read it with the protagonist called Oddyseus and Ullyses.

I've read the Illiad when I was in Junior high (not as good as the Oddysey). I've read Dantes' Inferno (GREAT read).

Julian (Gore Vidal) is one of my more recent re-reads. I've read that one about 5 time in the last two years. You pick up little details you missed the first (2nd, 3rd) time through.

What I'm trying to get at here is that I like that broad time period. So, why can't I get further than page FIVE in The Histories!

I am going to make the attempt this weekend to finish it. No, not an attempt. I AM going to FINISH IT!!!

GD

Hmm!

This is almost a perfect description of me . . .

You Are 55% Normal (Somewhat Normal)

While some of your behavior is quite normal... Other things you do are downright strange You've got a little of your freak going on But you mostly keep your weirdness to yourself

How Normal Are You?

Who would'a thunk?!

GD