Seattle, WA

The weather has been awesome! No rain, yet. Very cool. I'm going to try to get everything in here that happened today. Tomorrow is Microsoft day - may be boring. Today was not. ;)

First, i got upgraded for my car. I had reserved the Pontiac Vibe (one of the cheapest, yet functional vehicles) but to my great delight I was upgraded to THE Buick LeSabre (one of my favorite cars) with XM Radio, etc. Loaded. Yes, many people refer to this as an old people car...I don't care, I love Buicks! Kinda takes me back to some of my Law Enforcement days.


I check into the room...and wow - what a view...Seattle is the place to be!

So i get up this morning and Piers' plane gets in at 10:30a PST - so I have tons of time on my hands. I decide to drive up to the university of Washington to get some souveniers at the bookstore (fyi, i collect college and MLB stuff [hats mostly] when I actually go to the campuses and/or games - already have a Seattle Mariners hat from when a friend of mine played for them). Well, to my surprise, they were having a huge book sale. 90% off. Yes I bought some books - yes I love to read. Shocker, I know.




On my way back down to Seattle, Piers called and said he was here (oops) and ready to be picked up whenever I felt the urge to come get him. I told him I'd be there in an hour os so and that he should grab a coffee or something. HAHAHAHA - no really it only took a sec to get him. We came back to the hotel, dropped off his stuff and went to eat at Anthony's at the harbor. Great oysters and Salmon! wow - that's all I got to say about that.











We decided to go to the space needle, paid our $14 (kim, do i get reimbursed on that?) and went to the top. Yes I have pictures. Actually, I'm sure i won't get reimbursed so I filmed the whole walk around of Seattle from the needle. If you would like to donate to the fund to get my $14 back, I will let you see the videos. ;)






I even caught Piers in a rare moment going down a handrail - yes i have video of that too. One thing I don't have video of was when we were in downtown, we were beiside a car at the redlight who had his music thumping (DMX or something similar). I asked Piers if he was feeling pretty good, kinda strong in this awesome weather, to which he replied, "yeah, it's great...". He had no idea what was in store for him. I rolled down the windows, cranked up the XM radio pretty loud and started getting everyone's atention. Even the guy beside us gave a nod. Oh but the caveat is that I had Opera music blasting. Piers was laughing, I had the straight gangsta face. What was anyone going to do? We were in a Buick! Ahhhh yeah....


We decided to drive around town (downtown) and see the city - and yes I got some pictures.









After a bit we stopped for a piece of pi. we were hungry.









Then we started heading back down to SeaTac where we're staying and Mt. Rainier looked so cool from the road, I told Piers we were going there (he had no choice since I was driving).

Well, on our way there i started noticing the oddest signage. Fines were all $101, not $100, but $101 and there were volcano evacuation route signs. See the pics.

















The buick handled superbly all the way through the park - potholes and all (also avioding a large bobcat the size of my black lab...windows were quickly but quietly rolled up). Even Piers commented on how smooth the car handled. i had to fill him in on the fact that it was my expert driving (all the experience I've had off-roading) and not the car. To which he replied, oh ok..that makes sense, you do have a jeep. To which, I replied...hahaha what am I thinking? It is the Buick!

Buicks rule!

Now it's 6ish and we're debating on where to go to eat. Hmmmmm....priorities...guess I have to get off here now. Until Tomorrow.

Nashville, TN

I returned from Nashville yesterday and boy do I have some stories! I’ll try to let all of you in on what I found interesting and hilarious. First I want to be sure and mention Nick and Nicole, two of the people (among 30 or so) I just spent two days with in Tennessee’s grand capital. So here’s my shout out to them – “What’s up, my Nicca’s?” heh

Being in Nashville, my sole purpose of the trip was to learn more about how the state of TN’s legislature runs, meet and greet, and attempt to be comedic relief to otherwise dull moments. I had brief encounters of all 3 kinds. Enjoy.

1- How the State Legislature runs. This was the most basic/boring part. 99 members of the House, 33 of the Senate, 33 districts (aha), something about bills and laws, elected by the people and 5 golden rings, elections every 4 years, 3 different branches, 2 (or more) crooks (West TN of course) and Governor in the nicest office in the building, which happens to be one of the rooms without human remains.

2 – Meet and Greet. Head of the TN Lottery, House Speaker, Senate Speaker, various reps, Education, Finance & tourism heads and a lobbyist. Here are some of the most interesting facts I heard. A Black Democrat from a 98% white, 65% Republican district, was voted into office because Tennesseans are so loving and open-minded. The guy from the Dept of Education couldn’t do math. No wonder really, when you look at the budget and TN has a $26B or so budget but only $12B or so are real dollars. Yes it was interesting to hear that one explained. The speaker of the house didn’t realize there were grocery stores in East Tennessee – no he was not kidding. Didn’t seem to be the brightest bulb in the box. The Lottery expert had no idea how the lottery money was funneled into a scholarship fund for kids to go to college. “Pomp & Circumstance” was a phrase that repeatedly came to mind… There are no term limits (although there probably should be). Anyone can run for office – This gives me hope...hahahah. I could type more, but I really don’t want to bloviate, because there was enough of that Weds & Thurs. Plus I don’t want to starting opining here, even though I did just a wee bit.

3 – Comedic relief. For those of you who skipped straight to #3 without reading #1 or #2, I commend you. You didn’t miss anything. Nor did you forget my shout out to my “nicca’s” as the ones who read #1 and #2 (or fell asleep reading #1 or #2) did. If you read from the beginning and are still with me – wow! Unprecedented stamina! Well, except for me, I guess, since I’m typing. Anyway…on to the funny/ironic stuff (not necessarily in that order).

There is a large bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest in the Capital building. He was a millionaire, started as a private, bought his own horses, etc and was promoted to colonel (I think it was), was a supposed brilliant military strategist, etc. Oh yeah, he founded the KKK too. I wouldn't have thought he'd have been honored in the state capital. Maybe I'm missing something...

The architect of the building requested to be entombed in the capital and was so obliged. I found this funny but really lost it when they said that he wasn’t the only one entombed there. Here are pics of 2 of the people buried in the walls.

At last, now to some funnier stuff. I went out with some of the people in our group that night (mostly because they are all pretty fun, but really because that’s when the funny memorable stuff happens). We went to a little place called tootsie’s. A small, downtown bar, standing room only, a suck band (still not sure why they let that guy sing), smoky, etc. Now, to completely understand this story, I must give additional info here for a moment. There are roughly 30 of my peers with me on this trip (around the same age, etc) and a group of 4 people who came with us as an “experiment” who were senior citizens. Retired corporate folk. Well, these 4 missed the bus after dinner back to the hotel and went walking with us, to the bar. Well, my nicca’s and I were in the bar and talking, laughing, etc when Nicole looked around and notice all the old people bent over in the floor, scouring for their lost gold. She asked me, “Wonder what they are looking for?” I, in my infinite wisdom, replied, “They probably lost their dentures.” This brought out a chuckle to everyone around and then the lady senior citizen (the other three were males) came over to us looking on the floor. Nicole asked her what she was looking for. “My tooth, I lost my tooth.” Yes, I laughed hard. Yes, out loud. We all started laughing heartily. I had been correct in my assumption – I was even surprised. After a little bit of laughing we let the older lady in on what was so funny and she thought it was hilarious. About 5 minutes later, she came up to me and stated she had found it, and smiled really big (her front tooth was what fell out). I, in my unabashed curiosity, probed “You actually put that back in your mouth?” To which she replied “I rinsed it off.” At this point I could not stop laughing. What’s funnier is that the tooth fell out again and she put it in a second time without washing it off. Then she decided to see if anyone working there had any glue. Yes, she decided to glue the tooth in her mouth.

All that was available was nail glue. Myself and Michael (one of my peers) advised against it (A – we still had very clear thoughts; B- There was a big “X” on it stating it was permanent; C – the glue was for nails, not teeth). Luckily she listened, but occasionally I spied her talking with her thumb in her mouth holding her tooth in place.

As if that wasn’t enough, one of the women in our group (I’ll call “D”) was talking with a Scotsman who happened to be visiting our lovely country. For some reason, Nicole had brought to mine and Nick’s attention that the guy had XYZ problems. Yes, the zipper was down, repeat, the zipper was down. While we were standing at a distance watching the conversation, we started laughing. Well, those around us wondered what we were laughing at, so we told them. Finally, Nicole whispered to “D” about the XYZ, and stepped back. Yes. “D” did the look down, blush/laugh, and told the guy, who then smiled and proceeded to fix his zipper. The conversation between them didn’t last too long after that. Of course I chimed in with the whole “Their not used to wearing pants over there, remember…they wear skirts” thing.

Then we went to a karaoke bar, where our group really…I’ll stop there – WE WERE IN NASHVILLE for crying out loud. We forgot about the part where people who live there can really sing!

Then I went to bed. Anti-climatic. I know.

"Word to your mother, paragraph to the fam."

Tuesday's 2fer Teasers...

OK - Here's a couple of things for you to ponder.

1 - What is it that appears four times in every week, twice every month, and only once in a year?

2 - Some intersting Facts...IAM OYUQ-ITYSMH SMJZO YB IAM GUSV EOYJTIM GN YIB UTIYKM JTHTQTBRTO IG SYKM STOQMSV GU IAM QOGZUH. SYKYUQ YU QOGZEB, IAMBM, SMJZOB TOM TRIYKM HZOYUQ IAM HTV TB IAMV LOGFBM NGO IAMYO NGGHB GN NOZYI, SMTKMB, LYOHB, TUH MQQB. IAM HYBIYURIYKM LSTRX-TUH-FAYIM ITYS YB FTKMH JMUTRYUQSV TB T FTOUYUQ HZOYUQ RGUNSYRIB. TSIAGZQA IAMV ATKM NMF UTIZOTS EOMHTIGOB, OYUQ-ITYSMH SMJZOB TOM BIYSS IAOMTIMUMH LV HMBIOZRIYGU GN IAMYO ATLYITI.

Yes, #1 should be very easy for you - #2 may be harder so I'll help you out. I=T and it's about an animal.

enjoi

!?!?!?!?!

I can't believe it's almost Tuesday again! Hopefully I'll have something worth reading tomorrow.

Fish heads, fish heads, rollie pollie fish heads...

don't know if you remember that song or not, but...

OK - i was treated to a grand ol' time last night at the GA Aquarium. we were the first group to use it for something. Anyway, I happened to slip in (incognito) to the closed aquarium and had the whole place to myself. So what did I do? you guessed it. i got naked and jumped in with the otters and swam around for a while. No... but, really...i did go around, though and took a bunch of pics and video. I'm putting the pics on here and can put links to the videos on here for you if y'all are interested.

There's a Whale Shark, baluga (sp?) whales, otters, sea lions, penguins, etc. Enjoy.

new #2

...ummm...addendum...

#2 - I just won a 4GB Ipob Nano. ;) Now we have 3. heh

Tuesday's 2fer

OK - I am out of town, but here are some things you may enjoy.

1 - www.chucknorrisfacts.com full of very useful info if you ever happen to get into a conversation about chuck norris and what he's done or how cool he is. (Thanks Matt for reminding me of this)

2 - I am in the CNN Omni hotel in Atlanta and have had FOXnews on almost 24/7 since being here. I love it. ;)

That's all for now.

Tuesday's 2fer

OK - I am out of town, but here are some things you may enjoy.

1 - www.chucknorrisfacts.com full of very useful info if you ever happen to get into a conversation about chuck norris and what he's done or how cool he is. (Thanks Matt for reminding me of this)

2 - I am in the CNN Omni hotel in Atlanta and have had FOXnews on almost 24/7 since being here. I love it. ;)

That's all for now.

Tuesday's 2fer

OK - I am out of town, but here are some things you may enjoy.

1 - www.chucknorrisfacts.com full of very useful info if you ever happen to get into a conversation about chuck norris and what he's done or how cool he is. (Thanks Matt for reminding me of this)

2 - I am in the CNN Omni hotel in Atlanta and have had FOXnews on almost 24/7 since being here. I love it. ;)

That's all for now.

now birthing...ugly babies.

OK - So I fly down to Atlanta this morning (at 6AM no less) to drive out to this place for this weekend and to drive back for a show in Atlanta the rest of the week. Well, unbeknownst to me, I happen to be meeting some friends and other businessesmen from Atlanta in none other than the infamous Cleveland Georgia. What's so special about Cleveland GA, you ask? Well, I will enlighten you.

Cleveland Georgia is home to none other that the "Babyland" hospital. OK - some of you now get it. Others don't...let me explain further with two words: Cabbage Patch. Now do you know?

Yes, Cleveland GA is the mecca for all things Cabbage Patch and where all the Cabbage Patch kids are born etc. I know some of you will really wish you were here and are very envious of me. Have no fear. Would I forget you? No... Just for you, I did take pictures on my phone. Now you can share in my experience. This really is something to marvel and it is free to get in. More the reason why I like it. ;)

Oh - and Penny - I think I'm just about 40 or so miles from you guys. HAHAHA


























This is perhaps my favorite picture...

the headhunter...

So, I know you are all wondering about the headhunter. “What’s the deal?” you may be asking yourself. Well, I’ll tell you...

It all started a long time ago in a small remote village called Itswilla-sha in the amazon with a boy name Mombatsu. Mombatsu was born into a “normal” Itswilla-sha’n family. The word normal is used loosely simply because what we define to be normal and what Mombatsu’s village defined as normal are two different things. “Normal” for Mombatsu meant that he had 10 older brothers and sisters, one father and 5 mothers. Being the youngest of eleven was hard for Mombatsu. He was always the one picked on by his older siblings. They would tease him by saying things like “You’re scared of baby spiders”, “You can’t hunt or live without us because you’re a baby”, “You smell of rhino dung”, and “Daddy likes my mommy better”, and so on. One day the teasing got to be too much for Mombatsu and he went into the jungle by himself to prove to his family that he could survive on his own. He didn’t need them. He was, after all, Mombatsu the Itswilla-sha’n.

In the jungle, Mombatsu was able to think. He thought of all the things he was now able to do on his own while away from his family. He dreamed of being able to catch big fish and eat them raw, of hunting wild game with weapons he made and roasting the game over a fire. He dreamed of swimming in the rivers all day and jumping of the rock cliffs into the pools of water below. He started living his dreams. A day turned into a week and a week turned into a month. Mombatsu was surviving and doing the things he wanted to do. He was having the time of his life. Little did Mombatsu know, but he was being watched. You see, in the amazon are many, many small remote villages. And these villages are always at war with each other. Most of the villages have sworn enemies that will cause a fight to the death if ever tribesmen from the different villages meet. The Chikruii’ were sworn enemies of the Itswilla-sha’n. And it was the Chikruii’ who were now watching Mombatsu.

The Chikruii’ , led by their king Aluhashyu, were known for their ability to train animals and reptiles. They were so adept at this, that they would use the animals and reptiles (especially alligators) to attack their enemies for them so they would not have to unveil themselves in battle. The Chikruii’ thought so highly of their animals and reptiles that they treated them like kings. They would not even hunt or eat them. They lived on grass, tree bark and rival tribesmen. The Chikruii’ were cannibals, headhunters as it were. They trained their “pets” so well, that the “pets” could go out and fetch rival tribesmen for them so the Chikruii’ could feast.

As Mombatsu became more cunning and stealthy, he also had become more skilled in making his own hunting tools, like spears and arrows. The jungle animals and reptiles began to fear Mombatsu, even the ones that were trained by the Chikruii’. So king Aluhashyu decided he would send his personal alligator out to “fetch” Mombatsu. What happened next is too gruesome to print. Man versus beast. It was not pretty. But, after 3 solid days of fighting, the alligator emerged victorious. The alligator defeated Mombatsu but not before Mombatsu had lodged his trusty, 3-pronged spear he had made for this battle, into the back of the neck of the alligator.

The alligator was so exhausted after the battle, and hurt from the spear being stuck into its back, that it decided to rest by the bank of a bustling river. The alligator fell asleep and slid into the river and began being tossed about. King Aluhashyu grew troubled. He had not heard from or seen his alligator in days and rounded up some of his loyal subjects to go on a search. They searched high and low until one of the searchers found where the battle took place and where the alligator had slid into the raging river. He jumped in. In what seemed like months he was encapsulated in water. Finally he reached the shore…the shore of a place very unfamiliar to him. The people looked different and spoke many different languages. There was no jungle, only palm trees and sand. King Aluhashyu finally came across a native that spoke his language and asked about his alligator. “Yes, Yes”, the man replied. “I’ve seen your alligator when he washed up here as well. He took off down that alley.” At once, King Aluhashyu was off, on the trail of his pet alligator. After a while, he came across the remains of his former pet. The king became very sad and tears welled up in his eyes. After sobbing and crying in his native tongue, he suddenly realized that the head was missing. There was hope! King Aluhashyu knew that he had trained the alligator to be receptive to him as long as the head was ok. He mustered all the concentration he had and attempted to communicate with his alligator, “Al, you must seek revenge on the person who did this to you, in this alley! Your body should not lie in vain. Your head is strong…you can still attack…let me know where you are…” At this, the king collapsed after using all his strength.

After waking up, he felt as if he were hearing a voice…it was his pet alligator, he knew it! “King Aluhashyu, master, I tried to seek revenge, but alas I was defeated again…actually I was put on hold until after lunch. I am still here and am waiting for a more opportune time. I will tell you where to find me…I’m at…”

The King had all the info he needed and proceeded to call the supreme warrior who had defeated his alligator. When he called all he got was an answering service and he was very, very upset!

At least that’s what he said in my voicemail. :)

btw - the spear is an awesome tool for eating my yogurt covered raisins...

ok- here's tuesday for ya...

Some people have complained that my two things were on monday instead of today...so in regular blogging consistency here are 2 things for today. enjoi

1 - I got new tags for my jeep today - The state has decided to make new tags that look really cool and the best part is that the new colors match my jeep. :)

2 - I turned in all building plans to the city in order to move our building process along. I also had to turn in a questionnaire and an aerial site drawing of how the property will look once the house is completed.

Some other FYI that is going on today:

Got a call from a headhunter wanting to talk to me.
Going to a capital campaign tonight to raise money for the GFC.
I still can't find a cool holster for my treo that I like (went to verizon, best buy and circuit city today hunting).
Closing on the house/land tomorrow.

Hmmm...let's see...i think that about sums it up.

l8r

2 things...Monday?

wow - how about this? I'm posting my 2 things on Monday...hehe...

1 - I had an awesome lunch today! i hung out with Chris & Nicole Heschong (who I haven't seen in a couple of years - or close to it) and Jose Castillo (my "barrio brotha"). Roughly a 2 hour lunch...but well worth it. We went to the Olive Garden and had a great time. We caught up on what was going on - and get this...Nicole is working for a Republican!!! heh - I never thought I'd see the day...one of the most left handed people I know! ;) Very cool! She even thinks so too... hahahahah

2 - Go Figure. I have the new Palm Treo 700w (with Windows mobile 5.0) which is awesome I must say. Finally a real reason to get a Palm device. However, I had to laugh...out loud...for a long time...when I saw this screen while browsing the internet on it. This was at a microsoft site..here's what it said: "Error.... Warning: You are viewing this page with an unsupported Web browser. This web site works best with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later or Netscape Navigator 6.0 or later."

Did I say I had the Treo with Windows and Windows Explorer on it? HAHAHAHAHAHA - AND, that this was at microsoft.com Office online...HAHAHAHAHA


Man, I wish I still had my Mac.

OK - It's Official

Our house building shall start very soon.

Here is an idea i have for ebay...

"I am officially declaring the opening of bids for room names in our new house. Construction shall start very soon and all those interested will be kept abrest of all developements. Now is your opportunity to submit your request for room names. Nothing explicit or deragatory please.

Bidding per room starts at $500. There will be a plaque with your name (if you win the bid) that wil be posted above the doorway indicating that you donated to the construction of the house. "

I wonder how many people would do this??? Thoughts...please...there are roughly 16 rooms.

Strange Days at the office...

I got to work late this morning. Bad. Emergency meeting - 1st thing as soon as I arrive. We heard through the grapevine that a customer was upset. Bad. Coffee was all gone when I got out of the meeting. Bad. I call and explain to some employees that they are incompetent. Bad.


It's not even close to lunch yet.

So, needless to say I am a bit down.







And then to my great surprise, there is a knock on my door. This warmed my heart, at the perfect moment in time - this could happen. I actually became excited and happy.

The knock on the door was a very polite one. This usually doesn't happen. Normally it's someone barging in to complain about something one of our employees has done - or an employee complaining about another...

Guess who was at the door...





None other than one of my best friends, Mr. Al E. Gater.


Now, it's been a while since he's come by. We first met down near Naples, FL where he lived with his family until one day (the day I met him) he decided to go out on his own and visit the big city. Al & I have been friends since. And today he happened to stop by to give me some encouragement.

After talking about my day...er morning...we started reminiscing about when and how we first met, right off the infamous "Alligator Alley".

I'm not sure what sparked the resentment in Al, but he started becoming very agitated. I asked him what was wrong and he proceeded to string off obscenities at me.

I was aghast! I couldn't believe he felt that way after all this time. After all we'd been through.

I starting telling him how I didn't mean for him to become a prized trophy that people enjoy gazing upon. I told him I was sorry for having his mouth permanately opened to look as if he were "smiling". None of this phased him. He was determined.



Fear gripped me. The last encounter with an Alligator was so long ago...I had won. And now, years later, the very beast that I had defeated, found me and was determined to get revenge. His friendship had been a ploy. He waited until I was down so his attack would be easier.


As I gazed into his cold steel eyes, I was determined not to let him get the best of me. I did it before, and I could do it again! The memories of the razor sharp teeth, the foul stench of his breath, the wryness he encapsulated and the overabundance of agility on his part were starting to cloud my thinking.


What would become of this encounter...????


Quickly, I looked up at the clock..time had passed so freely, it was just past 11AM. How could this be?

Noticing it was so close to lunch time, I immediately excused myself from this unannounced conference and informed Al, that if he wanted a piece of me he would have to wait until after lunch. I could tell he was miffed. No matter. I quickly reminded him of his "stature" and all was well...until next time.


However, now I know he will be watching for his next more opportune time.

Valentine's 2fer

Today, tuesday happens to be valentine's day...so my 2fer deals with VDay. Here goes...

1 - 192 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark research)

2 - Nearly 60 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight. (Source: Hallmark research)

There ya go... ;) enjoy.

Shock and Awe....

Shock - F1rst, let me state that I am in complete shock after hearing that our VP of the US shot a guy today while bird hunting. It looks like the guy will be fine, although he is 78 and getting up there in age anyway. How cool would it be to have on your tombstone, “shot and killed by the Vice-President of the United States.” Cheney wouldn’t think it was cool, but after living 78years – you know you’re going to go soon, so why not go by being shot by the VP of the USA?

Awe – We played out in the snow all day today – this is what I was doing mostly. The kids etc are at Lisa’s site.

5 things.....

OK - I'm going to do the 5 things about me simply because I've been tagged twice. Enjoi.

1 - My favorite band is Switchfoot. They are the only group that I have every album they have ever done starting back in the day with the "Legend of Chin" demo CD - all the way up to "Nothing is Sound". The only other group that comes close to that with me are The Beastie Boys. I haven't bought their latest album. Actually, i think all of the Beastie Boys CDs (and cassettes) I have were free - thanks to Columbia House & BMG.

2 - I really miss skateboarding. I recently saw a video that was fairly new (within past couple of years) and I used to do all those tricks that were on there. I was pretty darn good. In a way, it makes me sad that I didn't continue to pursue the sport more so than I did. Of course, I wouldn't have what i have or be who I am today...

3 - I'm not a huge fan of computers or technology. Ironic, I know... I really enjoyed the days of hanging out with people - face-to-face, no phones always ringing. Actually reading and writing handwriting, being excited when there was mail (snailmail) - the old party line when you could listen to other people's conversations easily and even chime in. Rotary dial - which I still wish we had. I think a world of good would be done if middle/high schoolers had to use a rotary dial phone for a month or even a week. I miss the days of having cassette recorders and putting the 45's on a record player.

4 - I am extremely thankful for the fact that I know about the things above, and know them well - and the fact that I know more about technology and how to use it than the average person (or above average person for that matter). It gives a neat perspective to the world and i am glad to be in the generation that knows both things.

5 - I enjoy tests. The last time I took an IQ test (2 years ago) I scored 134. I remember that being pretty good, but not how good. I think I may take it again this year to see if I go up or down. i know they are pretty meaningless. Actually, I probably won;t take it again - it can be expensive. The last time I took a DiSC (last year) - I was a 7711. Just like all the years before. Not the same kind of test, mind you. Another test...Our office needed a certain Cisco certification for IP Telephony (VoIP). Granted I've not really worked with VoIP - just used it, I haven't messed around too much with their router hardware or software - and I just went and took the test without studying - and passed. That was a few months ago - i needed an 80something% and got 96%. Also, sudoko...i love sudoko and all kids of other puzzles. Mostly math puzzles - but i really get into word puzzles too...oh yeah, and name that tune...remember that show? Loved it.




"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. "
Albert Einstein

Olympics XX - Winter Edition

As I sit here watching the opening ceremony of the XX Olympic Winter Games, I am reminded of why they are on every 4 years. No one would watch this crap every year. They are able to get by with a gymnasts hitting an anvil (with a rubber hammer) to create fire, which generates all these legs kicking around with people on roller skates and dancing and pretend fighting and a beating "heart" and a guy on a pair of roller blades "breaking" the heart in two (then catches on fire, no less) and then everything becoming white and these old guys blowing these big horns making cow sounds and these girls and guys come out dancing in cow uniforms and people dressed up as trees running around in a frenzy. Oh wait, now there's a little girl pretending to sing (bad lipsyncing) ... oh no now a bunch of eskimos singing an opera as the flag raises...oh thank goodness. A commercial, now back to something actually entertaining.

And to think these olympics are only going to last a couple of weeks. I am so glad I have 250 other channels to choose from.

You may be wondering why I'm even watching the opening ceremonies. Well, it's in HD and Lisa wanted to see them.

Crap...back on...a bunch of "smiley, happy people" running out from under the stage. They are not even in sync! I really hope these people are not paid to come up with this show. How clever, they made two X's. Brilliant. Oh wait, now some multicolored something blowing smoke. Can it get any better?

Here's how to understand what's going on...you have to listen to the commentators. What's great is that when they are not talking, you know they don;t know what's going on either.

OK, I must admit I'm a little impressed with the skiier thing. Well, up unitl the skiis, shot confetti out. Ohhh more people on fire...

i can't stand it...i think I'm going to put in a DVD of "The Family Guy". Now that's good stuff. Just ask Lisa. heh

Tuesday's Twofer - dealing with Sunday

1 - I'm a bit upset that Seattle lost. I've been a fan of Shaun Alexander since he was at Alabama and got the Tide back up and running (haha-no pun intended..actually there was). That being said, the Super Bowl was enjoyable to me due to the commercials. The Halftime show was awful, the game was dismal, and the refs were a joke. But, let the good times roll...the best of the Super Bowl.



2 - Continuing on the Sunday shows, I know many of you are Grey's Anatomy fans. I put this on Wendy's comments, but in case you didn't read it, (I thought it was valuable info) I will include it here. Some of you were left hanging on the edge of your seat during the last show, but if you check here you'll not be in the dark again. WARNING! Only click on the link if you don't mind knowing what's coming down the road - ;P

l8r g8r

Why Roses are Red and Violets are Blue

Did you ever wonder why you see the colors you do or if animals see the same colors that you see? Well, that was brought up early this morning in our household. Lisa adamantly stating that dogs and cats see B&W, while I, on the other hand, argued that they probably could see color and no one has ever been a dog or cat to prove me wrong. Anyway, I was out to disspell the myth (that even I had heard as a youth) that animals are colorblind - which, btw, is an incorrect term (it's actually color deficiency). Light enters our eyes and bounces off cells known as photoreceptors. Theyare given that name because of the photons that light is made out of. This is what allows us to see.

There are lots of different photons and these all make the colors we see (like when we see a rainbow) based on their wavelength. The different photons are said to have different wavelengths. Sunlight contains all the different wavelengths of photons. The visible wavelength colors can be seen when you look at a rainbow. Raindrops acting as natural prisms produce the colors.

OK, that being said...photoreceptors are made up of rods and cones - i know you remember this from school - and they're called that by their shapes, btw, and are at the back of your eye. Rods are how black and white stands out and cones are how color stands out. But there are 3 types of cones, one for each color (in mammals - more at the end of my post). The colors? RGB, Red, Green and Blue - just like computer monitors or TVs. ;)

Now how does this fit in with our conversation this morning? Great question. By looking at animals eyes, you can determine what colors they can see by how many kinds of cones they have. The big thing I know you're wondering...well, tell us...what about cats and dogs? Cats have 2 kinds of cones and so do dogs, they have 2 also. So both cats and dogs can see color, maybe not as great as we can (because people have 3), but they still can nonetheless.

And here's a little bit of useless...ahem..i mean useful info that I found out. As a rule of thumb, you can guess how well an animal sees colors (as a species) by observing what type of prey they go after with the prey's markings/colors. The brighter the potential food, the better they can see color. heheh

Oh, and if you think we see pretty well - something else I found out...birds have 5 to 7 cones (wow!) and spiders and insects can usually see ultraviolet light based ontheir cones.

I know, a lot of info, but hey, if I don't share it, who will?

two4toosday...

1 - i hate coming up with titles for this weekly post...
2 - however, the titles i do come up with are kinda cool

(at least i think so)

Peter Parker vs. The Wedge

Really this should be one of the last "Super Hero" posts. Having an exhausting weekend, I kept my camera eye out for another glimpse of the infamous "spiderman" and any shenanigans he might be up to. Lucky for us...Spiderman, out of costume, was caught fighting one of his greastest nemises, The Wedge. (2MB) Unfortunaly, I believe Mr. Parker was soundly defeated after giving a good effort. The wedge, ever wiley in his attempts to defeat the spiderman, succeeded with his patented "wedgie" maneuver. Very clever.

And FYI, I've spotted a new super hero on the horizon that may be coming soon to a blog near you...actually she's already on another blog...The Jumpin Jaminista. I believe that's her name. And her patented move is called "the running man". If you ever see her out, be sure and watch out for that move...or if you're brave, you could ask her to show it to you. ;P

Superheroes part duex - Spiderman...

I'm really not trying to run this whole superhero thing into the ground, but some friends of mine that I've seen grow up since they were little have seen my "flight" attempts. One, in particular, JD, fancies himself as a Peter Parker - aka spiderman. Well, we've known this for a while, and rarely does he reveal himself in public as spiderman, but tonight...oh..tonight...I caught him on film. He was being picked on by none other than Brandon B - and as we all know, spiderman can only take so much. What was odd though, was seeing spiderman in action - live. I'm really starting to wonder if he's losing his super powers too...or maybe he just gets really good stunt doubles while in costume. Judge for yourself. Spiderman is the one jumping - 600K.

2xT

1 - Rugburn still hurts (from my flying incident).



2 - That could be one reason (out of what i am sure are many) for the tights that most "normal" superheroes wear.

Superheroes

The subject of superheroes came to my mind yesterday as the kids and I watched the Incredibles. What a great movie! Inspiring is the word that I kept coming to. So much so, that I rendered myself in art form - sporting a very cool super hero pose, if I do say so myself - and liked it so much it is now my profile pic. It also got me to thinking of when I was younger and was invincible and fancied myself as a bit of a super hero. Most super powers, as you may or may not know, stay with you for a long period of time. Flight however, can be tricky. As I have found out. After marriage and having a couple of kids your super powers change. I used to be able to fly back before marriage and kids. I know, I know, the super power of flight is on everybody's top 3 list of super powers. But I could really do it. So, after reminiscing about the glory days for a few hours, I decided to see if I still had the flight still in me. And yes, I filmed the event.

Now, as I stated above, flight is a tricky super power. And needless to say - I am a bit rusty. I do believe though, that with some practice and concentration, I may be able to achieve flight again. I think you will agree after seeing the clip below. I need to try it without walls and roofs. that would probably help.

Also - FYI - it's almost 1MB.

Pants and Red Lobster

I know - I probably shouldn't post twice in one day, but I feel compelled to do so. i was at a Business Lunch today going over some things on how we can work with a local chamber of commerce. Anyhoo, the waitress brought my sweet tea and then proceded to touch me after a joke and instead knocked a the whole glass of tea on me (pants & shirt). Yes I was miffed, and cold. heh. She said she would be right back with something to clean it up. One of the women with the chamber suggested she bring soda water. The waitres didn't. She brought regular water and a towel with a little something on it - I believe the word is bleach. So, I proceeded to wipe the tea off, not initially realizing there was bleach in the towel, and it took the tea right off. You know what was amazing...it also took the color off of my pants as well! Anyway, the manager said they would buy me a new pair of pants and they all felt really bad. So, We'll see if they buy me a new pair of pants. I'm taking them to them tomorrow with this link...
http://www.kohls.com/products/product_page_vanilla2.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=219539325&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=27513281&bmUID=1137534632594

And yes, those are the pants I am wearing, only a different color. So, we'll see if they ante up. If so, go eat at Red Lobster, if not...never go there again. More to come tomorrow.

zwei Sachen Dienstag...

1 - It's bad when you have to resort to a foreign language to come up with a title.

2 - The Golden Globes are rigged (more about this in my new book). ;)

Penny's crash pics...

So, now that y'all know that Penny is OK from the previous post, I thought I'd show you some pics of the car/aftermath. Enjoy.


















































Anyway, if anyone's interested, I think Penny has a car for sale. HAHA.

Everyone's OK

FYI - Penny and Jordyn were on their way up here tonight and were involved in a car wreck about an hour south. They are both OK, but the car is messed up. They hydroplaned on the interstate and ran of the road hitting a guardrail, etc. Lisa went down to pick them up and they are near her mom's NC house and are waiting there until the car is picked up. i just thought I'd let you all know about this.

Motivation Times 2

For my 2 things tuesday, I am going to give some motivation...

1 - If you fall down 10 times, stand up 11.

2 - To the world you might be one person - but to one person, you are the world.

Now go get 'em....

Yogi Berra

I need to post because I am reaching the double digits in my previous comments. I hear that unless your blog is popular and always has new content, you need to keep it fresh to continue interest. So that is what I am doing.

You may wonder about the title of this post. "Why did you title this post Yogi Berra?" To answer that, I'll simply say that I titled it this way because he is one of the greatest characters of baseball - if he's still alive, otherwise he's dead, and was - and the fact that he is very insightful, unless he's really not and it just seems that way. Plus, the title name Gus Bell just doesn't have the same ring to it. (Not that I expect you to know who Gus Bell is or anything.)

Also, FYI, stamps are going up Monday to 39 cents a piece. I'm glad I bought a whole roll of 100 today - just think I saved $2.00 vs buying them Monday.

Oh well, you either get it or you don't.

PS - "If you find a fork in the road...take it." - Yogi Berra

My 2 cents worth

Now - for my 2 things TX, I'm going to leave you with some motivational thoughts...

1 - When you are not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win. - Ed Mcauley

2 - It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. - Harry S. Truman

There you go - 2 good things for Tuesday. ;)

OK OK OK

whatever...i hate titles. Anyway, for a 2005 wrapup, see Lisa's blog. And now for something completely different.

Last week, with Lisa's family, one of her sister's (I promised Leslie I wouldn't mention her name...sorry) used the bathroom. Nothing odd about that. Then she asked for a plunger, maybe a little odd you say, but the funny thing was that everyone she asked replied with the question "What do you need it for?" This I found utterly amusing, almost on the hilarious side of life. Keep in mind that no one ever told her where it was really, but they just wondered why she needed it. I asked myself and Lisa's sister, "What do they think people normally do with plungers?" There wasn't much help. I don't think anyone really knew where it was except for her mom, which made it funnier. She was the only one that could help, but everyone was asking her why.

Anyhoo, we got "approval" from our neighbors today to build in the subdivision we want to build in. There was a big "Community Meeting" and I attended and informe them of my master plan. They were cool with it. So, I guess we may start building soon. Although, I'm still not 100% I want to do it here, but I can always sell it if things don't work out. I would love to tell you about the cast of characters that were there. Maybe I'll write a short story about it and let you all read about it. Very funny/intense/interesting.

OK - I guess I've made up for not blogging a bit with this post. Christmas was good as was New Year's - now we're back home - I have tomorrow off, I think I'm going MXing. ;)

Ciao....

2 things TX

New games to play with friends and family (pick one or combine them together)...

1 - End every statement you make with the word "fool".

2 - Begin every statement you make with the phrase "yo mamma".

Ummmm...and if you are playing either one of these games, it's best if everyone knows you're playing. For example, we were playing #1 today with Lisa's family and her mom came in and asked me a question and I responded "What did you need, fool?"

- Just remember, make sure everyone knows...saves a lot of explain time and needless beatings...

;)

Oh No!

I saw this in my personalized headlines this morning...

Thursday, December 22, 2005

LOS ANGELES — Astronomers aided by the Hubble Space Telescope have spied two more rings encircling Uranus...

I'm going to definately have to start keeping the blinds closed...

Theme Songs....

Looooove Boooaaat

I cannot get the freakin' 'Love Boat' theme song outta my head...

Love, exciting and new Come Aboard. We're expecting you. Love, life's sweetest reward. Let it flow, it floats back to you. Love Boat soon will be making another run The Love Boat promises something for everyone Set a course for adventure, Your mind on a new romance. Love won't hurt anymore It's an open smile on a friendly shore. Yes LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! (hey-ah!) Love Boat soon will be making another run The Love Boat promises something for everyone Set a course for adventure, Your mind on a new romance. Love won't hurt anymore It's an open smile on a friendly shore. It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's the Love Boat-ah! It's the Love Boat-ah!

Jeeps, Jeeps and more Jeeps...

OK - Today I realized I am a real trend-setter. ;) Well, maybe not really, but by golly I'm taking credit for it. For those of you who know, I have a Jeep Wrangler. For those of you who don't...well, there shouldn't be any of you, because I just told you. Anyhoo, I have a nice '95 Wrangler Rio Grande 4 cyl (low end, I know), daylighters, rhino-lined, waterproof seats, etc. , it's pretty nice. Well, people are always asking me about it, wanting to buy it, etc., and I always say "No, go get your own and make it yours". Well, at first I didn't think much of it when one of the guys here went out and bought a Wrangler (about 4 months ago, a 2003 model). Then, more recently (2 weeks ago), one of the girls here bought a new 2006. I found out today that 2 other people here are looking at Wranglers - 1 is definately buying a new one and the other is at a 90% in buying one. I'll try to get pics - I made the comment to my cousin that we're going to have a fleet of Wranglers instead of company vehicles soon. Very funny. He made a comment about "puppets on strings" (or something to that effect ;) )....hahahaha

It just hit me that I talked up my Jeep so much, that not only were people offering me almost twice what I paid for it (including upgrades), but that when I refused, they are actually going out and buying their own. Hilarious! I am curious as to how long they will keep theirs. And I know none of them will put 600+ miles in it on a single trip - (see my other post about that).

Ahhh, now if I could only profit from this somehow...without selling mine. ;)

Oh yeah - and for 2 things TX...

1 - I am a trendsetter
2 - I'm modest

heh heh

Stupid Pixies...always causing trouble...

OK - I just completely messed up Lisa's blog and then fixed it all again...all because of this stupid "weather pixie" thing she is wanting. No, she still doesn't have it. It's one thing to just add it to your site and all, but with the template she has, I have to create a whole new column, etc b/c she wants it on the far right side...Anyway, I think I know how to do it now after spending the last hour on it. just b/c I work in IT doesn't mean I know everything about HTML/CSS/Whatever else coding. :P hahaha - I should have it fixed by tonight, so tomorrow you will all know what our weather is like here. But for now, it is getting warmer and I'm going to go ride my motorcycle and Luke is going to get on his. maybe well get a picture for ya...

If you were checking out Lisa's blog during the "repair" time earlier...sorry, you can blame the pixie.

-l8r

Discussion... (said with heavy french accent)

OK - Let's try something here...

I am going to list a topic and then everyone can put their 2 cents in (unless your name is 01cent, then you'll have to comment twice...hahah) .

What's the topic you ask? We'll get to that in a second. First let me explain why I am doing this. I have had a couple of requests to continue posting - the last one was a couple of days old. So I said, "OK, I'll post." The only problem is that I have nothing to say. So I'm beating my head against the wall - but the only thing I could think of was the pain it was causing - and I decided to have a topic of the day for the times when I cannot think of anything at all, but need to keep this thing going. Because I know you all really enjoy some of this... ;)

Feel free to comment your hearts out. Now for the topic -

Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery" ?

DUDE

Ok john...this is all for you ;) I admit I have neglected putting your name on my blog. John Teilhet is my A#1 surf/drown-rescue buddy. We ruled Maui together and got into deep water and even taught the pavement a thing or two with the longboards...

Now, here's a pic...

Now John, you're mentioned AND have a pic on here too! :)

Oh yeah - and for the 2 things tuesday...

1. Surfing in hawaii was on my top 10 list (been there done that).

2. I need to find a way for my passport to catch up to Lisa's. She is 2 countries ahead of me... hahaha

My New Toy...

OK - I know the suspense has been killing you, so I have decided to unveil my new toy for all of you to see. I hope you like. I only had to drive about 300 miles in the Jeep for this one. Most of the same principles from the last post still apply - except for the choc milk thing - didn't spill any this time. ;) And FYI, I got to go to the budding metropolis of Athens too. Anyhoo...without further adoo...
never mind the date on the pic...

Oh, did I say this thing was stupid fast? Well, it is. ;) I'll not bore you with all the stellar options/upgrades/improvements on this b/c I know you either (A) don't care (B) wouldn't understand or (C) be super jealous.

Whenever you come around, if you wanna ride let me know - I think you'l like...

btw - the new Narnia movie is really good. I think it actually does justice to the book. Consider it highly recommended by me (not that it really matters what I think..but still).

600 + 50 = ONE

What? Anyway, I left the house at 9am this morning with $600 in my pocket and started my adventure. I had to go to GA to pick up a little Honda XR50 I got off ebay, which was a really good deal. It's a 2002. I realized several things doing that today before getting back home at 7pm:

1. When you spill chocolate milk on water proof seats (which my jeep has) it doesn't hurt the seats at all, but when your cell phone is in the seat (a very expensive pocketPC phone...) it smudges the screen and prevents the camera from spinning around and gets your ear wet when your put it up to hear for the first time after the spill. And the fact that the inside of my Jeep is Rhino-lined really worked well today too.

2. A Jeep Wrangler is not a long distance travel vehicle. It's great for off-road and around town driving, but for going 600 miles - in one day..not good. Earlier I mentioned my seats were waterproof, notice I did not mention they were super comfortable (or very comfortable for that matter ;) ) .

3. PayDay candy bars are not nearly as good as they used to be. 3 bites and mine was in the trash. I'm not sure if it has to do with me eating less sweets and not liking them as much or if it was the fact that I was craving something sweet and it was very salty. Anyway, into the trash it went and I'll not buy one again.

4. Listening to the radio really loud when it's static-filled and not exactly on the right station doesn't sound as bad in a Wrangler going 75mph as it does when it's going 50mph. No, I do not have a hard top and no, I don't always reach over to scan the stations. Sooner or later one comes in clear for a while, and since you're primarily hearing wind - it doesn't really matter anyway. But it does allow you time to think - only problem is, on a 600 mile road trip, I ran out of things to think about... ;)

5. You can never have too many ratchet straps. I took 4 with me to strap the bike onto my luggage carrier for the bike and had to use 5. The guy I bought the bike off of let me have an extra...which brings me to number 6...

6. My luggage carrier for my Jeep is really not meant for motorcycles, it's meant for luggage. I guess that's why it has the name "luggage carrier".

7. Gas is ~20 cents cheaper per gallon in GA than here. No idea why, but to make sure I got the most bang for my buck, I filled up 2x in that state - well, really 1.5 times, i just put as much in as I could the second time before I left there.

8. I'm not too big to get on a stock XR50 and ride it. Really ride it - smallest bike I've ever been on.

I think Luke is really going to like this, and Libby too for that matter. You can adjust the throttle and everything (so none of you moms have to worry too much) which takes the edge off the speed. Luke's body armor (plastic chest protector) came today and his helmet will be here monday - i think his boots will be here then too. So he'll be safe and set. I'm not going to let him ride without the helmet. So, this weekend - he'll just have to watch me show him what it can do - oh well, one of us has to use it... ;)

Lisa has been working with the ONE campaign (www.one.org) and got our city involved (she's like the local rep for it) and you can read more about it on her blog Saturday. I'm just mentioning it b/c I'm proud of her for what she's doing with it and getting stuff done with it and having other people become excited and really start to help out.

Last but not least, we are going to a closed showing of Narnia - the lion witch and wardrobe in the morning and I am super excited. We're taking Luke (he's only heard the book(s) 10 times and seen the original movies 2 or 3 times) and he's excited too. We're all hoping that the animation and SpecFX are good. I'm realy hoping they do the series and not just this one movie, there's so much potential there.

l8r

Insert witty title here...

ok ok - no title, big deal. How's this, though...I was reading foxnews.com today and came across an article about this guy who studies pyramids in Peru and Bolivia etc (an archaeological expert) and he thinks he's found hidden pyramids in Bosnia - and it seems he is right. Big deal you're thinking... well, I 've read almost all the books a guy named James Rollins has written (they are very cool - check them out next time you're at B&N - kinda like Indiana Jones type stuff) and this seemed like something that could come out of one of his books. So I looked him up and emailed him the link, told him what I thought and he even replied and said he thought that was a very cool article (he mixes fact and fiction - you really should read one) and also thought he could use it in one of his books. I know it doesn't seem like much, but it made me feel pretty good that he replied, and even liked the idea. Anyway, it's not that often I interact with a pretty famous author.

And now for something completely different...

We bought Luke a motorcycle to start riding and MXing with. He is really starting to get into it and I think this may be something he totally enjoys doing. I'm picking it up Friday (I sold my Pepsi machine to get it ;) ) but I think it's going to be worth it and what's funny is that Libby has been hearing him talk about it and she even went and looked at them with us and she wants one too - although she is definitely too young and too small for one (without training wheels). We're not making it a Christmas present - we're just getting it now b/c of the great deal I got on it. I could probably sell it next week and make $300 on it if I wanted - so worst case scenario is that he really doesn't like it and we break even. Pretty good deal. Now if only I could settle on one....

What's the dam name of that school again...????

I know I know...and no I didn't spell it wrong...there really is a school with dam in it's name. Anyway, we were just there. It's in a budding metropolis in NC and a good friend of mine is a basketball coach there. We went down to visit them this weekend and give him a surprise birthday party. And he WAS surprised. What was super funny though is that he didn't catch on, even though his whole family and my family were there staying at his house. He's used to his family all coming by and we told him this was the only time before Christmas we could come and he didn't think twice about any of it. And he was surprised! Lisa, me and 2 of his brothers were all in the truck with him when he realized we were tricking him as we pulled up to his party - and that was funny! You could tell he really had no clue. He got some really funny gifts because he is pretty old (hahahah - way older than me). The funniest was the red speedo's (like another friend of mine used to wear a lot - I won't mention any names, but his "411" blog is linked below - and not that I ever saw them on him either - I just heard about it...) that had "the coach" written on them. Very funny - especially if you knew this guy - 6' something and 200+ lbs.

Anyway just thought I'd share - I think most of you know who I'm talking about - and if you don't, then you can quit reading here. Actually you can all quit reading here because I'm done with the post...