Batching It Tonight

This is a big weekend. And, I think I deserve it. Cindy and I are going to Charleston SC this weekend with our good buds Ron and Sheila to the Dave Ramsey Live Event. The girls are spending the weekend with their cousins (something, I admit, we need to do more of) up in Olney Maryland (birthplace of Frank Miller). And, that leads me to my title, as I am batching it tonight.

I left work this evening and went to my local Supercuts to trim this hedge of hair that has consumed my scalp over the past month. It seems like yesterday that I was getting it cut up in Buffalo. With a few bucks left over (Supercuts is very affordable) I swung by the local Taco Bell (hey, haven't been here for some time) and order a beef grilled stuft burrito.

Yes, Stuffed is spelled stuft.

This thing is a monster. I probably will be up all night trying to digest this. I am a fortunate man to be married to a wonderful woman who is an excellent cook. I will make sure that she knows how much I appreciate the little things that I take for granite.

With nobody home, I went to my pile of Netflix DVDs to find "Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation." Honestly, I liked the first movie, and only rented this one because a third film was recently released. What interested me most about this film is that it was directed by the late Phil Tippet. Even if the name does not ring a bell, you have seen his work if you have seen any of the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Robocop, Willow, Dragonslayer…oh shoot…just go look him up on IMDB and you will realize that this man made most of the movies you love come to life.

You got to know what you are getting into when you watch ST2:HOTF. It was shot in high def, and released straight to DVD. What does that mean? It looks like one of those films you can see on any given Saturday night on the Sci-Fi channel. And…well, it went down like that burrito.

However…

I almost always watch the making of videos if they have one on the Special Features. Because, even if the movie wasn't that great, the story behind the film always intrigues me. And after watching the vignette, it made the film a bit better. Mainly because it was the story of making a film that would be direct to video, and directed by Phil Tippet. So, if you find yourself watching this little "gem", watch the special feature…it's a bit better.

In Search of...Bigfoot

Alan has reported th death of Bigfoot...and made reference to In Search Of.

Now, I can't get the song out of my head.

Maddox would be proud...

I actually got to use the word deleterious in an email today.

Day at the Beach

One of the nice things about living in Chesapeake, Va is the proximity to beach. We went out to Strawbridge this Sunday and I taught the girls how to ride the waves on their boogie-boards.

9 Days and Counting

Like Martha, I am counting down the days to USC's kickoff. I just finished the season in NCAA and brought USC through undefeated, winners of the SEC and BCS Championship.

Now, that's dreaming!

This is a video that my friend Ron made to promote our fall FPU classes. This video highlights how a class about finances impacts your relationships.

Summer Day

Today was my penultimate summer day from work. This is an annual program in which the company gives you four hours off on alternating Mondays, or Fridays. I chose Mondays as most people take Fridays off, making it a naturally light day. In addition, if you work at least four additional hours, you can take the entire day off. What, only four hours? Anyways, last time, I had my surgery and spent the rest of the day and the next day in bed. Today, I had the stitches removed, and painted two more walls in the never ending paint project. On a roll, I pulled out the steam vacuum and went to town downstairs. Next time, I need to do something a little low key. Maybe go to Busch Gardens.

Bad Week Behind Me.

I can honestly say that I am glad last week is over. But, I don't want to bore you with those details, so I will highlight the other stuff.

• I was really saddened to hear that Bernie Mac died today. He became the voice of parenting that I wish I could use. Bernie was a really funny guy and always made me laugh.
  
• I am reading Harry Turtledove's Guns of the South. In this Science Fiction alternate reality, a group of South African Whites steal a time machine and travel back to the Civil War to arm the confederacy with AK-47s. The book is a real page turner, but, how will it end?
  
• Today I finally cleaned my car. Really, I was starting to apologize to my fellow coffee runners every time they got in. It did not reach the legendary funkiness of George's mini-van (a classic post), but it had its own double dutch bus aroma all of its own.
  
• This morning, I took Megan out for a breakfast date. We went to the Broken Egg Bistro. She had a pancake and a slice of bacon. I had two biscuits covered in sausage gravy, two eggs and hash browns. We had great conversation.
  
• For lunch, I took Katie out on a luncheon date. We went to TGI Fridays. Katie had chicken fingers and fries. I had a bacon cheeseburger, fries and a coke. We talked all about the boating expedition that she went on yesterday with our local Marine Science Museum.
  
• I learned that, while these touch points with my girls are important, I need to schedule them on separate days. I am still stuffed.
  
• I've discovered that I really, really like country music.
  

Clarity

Last week did not go quite the way I had expected it to go. In fact, if a week could ever go completely the opposite of how it should have been, last week would be that week.

One of my Developer Managers lost his father this past week. He went back to England to be with his family. An event like this reminds me that we only have so much time on this earth left with our parents. In the hustle and bustle of a visit, do I really take time to sit down and just be with them? Or am I being self centered in creating my own agendas?

There has to be a sense of clarity about what is important in our lives during such times. Deadlines, meetings, Friday crunches, pressure, politics and long hours suddenly do not seem to matter.

There are things at work that would have been much easier to handle if my manager was in town this week. And, if anything, it will drive me to change some aspects of the team (including cross training in areas of core functionality). I predict that this week I will be dealing with unhappy clients, so I am trying to visualize next Saturday.

Crashed

Maybe it is because I stopped taking the pain pills last night, but I have had one killer of a head ache and waves of nausea. Around 4:00 today, I gave up at work and said I needed to leave. Bummer of a day.

Black Coffee is a Clear Liquid

Yesterday, I had a lipoma removed from my back at the Virginia Beach Ambulatory Surgical Center. The process was fairly quick, and I did not require General Anesthesia, but they did give me something that schnocked me out. I when I say schnocked, I mean that was the official term that the Anesthesiologist Doctor gave me. One side effect has been that my wife, who has been accusing me of snoring, was finally justified: the doctor and nurses all confirmed that I was sawing some major logs.

How embarrassing!

But, more importantly, I learned that when they tell you "only clear liquids" in the morning, they should be more specific and say no opaque liquids. In preparation, the nurse listed off a number of clear liquids: water, sprite or apple juice, but not orange juice. So, I am thinking that, besides the apple juice, these other items have no color so therefore, those must be clear liquids. And since black coffee has a distinctly black color (hence the name) and is not a juice, it must not be a clear liquid.

There you go folks, a quick look at the rats that run around the wheel that powers my brain.

I had a quick call with my mom after the time of "no liquids at all" and she informed me that black coffee is just fine, just no creamers. This was confirmed with my check in nurse at the VBASC – turns out.

Argh!!

My 02 Grand Am

I have to confess. Right now, I am listening to the Prince Batman album. Sure, last night I was asking how I missed U2's Joshua Tree. It is obvious: I was listening to stuff like this.

Listening to Prince, and paying bills. More fun than a forty year old should be allowed to have. Tonight's Pizza Movie Night, Danny Devito's Matilda (1996), was sponsored by Little Caesar (Pizza Pizza). It was cute, but, after awhile, I found myself wondering how much was left. I believe the Late Night movie will be Will Farrell's Anchorman (as long as I finish this post).

I like salesmen. They are very honest. Especially if you realize that there is only one reason for your relationship with them: they honestly want to sell to you. This generates within me a healthy dose of cynicism, as I naturally distrust them, looking for "the hook." It has served me well, and has kept me out of trouble (mostly).

So, today I dropped off my Grand Am with my Dealer for a Va State Inspection (and oil change). I told my sales associate that I look forward to "the call, but please, break it to me gently."

The only reason my car failed was because of the driver's side window would not roll down. All of the other windows could be kaput, but, the driver's side has to work. And, oh yea, the manifold intake gaskets are leaking pretty bad. And, the mechanic recommends a brake fluid flush, fuel injector flush, radiator flush and a new air filter.

It then hit me: the reason that car dealerships are willing to give away a $20 dollar state inspection and a $15 dollar oil change is because they know they can plant the $2300 doubt in your mind (the price of my repairs).

Call it intervention, but my wife had just been speaking with a friend the day before and had recommended a mechanic, whom I called. Turns out, he used to work for the same place I had worked for and had named one of the sales peeps that I knew. I told him that I am only concerned about the window and the gaskets. He said he could beat $2300 by a country mile.

Peeps at work told me that, at this point, they would begin thinking about a "new" car. That stunned me. Payments on a new car would be, what, $450? So, even if I paid the dealer's price the break even would be something like five months? So, after five months I would still be paying for the next four and a half years.

The beauty is (and if you know me, you knew this was coming), because of my budget, I was able to cash flow the repairs that I needed without hitting the emergency fund. It just delays the next baby step, but, I have learned patience.

Ok, Batdance is on, and I gotta roll.

Where was I?

Some things you miss the first time around.

U2's The Joshua Tree is one of those things.

The Road Home

I am tired. Really, really tired. The kind of tired that occurs when you drive from Buffalo, New York back to Chesapeake, Virginia. The ride back is always more difficult than the ride up.

This year's trip was extra fun: I wish I lived closer. I got to go to Darien Lake (Mike and Ginger, thanks that was really great!), saw three movies (I think I liked Hellboy the best), got to introduce the "Mysterious Ticking Noise" to my two favorite nieces (my only two favorite nieces), along with their fabulous mom (love ya Michelle, I don't say it enough), got to play D&D with my pal Lorne (thanks for introducing the game to Katie) and had some great ziti at Tina's and even better conversation with Lorne and his wife Jill (I will call you after Cindy and I read chapter six).

Already, I am looking forward to the trip up next year.

Anakin Skywalker, Marlboro Man

I saw the trailer for Clone Wars in front of Hellboy. The thing that struck me was the reason for the PG Rating.

Sci-Fi action violence throughout: Check. This should go without saying. I mean, after all, this is Star Wars, right?

Brief Language: Check. Even Han Solo threw out a few curse words when evading the Empire.

Momentary Smoking: Check. Woe, wait a second. Momentary Smoking? Does Anakin light up after some Sci-Fi violoence, spewing forth some brief language? But, when did momentary smoking become an influencer to the PG rating? I wonder what full on smoking would have garnered?

Could you imagine Casablance getting a PG-13?

Rolling D20 with my Girl

Yesterday, I returned to my adventure. My party was attacked by a goblin hexer, a couple of goblin warriors and a host of goblin minions.

For whatever reason, none of my Elf's spells connected. None. But, luckily Logan, our rogue with a Cockney accent, was hitting them hard with his crossbow and our Paladin and Dwarf were holding the bridge. But the problem was that the Goblin Hexer had casted a cloud that hung over the encounter and really made it harder to hit.

Last night, I had another opportunity to return to the world, but this time time, Katie went along with me. She took up the Paladin character, changing him to a her and renaming her Bella. It was actually easy to explain the idea of the game to a child because kids roleplay naturally with their friends.

We came upon the area where the merchant train had been attacked. Right on the eaves of the Cloakwood. Some of the bodies of the men at arms had been dragged over and Logan went to "investigate" the pockets of the deceased. Bella found what look liked a path leading in to the woods, which we followed. That was when a giant spider leaped onto me and then bounded back into the trees, scaring me, but leaving me unharmed. Once again, Logan was on the mark with his crossbow, but the spider gave him a poisonous bite. Neverminding Logan's dubious occupation, Bella made her way over to the wounded man and placed a hand upon him - energy flowed between the two and Logan's wounds closed. However, the effects of the bite still slowed him down. One spider on the ground between several heroes was no match. Soon, Bella delivered the killing blow.

Continuing, we came upon the ruins of a manor house. Logan scouted and killed a guard standing in front of a stair case going down. This was the most likely destination of the raiders that had been harrying the trade route, and it looked like this is where we were going. In the first room was a bit of glowing ooze. Striking a sun rod to produce more light, an arrow flew past Bella - the goblins were once more upon us...

Ok. Let's roll for initiative. Ready yourselves!

Funny Picture

Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition

One small bonus of coming to Buffalo each year is that I get to hang out with my buddy Lorne. Lorne is a master story teller, all around good guy, and loves all kinds of games. Last year he introduced me to Carcassonne which I was given as a birthday gift this year. Cindy and I have really enjoyed that game.

This year, Wizards of the Coast, who now owns the Dungeons and Dragons games, released version four of the rule system. I can remember running games during lunch break in Mr. Sandifer's (aka Roscoe) back at Airport High School. And that was probably the last time I played the game. What I do recall from that first version of the Advanced Rules is that it was very, very complicated. You had tables for just about every mechanic of the game - from attacks, to savings throws and health regeneration.

For me, the best part of the game was rolling up a character and coming up with a back story for the guy. Who was he? Where did he come from? Why was he here? Since each character started off at first level, I would almost always pick a fighter character because he seemed more likely to survive. He could wear armor, use bladed weapons and had 1d8 of hit points. However, a wizard started of with a measly 1d4, could wear no armor, not use a bladed weapon other than a dagger - but he had magic. Well, he had one spell. That he could use once a day. Not much fun.

The fourth edition changed alot of that. The emphasis is more on creating characters that have a chance to survive and level up at a steady rate. In the v1 of AD&D, once you got to a certain level (say level six), you might have to gain double the amount of experience points before as levels one through six just to get to seven.

So Lorne is running me through a small game this week. He has created a neat first level game where my elven magic user is seeking out a band of goblin raiders attacking merchants along a trade route. Yesterday, I sought out to find my party and am about to leave the protection of the city. Also, I am sure that I am about to experience the new mechanics of the combat system that no longer rely on tables.

A Day at Darien Lake

This year, instead of fishing in Tonnawanda, we went to the Darien Lake Theme Park. We had a blast, and the temperature was just right. We capped the evening off with dinner at Jacobi's, were, unfortunately, the waitress dropped one of the pizza's that we had ordered. It is sooo hard not to laugh at that.

Shuffling off to Buffalo

As I had gotten home late the night before, my wife really out did herself by packing my suitcase. Honestly, she's more than a woman to me. What a friend! She will not know how much that helped out.

There were other things that I wanted to do but did not get a chance to complete. I programmed the Sansa player with Dave and Car Talk, alternating between the two. Podcasts always make the time go by quicker.

I did have to make one big decision - I did not get enough time to prepare to go to the Monroeville Mall outside of Pittsburgh. When I woke up, I plugged in the movie Dawn of the Dead and fast forwarded to several scenes of areas that I wanted to see. But, I came to the realization that, if I am not prepared, then I will simply walk around the mall and then go. No, I wanted this trek to be something more. Besides, how often do you get to visit a movie set of one of your favorite horror flicks?

When I passed exit 57, Cindy asked if I was sure. I said that I could prepare this week for the visit and maybe on the way back.

We made it to her parents house 11 1/2 hours after we left. I promptly turned my cell phone off and refuse to check work email this year. It's my vacation after all.

Delayed

Unfortunately, due to a client issue, my feet did not hit the pavement until 7:30.

Yabba Dabba Poo.

Una dia mas

Today is going to be one of those mixed bag of nuts kind of day.

On one hand, I start my vacation at 5:00. I will be just like Fred Flintstone when Mr. Slate pulls that bird's tail (even now, I can hear Ty Pennington saying "Mr Slate…Pull that bird's tail"): sliding down the tail and out to my car. Yabba Dabba Doo.

The downside is that today is also the last day at work for a very good friend and mentor of mine. Roy is leaving the company after four years, and I felt like we made some great software together when we worked really close on the Keystone and Solar projects. I fondly call those the fun years. He is going back to work for himself and I wish him the best of luck.

So, if you are in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake around 5:00 today, watch out for two very fast movie feet powered cars!

Se Habla

Ok.

First, I have to admit. I am almost neutral on the whole election thing. If life has taught me anything, I might not always be right. And, that's ok. Really.

But. I have to consider the contender for the Democratic Nomination. Because, really, McCain could announce a cure for cancer and nobody (honestly) would care. Would they?

Obama campainged that all Americans should speak Spanish, and that rubs some people wrong.

And, I would agree with them. After all, should we not be encouraging Spanish speaking people to learn english?

But, in a knee jerk reaction, did I miss a subtle point? Did I miss something that, honestly, is a reality? When a local fast food establishment is announcing open jobs in Spanish, am I fooling myself that we don't need to be able to communicate in another language?

Fundamentally, I agree with him, but, I just don't think this needs to be a political issue.

This guy really intrigues me. I don't think that I can vote for him, but, if he gets elected, is that the worst thing that could happen?

Perhaps not.

So. Here is my joke. I made it up myself, and I am very proud of it. Tonight I was sitting in Patient's First with my Daughter watch Lou on CNN.

According to a poll, 83% of the polled said that English should be declared the official language of the United States.

The remaining 17% said "Que?"

Thank you. I am here all week. Tip your staff.

Happy Fourth of July!

"The Second of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of
America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations,
as the great anniversary Festival."

John Adams

I have just recently learned something new: the Continental Congress declared independence on July 2, 1776. The document was adopted two days later.

You can find this, and a few more "myths" about the fourth over at the History News Network.

Raising Hulu!

In case you have not found Hulu yet, I present to you, with limited commercial interruptions, Raising Arizona.

Quick Trip to SC

I am not sure if I had mentioned this, but, Chesapeake, Va is covered in smoke from fires in NC and the Great Dismal Swamp. Whenever the wind blows from the South or South East, we get covered in thick smoke.

This morning was pretty bad.

Cindy reported that she could see smoke inside out local Sams Club. And, visibility was about a block when she was driving home. Needless to say, our clothes have that "fireplace" smell to them.

So it was awesome getting into the car and driving down 95. Without the kids, it was a rather uneventful ride. We talked, listened to Dave's podcast, and enjoyed the peace that comes with not having two kids carrying on in the back seat.

The girls have been down in SC with Grandma and Grandpa. Mom must have told them how to call us, because we would get calls starting at 7:00 in the morning. I had to tell them to not call until 7:30, as we were sleeping in just a bit longer than normal. Of course, Megan calls at 6:50 and asks if we could call her back at 7:30. Thanks.

We got into Lexington around 6:00 pm and had dinner and watched the home movies that were shot over the week. It looks like they had a really fun time at Frankie's Fun Park and Saluda Shoals Splash Playground.

Tommorrow, we will turn around and drive back up 95. It might not be as peaceful, but, I am glad we are all back together again.

Little Man Syndrome, Revisited

Last month I posted about LMS in regards to the face of current rising gas prices. Here in Virginia, 3 public utilities have announced that they are raising their price of service as much as 18% - Including Gas, Electricity and Garbage collection. Of the three, Garbage Collection would seem to be reasonable and expected.

Again, my cynical side does not believe that this is a matter that can be solved politically, but the free market will drive a solution (people will reduce their demand).

But, more importantly, what are you doing to insulate you and your family from these changes? Budget is an ugly word in most households. Some of us do a budget in our heads. But, a budget could be the single best communication instrument with your spouse that you have. It is a means of putting down on paper, on purpose, what we value. It is a contract with your spouse that you will not spend what is not on the budget. And don't forget to budget your "blow" account – this is money that you know is just going to get spent. And if you have a Starbucks vice, figure out how much you spend and work some of that into the budget.

Again, I point you to Dave Ramsey's site: The Quickie Budget will help get you going, and the Monthly Cash Flow Plan is really detailed (seriously, only Bill Gates has enough for this one). Follow the instructions and stick with it for about three months. And don't be afraid to fine tune the budget as you go through the month – just make sure you and your spouse agree on the changes.

Blessings!

My Ballerina

This past Saturday was Academie de Ballet's dance recital. Megan's group did a "cowboy" rendition of a well known hymn. I was impressed, but, I have to admit that I was a bit biased. I have known several of the girls that have gone to this particular studio, and I feel blessed that it is just down the street from us.

A Few Years Ago

It just seems like it was yesterday that this picture was made.

My Childhood Memories

Burned to a crip.

Caption the Picture

If You Only Knew

I am enjoying a few minutes of quiet in the house. I have been bucking the budget around as we are gearing up for the next baby steps, retirement and college savings. I have my Rhapsody player going and I threw on the CCM (Contemporary Christian Channel). I lucked out because they threw in the Randy Travis song, If You Only Knew. All of a sudden, I hear this really beautiful voice that I am not familiar with and is definitely not the fluff that you get with mainstream CCM (either hyper-poppy or gangsta-rap wanna be).

By my grandfather's bed, my mother is reading,
Psalm 62, God is our refuge,
My grandfather stirs, could it be,
He is waking, one final time,
He has something to say,

If you only knew what lies awaiting
If you could only see what I can see
If you could only hear the music playing
The angels singing sweet victory
Oh, if you only knew, if you only knew,
How much he loves you

The next song up was the Newsboys. Oh well.

Fully Funded

IAMNOWHERE

Depending on how you read it, you're either lost, or you have just arrived.

Dialated

The wonderful trip to the eye doctor, where, afterwards for two hours, I get to look like a Japanese Anime Character with big, round, dialated pupils.

During the evening, I like to then go out and watch car lights pass by while listening to Pink Flloyd's Dark Side of the Moon album. Very Tripy.

Weighing In

Last night was my second weigh-in, and I am back on the Weight Watchers plan. A few years back, I topped the scales at around 260. I wanted to blame the weight on being a stress eater, but, truth time here: I just like to eat. Even after getting down to 195, I still like to eat. Weight Watchers helped me to know how much I can eat and still maintain that weight. Of course, I fall into the trap of figuring out a meal that meets my points requirements and then I have that combination: every day!

Now that I've added 20 pounds to the frame it's time to deal with 20 (instead of forty, or sixty). The hardest part was going in last week – being a lifetime member who is a repeat offender. That was my pride getting in the "weigh" (sorry). Last night's saw 2 pounds off – so I am heading in the right direction. And, 2 pounds per week is "safe," but I will not count on that number for each week.

Todd, I am right there with you!

Your All Clear Kid!

My Ebay glasses arrived today: three remained in mint condition, but alas, Darth Vader did not survive the transit. Apparently, the Rebellion attacked the glass using snub fighters. Navigating along the surface of the glass,they fired a proton torpedo into a drinking port approximately two centimeters wide. Prior to the sortie, one pilot proclaimed the task to be impossible. But new comer Luke Skywalker pointed out that it wasn't impossible, bragging that he used to bullseye "Shot Glasses" back home.

Flux Capacitor

Larry, from Mobile Appliance Repair, came back to the house today to repair our AC. I like Larry. We had him over this past week to fix our Ice Maker, and before that, our stove and one other time our Clothes washer. He is a real standup guy and I enjoyed swapping stories with him from our military days: we both worked on aircraft.

The problem with the AC was that capacitor went Tango Uniform, or, in civilian terms, "Tore Up" (yes, I know there is more colorful translation, but, my wife reads this). The top of the cylinder is supposed to be flat, and not convex. Personally, I blame the shoddy construction facility in Mexico were this was assembled. But, I can not prove that.

Hot!

We came home last night to the Air Conditioning being out! It was a long hot night that turned into a long hot day. I can honestly say I am looking forward to the cool that will be afforded by my workspace.

The Phantom Gift Giver

You know who you are. I would like to say thank you for the very nice notebook. I will keep it handy to write down those random ideas of "this would make a great blog post." I especially like the texture of the cover, and the band that holds the cover closed.

Again, thank you!!

EBayed

I have to confess: I am something of a Glass Junkie. I love those glasses that McDonald's and Burger King use to sell back in the seventies and eighties. I remember having these four from Burger King back when Star Wars came out. I can tell you, also, that I got these from the BK across the street from Mickey D's on Charleston Highway. My Dad used to call it Hamburger Hill. At the time, I did not get the Vietnam references, and that is what I called t for many years. Some time ago, BK had a falling out in Columbia, and they all but disappeared. Apparently, that McDonalds is still doing well. There use to be an Arthur Treachers's Cedric's Fish and Chips up there as well.

On Monday, I was browsing Ebay and came across these glasses. Something nostalgic kicked in me, and I did something I don't typically do: impulse. I bided on the glasses and got them for what the seller was asking. I was all very happy, until I saw the shipping charges. That sorta took the fun out of it, but, I will place these next to my Lord of the Rings glasses.

Happy 16 Years, Babe

Sixteen years ago today, Cindy and I got married. Thought it was so much fun, we did it again two months later in the Church. I was fresh in the Air Force, and stationed at Tyndall AFB outside of Panama City Beach, Florida. I was completing what was called "Follow on Training." This was training that was given on operational aircraft for three months prior to going to my permanent duty, Kadena AFB, in Okinawa, Japan. Cindy and I were engaged at to be married, and had plans for a late July wedding. The only hiccup was that, for Cindy to be on my orders, she had to be my wife, and not my fiancée. We then altered our plans to get married by Panama City Beach's Justice of the Peace. Two of my AF buddies came along as witnesses.

Down at the court house, the fairy tale wedding took a dose of reality. We were in line with others getting married. The two kids in front of us looked as if they both had turned 18 that morning, and the couple behind us, while much older, smelled of booze. And there we were: I was dressed in my AF Blues uniform, Cindy was in a white, knee length dress. Once we were called in, we were married. It seemed very quick. However, what was said by the JOP seemed to have more meat to it than I expected. After we each said "I do", we were pronounced husband and wife by the state of Florida.

Payment Options

When compliments go Bad

Yesterday, I took the family out to Bush Gardens Williamsburg. Each year, we get season passes, and they offer a Virginia Resident pass that makes this very affordable. In addition, this year, Megan is tall enough to ride Apollo's Chariot – a hyper coaster that is one of the best in the park. Arriving at the park early, we were able to ride the coaster several times in succession. I finally had to say enough, but the kids rode two more times by themselves. Cindy sat near the exit, and I walked around trying to clear the motion sickness that I was experiencing. Coming back over to her, I was just amazed at how pretty she is, even more so than when we first met. I tried to come up with a unique compliment on the fly.

"I was over there checking you out. And then, I noticed it was you."

Cindy looked up at me, and said "So, you were checking other girls out? Gee Thanks."

"No, no, no…that's not what I meant!"

So, lesson out there guys – don't try out new compliments out off the cuff.

Way to go LJ

I just wanted to give out a shout out to one of my long time Virginia Buds who runs SimpleProductivityBlog. One of its articles was mentioned on LifeHacker and the hits to SimpleProductivity went through the roof. Anytime you have a mention on someone else's blog makes you feel fantastic, but to have your article read by thousands of new readers is fantastic.

Congrats!!

Indiana Jones

Something struck me about the three theatrical adventures of Indiana Jones: the films never take themselves very seriously. As a twelve year old kid, I really thought Raiders of the Lost Ark was a serious film. But watching them over again yesterday, I noted a bit of whimsy, especially within the fight sequences. They are so overtly choreographed that they appear, well, overtly choreographed.

The Market Place fight from the first movie is the perfect example.

The German intelligence operative stands in an alleyway flanked by his Arab henchmen ready to attack our heroes. Indy and Marion continue to talk about their past, when she drops an article to the ground. Stooping to retrieve it, she inadvertently causes the first attacker to jump over her only to meet Indy's fist. Later, Indy dodges a sword thrust which impales an attacker behind him. A beat later, we see a reverse angle of the impaled victim which reveals the tip of the sword has fruit from the nearby stand on its end. Marion uses a frying pan to bean an assailant on the head when he follows her into a darkened doorway. And of course, the famous Sword Man who flourishes his weapon with great aplomb, only to be shot by Indy.

How do you take that seriously?

In Temple of Doom, the opening sequence is so un-Indiana, that you wonder if you put the right disc into the player. Even when the dancers do a split, and then the editors run the film backwards so that it appears the dancers are magically "un-splitting." Last Crusade has its jousting motorcycles and a close encounter with Adolf Hitler.

In a weird way it works by evoking the movie serials that are a bygone product of our parent's youth. And, I think that is what Lucas and Spielberg were going for. The question is, will Kingdom of the Crystal Skull continue to honor the movie serial? Perhaps this is what Lucas has been alluding to when he fears that fans might be disappointed with the film (he certainly took a bashing from the new Star Wars films). Maybe he fears that after a nineteen year hiatus, the twelve year old kids who saw Raiders in 1981 will have grown up too much and be too sophisticated for the cheesy traditions of the movie serials and the elements that made the first three movies so much fun to watch.

Birthday Movies

Starting in 2000, I have taken my birthday off from work. It started with just going out to the movie theater and catching three or four movies. I can remember that the first year, I saw Small Time Crooks, Dinosaur and Frequency. This continued until it stopped being fun: taking the whole day off and not seeing the kids. Not only was it not fun, but it felt a bit selfish. So, I started programming the movies so that I could watch them with the girls. Because this leads to astronomical prices at the theater, this has transitioned into movie marathons at home. The biggest one that we did was with all six Star Wars films a few years ago.

With the opening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this week, we revisited Indy's earlier adventures.

On Friday, we watched his very first adventures from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. I found it a bit droll, my wife was disappointed, but the kids loved it. An interesting tid-bit was that Indy was born in 1899. Monday, we delved into the first two films Raiders of the Lost Ark and Temple of Doom. The unanimous decision was that Marion Ravenwood was a much better adventure companion than Willy Scott. After lunch, we went to Prince Caspian. I did not like this film as much as the first one, but it was absolutely gorgeous in terms of production. The acting was fine, but somewhere in the middle (I think it was during the fight of the two kings), I just wondered if I really cared about the characters or not. We returned home, played a round of Carcasonne, grabbed some dinner and then embarked on the last adventure of the day, The Last Crusade.

All in all, a fun way to spend the birthday.

40 Years Ago

My mom called to remind me that 40 years ago yesterday, she had Maurices' BBQ for dinner. At 5:47AM the next morning I was born. Hopefully, the two incidents are somehow not related. Anyways the plan for today is an Indiana Jones Movie Marathon with an outing to catch Prince Caspian.

My wife compiled some 1968 factoids to put up on my blog.

In 1968...

The median household income was $7,743, a postage stamp would cost you $0.05, a gallon of gas would set you back $.027 and a gallon of milk went for $1.07.

Snickers and Kit Kat were the most popular candy bars, and race fans really loved Richard Petty. The Jonas Brothers was the most popular band. Everyone was listening to Up, Up and Away.

The biggest change to hit the movie industry was the introduction of the MPAA rating system. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Funny Girl and Oliver were top grossing movies, but it was In the Heat of the Night that took home the Best Picture Oscar.

On Christmas Eve, the Apollo 8 orbited the moon, and man saw with his own eyes the dark side of the moon. The Christmas Eve broadcast of the orbit was the most watched TV program ever and the pilot's read from the book of Genesis.

And, in 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr, Helen Keller, Upton Sinclair and John Steinback passed away.

All in good fun

Ok. I am still a conservative with Republican leaning tendancies. Something that most (if not all) of my pals are not. They have bought into the idea that their guy is promising: change. I give them about three years to wake up and realize that Barack, like Bush, is a politician and by himself can not produce what he is promising. When it is all said and done, he's human and a policitian.

While the side show that is the Democratic Primary Race is entertaining, nothing is more entertaining than what McCain will do once he has been elected Emperor of the United States.


McCain Vows To Replace Secret Service With His Own Bare Fists

No Good Deed

Who knows if it goes unnoticed? Who cares? All I can say is spending Saturday morning painting an elderly couple's house was a blast. I cannot honestly say that the thought of painting was fun, but once I got there with some of the others from our small group it turned into fun. Not only that, but seeing the appreciation in the eyes of the home owners just made it worthwhile. And, it was a small home and did not take very long to do the work. We also had a great time just sitting and having coffee while getting to know the owners.

Prior to that, I met Steve over at the Broken Egg Bistro. The BEB is an "upscale" breakfast restaurant (as in Panera is an upscale sandwich Shoppe). The breakfast was good, but, I think I prefer Brunches in West Columbia. However, since Brunches is a seven hour drive and BEB is two minutes, I guess BEB will do in a pinch. I enjoyed Bob's biscuits (two biscuits smothered in sausage gravy, two eggs and grits). With the exception of the grits, everything was good. The grits were odd: they were much larger than the variety that I enjoy. A little butter and salt (per Pacific Grits instructions) did little to improve the texture. The conversation was good, and let's faces it: guys need time to talk guy stuff.

Coming home, the girls were out picking strawberries, and Cindy had bought several ice cream containers to share with the cul-de-sac tonight when the Chesapeake Jubilee shoots off the fireworks. The grass needed cutting so I moved on to that. Everything is done, and we are looking forward to the Preakness. We are rooting for Big Brown to win again in hopes of a triple crown.

Sometimes, I get them cramps real hard

The post titles comes from one of my favorite "quotable" movie, Raising Arizona and somewhat describes an event that occurred around 4:30 this morning. Minding my business, and sleeping soundly, my right calf muscle decides that it wants to cramp up real hard. Ouch. I stood up, trying to stretch out the muscle, but that just seemed to make it worse. The pain got to a level where I could not breathe, and I was seeing stars: it really, really hurt. But, it eventually released and I got back to sleep.

All day long, that muscle has just hurt. Between that, and some upper back spasms, and just feeling lousy today, I left work about thirty minutes after arriving. Cindy and the girls were leaving for a field trip to the marine science museum, and I had the house to myself. I wanted to lay on the couch with my heating bad and some aspirin. I fired up the Windows Media Center and my Xbox and watched "Netflix" until I feel asleep. No leg cramps.

Summer Movies: 1988

Today, I thought I would take a trip in the Way Back machine with Mr. Peabody and his pet boy Sherman to the summer of 1988. Next weekend is Memorial Day Weekend, which is the traditional start of the Summer Movies. So, what movies played twenty years ago?

May
Crocodile' Dundee II	Rambo III
June
Big	Funny Farm
Poltergeist III	Presidio, The
Red Heat	Bull Durham
Who Framed Roger Rabbit	Coming to America
July
Short Circuit 2	Fish Called Wanda, A
Arthur 2: On the Rocks	Midnight Run
Dead Pool, The	Die Hard
Big Top Pee-wee	Caddyshack II
Cocktail	Monkey Shines
August
Blob, The	Clean and Sober
Young Guns	Last Temptation of Christ, The
Tucker: The Man and His Dream	Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, A

Perception and Averages

On Monday, Dave Ramsey had Andy Andrews, author of "The Traveler's Gift" and "Master the Seven Decisions" on the show. Near the end of the segment, Andy was talking about averages. He described how, after a recent hurricane, he said he was devastated, and so to him, everyone was devastated. But, there were some people that weren't devastated and even prospered because of the hurricane: carpenters, plumbers, landscape people made more money in their lives because of that hurricane. As an average, his town, Orange Beach was devastated.

There is one segment of society that will not participate in an economic downturn: its doctors. They won't participate in it because our perception of them is different. You know, I've asked people, thousands of people, how many of you have bad doctors, and nobody ever raises their hand. You know that's impossible, right? It's impossible because if we take all of the doctors that represent us, half of them are going to be above average, and half of them are going to be below average. There are thousands of people in America are being cared for by bad doctors evidently. Below average doctors. But, our perception of them is that they're smarter, that they're better educated, and that they're worth the money, that they're worth us sittin' waiting three hours for them to give us five minutes of their time. And our perception of somebody is so strong that it will keep them financially sound through an economic downturn. Now, all I am asking is, if our perception of somebody is so strong that we can affect their financial ability, why can't we turn some of that on ourselves? And you understand that your perception of yourself affects your choices. And when your perception of yourself affects your choices, it changes the choices that you make. You know, an average, we can choose to be above the line, we can choose which the part of the line that we want to be on. It's huge to have a perception of yourself that is at least as effective as somebody else.

Now, this may sound like motivational speaking, and it might be. But it ties back into my post about Little Man Syndrome, and how we may get beaten up by events in our lives, but we do have an amazing ability to change our perception of ourselves and the choices that we make.

Financial Peace University

Cindy and I start our third FPU class this thursday night. This will be our first solo class after our good friends Ron and Sheila have given us the opportunity to be their wingmen during the past two classes.

This video is from the last session, "The Great Misunderstanding." We spend twelve weeks teaching how to get out of debt, how to build wealth and how to protect it. And then, we teach about how to live your life with an open hand, and giving generously and cheerfully.

Grab some tissues.

So, who is this Dave Ramsey?

Jay responded in my Little Man Syndrome post that he did not know who Dave was. I responded in an email, but, thought, hey, I need content so let's post it here too.

In November of 2007, I came across Dave Ramsey's "The Total Money Makeover" while listening to XM Radio. For my entire adult life, I did not carry a lot of consumer debt, but I did not have a plan. At the time, I had about $7,000 out in a car and credit cards. I was comfortable with this.

What I was not comfortable was that I did not have a plan with the income that I made. I make a decent salary, and at the end of the month, Cindy and I could not account for it. Any emergency that we had (emergency was at least $300 or more) was placed on a credit card. I think, at the time, I had $1,800 in a regular savings account. I contributed to my 401k, but to be honest, I did not understand what I was investing in. Finally, there was the looming thought of, if something was to happen to me, what would become of Cindy and the girls?

Dave Ramsey is all about getting you out of debt, "giving you the same advice your grandma would, but, we keep our teeth in." He is from Brentwood Tennessee, and runs a nationally syndicated talk radio show (1 hour is free via ITunes) where the subject is 99.9% driven by the callers. Callers get to ask questions, and on Friday, those who have become debt free except the mortgage calls in to scream "We're debt free!" TMM is a practical application of his "Financial Peace University," which is a thirteen week class that teaches couples how to get out of debt, live on a budget, build an emergency fund, save for retirement, save for kids college, pay of the house and then build and give away wealth. In fact, those are often called the baby steps. Cindy and I have become FPU Coordinators and will be starting our third class this Thursday. FPU is a one hour video followed by a one hours small group accountability session. Here is an example on You Tube. He covers topics including insurance, investment and saving for college.

The impact that this has made in our marriage is immeasurable. At the end of may, we will have finished Baby Step #3 and have 6 months of expenses saved in a money market account. Before the month begins, we spend a few moments looking over our budget for the month to make sure we have covered any of the non standard expenses. We have had enough to save for trips and vacations. We do not own any credit cards, but we do use our debit cards. We pay cash for just about everything. And, we have not had a fight over money since starting.

So, check him out.

Newly Wed Game

Just got back from our small group tonight where we ditched our reading of a "God Centered Church" for a potluck dinner and a game. There is something that I like about the concept of small group – there is potential to really get to know people, to learn about their likes, dislikes, struggles, questions and doubts that I never got from the traditional Sunday School. The hard part though, is opening up…getting real and feeling comfortable to share our doubts about certain passages without feeling like you are going to get pounced on.

So tonight, we played one round of the Newly Wed game. Cindy and I didn't win, but we had a lot of laughs with our group. And, the group seemed to open up. I did remember the first significant gift that she gave me was the movie poster from Ghost. However, I described our first kiss as "garlicky" while she described it as sweet.

These types of activities are import in building a group because, once you start knowing each other on this level, you start to care for one another. You pray for each other on a different level and you follow up with each other. It doesn't become just another activity you do (Church, check, orchestra, check, small group, check) during the week.

And, it is nice to get past the façade that we sometimes put out just because we don't want to get hurt.

Little Man Syndrome

Little Man Syndrome is a term Dave Ramsey uses to describe people that believe that someone/something else is in control of your life. Often mixed in is the hope that Washington will somehow fix it.

This syndrome is often irritated by the news, which picks out hot button topics and fans the flame. Perhaps one of the hottest topics is gas prices. I hate paying it, you hate paying it, but it is one of those expenses we really can't live without.

But, the same newscast with stories about higher gas prices wrecking people's budgets also has stories about people lining up to buy "Grand Theft Auto 4" (cost - $59.99) and see Iron Man ($150,652,108.00 opening box office weekend). Hmmm. So, there is still some room in the budget, right?

The New York Times has an interactive chart of the parts that make up the Consumer Price Index. It shows that gasoline makes of 5.2% of the spending nationwide and is up 26% from the previous year.

To put this into perspective, the average American making $40,000 a year, and will spend 5.2% of that budget on gasoline ($2080.00). That is up 26% from last year, so if this year they are spending $2080.00, last year they spent $1, 539.20.

I like to look at how this affects my paycheck.

I get paid bi-weekly, which simply means I get 26 paychecks a year. If I budget based on the CPI, I would divide what I anticipate on spending in gas this year by 26. Using our example, I need to budget $80.00 a month for gasoline ($2080.00/26). If I had done this for the previous year, I would have budgeted $59.20 for gasoline ($1539.20 /26).

So far, the net impact of gas prices on me is that I am paying $20.80 more per paycheck on gasoline (or $540.80 more per year; or 1.35% (540.80/40000) increase over the previous year).

Should a 1.35% change blow a budget based on 40k? I hope not. I can't remember taking my family out to the movies for $21.00, or buying a new game for that much.

So, the point is. the Government isn't going to fix your budget.

You are.

Checks are in the Mail

Wow. The stimulus check has been deposited into my banking account. Thank you, Congress. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. I feel that I should do my Patriotic Duty, and go and spend this stimulus check that I can stimulate Best Buy right out of this recession. But, I think it's going into the pig. Make the pig happy.

mmmm. Pig.

Happy 25 Years Ewoks

Seems hard to believe that Return of the Jedi came out 25 years ago this May. It was the only Star Wars that I did not see at the Dutch Square Theaters (I saw it at the Bush River Mall Cinemas).

This video is pretty funny. Hang in there: Billy Dee Williams makes an appearance.

In a hole in the ground...

And with those words, Bilbo Baggins took off on an adventure with 13 dwarves and a wizard to reclaim the ancient treasure guarded by the dragon Smaug.

It was announced today that Guillermo del Toro will direct the two films based on JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit. If you did not catch Hellboy a few years back, the sequel will be in theaters this summer. Also, Pan's Labyrinth is quite good.

Nearly ten years ago, I was very worried about Lord of the Rings being filmed by Peter Jackson. I had only seen one of his films (Braindead). As it turns out, he was a bigger fan of the material than I was, and I have no doubt in my mind that Hollywood could never have produced such a fine version. So, I am trusting in the Eldar that del Toro will do a fine job.

For Todd

Love ya man!

What would Jabbox Say?

A split infinitive is when an adverb comes between the word "to" and the uninflected form of a verb, as in "To boldly go."

The Handshake

Honestly, I was losing it today.

I hate to admit it. I hate to admit that I get panicked, worried. But, that was my situation. Doesn't matter the circumstance, the reason. I was losing my typical calm and cool collectiveness. I wanted to tell my boss three times that I am quitting and moving on to greener pastures. I was really working up a head of steam.

And then, it changed. Subtly.

I was meeting with one of my managers, getting updates for the week for the "Project Plan." Then we worked out a rough delivery schedule for May and into June. Then, life seemed to come back into balance. I breathed a bit deeper. I realized how much I appreciate the people that work for me. I extended my hand, shook hers, and said "Thank you."

It felt fantastic. Perspective returned, and I felt as if some weight had been lifted. Weird, I know.

Turning the Big Four-O

In little over a month, I join some of my pals and turn 40. Big milestone, because, let's face it guys, statistically speaking, it's been downhill since about thirty seven. So, I've made it to forty, and I made my peace with that a couple of years ago. I distinctly remember when my Dad turned thirty eight – he broke his arm that year, and, George Rogers won the Heisman trophy (George Rogers jersey was thirty eight) – I associated my Dad's age at that event with a college football player. I couldn't believe that I was now the same age as that little boy remembered.

My friend George really did a fine job for himself on his fortieth. He pulled his college band back together and shared his love for music, performance and God with a whole bunch of us. It was a real privilege to go. Unfortunately, my college band was a bit bigger. Perhaps I can get a small group of the guys to come up and we can do some drill on the front lawn. I still have arrangements of "Favorite Things" somewhere around here.

Really, I have no grand plans. May 19^th will come, and will go. I hope there will be cake. Maybe, in honor of the new Indy movie coming out, I can schedule a Raiders Marathon. Or, take the day off and go to Bush Gardens?

Seriously, though, looking ahead, can I create a goal to accomplish during my fortieth year? Perhaps this will be the year that I rebooted my career, or wrote that home school programming curriculum that I have tossed around for nearly a year. Maybe I can start listening for God's calling in my life instead of driving it all the time. Love people a bit more?

Recommendation

Sounds like logical reasoning to me.

A New Trend

We all get them. A friend receives an email that tells them about some disaster and then forwards the email to everyone in their address book, including you. At first, the story appeals to you, but, is it real? For most of us, we fall back to various sites on the internet to validate the story. Snopes has become to urban myths what Google is to search engines. When you first started receiving these emails, and then finding out that they were urban myths, you would type up a nice reply saying as much, and then pointing them to Snopes. Then, you stopped with the nice letter and sent them to Snopes. Finally, you just stopped reading most of the email that came in from those people.

Well, they have heard us, loud and clear. They are now scouring Snopes to find the ones that are true and then they send those out. At the bottom is a convenient link to Snopes, saving you the trouble of validating.

This morning I received the "Don't Ever Dial Area Code 809" email, including a link to Snopes. I received this today, and this has been around since 2000? Thanks for the timeliness. And, none of the origins was shared.

I am beginning to think that the odds of being hit with one of these scams are about as low as getting hit by lightning. But, what are the odds that I will receive this email two more times this week?

Redbox Card Skimmers

How easy would it be to steal your credit card numbers at your local ATM or Redbox? Check this out!

Tired

This week has been really draining. At work, we have been given new top down directions on how to manage the request for software development. The directions are rather reactionary, and the net result is that most teams have lost developers. Two of our teams have been the benefactors, gaining developers they did not have before.

The ironic bit is that this has generated an application that I am writing. Those Who Know have developed a "Request for Software Development" form using Word. The idea is to document the requests and make sure that account managers, software development managers and directors all agree on what work should be billed back to the client and identify the purchase order. The goal is to reduce the amount of "development hours" given away for free (which really is a problem). However, we are now using Word and Outlook to route these documents back and forth. Anything ironic here? And, then They That Know ask for metrics based on these worksheets.

Now I have been burning time in the week and at night to put together a workflow application in ASP.NET. Oh yeah baby, I finally get a chance to kick with .NET 3.5, Ajax (I love the Client Side Library: $get and $addhandler rocks! Client side callbacks to the server without using Remote Scripting or having to write my own quasi out of band process. Oh Yeah!) and LINQ to SQL(which rocks you like a hurricane). The only problem is, I really started writing the application last weekend and my boss asked for it on this Monday. I've put in late hours and I just put in 9 hours today to try to get it closer, but, it is not going to happen. I started to sweat it, but come one, the company isn't going to die if I don't have this done. However, I have had a blast with it. But man, am I tired. A good tired. I really miss programming.

Card Board Tron

In lieu of posting anything of any real deep or meaningful, I present (yet another) link to the fabulous world of Video.

I give you Cardboard Tron

Tron
Uploaded by freres-hueon

Sans Sansa, Week 2

My Sansa MP3 never showed up last week, thus defeating my theory. I believed that whenever I misplace something, my normal reaction is to Hulk out. I decided to remain calm and not accuse, even though the evidence appeared as though this was no mere misplacement. I was even able to move money around the various envelopes so that I had enough to replace the device, which was my intention for this weekend.

However, the muffler on Cindy's car had a different plan. Seems the "new" repair shop that we went to last November removed a flex joint between the Catalytic Converter and the muffler. As Uncle Dave use to say "That's a No No." So, the money that was going to the Sansa (along with several other envelopes) ended up going to the car.

Maybe I should just save up from one of those sweet Ipod Touch?

Darth Vader Being A Jerk

Todd, I hope this can help you through your work day!

EniTech Research

Dear Future Guys

Yeah thanks… maybe “hey, theres a big killer robot coming your way soon!” might have been a better warning. You can travel through time and invent cameras that see into the future, but you can’t send one pertinent email or text message? If you guys are our last hope, the human race is hosed.

Find out about the work EniTech has been doing.

Interesting Typography

You need to check this out, great scenes from television and film, told using only typography. I am linking this one for my pal Jay. I can not count the times we have discussed Psycho, and it is perhaps a near perfect horror film.

Good Friday

One of the Bryan traditions to start off the day is to circle up and say a prayer for the day. Cindy and I had started it long before the girls came along, and, as they have gotten older, they have become a part of it. Sure, the prayers are simple, but, it is another touch point before going off in various directions.

This also presents neat opportunities to read scripture without it feeling forced, or fake. This morning, I read John chapter 18 and 19 – The trial and execution of Jesus. For all the attention that Easter Sunday will get, sometimes we over look Good Friday. Without the crucifixion, there could be no resurrection. I do not tend to get overly emotional about things, but, for whatever reason, the magnitude of what was going on in these two chapters hit me like a ton of bricks. By the time we got to "It is finished" all four of us were crying.

What struck me most was the simplicity of what was happening. This simplicity contrasts with how complex I tend to make it. I know that John 3:16 is somewhat cliché, but that is it – that is the Christian gospel.

A Girl's Best Friend

Quiz Rally

This past weekend, Katie (second from the right) participated in her first U.S. Pony Club Quiz Rally. It was an exciting event as it included an overnight stay in a hotel with mom, complete with a swimming pool and watching "Man Vs. Wild" (Katie pronounces Vs as "vee ess," not versus…cute). The Quiz Rally started early Saturday. Her group finished in third place, but, out of the fourteen clubbers in her division, Katie finished fourth. We are proud of her accomplishments!

Megan and Me

So, with Cindy and Katie gone Friday night, Megan and I got to hang out together.

Last night, I asked her where she would like to go for dinner. Without blinking an eye, she replied "Hardees." Seems she likes fried chicken, but, she is quick to clarify that Zesto's is better than Hardee's. After dinner, we settled down to watch "The Bee Movie." Better than I thought it would be, but it still wore thin by the time it was over.

This morning, we struck out for Dunkin Donuts and Fivebucks for a morning sugar rush. We brought it all home, and I scrambled up some eggs to fill out the plate. I wanted to go over to Southern States to identify some broadleaf weeds that are popping up, and that is when I discovered the missing Sansa MP3 player. Taco Bell was on tap for lunch, and "Spiderwick Chronicles" was the afternoon entertainment. It's unusual for food to be such a central theme, but we both agreed that we are stuffed.

Megan wanted to buy Katie a toy for placing third in the Quiz Rally, so after the trip to KB Toys, I think I am done.

El Frito Bandito

Just an update on Bandit.

The owner of the farm, and the former owner of Bandit agree: we ride Bandit too much, and he's gone on strike. Cindy's approach has been musical, ala practicing the violin. So, I believe that there will be a natural decrease in the outings to the farm to let the big boy rest up.

Meanwhile, Katie and Cindy are coming back from Pony Club Quiz Rally, where their club placed third. This was Katie's first club event, and she had an overnight stay in a hotel (always exciting) and got to go swimming. While there, Cindy bought a new saddle for $200.00 after having it checked out by others. Incidentally, we had just begun saving for a saddle, and had been praying for extra jobs to come Cindy's way. Just a week ago, she played for the opening of a Target where she made…$200.00. Talk about blessings!

Sansa on the Lam

Perhaps it was the cavalier attitude by which I was considering putting a bluegrass tribute to AC/DC onto my MP3 player, or perhaps it had just had enough of playing The Dave Ramsey Show, but, whatever the cause, my darling Sansa is nowhere to be found. I took her out with me this morning, listened to a few callers on the DRS, picked up a mocha from Fivebucks and came home. I remember thinking I needed to take her in to recharge her, but…I am not clear as to what actually happened once I got back. All I know is that I have searched where she should be, but I think she has run off.

I am nervous.

Facebook!

What it is good for? Absolutely nothing. Say it again.

I opened up a facebook page, but I have to admit that I just don't get it. Just one more thing to march away time.

String Quartets, Bluegrass Jams and AC/DC

Mot posted about her AC/DC Album. During my General Cinema days, I came to love this album with the group I hung out with at the time. " You Shook Me All Night Long" was the official party starting song.

So, I thought, fantastic, I will download the album from Rhapsody and put it in my Sansa. Alas, there were only four albums where AC/DC appeared: The Last Action Hero, Maximum AC/DC, AC/DC X-Posed: The Interview, and "Back In Baroque: The String Tribute to AC/DC."

I have to blame my violin playing wife for this, but, I couldn't resist. And, yes, it was as bad as I thought. But, in just cruising that link to post, I came across another album that made me sit up and say "Hells Bells:" "Back In Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to AC/DC."

We can still be friends, right Martha?

Stuck in my Head

I hate getting songs stuck in my head. Maybe if I close my eyes and count to 4 I can get rid of this one:

Sweetheart bitterheart now I can't tell you apart
Cosy and cold, put the horse before the cart

Almost Mid-Week

Hi gang!

It seems I have gotten into the habit of starting to write a post, and then decide that I am trying to be too deep for my own good. I end up sending the unfinished post into the bits and bytes of the netherworld that exists when you shut Word down without saving. I have been enjoying reading your posts.

Time change didn't hit me too hard on Sunday, but, it has been killing me all week. If one of Obama's changes for a positive future included the elimination of DST, I would vote for him in a skinny second. Heck, I think I would go if he just promised to move it from Sunday to Saturday. World Peace? Nah. Don't screw with my sleep – you have my undivided attention.

Bad news with Bandit. Seems the guy is just too old. He has been puttering out lately, so we might be looking at our second lease. I have not had as much time out at the farm as my girls, but when I have gone it has been a lot of fun. Something about tacking up the horse … helps me escape for a bit (no pun intended). I will post more about the big boy. Hopefully, it's just a mood thing, but, as I said, he is old.

Star Wars as explained by a 3 year old

This is all kinds of Cute!

Sabotage

Four-hundred years ago, on the planet Earth, workers who felt their livelihood threatened by automation, flung their wooden shoes, called sabo, into the machines to stop them . . . hence the word: sabotage.
Lt. Valeris – Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

I feel that I continue to sabotage my weight loss efforts. I need to re-loose about 20 pounds off of my 6’2 endomorphic frame. I do really well in the morning and afternoon because I am at work. It’s only after dinner do I struggle with the “I’m bored ergo I want to eat.” My downfalls in the past has been an acute addiction to sugary cereals and PB&Js. Last night was some really, really salty Wheat Thins while watching last week’s “Jericho.” Usually, Mondays and Tuesdays are my loosing days with the rest of the week being maintaining days. Fudge.

For LJ - The Duck Reference

Suffer Not…

Last night in small group, the subject of curriculum came up. One parent had asked if it was possible for the church to align curriculum across the church so what the children learned was what the adults were learning. I guess the net goal was to make the "so, what did you learn in church today" question easier to discuss.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deu 6:7

Another parent chimed in. Apparently, their child had been taught that witches were real. You could hear the intake of breath. "Oh, you need to report that, we don't believe that here." I had to raise my hand. "Perhaps," I started, not to sarcastically, "that they read the 'suffer not a witch verse.'"

The SG leader wisely got the discussion back on track. I was not trying to derail the class, but, the subtext of my message was clear (at least to me). Or church's constitution makes no stand on the existence of witches. However, it does make a stand on the authenticity of the bible. Logic (at least what passes for it in my noodle) says "if we believe the bible to be true, and the bible says not to suffer a witch, then, ergo, there must be witches to not be suffered."

You can tell who they are because they weigh the same as a duck.

Ok, so I was being a smart alec. But the point that got lost was it is the parents, not the church, that need to teach the Bible to our children. The Sunday School teachers should be our partners, reinforcing what we have taught our children and not the other way around.

What a Day!!

I left the house for the cinema at 9:30. Put some gas in the car, picked up Tony and got there around 10:15. We claimed some choice seats, but not the coveted 4RC (sorry Jay). The films started promptly at 11:00 and ended about 12 hours later.

Michael Clayton: Of the five, the first was my favorite. Nice story structure and satisfying ending. Excellent Soundtrack.

There Will Be Blood: I was really looking forward to this film, but, in many ways, it might be my least favorite. Make no mistake, the film is a worthy watch and Daniel Day Lewis is fantastic. In between films we had a bit of a talk back with people nearby. I was the only one who thought that Paul and Eli were not brothers as Paul had said, but rather the same people. Eli was a bit off his rocker, and it made me think that Paul must have been his "nicer" personality. In the end, this perplexed me, but made perfect sense that Eli thought that Daniel had made the deal with him, and Daniel reminded him that the deal was made with Paul. Anyways, I want to read Upton Sinclair's "Oil!" which the film was based upon. Brilliant Soundtrack.

Atonement: I was not looking forward to this film. In many ways, it was exactly what I thought it was going to be until the last five minutes. And then it all comes together. Seriously, just wait for the ending. Casting did a fantastic job of matching actresses to Briony in her different ages. The evacuation of Dunkirk was surreal, and has a fantastic uncut (apparently) shot that last nearly three minutes. Favorite Soundtrack featuring a type writer as a percussive instrument.

Juno: Like last year's "Little Miss Sunshine," I am a bit perplexed as to why this film was nominated. I really liked it, but when compared with the other films it seemed out a place. You know, "one of these things is not like the other." kinda different. Otherwise, dialogue was smartly written. Utterly forgettable soundtrack.

No Country for Old Men: I really wished they would have not placed this last in the line up. By the end, I could feel myself nodding off during long stretches of dialogue. Very well written dialogue. It was an interesting story, but I am not sure I got it. At first, it seemed to be a very straight forward crime drama with a relentless assassin armed with a very clever weapon. It settles into a chase film and ends up … well, I can't tell you that. But, it doesn't end in the way you think it will. I really don't think I missed it, I just think I was getting to run down to concentrate. Was there a soundtrack?

Sit Long and Prosper

Today, Tony and I will drive up to the AMC Theater in Hampton, VA for the second annual "2008 Best Picture Showcase." The five Academy Award Nominees will be presented starting with Michael Clayton (11:00 am), There Will Be Blood (1:20 pm), Atonement (4:20 pm), Juno (7:40 pm) and No Country for Old Men (9:00 pm). I am thankful that my wife understands me.

See you tomorrow!