Three Dog Army

Cartoon Friday - Loki

2011-05-27T12:02:00.000-05:00

Loki, on a trip to the vet last year.

image made using toonPAINT app, for iPhone

Hello Vino

2011-05-23T15:21:00.000-05:00

There's a weekly dinner which happens at the Nashes, which has been going on since 2006. There was a "precursor/prequel" version of it which actually started back in ye ole university days, around 2004, but that was mostly just with Breann. The "Weekly Dinner with the Nashes" didn't actually start until 2006 though.

contrary to random belief, The Nashes is a household of Breann, Lee...and now Logan, Lola, and Teddy. It is NOT a country club, which is a question that came up. The food is much better than the slop at a country club. =oP

Due to the long-standing belief that my cooking is hazardous to everyone else's health, Breann has always kindly asked if I can just pick up a bottle of wine, with an occasional detour into a bread, cheese, or dessert.

Over the years, it's been a small selection of tried-but-true wines, numbering less than a dozen wineries. I personally will pick up a bottle if the label caught my eye, which is haphazard. Sometimes it's tasty, sometimes Lee glares at me while he tries to ~~gag~~ sip it down. The worse case was when he poured a half bottle out and declared that kosher wine was never allowed in the house again.
it was really really really really bad wine - don't get kosher wine!!

About a month ago, had the random idea of going through the alphabet. It may or may not have been a little bit of OCD kicking in...
The expected response was that Lee would be wary and Breann would be half-amused.
Breann: "umm.....okaaaaay....alphabet...."
Lee: "cool, this should be interesting!"
Donald: o_O

The type of wine is dictated by the food Breann is cooking...the label/winery is dictated by the alphabet (going to have to hit Specs for letters like Q and Z!).

Week One: Arrow Creek's cab. Verdict...it's okay. Not an awesome wine, but a good wine.
Week Two: Blackstone Sonoma Reserve's pinot noir. Really enjoyed this one

Going to be an interesting 24 weeks ;)

Cheesecake Tarts

2011-05-17T20:04:00.003-05:00

When you tell people you're re-learning how to cook, you get all kinds of help. Apparently people like to eat!
One of those people is the lady who cuts my hair, and she'll describe a dish while she's working. A haircut is already a relaxing experience, but when someone is describing a cooking process and food, it becomes something even more delightful.
The latest dish she passed along was for Cheesecake Tarts - it's super simple, very customizable, and damn tasty!
The main ingredients are very simple: two 8-oz packages of cream cheese, one cup of sugar, two eggs, and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Place all in a bowl, and start mixing.
Now, one lesson I've learned is that cooking apparently requires booze of some sort, usually a glass of wine (music is also nice). In this instance, beer was used. Look - two hands!

Keep mixing until you get a nice creamy mixture, and the consistency will be like that of cake batter, maybe a little heavier (hello, creamcheese...).

Let that sit by itself (it won't be lonely for long), and get some cupcake liners. At the bottom of each layer, place a vanilla wafer...this is going to act like a "crust". Then fill up about 2/3 - 3/4 full with mix. Bake at 350-degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until the tops are a light golden brown color. Take out, let cool about 20 minutes. the tarts are going to settle, making dent in the top.

Oh no - dents. WhatEVER do we fill that with?
Pie filling. Any type you like.
And depending on the grocery store you use, you may find yourself standing there for quite some time, trying to figure out which one you want to use.
===no, of course not, this was NOT a five minute process for yours truly===
Fill the dents (sorry, I don't know what the technical word is, and "settled parts" sounds like I'm playing Oregon Trail) so you have a nice little pile of pie filling - in this case, blueberry filling was used. You wind up with some tasty little creations that look as good as they taste:

Oh, and a good rule of thumb - have a tester. No, this is not at ALL an excuse to snack while cooking...
Actually, you will want one that you can poke into to make sure they're cooked. I hear tbat you can use a toothpick, but this is a better way to do it...

Now, the original recipe was apparently created with the mini-cupcake liners in mind...so the vanilla wafer actually fills the bottom and makes a real crust. These cook for about 20 minutes (again, until the tops are golden brown).
Another idea is to get a cookie-crust cake, and make a large pie-sized version. A co-worker tried this and said that it came out great.
Also, you can play with the pie fillings. Alternate blueberry and cherry (or strawberry) and you have a 4th of July snack. You're only limited by the types of pie filling you can find.
Oh, and a word of caution - if you want to use whipped cream on top? Wait until you're serving. Found out the hard way that whipped cream loves to melt really quickly.

*disclaimer - Breann supervised during this process, to ensure that no one was harmed in the making or eating of these tarts....thanks Kitty!!!

Pets and Posts

2011-04-05T12:09:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, I feel a small urge to start a blog for my two dogs, Pandora & Loki.

They have enough personality that it could work... and they think they're little people (minus the opposable thumbs), so it wouldn't be a surprise.

Then I realize that my own blog posting is sporadic enough as it is. With school, I feel a sense of "time crunch" and barely have enough time for any real socializing and blogging, let alone maintaining a whole new blog for the pets

but it's tempting... oh so tempting

Loki, being the super-nosy being, would definitely be discussing all the comings and goings of the neighborhood. The blinds in the front part of the apartment *must* be left up a foot, so he can see out and watch everyone. NOSY DOG! If he could work the remote control, I am sure he would fill me on on the summary of the day's soap operas. He'd also know all the best neighborhood gossip. And he'd daydream about Chicken. Roast Chickens the size of minivans. Chicken Bits that float through the air, and one must simply leap up to snag morsels of yumminess. Chickens that tango across the room, before laying down in the food bowl, surrounded by tasty veggies. Chicken. Chicken for day, years, eons...of all sizes and shapes. CHICKEN!

Pandora would discuss her Napoleonic complex - the complexities and difficulties of trying to rule an apartment (let alone the world) when she's less than a foot tall...let alone barely a foot long. She'd be addicted to the news all day, blasting Sarah Palin for her stupidity and Barack Obama for his inability to strike out in a brave manner on any topic. She'd delve into politics, world events, social commentary...and would have a very well-developed dialogue. She'd argue with the radio (as if they could hear her), providing commentary to NPR and attempting to bash in the hollow head of Glenn Beck.

Maybe they can just have a Facebook page, for starters, and see how that goes...

Apartment Progress - The Bathroom

2011-03-26T14:55:00.015-05:00

In January, I moved into a new apartment, a half-mile from work.
(yes, the commute is AMAZING...five-minute walk and minuscule gasoline bill)

There was an initial flurry of acquiring essentials. Never before in my life did I realize how truly wondrous a colander is.

After that initial outflow of monies, sat down and created a Plan of Attack for outfitting the new home. Eventually decided on the following order: Bathroom, Bedroom, Study, Kitchen, Living Room.
It basically goes in order of simplest to most-complex to finish...which has the misfortune of leaving the living room as last, although it's the room where I spend the most time (when awake).

The bathroom was finished in early February. The essentials got knocked out rather quickly - the holdouts were finding some sort of shelving unit for an open space under the kitchen counter (thank you, Container Store!), and getting around to the photographs & frames for the walls.

This is what I started out working with:

Yay, 70's yellow tile...which was easily covered up with a bright blue & white striped shower curtain. Scoured stores in town for this look and ultimately had to go to Amazon.com to find what I was looking for:

Might put something on the back of the toilet tank, but it's a very small "water closet", so works fine as-is for now.

Yes Virginia, there is a sink and faucet over to the right.

180-degree view of the bathroom.

Originally the plan was to do blue and white, with a hint of gray. However, fell in love with some vintage-looking countertop items that are a pewter-gray... and the rest of the bathroom followed suit from that. The vanity area is white and dark gray, with small elements of blue.
The water closet is a lot of blue and white, with a dark gray bathmat, pulling the two rooms together.

It's a small start, but it's a step.

Next stop, bedroom. Which, is turning out to take awhile because I'm being picky. Oops.

2011-03-25T13:58:00.003-05:00

I snagged this from Breann - who snagged it before me. Play along!

1. My most prized possession is: A stuffed Mickey Mouse from when I was a child...and has managed to survive all these years, with a LOT of Mom's stitching holding it together.

2. If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be: 30. It's that nice in-between when you still see life as a large vista in front of you, but with some actual experience to help make sense of things.

3. The best way to spend a weekend is: With the windows open, hanging out with the dogs and the record player cranked up.

4. My outlook on life is:"I still believe I can fly". Whatever it is, most things can be accomplished with enough effort. If not, then there's valuable lessons to be learned for the next attempt.

5. If you want to annoy me: talk about how much something you have costs. A thing's worth is in its features and what it means to the person, not the dollar sign attached.

6. I am completely defenseless when it comes to: coffee.

7. When dressing for the day one should put on: a watch.

Adventures in Re-Learning How to Cook - Baked Chicken

2011-03-23T11:53:00.008-05:00

Once upon a time, I knew how to cook. I rocked the Home Ec class, and could make stuff. Somewhere along the past decade, that ability went pfffffffffffft. The clear warning sign was the time that the dog wouldn't even eat one of the dishes... and this is the dog that is believed to be part pig.

The new year's resolution for 2011 was to re-learn how to cook, if it killed me.
I'm sure that family and friends took out life insurance policies.

Last night was the first "real dish" made at the new apartment, not counting the spaghetti made the first weekend after unpacking.
I've watched Breann cook about every week, and one of her mainstay dishes is a roasted chicken. I had boneless chicken breasts on-hand, but the basic idea was there and could be modified.

So, this was the basic equation for possible disaster:
No recipe + Dish modified from observed dish = ?
Surprisingly, it turned out well (Breann's a good teacher...and is very very patient)

First up, carrots, onions, and red potatoes. Basics.
Which got taken care of very quickly, thanks to this wonderful gadget:

Williams-Sonoma Vegetable Chop & Measure

And we wind up with this:

(it was an excuse to start taking photos again...)

There's also some carrots, but the photograph didn't take well, so use your imagination. If you're not sure what a carrot looks like to do so, then you're in worse shape than I am when it comes to cooking.

Enter one baking dish, some olive oil, and butter... and browned chicken.

Now, this was the one aspect where my brain coughed up some random bit of knowledge, dredged up from who knows where. It's very easy to picture the mind as a series of shelves of knowledge - this would be some dusty, cobwebby area, and I apologize profusely to the neuron that had to go there to be useful.

However, said neuron had the idea to put a pat of butter on each of the browned chicken pieces, so that they wouldn't dry out while baking.

Again, I have no idea where this idea came from. I went to thank the neuron, but its supervisor said that it was out sick today, having inhaled massive amounts of dust, but is expected back at work on Friday.

Put in oven on 300-degrees for about an hour and a half.

Which is where the worry came in. Not having a recipe, and not having cooked in...???...a long time, was really just guessing and throwing it into the wind on this one. Especially while working on a term paper, which meant that I wasn't even focused and a lot of time went by unobserved.

Plus, there was a very random worry that the olive oil would catch on fire from the heat and light the apartment on fire. No clue where this concern came from, but the thought was very prevalent that I'd soon be meeting my end at the hands of olive oil.

This may or may not stem from a hatred of [unnamed tv chef], who is always babbling on about EVOO, and hoping she'd catch on fire and go away. Karma twisted the concept, and now I was afraid of a Death by Chicken, involving fireballs. Like a really bad version of Super Mario Brothers...

ANYWAY, the end result was this:

It was damn-tasty, and tthere was much rejoicing in the land (well, in the apartment).

In the future, will drizzle some olive oil on the vegetables, which dried out just a little but not were still good.

With the exception of Loki, who smelled chicken but didn't get any, which is why I'm sure he kept kicking me in the kidneys that night while sleeping.

World Cup Madness

2010-06-18T18:11:00.010-05:00

It's that time that comes around every four years!

No, not the Olympics...that's every two years. No matter what they say about it being an every-four-year event, it's really two years, since they have that Summer and Winter business going on.

(and where are the Spring and Fall games?)

WORLD CUP!

If you enjoy sports, know that it is the most-widely viewed sports event ever.

If you don't enjoy sports, know that there are hot mens running around, who often get shirtless after a match.

Somehow, after years of falling asleep whenever sports were present, soccer and rugby stuck to the head stuffing I call brains. Not sure why - maybe because there's actually activity and skill involved, unlike baseball and football. Tennis is also fun, but boring as hell to watch. Golf? Neither fun to play or watch, unless it's mini-golf, and even then it's only good for about an hour before being mind-numbing.

Somehow at work, I became the go-to person for the World Cup. All I did was put up a bracket poster to track the games, and ask if we could turn the lobby television channel to some channel that plays the games.

How does the finals systems work? Which teams are playing today? Whose ahead on points? How does a match work? What are they doing? What's going on?

How does one become a soccer guru?

Wikipedia

You too can become an instant quasi-not-really-expert on anything known to man...or at least a dozen people who created and edited a page on the internet.

The best part of the World Cup? The television at work.

The bank provides a random assortment of channels. On the surface, the channels that are filtered out make sense...until you actually make a list of the channels that are available.

At that point, it looks like someone in Accounting was drawing lines on another sheet of paper and the ink bled through onto the tv service contract, thus eliminating some useful channels.

One of these would be ESPN...which is not a channel I normally say in conjunction with the word "useful".

The channel that we do get? Univision.

YES!

Do you know what it means when you're watching the World Cup on Univision?

It means that you don't have a damn clue what's going on because it's all in Spanish - and that makes it easier to actually work and look up to see what's going on occasion, rather than just stare at the tv all day.

It also means that the game is more entertaining. There is a world of difference between the announcers on ESPN and the announcers on Univision.

ESPN likes to speak very stately, very knowledgeable, and as if they were a newscast.

In a word? Boring.

Univision likes to get into the game, as if they were...oh, I don't know...watching a sporting event!

When a goal is made? You'll know!

Because they scream GOLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The lessons learned today?

1. Soccer is fun.

2. Wikipedia is a great tool.

3. Univision is entertaining as all hell.

4. If Donald had been born speaking Spanish, he might have been more interested in sports growing up.

Saturday Bike Ride

2010-04-09T06:11:00.003-05:00

photos taken on a bike ride last weekend

Doomsday

2010-01-06T22:36:00.002-06:00

Sitting on the couch, blowing my nose and sneezing, I've pulled up Tivo and there is a program that was recorded from the History Channel.

"2012 Extinction"...basically about predictions for the end of the world on 21-Dec-2012.

Hooya! 'Cause really, when one is sick...and tired of being sick...there is something deliciously nice about watching someone narrate about the end of the world.

"Yeah...yeah, get everyone else too. Bitches!"

*cue sneezing*

Interestingly, the modern Maya are saying "no, that's not what the calendar means - the world isn't going to end."

The white people who are interpreting the calendar are saying "Nooo, that IS what it says, and we know better!

An eye-candy movie released this year compromises. "Yes, it will be a big bad earth-crushing disaster...but some select people in big ark ships will survive."

Wouldn't it be more interesting if the prediction was off by ONE day?

Think about it... there are going to be a bunch of people getting ready for that day, even if they don't believe the world will end. There will be parties that are making jest of the fact, there will be people digging shelters in their back yards, and there will be nut-jobs making life a little more difficult for everyone else by trying to help out the disaster.

If the End of the World happened on 20-Dec-2012... well, to begin with that'd be a waste of a LOT of alcohol! On the upside, it'd get the whole event out of the way before people go into a mass hysteria, so that'd be saving a lot of hassle at the least. Plus it'd be one less day of watching this damn Tempurpedic bed commercial (which is on right now) and watching the idiot woman bounce on a bed with a glass of wine to test how firm it is.

(lady...you spill that wine, that is a WASTE and you'd deserve a smack)

I don't want my bed to hug me with squishy firmness. I want to lay on it and doze off.

Anywhoo...

Even better might be End of the World on 22-Dec-2012. The parties are done, the hangovers have commenced. That strange man is done hollering that the end is here. The nut job with the rifle at the shopping mall has been arrested. The news stations are still talking about it because they have to fill the time with *something*.

BAM!

Hey, quick fix to the hangovers! What would make you forget your headache faster than the planet cracking open?

The upside is that the booze didn't go to waste, everyone got to enjoy the end of the world events a little longer...and the only real downside (beside that planet cracking open thing) is that it'd be about 12-24 more hours of watching this damn lady jumping on the bed with a glass of wine.

(supposedly your mattress will last twenty years, which is how long they've been running this ad. seriously, it's the same glass of wine as when i was ten and watching her damn feet go up and down on that twinkie-sponge-bed! the wine's not even good any more twenty years later - who cares if it spills now?)

Maybe that's why God will destroy the world. Tempurpedic beds commercials.

Killer Ants From The Planet WTH

2009-11-11T20:08:00.002-06:00

Monday nights are a reserved tradition of "Dinner with the Nashes" (two married best friends from college, Breann and Lee).

This past Monday night was no different, aside from being viciously attacked by Mother Nature's minions earlier in the evening.

This particular afternoon, my mobile phone wound up falling off the passenger seat, between the seat and the door - before I was even off my street. Pulling back into the driveway, I walked around the Jeep, opened the passenger door, and proceeded to look for the phone.

Feeling a pinch, I looked down and noticed a humongous ant on my toe. Like...this could have been kin to Godzilla it was so damned big. Flicking the little bastard off my toe, I proceeded to continue looking for the phone.

OWOWOWOWOWOW

A wave of pain went across my feet. With the only coherent thought in my head being "WTH OW WTH OW WTH", I looked down...

...and instead of my pasty white feet in flip flops, saw two lumps of dark wavy mass at the end of my legs.

My feet were encased in slippers made of ants.

Did I say the words "coherent thought" earlier? Yeah, ignore that because they ceased to exist for the next few minutes.

Also, let me interject here by saying that it's been rare to see any ants in the yard over the last two years...and even then, teeny tiny ants. But with the rain we've gotten lately, apparently the ants have become huge Miracle-Grow Ants and sprouted up all over the place.

Abandoning the Jeep (with its doors wide open and items stacked on the seat...and not caring a damn), Donald proceeds to run yelling/screaming into the house, probably looking a lot like that annoying kid from the "Home Alone" movies. Bursting through the front door, I got the flip flops off of my feet. This was nothing more than habit because I don't remember thinking "hey, these need to come off".

Don: "Wow, that was quick, you're back already?"

Donald: "AAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Aaaaand, away I went, running and yelling down the hallway into the bathroom. The only non-coherent-thought I had was to get into the bathtub and turn on the water to rinse the Big Bastard Ants off of my feet, which were no longer feet but lumps of pain connected at the ankle.

Don dashed into the bathroom, trying to figure out what the heck was going on and I can only imagine what went through HIS head, seeing me doing an insane version of an Irish jig in the bathtub, water running, hopping from one foot to the other swatting at them to knock the ants off....and doing that damn "Home Alone" yelling impersonation the entire time.

Somehow, Don connected "bare feet" to "missing flip flops" and ran off to get those. Walking back into the bathroom, he tossed them into the sink... and I have no idea how he *didn't* laugh.

Why?

At this point, I'd realized that the ants were crawling up my legs, a few inches above the ankle, and had also made it to the inside of my jeans.

No. No no no no. "Ants in my pants" is supposed to be an EXPRESSION. A turn of phrase.

It's NOT supposed to be a literal translation, especially with big bugger ants that had seemingly cross-bred with killer bees to become Texas-sized Killer Ants from the Planet What The Hell!

So Don walks in to see me yelling in short bits, trying to make words again, and viciously trying to get my jeans off.

In the bath tub...

With running water...

Still trying to do an Irish jig...

And still trying to swat at my feet.

Apparently, in my mind, I had four or six arms and this could be accomplished.

Two days later... my feet are healing from the bites that finally stopped swelling and are subsiding.

And the ant colony? Dead. Deader than dead.

Dead as in "bug death fluid sprayed around the ant hill and then bleach poured down the hole" dead.

Feel free to call PETA and the Animal Liberation Front...I don't give a damn. (1) It was self-defense and (2) when they have Magic Biting Ant Slippers, then they can scold me.

And that was Monday. How was yours?

- donald

Oooh Shiny!

2009-11-08T10:09:00.004-06:00

It's easy to admit when you suffer from the condition known as "Ooh, Shiny!" in regards to gadgets, toys, etc.

My weakness? Mobile phones.

Once upon a time there was a little Sony Ericsson t610 that kicked quite a lot of ass, especially for its time. Before the t610, there were boring little Nokias that made calls and sent text messages, and that was it. This phone had a camera, could send email, could get on the internet, had musical ringtones, etc etc. Shiny!

Alas, AT&T merged with Cingular, I moved to T-Mobile, and had to get a new phone. At some point, a Blackberry Pearl landed in my hands and life was perfect for a good long while.

Then came the damned iPhone.

Marvelous device, but with three major flaws:

(1) no physical keyboard

(2) only on AT&T (after all this time - what the holy hell)

(3) started an arms race

After the iPhone came out, mobile phone manufacturers began churning out little shiny gadgets to compete. Touchscreen, GPS, maps, Facebook, games, etc.

Not being willing to switch to AT&T, options were few...until Google launched their mobile phone system, Android.

Ooh shiny.

And that is how the G1 came into my life...and may soon depart it.

Don't get me wrong - the Google system is great, but there are some serious little disconnects in its world.

- The newer updates are not going to be able to go onto the "older" phones, which are only one year old. Lame.

- Google makes the system, but not programs that connect to their web services except for contacts, calendar, and email. Um...Google Documents? Google Tasks? Google Bookmarks? Google Reader? None of these handy Google sites pull down to the phone unless you use the mobile web browser. Fail. Serious fail.

- Battery life. Blows fat chunks. If all you do is make some calls and a few texts during the day, you'll be fine. Problem with this idea? It's pushed as a phone to run programs, do email, browse the web, etc. Do that and your battery life is a couple hours, maybe four tops. Having a charger in the car, at home, and in the office is a must. They really need to design a solar-powered one or maybe wind-powered. Hey, maybe combine that with a breathalyser program. Not that anyone would do much with the results but point, laugh, and see if they can get the alcohol level higher...but maybe it could power the phone while you're getting wasted.

- No profiles. You can't quickly and easily set the phone to "phone only" (for at night so it's not pinging away), or "quiet mode" for at work. The only setting is to lower or raise the volume, vibrate, or all sound off. Or, there's a program you can download but it's a pain in the ass to setup and...no, just no. It's not goo.

So the phone and I sit here and look at the phone and it looks back at me. We realize that our relationship is not the love affair we thought we would have and, while we aren't hating one another, it's just not an ideal match. Maybe someday when the Google phones are better (not necessarily the system...the physical phones). Maybe if the manufacturer, HTC, hadn't hobbled the device's battery, memory, and speed. Maybe...well, a few things. Maybe one day we'll be back together in perfect harmony.

The Palm Pre looks enticing but it has that same "still developing" aspect and it's not on T-Mobile, only Sprint.

In the meantime, Blackberry is releasing their Bold 2 in a few days, and it'll be coming to T-Mobile.

Ooh, shiny!

It doesn't have a touchscreen, but have really just been using that for maps.

It does have some really great programs that aren't in testing mode but actually work well.

Shazam is there, so can hold up the phone and it'll tell me what the heck this song is that's playing (just not the one in my head).

Meebo isn't (little program that lets you log into a bunch of messenger programs at once), but there's a few good alternatives.

Games can be found to waste time.

Blackberry and I had about two or three happy years together and, while I don't believe one should ever get back together with an ex, this is different (no, it really is!) and the Bold 2 could make me really happy for a couple/few years. Plus, I'll still have the G1 around as a backup phone and can switch between them anytime and it'll only cost me a quick phone call to TMobile so they can change the settings on their end.

(that is, until Blackberry releases the Magnum, which looks like the Bold but you can touch the screen. think Palm Pre...)

OOOH, SHINY!

Dogs + Risk = Entertainment

2009-09-28T06:02:00.002-05:00

General Loki, while playing a game of Risk, surveys the landscape and plots his next move to thwart his enemies.

*cue dramatic music*

Long time, no hear!

2009-09-22T20:01:00.002-05:00

Definitely neglected the blog for awhile. What's been going on?

Applied at University of Houston Dowontown to pursue another B.A., this time in History. The application is still in processing, waiting on a transcript from Kentucky (for the one class taken there...).

Went to Kentucky for the Labor Day weekend. Was missing the family. Have pictures of the trip to the zoo up at www.facebook.com/dprlynch

The weather in Houston has slowly been cooling down. Still muggy though! :P

It might be time to admit that I have a coffee addiction, as I received TWO coffee machines as gifts recently. One was a regular grind and brew, the other a Keurig single-serve machine.

Exercise routine keeps waxing and waning, depending on my mood that day/week. The one constant has been jogging.

I keep having a dream where I move to Hawaii or Alaska, neither of which is going to happen.

Bad Movies

2009-08-22T20:11:00.002-05:00

Don had a movie that Netflix auto-recommended which involved man-sized beetles in a cave that kill people.

Best line from the "expert" in the movie: "They're possible, just not probable..." (and then goes into a spiel about pictures of giant man-sized beetles in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics).

Bad movie. Bad bad bad. Although the beetles splattering from being shot by laser guns (not sure where those came from) was entertaining.

It made me remember reading about "The Deadly Mantis" (aka "The Giant Mantis") as a kid...a cheesy 1957 movie.

Googled for it.

Google has the ENTIRE movie available for free.

w00000t

Don: "o.m.g...that is awful"
Me: "oooooooooooh, so watching this soon!!!"

Pandora & Loki: "oh, joy"

Post Office

2009-08-22T17:38:00.001-05:00

Went to the post office today to drop off the application for the passport. This time, we went to the Bellaire location after the stressful incident at the Oak Forest and Downtown locations which resulted in me wanting to pull a bitch's weave out and smack her with it.

The Bellaire branch - awesome. They're quick, they're friendly...they're quick. The last time estimate I saw on the State Department's website a 6-8 week turnaround...that's gone down to 2-3 weeks. Awesome!

The card is a neat idea that I hadn't seen before. It's only good for Canadian or Mexican border crossings, as well as the Caribbean...and only if it's not by airplane. Something convenient to have in the wallet, whip out, and get through quickly.

Well...less slowly. :P

Came home, put up some shelves in the shed...mentally imagined where to put some more in the future, and did some small reorganizing in the shed.

Then had a nice lazy afternoon. Because a shed...in Houston...in August...damn, it's hot and will wear you out. Never did get around to jogging or biking today, but will try to do both tomorrow.

- donald

Shorts

2009-08-21T08:16:00.001-05:00

Must be a slow news day, or the media got tired of the health care debate.

'cause seriously - why is there such a ruckus over Michelle Obama wearing shorts on Air Force One?

(a) They were on their way to visit national parks. People typically tend to wear shorts to parks in AUGUST...you know, summer, when it's hot?

(b) They were on vacation. People typically tend to dress casual on vacation. She wasn't on an official trip to an event.

(c) The same conservatives who like to mock the President for being "The Anointed One" are now griping because the First Lady is wearing shorts on vacation. Because, you know, she's not a person. She's the Anointed One's wife. Seems somewhat contradictory. If she's just a person, can't she wear shorts.

Politics is getting trite and silly. Can we go back to the good old days when presidential campaigns said that the other side winning would result in women across the country becoming prostitutes...and senators braining each other with canes in Congress?

Conversations with my dog

2009-08-20T06:33:00.002-05:00

Me: "Loki - you're going to be 10 years old this spring. Whatcha think about that?"
Loki: "Uh uh. I'm only 7!"
Me: "7, huh?"
Loki: "Yeah, I'm only 7."
Me: "So what about the photos I have of you from 2000 and 2001?"
Loki: "Your dates are wrong."
Me: "Okay, what're you going to do in three years when you *do* turn 10?"
Loki: "I'll be 7 again!!"
Me: "Aaaaalright Loki, you have fun being 7 - I'm going to finish folding and putting away this laundry."
Loki: "I'll help with laundry when I'm 10."
Me: "And that'll be...?"
Loki: "2050"
Me: "Alright, lookin' forward to it."
Loki: *wanders off to find a chew stick*

Parenting

2009-08-16T11:31:00.002-05:00

Small update on the University of Houston status:
- still waiting to hear back from Admissions on if they'll accept German as a foreign language (UH-Downtown teaches only Spanish and French but Houston Community College teaches those two as well as Italian, German, and Chinese);
- not able to apply until 20-August, since that's when they begin accepting applications for the Spring 2010 semester
- this past Friday, I went to Stephen F. Austin State University's website to order a copy of my transcript for my own purposes, so that I can see what classes I took and have an idea of what might and might not transfer

~~~

To my amazement, SFA sent the transcript next-day even though I'd ordered it as regular mail. w00t

Opened up the transcript, browsed through it...and saw "Parenting".

Um...huh? Could not for the life of me figure out why I'd taken a course in Parenting and could *not* remember even a smidgen of the course or the work involved. This is unusual because for the most boring classes, I can at least remember bits of the material, being in the class, or flashes of what the book looked like.
Parenting - nada.

It couldn't have been a class with Breann and/or Carl, as they'd already graduated and moved by Spring 2005.

That left Catherine and Tim. So, off went emails to the two, asking "what the hey and why the hey?"
Then proceeded to dig through old Gmail emails to see if something was in there.

Between those two fact-finding missions, pieced together:
- it most definitely *was* a fluff class (duh)
- it was online (that explains the lack of classroom memories)
- it was boring and pointless as all get-out (duh..see "fluff" above)
- it was needed to meet the 140 earned credit-hour requirement by SFA in order to graduate

Now, bits and flashes of memory are coming back on the class. It's no wonder that the memories were tossed into a waste bin in the brain.

However, I made a B in the course. I think I remember having an A and deciding not to do a final project (a PowerPoint presentation) because it would only cost one letter grade and I had enough on my plate with real classes (and drinking) and planning for family and friends to come into town (and drinking) and packing for the move to Houston (and drinking).

In retrospect, I'm not sure whether to feel bad about making a B in a fluff class...or amused at making that high a grade in a subject for in which I have no interest (and the fact that I want to smack most parents who are in public settings and happen to *not* be tending to their spawn).

At the end of the day, I'm going to settle for "eh, it was 4 years ago, it was pointless drivel, and a B was fine...especially considering that the class was forgotten five minutes after the semester ended".

Supplies

2009-08-05T11:07:00.002-05:00

Ahhh, the thrill of supply orders. :D

It's the first week of the month, so Donald skips over to the supply cabinet and goes through the items, checking inventory and quantities.

Notepads, pens, company swag. Especially the company swag!

It's all the joy of shopping, without having to spend a dime of your own money.

(really hoping they approve the mousepad i put in through OfficeMax...it's not anything fancy, but don't want a basic cloth one - they get funked up too quickly).

Best part of the order: golf balls with the company logo.
No, I don't play golf.
But it's too fun to call out "Boss Lady, do you want regular balls or pro balls? Professional balls? How many professional balls do you want? You got it!"

Anniversary

2009-07-31T11:25:00.001-05:00

I've been with the Bank for two years as of today.

:)

Paychecks Thrice

2009-07-31T08:29:00.001-05:00

Woohoo - today is one of those rare paydays that happens to be the 3rd one within the same month...

Which means that there isn't any benefits money taken out, I don't have to take rent out, and more of it can get tossed into savings and at a credit card.

w00t

Advice desired on languages

2009-07-30T15:00:00.002-05:00

Over the last six months, I've been mulling the idea over of going back to school and getting a second Bachelor's degree...this time, a B.A. in History (my current degree is a B.A. in Public Administration).

The degree would take a couple/few years, going to night and weekend classes, as well as doing online courses.
At some point, I would butt up into courses that are only available during the day...and those I could only take one per semester, since the bank job is Mon-Fri 7:30a-4:30p. While there is some flexibility for one class (either MWF or TuesThurs), that's about it, both in flexibility and meeting hours for the week.

After getting the history degree, I'd look at getting a job as a high school history teacher.

That's the backstory.

The current question is one of language.
At SFA, I took four courses in Sign Language, which satisfied the foreign language requirement.

University of Houston - Downtown is not likely to accept that as a foreign language, since some degrees (history included) look at the idea that some day in the future you might need to do research with an original source, which is not going to be written in Sign Language.

UHD only teaches Spanish and French.
Houston Community College teaches Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese and possibly Russian.

I learned conversational German as a child...and have forgotten it since then, but the words are rattling around in my noggin somewhere.
Two classes of Spanish were taken at the high school level in Virginia.
Middle school in Georgia had six weeks each of Spanish and French. Hated Spanish - French was fun.

I am very tempted to take German at HCC and transfer it to UHD (they would accept that), since I knew the language once and have always regretted forgetting it. It would also be a handy language for making notes as a teacher, as 99% of the students are not going to be able to read it, should they have prying eyes. I enjoyed German, when I knew it.

Spanish, I understand fully, is a very useful language in Texas (and the Southwest in general). However, I am under no illusion of ever being considered fluent or bilingual in Spanish. The Central American dialects are simply spoken in too quick a manner for me to comprehend, which was a problem back in high school. I could read, speak, and write the language, but unless the person was South American or Continental Spanish...they'd have to slow down.

So I'm trying to decide between learning one of two languages. One, German, I would enjoy, would have personal practical use for, and would be different/interesting.
The other, Spanish, is considered to be useful but is a language that I don't enjoy (other than the very random Spanglish that is tossed around here in Houston).

What to do?

Amusement & Harmony

2009-07-29T11:09:00.001-05:00

Dear Politicians -

Thank you for a never-ending source of amusement in your constantly ironic and contradicting actions.

There is currently a bill being introduced in Congress which would prohibit television and radio commercials from being broadcast before 10pm.
The Congresspersons' rationale is that this isn't material that needs to be displayed when children may be watching.
(Oh, the children, spare the children!)
My rationale: I'm tired of seeing men getting lascivious looks in their eyes, water spraying as a metaphor for ejaculation, and other various horny innuendo. It's annoying. It's also a fitting punishment for taking the song "Viva Las Vegas" and co-opting it for usage as "Viva Viagra".
I also don't particularly care to hear about your three-hour erection while I'm eating a burrito for dinner. Thanks.
So I'm in support of this bill, regardless of political affiliation.

Republicans...not so much.
One would think they would be in support for something that champions the causes of Decency and The Children, as well as Protecting the Family from the Evil Lustful World.
But when that idea is put forth by The Opposition? Not so much.
"It's a trampling of the First Amendment's free speech protections!" "It's censorship!"
Of course it is, sure...but that never stopped the GOP from wanting to censor or limit other indecent items from broadcast.

Similar switcharoo...Elian Gonzalez.
Remember the story of the illegal alien who attempted to cross from Cuba to Florida and died, leaving an orphan son?
Usual thought process by the Republicans: "Illegal immigrant BAD! Go home!". Meanwhile, Democrats stereotypically are lenient with illegal immigration.
Oh, but it's from Cuba. Makes all the difference.
Republicans clamored for little Elian to be allowed to stay, so that he wouldn't be sent back to The Evil Land of Fidel Castro. This, even if the idea ran counter to their usual "enforce the border" thought patterns.
(Republicans with thought patterns...*snort*)
Democrats instantly and reflexively took the opposite stance...Elian must go!
(well, yes, he's an illegal immigrant, of course he should)
End result - an awful photograph of a storm trooper with a gun pointed at a young lady holding the lad.
Oh, the humanity.
Nevermind that that family wasn't cooperating with the authorities and that they were held up in their house, resisting police efforts. How dare the police...go into a house...where people are not cooperating with the law...and enforce the law. The shame!

So, dear Representative and Senators, I applaud you on your constant efforts to bend yourself into contortions of imagination and always entertain the public, even if sometimes that entertainment borders more on puzzled, head-scratching confusion.

Thanks, and much luck on your future endeavors in this area
- donald

Dear Mr. President (28-Jul-2009)

2009-07-28T12:55:00.002-05:00

Dear Barack Obama -

I get it, you're President of the United States of America.

Yes, I voted for you.

Yes, I think you're a good guy and a great speaker.

But...I would *really* love it if you would be off tv for one day. One day! You're suffering from a need to STFU for a day.

You make me aaaaaaaaaaaaaaalmost miss President W...at least in the regard that he wasn't in our face every damn day.

Thanks
- donald

Dear Customer - We Ain't Got No 15's

2009-07-20T16:48:00.001-05:00

Dear Customer -

I really really hope I misheard you, and that you asked for "fifties" and not "fifteens" (as in bills of cash).

Although, you started with ones, progressed to fives, then tens, then fifteens, twenties, and a hundred...

Which is sequentially correct, but financially incorrect. Your listing leads me to believe that you either were going in order, or hit fifty (and i misheard it as "fifteen") and realized that you skipped twenty.
However, that requires you skipping AND me mishearing.

Arkham's Razor says that you asked for a fifteen.

Who, pray tell, has their picture on the fifteen dollar bill?

*puts head on desk and cries for the human race*

Thanks
- Donald

Question of the Day: 18-July-2009

2009-07-18T17:03:00.001-05:00

QUESTION OF THE DAY
If you had to give up either email or the telephone for the rest of your life, which one would your forgo?

That's easy - I could give up the telephone super easy and just use email.

Shopping - one goes, one arrives

2009-07-14T13:26:00.002-05:00

Amongst various errands with Breann this past Saturday, we wound up stopping by the Galleria mall in order to take advantage of some 25% off coupons at Borders books.

Unfortunately, there was nothing which caught the eye, so we left the store empty-handed...and wandered INTO the mall rather than returning to the parking garage.
Breann wanted to hit up J.Crew, and I remembered that Mom's birthday is in a week...so wanted to pick up a gift.

The Metropolitan Museum of Arts store is usually a great place to pick up a gift. Sadly, they are closed.
Not sure if they are just renovating, moving, or completely closing. Hopefully it's not closing - that would be a great loss. :(
(at least they still have a website!)
Will need to research that this afternoon.

BUT!
A Swarovski store opened up the day before.
w00t!!
Picked up a couple of items (holding onto one until Christmas). Breann kept alternating between giggling at my just wandering in wearing flip-flops and shorts and dropping cash ("Have you shopped here before sir?" "Yes, but not since I was this tall")...and going "ohhhhhhh" at the items on display.

Mom used to collect the Swarovski crystal figures when we lived in Germany, so the store brought back a lot of happy memories (and explains the "not since this tall" comment which amused the sales lady). I'm very very glad that they opened a store here and anticipate spending many a dollar there for birthdays and Christmases.

=oD

Coffee vs Water

2009-07-13T08:19:00.001-05:00

Got to work.

Poured a cup of coffee.

Drank it.

Decided to get a cup of water.

Forgot that it was water.

Reached for cup.

Thought it was coffee...tasted water, almost spit it out on the desk.
Probably made a noise of disgust.

Remembered that I *did* get water.

Thankful no one else was in the office yet.

Finishing up the water...getting another cup of coffee.

MONDAYS!

Dear Customer - The News

2009-07-10T15:16:00.001-05:00

Dear Customer -

Got it, loud and clear, multiple times...you like Fox News. Not CNN. Certainly not MSNBC.

Noted. Several times.

Don't care.

WE sit here all day, so the television is tuned to whatever the bank employees decide.
You are here for five minutes, tops. If you're here longer than that, it's meeting with an employee...at which point, you aren't paying attention to the news anyway.

Grousing and vocalizing about it in the lobby isn't going to get us to change the channel.
Neither are catty comments about "damn liberals".

If you like Fox News THAT much...I suggest you hurry up and go home, where you can turn YOUR television to whatever channel YOU like.

Thanks
- Donald

P.S. After the initial Fox News people complaints during the election cycle...we almost put it on the Cartoon Network all day. However, we don't get that station. While Faux News is sometimes more comical than The Cartoon Network...TCN has less shouting and more intelligent programming. Pity we don't get TCN. :/

Friday Question: 10-July-2009

2009-07-10T14:55:00.001-05:00

If you could take a ride in a hot air balloon over any city, what city would you choose?

Tokyo, for sure.

Dear Customer - Hounding

2009-07-07T15:13:00.001-05:00

Dear Customer -

I understand that you want an increase on your loan. I also think, based on parts of your conversation, that this is needed because you have the IRS breathing down your neck.

However...

Please do not ask me to try to push the loan through, when I've told you that my manager is out for the day and all I can do is submit the application...and no further.
Please do not hound me every two hours, after being told that we would be working on the loan, and we wouldn't hear anything for at least half a day.
Please do not THEN, upon hearing that you got approval and being told that loan documents would be ready to sign tomorrow...THEN say "cool, thanks, no rush."

You have been calling non-stop. Don't tell me no rush. Ass Clown.

Thanks
- Donald

Manic Monday: 06-July-2009

2009-07-06T13:11:00.001-05:00

kinda took a break from these last week, which went by in a blur

MANIC MONDAY

Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at:
1. computers / technology. this is probably stems more from a "likes figuring out how things work" trait though.
2. dealing with people. again, more of trying to figure out how things work or, in this case, where a person is coming from. each person has a unique view of the world, shaped in many different ways, so it's interesting to see how ten people can look at one thing and come away with probably twenty different points of view.

Name two things you consider yourself to be bad at:
1. listening. oddly enough, i can deal with people and listen well - for instance, someone with a problem, a customer, some stranger at the mall with a story. however, i'll also suffer from selective hearing. maybe i asked a question and only listened long enough to hear AN answer (although the latter part of what you were trying to say had more instructions). maybe i'll still be listening but kinda zone out (happens a lot with customers who are rambling on about random things and not anything pertaining to their banking activity).
part of me wants to feel bad about the zoning out...except i can't feel bad about it 100%, when it's a customer.
while that sounds odd, here's the explanation:
- Mr. Smith comes in to ask a question about his account (question, problem, wants to change/open something, etc).
- During the course of the conversation, Mr. Smith begins to ramble about (a) the way his accounts work at another bank, (b) a trip he took to Europe last year, (c) something his kids/grandkids/significant-other did, (d) sports, (e) some political or social issue.
- Mr. Smith has me trapped. There's no polite way to tell a customer to "get on with it" or to STFU. I probably have a to do list of things I'd like to do, I might need to go to the bathroom, I might have another customer waiting...and Mr. Smith is now no longer banking but is rambling. If it was a friend, you could politely tell them that you need to go tend to other things, thanks, have a nice day. But this isn't your friend - it's a customer, so you can't say that. You have to sit there and listen to them and you have no real method of escape unless someone in the lobby whips out a gun and robs the place.
2. punctuality. sometimes i'll be way early, sometimes i'll be on time, sometimes i'll be way late. no rhyme or reason to it.

Name one thing not many people know about you:
i have more concern/care about what friends and family are saying/feeling/going through than i will externally show at the time.

Strange Dreams

2009-07-06T08:31:00.001-05:00

Had two very strange dreams last night:

DREAM #1
This was about the Friday the 13th / Jason movies, but wasn't a nightmare or horror dream. Was just more of a historical type of dream. The entire "story" of the dream was that the Jason Voorhees mythos was incorrect and that the slayings were actually conducted by Mrs. Voorhees and some strange hulking man (about the same size/dimensions of Jason as depicted in the movies). I don't remember if the strange guy was her husband, lover, friend or what, but they were killing together. But her son, Jason, wasn't actually dead, so not sure what the motivation was for killing camp counselors and other people.
In the dream, she dies as originally shown in the first movie, with her head chopped off by the last camp counselor that she's (well, "they", her and the guy) trying to kill.
The strange guy retreats into the woods with Jason and raises him. At some point Jason starts killing people too, and takes over on his own when the strange guy dies one day. The Jason / Camp Crystal Lake mythos was messed up by the locals (imagine that) and they attributed all the killings to just one person, Jason, rather than two persons (Jason and Strange Guy).

Don was fiddling with the surround sound system and using the new Friday the 13th movie, so at least I know where that one came from...

DREAM #2
Iran gets an aircraft way up in the air above Israel and manages to drop two nuclear bombs/short-range missiles on Israel (on a spot called "Sharon Square"...not sure if there's such a spot).
All I remember is the bomb going off, seeing some media reports, and then waking up.
At least the bombs/missiles were pretty - they had shiny blinking blue lights.
BLINKY!

Productive Weekend

2009-07-06T08:09:00.001-05:00

Other than laying around a pool and eating grilled items...

- Located and fixed a squeak in the elliptical machine, so it's usable again without giving one a headache (even through the iPod earphones)
- Gave Loki a haircut and both dogs baths
- Mapped out a design for creating shelving *and* maintaining hanging space in the Nash study closet
- cleaned up around the house
- backed up the computer (to an external hard drive [actually, "ancient" 2nd-gen 10GB iPod] which is housed in a safe deposit box at work)
- figured out an install issue for a friend's Blackberry*

* The install issue was weird. Basically, RIM, the manufacturer for the Blackberry, updated their desktop managing/syncing program, adding some media managing features. But they forgot to tell the install program *where* the shiny new media manager install files were located (hint hint, in the original *.zip file). So, had to extract the *.zip file to the desktop and point the install program to that new folder.
Very big DUH for some programmer somewhere in Canada, India, or elsewhere.

Also watched some reports on how the now-former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, went full-on whackaloon, along with some interesting theories/speculation as to why.
My guess is forthcoming ethics issues/scandals (Google for "Palin house construction scandal") and/or she finally got too tired of being called out for being an idiot.

Manic Monday: 29-June-2009

2009-06-29T13:41:00.001-05:00

What is on your bedside table?
A lamp and the mobile phone (which at that point is acting as an alarm clock). Sometimes a book.

How many pillows do you have on your bed? Do you make your bed every day?
There are three or four pillows on my side of the bed.
However, I use one - it's an old lumpy pillow that used to be my mom's old lumpy pillow when she was younger. The lumps are perfect - your head rests right into the spaces between.
Loki takes the other three though to sleep on during the night...and snore right into my ear. And occasionally kick me in the head. :)

Pens

2009-06-29T11:40:00.001-05:00

I have this thing about pens...love 'em. Mechanical pencils, not so much.
The co-workers are amused about the fact that I'm particular about which pens I use...and that I keep an eye on them like a hawk when someone borrows one.
And the fact that certain pens are used for certain purposes (hey, those forms are tiny and need the fine point in there...and I do them in blue ink, to know which one is the original).

There does happen to be a little box pen holder on my desk, full of random pens and highlighters that have been left on my desk, and these are for people that need a pen to use.

Friday, the yellow highlighter that is in there disappeared.
Today, it came back.

Picking it up, I must have made a facial expression of "ahh, it came back" because my boss started giggling (she'd noticed it was gone too).

And yes, the nice highlighters (retractable, not too thick and not too thin) are in the desk drawer and not in the pencil cup. :P

Friday Question: 26-June-2009

2009-06-26T18:53:00.001-05:00

If your life was made into a movie, what genre would the movie be (drama, action, romance, comedy, adventure, crime/gangster, horror, musical, science fiction, war, western, historical, family-friendly, etc.)?

More than likely...a comedy. Maybe part musical and sci-fi.

A sci-fi musical comedy...that actually does sound about right. :P

Thursday Thunks: 25-June-2009

2009-06-25T08:21:00.001-05:00

1. Someone knocks at your door. You answer it. It's a kid from the local school selling candy bars for a fundraiser. Do you buy one?
Maybe - depends on the kid, the candy bar, and my mood at the moment.

2. The end of the world is tomorrow and you are out of milk - do you go buy some?
Um, no. Boooze!

3. Have you ever picked up the phone and called someone that you hadn't talked to in years?
Yes

4. Whats on your computer desktop background?
At work...the company's wallpaper. At home...it's set to change every 10 or 15 minutes.

5. What was the very first movie you saw in a movie theater?
Peter Pan, although I don't remember it.

6. If you had to take a 10th grade science test, do you think you would pass?
I would hope so - more than likely yes.
A practice SAT kicked my butt once, a couple of years ago...but only on the math portion.

7. Describe heaven.
A massive library. Lots of clouds and gardens. Warm sun with a breeze, without being too hot or too windy.
And an army of Oompa Loompas to tend to things (just kidding)

8. Has a place that you lived ever been infested with some sort of insect or rodent?
Yes - the call center in college had a sand mite infestation, and I'm currently having to battle sugar ants at my house.

9. When you were a youngin', did you hide in the clothes racks at department stores?
Yes, all the time!!

10. Is there anything in your vehicle that is broken?
The back window is supposed to open with the remote key, but sometimes it only opens partway. Not a concern to deal with it. There's also a small dent in the front bumper, and I need to replace the fuse for the rear power outlet.

11. What is something in your house that people would be surprise to find?
Can't really think of anything that would surprise people. The growing collection of vinyl records and books??

12. Do you agree with the death penalty?
Yes and no.
As a concept, it's perfectly understandable that people would want revenge.
However, I'm (a) not completely down with the idea of convicted persons hanging out in prison for 10-20 years before being executed, (b) not sure why the doctors need to ensure sterility of needles for executions, and (c) not entirely sure why there's a concern over having "humane executions". The state is executing a person - as long as it's done quickly and not purposefully torturing a person...how can an execution be humane? Pouring a person in honey and putting them in an ant pile? That would definitely be inhumane. Shooting, hanging or electrocuting a person...whatever. Besides, if the person committed a violent enough crime to warrant death/execution by the state, then could it be argued that they're not deserving of "the most humane treatment possible"?
If there's going to be executions, then convict the person...let one year pass, just in case there's new evidence found...then tie the person to a tree, hand the family baseball bats (or designated persons of the family's choice) and let them go to town like a pinata until the person is dead/executed. Go for true retribution, revenge, "vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord".
THAT SAID, the above is the "if you're going to do a thing, DO IT, and don't quibble" school of thought.
Personal belief...I'm not in favor of the death penalty and would rather see a criminal justice system that is geared towards rehabilitation and *fixing* problems in society rather than just locking people away and sometimes killing them.
So the short answer is "no". The long answer is the reason that I can't fit in with any political party. :P

13. Whats your favorite type of bear?
Polar? Pooh Bear?
Any particular kind that isn't chasing me through the woods??

14. Where was the last place you went?
To work. Before that, to sleep. As far as "going out" - Soma Sushi with Breann on Tuesday afternoon. As far as a "destination"...Kentucky or DC.
I'd like to go back to sleep!

15. What if that person knocking at your door earlier was an adult selling candy bars... would you buy one?
Maybe - depends on the person, the candy bar, and my mood at the time.
If it's Ryan Reynolds shirtless with a good candy bar, I'm down!!! ;D
If it's Pamela Anderson, get your skanky white trash a$$ off my lawn bitch!

Wednesday Weirdness

2009-06-24T06:43:00.001-05:00

1.) To you, what makes the perfect body the perfect body?
The smile

2.) What part of your body do you obsess about the most?
I'd like to get rid of a pair of love handles, but they have a death grip.

3.) What makes a house a warm, welcoming, comfortable home?
Furniture that a person can actually sit on.

4.) What fabric feels sexiest against bare skin?
A fur coat? (wth?)

5.) What is the lamest lie you have heard in the last month?
"I don't know how I overdrew the account"
(yes, this person does - they do it about every week and it's because they spend too much damn money)

6.) What always makes you feel better when you're upset?
Coffee or hot tea, and quiet time away from people. Although, strangely enough, sometimes walking in a faceless crowd, like at the mall, is calming too.

Manic Monday: 23-June-2009

2009-06-23T16:24:00.001-05:00

Manic Monday
(source: http://manicmondaymeme.blogspot.com/2009/06/manic-monday-173.html)

Do you usually wear perfume/cologne? If so, what's your current favorite?
Yes, daily. Hard to peg down a favorite, although I'm a sucker for Burberry and Armani brands (especially the Aqua di Gio). Also enjoy Halston, while is an older scent.
Usually I just grab one, spray, and then put it in the back of the row...so the next one is tomorrow's scent. :)

What's the last book you've read that you thought was really good? If you don't have one, what looks promising on your to-be-read list?
Harry Turtledove's "End of the Beginning", which is the sequel to "Days of Infamy". It's a two-book series of alternative-history fiction, which portrays the idea of "what if the Japanese invaded Hawaii instead of just a bombing run".

Fill in the blank: I wouldn't be caught dead without my Loki (or my Panda, or my Schnauzies!).

Mighty Mouse

2009-06-20T12:12:00.001-05:00

and no, not the cartoon character...

I love Apple's mouse - it has a scroll ball, so can move any direction and not just up/down (or require a click to move left-right). Wireless, so no cable stretching to the back.

BUT, that ball gets funked up so easily. Eventually, it stops scrolling in a random direction. In this case, my ball won't go down.
(hush, gutter-minds :P)

The solutions I've been able to find are:
- take your mouse apart and clean it, which is *not* something I'd recommend for most people (and Apple is notorious for making products that are not user-repair friendly...ie, Mac mini and this mouse)
- blow air into the ball. blowing the ball really doesn't have a lasting effect

So rather than blow my ball every other week (hush), finally found a good solution online today.

1. Get a piece of white paper, the kind you'd print on. An unused piece.
2. Put the mouse upside down, so that the ball is in contact with the paper
3. Roll the mouse around.

Basically, the dirt/gunk/funk starts rolling out and collects on the paper (brush it off, so as not to re-gunk while rolling around) and the paper acts as a good clingy surface for the gunk to stick to rather than have it continue rolling on the ball and going back into the mouse.

Bre - I know you have one of these mice. I'm pretty sure some others do to.

Rolling your balls around on paper is the best way to clean them.

(this was supposed to be a serious post... sheesh)

Thursday Thunks: 18-June-2009

2009-06-18T09:29:00.001-05:00

(source: http://thursdaythunks.blogspot.com/2009/06/worst-thursday-thunks-ever.html)

1. Are your ears dirty?
No - I q-tip them religiously, as well as spray water in them in the shower. Still can't hear for anything though.

2. Would you rather be stung by a scorpion or bit by a snake? (Don't say either...no one wants to be in pain, that's the point. Pick one.)
Maybe a scorpion? Seems like it'd be easier to catch, which would be handy for showing the doctor for anti-venom.

3. Do loud noises make you snappish? (i.e. A loud restaurant, screaming child next to you, booming stereo from a neighbor's house?)
Depends. Construction/machinery, no. Booming music, no. Children, very much so.

4. PETA- thoughts on this org.?
Waste of time. Their intentions are good, but they have nonsense like "omg, don't swat flies!" which distracts from the message of trying to prevent animal cruelty. It's difficult to be effective if your organization isn't taken seriously.

5. Would you rather be the discoverer of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot? (Imagination!)
Loch Ness Monster...from the loch shore. Bigfoot could probably kick my ass.

6. When in a public toilet and it's not flushed: do you flush & use or move on to a clean one?
I try not to use public toilets...but I'd flush & use.

7. Neighbors are having a noisy, party bonfire, what do you do?
Either join it or ignore it. As long as it doesn't go past midnight (or I can sleep through it), a-okay.

8. Do you play Monopoly? If so which version of the game?
Sometimes, and I like the regular version, not the new-fangled ones.

9. Are you a remote hog?
Yes

10. Do you like the smell of paint?
Yes

Wednesday Weirdness: 17-Jun-2009

2009-06-17T10:49:00.001-05:00

(source: http://wednesdayweird.blogspot.com/2009/06/wednesday-weirdness-59.html)

1.) Do you/Did you ever have a piggy bank shaped like a pig? What do you keep your spare change in?
I actually do have a piggy bank, since the bank puts them on our desk (we also hand them out to customers' kids). I put my spare change into a coin zipper-bag and, at the end of the month, turn it in for dollar coins. The dollar coins go into the pig...and eventually get cashed out for a little shopping spree. Cashed out in May and bought some new clothes for work.
The downside - when the pig starts getting full, I start getting paranoid. It's $200-300 sitting out on a desk!

2.) Be honest. Have you ever stolen anything before?
Going to admit to taking some small supplies from work before...

3.) Have you ever had a dream that was in black and white?
Yes, although usually in muted colors...although on rare occasion in crazy super-brilliant color.

Civilization 3

2009-06-15T13:24:00.001-05:00

The Mac mini's video memory is not strong enough to run Civ4 (boo), so been happily playing the older version (Civ3) for the last couple years. Civ4 introduced religion and a couple other elements which change it a lot (without destroying the game), so it's fun to go between the two, when I have a chance to play #4.

It's also easy to kill hours on that game. Especially since the computer AI is pretty good and does a good job of making the other world leaders' actions unpredictable.

This go-around? Playing as Japan. On a long C-shaped mega-continent, and I'm right in the middle. Which means that I can't really piss off anyone until I've expanded more.
Which didn't work, so I'm having to beat the Sumerians back, who have a larger army and a larger country, but aren't quite as advanced, so that's my only advantage right now.

It also makes the game more fun/interesting, since it's not an easy one.

Bastards.

:)

Fortune Cookies

2009-05-28T16:09:00.001-05:00

My boss likes to play the game where you add the words "in bed" to the fortune out of fortune cookies.

After eating Asian food today at lunch, we open our fortune cookies.
Hers said something about character.
Mine said "Every exit is an entrance to new experiences."

Boss Lady: "...in bed!"
A moment later, realizing how that sounded..."ooohhhh, hahahahahahaha, hooooooohhhahahahaha"
She finally quit giggling a few minutes later.

I'm still giggling at it.

:P

(and they say banking is dull...)

0ffic3 p0rn

2009-05-28T10:46:00.001-05:00

Our bank has a partnership with OfficeMax for ordering supplies. Jackie used to do this for our branch, but when she moved to another branch, the task got shifted over to me.

Having a new task can be good or bad...this is great. Shopping for office supplies...woohoo!
(i lie - it's awful. i hate every second of it. can't stand it. yeah, right)

So, positive aspect #1 is browsing for supplies and ordering items.
"Oooh, do we get the normal post-its or the colorful ones?"
"This type of pen, or that? Medium or fine point? Need to make sure to get it in black, blue, and red."

Positive aspect #2 is a discount card given to employees so that we get the same prices for our own personal shopping when we go to the store. Niiiice. This can shave a print cartridge from $30 to $20. w00t

Positive aspect #3?
The 2009 supplies catalog that arrived yesterday...
0FF1C3 SUPPLY P0RN
omgz...there went thirty to sixty minutes of productivity yesterday!

photos, attempt #2

2009-05-27T17:45:00.002-05:00

Comment #1 - I thought that sometime in the last couple of years, it seemed that I'd taken up an interest in still-life photography, particular nature shots and landscapes. Going through some old photos from high school and college, apparently this happened more than a few years ago. :P

Comment #2 - a week or so ago, I tried to post a link to an album of photos from a bike ride along White Oak Bayou in Houston. This was a Facebook album, which apparently is not the most-friendly way of showcasing photos, so I'm going back to using Picasa (aka, Google Photos). Oh Google, you rarely fail me. Facebook, I've got my eye on you.

So, here is the attempt to link, again, to those photos.

Pet Peeve - Names

2009-05-26T14:44:00.001-05:00

Granted, "David" is a more-common name than is "Donald".

In a crowded place (like a deli or Starbucks) where you give the person your name with your order...I am completely fine with them making a mistake and calling out "David!" when my order is ready. It's noisy in here and the two names sound familiar.

But to the Customer Dude that emailed me today and called me David...
Sir, you represent a group of people that do this about once every two to three weeks.
Look up in the To: field of your email client. My name is in there...whether it's using the "name appears as" or the actual email address, "Donald" is clearly in there and "David is not".
Look at the signature line of the email..."Donald" is right there in blue or black text...and David ain't nowhere up in there to be found, okay?

C'mon - it's in writing that you were obviously reading, since you replied to it.

*sigh*

Hope your day is going great
- david

photos

2009-05-18T07:45:00.001-05:00

apparently the link from yesterday's photos is a bad link

if you go to www.facebook.com/dprlynch, then go to photos, and then "White Oak Bayou"...that should get you there

i'll work on correcting the link this afternoon once I'm at home

White Oak Bayou Trail

2009-05-17T12:38:00.003-05:00

Photos from 17-March-2009 on the White Oak Bayou Trail, taken during a bike ride with Don and Lee.

(click photo to go to album)

Work Learnin'

2009-05-12T13:11:00.001-05:00

Today at work so far I have taught myself how to:
- remove a hold on a customer's account (so that they can get immediate credit on a check)
- order checks for a customer

These things are normally done by the retail side of the branch, but I'm trying to learn as much as I can so that I can do it (and therefore know that it's been taken care of).

Monday Rant

2009-05-11T11:30:00.001-05:00

Dear Computer...

Yes, I am aware that you are working on something in the background...as I am the one that entered a URL into the browser window and then navigated to a completely different application.

The navigation to the other application was to work on something else.

So it doesn't help when, in the middle of typing something, you bring the browser window front and center.

Hello...multi-tasking. Invented 10+ years ago. Please continue running in the background. When I need to get to the browser window, I'll come back to it!

And while we're on it...it's not just the browser. You do this with multiple applications.

*sigh*

New Routine

2009-05-10T11:30:00.001-05:00

New weekend routine...wake up, do an hour on Wii Fit, then do an hour bike ride.

Wheee

Random Fact: 07.May.2009

2009-05-07T08:34:00.001-05:00

Potatoes.

Best
Vegetable
Ever

:D

Random Fact 06.May.2009

2009-05-06T17:36:00.001-05:00

Although I haven't considered myself Catholic for a long time, there is still a good tug strongish towards the Church that I can't quite explain...

Random Fact: 05.May.2009

2009-05-05T14:13:00.001-05:00

Favorite drink: madras (1/3 orange juice, 1/3 cranberry juice, 1/3 vodka)

Random Fact: 01.May.2009

2009-05-01T17:55:00.001-05:00

i hate when co-workers/friends get laid off at work...

:(

Random Fact: 30.April.2009

2009-04-30T07:37:00.001-05:00

Not to wish ill on a company/people...but I'm hoping that the Joseph A Bank retail chain goes out of business, and only because of their commercials.

Their commercials are SUPER annoying, 95% due to the speaker's voice.

"ONly at JOseph A BAnk!"

Dude...the 70's and 80's called. They want their commercial back.

(and this, all for over-priced clothing)

Bikes

2009-04-29T19:22:00.001-05:00

(backstory...for birthday earlier this month, received a bicycle from Jimmy and the Nashes. also got a new camera from Don and some money from others. ka-ching...well, except that it went into savings, lol)

There's a bike trail right near the house, which is nice and convenient. It goes from just north of 43rd & TC Jester (I'm halfway between 34th and 43rd) and follows the bayou down to 11th Street. It's up and downhill, curves around, and is a pretty good workout if one goes all the way down to 11th St.

First weekend, went down to 11th and back and had a great time with Don and the Nashes. Forgot the sunblock, got my head burnt but was still fun. And learned a lesson...SUNBLOCK, FOOL!

Second time, just me and Don and only made it down to Ella before we decided to turn back. I was game for more but it was after work and Don was wiped from work.

This time, went by myself (Don had some errands to run and the Nashes were wiped).
Had a headwind straight up in the face at about 10mph.
F#$%$#%@#$%
Only made it down to the loop and had to turn around. Took about half the time to get back as it did to get out. Got a damn good workout though. Headwind will kick the ass.

Random Fact: 29.April.2009

2009-04-29T11:04:00.001-05:00

I am unable to make it through the day in "fully-dressed" mode. About lunch time each day, the sleeves get rolled up, the top shirt button gets undone, and the necktie gets loosened.

Granted, the loosened necktie makes it a little longer, so doesn't help with the filing (see earlier post).
And the sleeves are NOT rolled up all Mad Money Cramer style where they're up near the shoulders...they're halfway between the wrist and elbow.

Can NOT wait until "Casual Summer" when the bank lets us do casual dress for two months...no ties, can wear a polo shirt any day of the week, can wear chinos or other pants that aren't necessary slacks (but aren't jeans).

woohoo!

Random Fact: 27.April.2009

2009-04-28T21:35:00.001-05:00

Loki used to sleep stretched out along my back.

He has now taken to sleeping on the second pillow, above my head...
...with his nose in my ear...
...as he SNORES all night!
(loudly)

This pillow-sleeping-place would be a trick he picked up from Breann's schnauzer, Lola, during a time that I was baby-sitting for the weekend.

Love you Lola!!! ;)

The Dangers of Filing

2009-04-27T13:00:00.001-05:00

When doing a lot of filing at the office, it is very important to keep your clothing in mind...anything hanging (ie, a necktie) can be caught in the drawers.

So when one closes a drawer, it is very important to make sure that no article of clothing (ie, a NECKTIE) is caught in the now-closed drawer.

And when one goes to walk away from the closed drawer, it is important to know if you are attached in form (ie, a caught NECKTIE) so that you do not almost fall over, almost hit your head into the filing cabinet, and are able to do a quick check to make sure that no one saw the theoretical incident with your theoretically CAUGHT NECKTIE.

;)

'tis all in THEORY, of COURSE

(thank goodness it's nearly summer, which means we don't have to wear neckties for two months...)

Credit Crunch...and they do mean CRUNCH

2009-04-24T22:26:00.001-05:00

Let me preface this blog post by stating that (1) I work in a lending dept at a bank, and (2) we have the news on all day at work. So most of this was not a surprise even though some of it was.
Also, please note that according to the latest credit reports, none of my debts have any late or missed payments.

TEH BACKST0RY
- Credit card companies are facing defaults, wherein people are having tough economic times. When faced with groceries or rent/mortgage or car payments versus the credit card...guess which one loses? Credit cards. Telling your credit cards is known as "defaulting".
- A lot of the credit card companies are tied to banks, which are also facing people defaulting on loans.
- To make up for some of this lost revenue, credit card companies are quietly and slowly raising the interest rates on everyone else.
- This means that, despite having a long good history with your credit card company, they're likely to raise the rate on you. Rewards for good behavior, eh?

D0NN13 VERSUS MASTERCARD
d0nn13 has a MasterCard, going on 11 years now (oh, college and credit cards, how we knew each other well). Working on paying it down to $0.
Over the past two months, MasterCard has raise the interest rate 0.01%...so it is now 0.02% higher than what it normally is.
After a phone call, they dropped it by about 2%...so it's LOWER than it used to be.
w00t!

D0NN13 VERSUS TEH EVIL VISA
d0nn13 has had a certain type of Visa card for about five years now. Working on paying it down to $0.
The rate went down by 2.5% and then up by 1.8%. Turns out I was looking at the wrong rate. The rate has actually only gone up..by about 1.5% or so. Turns out that next month...it'll be 2% even higher.
"No, we cannot lower the rate - they're frozen [except for increases]" Go fig
The kicker was the Prime Rate. The rep, and his supervisor, kept quoting that the Prime Rate. Now, when most people refer to Prime Rate, they are referring to the Fed Lending Rate, also known as Wall Street Journal Prime Index Rate. Currently 3.25% since January.
I clearly asked the supervisor if she was referring to the Wall Street Prime Rate. "Yes".
Except that the dates she was giving for rate changes were out of whack with the Federal Reserve/Wall Street Journal's own websites.
When questioned, she said "sir, I am not going to argue the prime rate history with you".
d0nn13: "that's good, because I'm looking at the rates on the FEDERAL RESERVE'S WEBSITE right now and you're completely wrong on the rate changes. also, again, i work in a bank in LENDING and know what the lending rates are and have been".
supervisor: "well, we actually use a different number"
d0nn13: "i'm sorry..what?"
supervisor: "our number is based on Wall Street Prime, but it's actually a different internal number"
"but you said it was the Wall Street Prime"
"yes sir, but it's based on that"
"you didn't say that before"
"correct, but that's what I meant to say"
*d0nn13 pounds head on desk*
Long story short...this particular Visa card makes up a number, quoting a well-known number as its basis...until, when pressed on the matter, they admit that they make up their own numbers...and they will not budge on it.
When this card is paid off, it's being shut down.

UGH

Random Fact: 24-April-2009

2009-04-24T16:20:00.001-05:00

If a "terrorist" blew up the headquarters of the major credit card companies...
...I'd be recommending that person for a medal.

Random Fact: 23-April-2009

2009-04-23T08:28:00.001-05:00

I think American Idol is awful, but can't help but start watching at some point each season.

Probably to try and figure out why some of the contestants are seen as being really good and some are dumped on.

This year - Adam Lambert...don't get it. He shrieks in EVERY song; there's no way I could sit through an entire album of his songs. My guess is that his theatrical personality on-stage is what gets attention.

Kris Allen though - he's pretty good. I hope he wins this year.

Ford

2009-04-22T21:02:00.001-05:00

The very first car I ever had was a 1993 Mazda Protege, which was a sister-car to the Ford Escort. I loved that car so much and wish that I still had it to this day. Every car since then is compared in my mind with that good ol' Protege.

Since then, the cars were all Japanese: Nissan or Toyota.

Until the Jeep Liberty. And I like the Jeep, I really do...but there are small quirks in the interface that are just...weird.
It's a Jeep...but the rear end slides. That is, unless the four-wheel drive is on, which sucks down gasoline like a beotch. One can almost visibly see the gas gauge slide its way towards the "E".
Biggest gripe - the speed control for the AC/Heat fan. That dial has Low, Med, High, and Crazy. But no off. OFF is located on the fan location dial, such as In the Face, In the Windshield, On Your Feet, etc.
OFF is a location where Chrysler Corp is concerned. Which would be okay, except that the Speed Control Dial has a filled-in circle icon. Which seems to be for OFF, but isn't. Can't count the number of times I almost snapped the dial off trying turn it down to that damn circle, forgetting it was a pointless icon.

After so many years of Japanese cars, I highlighted it in my mind as "this is an example of how dumb the American car manufacturers have become".

But now...the Ford Fiesta.
comes out in 2011
and I am intrigued, particularly in the hatchback model

And if you'd told me a year or two ago that I'd be enthralled by a "Fix Or Repair Daily" vehicle, I would have laughed myself right out of a chair, onto the floor, down the stairs, and straight to the ER.

I also can't figure out why I think that Ford does some of their best work on their low-end models like the Escort, the Focus, and the Fiesta.

yo es loco

Random Fact: 22-April-2009

2009-04-22T09:29:00.001-05:00

If I am handing someone an envelope directly, or somehow getting it directly to them (placing in their room, desk, etc) and NOT putting it through the post...I just lick the tip of the flap.

Makes it easier to open.

Ms Cali vs Perez

2009-04-21T19:47:00.001-05:00

(i'm probably going to get kicked off of Gay Island for this one)

I preface this post by stating that I am in favor of the legalization of same-sex marriage. Heck, I'm in favor of the legalization of polygamous marriage...and the legal issues that would arise from divorce out of a poly-marriage.

By now the whole Miss USA same-sex marriage thing has swept the news and the interwebs. In most instances, the coverage has been "OMG, we can't believe she actually said that! How could she NOT support same-sex marriage??"

Despite being gay and liberal...I'm going to stand behind her on this one.

First, it's my opinion that the question was too divisive and shouldn't have been allowed through. While some socially-inclined questions should go through...this topic is one of those that is guaranteed to piss off a lot of people no matter what answer you give.

Second, while her answer might not have been the one that's "in vogue", I'm going to give her kudos for answering honestly. And, shouldn't that be the point of Miss USA? If they're supposed to be role models for children, shouldn't honesty be a good thing, and standing up for one's convictions even if it's not the answer that people want to hear?

Third, her answer was actually a well-worded one. The jist I got from it was that, while she personally doesn't believe in the idea, she thinks it's great that in this country it's a topic that can be decided on a state-by-state basis. And she's right. Otherwise, the federal government would trump all and NO state would currently have same-sex marriage.

The question shouldn't have been raised in that forum, she answered it honestly, and she got burned by it.

Moving on to another queen...Perez Hilton was horrible. He immediately ran to his website and posted a video message calling her a stupid bitch...which elevates the conversation SO much. Then he apologized in one interview for calling her a bitch...and then retracted the apology in another. My favorite comment of his was "Miss USA is supposed to represent ALL Americans and she's excluded all gays and lesbians with this answer."
Well Perez...if she answered the way you wanted her to, she'd have excluded the conservatives, who do have a right to their opinion too. There was no inclusive way to answer that question.

And that's my problem with what happened. She's being painted as being a bigot for answering a question with no inclusive answer - either way is going to anger a group. Has the topic of abortion ever been brought up in a beauty pageant? Or any topic else equally argumentative?

I don't agree with her point of view, but I support her for answering with thought, honesty, and integrity.

Faux News

2009-04-16T09:58:00.001-05:00

Fox News is sometimes an interesting channel to watch, especially over the last couple of days with this Tea Party nonsense.

"We are fair and balanced"
Except that, during the protests and demonstrations against the Iraq War...Fox News spoke very negatively about that even made it all seem unpatriotic.
The Tea Party protests and demonstrations are, of course, perfectly fine and an outstanding example of the right to free speech.
Oh...and other media outlets that have don't have praising coverage of the Tea Parties? They're biased.

wow

One has to wonder how they say the things they do, day in and day out, with a straight face.

Oh...and a big LMAO to Texas Gov. Rick Perry for bringing up the idea of Texas seceding from the United States. Even if he was "kidding on the square", it's still a laughable idea.
(and if it actually somehow happened, I'd be moving to Phoenix AZ lickity-split, where Mom's family is and my bank has an affiliate company)

Upgrading

2009-04-12T07:28:00.002-05:00

So...upgrading the computer brings on with it the programs that were only availble in the newer operating system.

In this case: iLife '09, iWork '09, and Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 (had '08 for the iPrograms and 2004 for Office).

OY! Forgot what a pain installing a Microsoft program is, even on a Mac! Install takes forever and then there are 100 updates.

*twiddles thumbs*

Edit: Took about 30-45 minutes total. Involved a bunch of updates (they go one after the other, not all at once, so that Microsloth can extend your happy upgrade experience).
The new Office for Mac 2008 though? Shiny, a nice improvement over 2004, shiny, opens and runs faster, shiny, and it doesn't have that DAMNABLE "Ribbon" interface, which is awesome. When they finally shove that Ribbon into the Mac version, I'll be going 100% OpenOffice.org.

*hate hate HATE that new Ribbon interface and the logo-menu button*

Leopard

2009-04-11T23:01:00.001-05:00

Today's project was upgrading the little Mac mini from OS 10.4 (Tiger) to 10.5 (Leopard).

ooooooh, shiny!!!!!!!!!!!!

:D

one hundred push ups

2009-04-10T06:10:00.001-05:00

I've started this program:

http://hundredpushups.com

Interesting program, with the goal being to where you can just sit down and knock out 100 push-ups by the end of a month.

On Day Three.

:)

Pandora's Tummy

2009-04-02T20:08:00.001-05:00

Pandora turns ten years old this fall.

The poor thing has had skin problems for most of that time.
East Texas is an allergen nightmare which gave me my first allergy cold and gave her allergy hell, trying to scratch her skin off. Vet visits and an allergy test later, discovered which allergies and got a serum monthly to inject her with, which helped but never made the allergies go away.

Houston, however, helped. Houston (a) doesn't have as bad an allergy system as East Texas, (b) has three or four weather systems that interact, pushing air away all the time (and taking allergens with it), and (c) has poor air quality. Poor air quality helps (in my theory) because the pollution takes up volume in the air which allergens might otherwise take. More pollution = less allergens/pollens.
(Please note, Donald hated chemistry class. Take that for what you will with the above paragraph).

Anywhoo, Pandora's allergy problem stabilized in Houston. No more serum, no more benadryl (except for spring). But still scratching...
...which appeared to be out of habit and irritated skin.

Two weeks of hydrocortizone lotion later? Pandora's skin has a natural color, is not scratching as much anymore, doesn't smell as bad...and fur is very slowly and very sparsely beginning to grow back.

Go Panda Girl! :)

Bell Boy

2009-03-29T10:12:00.001-05:00

Had the wisdom teeth removed on Friday morning.

The dentist had good news and bad news. The good news is that I have very healthy and strong teeth & jaw bones. The bad news is that I have very healthy and strong teeth & jaw bones. My left-side teeth came out easily but the right side required some extra work...and I can definitely feel that today.

It doesn't hurt much, as long as I take 3 Advil every four hours. There is a prescription for hydrocodene, but that seems to make me loopy and somewhat queasy (not quite nauseous) so try to avoid that until night-time since I don't want to wake up every four hours for some pills.

My face is swollen like crazy in the corners of the jaws, so that my face is bell-shaped at worst (square at best). The left side is finally going down today but the right side, where the most work had to be done, is still swollen. But it's starting to feel creaky/tense, so that might be the healing process finally kicking in hard, so that's good.

Me thinks there will be some James Bond movie marathon watching today. :D And probably tomorrow - am likely to call in for another day of recuperating.

In other news, Pandora's tummy is getting better. Started putting hydrocortisone lotion on her tummy and it seems to be helping. She doesn't scratch as much, the skin is going back to normal, and some fur is even slowly growing back. Yay!

Return of the Who? The Empire Did What? SHOOT ME!

2009-03-22T17:31:00.001-05:00

In a quirky mood this afternoon, I decided to make a root beer float and curl up on the couch...and watch a cheesy movie.
Scrolling through the movies I've got in iTunes, settled on "The Ewok Adventure: The Battle for Endor".

Cheesy? That'll fit the bill PERFECT.

After fifteen minutes (about the time that the little girl and Wicket escape the Captured Persons Wagon), just turned it off. Maybe I was twenty minutes into it. It really doesn't matter.

The movie sucks. For some reason I remembered it being silly and cheesy but funny.
Um, no. It is not. It sucks, hardcore. With teeth.
George Lucas...the man made the original Star Wars trilogy, with help. Got a big name. Got a big ego and decided he didn't need help.
Really can't think of anything he's made since then that was good. By all accounts, he's responsible for the shit-heap aspects of the latest Indiana Jones movie. He skewered Star Wars with Jar-Jar Binks.

Ewok Adventures is definitely vibrant proof of this idea.

For some twisted reason, I'll wind up finishing the movie, just out of stubborn determination to finish it. I might be plastered by the end though. There's plenty of orange juice and vodka!

An excerpt from Loki's Diary

2009-03-21T08:39:00.001-05:00

<i>21 March 2009

Dear Diary,
What a horrible way to start the weekend!! Here I was, chewing a rawhide, happily sniffing the remnant smells of last night's dinner...and Dad said the V-word: vet. On a Saturday??? Something about a check-up for last week's sneezing fit. I ain't sneezing, why I gotta to go the vet? I'm fine! Boo! Bad Dad!</i>

No Internet

2009-02-25T17:24:00.001-06:00

Been using Comcast cable for the last year, watching the quality of service decline.
Now the internet doesn't work, despite their sending a tech out.

Cancelled today but won't have service from the new provider until 04 March. Eep!

Quote of the day

2009-02-20T13:15:00.001-06:00

"Chris! Your butt broke the umbrella!"

Garbage

2009-02-10T08:01:00.001-06:00

Dear Garbage Collecting Crew -

Thank you for coming by in both an early and quiet manner this morning.

I hadn't even realized that you *had* come by until I walked out the door to go to work this morning...

...and saw my empty garbage bin sitting, half-tipped over, in the middle of my driveway.

Really? There was absolutely no thought that ran through your head to move it next to the driveway, where it belongs...or did you have the thought and disregarded it?
(not really sure which one is more distasteful to consider)

Your recycling policies are jacked up. Your heavy trash day is extremely inane.
And now your trash collecting abilities suck...and all you have to do is push a button.
I really hope you aren't getting paid much more than minimum-wage, because you don't deserve it.

Muchas Gracias
- Donald

I want my MTV...

2009-02-03T19:17:00.000-06:00

1. Since MTV doesn't play music videos anymore, shouldn't they change their name? Ditto for VH1 (video hits 1).

2. Where, other than youtube, is a good place online to view new music videos? Something where you can just hit 'play' and it'll show one after another?

Wisdom Teeth 2: The Noive!

2009-01-22T21:19:00.001-06:00

The consultation went...okay.

The top two teeth are, in fact, perfectly fine for now. Only the upper-left is erupted, but it is fine where it is, not causing any problems. The upper-right is still below the gum-line and is in a perfectly vertical position, so it is also a-okay.

The bottom two teeth are much t3h suck. Both are at 45-degree angles. Both are possibly sitting on nerves. It's difficult, if not impossible, to tell from an x-ray, it being a flat image. So, d0nn13 gets to go in for an i-Cat (CAT scan of his head).
And yes, when they said iCAT/i-CAT, I envisioned an Apple product like an iMac or iBook. Go fig.

The i-CAT will let them know if the teeth are just sitting next to the nerve or actually touching it. If they're touching, there's a chance of nerve damage, which could result in numbness, pain, or nothing. It'd be a small quarter-sized area between the bottom lip and chin...so if numbness, that's okay. The only concern would be shaving (not being able to feel the pressure and pressing too hard)...and I don't shave that part of my face, so that's fine.

However, the cost estimate went from "anywhere between $900 and $1,800" to "about $1,200-$1,500".
BLAH

My sister had a great idea though - just get the bottom two yanked. The top two are fine, pose no threats, and the cost would be about half-ish. Could afford that ($1,200-1,500 would be more difficult to swallow), and just go back next year for the other two.
Go Susan, that took a weight off of my shoulders this afternoon! :)

Oh...and the medical insurance blows. My only hope (besides Obi Wan) is to turn it in for dental reimbursement and get 50% back...because the deductible on the medical insurance is like a midget (or me) trying to pole vault at the Olympics...that bar ain't gonna get hit this go-around. BLAH!

So that's the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good ain't hardly there, the bad was minimized, and the ugly...well, that's the dollar signs and they got shrank down a bit. *whew!*

Wisdom Teeth

2009-01-21T21:48:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow at 10a, I have a consultation with an oral surgeon to discuss removing my wisdom teeth...all four of them. I'm going to aim at an actual surgery date of about 19-Feb or 26-Feb, if they'll let me schedule one that far out. Really, how much could a wisdom tooth possibly move in one month? For realz.

One tooth (upper left) has already come in, but came in perfectly straight and the only problem is that it's really close to the furthest-back molar...so there's a concern of food getting stuck in there and making problems. However, at the last dental visit, the dental tech said that it was one of the cleanest back teeth she'd ever seen, and got a good chuckle at my obvious attempt to ENSURE that no food was trapped. The other upper tooth is aligned properly but hasn't descended. Both lower teeth are still in place, but are at 45-degree angles, which would be messy if/when they start to "erupt".

Ye Ole Savings Account has enough funds to cover the surgery...can also tap a credit line and a credit card. Hopefully Ye Ole Tax Refund might be in by late February too. That's if I have to go the dental insurance route (it's the reimbursement type...50%, but I still have to pay everything up front). If it qualifies under medical insurance...JOY, since that means I get to keep my savings, *not* tap a credit line, and the tax refund goes towards killing a credit card (and buying the T-Mobile G1 phone).

Going to schedule it for a Thursday, taking that whole day off as a sick day, take Friday off as a sick day, and that gives 3-1/2 days to recover before going back to work to speak and try not to make faces while trying to eat.

Which means I will look like this post's header picture during those days. :P

Party

2009-01-10T19:09:00.001-06:00

Heading to an Ugly Sweater Party tonight.

Oy vey, this is going to be interesting!

New Photos

2009-01-07T22:30:00.001-06:00

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/dprlynch">Added some photos and video clips from the camping trip (oooh, scenic shots) and Christmas.</a>

Tax Man Cometh

2009-01-07T14:18:00.001-06:00

Dear Tax Fairy -

Please have the W2 form come very quickly - want to get the taxes over and done with as soon as possible.

Thanks much
- Donald

<i>P.S. And yes, it's because I want to know the refund amount PRONTO!</i>

The Night the iBook Died

2008-08-01T09:20:00.001-05:00

Last night, I sat down to watch TV and pulled up the trust ol' iBook. Lil' guy has been trustworthy for six and a half years, running on his little G3 chip. Aww.

Until last night.

Was trying to pull up LiveJournal while the instant messenger program installed an update.
The entire system b0rk3d and froze up.
Restarted everything and it wouldn't boot into the operating system.
Um...huzzah? o_O
(shellie, i can hear your over-ripe apple jokes!)

Tried booting into OS 9...which isn't functional on the interwebs, but at least could maybe fix something.
No dice.
Umm...
Try reformatting the machine and do a clean install?
No.

.....
>_<

Okay...this will be a good excuse to install Linux on the machine!
Yeah, that's it!
openSuse 11.0
Downloaded overnight.
Installing as we speak.
When I get home this afternoon, I'll know if I have a little go-go-*nix machine, or if I have applesauce
(shellie, I can HEAR you!!!! harharhar)

This machine *will* come back from the dead. It has too much sentimental value!

Weed

2008-07-07T21:57:00.001-05:00

Just off of the back patio, there's a rock circle "thing" that used to be a pond (with some sort of circulating water system).

When they renovated the house, they took that out but left the rocks and cleared earth. So...we turned it into a encircled garden.

The herb seeds didn't take, but some flowering plant and "purple queen" plant did (has purple leaves, no flowers). And the basil was the only herbal plant that survived.

The weeds, on the other hand, took OVER. And since neither one of us got around to it, they were about 3 feet tall and staring to look scary...so knocked that out this afternoon.

Now I have a circle of dirt with 4 plants and some random elephant ears that are growing in there. Looks clean and sorta zen-ish.

Will definitely have to plan some sort of real garden for it for next spring.

Car Industry

2008-07-05T07:59:00.001-05:00

GM May Sell Mini-Cars to Fuel-Conscious U.S. Buyers

May.
Might.
Considering.
Thinking Of.

The article is full of those words related to GM's manufacture of cars that have higher gas mileage and/or have alternative fuels (hybrids, electric engines).

And therein lies the inherent problem with American automobile manufacturers. They just aren't getting it. When gas is hitting $4 a gallon this year (which means probably $4.25-4.50 next summer), people are going to start changing their habits and want cars that use that more-costly fuel in a more efficient manner. ie, spend less on gas or make it go further.

And GM, Ford, and the others just do not seem to have gotten it over the last three to four years, although it seems their collective lightbulbs are starting to fizzle on.

Granted, there is always going to be markets for performance vehicles. There will always be persons or companies that want them and/or need them...and that's perfectly cool and it's a market that GM & Ford will be able to hold onto and excel in.
But if the average consumer begins shying away from their cars in favor of smaller cars that get 40+ mpg, then they'll be in danger of only producing commercial vehicles and not have a consumer market.

Ford's even worse. They wonder why their market share keeps slipping. Years ago, they had a hit with the Focus, which replaced the Escort (a staple vehicle in their stable). The Focus had a European fun look and sold like hotcakes. Then they redesigned it... The interior looks great but the exterior looks like...a bland Ford vehicle. Way to go. They took the fun car and instead of continuing on that, they squashed it.

Dodos.

The Friday Five: 04-July-2008 Edition

2008-07-04T08:40:00.001-05:00

1. What drink wakes you up best in the morning?
Coffee or hot tea. Chai tea rocks quite a bit.

2. During the day, what do you drink to keep going?
Coffee, hot tea, or water

3. Do you drink the recommended 8 glasses of water per day? Why/why not?
Probably, but caffeine dehydrates so who knows. Not really concerned if I'm hitting 8 glasses or not. If I'm thirsty, I'll drink. If I'm not, I won't.

4. What are the ingredients of your favorite mixed drink? (Doesn't have to be alcoholic!)
Coffee, milk, sugar. Alcoholic...I'm really not sure what goes into a mandarin press, except that it has Mandarin Absolut vodka.

5. Are you a coffee drinker? How do you take your coffee, if so?
Noooooooo, I HATE coffee! (I've only mentioned it in every other question to this Friday Five...).
I take it black, with milk/cream & sugar, with just sugar, with just milk/cream, with fru-fru Starbucks stuff in it. Essentially...I'll take it anyway I can get it, including direct IV-drip!

Pennies

2008-05-08T17:09:00.001-05:00

Small point of amusement at work...when a customer asks for their balance and it has an even-dollar amount, such as $5.00 or $100.00.
"Yes ma'am. You have one hundred dollars...and no sense."

;)

Loki's Teeth

2008-04-16T08:30:00.001-05:00

Dropped Loki off at the vet this morning for his teeth to be cleaned.

Looking forward to the vet call "we're all done and Loki's fine".

Loki's Morning:
(1) wake up and follow Dad around the house (yay)
(2) go outside while the girls eat (what?? booo!) [no food after 5p yesterday]
(3) get to go in the car (YAY!!!)
(4) go into the vet's office (wth?? boo!!!)

He always does this business with the vet where he plants all four legs down with his weight pulled back towards his rear, trying to make himself immovable. Forgetting that he weighs less than 20 pounds and is a "little dog", he always gets pulled by the vet into the back, trying to figure out where his Plant Teh Butt Into Teh Ground maneuver went wrong.

Silly Loki :)

Decaffeinated Thoughts on Children...

2008-04-15T10:55:00.001-05:00

...before the caffeine has kicked in and filtered these to be socially acceptable...

THOUGHT # 1
Theoretical question.
Let's say a Person is driving their car through a school zone during the day, say about 1pm when the kids should all still be IN school. Person is driving about five miles below the posted speed limit, is not on their mobile phone, and is being a perfect driver.
Hooligan Child, aged about 13-14 years old, dashes out between two tall parked vehicles, and is hit by the driver's car. Turns out that the child was skipping class (hence the "Hooligan" title) and was dashing off of the school grounds without paying attention.

In this situation, would it be possible for the driver to sue the child's parents for the damage to their vehicle, as they were obeying the law, weren't responsible for the accident, couldn't have prevented it, and the child was violating the truancy laws?

For the purpose of the theoretical situation, it doesn't matter if the child is injured or killed...just that they were hit by the car...or really, the Hooligan hit the car).
Also, the kid is being theorized to be middle-school aged because that helps kill the "omg, they killed a SMALL CHILD" reaction. Especially since it's a middle-schooler and...well...everyone knows that middle-school kids are evil, so it helps squash the "omg, it was a CHILD" thing).

So should/can the driver sue the child's parents for the damage to their vehicle...and, if you were on the jury, would you award the money to them?

~~~~~~~~~~

THOUGHT #2
There's this lady who comes in the bank regularly. Said lady has a child we've named The Demon Child. He makes a LOT of noise, he tumbles on all the furniture, he messes with things on desks, thinks that the world is his personal playground, and is grossly annoying. Worse, the mother rarely (extremely rarely) makes any effort to tell her Darling child to stop, cease, quit it, behave, etc.

She came in this morning and I didn't even notice for awhile because...it was quiet. And peaceful. And...where's the kid? What? He's not here?
Be still, our beating hearts!

At lunch, I'm going to look over the obituaries with a half-hope in my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~

And no, the two aren't related. The driving scenario came up in a conversation yesterday. The Case of the Missing Demon Child came up this morning. :P

2008-04-15T10:52:00.001-05:00

Insurance

2008-04-10T17:32:00.001-05:00

2008 seems to be the year of things from the past not being able to stay dead and lay there...for some reason every mid-month seems to bring some ugly a** thing up.

At least this one’s funny.

Received a letter that my health insurance was canceled. Okay, that’s not funny. While thinking "huh...what the...?" noticed that the name of the company wasn’t the one I use.

Um...okay? We just switched providers...maybe that’s it. No, it’s not the name of the old one. Okay, what’s going .. down and see the name of Ye Ole Pipe Company...the one that I left in July 2007.
The insurance was canceled at the end of February 2008.

Wow.

Please note, the alternate name for "Ye Ole Pipe Company" was/is "The Place That Is The Definition Of FUBAR and Will Never Fix Itself".
Also known as "Thanks Goodness I Don’t Work There Anymore!"

Loki's Teeth

2008-04-06T17:11:00.001-05:00

I've been doing some clerical work as a second job to a Houston artist, which has been really interesting as well as educational and fun.

The additional income has been a nice touch. It's helped with a financial tightspot shortly after the move, then paid for some stuff around the house.

The best part is today's payment - there are no essential needs for the apartment and no pressing bills.
Which means tomorrow I can call and make an appointment for Loki to have his teeth cleaned! They're not damaged but they definitely need to be cleaned - his breath is bad and the tartar buildup is bad.

YAY for Loki Fresh Breath! Nice capstone to a perfect weekend.

:D

Random thought on spreadsheets...

2008-04-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time, a much-younger version of myself saw Dad working on a spreadsheet program.
It was probably Lotus 1-2-3.

He tried explaining how it worked, but it looked like the most arcane and just plain stupid program ever.

"Never gonna use it, blah blah blah."

Irony...between Excel and Numbers, I've got my head in a spreadsheet every single day of the week.

:P

Nephew

2008-04-04T10:32:00.001-05:00

My sister gave birth to her first son, Trenton Justice, yesterday early-early-early morning (03-April).

:)

Coffee Nightmare

2008-04-02T22:31:00.003-05:00

Learned an important lesson this weekend:

When waking up groggy from an afternoon nap...one should be very
careful while handling a carafe full of water with which to make coffee.

'cause when you drop it on tile, it's gonna go boom.

No coffee in the house (other than instant) until the new carafe comes in by UPS.

:'(

But hey, UPS' site says it left Connecticut on Monday and got to Illinois Wednesday. Maybe it'll make it to Houston on Friday!!

First post on Blogger

2006-06-20T13:12:00.001-05:00

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