The rape accusations against the Duke lacrosse team members are falling apart fast. MSNBC/Newsweek is report that the accuser is not looking as credible as she once may have. The days and hours leading up to the time of the alledged attack are filled with accusations of the stripper having sex with at least two and possibly as many as 4 other people in the days prior to the "attack" that are casting serious doubt on her claims.
D.A. Nifong has been quiet, not giving any indication that this is a legitimate complaint. While many say he believes the accuser, most of those say the evidence does not support his feelings. Accusations that he was using this as a vehicle to further his political career abound. While no one knows for sure, it does appear that this is a witch hunt. Race has been brought in, as well as socio-economic status of those involved.
The parents want to believe their children are "good kids". We all want to think our kids would do the right thing, but as the parent of an 18 year old, I know that is just not true. They all do things they (and we) wished they didn't, break the law, get into minor trouble, etc. It happens even to the very best of parents. While all this is just he said / she said right now, the longer this goes on, the more dirt that will be dug up. The story smelled fishy from the first I heard of it and it grows more rancid as time goes on.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Man, it is HAWT Outside.
If you check your weather forecast for the 75225 zip code (not where I live but very close), you will see it is very hot. It is very dry and it is very hot. It has been in the 100 degrees F (that is almost 38 C.) range for about a week and next week is looking about the same. Needless to say, most of us are staying inside from 9 AM until 9 PM. Summer in Texas is here. Prepare for more of this for the next 4 months. $300 electric bills, but at least my water bill be somewhat lower.
The hot weather and little rain (the last rain was 30 days ago at .03 of an inch...woohoo. In the past 42 days we have received 2 inches of rain...most of that over 30 days ago. Yeah...it is dry) has created drought conditions in this area. Our county has issued a stage 3 water alert meaning we can only water our lawns once a week (on trash day) for a maximum of 1 hr. I can water my foundation (this is a weird thing I only have heard of here in Texas) 1 hour per week. I cannot water my Bradford Pear trees (which is sucking the life out of my lawn) because it is "established"...only new trees can be watered more. My poor yard (and most of those around me) are looking rather pathetic.
I am sure those in New Mexico and Arizona have it just as bad if not worse. This is the first year we have had these restrictions that I can remember since moving here 5 years ago from NC, where we never had to water our lawn. We had shade tree and the sun did not fry my grass.
The hot weather and little rain (the last rain was 30 days ago at .03 of an inch...woohoo. In the past 42 days we have received 2 inches of rain...most of that over 30 days ago. Yeah...it is dry) has created drought conditions in this area. Our county has issued a stage 3 water alert meaning we can only water our lawns once a week (on trash day) for a maximum of 1 hr. I can water my foundation (this is a weird thing I only have heard of here in Texas) 1 hour per week. I cannot water my Bradford Pear trees (which is sucking the life out of my lawn) because it is "established"...only new trees can be watered more. My poor yard (and most of those around me) are looking rather pathetic.
I am sure those in New Mexico and Arizona have it just as bad if not worse. This is the first year we have had these restrictions that I can remember since moving here 5 years ago from NC, where we never had to water our lawn. We had shade tree and the sun did not fry my grass.
Friday, June 09, 2006
Pre-weekend Update
I wrote down a bit of the dream I had but since it has been over 24 hours now, I will have to augment it greatly to get a story out of it. Great. Another started but prolly never finished short story. My CommColl English teacher would be upset. She thinks I should be published.
My wife called and e-mailed me yesterday to me know that she was going to see Joyce Meyer in Dallas that evening. She did not want to drive and was going to take the metro, but it is a bit of a hike from the train station to the area where the event was held. I have done it before at night, but there is no way on God's green earth I am letting her do that alone. Maybe if she went with a group...maybe. She also stated that she was going for at least one session today but would let me know her exact plans so I would not worry. Smart lass.
Anyhooo...with that in mind I knew she would not be home until at least 10:00, most likely 10:30 PM. That meant I would have an empty house for about 5 hours. I had a couple of things to do (wash dishes, eat, feed and walk the dogs, do some bills, water plants) but mostly it would be me time. With that in mind, I did everything but wash the dishes and walk the dogs and I settled down in front of my underpowered server to wipe it and reload it with the latest version of Xubuntu, the XFCE version of Ubuntu. I knew that being only 400 mhz Celeron, it would take a while, but I had the time.
I popped in the CD and rebooted the server and noticed that it did not boot to CD. Oh, I must've forgotten to change the BIOS to boot from CD-ROM first. I checked the BIOS and it was set correctly. Hmmm.
I put the CD in my other machine and it booted fine, so it was not a CD issue. I had a couple of OLD CD-ROM units in my junk box, so I popped the old one out (circa 2000) and put in another (circa 2002). I checked the jumpers, and booted it up with the CD. Presto...the install program started up.
After I set the parameters for install, I turned on my mp3 player and rocked out to some very good Christian rock (Petra, Pillar, POD, Day of Fire) while I washed the dishes. After the dishes were done, I changed the dogs water (it looked kinda gross) and checked on the install. It was 98% complete at this point, so I grabbed some ice cream and waited the last few minutes for the installation to complete. After a reboot I had a fresh shiny install of Xubuntu with most of the tools I needed already installed. I still needed to install SSH, Bittorrent, and Automatix, but that would be an easy fix.
After playing with this for a couple of hours, I walked the dogs, one at a time until they did their thing. I cleaned up after them like I normally do. Our town has a "puppy poo" law...the dogs drops it, you pick it up. In NC, when we lived in the country, that was not a bit deal, but in the 'burbs it is. Makes sense. We have a neighbor who lets her pup dump in my yard. I watched her let the dog do it and let her know that It was not polite to do that (as well as illegal) and it has not happened again.
As I was walking, I noticed a lot of sprinklers running. This is not unusual, but we are under stage three of a water usage restriction. My neighborhood can only water once a week (on Wednesdays) for 60 minutes. My wife said that the police have been cruising the alleys and streets looking for offenders. Glad to see my tax money is being used "to protect and serve".
I got back to the house after the second dog was finished and decided to watch as much of an episode of Farscape as I could before my wife got home. I got about 45 minutes into one when she came home at 10:38 PM. I can finish it later. It was interesting but nothing to lose sleep over.
I am on day 4 without pain pills. No pain waking up, no pain when I stretch, except for the sciatica issue I have been having but it is not as bad as it was a week ago...it is pretty mild by comparison. I may be healthy by the end of the year! I need to get back into MILD stretching again. My PT told me not to do much while my sciatica was acting up to help speed the healing. Smart man. Since I am feeling better I need to get back into a regiment. I still need to avoid contact stuff, but I can at least do sit-ups, push-ups, bike, and stretch.
Well, almost lunch time. The tickets have been light the past week, but I was warned they would get heavier in the upcoming weeks, at least for the next month.
My wife called and e-mailed me yesterday to me know that she was going to see Joyce Meyer in Dallas that evening. She did not want to drive and was going to take the metro, but it is a bit of a hike from the train station to the area where the event was held. I have done it before at night, but there is no way on God's green earth I am letting her do that alone. Maybe if she went with a group...maybe. She also stated that she was going for at least one session today but would let me know her exact plans so I would not worry. Smart lass.
Anyhooo...with that in mind I knew she would not be home until at least 10:00, most likely 10:30 PM. That meant I would have an empty house for about 5 hours. I had a couple of things to do (wash dishes, eat, feed and walk the dogs, do some bills, water plants) but mostly it would be me time. With that in mind, I did everything but wash the dishes and walk the dogs and I settled down in front of my underpowered server to wipe it and reload it with the latest version of Xubuntu, the XFCE version of Ubuntu. I knew that being only 400 mhz Celeron, it would take a while, but I had the time.
I popped in the CD and rebooted the server and noticed that it did not boot to CD. Oh, I must've forgotten to change the BIOS to boot from CD-ROM first. I checked the BIOS and it was set correctly. Hmmm.
I put the CD in my other machine and it booted fine, so it was not a CD issue. I had a couple of OLD CD-ROM units in my junk box, so I popped the old one out (circa 2000) and put in another (circa 2002). I checked the jumpers, and booted it up with the CD. Presto...the install program started up.
After I set the parameters for install, I turned on my mp3 player and rocked out to some very good Christian rock (Petra, Pillar, POD, Day of Fire) while I washed the dishes. After the dishes were done, I changed the dogs water (it looked kinda gross) and checked on the install. It was 98% complete at this point, so I grabbed some ice cream and waited the last few minutes for the installation to complete. After a reboot I had a fresh shiny install of Xubuntu with most of the tools I needed already installed. I still needed to install SSH, Bittorrent, and Automatix, but that would be an easy fix.
After playing with this for a couple of hours, I walked the dogs, one at a time until they did their thing. I cleaned up after them like I normally do. Our town has a "puppy poo" law...the dogs drops it, you pick it up. In NC, when we lived in the country, that was not a bit deal, but in the 'burbs it is. Makes sense. We have a neighbor who lets her pup dump in my yard. I watched her let the dog do it and let her know that It was not polite to do that (as well as illegal) and it has not happened again.
As I was walking, I noticed a lot of sprinklers running. This is not unusual, but we are under stage three of a water usage restriction. My neighborhood can only water once a week (on Wednesdays) for 60 minutes. My wife said that the police have been cruising the alleys and streets looking for offenders. Glad to see my tax money is being used "to protect and serve".
I got back to the house after the second dog was finished and decided to watch as much of an episode of Farscape as I could before my wife got home. I got about 45 minutes into one when she came home at 10:38 PM. I can finish it later. It was interesting but nothing to lose sleep over.
I am on day 4 without pain pills. No pain waking up, no pain when I stretch, except for the sciatica issue I have been having but it is not as bad as it was a week ago...it is pretty mild by comparison. I may be healthy by the end of the year! I need to get back into MILD stretching again. My PT told me not to do much while my sciatica was acting up to help speed the healing. Smart man. Since I am feeling better I need to get back into a regiment. I still need to avoid contact stuff, but I can at least do sit-ups, push-ups, bike, and stretch.
Well, almost lunch time. The tickets have been light the past week, but I was warned they would get heavier in the upcoming weeks, at least for the next month.
Null and Void
The second stripper in the Duke rape allegation should not be believed. Her stories do not match.
The prosecution should drop the case. It has more twists and turns that the first dancers strip routine. More at the N&O.
An update from the Herald-Sun (as reported by Matt Drudge. I think the site is overwhelmed with requests). Ick. Yeah, she is a real good girl. Daddy, are you proud of her now?
The prosecution should drop the case. It has more twists and turns that the first dancers strip routine. More at the N&O.
An update from the Herald-Sun (as reported by Matt Drudge. I think the site is overwhelmed with requests). Ick. Yeah, she is a real good girl. Daddy, are you proud of her now?
Thursday, June 08, 2006
I *Really* Need to Stop Reading and Watching Sci-Fi.
I had an odd dream last night. I have had odd dreams in the past, but most of them are centered largely in the here and now. Rarely are the dreams this vivid or even worthy of writing about, but this one is, at least in my opinion.
I am in the process of typing it out now while most of it is still fresh. I will most likely augment it since it is a story and my memory of this will fade as the day progresses.
Ever had this happen to you? Dream something completely different than you normally do?
I am in the process of typing it out now while most of it is still fresh. I will most likely augment it since it is a story and my memory of this will fade as the day progresses.
Ever had this happen to you? Dream something completely different than you normally do?
Rest in Pieces...
AP and CNN are both reporting that Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi has been killed in a US airstrike that claimed at least 6 others terrorists. This is at the same time a good thing and a bad thing.
It is good because a popular "face" of terrorism in Iraq and around the world has been removed from circulation. Zarqawi. I hope you enjoy your 70 Virgin(ian)s. Congrats to Task Force 145 for completing this mission.
It could become a bad thing if we have now turned him into a martyr. I am not sure about that. Osama bin Laden would make a more powerful martyr and he is still alive. Maybe we should hunt him like a fox by a pack o'hounds but never actually catch him...just to keep him on his toes.
al-Zarqawi was the face of a growing movement in the world to push Sharia law on all the people of the world. Many websites are dedicated to reporting this and if you are not keeping up with the situation, you need to. One such website that I highly recommend is "Jihad Watch". A very enlightening read.
It is good because a popular "face" of terrorism in Iraq and around the world has been removed from circulation. Zarqawi. I hope you enjoy your 70 Virgin(ian)s. Congrats to Task Force 145 for completing this mission.
It could become a bad thing if we have now turned him into a martyr. I am not sure about that. Osama bin Laden would make a more powerful martyr and he is still alive. Maybe we should hunt him like a fox by a pack o'hounds but never actually catch him...just to keep him on his toes.
al-Zarqawi was the face of a growing movement in the world to push Sharia law on all the people of the world. Many websites are dedicated to reporting this and if you are not keeping up with the situation, you need to. One such website that I highly recommend is "Jihad Watch". A very enlightening read.
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Xubuntu 6.06 - First Contact, Dry Carpet, and 48 Hours Without Pain.
While I will be getting Ubuntu CD's in the mail in a few weeks, I have always wanted to try out the XFCE branch of Ubuntu, Xubuntu. It is lighter and made to run on older machines that have less horsepower than more modern boxes. I have a 650 mhz laptop that I was itching to try Dapper Drake (6.06 Ubuntu) on and I figured the XFCE version would do me well. Here is my first impressions of it:
The install is very slick. It almost looks like a Mac or Windows install with the wizard. The install only took about 20-30 minutes and 1 reboot. Try that with Windows! I received no errors during the install and the nice thing is that you can use the CD as a "live" CD if you chose, so it serves a dual purpose. Again, try that with Windows.
Performance was pretty good and the total install size clocked in at 1.3 gigs. Considering it has more default software and is more stable than Windows, I thought that was pretty good. My full blown install of Breezy badger (5.10 Ubuntu) clocked in at 2.1 gigs, so this was a welcome change. One thing I found odd was that localepurge was not included in the standard install. This neat little util will (after configured) remove all the locale info from your system that is not specific to your region. It even removed man pages in that are not in the language you are used to using. Seems odd not to include that OR at least purge all the locale info when installed. It removed some, but not all. No real issue, really...just a oddity in my opinion.
Xubuntu does not have Open Office, but it does have Abiword and Gnumeric. Open Office can be install from Synaptic, but it is not a standard fixture to the XFCE environment. Which brings me to my next point. Why does the default install look like Gnome? It is not that I mind, but the only way to tell by looking at the desktop (and not clicking on the menu), is the XFCE logon on the launch button. Again, no big issue, but it looked odd to me.
It appeared to detect all the laptop's hardware (a feat in itself) but to be honest, I started the install at 10:00 PM and was tired by the time it finished and I rebooted. I will give my full review once I have had time to evaluate it.
On the home improvement front, the carpet was dry when I got home, so I vacuumed it (per my wife's instructions) and pulled a surprisingly large amount of "dust" (carpet cleaner residue?), pet hair (the dogs had not been on the carpet since it was cleaned) and carpet nap. While not as much as I would get during a normal vacuuming, it was still more than I had expected.
Once that was done, I ate and fed the dogs and when my wife came home and got organized, we started moving the furniture back in place. It was not easy on her to help me. She gained some respect for amount of work that goes into moving furniture.
After the furniture was moved back into place, I walked little man and helped my wife with her cactus. She had a tall cactus that was in a shallow pot. The post was big (12-14 inches in diameter) but not very deep (10 inches) for the 4.5 foot cactus, so it was not very stable. So we ditched it and plan on bringing the one home from her workplace. It is not doing well there an she only works 2 days a week in that office.
Like the previous night, I was craving ice cream. This time, I found out that my wife was craving some as well. So we got in the van and made a run to Kroger's for some treats. Before we left, we realized that we needed a few things so we decided to pick them up as well. Milk was cheaper for 1 gallon than 1/2 a gallon (odd) and we had several coupons for things that we needed. Total savings in coupons was $4.75. Our total was only $26 and some change. It would have been less, but we picked up a bottle of gourmet raspberry chipotle sauce (you have to try it in chicken!) that did not have a price on it, but had a $1 off coupon. The normal price was $5.29 for about 10 oz! My wife apologized but I told her not to worry...it is good sauce and we will not buy it often.
My ice cream (Dreyer's Grand, peanut butter cup) ended up only costing $2.00 for the 1.75 quart size, versus $3.99 normally. I love it when I can save some cash.
I am now clocking in at just about 48 hours without taking any Aleve and also my other weird issue (the sharp pain in the read of my hip) has been very minimal. I still feel it every so often, but it is not near as sharp as it was this weekend. I tested this with some front kicks (not hard, just the motion) and did not have any pain, although I could still feel a mild discomfort. One step at a time.
Thank you God for giving me this healing. I hope that the lessons you are wanting me to learn will be revealed to me. I know one of them and that deeply private issue I will no doubt work on for a very long time. Please be patient with me...I am trying!
The install is very slick. It almost looks like a Mac or Windows install with the wizard. The install only took about 20-30 minutes and 1 reboot. Try that with Windows! I received no errors during the install and the nice thing is that you can use the CD as a "live" CD if you chose, so it serves a dual purpose. Again, try that with Windows.
Performance was pretty good and the total install size clocked in at 1.3 gigs. Considering it has more default software and is more stable than Windows, I thought that was pretty good. My full blown install of Breezy badger (5.10 Ubuntu) clocked in at 2.1 gigs, so this was a welcome change. One thing I found odd was that localepurge was not included in the standard install. This neat little util will (after configured) remove all the locale info from your system that is not specific to your region. It even removed man pages in that are not in the language you are used to using. Seems odd not to include that OR at least purge all the locale info when installed. It removed some, but not all. No real issue, really...just a oddity in my opinion.
Xubuntu does not have Open Office, but it does have Abiword and Gnumeric. Open Office can be install from Synaptic, but it is not a standard fixture to the XFCE environment. Which brings me to my next point. Why does the default install look like Gnome? It is not that I mind, but the only way to tell by looking at the desktop (and not clicking on the menu), is the XFCE logon on the launch button. Again, no big issue, but it looked odd to me.
It appeared to detect all the laptop's hardware (a feat in itself) but to be honest, I started the install at 10:00 PM and was tired by the time it finished and I rebooted. I will give my full review once I have had time to evaluate it.
On the home improvement front, the carpet was dry when I got home, so I vacuumed it (per my wife's instructions) and pulled a surprisingly large amount of "dust" (carpet cleaner residue?), pet hair (the dogs had not been on the carpet since it was cleaned) and carpet nap. While not as much as I would get during a normal vacuuming, it was still more than I had expected.
Once that was done, I ate and fed the dogs and when my wife came home and got organized, we started moving the furniture back in place. It was not easy on her to help me. She gained some respect for amount of work that goes into moving furniture.
After the furniture was moved back into place, I walked little man and helped my wife with her cactus. She had a tall cactus that was in a shallow pot. The post was big (12-14 inches in diameter) but not very deep (10 inches) for the 4.5 foot cactus, so it was not very stable. So we ditched it and plan on bringing the one home from her workplace. It is not doing well there an she only works 2 days a week in that office.
Like the previous night, I was craving ice cream. This time, I found out that my wife was craving some as well. So we got in the van and made a run to Kroger's for some treats. Before we left, we realized that we needed a few things so we decided to pick them up as well. Milk was cheaper for 1 gallon than 1/2 a gallon (odd) and we had several coupons for things that we needed. Total savings in coupons was $4.75. Our total was only $26 and some change. It would have been less, but we picked up a bottle of gourmet raspberry chipotle sauce (you have to try it in chicken!) that did not have a price on it, but had a $1 off coupon. The normal price was $5.29 for about 10 oz! My wife apologized but I told her not to worry...it is good sauce and we will not buy it often.
My ice cream (Dreyer's Grand, peanut butter cup) ended up only costing $2.00 for the 1.75 quart size, versus $3.99 normally. I love it when I can save some cash.
I am now clocking in at just about 48 hours without taking any Aleve and also my other weird issue (the sharp pain in the read of my hip) has been very minimal. I still feel it every so often, but it is not near as sharp as it was this weekend. I tested this with some front kicks (not hard, just the motion) and did not have any pain, although I could still feel a mild discomfort. One step at a time.
Thank you God for giving me this healing. I hope that the lessons you are wanting me to learn will be revealed to me. I know one of them and that deeply private issue I will no doubt work on for a very long time. Please be patient with me...I am trying!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Taking a Cue From Dakboy and What Happened To My Cell Service?
When I got home last night I had discovered that my wife had started the landscaping in the front of the house. She had trimmed all the shrubs but had not cleaned up the clippings or put down the soil conditioner and mulch yet. I was quite impressed that she went to Home Depot and picked up all the things we needed and even got the correct amount. She really did a good job.
Since she had spent several hours in the sun and at home depot, not to mention monitored the carpet cleaning team AND cooked dinner, I thought the least I could do would be to clean up the front. Now that may not sound like much, but cleaning up involved a bit more than just picking up the clippings. We have Japanese Holly and boxwoods, as well as some other shrubs that when trimmed, produce very small clippings that make it hard to clean up without getting a lot of the mulch as well. So with this in mind we clean out a part of the mulch every year and replace it with new. I got about 2.5 bags of clippings cleaned up when our son called us from AIT. He chatted to each of us for a while before he had to get back to formation. It is always nice to hear from him.
After the chat with our son, my wife joined me and we put down the soil conditioner (which is nothing more than the wet, semi-decomposed stuff you find on the forest floor) and the mulch and did a final cleanup. I broke one of the splash stones in the process, but it is hidden from view and will not be noticed.
After all that it was time to walk the dogs. I took "little man" first then I grabbed a shower. After my shower (9:30 PM) I realized that I was in the mood for ice cream, so I went to Krogers to grab a pint of whatever was on sale. Breyers was $1.79 a pint so I grabbed one (my wife said no when I asked her if she cared for any) and a Sobe diet green tea. I am trying to drink more green tea since it is very high in anti-oxidants. My total was $2.25, a bit less than I expected. My receipt showed that the ice cream was on sale and it was not marked as such. SWEET!
I got home and my wife asked me to walk the Golden a short walk. I walked her gingerly around the cul de sac and took her in. She was walking on all fours, not holding up the leg that was operated on. She was in a little pain, so I cut the walk short.
After I got finished with the Golden, I grabbed my ice cream and went into the office (which was packed with stuff we moved so the carpets could be cleaned) to do some bill paying. It did not take long and soon I was working on my finicky linux server. I have 2 Linux boxes, megaserver and geekbox. megaserver is a very low powered box, so the name is a bit of a joke.
I played until about 11:15 PM and finally went to bed. I was very tired and woke up the next morning almost as tired as I went to bed. A walk with the dogs and some coffee helped, but I am a bit run down. I really needed more sleep, but I doubt I will get it tonight. I am doing 1 on 1 Discipling, then I will come home and move all the furniture back once I am sure the carpet is dry. With the A/C and the fans running, it should be by the time I get home tonight.
Our cellular service has really be stinky the past 2 weeks or so. I know my phone battery (any my wife's) is going bad, but the dropped calls, poor reception, and missed calls are really beginning to make me angry. I missed 3 calls (my phone did not ring and the calls went to VM) in two days, causing the people who tried to call me to think I was not taking calls. I need to call Cingular and see what can be done and see if anyone else is having issues.
Our main work server (the one we log on to to do all of our UNIX admin stuff) is acting very funny and I cannot log on to it. No one else is here to ask and I have a couple of tickets to work on. Not that I am too worried. Our TL will most likely know what is wrong. He is a very smart guy. I admire him a lot. He may not be a strong leader, but he is a technical genius.
My company issues laptop was acting up quite a bit Thursday. We had a mandatory update that caused my machine to act up all day. This laptop tends to run hot and when there are network issues and the processor has to work harder, the drive will get to 50+ degrees Celsius in no time. It will run 45+ degrees most of the day and overheat when I defrag it or run a virus check. The HD monitoring software states that S.M.A.R.T. is reporting that it has about a year before it fails. I have only had this thing for about 2 years and that scares me. My desktop PC at home has 2 hard drives (1-80 gig and 1-160 gig) and both of them have at least 10 years on them, according to S.M.A.R.T.. I hope that my PC does not crash. I do not keep much critical data on it (most is on the network or my flash drive), but I do have some.
Since she had spent several hours in the sun and at home depot, not to mention monitored the carpet cleaning team AND cooked dinner, I thought the least I could do would be to clean up the front. Now that may not sound like much, but cleaning up involved a bit more than just picking up the clippings. We have Japanese Holly and boxwoods, as well as some other shrubs that when trimmed, produce very small clippings that make it hard to clean up without getting a lot of the mulch as well. So with this in mind we clean out a part of the mulch every year and replace it with new. I got about 2.5 bags of clippings cleaned up when our son called us from AIT. He chatted to each of us for a while before he had to get back to formation. It is always nice to hear from him.
After the chat with our son, my wife joined me and we put down the soil conditioner (which is nothing more than the wet, semi-decomposed stuff you find on the forest floor) and the mulch and did a final cleanup. I broke one of the splash stones in the process, but it is hidden from view and will not be noticed.
After all that it was time to walk the dogs. I took "little man" first then I grabbed a shower. After my shower (9:30 PM) I realized that I was in the mood for ice cream, so I went to Krogers to grab a pint of whatever was on sale. Breyers was $1.79 a pint so I grabbed one (my wife said no when I asked her if she cared for any) and a Sobe diet green tea. I am trying to drink more green tea since it is very high in anti-oxidants. My total was $2.25, a bit less than I expected. My receipt showed that the ice cream was on sale and it was not marked as such. SWEET!
I got home and my wife asked me to walk the Golden a short walk. I walked her gingerly around the cul de sac and took her in. She was walking on all fours, not holding up the leg that was operated on. She was in a little pain, so I cut the walk short.
After I got finished with the Golden, I grabbed my ice cream and went into the office (which was packed with stuff we moved so the carpets could be cleaned) to do some bill paying. It did not take long and soon I was working on my finicky linux server. I have 2 Linux boxes, megaserver and geekbox. megaserver is a very low powered box, so the name is a bit of a joke.
I played until about 11:15 PM and finally went to bed. I was very tired and woke up the next morning almost as tired as I went to bed. A walk with the dogs and some coffee helped, but I am a bit run down. I really needed more sleep, but I doubt I will get it tonight. I am doing 1 on 1 Discipling, then I will come home and move all the furniture back once I am sure the carpet is dry. With the A/C and the fans running, it should be by the time I get home tonight.
Our cellular service has really be stinky the past 2 weeks or so. I know my phone battery (any my wife's) is going bad, but the dropped calls, poor reception, and missed calls are really beginning to make me angry. I missed 3 calls (my phone did not ring and the calls went to VM) in two days, causing the people who tried to call me to think I was not taking calls. I need to call Cingular and see what can be done and see if anyone else is having issues.
Our main work server (the one we log on to to do all of our UNIX admin stuff) is acting very funny and I cannot log on to it. No one else is here to ask and I have a couple of tickets to work on. Not that I am too worried. Our TL will most likely know what is wrong. He is a very smart guy. I admire him a lot. He may not be a strong leader, but he is a technical genius.
My company issues laptop was acting up quite a bit Thursday. We had a mandatory update that caused my machine to act up all day. This laptop tends to run hot and when there are network issues and the processor has to work harder, the drive will get to 50+ degrees Celsius in no time. It will run 45+ degrees most of the day and overheat when I defrag it or run a virus check. The HD monitoring software states that S.M.A.R.T. is reporting that it has about a year before it fails. I have only had this thing for about 2 years and that scares me. My desktop PC at home has 2 hard drives (1-80 gig and 1-160 gig) and both of them have at least 10 years on them, according to S.M.A.R.T.. I hope that my PC does not crash. I do not keep much critical data on it (most is on the network or my flash drive), but I do have some.
This Makes Me Soooooooo Angry!
Read this and see if you can see why I am so upset at the STRIPPER (not a little girl like she says...if my "little girl" did this I would be furious).
Quotes from the second stripper, Kim Roberts:
"...the students behaved drunkenly..." -- Ya think? It was a frat party...
"...she (Roberts) was originally told she would be performing at a bachelor party, where she assumed the men would be close to 30 or a little older. But when she arrived she realized the crowd was all younger men..." -- The address may have tipped her off...it was a Duke Frat house.
"When they learned that the second dancer coming was black, some objected because they wanted a white dancer..." -- Both dancers were black. They got mad because ONE of them was black?
"You have to think of two little girls among how many big boys? That in and of itself is intimidating. ..." -- Little girls do not take off their clothes for big boys...unless they are either whores or sex slaves. Which are you, Kim?
"How is someone supposed to perform a show if they're wondering .... 'Am I going to have to worry about my safety?' Things were said that made me concerned for my safety." -- You should have thought about that BEFORE you became a stripper.
"...when she and the other dancer left, the players shouted racial slurs." -- Are these the same or different ones you were called WHILE you were stripping?
All quotes courtesy of Reuters. Interview published in Vanity Fair magazine.
Yes, I am upset. While I have NO love for Duke, this is criminal to have these students treated this way.
Quotes from the second stripper, Kim Roberts:
"...the students behaved drunkenly..." -- Ya think? It was a frat party...
"...she (Roberts) was originally told she would be performing at a bachelor party, where she assumed the men would be close to 30 or a little older. But when she arrived she realized the crowd was all younger men..." -- The address may have tipped her off...it was a Duke Frat house.
"When they learned that the second dancer coming was black, some objected because they wanted a white dancer..." -- Both dancers were black. They got mad because ONE of them was black?
"You have to think of two little girls among how many big boys? That in and of itself is intimidating. ..." -- Little girls do not take off their clothes for big boys...unless they are either whores or sex slaves. Which are you, Kim?
"How is someone supposed to perform a show if they're wondering .... 'Am I going to have to worry about my safety?' Things were said that made me concerned for my safety." -- You should have thought about that BEFORE you became a stripper.
"...when she and the other dancer left, the players shouted racial slurs." -- Are these the same or different ones you were called WHILE you were stripping?
All quotes courtesy of Reuters. Interview published in Vanity Fair magazine.
Yes, I am upset. While I have NO love for Duke, this is criminal to have these students treated this way.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Not So Wild Weekend Update
I really know how to cut lose on a Friday night...I mow lawns. I raised the wheels a setting since it has been very dry here and people have to cut back on watering. It took about 2.5 hours to cut 2 lawns (ours and our neighbors). I was hot and sweaty and by the time I was finished, I needed a shower. But wait, there is more! My wife wanted me to get the grill out and grill some salmon before it got too late and the healthy dog needed walked. Ok...that is not a problem so I knock that out and I am in the shower by 9:45 PM. I stayed up and watched one of the Babylon 5 movies and went to bed. I was very tired.
Saturday I decided that I would go see the new X-Men movie. I have read the reviews and I have talked to colleagues and friends before I went and the mix of reviews intrigued me. To make a long entry short, I liked it. I thought it was well thought out. Yes the effects were a little over done, but that is OK, it was an X-men movie. While I would not want a young child to see it, the over 13 crowd should do just fine. Mind you I most likely did not catch all the language, but one scene did catch my ears. Kitty Pryde (in one of the later scenes) calls Juggernaut a "dick head". I guess you would have to see the movie. It actually made sense me.
The other scene is with Rebecca Rajmin. She appears nude, but you cannot see any private flesh, not even her bum. Again, again you have to see the movie to understand.
After the movie I went home and began vacuuming the house. My wife had a function to go to so I helped out around the house. She had a good time and I did not mind. I was able to vacuum the house and do a load of laundry before she got back. I even managed to work on my Linux server that I had upgraded. I was able to fix the xfce-panel issue, but it now has another problem...after a few hours it locks up and needs a hard reboot. While this is not an immediate problem, I will need to correct it. I am not sure what I want to do, but a complete re-install may be in order. I have a few things I would like to change anyway.
I did not do much else on Saturday. My wife said something about going out, but she never elaborated so I just let it drop. I had a feeling that it was going to be a date that she wanted me to coordinate, but the problem stems from the fact she already knew what she wanted to do and did not tell me that. She wanted me to "take charge", but I knew that unless I figured out exactly what she wanted to do, she would not have truly enjoyed herself.
Sunday was church day and a dinner out at La Finca. That meal had to be the best I have had in some time. Our waiter was outstanding, the food was great and there was PLENTY. Enough for me to have lunch today. I ordered the Brocetta Camarones (Bacon wrapped shrimp), which consisted of 8 LARGE (not huge, 2 large bites each) shrimp, rice, frijoles charra (beans), grilled veggies, and fresh flour tortillas. Of course guacamole and pico was included.
My wife order a huge plate of grill meats (ribs, shrimp, and fajita chicken and steak), tortilla soup, grilled veggies and tortillas. The meals normally run $14.00 ( a good buy in my opinion, but we had a coupon for 50% off one entree when one was purchased at regular price, so our meal (with a generous tip) was $33.00. We went home stuffed (chips and 3 kinds of salsa come with each meal) and on that note my wife took a nap while I updated www.mistergeek.com and worked on my Linux box a bit more. I still could not keep it from crashing after a few hours of operation, so I will need to investigate more later.
After my wife's nap, we started moving furniture into the garage and my office in preparation for the carpet cleaners who come today. The are not doing my office for a couple of reasons. First, it really is not dirty. The second reason is that the per room charge is kinda high after the first 6 rooms, and they are running a special. Lastly, I did not have the time or the energy to move all the computer stuff, bookcases, and desk. The carpet cleaning does not include moving furniture and to be honest, some of our furniture costs about what I bring home in a month and I do not want it damaged.
After moving all the stuff I watched the last Babylon 5 movie, "The Legend of the Rangers" and went to bed. If you like Babylon 5, you can skip this movie...it really was bad. It was worse than the first season on B5. At least I can say I have seen all the B5 stuff, the movies and all 5 seasons of the TV show. I can now concentrate on Farscape. That is the last sci-fi I series want to see that I have not been able to yet, although a colleague is trying to get me to watch Dr. Who. I am not sure I can do that. I did not like it when friends tried to get me to watch in many years ago...I am sure I will not like it now.
I woke up feeling pretty good for not having any pain meds in 24 hours. I am not going to get my hopes up, because the last time I tried this, I had to go back on them. I only lasted 2-3 days without them the last time I tried.
The morning has been rather non-eventful and I particularly like it that way. I sent a vacation request for October so I can drive up to see my mom. It has been over a year since I have seen her. I will also get to see my friends whom I have not seen in over a year as well. One couple is coming down to Euless to visit some friends that they know there and while they are in state, we would love to have them over for dinner.
Well, I better get back to work. It appears that the security guy is making sure we are ready for our audit.
Saturday I decided that I would go see the new X-Men movie. I have read the reviews and I have talked to colleagues and friends before I went and the mix of reviews intrigued me. To make a long entry short, I liked it. I thought it was well thought out. Yes the effects were a little over done, but that is OK, it was an X-men movie. While I would not want a young child to see it, the over 13 crowd should do just fine. Mind you I most likely did not catch all the language, but one scene did catch my ears. Kitty Pryde (in one of the later scenes) calls Juggernaut a "dick head". I guess you would have to see the movie. It actually made sense me.
The other scene is with Rebecca Rajmin. She appears nude, but you cannot see any private flesh, not even her bum. Again, again you have to see the movie to understand.
After the movie I went home and began vacuuming the house. My wife had a function to go to so I helped out around the house. She had a good time and I did not mind. I was able to vacuum the house and do a load of laundry before she got back. I even managed to work on my Linux server that I had upgraded. I was able to fix the xfce-panel issue, but it now has another problem...after a few hours it locks up and needs a hard reboot. While this is not an immediate problem, I will need to correct it. I am not sure what I want to do, but a complete re-install may be in order. I have a few things I would like to change anyway.
I did not do much else on Saturday. My wife said something about going out, but she never elaborated so I just let it drop. I had a feeling that it was going to be a date that she wanted me to coordinate, but the problem stems from the fact she already knew what she wanted to do and did not tell me that. She wanted me to "take charge", but I knew that unless I figured out exactly what she wanted to do, she would not have truly enjoyed herself.
Sunday was church day and a dinner out at La Finca. That meal had to be the best I have had in some time. Our waiter was outstanding, the food was great and there was PLENTY. Enough for me to have lunch today. I ordered the Brocetta Camarones (Bacon wrapped shrimp), which consisted of 8 LARGE (not huge, 2 large bites each) shrimp, rice, frijoles charra (beans), grilled veggies, and fresh flour tortillas. Of course guacamole and pico was included.
My wife order a huge plate of grill meats (ribs, shrimp, and fajita chicken and steak), tortilla soup, grilled veggies and tortillas. The meals normally run $14.00 ( a good buy in my opinion, but we had a coupon for 50% off one entree when one was purchased at regular price, so our meal (with a generous tip) was $33.00. We went home stuffed (chips and 3 kinds of salsa come with each meal) and on that note my wife took a nap while I updated www.mistergeek.com and worked on my Linux box a bit more. I still could not keep it from crashing after a few hours of operation, so I will need to investigate more later.
After my wife's nap, we started moving furniture into the garage and my office in preparation for the carpet cleaners who come today. The are not doing my office for a couple of reasons. First, it really is not dirty. The second reason is that the per room charge is kinda high after the first 6 rooms, and they are running a special. Lastly, I did not have the time or the energy to move all the computer stuff, bookcases, and desk. The carpet cleaning does not include moving furniture and to be honest, some of our furniture costs about what I bring home in a month and I do not want it damaged.
After moving all the stuff I watched the last Babylon 5 movie, "The Legend of the Rangers" and went to bed. If you like Babylon 5, you can skip this movie...it really was bad. It was worse than the first season on B5. At least I can say I have seen all the B5 stuff, the movies and all 5 seasons of the TV show. I can now concentrate on Farscape. That is the last sci-fi I series want to see that I have not been able to yet, although a colleague is trying to get me to watch Dr. Who. I am not sure I can do that. I did not like it when friends tried to get me to watch in many years ago...I am sure I will not like it now.
I woke up feeling pretty good for not having any pain meds in 24 hours. I am not going to get my hopes up, because the last time I tried this, I had to go back on them. I only lasted 2-3 days without them the last time I tried.
The morning has been rather non-eventful and I particularly like it that way. I sent a vacation request for October so I can drive up to see my mom. It has been over a year since I have seen her. I will also get to see my friends whom I have not seen in over a year as well. One couple is coming down to Euless to visit some friends that they know there and while they are in state, we would love to have them over for dinner.
Well, I better get back to work. It appears that the security guy is making sure we are ready for our audit.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Linux Update and The Golden is Home
If you follow Linux you may have heard that Ubuntu Linux (my particular favorite) released version 6.06 LTS. The is a milestone in that this distribution, when used as a server, will be support for a very long time. Me happy! I have three Linux machines that I use constantly, and a laptop I play with every now and then, for a total of 4 Linux machines. One of those is at work and I am using it to edit this entry. I updated this box (450 mhz Pentium III) last night/this morning with the latest version and it seems to be doing pretty well. I think this version is faster (at least it seems to be) and it runs XFCE (the window manager I prefer on low end boxes like this one) very well. I hope to use it a bit more when I get the chance. I have had to use my Windows box a lot because Remedy does not run on Linux and I have not been able to get WINE and Remedy to play nicely together.
The server I have a home ( a very underpowered 400 Celeron) I upgraded last night and it is running but not as well as I would like. I upgraded and it was fine after the first reboot. I did some cleaning and rebooted again and I got a "kernel panic" error. I rebooted with the old kernel and reinstalled the new one, rebooted, and all was well. I added some software (the biggest was the Xubuntu-Desktop package) and rebooted ... then my panel disappeared (I run XFCE on it as well). I cannot get it back no matter how hard I try. I finally gave up. It is a VERY customized box but I do not need it for much for a while, so I think when the new CD's come in that I ordered, I will wipe it and start from scratch. It most likely will blaze at that point.
BtW, the CD's are free and you can order up to 10 from the Ubuntu website. I ordered 20 last year (PC, Mac and 64 bit PC) and gave 15 of them away. I wish that the internet rumor about a Christian OS was true. I would be proud to run "Jesux".
I think I will do the laptop next, since it runs Gnome and that is what my main PC runs. I tried to get XFCE to run but it really had trouble (I think it was video driver issues...I have had some problems upgrading them). If the laptop fairs well, I will attempt the main desktop. I have been happy so far. Lots of updates and things are looking pretty good.
Our Golden came home after spending 1 day at the vet for observation after her surgery. She acted very depressed for several hours...I am sure she was upset that she had to stay there. She did not eat and just laid around her kennel at the vet. I guess that made it easy for them. However, I am a little upset that they did not clean her up. Animals (people included) tend to void themselves when they go under anesthesia. Whoever was to care for her after surgery did not clean her up and she had fecal matter on her backside. Ick. Well, since my wife wanted this surgery for the dog, she has volunteered to be the Golden's care giver during recovery. It is not that I do not want to, but it is going to be time consuming and I do not have that time in the morning.
The Golden looks rather sad...she has been shaved down on most of her right leg and she has one side of her bum that is hairy and one that is not. She also has to wear "the megaphone" (e-collar) so she will not touch her incision. That alone will drive her mad. She HATES that thing.
The surgeon told my wife that the surgery went very well. He did warn us that the dog had a 40% chance of blowing out her other ACL and that worried me. All this time I was worried that her hip dysplasia would be the problem and it turns out that it is her knees that are going to be her down fall. The sad thing is we are NEVER allowed to take her off her leash when she is outside. She will never be able to run and play. That breaks my heart because that is what Golden's do. Now I am beginning to question the surgery.
That questioning prompted a discussion with my wife last night. She asked me if I was mad that the surgery was performed. My honest answer was (and still is) , "No". I am concerned that our dog will never have her quality of life back and that the $3000 that we borrowed for the surgery is only buying us a little time a a little relief for the dog. I am not trying to sound like a whiner (even though it sounds that way to me!), but our budget is tight. I have been finding ways to trim it as best as I can. My wife has not gone shopping for clothes in a long time and to be honest, my wardrobe is getting thin as well. It will take us 2-3 years to pay off the bills we have and that means NO home improvements, NO furniture, and NO fuel efficient car for that time. While our overall debt (counting the car payment) is well within the national average...we have never owed this much money before. I believe that if my wife and I will continue to be faithful to God and our church, we will be blessed in many ways. I pray that God finds us worthy of a financial blessing. I do not have any rich uncles :-) , so that avenue is out. I do some work on the side but it is sporadic, about $75 a month worth. I guess I could get a tip jar (from Paypal) and solicit readers for a buck or two...nah, I cannot resort to that. I will find away to get the money we need. God, use me!
The server I have a home ( a very underpowered 400 Celeron) I upgraded last night and it is running but not as well as I would like. I upgraded and it was fine after the first reboot. I did some cleaning and rebooted again and I got a "kernel panic" error. I rebooted with the old kernel and reinstalled the new one, rebooted, and all was well. I added some software (the biggest was the Xubuntu-Desktop package) and rebooted ... then my panel disappeared (I run XFCE on it as well). I cannot get it back no matter how hard I try. I finally gave up. It is a VERY customized box but I do not need it for much for a while, so I think when the new CD's come in that I ordered, I will wipe it and start from scratch. It most likely will blaze at that point.
BtW, the CD's are free and you can order up to 10 from the Ubuntu website. I ordered 20 last year (PC, Mac and 64 bit PC) and gave 15 of them away. I wish that the internet rumor about a Christian OS was true. I would be proud to run "Jesux".
I think I will do the laptop next, since it runs Gnome and that is what my main PC runs. I tried to get XFCE to run but it really had trouble (I think it was video driver issues...I have had some problems upgrading them). If the laptop fairs well, I will attempt the main desktop. I have been happy so far. Lots of updates and things are looking pretty good.
Our Golden came home after spending 1 day at the vet for observation after her surgery. She acted very depressed for several hours...I am sure she was upset that she had to stay there. She did not eat and just laid around her kennel at the vet. I guess that made it easy for them. However, I am a little upset that they did not clean her up. Animals (people included) tend to void themselves when they go under anesthesia. Whoever was to care for her after surgery did not clean her up and she had fecal matter on her backside. Ick. Well, since my wife wanted this surgery for the dog, she has volunteered to be the Golden's care giver during recovery. It is not that I do not want to, but it is going to be time consuming and I do not have that time in the morning.
The Golden looks rather sad...she has been shaved down on most of her right leg and she has one side of her bum that is hairy and one that is not. She also has to wear "the megaphone" (e-collar) so she will not touch her incision. That alone will drive her mad. She HATES that thing.
The surgeon told my wife that the surgery went very well. He did warn us that the dog had a 40% chance of blowing out her other ACL and that worried me. All this time I was worried that her hip dysplasia would be the problem and it turns out that it is her knees that are going to be her down fall. The sad thing is we are NEVER allowed to take her off her leash when she is outside. She will never be able to run and play. That breaks my heart because that is what Golden's do. Now I am beginning to question the surgery.
That questioning prompted a discussion with my wife last night. She asked me if I was mad that the surgery was performed. My honest answer was (and still is) , "No". I am concerned that our dog will never have her quality of life back and that the $3000 that we borrowed for the surgery is only buying us a little time a a little relief for the dog. I am not trying to sound like a whiner (even though it sounds that way to me!), but our budget is tight. I have been finding ways to trim it as best as I can. My wife has not gone shopping for clothes in a long time and to be honest, my wardrobe is getting thin as well. It will take us 2-3 years to pay off the bills we have and that means NO home improvements, NO furniture, and NO fuel efficient car for that time. While our overall debt (counting the car payment) is well within the national average...we have never owed this much money before. I believe that if my wife and I will continue to be faithful to God and our church, we will be blessed in many ways. I pray that God finds us worthy of a financial blessing. I do not have any rich uncles :-) , so that avenue is out. I do some work on the side but it is sporadic, about $75 a month worth. I guess I could get a tip jar (from Paypal) and solicit readers for a buck or two...nah, I cannot resort to that. I will find away to get the money we need. God, use me!
Thursday, June 01, 2006
As I type this I am waiting for my corporate PC (my company issued laptop) to take the latest Symantec updates, engine version 10.1 and updates. The banner message stated that if we tried this on a dial-up connection, it could take 2 hours. We have a T1 coming to this building on the corporate net and so far the update has been running 56 minutes and is about 1/2 done. What that means is that our high speed line is reduced to the speed of a dial-up connection. What a waste of time.
Now the problem could be that the servers providing this update are overloaded. However, our T1 is notorious for being slow. I personally think that a T1 for 60 people is not enough, but it is all we get at this remote site.
This remote site also has a connection (3 T1's) to the company we support...this is why I can update this in normal time. Even thought they cut our bandwidth by 2/3's, it is still faster than the corporate net. Heck, my broadband connection at home, connecting via VPN is faster.
While this update is running, I am not able to do anything. I tried to VPN into the corporate net via the other network connection (the company we support) but that is acting up again. Many guys who work at out customer site have to use the VPN into our network but for some reason they have many issues. It could be anything, but it really makes life tough.
I am supposed to help watch the Quick response queue for Canada this morning but if I do not get access soon, I will miss my chance to help.
My back pain is all but gone (but I am still taking generic Aleve every day. The "sharp pain" in between the back part of the hip and the pelvis is still there...but at least it is not as sharp and the pain can be controlled with proper movement. I am hoping it ends before the summer does. I would like to have most of my mobility back, but that is entirely up to God.
Speaking of God, I heard a minister today (actually a Bishop from Louisiana) state that he was once called a "bigot". He responded with a, "Thank You". In his eyes, "bigot" means:
Believing In God's Outstanding Truth. I liked it so much that will be my new sig in my e-mails :).
The stock market took a beating on Tuesday and rebounded a little on Wednesday. While it is still early, the market shows mixed results so far. Long slow gains are the best. This gaining 100, then loosing 150 is hard on my nerves. I am trying to develop a little nest egg so can retire someday and not have to live in a shack eating Ramen noodles for every meal.
Care group was more of a "round table" discussion last night. While there was prayer and prayer requests, we focused on the summer and summertime activities. We decided to meet once a month during the summer instead of every week. This will allow the host family/home to get a breather. The host family we have is a very hospitable one. They both teach martial arts (they have multiple black belts in many disciplines) and have 3 kids living at home.
Well, it looks like my PC is responding well enough to at least work some tickets, so that is what I will do. More updates later...
Now the problem could be that the servers providing this update are overloaded. However, our T1 is notorious for being slow. I personally think that a T1 for 60 people is not enough, but it is all we get at this remote site.
This remote site also has a connection (3 T1's) to the company we support...this is why I can update this in normal time. Even thought they cut our bandwidth by 2/3's, it is still faster than the corporate net. Heck, my broadband connection at home, connecting via VPN is faster.
While this update is running, I am not able to do anything. I tried to VPN into the corporate net via the other network connection (the company we support) but that is acting up again. Many guys who work at out customer site have to use the VPN into our network but for some reason they have many issues. It could be anything, but it really makes life tough.
I am supposed to help watch the Quick response queue for Canada this morning but if I do not get access soon, I will miss my chance to help.
My back pain is all but gone (but I am still taking generic Aleve every day. The "sharp pain" in between the back part of the hip and the pelvis is still there...but at least it is not as sharp and the pain can be controlled with proper movement. I am hoping it ends before the summer does. I would like to have most of my mobility back, but that is entirely up to God.
Speaking of God, I heard a minister today (actually a Bishop from Louisiana) state that he was once called a "bigot". He responded with a, "Thank You". In his eyes, "bigot" means:
Believing In God's Outstanding Truth. I liked it so much that will be my new sig in my e-mails :).
The stock market took a beating on Tuesday and rebounded a little on Wednesday. While it is still early, the market shows mixed results so far. Long slow gains are the best. This gaining 100, then loosing 150 is hard on my nerves. I am trying to develop a little nest egg so can retire someday and not have to live in a shack eating Ramen noodles for every meal.
Care group was more of a "round table" discussion last night. While there was prayer and prayer requests, we focused on the summer and summertime activities. We decided to meet once a month during the summer instead of every week. This will allow the host family/home to get a breather. The host family we have is a very hospitable one. They both teach martial arts (they have multiple black belts in many disciplines) and have 3 kids living at home.
Well, it looks like my PC is responding well enough to at least work some tickets, so that is what I will do. More updates later...
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Random Stuff / Shotgun Update
Morning arrived too soon for me. I walked the healthier dog while was still half asleep and fed him in much the same way. My morning coffee helped clear the cobwebs and by the time it "kicked in", I was ready to do my daily bible reading. I am reading the "Song of Songs" in the Old testament. If you think God does not want you to enjoy sex (within the boundaries of marriage), you need to read it. Good stuff.
I stopped and got gasoline for the Dakota on my way to work since the price had dropped 10 cents or so since last week. It most likely will go back up...I need something more economical but we just cannot afford to buy anything at this time.
Work started out at a decent click, not overly busy but steady enough to keep me from checking any personal e-mail until now. At 10:50 my boss asked me to sit in a meeting regarding some of the software installs that I have been doing and it was semi-informative. I think a summary would have been sufficient but if they felt the need to have me attend, then so be it.
Most of our issues have been Linux related and since I am trying to learn more, I tried to help out some. I managed to fix one, but the other two were really beyond my skill set so I had to pass them on to the local tech. He is pretty nice to me since I do not have the skills he has and he has been gracious to take some of the harder cases from me when needed. Nice guy.
Today is the day our Golden has ACL surgery. My wife called a few minutes ago to let me know the surgery was almost over and the dog is looking good. My wife is very happy now. We were told that our Golden will never be able to run and play like she used to or she may damage that knee again. That is going to be tough on her, but you do what you have to do.
I started adding something to my diet. Not diet as in special food, but diet as in what I eat/drink. I have tried to eat only low or no trans fat foods when I can, I drink as much water as I can, but I have also added 2 cups of green tea to my diet each day (one in the AM and one in the afternoon. I have heard many good things about green tea and I am anxious to possibly gain some of those benefits. I am concerned about caffeine, though. I have one diet soda and 2 cups of coffee a day, PLUS the two cups of green tea. Is that too much? I also think it is a diuretic, because I am making mad trips to the men's room. I usually go pretty frequently, (thanx to all the water I drink) but I seem to go more when I drink the tea. I have been drinking it for about a week. I am sure it will take at least 8 weeks before I see any effects from it.
I got an e-mail from Microsoft the other day informing me that I will NOT be getting my "free" USB thumb drive. Seems like I was just a bit too late in requesting it. No one I know got one...they all got the same e-mail.
I have been considering getting USD-TV. It is basically Hi-Def TV broadcast over the air and while it does not have the variety that cable or satellite does, it has the channels I want, minus History and A&E (and Fox Sports, but we cannot have it all now, can we?). Most of the programming is family friendly and it is cheaper than cable. While I can get about 30-40 more channels with cable, many of those are nothing I want to see and basic cable is over $50 a month. It is only available in limited areas. I would still need to find a broadband provider (naked DSL or wireless internet) but that would not bee a major issue.
I know this sounds stupid, but I really hope August gets here quickly. Both mine and my wife's cell phones will not hold a charge more than 36 hours. The more you charge a phone, the shorter the life span becomes and we have had these phones just shy of 2 years. I know I can get free ones when we renew the contract. 3 months is a long time when your phone will not hold a charge.
My wife and I were discussing finances and she asked me if we were still going to visit my mom in October. To be perfectly honest, I cannot see how we can afford it. We have depleted our surplus and with the added debt of the dog operation (almost $3,000) it is not looking good. I have not seem my mom since last summer and I would like to visit. If I go by myself, I will save some money because I can stay with mom...her small house does not bother me, but if my wife goes with me, then we have to take the dogs and that is going to be way too much for her tiny 800 sq ft house. It will only cost me gas, two nights at a state park (where I sleep) and food. Even with the cost of gas, it still should be doable.
Today is the monthly birthday celebration here at work. I am glad I did not stuff myself at lunch because they usually have a ton of finger food. It all tastes so good :) They have junk food as well, but I try not too eat too much of that. I have to sample some of it though...
Last night was One to One Discipling with my wife's boss. We only have 2 more lessons to go. It is more of a formality than anything else, he is already stronger in his faith than I think I am. Oh, I have my moments, but he is in his 50's and has been a Christian for 30 years or so. I am still in my infancy.
Tonight is care group night and we are having Taco Salad. Last week was picnic style with all the care groups and we had burgers and hot dogs and all the sides. We pitched horse shoes and played volleyball (at least I did until my wife caught me playing...I tend to dive and that is not good for me any more) and generally had a great time. It was windy (isn't it always in Texas?) and that kicked up a lot of sand and dust but we all had fun.
I need to cut the grass tomorrow if it does not rain. It is not high yet but it will be in a few days. I have already adjusted my watering days and duration to comply with the water usage restrictions we have in effect here in my town. We are not as bad as others, but we still will pay stiff fee if we use over the allotted amount.
Well, lunch is over. I better get back to work.
I stopped and got gasoline for the Dakota on my way to work since the price had dropped 10 cents or so since last week. It most likely will go back up...I need something more economical but we just cannot afford to buy anything at this time.
Work started out at a decent click, not overly busy but steady enough to keep me from checking any personal e-mail until now. At 10:50 my boss asked me to sit in a meeting regarding some of the software installs that I have been doing and it was semi-informative. I think a summary would have been sufficient but if they felt the need to have me attend, then so be it.
Most of our issues have been Linux related and since I am trying to learn more, I tried to help out some. I managed to fix one, but the other two were really beyond my skill set so I had to pass them on to the local tech. He is pretty nice to me since I do not have the skills he has and he has been gracious to take some of the harder cases from me when needed. Nice guy.
Today is the day our Golden has ACL surgery. My wife called a few minutes ago to let me know the surgery was almost over and the dog is looking good. My wife is very happy now. We were told that our Golden will never be able to run and play like she used to or she may damage that knee again. That is going to be tough on her, but you do what you have to do.
I started adding something to my diet. Not diet as in special food, but diet as in what I eat/drink. I have tried to eat only low or no trans fat foods when I can, I drink as much water as I can, but I have also added 2 cups of green tea to my diet each day (one in the AM and one in the afternoon. I have heard many good things about green tea and I am anxious to possibly gain some of those benefits. I am concerned about caffeine, though. I have one diet soda and 2 cups of coffee a day, PLUS the two cups of green tea. Is that too much? I also think it is a diuretic, because I am making mad trips to the men's room. I usually go pretty frequently, (thanx to all the water I drink) but I seem to go more when I drink the tea. I have been drinking it for about a week. I am sure it will take at least 8 weeks before I see any effects from it.
I got an e-mail from Microsoft the other day informing me that I will NOT be getting my "free" USB thumb drive. Seems like I was just a bit too late in requesting it. No one I know got one...they all got the same e-mail.
I have been considering getting USD-TV. It is basically Hi-Def TV broadcast over the air and while it does not have the variety that cable or satellite does, it has the channels I want, minus History and A&E (and Fox Sports, but we cannot have it all now, can we?). Most of the programming is family friendly and it is cheaper than cable. While I can get about 30-40 more channels with cable, many of those are nothing I want to see and basic cable is over $50 a month. It is only available in limited areas. I would still need to find a broadband provider (naked DSL or wireless internet) but that would not bee a major issue.
I know this sounds stupid, but I really hope August gets here quickly. Both mine and my wife's cell phones will not hold a charge more than 36 hours. The more you charge a phone, the shorter the life span becomes and we have had these phones just shy of 2 years. I know I can get free ones when we renew the contract. 3 months is a long time when your phone will not hold a charge.
My wife and I were discussing finances and she asked me if we were still going to visit my mom in October. To be perfectly honest, I cannot see how we can afford it. We have depleted our surplus and with the added debt of the dog operation (almost $3,000) it is not looking good. I have not seem my mom since last summer and I would like to visit. If I go by myself, I will save some money because I can stay with mom...her small house does not bother me, but if my wife goes with me, then we have to take the dogs and that is going to be way too much for her tiny 800 sq ft house. It will only cost me gas, two nights at a state park (where I sleep) and food. Even with the cost of gas, it still should be doable.
Today is the monthly birthday celebration here at work. I am glad I did not stuff myself at lunch because they usually have a ton of finger food. It all tastes so good :) They have junk food as well, but I try not too eat too much of that. I have to sample some of it though...
Last night was One to One Discipling with my wife's boss. We only have 2 more lessons to go. It is more of a formality than anything else, he is already stronger in his faith than I think I am. Oh, I have my moments, but he is in his 50's and has been a Christian for 30 years or so. I am still in my infancy.
Tonight is care group night and we are having Taco Salad. Last week was picnic style with all the care groups and we had burgers and hot dogs and all the sides. We pitched horse shoes and played volleyball (at least I did until my wife caught me playing...I tend to dive and that is not good for me any more) and generally had a great time. It was windy (isn't it always in Texas?) and that kicked up a lot of sand and dust but we all had fun.
I need to cut the grass tomorrow if it does not rain. It is not high yet but it will be in a few days. I have already adjusted my watering days and duration to comply with the water usage restrictions we have in effect here in my town. We are not as bad as others, but we still will pay stiff fee if we use over the allotted amount.
Well, lunch is over. I better get back to work.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Holiday Weekend Update
Memorial Day weekend started on Friday for some but for me it was business as usual. I was working right up until I left at my customary 4:30 PM. Now that did not bother me at all. The weekend was going to be a quiet one and I had no major plans. I had cut the grass the day before so I had nothing I HAD to do, although there are things we all WANT to do.
Friday evening about 9:30 or so, I received an e-mail stating that *Mickey's mother in law (*Mary's mother) had passed away. "Mary" had gone up just 2 days before to visit her mother, knowing that her health was failing. She was blessed with two days to visit.
"Mickey" was planning on driving up Saturday afternoon, so I just assumed that we were not going out to breakfast. He had contacted "Bob" and "Joe" and invited them to go with us. I was surprised to hear "Mickey" say, "Nope, we are still going to breakfast...I need you guys!"
The next morning I got cleaned up and did "the ritual" (walk/feed dogs, shower, coffee) minus breakfast. I checked e-mail, started some downloads, and did a few other things when I noticed that it was about time for "Mickey" to pick me up. I always like to be outside waiting when my friends come by to pick me up...I am funny that way.
"Mickey" was late, but that was no big deal. "Joe" called me just as "Mickey" pulled up, so I told "Joe" we were 5 minutes away. We picked up "Joe" and headed over to get "Bob". "Bob" lived not too far from me, which surprised me. I thought he lived further south.
We headed to "The Original Pancake House" for a late breakfast. There was a wait of about 20 minutes or so, but the time went by pretty fast. We ordered and when our food arrived, we dove in with gusto, making time to chat. "Mickey" had a lot on his mind, but he still chatted with us all.
The food was great. Everyone ordered eggs but me. I cannot stand the smell or taste of eggs. I guess my dad ruined that for me. He ate eggs all the time and made me eat them on weekends with him. I almost gagged and to this day they gross me out. I instead had crepes. While not "man food", I did order a side of their wonderful bacon. I normally only eat my bacon crispy, but this thick cut bacon was fantastic. BACON!
I got back home and helped my wife put up some window (UV and heat reflecting) film on the patio doors. WORD OF WARNING: This type of job is a two person job. If you are going to put this on large glass surfaces, I suggest three people.
Normally my wife and I do not work together very well. Not sure why, but we do not. Amazingly enough, we got through this task unscathed. Go us! Do not get me wrong, the job is far from perfect, but it looks pretty good all things considered.
I killed the rest of the day by replacing the toilet flappers, replacing light bulbs, paying bills, and finishing up Babylon 5 season 5. I now only have the Babylon 5 movies to watch. They may just be long episodes that I have already seem, but that is ok. If they are, then I will just jump full force into Farscape and Star Blazers.
Sunday's ritual rarely changes. I went to go teach Sunday school, but since this was a holiday weekend, the turnout was nil. I hung around for while, read my bible some, and then went service. My wife was late getting to church. She has been having trouble sleeping again. It seems every couple of months she has this problem. She will go to bed at 10 or 11 PM, wake up at 2 or 3 AM, and go back to bed at 5 AM, getting up again at 8 or 9 AM. We are not sure what the problem is.
After church we grabbed a quick bite at Wendy's and ran a few errands. We came back home and just took it easy. I called my mom and talked to her for about an hour while my wife took a nap. Not much new with her. Not much ever changes in her world.
Monday after I got "the ritual" done, I began to vacuum the house. After I had finished that (and two loads of clothes) I went out to weed the area around our shrubs. That spot gets some very heavy Bermuda grass invading it on a regular basis. Living in Texas, we cannot grow rye grass or fescue. The heat is so intense that it would burn up unless you watered it every day. Most lawns are Bermuda or Saint Augustine grass. Both are very drought resistant, but they have some side effects that are a little odd if you have never had them before. First, they both die in the winter. Instead of a green lawn all year long, you get a lovely brown lawn in November that lasts about 3-4 months. Bermuda grass will grow "creepers" that will grown horizonally across your lawn to help thicken it, but the bad part about that is the the "creepers" will go between landscaping bricks and stones and UNDER the metal landscaping borders and creep into your flower beds. It can get to be a mess.
After my lawn adventures, I helped my wife wash her van. It was COATED with thousands of "love bugs" that had died in the act of procreating when our van smacked into them. Almost every vehicle we saw on the high way to and from Florida was coated with them.
We got the van finished on the outside (well mostly...my wife did not do the ArmorAll on the wheels (I hate that stuff...especially on the steering wheel) and I went to Krogers to get some sandwiches. NEVER send me to the store hungry. I cam back with mangos, chips, ice cream, and sandwiches. I forgot I was out of Monster Khaos Energy Drinks or I would have gotten them, too. I guess that since I only picked up a small basket to get the sandwiches instead of a cart, I could only fill it up so far. Lucky me.
After a quick dinner of sandwiches and chips, we watched UFC 60 (taped from Saturday). The main event was Matt Hughes and the legendary Royce Gracie. There were some other good matches as well, but that one was very, very good. Royce is old school and Matt is one of the new breed of warriors. I have been a fan of Matt Hughes for about a year now, going back to watch some of his older matches. The man is "super gorilla strong" as Joe Rogan would say.
When that was over, we watched "Serenity" again. "Serenity" is a good movie with several good one-liners that builds on the "Firefly" series. If you have not seen it, please do so. If you can get the DVD's for "Firefly", get them. The series was wonderful.
After watching those two videos, I was ready to hit the hay. I knew Tuesday would be busy (as previously blogged) and my wife needed her sleep since she had to take the Golden to the surgeon today to see what could be done. It looks like about $2600 or so is what the surgery will cost. Looks like we will have to extend our debt another years or so. The good news is that at least the dog is in very good health other than her blown ACL. That is a blessing.
*Not their real names
Friday evening about 9:30 or so, I received an e-mail stating that *Mickey's mother in law (*Mary's mother) had passed away. "Mary" had gone up just 2 days before to visit her mother, knowing that her health was failing. She was blessed with two days to visit.
"Mickey" was planning on driving up Saturday afternoon, so I just assumed that we were not going out to breakfast. He had contacted "Bob" and "Joe" and invited them to go with us. I was surprised to hear "Mickey" say, "Nope, we are still going to breakfast...I need you guys!"
The next morning I got cleaned up and did "the ritual" (walk/feed dogs, shower, coffee) minus breakfast. I checked e-mail, started some downloads, and did a few other things when I noticed that it was about time for "Mickey" to pick me up. I always like to be outside waiting when my friends come by to pick me up...I am funny that way.
"Mickey" was late, but that was no big deal. "Joe" called me just as "Mickey" pulled up, so I told "Joe" we were 5 minutes away. We picked up "Joe" and headed over to get "Bob". "Bob" lived not too far from me, which surprised me. I thought he lived further south.
We headed to "The Original Pancake House" for a late breakfast. There was a wait of about 20 minutes or so, but the time went by pretty fast. We ordered and when our food arrived, we dove in with gusto, making time to chat. "Mickey" had a lot on his mind, but he still chatted with us all.
The food was great. Everyone ordered eggs but me. I cannot stand the smell or taste of eggs. I guess my dad ruined that for me. He ate eggs all the time and made me eat them on weekends with him. I almost gagged and to this day they gross me out. I instead had crepes. While not "man food", I did order a side of their wonderful bacon. I normally only eat my bacon crispy, but this thick cut bacon was fantastic. BACON!
I got back home and helped my wife put up some window (UV and heat reflecting) film on the patio doors. WORD OF WARNING: This type of job is a two person job. If you are going to put this on large glass surfaces, I suggest three people.
Normally my wife and I do not work together very well. Not sure why, but we do not. Amazingly enough, we got through this task unscathed. Go us! Do not get me wrong, the job is far from perfect, but it looks pretty good all things considered.
I killed the rest of the day by replacing the toilet flappers, replacing light bulbs, paying bills, and finishing up Babylon 5 season 5. I now only have the Babylon 5 movies to watch. They may just be long episodes that I have already seem, but that is ok. If they are, then I will just jump full force into Farscape and Star Blazers.
Sunday's ritual rarely changes. I went to go teach Sunday school, but since this was a holiday weekend, the turnout was nil. I hung around for while, read my bible some, and then went service. My wife was late getting to church. She has been having trouble sleeping again. It seems every couple of months she has this problem. She will go to bed at 10 or 11 PM, wake up at 2 or 3 AM, and go back to bed at 5 AM, getting up again at 8 or 9 AM. We are not sure what the problem is.
After church we grabbed a quick bite at Wendy's and ran a few errands. We came back home and just took it easy. I called my mom and talked to her for about an hour while my wife took a nap. Not much new with her. Not much ever changes in her world.
Monday after I got "the ritual" done, I began to vacuum the house. After I had finished that (and two loads of clothes) I went out to weed the area around our shrubs. That spot gets some very heavy Bermuda grass invading it on a regular basis. Living in Texas, we cannot grow rye grass or fescue. The heat is so intense that it would burn up unless you watered it every day. Most lawns are Bermuda or Saint Augustine grass. Both are very drought resistant, but they have some side effects that are a little odd if you have never had them before. First, they both die in the winter. Instead of a green lawn all year long, you get a lovely brown lawn in November that lasts about 3-4 months. Bermuda grass will grow "creepers" that will grown horizonally across your lawn to help thicken it, but the bad part about that is the the "creepers" will go between landscaping bricks and stones and UNDER the metal landscaping borders and creep into your flower beds. It can get to be a mess.
After my lawn adventures, I helped my wife wash her van. It was COATED with thousands of "love bugs" that had died in the act of procreating when our van smacked into them. Almost every vehicle we saw on the high way to and from Florida was coated with them.
We got the van finished on the outside (well mostly...my wife did not do the ArmorAll on the wheels (I hate that stuff...especially on the steering wheel) and I went to Krogers to get some sandwiches. NEVER send me to the store hungry. I cam back with mangos, chips, ice cream, and sandwiches. I forgot I was out of Monster Khaos Energy Drinks or I would have gotten them, too. I guess that since I only picked up a small basket to get the sandwiches instead of a cart, I could only fill it up so far. Lucky me.
After a quick dinner of sandwiches and chips, we watched UFC 60 (taped from Saturday). The main event was Matt Hughes and the legendary Royce Gracie. There were some other good matches as well, but that one was very, very good. Royce is old school and Matt is one of the new breed of warriors. I have been a fan of Matt Hughes for about a year now, going back to watch some of his older matches. The man is "super gorilla strong" as Joe Rogan would say.
When that was over, we watched "Serenity" again. "Serenity" is a good movie with several good one-liners that builds on the "Firefly" series. If you have not seen it, please do so. If you can get the DVD's for "Firefly", get them. The series was wonderful.
After watching those two videos, I was ready to hit the hay. I knew Tuesday would be busy (as previously blogged) and my wife needed her sleep since she had to take the Golden to the surgeon today to see what could be done. It looks like about $2600 or so is what the surgery will cost. Looks like we will have to extend our debt another years or so. The good news is that at least the dog is in very good health other than her blown ACL. That is a blessing.
*Not their real names
Whoa Nelly!
I have been here at work just about 2 hours now. It is Tuesday, the day after a holiday for the US (Memorial Day, for all my international readers) and my phone has not stopped ringing (wife - dog related stuff, our Incident Manager - High priority ticket status), the ticket queue was huge (didn't anyone on the east and west coast take a holiday?), introduced to the project manager from the West Coast (who needs to wear less clingy clothing...), the East Coast project manager (who I have worked with before), a request to attend a meeting but not given the logistics of it, and a large e-mail box that needed attending.
I can multitask pretty well, so I was not concerned, but I can see it is going to be one of those days.
When I get some time I will do one of my infamous "weekend updates".
I can multitask pretty well, so I was not concerned, but I can see it is going to be one of those days.
When I get some time I will do one of my infamous "weekend updates".
Friday, May 26, 2006
Confusion and an E-mail From Our Son
My wife went to be about the same time I did last night, which was right after I finished Season 5, Episode 17 of Babylon 5...somewhere around 10 PM. She had been crying about our 6 year old Golden who has hip dysplasia and a blown ACL. The dog is in some pain, but we have pain meds to keep her as comfortable as possible. We cannot see the vet again until Tuesday due to their schedule and Monday being a holiday in the US.
She slept until 2 AM, then she woke and spent time with her ailing pet. She cried some more. She turned on the PC and typed me a 1 page letter outlining her decision and her plan. Being an animal lover and a Christian has made this hard. She knows that $2000 is a lot of money and we cannot afford it. Yes, the vet has a payment plan, but it still is going to really set us back. We are trying to get out of about $20,000 of debt (car, credit card, and home repair) and it looks like we have about 2 years of payments to go. Adding this will extend that by about 6 months at least...
I slept through her activities until the alarm woke me 5 AM, my normal waking hour. She had been crying a bit, weeping quietly with the dog near her. When I woke she told me that she wants to think and pray about this before she makes her decision and that the note she typed me she wants to destroy after I read it. I at first told her to destroy it before I read it, but I know that it is important for me to know her state of mind at all times.
I told her to go ahead and get the surgery done. She responded by asking me if that is what God has lead me to decide or if I was doing it because putting the dog down would break my wife's heart. Nabbed again. I do not get many revelations from God, but when I do, I know it. I have not been praying hard on this. I am not sure why...maybe I am just being lazy. Maybe I think I know better than God does (yeah, right!) on this issue. I want to give it up to God, but maybe I am afraid of his answer to me.
Please pray for me, my wife, and our beloved Golden. We desperately need those prayers.
On a lighter note, our son e-mailed us again (twice in one week) asking us to pay his storage unit fee for him. The Army has messed up his pay (surprise!) again and he will not get paid for 3 more weeks...2 weeks later than his bill is due. I have not told him yes, but we will do it for him.
He passed his CDL test and got a 96%. He went on his first convoy (20 miles) and will go on a much longer one before he graduates. He has to drive with others from Missouri to Colorado non-stop. Fun!
He graduates in late June and will be coming back to live with friends. He is slated to ship out to Iraq in October to drive back and forth from Saudi to southern Iraq. While no parent is happy when their child goes to Iraq, at least he is in the southern part...a few less bullets and bomb are there.
She slept until 2 AM, then she woke and spent time with her ailing pet. She cried some more. She turned on the PC and typed me a 1 page letter outlining her decision and her plan. Being an animal lover and a Christian has made this hard. She knows that $2000 is a lot of money and we cannot afford it. Yes, the vet has a payment plan, but it still is going to really set us back. We are trying to get out of about $20,000 of debt (car, credit card, and home repair) and it looks like we have about 2 years of payments to go. Adding this will extend that by about 6 months at least...
I slept through her activities until the alarm woke me 5 AM, my normal waking hour. She had been crying a bit, weeping quietly with the dog near her. When I woke she told me that she wants to think and pray about this before she makes her decision and that the note she typed me she wants to destroy after I read it. I at first told her to destroy it before I read it, but I know that it is important for me to know her state of mind at all times.
I told her to go ahead and get the surgery done. She responded by asking me if that is what God has lead me to decide or if I was doing it because putting the dog down would break my wife's heart. Nabbed again. I do not get many revelations from God, but when I do, I know it. I have not been praying hard on this. I am not sure why...maybe I am just being lazy. Maybe I think I know better than God does (yeah, right!) on this issue. I want to give it up to God, but maybe I am afraid of his answer to me.
Please pray for me, my wife, and our beloved Golden. We desperately need those prayers.
On a lighter note, our son e-mailed us again (twice in one week) asking us to pay his storage unit fee for him. The Army has messed up his pay (surprise!) again and he will not get paid for 3 more weeks...2 weeks later than his bill is due. I have not told him yes, but we will do it for him.
He passed his CDL test and got a 96%. He went on his first convoy (20 miles) and will go on a much longer one before he graduates. He has to drive with others from Missouri to Colorado non-stop. Fun!
He graduates in late June and will be coming back to live with friends. He is slated to ship out to Iraq in October to drive back and forth from Saudi to southern Iraq. While no parent is happy when their child goes to Iraq, at least he is in the southern part...a few less bullets and bomb are there.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
What to Do?
We received some bad news today. Our 6 year old Golden is going to need a $2000 dollar operation. The worse news is that in a year or two, she most likely will need another to correct a not so serious problem she has now, that *will* be serious in a year or two...allow me to explain in detail:
Our 6 year old Golden has hip displasia. Her hip is weak but she can walk on it for short distances. the other day, she tore her ACL in her knee and she cannot put any weight on that leg at all. If we do not get her operated on, then she runs the risk on ruining her good hip as well, and we most likely would have to put her down. Now if we get her operated on for her ACL, she will most likely need another surgery in 1-2 years to repair her damaged hip. Each surgery costs about $2000 each. I do not want this to come down to a matter of money, nor do I want this to be an emotional snap decision. Golden's with hip displasia usually live until they 10- 12 years old, which means that we have about 4-6 years on average to have her around.
My wife is very upset. She knows that this is money we do not have and while the surgeon has payment plans, we really cannot afford $100-200 a month beyond what we bay in bills now unless my wife increases her hours (and I am not sure that is wise).
If this dog was 2-4 years older, I would most likely consider on putting her down, money issues aside. Since she is just shy of becoming a senior, the choice becomes very difficult. My wife loves that dog and we treat our dogs as well as most people treat their kids. We want to do everything we can, but we do not want to extend their lives just to make us happy.
I do not want this to be a financial decision. I mean, I had to have surgery in January (well, I could have decided against it and lived with the pain, but that is another story), but I had insurance. We do not have dog health insurance and the last time I checked on it (and believe me I have), it did not have very good benefits. The surgery is going to be expensive and we are going to be paying for it for at least 18 months..and if we have to get the second surgery, we will be paying on the medical bills for 3+ years.
I do not want this to be an emotional decision, either. My wife has really fallen in love with this dog and will just fall apart the day that big Golden dies. We have had it since it was 4 months old and it has been a very good companion for my wife when she travels. That dog is her child.
My heart wants to get the dog operated on., but how will an active dog react to surgery? Will it heal properly? People that have had ACL surgery usually have to stay off the leg for a while and then have extensive physical therapy. Can we cope with a large dog after surgery? My wife cannot life our smaller dog, let along a 70 pound Golden Retriever.
I am sure that tonight I will be doing a lot of praying. God give me the strength to stand by whatever decision needs to be made.
Our 6 year old Golden has hip displasia. Her hip is weak but she can walk on it for short distances. the other day, she tore her ACL in her knee and she cannot put any weight on that leg at all. If we do not get her operated on, then she runs the risk on ruining her good hip as well, and we most likely would have to put her down. Now if we get her operated on for her ACL, she will most likely need another surgery in 1-2 years to repair her damaged hip. Each surgery costs about $2000 each. I do not want this to come down to a matter of money, nor do I want this to be an emotional snap decision. Golden's with hip displasia usually live until they 10- 12 years old, which means that we have about 4-6 years on average to have her around.
My wife is very upset. She knows that this is money we do not have and while the surgeon has payment plans, we really cannot afford $100-200 a month beyond what we bay in bills now unless my wife increases her hours (and I am not sure that is wise).
If this dog was 2-4 years older, I would most likely consider on putting her down, money issues aside. Since she is just shy of becoming a senior, the choice becomes very difficult. My wife loves that dog and we treat our dogs as well as most people treat their kids. We want to do everything we can, but we do not want to extend their lives just to make us happy.
I do not want this to be a financial decision. I mean, I had to have surgery in January (well, I could have decided against it and lived with the pain, but that is another story), but I had insurance. We do not have dog health insurance and the last time I checked on it (and believe me I have), it did not have very good benefits. The surgery is going to be expensive and we are going to be paying for it for at least 18 months..and if we have to get the second surgery, we will be paying on the medical bills for 3+ years.
I do not want this to be an emotional decision, either. My wife has really fallen in love with this dog and will just fall apart the day that big Golden dies. We have had it since it was 4 months old and it has been a very good companion for my wife when she travels. That dog is her child.
My heart wants to get the dog operated on., but how will an active dog react to surgery? Will it heal properly? People that have had ACL surgery usually have to stay off the leg for a while and then have extensive physical therapy. Can we cope with a large dog after surgery? My wife cannot life our smaller dog, let along a 70 pound Golden Retriever.
I am sure that tonight I will be doing a lot of praying. God give me the strength to stand by whatever decision needs to be made.
Fight Club
I was a small kid from a poor family that got bullied quite a bit up to and including high school. I did not fight back much until my freshman year of high school when I completely exploded on a kid who was not going to quit until I fought him. Long story short, he picked 2 fights in 2 years and I defeated him both times. The first time, he only got one swing at me during the fight. The remainder of the time I pummelled him while he curled up into a tight ball trying to avoid my punches. He did not look very good the next day, but he did not bother me until the following year.
That next year, he tried his luck again. He had the larger guys keep me on the bus until I was the last one off. When the bus left, they forced me into a circle of guys with my opponent in the middle. I did not want to fight him again. I was not fearful of him, but I did a number on him the last time and I was kinda worried that I might really hurt him this time. Well, my fears were for nothing. He swung and missed and my counter punch landed landed 3-4 inches beyond where I had intended and I broke my right hand on his head. The force was enough to knock him down and keep him down for a minute or so. He eventually got back up and I had to finish the fight left handed. I am not a southpaw and I was worried this was going to be a long, painful event.
For whatever reason (maybe my left handed jabs confused him...they were pretty sloppy), he started kicking at me. Back then, kicking in a fight was a good way to get you laughed at, however since he started using his feet, albeit poorly, I did the same. I have very strong legs and hips, so my kicks carried considerably more power than his, so he was hurting quickly. He was so focused on my legs I was able to slip in a couple of lefts that finally put him down and made him so disoriented that he was unable to stand without help. I ended the fight and walked home.
I never got into any other fights that I can remember after that. I had some close calls, but cooler heads prevailed. I did not and do not like to fight. I do not think it solves anything. But I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would find myself around someone who had an axe to grind and I was an easy target: small,lightweight, glasses, poor, and rather ugly. I usually was able to talk my way out, or get away when I needed to. What amazes me is the number of times I have just faced my opponent and stood my ground and had them walk away. I guess that is what bullies do.. I have had several instances where that has happened and I have never had to throw a punch. I was at a concern when a guy kept falling into me and I just turned and stared at him with a stone face. He never touched me again. Once the neighborhood bully started pushing me and instead of trying to avoid it, I pushed him back. I stood there with my fists balled up in a relaxed fighting stance that a friend showed me and the guy walked away.
During the time I have been married (to my current wife...the love of my life), I have been the protector at least two times. Both times we were in downtown Durham, NC and both times I believe the men were homeless. One guy tried to get into the car where my wife was sitting and I convinced him to leave her along. The other time a man stumbled out of a shadowy alley and demanded money. I did not have a wallet on me an my wife did not have her purse. We did not see a weapon in his hand, but we were both nervous. I got between him and my wife and told her to lock herself in the car and call 911. I was just hoping he did not have a partner working with him lurking about. He didn't and the encounter ended without any violence. I was relieved about that. Street fights scare me.
My early childhood had its share of little fights. One boy who was younger than me thought he would try to exude his dominance over me by shoving me around. That fight ended when I dragged him through some bushes in my yard that had briars in them. When I need to be, I can be very creative.
In my mid-teens, a couple of the guys in the neighborhood began watching my movements, when I would leave and when I would return. I noticed this and started changing my routine. It took me a while but I found out he thought I was fooling around with a girl he liked. Now that in itself is odd because he would date girls that I had gone out with previously. He did that a couple of times. AS a matter of fact, after I was divorced and remarried, a girl he just broke up with asked me out. I knew her from high school and the years had been kind to her, but I thought it best to stay away. We were not kids anymore and he has a pretty short fuse.
I am not sure why fighting was on my mind today, but it is. I am not feeling particularly violent.
That next year, he tried his luck again. He had the larger guys keep me on the bus until I was the last one off. When the bus left, they forced me into a circle of guys with my opponent in the middle. I did not want to fight him again. I was not fearful of him, but I did a number on him the last time and I was kinda worried that I might really hurt him this time. Well, my fears were for nothing. He swung and missed and my counter punch landed landed 3-4 inches beyond where I had intended and I broke my right hand on his head. The force was enough to knock him down and keep him down for a minute or so. He eventually got back up and I had to finish the fight left handed. I am not a southpaw and I was worried this was going to be a long, painful event.
For whatever reason (maybe my left handed jabs confused him...they were pretty sloppy), he started kicking at me. Back then, kicking in a fight was a good way to get you laughed at, however since he started using his feet, albeit poorly, I did the same. I have very strong legs and hips, so my kicks carried considerably more power than his, so he was hurting quickly. He was so focused on my legs I was able to slip in a couple of lefts that finally put him down and made him so disoriented that he was unable to stand without help. I ended the fight and walked home.
I never got into any other fights that I can remember after that. I had some close calls, but cooler heads prevailed. I did not and do not like to fight. I do not think it solves anything. But I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would find myself around someone who had an axe to grind and I was an easy target: small,lightweight, glasses, poor, and rather ugly. I usually was able to talk my way out, or get away when I needed to. What amazes me is the number of times I have just faced my opponent and stood my ground and had them walk away. I guess that is what bullies do.. I have had several instances where that has happened and I have never had to throw a punch. I was at a concern when a guy kept falling into me and I just turned and stared at him with a stone face. He never touched me again. Once the neighborhood bully started pushing me and instead of trying to avoid it, I pushed him back. I stood there with my fists balled up in a relaxed fighting stance that a friend showed me and the guy walked away.
During the time I have been married (to my current wife...the love of my life), I have been the protector at least two times. Both times we were in downtown Durham, NC and both times I believe the men were homeless. One guy tried to get into the car where my wife was sitting and I convinced him to leave her along. The other time a man stumbled out of a shadowy alley and demanded money. I did not have a wallet on me an my wife did not have her purse. We did not see a weapon in his hand, but we were both nervous. I got between him and my wife and told her to lock herself in the car and call 911. I was just hoping he did not have a partner working with him lurking about. He didn't and the encounter ended without any violence. I was relieved about that. Street fights scare me.
My early childhood had its share of little fights. One boy who was younger than me thought he would try to exude his dominance over me by shoving me around. That fight ended when I dragged him through some bushes in my yard that had briars in them. When I need to be, I can be very creative.
In my mid-teens, a couple of the guys in the neighborhood began watching my movements, when I would leave and when I would return. I noticed this and started changing my routine. It took me a while but I found out he thought I was fooling around with a girl he liked. Now that in itself is odd because he would date girls that I had gone out with previously. He did that a couple of times. AS a matter of fact, after I was divorced and remarried, a girl he just broke up with asked me out. I knew her from high school and the years had been kind to her, but I thought it best to stay away. We were not kids anymore and he has a pretty short fuse.
I am not sure why fighting was on my mind today, but it is. I am not feeling particularly violent.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
What is Going On?
The stock market is really confusing and confounding me right about now. The Dow has dropped over 300 points in the past 10 days and bounces up and down every day until if finally closes in the red. The S&P and the NASDAQ pretty much are doing the same.
Also, my company's stock is curtently outperforming the stock of the company we provide support for and that is not normal. Our stock has been running at least 10% less than this stock has. Not that I am upset by this. I would like our stock to hit the mid to upper 40's some time this year.
However, that will most likely change now that I have posted this... :\
Also, my company's stock is curtently outperforming the stock of the company we provide support for and that is not normal. Our stock has been running at least 10% less than this stock has. Not that I am upset by this. I would like our stock to hit the mid to upper 40's some time this year.
However, that will most likely change now that I have posted this... :\
Forgive Us Our Transgressions
This is a deeply personal post, but somehow I feel like God is leading me to publish it. Maybe he is trying to reach someone who reads this blog or maybe he just wants me to think about some things in my past.
Becoming a Christian does not make your life all sunshine and rainbows. Actually, your life gets harder. When you are unsaved, you are owned by our Enemy. He has you and he keeps you blind so that you will not see the Glory that God has nor will you see his unending love. When you become saved, you see the goodness and the bad becomes like a stain...you begin to feel convicted for the unconfessed sins you committed. This is one of the hardest things about becoming a Christian, but it is also one of the most uplifting, freeing feelings you can have.
I became a Christian about 10 years ago, but it was not until about 2003 or so that he started convicting me for being "Contemporary Christian"...one who talks the talk but does not walk the walk. As he was convicting me, I started to slowly make changes in the way I live life. The first thing I did was to stop hiding my faith at work. I am not saying that I witness to everyone who walks in my office I meet in the break room. I just simply started acting like what I believed in. It was scary at first, but now it is no sweat at all.
The next thing I did was removing the stuff out of my life that was causing me to stumble. I stopped watching most R-rated movies, I began to listen to much less secular music, and I cleaned up my rather foul language. While I did not constantly swear, I did have a bit of a bad habit of dropping 4 letter words when I was angry.
I also got rid of all my not-so-legal software (games, OS's, office suites, etc) and replaced them with either licensed or open source (freeware) versions. That story is a long and detailed one I will save for another time.
A Christian's walk is something that is never finished until he finally meets Jesus during Judgement. With that in mind, we have a lot of things we need to do to clean house before we meet him.
The two greatest commandments that our Lord and Savior gave us are:
1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
2) Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
It is very, VERY difficult to do either of these when you think about it, but if we work on the first, the second will become easier. That is where I am now, working on the second one.
You may (or may not) be aware that I was married once before. It started off bad and got progressively worse until we divorced in 1992. We were both young (21 and 18) and very immature. We had no idea how to act towards each other, no idea how a husband and wife should act. We did not know Christ, nor did we attend church. We were both very lost.
I had considered detailing our relationship, but that is just not fair. We both were at fault. We both made HUGE mistakes, and we both failed. We hurt those around us, those we loved, friends, family, co-workers. Friendships were splintered...some that have never been repaired. Others still show signs of the hurt.
I am writing this because even though my ex-wife hurt me and the kids (one was ours and one was hers), I forgive her. I forgive her for all the pain she caused. I forgive her for the long list of HORRIBLE things she did the entire time we were together (both dating and married).
But is does not stop there. I write this hoping that I can find a way to contact her and ask her to forgive me. While there is no doubt she was a horrible person then (she may have changed, I know I have grown up immensely), she does not deserve all the blame. I never once said she did. I also did many disrespectful things in that relationship. I could list them all if given enough time, but that is just airing dirty laundry. If and when I can get in contact with her, I will let her know my intentions. Will she forgive? Most likely not. She has told me several times (as recently as 5 years ago) that she will never forgive me. I can understand that. Until I became a Christian, I was not willing to forgive her either. It took a lot of prayer to get to that point.
In loving your neighbor, you have to also love your enemies. My ex-wife hates me (or at least she did 5 years ago). She has done many things to make my life less than rosy but I feel obligated to love her as I love myself. Your enemies will try time and time again to assault you, but giving all your pain and resentment to Christ will allow you to focus on other things. I can only hope that my ex-wife accepts Jesus as her personal savior, if she has not already done so. I know that will not erase the past, but it might just allow us to start the healing process.
Becoming a Christian does not make your life all sunshine and rainbows. Actually, your life gets harder. When you are unsaved, you are owned by our Enemy. He has you and he keeps you blind so that you will not see the Glory that God has nor will you see his unending love. When you become saved, you see the goodness and the bad becomes like a stain...you begin to feel convicted for the unconfessed sins you committed. This is one of the hardest things about becoming a Christian, but it is also one of the most uplifting, freeing feelings you can have.
I became a Christian about 10 years ago, but it was not until about 2003 or so that he started convicting me for being "Contemporary Christian"...one who talks the talk but does not walk the walk. As he was convicting me, I started to slowly make changes in the way I live life. The first thing I did was to stop hiding my faith at work. I am not saying that I witness to everyone who walks in my office I meet in the break room. I just simply started acting like what I believed in. It was scary at first, but now it is no sweat at all.
The next thing I did was removing the stuff out of my life that was causing me to stumble. I stopped watching most R-rated movies, I began to listen to much less secular music, and I cleaned up my rather foul language. While I did not constantly swear, I did have a bit of a bad habit of dropping 4 letter words when I was angry.
I also got rid of all my not-so-legal software (games, OS's, office suites, etc) and replaced them with either licensed or open source (freeware) versions. That story is a long and detailed one I will save for another time.
A Christian's walk is something that is never finished until he finally meets Jesus during Judgement. With that in mind, we have a lot of things we need to do to clean house before we meet him.
The two greatest commandments that our Lord and Savior gave us are:
1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.
2) Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
It is very, VERY difficult to do either of these when you think about it, but if we work on the first, the second will become easier. That is where I am now, working on the second one.
You may (or may not) be aware that I was married once before. It started off bad and got progressively worse until we divorced in 1992. We were both young (21 and 18) and very immature. We had no idea how to act towards each other, no idea how a husband and wife should act. We did not know Christ, nor did we attend church. We were both very lost.
I had considered detailing our relationship, but that is just not fair. We both were at fault. We both made HUGE mistakes, and we both failed. We hurt those around us, those we loved, friends, family, co-workers. Friendships were splintered...some that have never been repaired. Others still show signs of the hurt.
I am writing this because even though my ex-wife hurt me and the kids (one was ours and one was hers), I forgive her. I forgive her for all the pain she caused. I forgive her for the long list of HORRIBLE things she did the entire time we were together (both dating and married).
But is does not stop there. I write this hoping that I can find a way to contact her and ask her to forgive me. While there is no doubt she was a horrible person then (she may have changed, I know I have grown up immensely), she does not deserve all the blame. I never once said she did. I also did many disrespectful things in that relationship. I could list them all if given enough time, but that is just airing dirty laundry. If and when I can get in contact with her, I will let her know my intentions. Will she forgive? Most likely not. She has told me several times (as recently as 5 years ago) that she will never forgive me. I can understand that. Until I became a Christian, I was not willing to forgive her either. It took a lot of prayer to get to that point.
In loving your neighbor, you have to also love your enemies. My ex-wife hates me (or at least she did 5 years ago). She has done many things to make my life less than rosy but I feel obligated to love her as I love myself. Your enemies will try time and time again to assault you, but giving all your pain and resentment to Christ will allow you to focus on other things. I can only hope that my ex-wife accepts Jesus as her personal savior, if she has not already done so. I know that will not erase the past, but it might just allow us to start the healing process.
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