Batter Up!

Yep... A whole week has gone by since I've had any real time to sit down and type something out for everybody. I'd like to say that I'm sorry that I've been busy but I really can't! Things have come up rather suddenly. I'm busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest! A good friend is getting married this coming weekend. A job opportunity has come and gone. Life's little challenges are popping up once again. However, I'm still chugging along! That said though, it has been noted that people need to take time to stop and smell the roses. In my case, it's taking time to stop and write down my thoughts and share with the world at large and so here I am. This reminds me of a story...

A little boy was playing baseball by himself in his yard. He'd throw a ball into the air and try to hit it with his bat, pretending a pitcher was throwing to him. His parents overheard him say to himself, "Here comes a pitch to the world's greatest hitter!" But he missed the ball and yelled, "Strike one!" Strikes two and three followed shortly thereafter, striking out the world's greatest hitter. The youngster was only momentarily dismayed. He began tossing the ball into the air again, yelling, "I'm the greatest pitcher in the world!" The moral of our story is to count your hits and not your misses...

I've had a lot of hits and many many more misses... The missed opportunities are great to learn and grow from. Just the sheer number of opportunities that make it my way allow me to get the hits that I have had. In the game of life, I've got 4,000 hits, 1,440 runs batted in and 560 home runs. However, while those stats look good, I neglected to tell you that I've been at bat over 240,000 times (which works out to a 0.025 batting average). So focus on what's good, right and positive in your life. Tell your family that you love them, tell your friends that you appreciate their support and tell yourself that you are going to make things happen!

*** This post sponsored in part by Verizon Wireless. ***


Verizon Wireless. We never stop working for you. (SM)

It's Official!

People here in Seattle can't drive! Here's a driver's education video I managed to locate... Don't say that you haven't been warned!

Dork Wars - Episode 1: The Menacing Phantom

Visited family today. That was a lot of fun to just hang out and spend time with them!! Also I stopped by and worked on my Dad's computer. I suspect that I am going to have my hands full if I'm expected to provide technical support for him once he decides to retire and travel across the country in an RV.

After my familial visitation was up, I met up with a friend and we went to see what could be construed as the BEST MOVIE OF THE YEAR! That's right... Freddy versus Jason!

Following that fine masterpiece of cinematic effort, we traveled to a local establishment for some refreshments. Particularly hot wings and, you guessed it, Diet Coke. The food at this particular place of business was good as usual. However, the service was utter crap! All things considered, we probably should have made a run for the border instead of going to a place that rhymes with "Shooters".

All things considered, I'd rather have gone out, spent the time and money that I did out and about today than wasted a day sitting around playing video games!

Arrrrrrgh!! (or How I Hate AOL Time Warner)

Not that it really matters to anybody but I certainly hate it when things just can't be made to work properly. My AIM is down again. I'd like to thank the folks at AOL Time Warner for making it difficult for users of open source software to tap into and take advantage of their messaging platform. Hey, you corporate drones! Not everybody wants to use your software so why don't you just let it go and give the market what they want?

Also, no rant would be complete without a rave acknowledging the time and energy that has been put into making the Jabber messaging platform successful. With Jabber, users and companies can have an all-inclusive instant messaging platform that can interface with external IM systems. Finally, kudos to those crazy Canucks at NuReality Networks for making my life just slightly more efficient by hosting a Jabber server that interfaces AIM, ICQ, MSN and Yahoo! all at the same time!

Jerry And The Raiders Of The Lost Temple Of The Ark Of Doom

So... It's been several days since I've been able to really get online and put my thoughts down. I blame Microsoft and the MS Blast worm. (Not really but it is awfully convenient!)

Thursday evening I made it back home to Seattle safe and sound. The trip was mostly uneventful and there was little to no turbulence for the trip back up here. Upon arrival, I was somewhat impressed by the warm weather that greeted me. I honestly think that it was nicer up here in Seattle than it was in southern California where it was awfully muggy!

Also, in doing some field research... It turns out that any California resident with $3500 and 60 signatures could put themselves on the gubernatorial recall ballot. I don't know about the rest of you but that seems rather haphazard to me! Good luck to Ah-nold in his bid to enter politics. I like some of his opinions and his voting record (no public handouts for illegal immigrants!!). Of course, then there's Gary Coleman. Yes, child actor Gary Coleman. My only question is: does he have a platform? (Har!)

So, we fast-forward to Friday. Another day in the office... Or is it? Well, it was!

Friday afternoon we had what is commonly referred to as a "staff meeting" which involves a random collection of people whom I know all gather at a predetermined location that happens to be off-site and serves fermented beverages... I took off after a couple of hours and headed home to freshen up. I had something else up my sleeve and hooked up with a friend and went to go see (bear with me) Freaky Friday! A round of snaps for Jamie Lee Curtis who successfully manages to get in touch with her inner teenager for her role in this remake of the 1970's classic. The movie had plenty of laughs and was enjoyable. Probably worth seeing at a matinee if you aren't interested in it but if you do have an interest in seeing a movie with good wholesome fun, pay the full price, eh? It qualifies as a cute, fun and funny chick flick. Guys, go see S.W.A.T. if you don't have a female friend to go with (or a press pass as your excuse!)...

Now we hurry along to Saturday. I slept in. I woke up. I made some sandwiches. I went out with my friends to the Owl 'n' Thistle in downtown Seattle. I am reminded why I really don't like the bar scene but since this place is relatively laid back and easy-going, it made for some fun peoplewatching. And peoplewatch we did!!

I drank my usual (Diet Coke) while the rest of the team had beer, shots and God-knows-what-all-else. I say team because it really IS a team effort. After all, when you see us out on the night, we look like a boy band or something. Well, perhaps a mentally challenged boy band...

And now it's Sunday... I'm out and about and visiting family today. So please leave a detailed message after the tone and I will return your call as soon as possible...

I Need A Nap

Heeeeey, everyone... I am so tired! My trip to Southern California has been exhausting.

Nothing new or exciting to report if the truth is to be shared.

The good news is that I will be back in Seattle tomorrow evening. Perhaps at that point in time I will be able to generate something compelling for my blog...

*** This message was posted in real-time from my mobile Pocket PC Device using the Verizon Wireless nationwide Express Network service. ***

California Dreamin'

Yo, peoples! I made it safe and sound to Irvine, CA. Contrary to popular belief, they do not put you on the ballot for governor upon arrival. They do it at the rental car garage -- insidious isn't it?

Retraction & Correction

Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!! The writer of this blog hereby and forthwith announces the following:
1. That he was kidding about his science experiment with AXE at the Gorge Amphitheatre. The tests were actually conducted while performing field research during a recent expedition to an undisclosed metropolitan island in the state of New York -- where it was discovered that it does indeed have some kind of effect... That of keeping one's personal odors and hygiene issues under wraps.
2. That he is most assuredly not looking for any kind of emotional or physical entanglements (a.k.a. he's NOT looking, ladies).
3. That some of the comments conveyed by this very same forum could be construed as some form of truth instead of humorous or witty banter.

So, along with being the shooter on the grassy knoll, sabotaging the Mir spacestation, rigging the U.S. 2000 presidential elections and being responsible for your clothes dryer eating yet another solo sock, I have to take responsibilities for my own words, thoughts deeds and their direct and indirect losses...

Put Down The Bunny And Nobody Gets Hurt

Hello to all you folks out there on the Internet!! If you haven't seen this video yet, you really have to!! Talk about WEIRD and funny!! Broadband is highly recommended or a measure of patience if you're on limited bandwidth...

I saw S.W.A.T. Sunday evening. That movie was a lot of fun and worth paying full price for!! There was some really good on-screen chemistry amongst the actors, the plot wasn't thin or vapid and the camera work (while frenetic) was well done. There are good cops, bad cops, crooked cops and jealous cops altogether in this movie who's premise is, "Sometimes cops have to call 911." The film is worth seeing at least once. While the special effects may not merit the big screen experience, the movie is engrossing enough that NOT seeing it on the silver screen would be an insult...

Oh, Happy Day!

Turns out the server hosting my IM client has been bounced and I'm able to log back into AOL Instant Messager...

Oh, Things I Do In The Name Of Science

So, being the daring and inquisitive person I am... I brought this stuff with me called AXE for the Dave Matthews Band concert. It comes in an innocent-looking aerosol can and smells decent enough. They advertise their stuff as causing instant animal magnetism leading to women tackling the men who wear the stuff. Since I am a victim of that behavior enough as it is in certain circles, I thought to myself, "I wonder if this will work on those hippy chicks at the concert?"

I tore the can out of the packaging and proceeded to apply sparingly (per the instructions). After application (I used 2 oz. out of a 4 oz. can) I took off in anticipation of the destruction, mayhem and carnage that I was about to sow!! It wasn't very long until I started noticing what is known as "The AXE Effect".

Women everywhere were looking my way, smiling, licking their chops and dreaming of ways to get to me... Many of them doing this were actually ignoring the men that had paid for them to be there (paid for their $50 tickets, that is). And if you believe any of this entry, I would like for you to visit some websites, like this one, and develop a sense of humor! ;o)

And we're back...

Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge Amphitheatre was as most interesting experience... Got back in town and headed out for dinner. It was pretty late when I got back home and got a chance to unwind a little. Today I woke up early, got a jump start on laundry and caught up on some other things that needed to be done.

Tonight, I'm going out for dinner... And maybe a movie, too. I need to treat myself before being sent off on my secret mission to California!

Late Breaking News

Attention, blog fans! I will be on the road next week at a highly classified location that cannot be disclosed. I can share that the last name of aforementioned location is Fornia. I fly out of Seattle Monday afternoon and will return from Fornia late Thursday evening. If you're lucky, I'll have my laptop with me and I'll be able to make posts during my trip on peoples' reactions to Arnold Schwarzenegger's candidacy for Governor. Hell, I might just have to jump into the race the way things are going down there in Fornia... ;)

On A Separate Note

I would like to officially announce that I am most definitely going to the Dave Matthews Band concert at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA. I leave tomorrow afternoon for the Friday evening concert and will return to the Seattle area sometime Saturday night. E-mails and blogging will resume when they resume.

My AIM is off...

ARGH!!! So I get a phone call this evening from somebody who's very near and dear to me. They bring up the fact that they've tried instant messaging me all day and that I've been logged on all day on AOL Instant Messenger but that I'm not writing back!

At first I'm thinking, no way! Huh uh. The service went dead on me earlier when I was messing around with it at work and now it's not even letting me log on. Oh no, I'm told. I'm most definitely still online. Aaaaaaargh!!

So, if any of my coworkers, friends or family have tried sending me an instant message via AIM, let me just preemptively inform you that my AIM is down right now. Please use e-mail!

Editorial Correction

Due to a recent influx of e-mail requests from readers asking that I *NOT* take up BASE jumping (not only for my own safety but for the safety of others who might be crushed by my sudden impact with them), I must make the correction that I don't plan on taking up BASE jumping any time soon. However, that video just made it look so freaking cool!! If you missed the link, don't worry about it because the video (while still very cool!) is pretty big (14 MB) which translates into an approximate download time of 1 hour for a 56 kbps modem user. To see the site which has gotten me all excited about this extreme sport, please click on the following link:

http://www.mop.no/base_eng.htm

That site is actually where I found the video for my previous post. If you missed it, it was the word "WHAT" in the title of that post... And that's it for the day. Catch you people later!

You've decided to do WHAT??!??

As many of you may know, I love to ski in the winter... And as if that sport wasn't dangerous enough, I managed to have a wonderful accident and snapped my femur into two in February. Luckily, it was a clean break and so far, I continue to heal extremely well.

So, I'm driving to Portland on Monday and I heard about this stupid professor guy who got caught up on an antenna tower in the Seattle area. He was stuck hanging in the air held up only by his parachute being wrapped around one of the lines... I don't know why, but I started thinking about how cool of a sport BASE jumping would be to participate in. I did some research and looked into the sport. It's wild, crazy and, dare I say, unsafe...? However, it just looks so freaking cool and exciting!

Umm... No, I don't have a death wish but I do have a desire to give it a whirl... However, I'm also VERY VERY afraid of heights... No idea why this strikes me as something to do but what the heck...? Alrighty, I've got to get going to dinner and a movie so I'm out!

Thunder and Lightning, oh my!

Ahhhh... Now THIS is more like it!! It's finally begun to cool off a bit around here (still well into the 70s) but the weather forecast this morning which said "chance of precipitation" is about to come true and in a really SERIOUS way, too!! Of course, it never fails after I wash the freaking car... (sigh)

There's thunder and lightning afoot here in the Cascade foothills. The clouds just kind of snuck in around and about an hour ago a friend of mine (Hi, Mike!) was telling me all about how it was dumping rain down in the south Puget Sound.

This is so so freaking cool!! We don't hardly get enough thunderstorms here in the Pacific Northwest. I mean, we have sprinkles, showers, rain, driving rain, misting and probably a dozen other names for precipitation that in other places of the world, they just call it "rain". Hehehe...

Well anyway. I'm kind of bored. I've been playing this stupid game (NeverWinter Nights) and it's just a bit of a bitch trying to fully develop a character that is built to kick ass and chew bubblegum (but happens to be out of bubblegum)!

So, I'm going to switch off and see if I can't catch some of nature's all natural lightshow. Provided that I'm not zapped by some errant electrons, I shall return! In the interim, here's something for all you Star Wars fans!

J

White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl

Hahaha... This is pretty funny! Of course, the music video was really cool too!

First things first!

Gaaaakch...!! Pfffffft...!! Okay...

1. If you're a salaried employee, don't complain about the long hours, instead work more creatively and productively to get your responsibilities done and out of the way. For you, it's not a question of being present from 8-5, no! It's a matter of getting the job done (and doing it right!).

2. Who let all these spiders in here???!?


So why am I in such a strange mood...? I'll tell you why! This morning, I woke up to a typical Seattle summer morning. It was cool and overcast. Then I got on the road and headed to my office away from my office in beautiful Portland. Several hours later, I'm down there, meeting all the people and doing my thing. Around 5pm, it's time to head out (oh and I missed out on yet ANOTHER Norah Jones concert, the first one being in New Orleans a couple of weeks ago). It takes about an hour to get to the WA/OR border (perfectly natural) and then I just cruise on along home. I spent about 14 hours on the clock today. Sheesh... However, I refuse to complain about it because I know that there are wonderful opportunities for me just waiting around the corner!

Now, about bugs (and spiders, too!)... I hate bugs. They have their place and that place is called "outside". For those of you (and you know who you are) who don't know what that is, that's the place you find when you leave your residence, house, apartment, cardboard box or whatever... It's BIG too! So I'm minding my own business this morning and as I was getting dressed, I noticed that there was a spider there, sizing me up. Almost as if deep inside it's arachnid mind it was thinking about how many meals it could get out of me. (YUCK!) Now, normally spiders bother me just in the slightest. However, this spider wasn't just any old household spider... Oh no... This thing could have carried off a small dog or kitten!!

As it sat there, mocking me because I didn't see it initially and had walked by it several times (note to self: wear glasses more often!)... I got this feeling that the spider was mocking me because it was rubbing it's legs together and the fangs were salivating. I promise that I'm NOT making this up... (Embellishments, however, are present.)

So, I did what any 26 year old man would do once I noticed the hunter/carnivore sizing me up for a morning snack. I screamed like a 12 year old girl!

After I came back to my senses and my skin was crawling, I proceded to chastise the spider with whatever spray happened to be handy (turns out that while Clorox disinfectant spray is great at killing germs, spiders don't seem to mind it). I think I actually managed to piss off the spider because it turned to me and charged!! I threw the spraycan at it and jumped on my bed, frantically looking for more heavy or hard things to throw at it because my first shot had missed.

Well, I think that the spider actually tired of playing with me and turned away as if to leave me be... I seized the moment grabbed like 20 tissues and tried squishing the thing to death. Three minutes and a lot of squishing later, convinced that I was now the victor, I bundled up the tissues and carefully placed the bundle into the trash... After this whole ordeal, because my skin was all shivery from the experience, I had to take some extra time to make sure that the dang thing was DEAD but that he hadn't had any friends or reinforcements lying in wait...

Anyway... That's my adventurous story of the day. So, while I hear that everything's big in Texas, I have no desire to find out because the spiders are plenty big and juicy up here... (Shiver.) I need to take another shower!! :o(

What to do...? What to do...?

It's a gorgeous Sunday night... WOOHOO!! I get to go to bed early and go to work in the morning... :) C'mon... You seriously don't think that way about your job?? Eh... So this weekend was good. It wasn't nearly as busy as I thought it was going to be and that was a good thing as far as I'm concerned! It meant that I was able to catch up on some stuff, work on some other stuff and just otherwise found time for myself and some of the things that needed to get done around here!

Tomorrow is Monday the 4th. I can't believe that it's just snuck up on me like that! I am heading down to Portland for the day for work. That'll be fun! I do enjoy the drive and it'll be good to stretch my car's legs for a bit. Then it's back to the grind the rest of the week, I think. Umm... One more physical therapy appointment is coming up this week, as well.

So coming up this weekend is the Dave Matthews Band concert at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA (ha!)... I should be all excited to go, but realistically I'm still weighing the cost/effort/benefits. There is so much going on around here that I'm very nearly convinced to stick around and not surround myself with drunken co-eds with a penchant for the soothing, sultry tones of DMB... And that's saying something!!

Okay... For the Linux fans out there (You know who you are!) here's a fun little animation to watch. So until next time, play safe and be good to one another!

(yawn)

Okay... It's 11:10am and a cool, overcast Saturday morning. I'm tempted to just roll over and go back to sleep. BUT I CAN'T!!

Today's agenda:
Routine Maintenance
Lunch
Drive to Tacoma
Hang with the band
Go home and go to bed

Tomorrow is a completely new day and things haven't quite hashed themselves out yet...
Maybe brunch
Maybe a matinee movie
Maybe laundry and cleaning the house
Maybe not...

Hehehe... So I went out last night and I'm proud to say that I only had a couple of beers after work (literally 2) and then headed out for dinner with some friends. I've met some new people and they seem pretty cool. Hopefully we'll all be able to connect again and go do something but I think that that actually requires effort... Hmm... Well, as I've been noticing lately, things have a way of working themselves out for me. Don't know how, why or any of the reasoning behind it and I don't want to question it either!

Let's see... Late breaking news: I'm going to Portland for work on Monday (but only for the day). Then I'll be back home until Monday the 11th when I'll be flying back down to Irvine for the week. Wheeeeeee!!! I really need to sign up for a frequent flyer mileage program... So anyway, I think that that's pretty much it for me today... See you next time, same blog channel, same blog time!






Oh wait wait... "Where's my entertaining link of the day?" you ask? How about this one about an amazing technological breakthrough?

Nothing new and exciting to report. The weather is cooler today (upper 70s) and the Blue Angels are in town for SeaFair. I don't believe that I'll be going to SeaFair this year. Last year, I got to hang out and watch the hydro races. This year, I think not!

Umm... Let's see... Things have calmed down a lot around here. Just jamming to some tunes, checking some e-mail, chatting with friends, browsing the web and deleting spam...

Okay... Enough goofing off and multitasking for now. Y'all come back now, y'hear?