Cool Stuff
These are some things that I think are cool. I don't really need them. They are just cool.
I really like the idea of cool pens. I don't write shit any more. I haven't sat down to write something in years. I do everything on the computer. I would still buy the nifty balanced roller pens if allowed.
I would kill for a cool phone. I've gone over before what I would like the all encompassing hand held device to do.
I love the idea of sunglasses. I could never ware cool sunglasses as a kid because I had to ware regular glasses. I tell you, that is the real reason I have contacts.
As far as cameras go, if I could afford a 50 megapixel 35mm body camera I would have one.
Video, well, I don't know much about video yet. I recently bought a video camera that I haven't gotten much use out. They are cool though.
I like the idea of TiVo, but I'm too cheep to pay for the service, or cable, or satellite, or anything that would make it worth while.
I own a firearm. I would get a dot-scope Desert Eagle. I have absolutely no use for one.
Then there are some non-tangible things.
SG1. (SciFi in general) I like the show. I have considered cable because of this show.
Anime makes me relax. It is not a cartoon. It is something else.
News. I intake news like most people intake oxygen. I require a slow constant stream of information on an hourly basis.
Blogs. I enjoy blogs greatly. I get as much news from them today as I have from news in the past. They fulfill my news thirst. It is like going from water to wine.

Not Cool Stuff
Some things I do not find cool. Nat apparently finds some of these things cool because she talks about them often.
Barbies. I need to post a photo of the Barby corner in our apartment.
Cloths. It is a girl thing through and through. I can't even complain about cloths competently.
Wedding stuff is her main topic right now. She is really taking charge and making this wedding something special.
There is some other stuff, but I block it out. I love her so much. I am a guy. I am not into Barbies or cloths or wedding bobbles.
I would love to hear her list.

Slappy

Hey all, Just a quick note to say Slappy's is playing two shows in the near future! First When Saturday, Aug 20th, 10PM to 11PM Where PJ's Sports Bar 614 W Gray St, Houston, TX 77019 Cozy little Heights-area sports bar.  We'll be upstairs. Second When Sunday, Sept 11th Sometime that afternoon! Where 2nd Annual Fishbowl Poker Run Flamingo Gardens Showcase Stage 10711 Hammerly, Houston, TX 77043 Outdoor show at Flamingo Gardens.  Last year's show at the Outside Inn was a blast! Hope to see everybody there!

From Jason. I edited it a smidgen for blogability. Break a leg fellas.

Link
Car made in Iran. The trouble is, it is a good looking set of wheels. Please, let us not underestimate the Axis of evil.

AA AAAAA!!!

Look, Mom, over there! It's a live Journal Times Online

Jesus! Holy-flipping-bucket-of-ugly!!! Put the sandwich down before you click the link.

Noah
This came in an email from my friend (crazy) Jen. Thanks.

One: Don't miss the boat. Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.  Six: Build your future on high ground. Seven: For safety sake, travel in pairs. Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. Nine: When you're stressed, float a while. Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting..

Fraud on eBay
We are getting screwed by some people on eBay. I've noticed some scams that Nat stumbled across. Fortunately, Nat has a head on her shoulders and hasn't gotten bitten yet. We are actually threatening legal action against someone not from eBay.

Weekend
* Friday evening, we went shopping for wedding stuff.
* Saturday we wen to Kinko's and put invitations together all day. I tied three whole boxes of little tiny bows on bubble bottles.
* Sunday we went to a Mary K party. I hung out with the Dad's. We talked about hybrid cars and spare parts. Then we went and ate Mexican food at some restaurant that I've eaten at before. I don't remember the name. It was pretty good.

Nice Bike, er, Mower ... =\

Click the image to enlarge From the Article Definitely looks cooler. No doubt easier to use than walking. But the hazards remain. The blade, instead of being out in front, is now spinning like a dervish just beneath your little piggies, and you can step down right beside it instead of away from it. The blade is still capable of ejecting rocks and sticks at terminal velocity into the eyes of nearby kids and pets. If it gets jammed, it may be even harder to get to than a regular mower blade.

Naysayers. Just leave it at "cool".

Video vs Photos
It really is a whole different world shooting video vs photos. Only a precious few rules cross the divide. How light works. For example, the concept of a longer exposure makes for brighter image, but fuzzier motion. Also the concept of focus and f-stop make the leap. However. framing a shot, capturing the thing that is interesting. making a statement with what is in front of you. Make what is not there shine through. These things are completely new. I have shot some test videos and I notice that they suck. I wonder if I will pick up on the little things that make a better video.

Country
I cannot imagine being without a country. I was reading a ton of blogs during the feminine invasion this Saturday. On one of these blogs was a quote from someone that said "Without a country a man is nothing." I wish I had captured where that come from. I was many pages away when it hit me. That is the one thing I don't feel I have to worry about. I said to Nat only today that "I did not realize how fortunate was I that I cannot see the expressions on people's faces when they are not happy with me." She tells me about every person who gives her a nasty look while she is driving. She swears she can read lips too. Maybe there is something to this whole legally blind thing.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
goo.
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Day
Today there are a bunch of women in my apartment. I'm the only guy among 5 women. Julie and her little girl. Nat and Elle. Then there is Ronnie. They are folding the invitations. I'm stewing in my juices. I tried helping and got yelled at. I tried avoiding the whole thing and got yelled at. I put together an air mattress for Elle. Ronnie ended up do int it correctly. She also figured out that it is supposed to have the outside thing put on before you blow it up. I videoed a few seconds. The baby is crying. Elle was mesmerized momentarily by the graphics that play while music plays in MS media player. I need a glass of wine. Between the chamber music playing in the background, the child screaming at the top of her lungs, Elle bouncing around on her new air mattress, and the women gabbing ninety miles an hour, my head is about to explode. Welcome to family life Kelly. This is what you wanted, right.

"Not for White People"
Wow, Sometimes you forget. Sometimes you live your life in a bubble you make yourself. I have been doing this for some time it seems. I forgot how East Texas can be sometimes. I forget how I used to be myself.
I live and work in a multicultural world. Texas is now a white minority state. Yesterday, Nat and I were in a small grill somewhere in East Texas. We were sitting and enjoying a moment as a family. Then another family comes in. They sat down and began to order. I would have never noticed them, except they were the only other customers in the place. There was no way to avoid hearing their conversation. The family knew the wait staff pretty well because they spoke with a familiar tone. One of the kids was playing around and wouldn't sit down. The staff member said to the father in a joking manor "Got a rope?" The father without missing a beat said "Yes, but it isn't for white people."
I remember just coming to a halt. It was one of those moments where you are stunned. I'm glad I was facing away from the family. I am glad they could not see the look on my face. Nat kept her composure. She mentioned the incident later, we spoke about it briefly. We live in a world where you cannot afford to be prejudice anymore. We all depend on each other too much for it. It is too easy to hurt one another now. I still feel strange after that. I hadn't felt that feeling of reality vs what should be in a while. Yet, I had no intention of correcting anyone. I would not do it now. I choose to live my life a bit better than I did yesterday. That is my contribution.

What's up with blogs?
What are blogs? I've had people ask me this several times. First of all, what you are reading right now is not what they mean when they say "blog". It depends greatly on who you are talking to, or who "they" are. MSM (Mainstream Media) are not talking about me when they complain about blogs screwing things up. The pages that most people mean when they say "blog" are those with news or opinion expressed on news such as Little Green Footballs, Machelle Malkin, Intel Dump or Winds of Change. There are millions of blogs, and the vast majority of them suck. I try to keep a list of favorite blogs. It changes daily.

Question
Why am I so cheap?
When I was a kid, I found out that I was like a month away from being born in California. I was born in Kansas. California was far more interesting than Kansas, so I was upset. My dad explained to me that it would have cost $2000 to have me in California. That is compared to about $300 in Kansas. I used this rationalization to make myself feel better about my birthplace. It stuck.

Goddammit!!!!
So, my new video camera came in. I try plugging it in to the computer and nothing. I mean nothing. It is not recognized. I go round and round. I try it at different computers. I take it to a buddy of mine who uses video cameras all the time. He says "Woh, man. Something is wrong." He did lend me a tape. Anyway, I hop on the Canon web page and dig around. I read how to connect the damn thing. Well, get this. It has a USB port. That USB port, my connectivity of choice by the way, is only for the crappy digital pictures this thing takes. You need a FireWire (IEEE-1394) to transfer videos. i went back and looked at the advertisements all over the place and it only says "has USB". BASTARDS!!!  Extra expense. Extra loss of time. Learning experience.

Kids Smoking
I now help take care of a two year old child. I'm telling you, she mimics everything Nat and I do. Nat didn't cuss the whole time she was pregnant or the first two years. Now, one or two slip by. Elle picks them right up. Elle doesn't miss much. She can spot a balloon floating two counties away. I told her yesterday that if a doctor ever tells me she needs glasses I'm calling them a lier. This leads me to an important observation. If adults don't want children to smoke, then, adults shouldn't smoke. That makes so much sense when you say it. It is one of those things that is hard to do. Do as I say not as I do.
You have what adults say teaching kids one thing and what adults do teaching them something else. How does this help evolution? You have two conflicting methods of learning. What do you get when you have conflict? You get competition. What usually happens in competition? The best wins most often over time. So, there is some reason for it. When it comes down to nature vs nurture, it takes both.

DnD

Saturday DnD was a lot of fun.  Everyone left at around 3am.  You and Alexis weren't there, so everyone partook in talk bat.  It was enjoyable and quick.  There were no front line fighters, so most battles consisted of the party engaging from a distance, running away, re-engaging, repeat.  In our last encounter we used the entire (or about 2/3rds) of the large, table-sized white board (I think it's 8'x4').  And there were people from the party at each corner of it. Here's a quick synopsis.  The group started out at the entrance to a Moander's Crypt -- a holding area for a dark god's essence (you might remember, you were there when they first arrived).  The party was to enter it and verify that the wards were still intact.  They made there way through several traps (Brian S. got dropped, but not killed, by two of them -- one during a battle).  They slaughtered many demons and devils that had infested the place.  They saw that the wards were still in place and found some kids that escaped from being sacrificed.  The group found some magic books and Ethan used his party leader position to make sure that the books were returned to the Elven authorities, though only after a long argument with Bryan K. and Ken. They returned the kids to the nearby human village and discovered that the villagers had trapped and set fire to a treant.  A fallen paladin had rallied the town to strike against the nature creatures.  Talk bat was used (Ken won) to get the townsfolk to throw out the paladin, and extinguish the treant.  Brian S.' druid swore an oath against the humans at this point though the rest of the group stayed for a week in the town, teaching the people the ways of the elves, so they could co-exist with nature. The party headed back home, but intercepted a platoon of the Army of Darkness.  The fallen paladin (defeated earlier in talk bat) joined forces with the green dragon first met at the Crypt, and using the platoon as a distraction, flanked the party.  That combat lasted something like 3 hours.  It was quite the something.  Eventually the paladin and dragon fled (they had about 15hp left between them, but I think it was more than the party had -- total).  The party, I think, drank something like 20 potions of healing during the battle.  Bryan K. may have been the only one of the four that didn't end up in single-digit hit points sometime during combat.  I know that Ken dropped at least once.  I think Ethan used something like 30 or 40 arrows and Bryan K, at least 20. It was 3am after the battle, and we quit for the evening.  It doesn't seem like we did much, but the 12hrs of play were packed.  Our goofing-off quotient was quite low. Adam

This is what I missed. I did wedding stuff Saturday. It sounds like a lot of fun.The smaller groups are easier to manage. I bet with Alexis and myself gone, the strategy sessions were a bit different. We play the front line grunts. Every one else is basically the stand off and fire at distance type. Hopefully next time I can make it. They will probably schedule the next session the day before our wedding.

ev1

Realizing that fixed Internet sites had become too vulnerable, al Qaeda and its affiliates turned to rapidly proliferating jihadist bulletin boards and Internet sites that offered free upload services where files could be stored. The outside attacks on sites like Alneda.com "forced the evolution of how jihadists are using the Internet to a more anonymous, more protected, more nomadic presence," said Ben N. Venzke, a U.S. government consultant whose firm IntelCenter monitors the sites. "The groups gave up on set sites and posted messages on discussion boards -- the perfect synergy. One of the best-known forums that emerged after Sept. 11 was Qalah, or Fortress. Registered to an address in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, the site has been hosted in the U.S. by a Houston Internet provider, Everyone's Internet [ev1], that has also hosted a number of sites preaching radical Islam. Researchers who follow the site believe it may be connected to Saad Faqih, a leading Saudi dissident living in exile in Britain. They note that the same contact information is given for his acknowledged Web site and Qalah. Faqih has denied any link. Washington Post

Emphasis is mine.
Crap!!! I've ben telling people use ev1 for years. No more. I think I still have some friends who use this ISP. I used to use them. Crap! my parents used this ISP for a couple of years. I feel like I should spit or something.
There have been a couple of times that I wanted to put a forum on my site. This kind of crap is the reason I do not. I know I would not monitor the discussions close enough to detect someone talking in code.

Behind the scenes
The Texas Renaissance Festival (fair) is a magical place. When you walk through the doors, you loose track of time. The people who put it together do the most wonderful job. I've been to the fair many times over the last thirty years or so. Every single time I've gone it has been a good experience. The only times I've had any kind of trouble, it has been because of factors outside of fair that I brought in with me. Usually women.
Today I saw a glimpse of the other side of the pseud. We went to the grounds today to get a walk through of what is going to happen during the wedding and to get a general pep-talk. They have been doing this for several years. They seem to have the system down. During the tour, I got to view the dressing rooms. They are straight to the right of the entrance. You walk through the wall to the other side. To the place on the other side. A place a bit closer to reality.
Now, I'm all excited. I can't wait.

Wedding
92 days to go.

Sub
Finally, some good news. It is hard to find good news these days. I'm glad this did not end like a similar situation a couple of years ago.

DnD
I did not go to DnD. I had too much wedding stuff to do. I may not go back to DnD. I just don't have the time.

Wedding Cake
Holy shit!! Wedding cakes are expensive. I remarked to Nat last night that I am going to mutter the amount that I just paid for a couple of cakes on my deathbed. ".. for two cakes... uuuhh ... ..."

Camera
Well, I'm a nerd. I'm watching my camera come in from Oklahoma City (1:11 am). It is this side of Dallas (5:31 am) as I type. I can't believe I'm watching it travel south. I wonder if it is heading out today or sitting on a dock for a week? I hate that. I hope they keep it out of he elements. Oh well, back to work.

Allergies
Nat is allergic to gold. we have decided to buy silver rings until we can afford platinum next year. I can't find a bunch of information on the net, but it looks like nickel is the real culprit. Who knows? I have trouble with tomatoes. I can eat a bite or two, but if I eat too much (not even that much) I get terrible indigestion. What in the world are you supposed to do about these things? I have a life to live. I don't want to worry about stupid things like "no tomatoes please."

DnD
DnD is coming up this weekend. We have a meeting with the TRF folks Saturday morning to go over wedding stuff. I hope I can make it back before it gets too late for a rousing game of hack and slash. I am completely lost as far as the plot points of the game. I have been so busy taking care of life that I have not had even close to enough time to mess with anything entertainment related. I have to do some reading. I will not have time. I barely have time to sleep.

No wonder this guy got shot
Steven Vincent dished the dish. He told it loud and proud. Then, he was murdered for it.

Yours from the land of the no-show employee, back-door pay-out, paper corporation and unbalanced books (but don't you dare wear too short an abiya!)... In the Red Zone

That is the last paragraph of one of his last blog entries. The blog talks about the realities of getting things done in Iraq. He covers gangs, corrupt officials, armed thugs, and stupid Americans. The world has lost a straight shooter.

Salad
I've been eating these freaky salads for lunch lately. My office has a cafeteria and a not too frightening salad bar. Here is what goes on my salad on an average day.

• lettuce (Got to start somewhere.)
• Mushrooms (Just a couple.)
• Broccoli (I like fresh raw broccoli.)
• Green olives (I like green olives.)
• Black olives (I like black olives, but not as much as green olives.)
• Peas (Yes, peas, I like peas.)
• Corn
• Carrot slivers
• Fruit (They have random chunks of fruit available. I normally grab some.)
• Cottage Cheese (It is there, I grab some. It is pretty good smeared all over other stuff. It tastes pretty good on broccoli oddly enough.)
• These stringy crunchy things.
• A dash of feta cheese (For a kick.)
• One boiled egg. (I could eat a bowl full of boiled eggs some days.)
• All drown in Italian/vinaigrette dressing. (I try to miss the cottage cheese.)
  

It is kind of hard to look at. I just pile everything in and prey. I should have taken a picture for posterity. I hope there is nothing too strange on that list. I don't know if this is any more healthy than say a chilly cheese burger. I like it and it is thick with vegetables. It is also $5.00 for a large salad (I load it down too) and a drink.

Scripting (boring)
I do a lot of VBS (Visual Basic Scripting) at work. It is painfully tedious. The worst thing is, I'm quite good at it. I can get scripts to do those things that computers are supposed to do out of the box, but don't. Most of the programming I do is the following.
* Moving files around

Nothing complex really. Find out if a file is on a server. If it is, copy it to a place on the local computer.
Replace files that are out of date.
Find files that are lost.

* Manipulating shortcuts

Man, people love moving shortcuts around. The vendors should be reprimanded for never putting them in the right spot.
Creating shortcuts on the fly.

* Modifying the registry or configuration files

Windows does not exist without the Registry. It is just a database full of settings and every move you make is stored somewhere in it's bowls.

* detecting trouble and heading it off

Users have an amazing ability to mess things up. Sometimes they don't even mean too. It is my job to write code that trys to intercept problems by the above skills and head them off at the pass.

* answering questions for the users

I have become the front line support for software installs. The art (not science) of software distribution takes years to learn. It takes longer to get any good at it.

That's it. There ain't much more. Of course, I also do database programming and data migration. I support an antiquated VMS database that, though not one line of code has changed in nearly ten years, finds new ways to confound the users. Oh, and answer every random question in the place.
Such is me.

Video Camera
I ordered the video camera. It is not the highest rated camera, but I don't have the $1000 to get one of those. I need an intro camera that I can learn with. If I start making money with the damn thing I'll get something that is worth the effort. I'm getting it from a brick and mortar vendor via the Internet. I gave up on buying it from a person on eBay. I'm learning there are some things that you save money on with eBay and some things that basically sell for retail. I really think some of those cameras on eBay are stolen. They nick the camera. They turn in the rebate then fence the camera on eBay. How convenient. I have a problem buying a camera that just might be stolen.

Wedding
97 days and counting. We have four kilts to obtain. We have rings to worry about. We have to get a dragon suit for the ring barer. We have to find some wings for Elle. Oh, and the nine million other things to take under consideration. It is exciting. Trying, but exciting.