KasperEctomy

Ahhhh work

2009-07-22T13:28:00.001-04:00

5000+ work hours and 50,000+ pages spent to inform 5000 people:

1) do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
2) if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all.
3) play nice.

How many other places are going through this?
Isn't this the part parents are supposed to be teaching their children?

Is this a sign of the collapse of civilisation?

A New Age

2009-01-20T12:50:00.001-05:00

Maybe. I think we are in for a rough ride, but I like the somber, hopeful tone we are starting out on.

Our expectation list for Obama

2009-01-20T12:49:00.001-05:00

1pm the economy back on-track

1:20pm end the war in afghanistan

1:30pm end the war in iraq

1:45pm world peace

2:00pm nap time.

Happy Holidays

2008-12-27T12:18:00.002-05:00

So to all Happy Holidays and to me a good Knight (sorry WOW) reference.

The Christmas season is here and nearly over. Any of you with out of state relatives know that the holiday is not over until the last straggler has left your happy home.

Since my parents and nephews are still here we are still CELEBRATING!!!!

I thought I needed to post this because, well, I haven't written in a while and a quick google search turned up nothing helpful, surprise surprise, on a windows mail error.

Dad brought his laptop, he is a comcast subscriber, not going there, we are optonline.

Windows mail kept giving him this error message:

Socket error: 10061

And this error code: 0x800CCC08

Basically, dad is unable to send mail out from comcast from anywhere other than Panera Breads wi-fi or home.

The reason for this is:

1) Windows sucks? Windows firewall software is waaaaayyy too draconian?

2) Microsoft still hasn't figured out how to write error messages that are helpful?

No and yes. Really what it is is the way mail servers work and the domains you are connecting to them from.

I switched dad's outgoing smtp port to 587.

I turned on SSL on the incoming connection.

Vîola, he can SEND and receive all his email.

If you want a quick overview of why this works:

His mail client, Windows Mail, is now logging into the outgoing server everytime he sends mail.

Using port 25, the default, he was only asking to use the server not actually telling it he was authorized.

So, if Windows mail is giving you connection errors it may be because you need to switch outgoing SMTP ports from 25 to 587.

Only in america

2008-10-08T11:26:00.004-04:00

The Dow tanks and we are NOT objectifying young women.

Lingerie Football

Video Mostly in German but you can the idea.

Oh those Physicists.

2008-10-06T10:48:00.001-04:00

Will the cover this on I Bet You?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_censorship_hypothesis

http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/preskill/old_naked_bet.html

http://www.theory.caltech.edu/people/preskill/new_naked_bet.html

Oh the Humanity

2008-10-06T09:55:00.001-04:00

http://artoftheiphone.com/

At least I am assured that none of my relatives in IL were involved in this incident.

Happy Anniversaaaaaaaaarrrreeeeeee

2008-07-28T10:12:00.001-04:00

Happy 75th Anninversary to the singing telegram. Reportedly, send to Rudi Vali on his birthday from an adoring fan.

Back in the US again

2008-07-25T16:28:00.001-04:00

good to be home and too sleep in my own bed. but i really miss Germany.
Striking Difference:
On the plane to Germany we were fed twice. Each was a meal. When they
came to collect the trash I neatly stacked all my things with Lars'.
The attendant said "No, please don't do that. We need to separate them."
On the way to the US, we had 1 meal and 1 "sandwich" and about 500
glasses of water, if you wanted them.
When I left the meal trays separated for trash collection the
attendant just grabbed everything in one heap and tossed it.

Hmm......

Wow less day hmm

2008-07-05T22:14:00.001-04:00

So I have stopped counting seconds since I last entered WoW.
Well, ok I was never counting seconds or minutes but, I have lost
track of the days. This is a good sign, right?
Now it could be because I have been busy, or not sleeping, or
sleeping too much, or trying to prepare for a trip abroad, or that I
have purchases 2 ds's for the kids and trying to get them at least
caught up so they can trade with their cousins starting on Tuesday,
or .. well that's about it.

I have been reading more wowinsider.com it's almost a daily stop now.
And I miss my wow friends, but I have rediscovered my family.. ok not
really. Because I usually only played after they were asleep, the
kids at least.

So the new printer is installed and Karen can actually use this one..
yeah!!!

Back to finishing up the Desperate Housewives season.

NHL surprise UFAs

2008-07-02T11:34:00.001-04:00

Joe Sakic - veteran --- could be a big help to a young team. Chris Drury type, tons of experience
Andre Zyuzin - I know his play has been inconsistent but when he's on ... he's hot.

Yanic Perrault - Buffalo?? hello? he wins face offs.
Kevyn Adams - Native son? Hello?
Glen Metropolit - hmm.... TAKEN by Philly uh-oh
Mark Streit - seriously??? The big shot from the point on the PP? - TAKEN: Islanders
Yann Danis - the other next patick roy
Patrice Brisebois?
Markus Naslund
Doug Weight - another c with experience and he knows how to close the deal
Bret Hedican - hmm
Ladislav Nagy - hmm
Brooks Orpik -
Sean Avery - not a surprise, but who wants him now?
Chris Chelios - retiring?

Waiting on goodbyes to sabres

2008-07-02T11:10:00.001-04:00

Kalinin, Pratt, Teppo and Michael Ryan - all UFAs.

I expect to see Kalinin leave.
I expect to see Pratt go.
I am very sorry if Teppo goes, I think we need more experience on the blue and he has it in spades. Maybe he'd stay as a coach.
Michael Ryan will be the hardest one to see go, he's going to be a star in the NHL.

Day 3 - WoWlessness

2008-07-02T09:05:00.002-04:00

I have successfully fended off the urge to install a different copy of WoW on a 2nd hard drive and use 1 of the 10 10 day passes I have.

so far.....

20+ day no WoW experiment

2008-07-01T13:42:00.004-04:00

Ok, so it's not really an experiment, more like a forced vacation.

I am in day 2 and so far.. I have read every single article on wowinsider.com that I can find on tanking.

I have made notes. I have written, copied, and modified macros for future use.

I have planned the time and day of the purchase of the next 60-day card.

I left Ironforge mounted, near a mailbox and ready to hit the AH for some new tanking gear.

Translation- I am in the city of Ironforge, the dwarven capital (home of the displaced gnomes), on my lvl 60 Swift Stormsaber mount, near a mailbox ( my mail will have approximately 1 day left before it gets deleted) and ready to go the Auction house to look for all the new gear I have

to buy to become a really effective warrior character for small and large group dungeons.

I have revamped all my talents to become a good tank.

I have made this post. I have updated my addon files and I have added 2 new ones to try out when I get back.

I have NOT exploded, started drooling, or had hot flashes. Yet.

My character is linked here.

Talent tree is here.

Ok so that completes 2 days without wow.

Check back for further updates.

Poor Rhett

2008-06-27T13:31:00.001-04:00

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=15909

Sad for Rhett he was a good Sabre.

Quoted from http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=15888
TJ Brennan and Nathan Gerbe were the last two players to leave the ice after Day 1 of camp. Stafford had to yell at them to clear out so trhat the zamboni guy could flood.

Have to remember....

2008-06-27T13:13:00.001-04:00

to check out the blog of Brazen Careerist

Interesting program on NPR via WNYC this AM. I think it was On the Media, but I am not sure.

oh no twitter

2008-06-27T13:10:00.003-04:00

I forgot to setup a twitter email.. darn darn darn.

How am I supposed to twitter without one?

I also need to RSS heliocity .net - so I can find out all the hype on the OZII

Seatbelts a Good Idea and other stuff

2008-01-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

Not really sure Why I add links here.... no one reads this anyway but..

Here's an ad we will probably never see in the US, but I think it really hammers the point home.
It's a bit graphic, but that's the point.

No seatbelt no excuse

Keeping with our car theme of 2008 in case you have a dead battery and a bottle of red wine

charge my battery
May also work on your spouse. I give the nod on this one to GeeksAreSexy. Thanks.

Again from geeksr a good article on how to fix scratches on cd/dvds:

fix cds

This car looks like fun but I have 2 kids and 3 hockey bags. It won't work.

Aptera

More later.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Probably the last for 07

2007-12-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

hmm so I had to post this new baby bathtub, because I wish I had one.
For myself.....

http://www.gizmodiva.com/home_improvement/baby_bath_with_an_unlikely_form.php

Genetic Testing for Presidential Candidates

2007-12-13T00:12:00.000-05:00

I think that all Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates should be required to submit to genetic testing after this recent discovery. The article is from Nature but is summarized thusly at slashdot.org:

"A December 6th article in Nature explores the relationship between a specific gene and those of us prone to repeatedly making the same mistakes. From the article: "Drug addicts, alcoholics and compulsive gamblers are known to be more likely than other people to have this genetic mutation ..." The gene results in the development of fewer D2 receptors in the brain, a condition which the study has shown leads to a lessened ability to learn from experience."

If we had required genetic testing of all Presidential candidates prior to this time we might not now have a currency of lesser value than Canada's. Well, it was.. today it's worth $1.01 Canadian. Check out this exchange rate table: http://www.x-rates.com/cgi-bin/cgicalc.cgi?value=1&base=USD

On another, happier note, I received email today from Maytag:

"'Important Safety Notice: Fire Risk – Do Not Use Certain Maytag Brand and Jenn-Air Brand Under Counter and Portable Plastic Tub Dishwashers.

Dear Valued Customer:
...Liquid rinse-aid can leak from the dispenser of certain Maytag brand and Jenn-Air brand dishwashers and come into contact with the dishwasher’s internal wiring which can short-circuit and ignite, posing a fire hazard....

For your safety and until we determine if your dishwasher is affected, you should:

· Immediately stop using the dishwasher.
- Oops I can't it already caught fire and was replaced. There will be a link here when my wife writes her blog about this event.

· Disconnect the electric supply to the dishwasher by shutting off the fuse or circuit breaker controlling it. If you need help or are uncomfortable with disconnecting the electric supply, please call Maytag Corporation toll free at 1-800-675-0535.

- Disconnected and replaced with a Fisher-Paykel Dishdrawer.

· Inform all users of the dishwasher not to use the dishwasher due to the risk of fire.

- Ok, I don't know if you use a Maytag or Jenn-Air dishwasher, but if you do.. HEY IT MIGHT CATCH FIRE. STOP USING THE DARN DISHWASHER.
There that should suffice.

More later.

$17

2007-10-19T12:56:00.000-04:00

So the other day I got my haircut. This is not usually a big deal but when your hairdresser for the day speaks very little english and the last time you used your high school spanish was while you were in Germany. Communication can be, let's say, dicey.
Despite my non-practice with Spanish I was able to communicate briefly on a present-tense-only 1st-grade level.
As it was I managed to get a very nice haircut. As I always do there, practice my spanish, make a new friend and have the shock of my life.

$17 for a hair $5 tip included is a great deal in NJ. I did not go for the shampoo, but there is no additional charge for that. What I did get was: a haircut, a hair cologne (vuele rico), my eyebrows trimmed and my nose hairs cut. Shock!
I don't know if you have ever trimmed your own nose hairs, if you have you understand what is involved. If not let me explain.
First, you need a small pair of scissors or one of those designed to trim nose hairs nose hair trimmers.
Second, you have to understand that nose hairs play an very important role in the control cycle of sneezing.
Third, you should have some practice trying to stop yourself from sneezing.
Fourth, you really only want to trim the nose hairs a little way back into the nose. Imagine stick the scissors in to get the really deep hair and then having a 2 year old run into the back of your legs unexpectedly. Granted you may not have a 2 year old running around but I think you get the idea.
Fifth, it will get progressively harder to see the hairs you are trimming as the tears begin to well up in your eyes.

That outlined, imagine now that someoneelse is sticking hair clipping scissors up your nose, uninvited and unexpectedly, and then trimming.
This was shock, and, because of the language diffuculty there was no way for me to express my desire not to have hair scissors in my nose. Of course, you say, why didn't you just back up or move the scissors. Well, that's not really a good question because if you think about it for a second well....

Irregardless, I did, for a very short time know the spanish word for nose hair, should I ever want them trimmed "professionally" again.

EEK!!

In other news the black walnut that put a 9" diameter c-shaped crack in my windshield has had it's handiwork repaired for less than the dealer wanted. So I am happy.

Now it's back to zamboni'ing, mite hockey, and finding a phone to replace the dead one.

Peace out

WOW!!! How could you pass this up!

2007-08-02T23:52:00.000-04:00

www.joltfinder.com - Find Jolt for yourself and link places that sell Jolt.

Jolt btw is produced by wetplanet.com

Howdy folks

2007-07-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

Just a bunch of quick links...

This is kind of a scary picture.. people under driving age or the influence should probably avoid looking HERE.

On a nicer note: A full mammoth baby corpse has been found in russia. Yeah we can get mammoth back just in time for a new Ice Age. Link to Slashdot article.

We found water on a planet outside our solar system. Also a Slashdot article.

The Smart Car is coming to America. The Schedule for the Tour is at this link. I have loved this car's concept since I saw it in Berlin oh... 9 years ago. Unfortunately, I don't think it will work in a family with 4 hockey players. Even if 2 of them are very short. If the tour comes by you, you should check it out....
PS: The Smart tour is in Edison this weekend... well ok Red Bank. But, what's an hour on the GS P to a car fanatic? Well, considering it's one of the last weekend before school resumes, the NJ shore is likely to be empty. I really wish there was a sarcasm tag, maybe in HTML 5?

This just looks like FUN...

I think that's it for now...
I might get a post up tomorrow about my experiences with an iPhone or 3... I don't own one ....yet..

Things

2007-05-31T22:54:00.000-04:00

I am not going to post tonight. I am instead going to go play need for speed underground2.

Oh and wait for more rain. And maybe have a scotch. And congratulate my wife on her new blog award from rising blogger. I would post a link but I can't, I can't find the page.

That said I must also add: THANK YOU SABRES!!! GO Ducks. Sorry we didn't get to beat, um, meet you in the finals. Maybe next year.

I think I need sleep but maybe not.

Love to y'all.

Interesting links

2007-03-28T11:57:00.001-04:00

Darth Duck Fader - hmm http://www.gadgets.co.uk/item/DUCKVADER/Darth-Duck-Fadar.html

Not your typical frat house. http://media.www.michigandaily.com/media/storage/paper851/news/2007/03/26/Crime/Masturbating.Trespasser.Booted.From.Frat-2791352.shtml

Books and Words

2007-03-20T12:53:00.000-04:00

I write.

Almost constantly.

Jotting down notes, phrases, words, word pairs on any scrap of paper I have, can scrounge or pirate.

I don't type, though I type faster than I write. My handwriting is atrocious. I write left handed, that only partially explains the level of illegibility that my handwriting has achieved. Mostly my handwriting is so bad because I can not write fast enough to keep up with the thoughts in my head. Typing is not fast enough either. I'd like to tape everything I write but I'd never convert them from audio format to written. Most of the time I write without ever lifting the pen/cil from the paper because it wastes time, causes me to lose my thought. I don't like to leave the paper when I start writing. Worst of all is when the muse strikes and I am not in a position to write. Like when driving. The reason for this is I know that the thought, once gone will be very difficult, if not impossible, to resurrect.

That autobiographical piece of clap trap aside. Every once in a while you start to read a book and are so engrossed by it that when you close the book it's two days later and you have no idea that you finished the book. It's life becomes yours and yours becomes it. You are one entity. Are there websites that have this effect or is there something about the physicality of the book that makes this oneness possible?
Recently there have been books that have done this for me. J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Cornelia Funke's InkHeart and Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale.

I just needed to make this post now and get the words out of my head. Now it's time to do something I hope will be productive.

At some point I will start a new page for my random scribblings.

Ahh, the lighter side of life

2007-03-09T18:39:00.000-05:00

This product probably won't make much splash in the mainstream media, so I will link to it here.
This is a product, btw they are looking for beta-testers, that might help the less well-endowed woman be more popular. The Wine Rack, it's sibling the Beer Belly, is apparently for the well-endowed male who would like to increase his endowment.

I wonder if these are legal in airplanes?

On a (somewhat) lighter note

2007-02-23T13:59:00.000-05:00

Apparently, Chimps have started making spears and hunting small animals. Next they'll want to drive cars.
I wonder if this is nuture or nature? Whose fault is it?
It may be time to start bombing the chimps:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/22/AR2007022201007.html

Back in the Day or Things I own the Children may NOT touch anymore

2007-02-11T23:09:00.000-05:00

So, as many of you know Hockey is in my life.
But my association with hockey is not only deep, but also long lasting. My wife and both children play, I drive the zamboni at the local arena, I am also team manager (by virtue of volunteering) of the boys' team, I am a fan of junior hockey, little people hockey, amateur hockey and professional hockey ( this include semi-pro, international and college). Ok, so enough. No I don't play.
That is another long story but suffice it to say my parents decided to traumatize my life in the manner that was most popular, back in the day, orthodonture. Now hockey and braces are incompatible except with a, *GASP*, full face cage... EEEK yes they had invented them that long ago. My parent even made me play street hockey with the durned thing. Unfortunately I was not wearing the day the older, teenage hockey playing, brother of my elementary grade classmate and friend, hit me in the nose with a slapshot driven frozen tennis ball. To my credit I did stop the shot. My soccer goalie career also had a similar save, I am, lifetime, 1 for 1 on penalty kicks. I have my nose to thank.

It occurred to me today, this evening, actually, that I had been meaning to look up information on a hockey team my longest known associate had taken me to with her, I believe, grandfather back in Binghamton, NY sometime back in the day. Now, I know the name of the team, the Broome County Dusters, which seems like an awfully long name with a silly logo, but I enjoyed the game immensely and I got to bring home a puck with their logo. Now, I don't recall how I came to be the owner of the puck but I have cherished it for many years. Being old now I have forgotten just how many years but the puck has moved with me many times.
The boys have taken to using it in the basement while practicing something about hockey. Mostly, I think it's faceoffs and slapshots (thank goodness for glassblock windows).
After having delved into google for the information I sought I was SHOCKED, I say SHOCKED to learn that I must have earned this puck sometime between 1977 and 1979. This puck has been with me nigh, yes I said nigh, on 30 years. I had to use numbers you really don't get the same effect from "thirty years" as you do from "30 years", although I realize that numerals probably is not good writing etiquette.
So the boys are no longer allowed to play with a puck that is 30 years old and now a remnant of days gone by. The Broome County Dusters became the Binghamton Dusters, became the Binghamton Whalers, became the Binghamton Rangers and then moved to Hartford, CT in 1997 to become the Hartford Wolf Pack, farm team to the New York Rangers, whom Ross Loves.
Now this gets a little crazy but, a woman I work with has 2 sons, not so unusual you say, but one of them, the younger, plays hockey. He happens to be very good, and when I started working with her he played for the Hartford Junior Wolf Pack. Essentially, they are a farm team for the Wolf Pack proper. Unfotunately, he no longer plays for them, though he is still playing and hoping for that big break. I wish him the best of luck.
And so now my story has come full circle to the puck, which is appropriate since the puck is a circle.

blogosphere

2007-02-11T22:33:00.000-05:00

So I have done so trolling (or is that trawling) around the blogspot-ophere... and found this blog.
http://www.actualaliens.com/.

Lars recently has taken to using the expression "Bullseye!" when something is really exciting.
It's been very weird.

I think that's all for now but I might get a post or two in later.

Way to Go Buffalo, you beer-hounds!

2007-01-25T22:14:00.001-05:00

"'... Canadian commercial culture also plays a part. Regional TV carries binational ads that speak to the inner Canadian in Western New Yorkers, fueling a craving for Tim Hortons doughnuts. ...'"

I Love that "inner Canadian"... it's soo true.

Say...What??!?!?

2007-01-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

This evening driving home from fitting Ross for Goalie gear, eee Gods, there was some traffic back up for some unknown (sic NJ) reason.

I: "'What is with all the heavy traffic?!!?'" in expasperation.
Ross: "'Don't ask me, I don't know. It's like you asking a goldfish to build a bonfire.'"

Tonight while watching the Young Stars NHL hockey game one announcer said:
"The hockey gods have flowing robes, some of them are missing teeth, but they still have power."

The U. S. Attorney General, as you may or may not know, has said:
“There is no expressed grant of habeas in the Constitution; there’s a prohibition against taking it away,” Gonzales said.
Here is a link to slashdot and to the article from the Baltimore Chronicle.

The other night, when Karen did not come back for dinner, we had a guys night. Guys night often involved mac and cheese (frozen or made by dad), hot dogs (usually in hot dog blankets, not rolls), or some other "mama is not here let's eat good but not so good food" food. Hot dogs blankets are tortillas, get flour not corn. We also do things like, Remember our manners because mama is not her, spelling tests, math tests, talk about school, talk about xbox, talk about hockey, and eat. I spend a lot of time saying things like: "no more talking, eat your dinner", "eat your dinner", and "eat your dinner". Actually that part is like a dinner with Karen.
This evening we are trying to help Ross prepare for an upcoming spelling test:
I: Ross spell house.
R: Hoeus.
I: Ross spell howse. (you try the phonetic pronounciation)
R: hose.. no heous...
I: Ross spell mouse.
R: M O U S E
I: Spell Louse
R: L O U S E
I: Spell grouse
R: G R O U S E
I: Spell spouse (the previous 2 he had never seen or heard, to my knowledge. 1st try not bad)
R: S P O U S E ... Daddy tell me to spell sprouse... tell me to spell sprouse.
I: Ok, Ross spell sprouse. (Ok, I've never heard the word but according to Dictionary.com nevermind it's not really a word. back to the conversation.)
- Sprouse illicits some giggles from both boys and a very strange look from me.
back to the word we were working on now that the last exercise went so well.
I: Ross spell each.
R: ech
I: Ross spell peach. (Ross is notorious for his fruit lovingness, so I figured pick a fruit that's close.)
R: peeeech
I: Ross spell peach
R: pe.
Lars interrupting: It rhymes with apricot.

At this point all hope was lost and Lars fell out his chair laughing after I became so bamboozled by this statement well,
Ok, you can close your mouth now. It's not true peach does not rhyme with apricot.
At the time I couldn't think of a single thing that did either. For the past 2 weeks this has been a running joke with Lars whenever anyone tries to spell something Lars says "It rhymees with apricot."

Things I feel you might need to know

2007-01-23T10:35:00.000-05:00

If you play hockey and have compression pants, it's best to turn them inside out before throwing them in the washer. This way the velcro that holds up your socks doesn't grab all your other clothing and rip it to shreds.

I did some more modding of the template, if you change your browser size the proportions will remain the same.

Procrastination or Why I am not organized

2007-01-17T16:46:00.000-05:00

So I was responding to a college roommates email in which I mentioned I have this website with pictures of the kids playing hockey. This is only of interested because her husband and sons all play. When I mentioned this it occurred to me that I had not posted any new pictures and there are some good ones of Ross in his goalie gear for the first time.
So I opened my photo library program (iphoto, if you must know) and discovered 12,000 pictures in one library and multiple duplicates. So after 2 hours of sorting, a quick trip to the library and then getting the boys off the bus I still haven't finished the email.

And the hutch thing is here... I have nowhere to put it....

(grammatically incorrect, poetically correct)

Procrastination .. or reasons I don't sleep

2007-01-16T21:56:00.000-05:00

Instead of SketchUp'ing the changes we want to make to the house, all I have so far is measurements but I am getting there, I have discovered:

1) The webcams over looking Main Street where I spent my teenage years
Webcam1
Webcam2

2) convinced someone to come build a new bunk bed for the boys.
3) Sent email to people.
4) Drunk a glass of wine.
5) IM'd more people (GTALK kasperectomy - like that took brain power)

6) Decided to add these links to /. (slashdot.org) stories about global warming
Positive - New Islands I love the name: Uunartoq Qeqertoq: the warming island
Negative - Lost Islands, what a Christmas present
7) The LA Kings, now have an NHL first - a Japanese goalie. Not a great start but it's a tough job.

8) blogged

9) watched Boston Legal.

Now I have to get back to what I should have been doing all this time.

Why do I even bother no one reads this and if they do I wonder why?

NHL, here's my offering for your re-scheduling.

2007-01-14T10:30:00.000-05:00

The NHL is looking for a way to revamp their schedule, to reorganize and to make the league more marketable to a wider audience. This means finding a way to compete with Basketball, Football and Baseball.

One of their most widely publicized revampings includes moving teams, changing from 3 divisions per conferece to 2, and scheduling all teams to play each other at least once. The only reason I can see for changing the number of divisions is to create space for 2 new teams. Hey, I like expansion but I don't think we are there yet. And 3 divisions allows for greater expansion than 2 divisions.

So here's my idea.

Last of 2006

2006-12-31T21:36:00.000-05:00

This is my last post of 2006 because I will not be able to post in about 10 minutes.

Shhh, Epiphany does not know I am typing this.

So, things I have learned... You can buy Inflatable Nativity Scenes.. Managers and all.. I will have to post pics later. (Unfortunately, I did not get over to the house that had the inflatable so I have not got any pictures to post.)

HoneyPot is a semi-cool game unless you are colour blind, in which case, you need to make some changes.

Champagne should not be drunk before midnight of the time zone you are in for New Year's....

Children can make you laugh.. at yourself even.

When a 6 year old can beat you at a strategy game you need more sleep.

Friends are fun.... good friends are more fun... no one should have to be up this late when the Bills lose.

Go Sabres this might be your Year, at least it's been a blast.
A word to the current team.. if you don't win the Cup make sure you do everything you can to stay together...... it's been too much fun....

Why I stopped making resolutions. Or claim to.

2006-12-22T14:16:00.000-05:00

FORMAT of this blog:
1) Resolution
a) reason this won't happen

NOTE Work in progress will continue until 12/31/2006 at which point I may be very, very tired and a bit drunik.

So this year, as always, I resolve to:

1) Correspond more frequently both analog and digital.
a) Life
b) See 2 below.

2) Be more organized.
a) Not now, how am I going to get organized enough to be organized. At this point it would take a fleet of monkeys in business suits to get me to the point where I could see where I should start being organized. This is not a good trait for someone who claims to be "organized" on his resume.

3) Spend more time with my wife.
a) She'd have to quit her job, hockey, and spending time with the kids. Note this is time ALONE with my wife.

4) Spend more time with my kids.
a) They'd have to drop out of school, ain't gonna happen. I'd have to go to school with them, see prior statement. I'd have to figure out how to spend time with each boy separately and still get some sleep.

5) I won't tell you.

6) I have no more I can make before Midnight....

7) I won't buy a pickup truck this year.

What I won't be getting for Christmas

2006-12-14T13:03:00.001-05:00

Mostly because it's not available yet.. but just wait until I have a job....

Lumus Micro Optical glasses.

Oh and my wife has a kitchen...

A man's gotta have priorities.

Back to laundry...

What my kids Won't be getting this year!

2006-12-14T08:20:00.000-05:00

A healthy dose of religious intolerant video games:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/12/MNG8TMU1KQ1.DTL

Notable quote: '....But Plugged In, a publication of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, gave the game a "thumbs-up." The reviewer called it "the kind of game that Mom and Dad can actually play with Junior -- and use to raise some interesting questions along the way."...'

Hmm what kind of questions could we be raising here?
Does Jesus want me to use a machine gun to spread my faith?
Does the Anti-Christ really control rock stars?
Why are they selling this game?
Why can't the Anti-Christ win?

Makes you wonder doesn't it?

woo-hoo this blogger needs more hits

2006-11-30T22:26:00.000-05:00

http://dustonthestylus.blogspot.com/

Thought provoking or Stupid?

2006-11-30T22:06:00.000-05:00

I think I will start a new blog sensation RIGHT NOW!!!!

Here are some questions you decide if they are:
Thought provoking OR stupid.

Of course, if you answer stupid then the question may just get stuck in your head like that song "Windmills in your Mind"

1) What colour is Time?

2) Why is there Air?

3)

Hmm I will need to keep updating this.

It's been awhile.

2006-11-30T20:58:00.000-05:00

I was just catching up on some dvr'd shows. One was a Nova scienceNow about death and destruction. One show was about greenhouse gases and the end of the Permian age. In short, up to 95% of all life on earth at the time (250,000,000 years ago) for some, hitherto, unexplained reason. Although the reason is still unknown there is, at least in Nova's mind, a strong canidate. Again, the greenhouse gas thing. Kind of scary, but then again so was the CDC/1918 flu/avian flu article. As you may or may not be aware the CDC holds some samples of the deadliest viruses and bacteria known to the world. One of these was reconstructed from DNA from World War I vets. Weehoo!!! Now a reconstructed virus might not sound exciting but when that virus is one that killed nearly 50,000,000 people you get the idea. So if we can reconstruct this deadly virus and then store it for fun and research why can't we do it with others? Well, the short answer is: WE CAN! And we do. So not to get too far of topic, these two articles got me to thinking.
I hear the collective uh-oh out there in cyberspace but be patient this will really bore you.

Ok so, uh-oh tangetiallizing..... _Happy Feet_ is a cute movie, there are probably better ones out there now but it was worth the afternoon with the kids post dental cleaning. Lars had to, and got to, keep a copy of the film of his "black" tooth. Ok, my wife did not post anything about this story. I was not home so here's the short version: Never go upstairs with your pants around your ankles. OR Pull your pants up if the downstairs bathroom is occupied and you have to use the upstairs one. The movie has a cute story that is rather choppy, Robin Williams is very good and the message is great. I, also, appreciated that the director decided to show that people, when touched, really can make a decision to make a difference. That aside it was a cute movie.

Back to the topic: Nature is a balancing act. A very precise balancing act. If things get out of balance Nature tries to fix this and return everything to its place. This is what ecology is all about, balance. Or in some cases Ballantines, but hey that's a different story altogether. Speaking of which, if you follow that last link make sure to keep your date of birth as the current year. That should really skew their data. Kudos to Ballantines for having a good check on ages. Oh well.... Turkmenistand, according to Ballantines has a drinking age of around 19.
so again, nature, balance, balancing act, humans. Ahh that's right.
So if nature is so much about balance and evolution, is one of those methods of maintaining balance how did humans get to the point we are at?
Humans are probably the only creature in the history of our planet that has had the ability to change, not only the planet but how nature re-balances. We can recreate, reconstruct, deconstruct and destroy. We constantly re-balance Nature and force Nature to re-balance right back. How do we, as a species, rate so much more highly than the other life on the planet, or do we? Has all other life evolved to the point where they understand that "fighting" Nature is not how things should be done, or have they never reached the point of having the ability to "fight" Nature. Should we, as a species go back and learn how to live in the system of Nature, or should we, as seems to be out wont, continue to strive to make life bend to our collective will?
Should we continue to push Nature, to see how pliant, complacent, "non-violent", and reactionary it is? So that we can see what happens to us, as a species, when Nature really decides to hit back?
I don't know. I like the internet, I have a feeling that really wasn't in Nature's game plan.
But, do we as a species, just from our mere existence, negate the balance Nature has established, and if so, do we also have the ability to correct that negation? Or do we need to have a species cleansing extinction for the balance to be re-established?

Hmm....

On a side note the NHL will be changing their uniform styles League wide with the debut of these new "sweaters" at the NHL All-Star Game. This game should showcase the best of the best in the best of all possible worlds scenario, if you choose to watch one hockey game this year. This would be it.

Hey, I won't apologize for all the links, that's what HTML is for right?!?!

Columbus Day, it sure is windy!

2006-10-15T12:44:00.000-04:00

So, because it's Columbus Day the kids have no school and we are out grocery shopping.
On the way home, with all the car windows down, it was beautiful... I hear this voice leaning in from the back seat:
Ross: "Daddy, do you know why it's so windy today?"

Me: "No."
R: "It's Columbus' birthday day. And the gods made him a birthday cake. And he's blowing out the candles."
Me: "Oh."
R: "Because Columbus is a god now and he's huge."
Me: "Really? I didn't know that Columbus was a god."
R: "Well he's a spirit in Heaven and when you are in Heaven you are ginormous."
Me: "I will have to remember that."

And from the other seat came silence, looking in the rearview I see Lars noting all of this mentally and filing it for future use. I can't wait for that to come out in school. I hope next Columbus day is just as windy.

Sabres

2006-10-15T12:39:00.002-04:00

Go Sabres! Off to a great start so far.. keep playing like it's Game 7 and you'll do fine!!!

They haven't played as well as I think they can yet and they keep giving up early goals but it's exciting hockey!!! The NHL has got to be loving this team and so should the fans.

The End of the world as We know it?!

2006-10-10T09:30:00.001-04:00

I own a shingle ripper and I know how to use it!!!!

This made bode well or poorly for life as we know it now.

**NOTE: this does not constitute an endorsement for Lowes® unless you need shingle ripper.
**

Tea vs. Coffee

2006-09-29T09:39:00.001-04:00

Since the arrival of our Gnomish Codpiece of Protection +2 and
Caffeine Infusion +6 I have been drinking more tea. Also my wife
discovered, because of my mother (are you sensing a theme here?), a
wonderful earl grey and that has contributed to my increase in tea
consumption greatly.

It is drizzily, miserable and wet here. This morning I was unable to
make coffee before having to take Ross to the bus stop, so when I
returned I made tea instead. This is good and the tea, although
caffeinated, is more of a comfort food then a "wake up and getting
going" drink.

My wife, sometime between the time we started dating and the time we
cohabitated, converted me to a coffee drinker. i have never regretted
that switch, but I have missed drinking tea. I was a tea drinkier,
because of my mother, all my young life and it was a transition into
adulthood (yeah, right!) that accompanied my coffee drinking.

On a day like today (see above) a hot cup of tea is more relaxing and
reviving than a cup of coffee. I find I don't drink the tea for
drinking the tea it's more about the aroma, the warmth of the mug in
my hand, the memories, and the ambiance.

I am also discovering that mugs are like close, dear friends. I have
found that coffee mugs do not always work with tea and vice versea.
Also, much like alcohol, different coffees/teas taste differently in
that same mug.
That favorite mug for earl grey might not work so well with
darjeeling and not at all with a Guatamalen roast.

Love to all, keep it real y'all.

2006-09-28T14:40:00.000-04:00

Being underemployed is great, especially when the dishwasher decides that it has to go on strike. (Do you hear the scathing sarcasm??!?!? No, well that's ok cuz I don't think it really exists.)

Yes this AM the dishwasher ran for 2 hours and when I opened it was , the darn thing was a furnace and there was no water. Obivously no water had been in it since the soap was lying in a sad and helpless pile just below the door from which it entered.
This is what happens to plasticware left in a dishwasher/kiln.

Now my entire 3 hours of "free time" has been utterly consumed and the children will be getting off the bus shortly after I finish the clean up.

So I did not get to the store or get the house cleaned. There is always tomorrow. :^)

And then next week we have my mother-in-law arriving. Let's hope the dishwasher decides to hold on for a few more weeks.

Maybe the refridgerator will decide that it is ok to make ice again.

Someday we will cabinets that are affixed to the walls and such. That will make the dismantling of the kitchen to reach appliances much much more difficult.

Now if anyone needs a handyman on call.... don't call me... please

Ahhh and there go the neighbors to the bus stop. Ariverderci

*update* so the evening after dinner went like this....
rush to library to pick up books on how to raise crickets. 2 for me and 2 for ross. lars picked 4 different kind of books.
then to michael's for polyfill and a necklace that ross must have for school tomorrow for his plastic hands. turns out he doesn't need them for class just wants to wear them tomorrow. so now he has gold plastic bling with one red and one white plastic hand.
petsmart for cricket food. which prompted lars to inform our cashier that we have two pets a cat named pixie and a cricket who's name is jimmy b.. Our cashier then questioned me as to the veracity and number of pet cricket(s?) we have. I informed her that yes we have a cricket as a pet and it is only one because that one found it in a cricket "egg".

then to michael's 4 bags of polyfill, some iron-on velcro, a plastic necklace and then to wegman's for milk (again), kids toothpaste, sugar cookies and somethign else.

then home.
the day is over. i need to sleep.

I am responsible for my rose...

2006-09-27T20:31:00.000-04:00

When Ross was inutero I started reading to him a story that I have loved very much, though it is often times difficult to understand. Since my wife has been away at a convention she has not been able to keep up her nightly reading to the children. This is a task I have taken up with some enthusiasm and since I found The Little Prince again I decided to read this to them.
Granted a 5 year old may not have a great understanding of the story but a 7 year old finds the little prince to be amusing and also the antics of the adults. I was, I must say, a bit surprised to find that Ross did not see that elephant inside the boa constrictor and yet Lars was a bit more receptive to the idea. Both agreed that it might look like a hat but it could be other things, like a squashy gray rock. In 3 nights we have covered 71 pages and it has made me very happy.
Tonight we read from Asteroid 326 to Earth, past the snake, the roses and ended with the fox.
I wanted to share this:

..."' And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ...
It is the time you have wasted for you rose that makes your rose so important. ...
Men have forgotten this truth, but you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose . . . " '" ...

With that I closed the book. Ross, who was still awake, looked at me and said "'AAhhhh why do I have to go to sleep. '" YAWN
I replied, "Because I am responsilbe for my rose."
"No." said Ross sleepily, "you are responsilbe for me."
"Yes," I said, "I am responsible for my rose and the other one that is already asleep."
"ahh dad.."

Snaps to a home-girl

2006-09-27T16:32:00.000-04:00

Many Thanks go to Ginger for the gnomish cod piece, see below.

hmm did I break blogger?

2006-09-27T09:36:00.000-04:00

For a loong time this last post wouldn't go through. Then it finally
did. I was afraid I broke blogger today.'

Maybe y'all just got a lot of important stuff what to talk about?!?!?!!?

hmm things have been busy here without my wife being home.

redesign

2006-09-27T09:20:00.000-04:00

The css redesign is under way to help bring us in sync with the Buffalo Sabres Go Sabres

It's slow work when you can't spend much time on the project.

more later

booga

2006-09-26T23:11:00.000-04:00

My hair has started turning gray. Well white actually, which is fine with me. I kindof hope that it skips the whole gray nonsense and goes straight to white. My great-grandfather had shocking white hair. I loved it. I have always wished my hair would do that.
What puzzles me is that the white hair always a different texture, different shape then the rest of my hair.
I wonder why that is.

Speaking of which you should really check on Don White. He's very funny.

good night

Hans my happy McDonald's customer

2006-09-02T15:25:00.000-04:00

There are a few of you familiar with the Grimms Maerchen _Hans Mein Igel_ "Hans my hedgehog", so this story from Physorg.com should be very gratifying to you. For those of you who live in the British Isles and love hedgehogs you are very lucky to have the British Hedgehog Preservation Society protecting your wildlife.
I know Physorg.com does have a Blog it link but I like y'all to click through... it's nice.

On the other hand it's raining here and with nothing really much to do I blog. But not for long I am going to play Neverwinter Nights v.168 with Visible Capes. This I think is a great add, along with the bug fixes but there is some unhappiness in the world because of the capes. Apparently you cannot change the capes color nor can you see your wings. Personally, I have not played a character with wings yet so it doesn't bother me.

**after not returning to update this in 3 weeks.. i decided to undraft it***
there you go draft now you're a blog

Or gan I zed?

2006-08-27T23:19:00.000-04:00

Highly doubtful but this weekend I cleaned off a lot of my desk.
I threw out 30+/- 1.4Mb floppy disks...after of course having checked each and every one of them for important information... You have to realize that I have saved almost every single email, yes some of the more notable spam as well, I have ever received.
I have been using computers and email for a looong time.
More than half of my life, and they were new when I was a kid... so...

I did this mostly because I have to and mostly because I learned my town does recycle CDs, floppy disks, computer parts...etc. Of course, they only do this 1 day per month. 1st Saturday from 8am-2pm. Cool I can get this carp out of the house and maybe I will begin to get my life and my desktop back... right!

But this is a HUGE accomplishment, ask my wife or my sister (welcome to the fold).

So enough for now hoping the re-re-rebuilt computer boots the way I want it to next.

TTFN

Like Father, Like Sons

2006-08-23T22:49:00.000-04:00

They said that children reflect their parents.
I am not quite sure how this all happened but it seems to be true....

Recently, my eldest has taken to naming everything Jimmy.
My tendency, as a child, was to name things Jim after my friend's father who was a fireman, and that was the coolest thing ever. I have never mentioned, nor to my recollection has anyone else in my family, to the children this particular quirk of my childhood.

My youngest told me yesterday that "'when I am big I will have a job at Wegmans, a chocolate factory, Dunkin Donuts, as a racer (sic race car driver) and a hockey player. (in the NHL)
Yes, I did ask him if this would be all at the same time and he replied that he would only be able to do one job on a day. Growing up I told my mother that I was "' going to be a hockey man, football man and a baseball man'". Prompting my mother to reply "My, you will be busy."
As the story goes I replied "I will need a car."

It must be genetic. And I wonder where these things would be expressed.

**Addition ***
After I finished adding the links above, it occurred to me that I am glad the boys have not yet reached the level of Hey I wonder if there's a website for supermonkeyguncomics?
Someday that ship (sorry about the nautical reference just finished a Titanic movie-a-thon with the spouse.

blogger2

2006-08-21T21:16:00.000-04:00

sort of like vatican 2 revisited?

so i have to change my password to access the original blogger account or use the autoload one to reach the new blogger.

i think i'll hold off a while.

hmm new life starting?

2006-08-17T11:55:00.000-04:00

Monday I have orientation with a new hospital for a new job with a new sleep lab. Hopefully this will turn out to be a great and exciting job, also full time, in a big hurry.
If so, then we will be able to finish the kitchen and do a lot of other neat stuff.

I hope that it will also allow me to do some sleep scoring from home and possible system administration as well. This means I will probably need to buy a new computer, darn. This is the system I am thinking about.... yes I am still a mac head. but I should be able to maximise the time wasted in my life by including a second SATA drive for Windows (ick) so that I can do sleep work and also include NWN2. Check out a review here.

Things I have learned recently

2006-07-23T13:09:00.000-04:00

My wife can score goals. My wife can score the winning goal.
*UPDATE* My wife came home from the tournament as the Central Pennsyl-Jersey Blings Women's D level hockey team's goal and points leader for the 2 day/4 game tournament. The CPJ Blings came in 2nd, earning them all the Silver Medal. She reports that their goalie for the third game was a first timer who faced at least 48 shots, stopping 42 of them. Not bad for your first time between the pipes.
*End update*

When baking it is very important to include all the ingredients. Also, not to be distracted while baking. e.g. If you forget the flour you end up with soup instead of topping.

It is very humid, I do not like the humidity. (This is not new. I have known this for a long time, but I felt that it was time to state it).

Children say the darndest things and if you don't write them down right away you will forget them. And that is a darned shame.

None of my contact programs have the same information. Merging them is almost impossible, besides that, re-sorting and cleaning up the merge data would be monumental task.

Sometimes its easier to re-format and try again.

It's not easy starting a new profession after you have more than 10 years in another one. Even if you aren't really trying.

If you are not good at soldering very tiny connections, you should not attempt it on something you care about for the very first time.

It is possible to get a lot of things done and still not accomplish anything, or even the task you originally set out to accomplish.

Basements leak. Sometimes the leak because of your roof.

I miss my wife when she is not here. I'd miss my kids too, but they never go anywhere. :^)

Other people can make you feel good about your own life, other people's children can make you feel good about your own. Of course, they can also make you feel badly about yours.

Rubber necking is a problem. I swear people, if you can't see the accident results while travelling at the posted speed limit, you probably shouldn't be driving in the first place.

Most people with cell phones don't know about headsets, or they have prehensile tails that hold the steering wheel for them, or they spend all there expendable cash on gas for their SUVs and can't afford the headset.

Rain or shine children really want to play outside 15 minutes before bed time. Sometimes you want to let them, this is rarely a good idea.

If you have to think about something twice before deciding you probably shouldn't do it.

If your nose is bigger than your foot, you are probably an elephant.

If you can read this, you are too close!

If you have read this, you probably just wasted all that time.

well worth the time

2006-07-22T10:01:00.000-04:00

I have heard tales of powerbelt sander races.

My favorite part of the clip is "buffer the hot dog slayer"

Don't play with Fire

2006-07-22T09:38:00.001-04:00

So this may not be a website for kids....
http://www.homeofpoi.com/

the Electricians Jacket - Seriously cool and SHOCKING

2006-07-22T09:23:00.000-04:00

http://www.no-contact.com/

If you know someone who travels alone at night that you care for this would be a Great Jacket.

I Love the folx @ MIT they do some wonderful things.

Now add a bug attracting light and we could have an army of mobile mosquito killers.

the big one

2006-07-20T12:22:00.000-04:00

Things San Francisco might not want used as advertising.

"'San Francisco is much more pretty than a lady with a beard.'"

I have been puzzled, intrigued, questioning of, concerned by, the amount and kind, of what I believe to be completely personal/confidential, information people post about themselves and others in their blogs. A friend told me the other night that she only posts what she would might tell someone after sharing a drink with them. I feel this is a a perfectly acceptable guideline and there are many people out there who might do well to try and come up with some kind of guideline for themselves. That's my opinion at least. I mean really, do people really think that what they are posting is: that anonymous that they will never be found out, or is it that they want to be found out, or is the blog the new diary, or

My blogs have usually been about things I find interesting, stupid, or just bizarre that those few readers of mine out there might not have come across in their own webbrowsing.

I don't browse anymore, I am a targetted consumer, I know what I am looking for and I go the places I have already learned might have it. I don't monkey around much with the web anymore. It takes too much time. Actually the targetted stuff I do takes too much time.

The internet is the greatest tool mankind has ever invented. it has the tremendous power to unify and divide, clarify and obfuscate, build and destroy, enlighten and confuse, distract and direct all simultaneously. i have more email accounts that I can remember, some for spam filtering, some because they are free, some because i thought the address was cool, some just cuz. I find myself relying on it waaaaaaay too much. I don't use the phone book anymore, google or superpages or yellowbook. The phone book is a badly referenced and strangely organised device. Useful at one time, still useful today

one of my biggest intrigues was the amount of information floating freely in the air. tv, radio of all flavors, now cellular and internet. there is just so much information these days. some of it, unlike this post, are actually informative, instructional and istrumental, others like this post are just a waste of creation. Does this mean that the post should not be created? does it mean that these words should never find existence? should I not have written them and wasted valuable disk space wherever someone might read this? should I have not spent my time wondering, contemplating, writing, re-writing, hashing it out, thinking about it, avoiding work with it? No. just that what i have to say seems to be important at the time i am writing it and if, later, i feel that it is still important for the world to know about, i will press publish and there it will be. and then google will get a copy of it. for a least a couple of years. at somepoint i will download the whole blog and keep it for myself. what a waste.

there are more important things inlife than blogging, or the internet so why do i spend so much of my time on the computer on the internet, blogging, chatting, surfing, thinking about upgrading my computer, upgrading the accessories for my computer, why why, why.

why does anyone? why have i taken the time that this has taken to write this? because i am waiting for the work computer to do something.

i have always been a private person, there is much about myself, my life, my thoughts, feelings etc. that i have only ever revealed to some people. there are things i don't tell people because it's not, in my mind any of their business, or not something i want a person close to me to know not for reasons that i can exactly describe, it's not because i am worried about what they might think or do, just that that information is not "necessary" to be known by anyone.

i periodically go through these phases in my life where i feel like i am lost, adrift, drowning, not in doubt, or in pity, not depressed but "free" from a connection with the world. i am either in the middle of one of these periods or i am just starting a new one. it feels a little bit like standing blindfolded on the edge of a cliff. you can feel the emptiness in front of you but you have no idea what that emptiness contains. because in the physical world nothing is ever truly empty. there is no true void. there is no "nothing". I once coined the phrase ""In the absence of everything, nothing becomes something.'" and Hence Nothing is Something and when you have Nothing you still have something.

What it is, i think, is that I have again lost the passion for what I do, if I ever truly had it. and maybe that's what the adrift is all about, not being adrift but having cast away or been cast away from my passion for a thing. i have a lot of passions and i'll list them in another blog. i may also list a number of things that I had the ideas for many years ago but not the talent or energy or persistence to make anything of them. i have many of the sketches, plans, thoughts for these things stacked in piles of papers in boxes. my life is still in boxes. my life needs to be lived and not boxed or listed on sheets of paper.

passion != desire

passion != drive or ambition

passion != a talent for the object of the passion

passion =

i may even make a list of things I want.

i just let a guaranteed job slip through my fingers, because i was conflicted and i should not have been. because i need to be doing somethign. something that mkaes money because my kids want things, my wife wants things, i want things and these things all need money. do i/we need these things. i don't know. probably not. but i cant' ask my wife and family to give up things they want because I don't wnat them anymore and/or because I don't feel we need things anymore. can i? life, love, and family are all about sacrifice. the tricky parts comes with who, what, when, how much, how often, and why.

i should really rename the blog to stream of unconciousness. but i am sure someone has already claimed that.

i want to write. i have a passion for it but i suck at it. i have written reams of poetry, most of it illeligible, even by me, because i have crappy handwriting besides that fact that most of it is in pencil and sitting in a box.

my ideal job would be to get paid to think things up. i am very creative and i have a talent for making odd combinations of things that should work together without the knowledge on how to get those things together. i think some of my ideas are brillant, does anyone else. i don't know. it doesn't matter to me that much if they do or don't, but if you want to be paid for something someone somewhere has to think that it's brillant enough to get paid for and i don't know if any of them really are.

wow SPEW, mental tsunami of spew.

some people think i am brillant, i am surrounded by brillant people, i like really smart people and on occassion some people think i am really smart. i have even fooled people into think they know i am really smart. i don't think that i am as smart as i should be.

i have no regrets about anything. sure there are things i might have done differently if i ever had the chance but i have no regrets. i make no excuses for the things i say or do. obviously, unless i was being sarcastic (which, apparently, is hard for some people to perceive) which i used to be all the time (which may explain why it was so hard for some people to determine if i was being sarcastic) so much so that it was my natural state (friends in college changed it to being jaded and bitter, almost sounds like a drink: jaded and bitter) i meant what i said or did. i can't make excuses for it. i can only try and see the reason why i did or felt or said something and either explain that to you or change my future actions. i am solely responsible for everything i do and say, have done, have said, will do or say. others might influence me in many ways, but I am the only one who will ever be able to make me do or say something. for that I will always take full responsibility and never make excuses. i have in the past made excuses, true, false or reasonsed but i made a decision many years ago to do 2 things. never make excuses and never have any regrets.

i can explain to you how i see my brain working. it's a spiral. everything just keeps turning around and around and around. it was much more "visible" the few time i got stoned.

i have a natural talent with children, apparently more so with other peoples children than my own. this may be because i am trying to shape my children and not other peoples.

Muir Woods - if you haven't ever been and you happen to be in San Francisco you should really make plans to stop and see it. take a half dozen hours or so. it's worth it.

arrrgghhh

2006-07-10T10:04:00.000-04:00

so that's enough for today. at least y'all know i am alive

blog discrimination

2006-06-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

Reading a recent post today from a friend that blogger puts up chinese birth years. Of course, my fat fingers mistyped my birth year and I discovered that blogger will not let anyone born in 1901 or prior to post. I feel that this is a form of discrimination.
Really shouldn't people who are 105 years old be able to post their own blogs?!?! Shouldn't they at least be able to proudly announce to the world, if that is their choice, what year they were born in?

ok enough of that.

No history of hockey in the family

2006-06-25T10:35:00.000-04:00

So for my birthday, or because my wife "had a good day", our two creative young children drew a hockey rink on our driveway.

It was fabulous, with pictures of the Stanley Cup and the NHL logo.

pictures to be added later, if i ever get the camera back from my wife.

this was cool.

2006-06-20T11:40:00.000-04:00

http://www.i-bar.ch/pictures/

Well duuuhh

2006-06-15T08:52:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I wonder what we are spending research dollars on. Of
course after having taken a look around at the children my kids go to
school with and others in their peer group it is not so surprising we
needed this study to be done. Maybe now people will start to .....
stop eating junk food.... yeah right.,

http://www.physorg.com/news69518178.html

physorg.com

2006-06-15T08:50:00.000-04:00

My new geek site. I've visited before in the past, but now it's in my
RSS folder.
Very cool.

but this is great.
http://www.physorg.com/news69518266.html - Skin stem cells found
transplantable

The Most Disguting Thing Anyone has Ever Said to Me.

2006-06-15T08:39:00.000-04:00

"Eat me raw. Call me sushi."

It's been almost 20 years and I still can't get this out of my head.
Ever now and then I am reminded of what she said and it still makes
me twitch. Mind you this was at work (McDonald's) and it was not
intended as a pick up. I don't recall what the conversation was or
how it got started but I remember 3 or 4 of us were discussing
something and being high school students. I do remember that 3 of us
had been standing at the front counter just after a bunch of people
had come in about an hour before we closed. There were no customers
in the store and we were cleaning.

I just felt that I needed to get this of my chest. Maybe it will stop
haunting me now. I doubt it.

this could be really gross

2006-06-15T08:33:00.000-04:00

http://www.dpsu.com/Newsroom/tabid/144/ctl/Details/mid/531/ItemID/32/
Default.aspx

Dr. Pepper Berries and Cream ice cream.

Things that make my wife think I am crazy

2006-06-11T12:35:00.000-04:00

http://www.surfingthemag.com/international-surfing-day-2006/

International Surfing day is coming!!1 Mark your calendar and find a
beach near you!!!

No I don't surf, but I don't play hockey either so.....

Wired News: The Great No-ID Airport Challenge

2006-06-09T16:15:00.000-04:00

Wired News: The Great No-ID Airport Challenge

Hmm, it's already been /.'d so I think word will get out, and it's not like I think thousands or even tens of people read this blog, but there is power in the link. The more people who comment or link to the article the better the chances are that someone will stumble across it. Oh yeah and the higher it's google relative score can become.
The more people who read it, the greater the chance that someone will atttempt it.

The thing is if I were flying alone and had no family to worry about I might just do it. This is the kind of disestablishmentarian thing I would be likely to try. Very socially pro-active, anti-heavy handed regulation, and stupid.

If you think about it for half a second showing ID does nothing anywhere except show you on a piece of paper encased in plastic on one of the worst hair days you've had since the last time you had an ID photo taken. I look enough like any number of people that with a standard ID photo I could be mistaken for them. Heck I have to wear my glasses for my driver's license but I don't wear them when I am not driving.

I'm guessing that everyone who boarded a plane on 9/11/01 probably had some form of id to show. That didn't clue anyone in did it? And if you show up without ID what happens? They send you home? When you have a valid ticket? Can you see that lawsuits on that one?
Does the DHS have the power to interrupt/regulate interstate
commerce? Do you think Congress is likely to give that one up so easily?

Things that make you go, "hmmmm".

So, yes I considered emailing this one in but I noticed that the the email doesn't replicate links well and the link was important.

oooooohhhh

2006-06-09T14:02:00.000-04:00

I just thought of this: I can set a forward from my other email
account to my blogger email address and just have it post ......

hmm i wonder how fast I can use up disk space this way.....

New websites I love

2006-06-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/06/barratt_boxes_g.php

TreeHugger - I'm really into this whole save the earth thing. Just
wish I had the money to make all the improvements.

blogging made stupid simple

2006-06-09T10:15:00.000-04:00

You may all be subjected to much more blogging from me now that I can
email blogs.

Lucky lucky you.

Quandry

2006-06-08T00:26:00.000-04:00

Hockey Players and Fans are notoriously superstitious.
I have a part time gig as an Ice Resurfacing Technician (Zamboni driver) at the local ice areana where my children take hockey lessons and my wife plays on a MAWHL team, where, it turns out NBC will be shooting a promo for the current Stanley Cup Finals (BTW if Carolina wins, it will be because they hurt the other teams). Now, it is unclear at this time whether the Stanley Cup
will be present or not.
Here's my quandry: My wife will be at work and unable to get there, my older child will be on a field trip and unable to get there, myself and my youngest (more hockey oriented child) will be at home and able to go. I have been a hockey fan for as long as I can remember. I have played with the notion of being a fan, serious, of another sport but it just has happened, despite the efforts of the Bills in the 90s. I have never seen the Stanley Cup. The question that keeps popping in my head is this, Did the Sabres lose and have they lost every time BECAUSE I have never seen the Cup? hmm that's a tricky one.
The bigger question is: If I find out that the Cup will be at the arena, do I go?
There are many hockey players who won't touch the Cup unless they win it. There are even a number who have never seen it, for fear they then won't be able to win it. I dare say that there are even a few who have never seen it or touched it despite the fact that they have not played hockey in decades. I doubt, but not strongly, that my seeing or touching the Cup will have any effect on the Sabres. But why take the chance?
On the other hand it would be a HUGE thrill to see it, especially on ice that I resurface frequently. Can I justify going with my youngest child and not take my wife or older child?
Should I inform anyone that the Cup will be there, if, in fact it turns out to be going there?
Can I, should I keep the information to myself? I promised to cherish, honor, love, obey and be truthful to my wife when we were wed. Keeping this to myself would be like lying, but since there is no way that she would be able to make it back from work in time.... It would be cruel to tell her before she goes to work because it would be hard for her to concentrate. It would be worse to tell her afterwards, and it might be still worse to go and take pictures to show her.
The additional quandry, besides the possibility of destroying my marriage, is do I take the younger child who wants to be a NHL player (please Sabres draft him in 13 years). Fearing that he might Touch the Cup or be photographed with it? I mean how will I feel if my childs team never wins the Cup because @ age 5 he had the chance to see and touch it??? I just don't know.
Now there is a slim chance that if he appears they might throw him in the promo but.....
you know that's really secondary right!?!?!?!????
My wife will read this. Hopefully not before she goes to work and hopefully not on the train on the way in. Forgive me huny I love you but I am confused.

this will have to work itself out in about 7 hours.
G'night all.

UPDATE: Received word early Friday AM that it was a replica Stanley Cup. Chances were good that IT could have shown up since the Cup doesn't have to be in Edmonton until Monday at the earliest and it doesn't get jetlag.

Well that was a quandry easily solved.

UPDATE: As someone pointed out to me recently I had not yet revealed whether the Cup showed up or not. Well, it did and it did not. It was a replica, apparently not a good one if you got close to it.

Last post: I'm sooo excited redux

2006-06-01T23:22:00.000-04:00

LSWII will be out on 9/12/06.!

One more for the night

2006-06-01T23:02:00.000-04:00

How come nobody comments on this?

Ok that's not the real question.

Firefox has changed my life.. ok not really. But there is an extension (fusion) that is really cool, but that is not the one that has changed my life... BTW children change your priorities for keeping up with tech.. it's the truth... Just letting you know Lady. The real extension that changed my life so far is NewsFox although I keep getting script errors it makes my life easier. I spend all my time perusing lists of updates on websites instead of visiting the sites.

Oh well.

I also love pocketblog.

That's it for tonight I should be spending time with our guest.

Not just writing or reading about it......

Manic/Depressive Blogging

2006-06-01T22:57:00.000-04:00

Hmm after months of silence there was a sudden flurry of posting.

Hmm maybe I should stop now..

Next week perhaps I will post a story I have been writing.

Ahh, the reason that I was going to post was this:

Have any parents out there noticed how much their bookmarks have changed since they had children?

Watch this blog for more details.

Does anyone know if blogspot handles php?

Death Boat

2006-06-01T22:54:00.000-04:00

http://www.nationnews.com/story/322353160874140.php

In case you hadn't heard. I'll sum up, unless you go to read the above link:
11 badly decomposed adults found in a 20 foot motor boat 70 nautical miles off of Barbados.
Some Euro cash and some Senegallian Airline documents. All bodies dressed in short and brightly coloured shirts.

My reason: They thought they had tickets to a World Cup game but they had not enough money for fuel for the boat.

There's always next year! THANK YOU SABRES!!!

2006-06-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

There is no way that anyone will remember Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals turned on a bad bounce and a bad penalty call. Except for those 2 goals it would still be tied.
This game and the series will be remembered for all the defense injuries on the Sabres (4 out of 6 starters). They did a GREAT JOB!!!
BTW Campbell was clearing the puck legally around the borders but his stick got chopped by a Cane (Brind'Amour I think) and the puck went over the glass. Shortened shot, not a deflection and not a penalty. Going over the glass was not intentional and the rule changed after the Olympics.
There is no bad feeling for the Canes, but I HATE their Cheerleaders (for Hockey??!?!?!?!?!?) and their stupid red uniforms. Everyone in Carolina should be disgusted by the "Redneck Hockey" sign. The team should throw that redneck out.
There is no chance that Lindy Ruff will be fired.
There is no chance that Buffalo will burn to the ground again this year.
There is no chance for the Sabres to win the Stanley Cup this year.

Why is there no new NHL Center Ice Package deal being offered????

Go SABRES!!!!

Go Oilers!!! Oilers in 5. Sorry Cam and Martin.

Things that I am not good at:

2006-05-31T10:38:00.000-04:00

Delivering bad news (hence I am not a physician)
gettting organised (once i get organised i think i can stay that way, of course it has not happened yet so)
dealing with confrontation
lying (to people who mean something to me, strangers not much of a problem)
using time wisely (this has been the same since kindergarten, hopefully not a trait i have passed on to my children. this is where the influence of my wife will have the most profound effect on our children. with any luck her personality will counter my own in this regard. i have all these wonderful plans: exercising while watching hockey games, starting the laundry then un/loading the dishwasher. usually i do this in the reverse order and that doesn't work as well.)
working with wood
working without being creative
maitaining correspondences (digital or otherwise, i think this falls into uses time wisely)
being strict without being loud (let's make that being strict.)

LBI - library bureau of investigation

2006-05-31T09:57:00.000-04:00

please don't come looking for me.. it's all my wife's fault.

Life, Love and work

2006-05-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

First off, Congrats to the Stolls
on their latest addition. The picture is fabulous and thanks for letting us come and visit so soon!!! The boys appreciated it although they were a bit overwhelmed.

On to the rest of my life. We are gearing up for a trip back home, yes I still think of it as home although I haven't lived there in more than a decade.
Ok the real reason for this post is that I wanted to try on the RSS feature and see how it works with Firefox.

Other than that I am looking at the possibility of 3 different job offers (I know SHUT UP!) all in the same field and all doing the same thing essentially. I have to turn down 2 of them. That sucks.
I'm wondering if there is a way for me to at least do some consulting for all of them. Thing is I need to be back at work fulltime, not just for the income but for myself. I feel a little bit adrift and I think the work will help me get back on track. Then again it probably won't.

Also, rapidly approaching 10 years of marriage to an amazingly beautiful, talented, charming, supportive (y'all have no idea), patient (again), dedicated, loyal, loving and graceful (both on and off the ice) woman with whom I have had the pleasure of living and raising children with.
It's a cliche I know but there aren't enough words to say how I feel about her. If I were to sit down and tell you about it there would be a lot of silence as I tried to find the correct words in the correct order. She is the love of my life, simply put.

I think I may just fall in love with RSS. Who knows.

bitten

2006-03-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, not that anyone in their right mind would care, but it seems that I have been bitten, this evening by the blogging-bug. I really intended to try out a NWN PW but i think I have to write instead. Of course, I should also sleep but....

So first I have to say I am really, really, really proud of my children. Both of them. As any parent should be but I am really proud of them. Most of the time. The 5 year old is doing great on his quest to be a hockey player. He skates a couple of times a week but he's always improving and improvising. Things he sees on TV or from the older kids. It's great. Of course, he's also very specific about the way he wants things done. No daddy, you do this. Ok now we play frisbee, 5 minutes pass now we play soccer, 5 more minutes now we play football... it never ends.
The 7 year old, well, just amazing and he's becoming a real person. Some opinions but nothing substantial but he likes lots of things and is really excited about starting baseball next week.

I should say that I am really proud of my wife too. I am by the way, but I have to question the sanity of anyone who would marry me. I assume, it was love, or drinking, since both, I understand, can make you blind. But she is an amazing woman, incredibly talented, brillant, vivacious, perky, witty, sophisticated, graceful and throws a mean body check while looking like falling over. (I will not give her name or team here in case you, the reader, happen to be a referee in MAWHL.)

Ok i think I have completely lost that train of thought now.
I am privileged and honored to be loved by this woman. I just hope I am worth of it everyday.

dark...

2006-03-28T21:07:00.000-05:00

The real reason that beer bottles are different shapes is so that you don't hand the wrong one to your spouse in the dark.

Actual Reality

2006-03-28T20:32:00.000-05:00

On my way home today a car in front of me has this bumper sticker, so I read it. Doesn't everyone? I mean do you find yourself trying to finish reading the incredibly tiny print on some of those stickers even if it means you have to make a uturn to get where you're going?
Ok, maybe you don't, and I never have, but I do try to read all of the bumper sticker.

Back to the point, this bumper sticker read WMD so as I get closer, since that is what traffic wanted I realise the sticker reads Weapons of Mass Deception. Pretty clever doncha think?
So right away I know this person does not support the War or the President. I don't have a problem with either of these positions.
But then the car with the bumper sticker changes lanes, then turns ALL without SIGNALLING!
Ok maybe this doesn't irk you but it really ticks me off.
So then the irony hits me. This driver is mad that the President and his policies have sent our young people (and some old) halfway around the world to die for a cause that they, the driver, does not believe in or agree with. But at least the President had the common decency to tell us ahead of time that's where he was headed!
You, I mean the driver in front of me, don't even have the intelligence to signal your intention with a motor vehicle travelling at speed and through residential neighborhoods.
I don't think the bleepbleep would have used brake lights if it weren't automatic.

Come ON PEOPLE the lever isn't just there because GM wants to charge you more for the car. It actually DOES something.
Like: inform all the other, bleeps, around you (self included), what the bleep you intend to do with that 1-2 ton combustioning metal weapon you are sitting in and manouvering in such a life threatening manner. Not just your life either you lazy, no good bleepity bleep.

Just have to add this story about driving. I might make this a daily blog, stupid things I see people do while driving, but on with the story.

This is a true story and happened a couple of years ago. I was just merging from a local State route onto an Interstate and in the process of checking my blind spot on the driver's side of the car as I signalled my intention to move into that lane I see a car. What?!! A car, you say. Yes, a large Lexus as I recall. Well what was interesting is this guy... a man yes.... was driving 65 or 70 and talking on the cell phone. Not unusual you say. Of course not and this was just after my state had passed a headset law, in certain counties, which we were not in. But then he suddenly disappears from view, not the car, his whole head and upper body. So I checked the lanes in front of me, they are clear so I sneak a peek back at this yahoo. He comes back up about 15 seconds afterward and he's still talking on the phone. Ahhh but this time he has TWO phones, one in each hand and he's carrying on 2 conversations. At this point I slowed way down so that he would be well ahead of me in case one of his phone calls should be his broker telling him the market crashed and the other was his wife saying she'd run of with his broker who had actually stolen all his money.

Why you should not stick a fork in an outlet

2006-03-15T08:15:00.000-05:00

or

Why you needed grounded outlets.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4468957986746104671&q=500kv

The above is a video of a much larger version of what happens everytime you turn something electrical on, or plug something in.

Yep

TMBG - of course they really are musical Giants

2006-03-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

Venue Songs the latest vinyl of creative genius from TMBG (otheriwse known as They Might Be Giants) a band I learned to love in college, still has something to teach us all. I highly recommend a broadband connection but it's worth it at whatever speed.

of course this is an album I may have to go and buy. I have said this about other albums in the recent past... still havent bought them either but I have other things that i need to spend my limited cash influx on.... children and such...
oh and family and oh gas .... and oh ... you know life.

Monticello is Thomas Jefferson's Batcave... enjoy!!!

also might want to check out
Weebls-stuff.com

my mobile life

2006-03-09T22:33:00.000-05:00

so after many errors this morning while sitting with my son while he was doing his homework, I finally can blog from my ipaq 5455. complements of pocketblogger, a stowaway keyboard and my wireless router.

this could change how often I add to my blog.

since this is where I am to take reality and carve it up I thought tonight I would take on fact that my wife is going to envious of my ability to blog from whereever I can find an open wirelss connection and some time to type.

but she plays hockey so she won't be envious too long

Hats off to the Rochester Americans

2006-03-09T22:20:00.000-05:00

Thank you very much for your long standing commitment to the Buffalo Sabres! Thank you to Tom Golisano for keeping the Sabres in Buffalo. Thank you to Lindy Ruff and Darcy Regier for building one heck of a team. This is your year.

things i have learned... today

2006-03-09T22:15:00.000-05:00

1) a single egg can make a homemade milkshake even better
2) sometimes recyclables should just be thrown away. like when they have dead mice in them.
3) leftovers are sometimes forgotten in the fridge. then they become inedible. even in ziplock baggies.
4) detention is possible even in grade school.
5) i will never be as organized as i want to be. because there isn't enough time left in my life to make up for the disorganization i have already organized.
6) hockey is a great sport. duh! go <a href="http://sabres.com/index.cfm">sabres</a>
7) children are wonderful. so much so it should be part of their name.... ok.. well
8) I have not been as good a son as I should be. I am not as good a son as I was raised to be and this is troublesome.
9) because of the disorganization in my life, despite all of the computers and calendars, address books, pdas, and calculator watches I spend more time trying to get organized and synchronized than I do most anything else.
I think at this point the problem is that I just have no idea where to begin.
10) sometimes houses are built poorly. sometimes they are maintained poorly. I think it would be nice to be able to rent a house untill you have lived in it long enough to decide if you want to buy it.

performancing redux

2006-03-09T12:05:00.000-05:00

perhaps i am using it incorrectly but i keep getting all of these error messages and it keeps reformatting all of my posts.
then it sometimes does weird things to the status bar.
i think i'll come back to it later.

Lemon Demon

2006-02-16T15:49:00.000-05:00

Lemon Demon -
1) it's a band.
2) check out weebls-stuff and look for The Ultimate Showdown

3) hit the website - lemon demon

Ahh to Dance Like an Idiot.

And just when I hoped the 80s were finally behind us I ran across this:
Heaven17.com

*sigh*

I'm sooo excited

2006-02-16T15:48:00.000-05:00

Ok so it may seem disingenious but I am truly sincere I can't wait til
Lego Star Wars II comes out. This is sooo cool.

Now I may have to buy a 360 or maybe the PS3. That would be cool.

How do you make a toilet for that part?

2006-02-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Acorn Engineering Company: Penal Ware

not what i thought it was when i first read it.

perfomancing

2006-02-15T22:03:00.000-05:00

so after spending waaaaaaay too much time on this .....
no waayyy

waaaay

ok enough

i have decided that performacing works well but when publishing it tends to add additional tags that are not always needed. hmm... even when posting as an edit.

maybe i will just go back to BBedit.

absolutely beautiful

2006-02-15T22:00:00.000-05:00

i wonder now if flock will change my blogging attitude.
currently it's too much work to remember to log in and make all those notes and changes and such.
yippeekayyah mo*****
I think the perfomancing plugin for firefox may win out over flock.

We'll see.
maybe this blogging thing will catch on... i mean with me.
though i have my doubts about that...
wonder if perfomancing
works with myspace? - nope at least not yet.