Framed Art

I recently had two pieces of art custom framed. The first is a poster that my Dad had stored away. He worked on the Viking project (as well as Apollo). I had this poster custom framed at Aaron Brothers and they did a great job (which they should have for the price I paid).

The second piece of art I had framed was a water color painting by my Mom. She had several water color paintings - this was the largest one. Once again, the frame and matting look very nice. Both of these pictures are now hanging on my bedroom walls.

Digital Telephone

Today two men from Time Warner Cable came to my house to install digital telephone. I had been contemplating getting this service for some time, and finally decided to sign up when I realized that I would save money each month. Now the cable company gets one big check from me for cable, internet service and telephone. I have been happy with TWC over the years, and have added services like digital cable and a digital video recorder. As an added bonus with my digital telephone, I got a new cable modem which takes advantage of their increased speed of almost 5 Mbps (megabits per second). With digital phone, I now get caller ID, which my friends will enjoy more than me, since I no longer need to screen my calls. What's next for me? A new HDTV cable box when I buy a HDTV.

I Can't find Summer

Not the woman, the weather! In Key West is was unseasonably "cold". It got down below 70 degrees at night. Then I come home and find out it rained earlier today and now it is in the low 60s. But enough about the weather, let's talk about airlines. I missed my connecting flight to San Diego (due to a broken hatch on the airplane in Miami that took 20 minutes to fix), was given a ticket on a much later flight and a stand-by on the next flight. Luckily, I was the last standby to board the next flight, so I got home only about an hour late. The plane wasn't full, but there are "weight" restrictions on these commuter flights. Happy to be home and have three days to catch up.

Chosen Spike

I got a surprise in the mailbox today - Chosen Spike. This figure was sent by Diamond Select Toys because I am a member, or Radical, as they call it. Basically a free gift. When I signed up as a Radical last year I was promised a special gift which was at the time a World Tour Willow figure. I never received that figure, so I was happy to see this gift. Chosen Spike came wrapped in a bag inside a small box. This allows me to open the bag and remove the figure, which I don't do for my other figures. Spike is obviously colored yellow/orange for some reason. It is hard to tell from the photo I took, but his mouth is open like he is about to bite someone. I will place Spike next to my Pre-production White Witch Willow where he'll look down upon me as I surf the internet.

Mattress and High-Definition Television

I wanted to follow-up on my experience with my new mattress. After sleeping on sleeping on it for over a week I can finally give my review. First, I bought the Venitia queen sized mattress at Banner Mattress, which really means nothing to anyone. It was close to their top-of-the-line mattress. It is much softer than my old mattress, which I had for only seven years. Do I sleep better? I would say no. However, I no longer have red marks on my shoulders and legs in the morning, so it must be providing less stress on me during the night. I had considered a Tempurpedic mattress, but could not justify paying $2500 for a mattress. So, I guess I'm happy with my purchase.

Now for my experience in shopping for a high-definition television. I went to three stores today and spent much time staring a three different types of HDTVs. I would say that plasma offers the best picture. However, they are about twice as expensive. I have a hard time paying $6000 for a 50 inch HDTV. I looked at a rear-projection LCD Sony, which looked pretty good, but didn't have the sharpness, color or viewing angle of the plasmas. I also looked at several rear-projection DLPs. These suffer from bad viewing angles and background light wash-out. However, I looked at a model from Samsung that looked really good. A sales man told me that Samsung will have a new model out in a month with a "3 chip" DLP that has much better color. That is the dilemma. Ever month prices will come down and technology will improve. So at some time I just have to take the plunge and buy myself a HDTV. I'm looking at mid-May right now, so stay tuned to my blog.

36 Years Later

It is a sad day in Poway. After over 36 years we are selling the family house. We moved in way back in 1969, after our Dad had this house built for his family. Now that our parents have passed away, it is time to sell the house. The second picture was taken last week. Yes, we are standing in the opposite order, but the order of heights is the same.

Bug Invasion

My house is being invaded by rolly-polly bugs! This morning I gathered up five of them and placed them back outside where they belong, just to find more of them headed in. I must admit that those bugs don't bother me at all. I'd much rather have them than the big black spiders I also keep finding (and killing). I attribute the bug onslaught on the copious amounts of rain we have received this year in Southern California. I will be getting new windows and doors soon, so maybe they will do a better job of keeping the bugs out.

Mattress Follow-up

Sunday evening after not getting my new mattress, the delivery man called and said he would deliver my new mattress Monday between 1 and 5. I told him that they ripped my mattress during the delivery today so why do I have to wait up to 4 hours when it was their mistake. He said they have four hour time frames for deliveries, but he could call me 30 minutes before they arrived. Sounds like these guys work for unions and have no flexibility at all. So at 12:45 today he called me at work, so I rushed home in 25 minutes and ended up waiting another 15 minutes. When they showed up it was the same situation. One smart guy, the driver, and one not-so-smart guy who took forever to find my mattress in the truck. Finally they placed the mattress on my bed and took away my old one, which wasn't really that old. This hassle is finally over. Now lets see how well I sleep tonight. I am so tired, that I know I'll fall asleep quickly before 10pm.

More Spring Break Photos

I have put my best photos from my Spring Break vacation on my personal web site for your viewing pleasure.

New Mattress

So yesterday I bought a new mattress from Banner Mattress. Top-of-the-line, they said. Today I waited for the delivery in their 4 hour window and after 1 1/2 hours the delivery men arrived. However, when removing the new mattress from the truck, the mattress was damaged. Now I have a new box spring but no new mattress. The two delivery men might want to work together to bring in the mattress and box springs, rather than working alone. This was the second day in a row this man damaged a mattress. I guess his days are numbered. Stay tuned.

Tru Calling Second Season

Where did this show come from? From what I read Tru Calling wasn't picked up for a second season. Then, suddenly, my DVR started recording a new episode on Thursday! Now let me regress. I started watching Tru Calling last season for one reason only - Eliza Dushku, who played Faith the Vampire Slayer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Near the end of last season they shook the show up with the addition of the character Jack, played by Jason Priesley. He added a new edge to the series. In fact, the show is so edgy now that it is almost hard for me to watch. Much like the new Battlestar Galactica. It is funny how Fox can advertise the heck for shows like American Idol but have no advertisement at all for Tru Calling. It is almost like they want the show to fail. But fail it will not as long as there are true fans like me watching television hoping for better crap than Survivor and Amazing Race (sorry Karen).

Easter Sunday Beer

This was a very different Easter. It was my first Easter ever without my Dad. Since my brother and his wife just flew to Germany, that left my sister and I to find a place to eat. We ended up at the Princess Pub & Grille in Little Italy, where we drank beer and ate fish and chips plus a tasty salmon quesadilla. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. Then I came home and took a long nap. Guess I'll be up for a while.

Spring Break 2005 - Last Day

Day 6 was our last day of vacation and our travel home day. After checking out of the hotel, we headed back to the Orioles park to see them play the Red Sox. This game was almost sold-out with the bandwagon BoSox fans. Our seats were in the shade, which was a relief, because today was the hottest day at 86 degrees. The game was fun to watch, but we had to leave by 4 PM to return the car and catch our flight. We made it to the airport in plenty of time. The flight to Dallas was on-time. However, in Dallas there was two delays. First, the flight attendants were late. Then, after we started to taxi to the runway, we stopped so they could fix an alarm that was going off in the cabin. This took about 30 minutes. We landed in San Diego at 11:45, about 45 minutes late. I got home around 12:30 in the morning and to bed by 1:30. I made the mistake of calling work in Dallas and found out there was a problem I had to fix. I was thinking of taking Friday off, but after five hours of sleep, I was getting ready for work.

This vacation was really fun. However, next year we will be back in Phoenix, where the plane trip is just one hour. I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, and am suffering from jet-lag.

I will post more photos on my web page later this week, so check back.

Spring Break 2005 - Day 5

We decided to stay an extra day so we could take a break from baseball and go see the Florida Everglades. We were all moving slow from the night before, especially me. The closest park was Everglades Holiday Park. We would have gotten there quicker, but when we stopped for gas in Weston, FL, we couldn't find a gas station. This was some kind of resort town, where all the roads were lined with perfectly groomed, evenly spaced trees. No buildings of any kind were visible from the roads. Every time we asked someone for directions, they told us to go the opposite direction than we were heading. Finally we found a station and headed to the park. There was about a 30 minutes wait for a boat, and luckily it wasn't very full. The tour was one hour long and narrated by the captain. Our guide had been working there for 20 years and knew where to find the alligators. The first alligator we saw was named Hansom, because for being an old alligator, he had only a few cuts. This gator didn't mind the boat and sat there for our picture taking. The guide explained the history of the Everglades, how the wildlife survive and what all the plants were. We saw about six alligators, including males, females and a two year old. The female was the most threatening one. She looked like she was ready to jump in the boat, but she didn't. The boat ride itself was half the fun. The guide got the boat going full speed and navigated the canals like a pro. The water was perfectly flat, so the ride was very smooth. Back at the dock, Steve and I headed to the second half of the show, where we saw some scary looking, pirate-like man wrestle an alligator. The gator didn't put up much of a fight. In fact, is was kind of sad. This show lasted only 10 minutes and I took no photos.

Our next stop was the hotel for me and poker for the others. I slept and got ready for the evening, which began with dinner at a nearby restaurant. The food was really good, and expensive. I ate the Chilean sea bass which was topped with a delicious sauce. After dinner we went to a place in Hollywood for some entertainment. Let's just say photos were not allowed in this establishment. By 1:30 AM we were tired and so our last full day ended.

Spring Break 2005 - Day 4

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale early enough to pre-checkin to our hotel, which was right on the beach. We drove to the park to see the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play the Baltimore Orioles. This park was the least noteworthly one on the trip, however, we did have excellent seats behind homeplate. Nobody really cares about these two team, including us, so after a few beers and a sausage, we went to the hotel. For dinner we ate at Hooters, where the service was bad but the food was good. Steve asked the concierge where to go for a wild Spring Break experience and he directed us to the Baja Club downtown. We took a taxi there where we had a very interesting conversation with the Jamaican driver about American politics. The deal at the Baja club was with the $15 admission you get to drink for free all night. When we walked in there were only a handful of people there. However, it was only ten. We got our first free drink, a rum and coke, and found a place to eat. The main events for this night was foam dancing and a wet tee shirt contest. We came looking for decadence and debauchery and weren't leaving until we saw it. As the night went on the club got really crowded. It took awhile before people started to dance in the foam that was falling from above, but finally some brave party-goers jumped in. After watching them dance in the foam for about an hour, I had just enough to drink to jump in myself. I hadn't intended to do this, and was not dressed appropriately, but there I was, dancing in the foam. I made many trips to the dance floor, slowing getting my cloths very wet, including my only pair of shoes. Around 2:30 AM they began the wet tee shirt contest. I won't go into detail, since this is a family-friendly blog, plus my memory of this night is slightly blurry (darn free drinks!), but this was the decadence we were looking for. So after the contest, we caught a cab back to the hotel and next thing I knew it was morning and boy did my head hurt. Day 5 had no baseball, just alligators.

Spring Break 2005 - Day 3

Day 3 started off with Jon and Steve taking Mark to the airport at 5:30 AM as I slept. After eating our free breakfast, which was not very good for an Embassy Suits, we headed to our next destination, Vero Beach, to see the Red Sox play the Dodgers at Holman Stadium. Using our trusty map, we decided to take the Florida Turnpike. Somehow, we missed our turn and ended up having to drive the I95 South. Steve and I saw a small sign that read "Florida Turnpike", but it didn't say anything like, "Next Exit" or "3 Miles". Luckily, the I95 was not too busy. We had to go straight to the ballpark. Arriving after the first pitch, we found our seats, which were lawn seats. The park was packed, so we sat down in a semi-obstructed area. I managed to buy a Dodger Dog, my first one, and it was quite good. After two innings, we moved to the standing-room area behind home plate, where the view was much better. Even though this was the Dodger's stadium, most fans were cheering for the Red Sox. Way to jump on the bad wagon. As usual, we left before the end of the game and went to find our hotel. This hotel had just reopened after being repaired from the hurricane damage. There was evidence of hurricane throughout Florida, mostly damaged billboards and fallen trees. For dinner we ate a sports bar called Duffy's. We went back there for late-night happy hour but went to bed early since there was nothing to do in this town. There was a very spectacular lightening storm that night and lots of rain. The worst of the storm hit while were lost trying to find the restaurant. So much for Vero Beach. Day 4 begins our Ft. Lauderdale experience.

Spring Break 2005 - Day 2

Game 2 was easier to find. The St. Louis Cardinals @ Atlanta Braves played at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex, not too far from our hotel. We didn't get lost finding this place, for once. Getting lost and taking wrong turns was the theme of our trip. We ended up exploring parts of Florida that we would not have normally seen had we turned right instead of left. Anyways, as you might expect, this park was the nicest of all the parks, since it was owned by Disney, a multi-billion dollar company. We had great seats right behind home plate in the fourth row. The day was much warmer that the previous day and the sun was shining brightly. We watched the game, ate some food and left after the 8th inning. This ballpark definitely had a Disney family-friendly feel. Between each inning, a very peppy woman brought some fan out, usually a kid, on top of the dug-outs and gave them a chance to win a prize, which they all did. Back at the hotel we took a short break and went to the free happy-hour that Embassy Suits offers. We had no plans for the night, so we decided to go back to Downtown Disney for dinner and more Pleasure Island. We ate at the House of Blues. Jon and I both got the jambalaya, which was very, very, very hot! It was way more food than I could eat, so I ate all the good stuff and left the rice. Jon took his leftovers in a doggy bag. Steve and Mark both had ribs which were also more than they could eat. With our passes from PI the night before, we got tickets for $5. It was raining so the crowds were much smaller. We went to some of the same clubs, but with the rain and small crowds, it just wasn't too fun. The band in the Beach Club was really bad. So we went back to the hotel since Mark had to fly home early in the morning. Day 3 takes us to the next city - Vero Beach.

Spring Break 2005 - Day 1

After sleeping for four hours and getting Mark (who flew the red-eye via Chicago) at the airport, we headed to our first baseball game - the Toronto Blue Jays @ Houston Astros in Kissimmee. Using the map provided by the rental car agency, we attempted to find Kissimee, Fl. What should have taken us 45 minutes took almost two hours thanks to wrong turns and general confusion on all our parts. However, we still made it to the park with time to spare. The park was nice but the game itself was uneventful. We left after the 7th inning so we could go back to the hotel and take a power-nap in anticipation for tonight fun. The big event of the night was Pleasure Island at Downtown Disney. First we ate dinner at the Bongo's Cuban Cafe, a restaurant co-owned by singer Gloria Estefan. I had eaten Cuban food in Key West before and liked it, so I thought this would be good too. I wasn't impressed with the fish dinner I had - I think the fish in Key West is fresher and the food more authentic since the restaurants there are owned by actual Cubans. However, the live music at Bongo's was enjoyable and we didn't have to wait 45 minutes for our seats since the upstairs bartender unexpectedly took us out of the line and seated us rather quickly at his bar.

Next stop, Pleasure Island. PI is a collection of themed clubs. You pay $22 to enter and then have access to all the clubs. The first club we entered, 8TRAX, played music from the 70's and 80's. We had a few drinks there, watched people danced and then moved on to the BET SoundStage Club. Jon couldn't stand the music so he went out for a smoke and Mark, Steve and I had a drink. The night was still young and not many people were dancing. So we left and ended up at Motions, where they played top 40 music. This club was not too interesting, so we went to Rock 'N Roll Beach Club. They had a live band playing classic rock. This band was really good. We were impressed that they played the music that they liked, which was not necessarily the popular rock songs. They played obscure songs by Pink Floyd and The Who, and played them well. The crowd was small but seemed to enjoy the music. After they finished their second set, we journeyed to Mannequins Dance Palace. This ended up being my favorite place. The dance floor was a large rotating disk. I never thought that dancing on a rotating floor could be so fun, but is was. There were interesting people there, including someone dressed up in a Tron outfit. If you don't know what Tron is then you are too young. After getting our fill of this place, we went back to the Beach House to hear the bands third set. The finished around 2:30 AM and it was time to go home. We went to sleep around 3:30 AM. I am calling this "Day 1", but all the days kind of blurred together. Stay tuned for Day 2.

Fun, Foam, and Fans in Florida

For the past ten years I have taken a trip to Phoenix, AZ to watch Spring training baseball with my friends. This year we decided to travel to Florida to see different teams and check out the Spring Break scene. We wanted to hang-out with the college students and pretend that we were 15 years younger. Steve, Jon and I spent six days there and Mark joined us for two days. The three of us flew round trip first class thanks to frequent flyer miles on American Airlines. I had never flown first class before, just business class once. First class on the planes we flew on, 757 and MD-80, was nice, but not as good as I had hoped. The seats are bigger than in coach, but not much more leg room, and there was no foot rests. The food was good on the first leg of the trip, but the on the leg from Dallas to Orlando all we got was a bag of peanuts, not even heated! Drinks, of course, were plentifully. We landed at 12:30 AM, got our rental car, drove to the hotel and checked in at 2 AM. Then we had to wake up at 9 AM to go to the airport to pick up Mark. This takes us to day 1. Read on to find out about the fun, foam and fans in Florida.

Spring Break 2005 - Everglades

I just got home from my Spring training/Spring break vacation in Florida. This trip was six fun filled days long, and I have fantastic pictures to show and riveting stories to tell. For now I'll start you off with this photo of Steve, Jon and I at Everglades Holiday Park. This is the picture that the tour guide takes before you get on the boat and then charges you for after the ride. Since it was a good photo and the tour was worth the price, I bought it. More about this adventure later.

Kermit the Frog Likes Beer Too

Kermit the Frog and I are enjoying a beer together after a productive but exhausting day of house cleaning. Kermit is really drunk as you can tell by the ways his eyes are bugging out. Oh wait, that's me!

Ionic Breeze Air Cleaner

I am looking to buy a better air cleaner, or two, for my house, since I suffer more and more from allergies. I was ready to buy an Ionic Breeze from Sharper Image until I started reading reviews. According to Consumer Reports, the Ionic Breeze is useless. They gave it the poorer rating in its ability to clean dust and smoke, and claim it only cleans an area of 2 sq. ft. (most room filters can clean 200 to 500) The author of an independent review I read on the internet said that the ozone created by the Ionic Breeze gave him sever headaches. According to Consumer Reports, the best air filter was the Friedrich C-90A followed by the Kenmore 83202. Yes, they do have filters that need to be replaced at a cost, but they also clean the air. So don't let that commercial for the Ionic Breeze that shows dust and smoke being pulled out the air fool you like it has too many people - don't buy one. I'll let you know what I end up buying and how I like it.

That's a lot of miles!

I keep getting coupons from Toyota that say:

"At 1,046,250 miles we recommend the following:"

Wow! I knew Toyotas lasted a long time, but over 1 million miles? How optimistic of them. If I drove 15,000 miles/year, it would take 66 years to drive that many miles. By 2066, I hope that we will all be using Star Trek like transporters and cars will be a relic of the past.

I'm Made in Korea?

Here is a well written article about how animation for The Simpsons is done in South Korea. Please don't let this news enrage your opinion about "out-sourcing" of American jobs to foreign countries. The way I see it, would you be willing to pay $10,000 for a new computer? That's what you'd have to pay if the computer and its parts were made in America - at least. Don't get me wrong, I support unions and well paying jobs, but I believe that the US also benefits when our citizens can afford cheap durable goods. It gives us more disposable income to be spent on fine dining and exotic vacations here in our own country. Do I know what I'm talking about? Perhaps. Just because I'm a computer programmer and not a economist doesn't mean I'm ignorant of other professions.

Darla and Spike Action Figures

The next series of Angel/Buffy figures is now available and I received mine this last week.

There are two figures I did not buy in this series: Grave Spike, because I didn't need a shirtless Spike, and Vampire Schoolgirl Darla, because this figure hasn't been released yet, and no one knows why.

Not pictured on this post: Season 2 Darla and Just Rewards Spike. It is hard to photograph the figures in becasue the plastic reflects the light and the camera tends to focus on the plastic and not the figure, making the photo blurry. That is why I shot some of the photos at odd angles.

Once again, I had to move some of my Simpons figures to a different place on my wall to make room for these new figures.

The next wave of Buffy/Angel figures will be Wesley (5 variations) and Lorne (3 variations).

High School Basketball

During my high school years, I never went to one school sporting event (or dance, but that's a story for another day). In the past three years I have watched probably 20 high school basketball games. Why? My friend, call him Coach K, is the boys varsity basketball coach for a local high school. Me and other friends go to the games to support him and his team. The games are quite exciting when the fans start cheering and the game is close. Yesterday they won their 1st round playoff game, which made Coach K happy.

Last week they played against my alma mater, so I was a little bit torn. However, it seems that my old school is not well liked in their league. The game was very close the whole time and Coach K's team won after being down by 8 points with 30 seconds left in the game. Great entertainment for only $4 (that's $1/quarter).

Weather Update

After watching the news this evening, I found out that I was just yards away from a fatal accident. When I went shopping for my lights, there was a man down the road directing traffic away from the freeway, where I was headed. He indicated that I should not turn right, so I made funny, illegal u-turn and took a different road out. As I came home from my trip, I saw the tree that had fallen across the road earlier. As a waited to turn left onto my street, the Highway Patrol that was now directing traffic (the random man was gone) at that intersection suddenly sped off. Later, on the news, I saw that one block away from that intersection, another tree fell on a car killing the driver, which explains why the CHP officer suddenly sped away. This death happened so close to me it is scary. Makes you want to never leave your home.

Rain, floods and lights

Am I tired of the rain in San Diego? No. I'm glad it's raining. I have been very worried about the recent drought, brought on perhaps by global warming. What if Southern California has a prolonged drought, there isn't enough water for everyone, people have to move away and can't sell their homes because who would buy them? It could happen. However, I spent 20 minutes sweeping water out of my garage. After 10 minutes, I realized that the water must be seeping in from underground, because every time I swept the water out, more appeared. Now that it stopped raining, the garage finally is drying out. About lights. I had to go to three stores just to buy four new fluorescence light. The first two had only one, so I didn't buy any. Home Depot basically kicked me out because they had to close the isle for safety reasons. So I ended up at Dixieline, one of my least favorite hardware stores, but they had the four lights I needed. Now my kitchen is once again well lit.

Sunday Lunch at Karl Strauss

Here is a photo of me with a glass of beer (I'm not drinking the jug as it appears) at Karl Strauss in Carlsbad. A nice break from sorting through my Dad's house.

Family Photos

Photos taken in the backyard after Dad's funeral. Click on photo to enlarge.

My Dad

In memory of my Dad: 1931-2005

Clapton is God

Maybe I'm living in the 60's, but Eric Clapton is one of the greatest musicians ever. Not only is he still making music at the age of 59, but he is fathering children. His 29 year old wife just gave birth to his daughter. This is the same Eric Clapton who "stole" George Harrison's wife and ended up marrying her. What a life he has lived. By the time I turn 59, I'll be lucky if I have a wife and any children (that I know of). Not to mention that I have sold zero records and have been part of no legendary bands.

Star Trek: Enterprise Canceled!

You knew it was coming. The official announcement was released today. The series finale will air on Friday, May 13, 2005. Mark your calendars, the party will be at my house, for anybody that cares. I'm not surprised that the series was canceled. The show's episodes never matched their potential. The writers, directors and producers could have done so much better. How many times could Captain Archer get captured? The only part of the show I'll miss is the character T'Pol, played by Jolene Blalock - an unusual looking woman, even as a human, but strangely attractive, even as a Vulcan.

CMMI Level 2

Yesterday at work my department was certified CMMI Level 2. What does that mean? CMMI stands for Capability Maturity Model® Integration. It is a measurement of a project's or company's processes and procedures for software and hardware development. Level 1 is the lowest, and level 5, which is the real goal, is the highest. So obtaining a level 2 rating is actually a good thing, since most projects are operating at a level 1. The people in this photo are fellow project members, our supervisors, and the team members who evaluated us. Click on the photo for a larger size.

Colds are no Fun

Not that anybody cares, but I've been sick all of this week. I've had a bad sore throat and a dry cough. The doctor said I had nothing serious. Today I feel better and finally went back to work. Three days of doing nothing but sleeping and watching TV gets boring. I even found myself watching tennis! This football-less weekend will be a recovery weekend - I don't want a relapse.

O'Beer:30

Time to crack open that first beer of the night. Plans to go to the Aztec basketball game tonight fell through. Plans to have brunch tomorrow morning were canceled. I guess with all this free time on my hands I'll just have to make another silly video.

Life Of Keith Video

Well, I have created an odd video to be used as an introduction to my blog. I filmed it using my web camera, which does not produce the best quality picture or video/audio synchronization. The file is over 5 MB, so it might take awhile to load if you are using an ancient dial-up modem.

Note: If you have trouble playing the video, try this. Right-click on the link, click "Save Target As.." and save the file to your computer. Then play the video from your computer. Windows Media Player should launch and play the video.

Updated on 01/29/05: I have changed the video from a "avi" to "mpg" format. Now Quicktime might play the video when you click on the "odd video" link.

Karl Strauss

Beer was enjoyed by all after the plumbing disaster.

EuroTrip

Last night I watched the movie EuroTrip which I had recorded on my DVR from Cinamax. I don't remember this movie being released in the theatres, but it must have been. The only reason I watched it was because is co-starred Michelle Trachtenberg. Who is she? Well, Michelle Trachtenberg played Buffy's sister on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. As a bonus, she has the same birthday as me! EuroTrip can be classified as a "Teenage Sex Romp" B-movie. It was very funny and horribly bad at the same time, so keep that in mind if you watch it. It is rated 'R', but be warned. The movie contains almost as much D&A as T&A. The scene on the nude beach was hilarious because it was so true. Overall, I'd say EuroTrip is a fun movie to watch - more fun after a few shots of J.D.

Brent Spiner on Joey

I have posted before on how much I like the television show Joey. Well last week they had a guest star, and it is not even sweeps week! That's right, Brent Spiner was on the show and he played himself. This episode centered around the premier party for the "drama" that Joey co-stars in. Brent Spiner was at the party, as well as Joey's nephew Michael who is a very intelligent and nerdy (like me!). At the end of the episode, Michael had to make a choice. Go have a drink with a very beautiful woman, or go to Brent Spiner's car to see his Data uniform. So Michael looked at the women, then looked at Mr. Spiner, and then said to the woman "Sorry, I'm going to have to go with Brent Spiner." Classic! Funniest line ever! If you don't understand why this is so funny, then I could never explain it to you.

Web Hosting

I finally upgraded my personal home page. For the past seven years, I have hosted my home page with my ISP, Roadrunner. They give you only 5 MB per account. Since I put my vacation photos on my home page, I have had to delete old photos before uploading new ones. So last week I bought one year of web hosting from GoDaddy.com. Since I prepaid for one year, it is only costing me $3.16/month for 500 MB of storage. The average is $8 to $15 for that much space. How can this company charge so little? Here is my guess. When you register a domain name or buy web hosting, they make you go through a dozen upgrade offers, each costing an extra $2/month or $10/year. By skipping these choices you finally end up at the page where you get your total and pay. Enough people must pay for the extras that GoDaddy must make enough money to survive in this cut-throut market. GoDaddy also offers cheap domain registration and transfers. I transferred one of my domains (from a company that was charging me $30/year) plus I added two more year of registration for just $24. I researched GoDaddy and they are a reputable company (BBB and ICANN accredited), plus a friend of mine has been using them for years with no problems. With all this new disk space, I can now upload more video and audio to be linked to this blog.

Plumbing Disaster Averted

Today I attempted to install a new faucet on my sister's bathroom sink. After three hours of fighting to get the old one off, and trying to figure out why I had leftover parts. I finished. However, when testing the sink for leaks, hot water started spraying everywhere. By the time I got the valve shut off, the light in the hallway below filled up with water, and water was leaking through the ceiling and walls of the first story. The electricity had to be shut off so no one would be shocked. To make a long story short, the new faucet looks great, but now the water intake lines have to be replaced, and that requires shutting off the main water which affects many residents. Time to call a real plumber.

St. George

What am I doing looking at houses in St. George, UT? I don't plan on moving there, but if I ever did, I could buy a really nice house. I found a 3000 sq/ft house (including basement) for under $300K. Now for comparison, here in San Diego, that would buy you a small 1 bedroom condominium. If you have never been to the city of St. George, and most of you haven't, it is a very scenic city. Located 8 miles North of the Nevada/Utah border, it is surrounded by beautiful red rocks. There are numerous national parks nearby, and Brian Head ski resort is a short distance away. I might consider moving there if they had a job for me, but when I searched for jobs I found none for a computer programmer. Another city I looked for housing at is Colorado Springs, CO. That city also has cheap housing plus many high-tech job opportunities. However, it is also very cold in the winter, and far from my current home. I guess I'll spend the rest of my life in the same city I was born in. Not that is bad. San Diego was just ranked number 2 in the list of best-mannered cities.

Huygens Lands On Titan

Unbelievable! The probe Huygens, which was detached from the space craft Cassini in December, just landed on Saturn's moon Titan. It successfully took photos and other measurements during and after the landing and transmitted them back to Cassini, which then sent the data to Earth. This is all happening billions of miles in space. You gotta love science and technology, especially the software aspect.

Talk About Rain!

This morning I woke up to the sound of heavy rain, once again. When I hear rain on a work day morning, I try to get up early so I can hit the road before everybody starts crashing into each other. So I leave my house and open my garage door to find water everywhere. I grab a broom and push the water out and drive away. As I'm driving to the freeway, I see the local creek, which is dry 9 months a year, flowing with class 3 rapids. I have never seen so much water there before. Onto the freeway, I hear on the radio that a person was killed by falling tree further up the road I'm on. By the time I got to work, I felt like I survived a natural disaster. Luckily the rain soon let up, my garage dried out, and no trees feel on me.

Gloomy Day in San Diego

Somehow I ended up in Ocean Beach this afternoon. The skies were gray, the ocean was choppy, and the only people around were a few brave surfers and some homeless people - you know, the usual. As I walked up Newport I noticed that the bars were empty. There were lots of cars parked on the street, but only a few people on the sidewalk. It was kind of strange. I was hungry, so I ended up getting a chicken quesadilla at Nico's - always a good choice. Back at home I can now watch football, still thinking about the game that the Chargers lost yesterday. How depressing was that?

BTY, this photo was taken using the camera in my new cell phone. I finally got a new phone, which is tiny compared to my old one. It has a ton of features, including voice activation, web access, e-mail, text messaging and so on. However, they all cost extra to use - they didn't tell me that in the store!

Welcome 2005

For the first time in three years I left my house on New Year's Eve. My friend tried to get a group of people together to go out and do something fun, but it ended up just us two going to a local bar. It wasn't the funnest night, but better than sitting at home. There was man there that for some reason bought a round of drinks for everyone in the house, and the bar was packed. This guy was either rich, stupid or drunk. I didn't get a free drink because the offer was only for 15 minutes, and the two bartenders, as hard as they tired, didn't have time to get everyone a drink. People ordered mixed drinks instead of just beer, which take more time to prepare. I'm glad I didn't get a free drink because it turns out that the man was a jerk, and he got thrown out of the bar. Apparently he thought that he had the right to "touch" any women just because he bought them a drink.

So we counted down the new year, drank a small glass of complementary Champaign and soon left. Back at my friends house, we watched another episode of "The Avengers" and I fell asleep on the floor, even though I brought an air mattress. I woke up with a slight hangover, but not too bad.

Today I went with my brother to the auto show at the Convention Center, where I sat in many cars. Turns out that I don't fit in many sports cars like the Honda S2000 or Mazda Miata. However, I did fit in the Mini Cooper. For the first time I got into the new 2005 Ford Mustang, which is a really good looking car. I was a little too tall for the car, but I'd still consider buying one someday.

Family Christmas 2004

Here is a photo of my family and I taken on Christmas day. Yes, I am a few millimeters taller than my (older) brother.

The new glasses have been officially broken in with the proper beer. Doesn't that look beautiful?

Strong Storm

Last night I woke up at 2 AM to the sound of strong rain and wind. I looked out my window and it looked like a hurricane was passing over. My condo is surrounded by eucalyptus trees which fall over easy in strong wind, and they were swaying back and forth ready to fall. Then I looked out my front window and saw one of those trees lying across a nearby road, blocking two cars, and it looked like the tree had fallen on a parked car. There was also a driving rain coming down almost sideways. I tried to sleep but I was too worried that a tree was going to fall on my home. I finally did sleep, and when I woke up and looked out side it looked like a disaster area. When I drove to the gym, I saw trees laying on the ground everywhere, including one that landed on a condo near mine - so I wasn't being paranoid last night. I saw on the news that over 100 eucalyptus trees toppled over in my neighborhood. Now it is cloudy outside with a mild wind blowing - time to clean up the mess.

I am a Unit Leader (Spoken in a monotone voice)

Here is a slightly blurry picture of me on Christmas day holding one of four Stella Artois glasses and a Homer bottle opener. I asked for the glasses because ever since I ordered the beer at a bar in Key West, I liked that it came in a custom glass. Since I couldn't find where to buy the glass, I put it on my Christmas list hoping someone else would have better luck - which they did! Now I have four of these glasses to enjoy Stella Artois or any other beer in. The Homer can opener was an unexpected gift. When you open a bottle, you hear Homer say "Hmm, beer. Oh Yes...." It is funny at first but I'd imagine that after awhile at a party it would become annoying. So lets find out.

To the right is a photo of me the day after Christmas at Pizza Port holding a beer. I came here looking for my lost Christmas spirit, which I found at the bottom of this glass. Unfortunatly, Christmas is over, so I'll have to hold on to that spirit for one year.

What does these photos have to do with being a Unit Leader? Nothing. In fact, I am neither a leader nor a follower. I do what I want when I want, whatever that means.

Christmas Eve

Well, it's now Christmas Eve, and here I am sitting in front of my computer drinking a Guinness draught from a bottle - brilliant! I just went on my annual Christmas light viewing drive. I ventured up to a newer neighborhood where I saw not only beautiful light and decoration displays, but some very large expensive homes. Who can afford all these houses? What jobs are out there that pay enough so these people can buy $800,000 homes? It must be nice. I also ended up in an area where houses were still being rebuilt from last years big fire. That was depressing. So anyways, I say to the whole world, Merry Christmas!

Goodbye to Shopping Mall Traffic

I have finished my Christmas shopping. Traffic on the freeways was slow all day, and the parking lots were filling up fast. But I braved a trip to the North County Fair and lived to talk about it. All the gifts are wrapped and ready to be opened in two days. Now I'm free to do what I want on Christmas Eve. Oh joy!

Done With Work

I just finished my last day of work for 2004! What a nice feeling. I'm looking forwards to 11 days of sleeping, eating and relaxing. I have just one more Christmas gift to buy and I'm done with visiting shopping malls. Now if I can just figure out something fun to do New Years Eve. Last year I sat in front of my computer with my web camera turned on, broadcasting my image (every 15 seconds) to the whole world, knowing that not even a mouse was watching me.

Web Search Results

I have been impressed with how often people find my blog using various web search sites, such as Yahoo! Using Sitemeter, I can see how people find my blog. It will show what keywords people used in their search. Yesterday someone searched for "Love. Angle. Music. Baby" using Yahoo! Korea and spent three minutes reading my blog posts. My site was the second site listed in the search results. I like the idea that people all over the world locate my blog and find it informative enough to read. Other searches used to find my blog were: "TechTV Sucks" and "Knott's Scary Farm". Now I need to find a way to make money off my blog.

I'm Gonna Get Fat

Food, food, food. This is a weekend of eating food and attending parties. Thursday I ate lunch with the people I work with. This is the first time in the seven years I've worked on this project that we have had a group lunch at Christmas time. Even one retiree joined us. On Friday I partook in my company holiday potluck. There was enough food to feed everyone ten times over. I don't know what happened to the leftovers. This is the one time a year when I see people I used to work with. I haven't worked at the company office in nine years, and we have many employees, including me, working all over town. I spent over two hours eating and talking before I loosened my belt and headed back to work. Today I'm going to my friends annual Christmas party, where there will be lots of food, beer and shots of exotic drinks. If I survive tonight then Sunday it's off to my sister's house to watch the extended version of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. This movie viewing will include more beer and food. By the time I get to work on Monday, I'll be looking more like Santa, except I won't be wearing a red outfit, hopefully. Sounds like I'm finding my holiday spirit, but not took much spirit like that guy in the Jack In The Box commercial.

Have You Seen My Holiday Spirit?

Because I seem to have lost it a couple of years ago. This is the second year that I haven't put up Christmas decorations in my house because I just wasn't in the mood. I have all these Star Trek ornaments that light up and speak and they're just sitting in their boxes. Maybe I'm getting older and this is what happens as we age. They say Christmas is for kids, and I am no longer a kid, and there are no children in this house. So if you know where my holiday spirit is, please let me know.

Another Day of Christmas Shopping

Today I bought some Christmas gifts for someone other than myself. I got off to an early start, which for me is around noon, with a slight Stargazer Ale hangover (see previous post). At this rate I'll be done shopping before Christmas Eve. I even had enough leftover energy to go to the gym, where I was able to lift 170 lbs on the lateral pulldown - a personal best for me. I think the three strong cups of coffee I had with breakfast was still affecting me. Now I'm all set to watch football tomorrow after a brief morning shopping trek.

First Attempt at Christmas Shopping

My first day of Christmas shopping was a success. The day started with my Dad I and buying the family Christmas tree. We went to Target and ended up getting the first tree we looked at, so the whole experience took less than a half hour. Then I went to Costco and spend almost $200 on ... me. Nobody can accuse me of not pumping money into the economy. I bought myself some really nice gifts, including a case of Karl Strauss Stargazer IPA. This is the first time I've seen this beer for retail sale. I'm drinking one now, and it is quite good, but would be better if it were colder. Tomorrow I'll take my shopping list and buy gifts for someone other than me.

Christmas Wish List

Happy holidays! As I get set to buy my Christmas gifts this year, I think about what I would buy myself if I had oodles of money. The one present I will buy for myself this year is a new cell phone. Mine is five years old and is so large it doubles as a self-defense weapon. However, here is my non-realistic wish list:

• 50 to 60 inch LCOS high definition television
• 6.1 dolby digital sound system
• 3 GHz PC with high-end components and a LCD monitor
• 6 MP digital camera with video
• 2005 Ford Mustang

That's just the beginning - I could type for hours. No, I'm not materialistic, I just like expensive toys.

Interesting Quiz about Something

I found this quiz from someone's blog. I'm not sure what it is all about, but I liked the questions: What Flavour Am I? It said I taste of death. What does that mean? It doesn't sound good. What are your results and what is it about me and quizes?

The Screen Savers Ruined

Well G4Tech TV finally ruined my favorite technology show, The Screen Savers. TechTV was bought by G4 network last year, and there had been many changes since then. But last month they unexpectedly sacked most of the hosts. Their replacements pretty much suck, but that is not the worst part. They got rid of the studio audience! I had been planning to go see the show live since they moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The show seems empty without the cheering crowds, and the new hosts are neither funny nor knowledgeable about computers. The two only two cast members that were kept, Kevin and Sarah, are worth watching, but I can't believe they fired Yoshi and Dan.

Not a lot of people watch The Screen Savers, but those who do tend to be technically savvy - the type who hack computers. These are not people who you want to annoy, and annoyed they are. The Screen Savers web site was taken down by a so-called denial-of-service attack, and their on-line forums are full of comments by ex-viewers expressing how much they hate the new show. Time to find a new show to watch.

New Album Review

I recently bought several new albums by both old and new artists. I got the new albums from Scorpions, Dokken and Gwen Stefani.

Scorpions - Unbreakable

You can't go wrong with a Scorpions album. I don't know how old the members are, but they still know how to rock. No, this is not the soundtrack to the movie by the same name. Like all Scorpion records, there are power ballads mixed in with guitar-heavy tracks. I have no problem with formulas - if it works, don't break it. There is nothing worse than a band changing their sound to match the latest trend in music, like Metallica did. I liked all the songs on this album, but I can imagine any being huge radio hits like "Rock You Like a Hurricane". Not because the songs aren't good, but because there isn't an audience for this genre any more and there isn't a MTV to play their videos in heavy rotation. As we all know, MTV plays almost no videos, and very little music, but that is a topic for another blog post. So I'm doing my best to let the world know that the Scorpions are alive and rockin.

Gwen Stefani - Love. Angle. Music. Baby.

Yes, that is the title of her album, complete with periods (not commas) between the words. If you think No Doubt is one of the greatest new groups and you either love Gwen Stefani or want to be her, then you need to buy this album today. Now don't expect another No Doubt-like album, because this collection of songs is much different. Gwen Stefani's fans tend to be young, much younger than me, and this album is aimed at them. If you are older than 17 you might find some of the songs too poppy, but if you are like me, you'll just enjoy her singing and unique style. I will admit that the song Hollaback Girl is really annoying and I don't know why she recorded it. One of my favorite songs is Rich Girl, which is written to the tune of If I Were a Rich Man from Fiddler on the Roof. In case you haven't figured it out, I'm one of those people who love Gwen Stefani - after all, she is closer to my age than she is to most of her fans.

Dokken - Hell to Pay

I am not ashamed to admit that I have every Dokken album, including the solo album from Don Dokken. I like his voice and all their earlier albums are made to be listened to very loudly. However, they should of stopped producing new material years ago. This album is boring and not very noteworthy. No song stood out as better than the rest, they all just blended together like a simmering pot of stew. Yeah, that's the best analogy I could think of. There are no bad songs, but maybe if there were, it would make the other songs seem better. I don't regret buying the record, but it will probably get filed away alphabetically with my other CDs soon, not to get played again for years.

Who Are You?

As you might have noticed, I use Sitemeter to keep track of who visits my blog and for how long. I sometimes see someone who spends up to 30 minutes viewing my blog. However, I don't know who these people are. Please post a comment or something so I have an idea of who likes my posts. I attempt to write posts that appeal to not just my friends and family, but to other bloggers who have the same interests as I. I often view other peoples blogs using the "Next Blog" link, and if I find an interesting blog, I'll write a comment. So far, I've only got feedback from two of these people. One lives in Pennsylvania, and the other lives in Australia. Blogs are a great way for people around the world to interact. So let's take advantage of this new medium and communicate!

Thanksgiving Downsized

This year it was just my Dad and I eating Thanksgiving diner. The rest of the family, my brother, his wife and my sister are all in France for some reason. So my Dad and I went to the Barona casino for their Thanksgiving buffet. The last two years we went to the Valley View casino, which was nice, but the buffet at Barona was much larger and the food was better. Last time I went to Barona was in 1996, and the entire casino was in a huge circus-like tent. Now there a beautiful Las Vegas style hotel and casino - it's really quite impressive (but sadly, we didn't see Kenny Rogers). The only downside is that they allow smoking in the casino, however, nobody was smoking in the restaurant. We'll all have to go back next year - so much food to try, so little room in stomach.

Recurring Dream, New Twist

The other night I had a dream with a recurring theme, but with a new twist. I have this dream like once a week where I start out at point 'A', and for some reason go to point 'B'. Then the rest of the dream I spend trying to return to point 'A'. Usually I start by driving a car, then for some reason I am riding a bike. Then I loose my bike and I'm walking. There is always something blocking me from getting back to point 'A', such as, all I have to do is go through a building, but as I do, I end up on an elevator that doesn't stop at the floor I need to go to. Another common dream I have is that I have the ability to levitate myself just by concentrating. In the dream I had recently, I was trying to get back to point 'A' while levitating in a small wooden chair. I made it to the top of a large cliff, or a waterfall, and was thinking of jumping off because I knew I could float, but then Godzilla showed up and I knew I couldn't get past him. He was about 100 Ft. tall and started walking towards me. Then he started talking and I tried talking to him, but in the end, I never made it off the cliff, and thus never got back to where I started from. Godzilla? What was I watching on TV before going to bed? I'm sure that this dream has meaning, but who cares. Remembering it in detail two days later is better than watching TV. I hope that in the future there will be a way to record dreams, with sound and video. My dreams are so weird, they could be turned into a television show like The Twilight Zone.

SHOUTcast

I have rediscovered Shoutcast, a web site that has thousands of internet radio stations playing music 24 hours a day for free. You can find a station playing any type of music, many that you may not have heard before, such as: ambient chill, downtempo grove lounge and industrial gothic. For some reason, the most popular stations are techno and trance. I don't know who would want to listen to that music for more than five minutes without being on a dance floor jacked-up on some little pill. I like to find new, unique music that I have never heard before, found mostly on college radio stations. Yesterday I heard a song by Manic Street Preachers, a band that's been around for years that I have never heard of, and now I want to get a CD by them. I guess that's why some bands let their music get broadcast for free. One note, you really need a high-speed internet connection to listen to the music.

Another feature of Shoutcast is the ability for anyone to broadcast their own music. One simple way to do this is by using a Shoutcast server Winamp plug-in. I played a CD using Winamp, turned on the server, and my station was on the air. To verify this, I powered up my other, older and slow PC, whet to Shoutcast.com and searched for my station by name. There it was! There was about a ten second delay, but the music was playing to the whole world. I say simple, but it took me hours to get it working. But still, pretty neat. I couldn't keep my "station" up too long for two reasons. First, I was playing copyrighted music (specifically They Might Be Giants), and secondly, my ISP doesn't allow the use of local servers. Uploading music from a computer uses too much bandwidth, slowing down the whole network. Therefore, once I got the station working, I turned it off. Oh yeah. One more feature is the ability to DJ the songs by talking into the microphone. The downside is the inability to mix the microphone with the music; you have to switch back and forth.

No Motivation

I am off work this whole week, and planned to relax and undertake some projects around the home, but instead here I am surfing the internet. I did go to the gym this morning after sleeping for 11 hours (which was relaxing). I have no motivation to start any project, such as installing a mirror in my bathroom that doesn't cut off the top of my head. Houses are just not designed for tall people. I could also repaint my security screen door, which has numerous rust spots, but I will probably end up hiring someone to do that. I'd rather pluck my toenails than paint. On a lighter note: feathers.

Blog Obligation

I feel obligated to blog about my adventures last night. I didn't do anything remotely cultural like watching a movie or going to a museum, just a night of beer drinking and debauchery. My night was centered around the Aztec football game. We had seven people this time, and the more people the more fun you will have. We al met at my friends house, piled into his Ford Expedetion and drove to the stadium. After 1 1/2 of beer drinking at the tailgate party, we headed into the stadium to watch the game. First stop, the bar to get a beer. As we headed to our seats, I had to make a pitstop. By the time I got to my seat, three of my friends had just walked on to the field! On of them had a green pass from the tailgate party, and for some reason security thought this was a field pass. My other two friends just kind of followed him on - one was carrying a beer. They spent the first half watching the game on the UNLV sidelines, talking to the players and making numerous cell phone calls, you know, like people do at a sporting events when they are on TV. As the first half ended and the players headed to the locker room, my one friend high-fived the UNLV coach, John Robinson, who was coaching his last game ever. Then two of my friends headed into the locker room with the team. On ended up leaving after he got the football he earlier grabbed taken away. The other listened to the coach give his half-time speech. Once we all got back together, it was another trip to the bar before we headed home at the start of the 3rd quarter. Yes, we had a designated driver.

Next we headed to a bar in Escondido called Woody's, where someone knew a band was playing. We hung out there for a while drinking beer and playing foosball. We left two friends there and traveled to RB to get some Mexican food. I got a Monster burrito, and big it was. Our next stop was the local bar called McGee's. Here we sat for five minutes without drinking beer before going back to our starting point. Two more people left, and us last three watched some HBO on-demand, drinking water.

This morning I woke up with a headache and to the sound of thunder. I haven't heard thunder that loud in a long time. The storm lasted around 20 minutes with heavy rain and some hail. Now I'm trying to decide if I should go to the gym or just sit and watch football all day. The Chargers play the Raider this afternoon. Oh yes, the Aztecs ended up winning, with a season record of 4-7. We'll do better next year.

Star Wars Trilogy DVD

Over the past two weekends I watched the Star Wars trilogy DVDs, which include episodes 4 to 6, plus a DVD of bonus material. My first thought after watching the movies on DVD for the first time - I need a bigger television. My 10 year old 27 inch RCA TV just doesn't work for movies like Star Wars. If I had thousands of dollars burning a hole in my pocket then I'd buy a new high-definition TV. Since I don't, I'll just wait until my current set breaks and make a decision then. However, I could tell that the video was much improved on the DVD over how it looks on VHS tape. My sound system is half way decent and my livingroom walls were shaking nicely during the louder action scenes. As far as the changes that George Lucas made on top of the special editions, I wouldn't have noticed unless I was told in advance, except for the final scene with the replaced Anakin Skywalker. The highlight of the bonus material is a 2 1/2 hour documentary called "Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy". They spend almost one hour showing how Star Wars came to be, and I had no idea how many problems George Lucas encountered during the whole process. It was quite interesting to me, however, I'm sure much of what was discussed is known by all Star Wars die-hards. I didn't listen to any of the audio commentaries, and I normally don't. The problem I have is that I end up trying to listen to the movie dialog in the background and have a hard time concentrating on the commentary. Plus sometime the commentary can be quite boring. One more note, there is a hidden feature on the bonus disc, or an "Easter egg", as they are called. I don't see how anyone could figure this one out. On the games menu, type "11", then "3" then "8" and you get a five minute "bloopers" reel. I get the "1138" reference, but how would someone figure out when to enter this sequence of numbers? I found out from Hidden Features, a site that lists numerous Easter eggs for hundreds of DVDs. Stay tuned for my review of "Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith" in May of 2005. I can hardly wait!

Reasons not to Read Someone's Blog

The following are some of the reasons that I don't read someone's blog:

• Changed my cursor
• Sweep effect when displaying the page
• Background music
• Pop-up ads
• Blog posts in small scrolling window
• Foreign language
• Incomplete sentences written like a 13 year old in a chat room
• No posts to read
• A blog consisting of nothing but links
• Tiny, unreadable fonts
• Blog dedicated to a topic of no interest to me

Can you Add to this list?

Joey

Each season, TV that is, there are many new shows on the major networks. However, I end up watching at most one new show each year. This year it is Joey, the Friends spinoff. Joey started off slow, as all new shows do, but after watching this weeks episode, I realize that it has actually gotten really funny. The downside of the show is Joey's character is a little dumber that he was on Friends. The upside is Joey's sister, played by Drea de Matteo. I can see this show making it into a second season, hopefully without a "guest" appearance by a Friends co-star during sweeps week. We don't need an appearance by Rachel or Ross! Let's let those characters live forever in television history.

New Anya and Tara Figures

I arrived back home this morning after running some chores and was at first shocked that on my front porch my mat had been moved and draped over a box. My first though was, "Oh my, someone has placed a bomb on my step and I'm about to be blown up!". Then my shock and horror changed to joy and excitement when I realized that the box was a package from Diamond Select Toys that I was expecting. The box contained six action figures from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer series VI, including five variants of Anya and one Tara figure. These are the first new figures since the six Willows were released earlier this year. There are three other Tara variants that I did not buy, mostly because they all looked the same and Anya is a more interesting character than Tara, as you can see by these pictures I took. Taking photos of the figures in their boxes is not easy. The light reflects of the plastic creating a glare, plus the camera wants to focus on the plastic, not the figure inside. My next project will be finding space on my wall to display my new figures. As someone once pointed out, I have plenty of open wall space, but I'm determined to keep my toy collection in my two extra rooms. I want the rest of my house to look semi-normal. The solution seems to be that I need a bigger house! So what's next in the Buffy/Angle line? Spike and Darla figures early next year, and just announced for mid-2005, Wesley and Lorne. Then the year will end with one more Buffy line of figures where we will hopefully get maybe a new Buffy and Dawn. Until then, happy collecting!

Cassini and Saturn

Have you been viewing the pictures beamed back from the spacecraft Cassini-Huygens orbiting Saturn? They are amazing! Cassini just made the closest approach to Saturn's moon Titan ever, measuring all aspects of planet-like sphere using a multitude of instruments. Later this year, the craft will send the Huygens probe into the atmosphere of Titan. Hopefully it won't crash like the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander did. Speaking of Mars, the two Mars Exploration Rovers are still alive, roaming on the surface taking pictures and sampling the soil. This is an amazing feat, and most people forgot about this exceedingly successful mission months ago. The rovers have lasted three times longer than they were designed for. I have been interested in space and astronomy since I was a kid and hope NASA/JPL's budget doesn't get cut much more.

Four More Years

It is time I broke my silence and confess that I voted for Bush. I am happy he won, unlike many of my friends who now think the world is going to end. Sure, the President is not perfect and his administration has made many mistakes, including Iraq, but could Kerry do any better? Kerry is great at pointing out all of America's problems and saying he had a solution to every one, including the ability to make paralyzed people walk again, but I don't think that he really could follow-up on his promises. I could have done better in the debates than Bush. But could I lead the country? No. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks this way, and that is why George has four years to complete his agenda.

Halloween

Here I am at a Halloween party after my blades had been plucked from my hands! I looked much better with spikes poking out of my gloves. The beads were given for each beer I drank, except when this picture was taken I was on about my 10th beer, meaning that I should be hunched over due to the extreme weight around my neck. Sunday was no fun day for me.

Blogshares

Well, I claimed my blog at Blogshares. What exactly does that mean? I'm not sure. This web site has 1.8 million blogs that are tracked like stocks, where you can buy and sell shares of blogs. I found my blog here by chance, and signed-up so I could claim ownership of my blog. Also, I got some shares automatically invested in my own blog, as well as "cash" to invest in others. Is there actual money to be made here? Not that I can see. My goal is to increase the value of my blog, which seems to be based on incoming and outgoing links. However, it says my blog has 3 outgoing links, and I know I have over 20. Lets see how long this trendy endeavor holds my interest.

Time to Vote!

Tomorrow is election day. I hope everyone votes. If you don't vote, you don't have the right to complain if your candidate doesn't win or your favorite proposition is defeated.

Interesting Blog Quiz

I found a link to a blog quiz called Are You A Blogaholic? on someones blog. I scored a 40/100 and here is what it said about me:

You are a casual weblogger. You only blog when you have nothing better to do, which is not very often. There's nothing wrong with that. But if you'd post a little more often, you'd make your readers very happy.

Knott's Berry Farm

It's time to talk about something more uplifting, my trip yesterday to Knott's Berry Farm. I hadn't been there in over 15 years, and this was the first time I had been to Knott's around Halloween time, when it is decorated for Knott's scary Farm. It was a perfect day weather-wise, abundant sunshine and warm enough to wear shorts. Plus, free passes into the park! I remember going to Knott's when I was young, and seeing some of the old rides and attractions brought back memories. The last time I went was the first time I rode the rollercoasters, like Montezooma's Revenge.

There were many new rides for me to experience, as well as the classics. I rode: Timber Mountain Log Ride, Calico Mine Ride, Jaguar, Montezooma's Revenge, Bigfoot Rapids, Hat Dance and GhostRider. Some rides, like the mine train, were decorated for Halloween. The miners were replaced by ghosts, zombies and the Grim Reaper, which added a new twist to the ride. However, these creatures weren't animated - I get the feeling that they save the good stuff for the Knott's Scary Farm event after dark.

My favorite ride was GhostRider. This is a newer ride, and had the longest wait. It is a wooden coaster, like Colossus at Magic Mountain, but has many more sharp turns and twists. I got a little beat-up on the ride but it was worth it. I was laughing the whole time. Laughing in fear! There were a few attractions that were closed for the day. Some were only open for the nighttime event.

For lunch I ate a chicken meal at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner Restaurant. This is the first time I remember eating here. As a kid, I never wanted to eat there - I wanted hotdogs instead. The chicken was excellent, as well as the biscuits and apple pie. Since most of the lines for the rides were so short, after 5 hours I was ready to go home. It was a great day that wasn't quite over. I ended up at the Karl Strauss brewery in Carlsbad, drinking pints of beer and watching the World Series. I slept well last night.

Cedar Fire One Year Later

It was a year ago today that I did what I never thought I'd have to do, evacuate my house as a huge fire approached. I will never forget that morning. It started when I woke up at 5 AM and for some reason looked out my window, where I saw what I thought was a fog bank. I opened the door and it was warm outside, and I thought, "that's strange, how can there be fog when it is so warm?". So I went back to sleep. Around 6 AM I woke up again when I heard sirens nearby. During the next hour I heard about 20 fire trucks drive by, and still I just wanted to sleep. Finally I got up at 8 AM and after looking outside again I realized that the fog was really smoke, and it was getting thicker and closer. I turned on the news and every station was broadcasting pictures of the fire as it was burning up my neighborhood - about 4 miles away. Then the news channels said everyone south of the street I live near by needed to evacuate. I live about 1 block north of that street, so I decided it was time for me to leave. Not knowing what to pack, I took my computer, photo albums and a bag of clothes, threw them into my car and headed north on the freeway. It was an eerie site to see the southbound lanes filled with cars not moving, because the freeway was closed. Only a few cars were going north with me.

Not knowing where to go, I called my friend Mark and said, "hey, I just evacuated my house, can I come over?" So I spent the next two days at his house, sleeping on his couch and watching the local news, not knowing if my house was burned or not. All I could do is call my home phone, and if my answering machine answered, then I knew it hadn't melted into a pile of goo. When I was finally allowed to return home, my house was there. The air was thick with smoke and ash, and the smell of smoke was inside as well. I didn't want to spend the night there, so I drove back to my friends house for a second night on the couch. As I drove away, I saw that the fire burned on two sides of my complex, burning some trees within a few hundred yards of my home. A few months later I found out why our neighborhood didn't burn. My neighbor sprinkled some holy water that she keeps on hand. Either that, or it was the two neighbors who didn't evacuate and fought the fire with a garden hose. My guess is the winds were blowing the fire to the south. No matter, I'm glad my precious action figures didn't go up in flames.

Gwen Stefani solo album

Good news everyone. Gwen Stefani has her first solo album in the works. It is called Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and will be released November 23rd. Why you ask am I giving her free advertising? Because I am a big No Doubt fan and I think Gwen Stefani is one of the most talented singers around. You can listen to her new single and see the video at her web site, Gwen Stefani.

Washers and Mundaneness

On Sunday my not-so-old washer finally gave up. It started having problems a year after I bought it - right after the limited warranty expired. For six years it limped along until my washer decided to wash no more. Luckily, it failed during the final rinse, so I wasn't left with soapy clothes. So after watching the Chargers lose, I went shopping for a new washer and ended up buying a front-loading LG Electronics model at Best Buy. I wish I had bought a front-loading washer originally, but they are almost twice as expensive as regular, top-loading washers. However, they are more efficient in both electricity and water usage, plus they get your clothes cleaner with less wear and tear. I'm doing my first load now, as you, the whole world, can see in the photo.

Baseball vs. Football

What a great sports night! I was watching the Yankees/Red Sox game and was actually excited for Boston, mostly because I don't like the Yankees, especially Jeter, with the stupid smirk he has. Last nights game was too late for me to watch 'til the end, and I live on the West Coast. Only real fans will sit in the cold of the night until 1:30 AM to watch baseball. Tonight worked out great, because even though the coverage of the Astros/Cardinals didn't start until the 8 inning, there were no runs scored until the bottom of the 9th when Houston won. I don't care who wins this series, but I'm leaning towards the Astros. Then, as I flip channels, I realize that Monday night football is on, and it is tied in the 3rd quarter. So much for getting caught up on my recorded shows: Enterprise and Charmed. Yes, I do more than watch TV all night, usually.

Rain in San Diego?

I think not. Everytime rain is forecast for San Diego, it doesn't rain! Some high pressure moves in and pushes the low to the North of us. There is a 50% chance of rain tonight. If I wake up to the sound of rain, I will stand outside and sing "Singing in the Rain" while juggling pears. I don't know how to juggle, but I'll learn.

Glucosamine

I have been taking the dietary supplements Glucosamine HCI/Chondroitin Sulfate for several months. These supplements are known to reduce joint pain, of which I suffer in my knee, especially when I go hiking. It was after my aunt and uncle told me that they gave a cat-sized portion to their 14 year old cat and it cured her osteoarthritis, allowing her to walk around without pain, that I decided to try the supplement.

After taking three pills a day for three months (more or less), I decided it was time to test its effectiveness by going on a hike that I have done before: Iron Mountain. The last time I hiked the mountain before talking the pills, my knees were aching as I hiked down. My friends had to wait at the bottom for me because I was so slow. Then my knees hurt for several days afterwards. This is a problem that has been worsening for me over the last 10 years. So yesterday morning, I drove up to Iron mountain and set out on a hike. It is three miles to the peak. I made it to the top in one hour, stopping three times the rest and stretch my muscles. I spent 10 minutes at the top enjoying the 360 degree, slightly hazy view of San Diego county. Now the real test is the hike back down. It took me one hour make it back down, with one stop to rest at the half-way point. My knees didn't hurt, but my leg muscles sure did. Aching muscles are good, that indicate they are getting a good work-out. I'm not sure why it took me the same amount of time to hike down, because I know I was walking faster and I only stopped once.

This morning, after a good nights rest, my knees feel fine and my muscles are only a little tired. So I would say that the drugs worked! My only concern is that I havn't consulted my doctor about this supplement. He might tell me not to take it, since there have been no tests proving its safety and effectiveness in humans. I will continue to take the pills, and hopefully go on other, more strenuous hikes.

Cross-Linking with Spamusement

I have been checking the site Spamusement often because a new cartoon is added daily. Today I noticed that the site has a list of referring web sites and my blog was listed! After returning to the site several times, I realized that this list is updated dynamically as people visit the site. My blog was not listed when I entered the site from another web page. However, my blog must have been listed there a while because several people read my blog today, and according to sitemeter, spamusement was the referring page. Both visitors spent almost two minutes reading my blog, which is more time than most people linger. I did a Google search on "spamusement" and found hundreds of references to that site. No wonder the author is asking for donations - he could get rich. Isn't the internet an amazing place?

Bike Ride and Safe Blogging

Today I went on my Saturday morning bike ride. I have been taking a weekly ride regularly since I got back into biking a few months ago. My rides are not long, between 6 and 10 miles, but they sure beat spending 20 minutes on a stair-stepper in the gym. It was about this time last year that I stopped ridding my bike, partly due to the destructive fire here in Scripps Ranch. The fire burned next to all the roads that I ride on, and since there was smoke and ash in the air for months after the fire was out, I stopped riding or even spending any time outdoors. I was happy today to see that more houses are being rebuilt. Soon there will be no visible indication that a fire ravaged the area at all.

Why do people insist on adding some plug-in to their blog that forces you to install an application in order to view their page? I will never install anything unless it is an application that I really trust, like QuickTime, which I already have installed. If you refuse to install the program, then a message box pops-up saying "You must install to view page" and then you cannot close your browser or go to another blog. I advise all you bloggers out there NOT to install any plug-ins. What you should do if this happens is press "cntl-alt-delete", select "Task Manager" if you are running Windows XP, select the the Internet Explorer line and click "End Task". This process might vary depending on your operating system. Doing this will help ensure that your computer does not get a virus or any spyware installed. And you all know how I feel about spyware!

Strange Bedfellows

I recently rediscovered this strange photo and thought it was time I explain to the world how it came to be. I got the Bart mask at a San Diego Comic-Con a few years ago. The teddy bear belonged to my mom. The cardboard cut-out of Ricker was grabbed from a Jack-in-the-Box during a daring daylight heist. Somehow all three ended up in my guest bedroom. During one of my Superbowl parties, a guest arranged them under the covers as you see here (and funny she thought she was). So I took this photo, closed the door, and left them alone for the night.

Women Need to Try This

Inspired by the web site Spamusement that I posted about below, I gave my best effort to draw a cartoon based on an actual subject line from a spam e-mail that I received. As I expected, it is not easy to think of something funny to draw, not to mention that I can't draw people, especially women. I drew this picture using Microsoft Paint, and didn't try really hard to make it realistic. I need to thank Sarah Michelle Gellar for providing the inspirational photo I used as an example. My crude drawing is not unlike the one that Giles drew on the episode Hush, except there he made Buffy look fat. I went with the skinny body, big hands look. Once again, this picture was not drawn by a 5 year old. With time I believe I will improve.

Rodney Dangerfield

We new it was going to happen soon. Rodney Dangerfield has died, and I am saddened. Looking back on all the roles that he played, the one I remember him most for is when he voiced the character of Burns' son Larry on The Simpsons. That was almost a comeback role for him at the time. It is amazing how effective The Simpsons are when it comes to making an actor that might not be well known by a younger audience suddenly popular and cool again. Other personalities that benefited by appearing on The Simpsons are Tito Puente and Tom Jones. Lets all have a beer for Mr. Dangerfield and give him that respect he truly deserves.

Spamusement

I found this very funny web site listed on another blog. Click on each link in the site, the cartoons are hilarious. Well, they were for a computer geek like me. Note, I could be sending this link out to all my friends in a spam-like fashion, but instead I'm making you come to me, thus eliminating one more useless e-mail.

Spamusement

Hot Or Not

Yes, I have submitted my photo to the famous web site "Hot or Not". So far the results don't look good. If they don't improve, I'll submit a different, better picture. Click here to rate me, and please, be nice. I was rating pictures of women between the ages of 33 and 40, and most of the pictures did not do the women any justice. I gave lots of 3's and 4's, and was surprised that their average vote was 6 and 7! I guess I'm just too picky. The photo I used was the same one I use for my blog. I hope the Simpsons action figures in the background didn't hurt my image.

Company Going Away Dinner

Last night I went to a going away dinner for our local center director/vice president. I like to attend as many company lunches/dinners as I can. It gives me an opportunity to meet fellow employees and talk to people who I rarely see, since I don't work at the company office. I kind of regretted signing up for this event, since I figured that there would be nothing but old, upper-level managers at this event. That part was true. However, I met our new center director, and several other managers saw me there, so that made me look good. There were enough people there that I knew that I didn't feel completely out of place, even though I was the youngest person there, even at 37 years of age. There were about 40 people at this dinner, and I expected more since it was for a vice president. This turned out to be a plus, since everyone was given the cordless mircophone to give the guest of honor, Steve, a going away message. The man next to me had the best comment. He said, "If I had known I was going to speak I'd wouldn't have shown up." Such honesty! The man before me said, "I have learned that it is best to keep your speech funny and short, and since I am not funny, I'm done." It took almost a half hour for everyone to deliver their messages to Steve. After all was said and done, I said my good-by to him and snuck out around 9:30.