Pom Wonderful

Ever wanted to know how to field dress a pomegranate?

Now you too can learn in one easy download!


Click!

Madlib

Several months ago, we went out to eat at (I think) Outback steak house. Jen wrote the answers to this madlib as I gave them to her. It was kind of funny... click

Ads for "True"

I don't know what anyone else thinks, but I think these ads for the Internet dating service "True" are bordering on pornographic. They're everywhere. Not cool.



And when they say love, they mean that in a purely physical sense. What a sleazy site dressing itself up as a respectable one.

They say "At True.com™ we're committed to providing a safer, smarter way you to find your soul mate. " With ads like the one above, I somehow doubt that soulmate is what they are helping people find. Bedmate sounbds more like it. But I guess there's a market for that...

Junk Mail

I got this piece of junk in the good ole US postal service mail recently. I have little respect for whoever did this ad, because it totally gives the wrong message.



When you see this do you not think "I had to pawn some stuff to pay my credit card bill since I bought this expensive new iPod"? Maybe you could have unexpected bills if your car broke down or something, but this ad doesn't give that impression at all.

If I had to do this ad, here's what it would might look like. Now these are unexpected bills!


Car broke down


Appendectomy


Trouble with the house

Oh yeah, I shoulda been in advertising. Haha.

Lite-Brite

I can't remember if I ever talked about this before, but it is fun!

http://www.sfpg.com/animation/liteBrite.html

An online Lite-Brite!!!

Alton Brown Podcast

I'm always keeping my eyes open for Alton Brown's podcast. There is supposedly one coming out, but I've not seen it yet. In the meantime, I did run across a recorded interview with him from Hungry Magazine. It's on their website and locally here.

We're still waiting, AB!!! Come on, friend, bring out ep 1!

I had never heard of Hungry Mag before today, but I'm liking it...

Hayley Westenra's Music

I recently heard about Hayley Westenra so I'm putting her link here so that I can go back and listen to some of her music...she has such a pretty, clean, vocal sound.

Samples and info are on her website.

http://www.hayleywestenra.com/

Tornado near Brother's

On the evening of the 28th, there was a major storm near my Brother's trailer house. I am not sure how - he must be living right - but he had no damage while things all around him were destroyed. I am not certain that there were tornadoes, but I bet there were. He's luck. Click the picture to see the radar picture about the time this all happened.

Mad Skillz

I wish I could do this kind of shizzat! :p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2kJZOfq7zk

No news is...no news

Stiiiiilllllll no news on the job. Man, the job has been posted on Monster for over a month now. I wonder if it has already been filled and they just haven't taken it down?

I'm still waiting.

Here's the job description, by the way:

Our Plano client is a world class environmental service organization and market leader in industrial hazardous waste management. Serving more than 400,000 domestic and international customers, including over 400 of the Fortune 500; they are continuing their 40-year history of innovation, and developing new products and services to meet changing customer needs across North America. They have over 4,500 employees across the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada.

Our client has an immediate opportunity for a Senior Exchange Administrator to join their Information Technology Team. A new MS Exchange email environment is being developed internally, and this position will play an integral part of the implementation and ongoing support of the environment.

Skills:

· 3 years of Exchange 2003 (check!)

. Extensive experience installing and administering Microsoft Exchange email environment (check!)

· Thorough experience of DNS, DHCP, AD, SMTP and POP3, including IMAP (check!)

· Experience installing and administering Blackberry Enterprise Server and other push mail technologies (check!)

· Experience tuning and optimizing email system performance (check!)

· Excellent desktop platform knowledge (check!)

· Proficient with server technology (Dell) and enterprise backup strategies and technologies (check!)

· Windows NT/XP, Lotus Notes, Windows 2k3/AD and Exchange 2003 (check!)

Responsibilities:

· Design, develop and implement a new exchange email environment (I can do that...)

· Monitor and manage all email services and hardware (I can do that...)

· Provide 2nd and 3rd level support for email system (I can do that...)

· Work with 3rd party vendor, e.g. Microsoft, RIM, etc. as needed to develop services and resolve issues as they arise (I can do that...)

· Escalation point for all email related issues (I can do that...)

· Monitor email system performance and optimize as needed (I can do that...)

Minimum Requirements:

· 2 years college or specialized Information Technology training (Got that.)

· Bachelor’s degree preferred in Information Technology (Got that.)

· 6-7 years total work experience (Got that.)

. 3 year plus of Exchange Server 2003 (Got that.)

(alternative combinations of education and experience may be accepted in lieu of degree)

Our client offers competitive compensation and benefits, including medical, dental, vision, life, 401(k) retirement savings plan, paid vacation and company holidays.

It sounds like this job description was written for me. I fit the bill to a Tee. Just call me, future employer! Email me or send a carrier pigeon! Something! :)

I'm a little anxious...

6th Anniversary

Today is our sixth anniversary. It's has generally been a good day. I had to go to work this morning to talk at an orientation, but I always enjoy doing that so it wasn't a problem. I made an hour or something. I'll certainly have a little overtime this pay period - yay! OT = Good.

After that was over, I went to the flower shop where I always go when I want to bring home flowers. The funny thing about that place is that I never remember that they only speak Spanish there. They're always really nice and tolerate my pidgin* Spanish. So, I got a dozen Rosas Rojo for my lovely wife. She likes flowers like a lot of girls do. :) Then I went and spent 50 cents to rinse off some grunge that was on my truck. The place to wash on the way home from work is so annoying. They have all these signs saying "Only 50 cents", but when you get in there and put in the 4 bits, you only get a minute and ten seconds. Most places that I've gone give you like 3 minutes for a dollar, I think. I can't seem to find out how much time is average. I probably don't know what to put in google to get that info... Anyway, if you're driving on General McMullen near 90, and see this place, you should just pass on by. It's a rip. Go somewhere else and spend a buck to get more than double the time.

So, on the way home, I picked up Jen's favorite breakfast: Fajitas and Eggs from Taco Cabana. Except she only eats the Fajitas right now. Eggs and Refried beans are banned by the little one in the belly, apparently. Hehe.

So, we ate and had a fun day playing Dungeon Siege 2 and working on Brendan's swing set. It was good. She gave me a yummy bag of Cherry Cordial filled Hershey kisses. I'd never seen them and she knows how I love new things that I've never seen before.

Happy 6th hon. I hope you can put up with me for at least 6 more. :)


*A pidgin is a new language which develops in situations where speakers of different languages need to communicate but don't share a common language. The vocabulary of a pidgin comes mainly from one particular language (called the "lexifier"). An early "pre-pidgin" is quite restricted in use and variable in structure. But the later "stable pidgin" develops its own grammatical rules which are quite different from those of the lexifier... http://www.une.edu.au/langnet/defintions.htm

Funny Stuff

http://tvinjapan.blogspot.com/

Live re-enactment of Super Mario Bros.!!

These guys at Gordon College really put some time into making a real life version of everyone's favorite video game. You have to just see this one.

(We really liked this!!! -DH)

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No Job News

Gee, no feedback of any kind on the job. Not an email to say that we got your resume, nor any indication on Monster. What's up with that? Don't they know its killing me? :)

Oh Crap!

Oh crap, I just applied for a job in Plano Texas on Monster.com. Yikes!!! What if I get it?

I'm excited but apprehensive. I'm not really wanting to leave my current job, but the salary at this one is a lot more.

X (fingers crossed)

:)

DS 2

We picked up Dungeon Siege II last night at Best Buy because I have been wanting a game that we can play together on the PC. Xbox and PS2 games are fun together, but I miss the detail of PC games. It's fun so far, but my computer keeps choking on the game. I've throttled the graphics way down and it is working better now. It's a good game, but slow to get going...

We've been playing it for a couple hours this afternoon. I mowed the lawn in front a back this morning, and cleaned up the back yard too. It was good, wholesome, sweaty work.

We are about to go to Half Price Books to use a 50% off coupon and get tacos. It's Taco Sunday at Taco Bell! Cheap crap food, but cheap or free food is something I can't pass up.

Kari Byron

I like Kari Byron from Mythbusters. She's funny and cute.

Here's an interview with her from Joe-Mammy.com (local)

She has her own website, but it doesn't talk about her - just shows some of her sculpture. Oh well.

Back from play

Bren and I just got back from a long playtime at McDonald's. We ate our burger and fries and then he played for about 2 hours with tons of kids. There was even a birthday party there and they gave him a little "favor" bag. It was fun. He went up and down the slide and climbed and screamed and ran around in circles. It was great. We finally had to leave when Jen called and said "Guess what you have two sets of?" - The house keys! Bren was plenty tired by the because I told him "Let's go find mama!" and he didn't protest leaving. I asked him on the way out if he had fun and he just said "Lots of people." Smart kid. :)

It was a good boys day out. He was so good. He ate his food before going to play and would come back to me periodically for a drink. He only was rough with a little girl once and had to be scolded, but other than that he was perfect. He did con me to the top of the play maze twice by yelling down "Stuck!!!", but I wouldn't fall for it more than that. Hehe.

New Glasses

I'm back with new glasses and I love them. The lenses are half the size of the old ones, which is really weird, but I'm getting used to it. I can't look sidelong at anyone anymore and be able to see them since the lenses are so much smaller, but that's OK. These Transitions lenses are awesome!!!! I highly recommend them! The frames are Guess, and very light.

I'm going to put a picture of the old me and the new me here to compare.

Busy busy busy

I just noticed that I haven't posted in forever, so I thought I would put a brief update on my activities.

I've been trying to get new glasses for a while now. The eye doctor says they are finally here, and I'm going to get them in a few minutes. Bren and I were "wrasslin" and my old ones broke. For a couple weeks I've been doing the nerd thing and wearing them taped together. How embarrassing!

Today is a Bren and Dad day. Jen is going baby stuff shopping with her Aunt and Grandmother.

I have been this morning preparing myself for something hard: I'm selling all my member items in RuneScape because we're stopping our memberships. We haven't played it in 3 or 4 months, so the time has come to stop paying for it. Organizing all my stuff made me feel like I was going to have a garage sale, and I hate doing that. I HATE getting rid or any of my "treasures." Doing that reminded me of my last birthday when Jen and AA gave me loads of good items. That was great. I love you guys. :~]

Been playing Ninja Gaiden Black on Xbox. It's not exactly my fave type of game. You can only save very rarely, so I do a lot of stuff then get killed and have to do it again. Argh! I did win a copy of Halo 2 the other day at a seminar!!! Yay for me! I already have it of course, so I'm going to trade that and my Half Life 2 (which I finished) in for some credit at BlockBuster.

Been watching a lot of Medium lately, which we really enjoy.

Bren has been being the Devil - disobedient, obstinate, etc. Finally, we took all entertainments out of his room one evening and when he was bad, sent him in there. It was hell on us, but somewhat effective. We've also decided that spanking his little butt is causing more trouble that it is helping to discipline him, so we've more or less stopped that. People on the outside can easily pass judgment on how parents discipline, but now that I've lived through it, I say to them and to my self-of-4-years-ago: "F*** off and mind your own business. I'll ask for advice if I want it." It is really not at all as easy as people might think to keep your kids in line. They have their own minds and will do anything they can to get attention, either positive or negative, at this stage. I don't think they understand that there is a difference between getting positive or negative attention until the discipline comes...

That's it for now. Gotta get ready for the jaunt over to the eye doc's.

P.S. Pregnancy #2 going well. Boy is kicking and being very active. Only a few more months to "B-day."

This Evening

This evening was unique in that we did more than we usually do in a typical evening...and less. Allow me to explain. I left work about 10 minutes early to come home an get J & B. We had planned and she had told him that we were "going to the beach." That was a biiiiiit misleading, because we really had planned to go to the big indoor pool at my work. Having been working where I work for 13 years, the funny thing is that I had never swam in that pool. I just never had an opportunity or reason to before today. So, we went and it was nice. The water was a little cold for an indoor pool, but I guess they're being cheap and not heating it. I would normally have said that they don't bother heating it because no one uses it. I found out, however, that some people do use it. When we got there a teacher's wife and kid were swimming, but they left. Then a lady and boy came, two ladies that I work with, and two students later on. It was fun, but chilly. They need to warm it up a bit. I suggested that we bring a little electric coffee warmer next time. Hehe. I mean one of those old ones with the heating element that you stick in the coffee, but I can't find a picture of one. Basically the heating element is a metal loop that goes inside the cup, while hooking on the rim. I wonder now if this is real or if I imagined it because I just can't find a picture of one. Ha! Finally! Ebay comes through. Here it is...



This is the car version, which is not what I was thinking of, but it's close enough.

So, back to our story...we swam and swam and all enjoyed it a lot. Needless to say, Brendan was NOT happy when it was time to get out. He whined and cried and struggled. I took him in the locker room with me and tried to wash us off, but had very little success. He positively squalled when I tried to get him in the shower with me, so I finally just gave up and dressed him. After that, we went to the truck and headed to Whataburger. (Side note: Whataburger sounds normal when I say it in everyday conversation, but writing it here makes me give that a second thought. To people outside Texas, it probably sounds really funny...)



It's one of our favorite places to eat. I sometimes complain that it is expensive, but really it isn't much more that McDungleBurger and it is soooooooooo much better. Brendan went to sleep on the way and slept thru dinner, but we brought his "justaburger" (the kiddie one) home for later. He was still dozing when we got home, so we all laid down and took a nap. They work up earlier than me (I'm always tired and can nap anytime) and thankfully let me sleep. So, that's the part about doing less than normal. I was tuckered out. It was a fun evening though. And tomorrow's Friday - Yeah!!!!

Two significant topics - attempt 3

I'm trying once again to finally write about this topic from a while back...

1) Had Brendan's 3rd Birthday party.
and
2) Found out sex of next little H family member.

So, even though Brendan's real third birthday was on the 20th of March, we had a good little party for him on the 18th. Mimi & Boppa came, as did Aunt Bitsy and Jen's Grandparents (MaeMae and Bobo). [Isn't it weird how ever member of the family seems to have a nickname?] Also here were Paul F and his boys, Mary and Leonard K, and Dobie. We had chips and queso, made by me (the queso, not the chips - I'm not that good) plus 7 layer dip, taquitos, and fruit. Yum! Brendan was pretty shy, but about 1/2 way thru the party he actually warmed up to people and came out of hiding. For the longest time he was hiding behind the food table and nicking goodies. He pinched some frosting off the cupcakes, the little rascal. We had a good time, and we think he did too, in the end.

The second topic that I have to write about is that we've found out the new little member of the H family is going to be a boy. He's due August 17th, 06, and we're trying to get ready for his arrival. We've painted the nursery and are in the process of putting up the wall border. Jen chose the Baby Aviator theme from Baby Depot this time and it is nice.

We were really, really hoping for a girl this time, but I guess we'll have to wait for #3 for that. We're not really sad it is a boy, but we are kind of bummed that it isn't a girl. There's a difference! The ultrasound was cool Brendan was all lovely in there. He kissed Jen and hugged her and was very interested in the screen. He just walked up to the computer right now and said "Look that's a baby." What a smart little guy. So, he was good and interested while we were there. his only problem is that he keeps crashing into Jen and jumping on her and generally doing things that make us have to get after him to "not hurt the baby!" Argh! Little stinker! :)

Here are my phone pictures from the day:

Brendan being lovey

Watching for a "sign"

About to find out the sex. A bit tense at this point.

Well, having finally completed my entry, maybe I can go read Jen's and her other one! Whew!

Prisoner of Redmond

Robert X. Cringely reveals the true reason why Paul Allen of Microsoft fame left the Redmond company, even though it was on track to become an extremely valuable stock.

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SMB

I've been wanting to play some Super Mario Brothers lately. Not necessarily the "first first" one, but one of the side scrollers - not the 3D ones. In pursuit of trying to find out if there was a collection out for a system I have, I found this interesting website...

http://speeddemosarchive.com/

Seriously, no kidding, even though it's April Fool's Day. :)