Chilling Tales from a Hideously Average Life

A little geekiness...

2010-07-27T15:34:00.001-04:00

I Am A: True Neutral Human Bard (6th Level)

Ability Scores:

Strength-14

Dexterity-11

Constitution-12

Intelligence-14

Wisdom-12

Charisma-14

Alignment:
True Neutral A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Bards often serve as negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. They love to accompany heroes (and villains) to witness heroic (or villainous) deeds firsthand, since a bard who can tell a story from personal experience earns renown among his fellows. A bard casts arcane spells without any advance preparation, much like a sorcerer. Bards also share some specialized skills with rogues, and their knowledge of item lore is nearly unmatched. A high Charisma score allows a bard to cast high-level spells.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

The Merciful Nocturnal Jedi?

2009-02-25T14:19:00.004-05:00

I was directed to the Hero Factory by Suldog and fell into the SuperHero generator. This is what my alterego looks like, but while I'm happy that I have my own comic, I think we could have done better with the name... I mean, where the Hell did they get "Merciful" from? I get the Nocturnal thing from the wings and the Jedi thing from the light saber, but "Merciful"?
Jeez, my superhero sounds like a tool.

Even in comic books as a Super Hero I'm uncool.

Doh!

I Hope...

2008-10-29T11:46:00.003-04:00

I am breaking my long silence at last to publish a short political manifesto. This comes in the form of a letter to my Mom. We are of distinctly different political views (which I don't understand... I thought she had always been a staunch Democrat!) She has been forwarding me all manner of right-wing, fear-inducing emails for over a year. The one which finally put me over the edge claimed not only that Barack Obama was a Muslim terrorist, but that he and his wife had attended several flag burnings! I mean come on!

Who hasn't?!!!

(OK, before the NSA comes knocking on my door, let me state that the previous statement was a JOKE. Jeez, get a sense of humor America!)

So without further preamble, I give to you... the Letter:

Mom,

I respect your opinion and your right to think however you like. I used to feel the same way about McCain... back in 2000 before "W" employed a campaign of character assassination on him to gain the GOP nomination. since then, I feel he has sold out his ideals in order to get where he is. I don't trust the current administration and feel he is just an extension of that, no matter how honorable he has been in the past. And don't get me started on Gov. Palin! Her politics are slightly to the right of Mussolini and I don't think she has the intelligence to run a 7/11 let alone this country. Her record of abusing the power of the offices of Mayor and then Governor is well-documented.

As I said on the phone the other night, the parallels between Kennedy and Obama are many (now I'm not saying that Obama is John Kennedy, just drawing some comparisons.) During Kennedy's campaign, the GOP used fear to try to influence voters. We know that him being a Catholic (which at least was TRUE! All this crap about Obama being a Muslim or a terrorist is ridiculous) didn't affect his ability to lead this country into a new era. They questioned his family politics and business dealings, ,just as they are doing now, however in 2008 the level of scrutiny is 100 times worse thatn it was then. What needed to happen then is the same thing that needs to happen now; the military-industrial-pharmacuetical-big business conglomerate that has been running rough shod over the American people needs to be replaced with a government that remembers that it works for US, not the big business, ultra-wealthy special interests.

I'm tired of the rich getting richer, I'm tired of record profits and executive compensation soaring while wages for rank and file workers get a 2% increase and an apology that "times are tough". I'm tired of the GOP yelling "class warfare" every time a middle class tax cut is proposed... yes, it IS class warfare and it was started back in the Reagan administration with "trickle down economics". The middle class has been shrinking and the "working poor" class expanding BECAUSE of the policies of the current administration.

Was I an Obama supporter from the beginning? No, he wasn't my first choice, and I am the first one to agree that our 2 party system is badly broken. I hate negative campaign ads (and I really do feel if you were to do the research, you would find it was McCain who fired first there. Obama's first "negative" ad was one defending himself from allegations made in a McCain ad) and wish candidates ran on the issues rather than on their opponents' perceived weaknesses.

My vote is a vote for hope... the hope for ACTUAL change, the hope that the middle class can bounce back from the pounding it's taken since Reagan fired the first shot in the class war. My hope is that we, as a society, can put aside prejudice and hate and look at a person, not their faith or the color of their skin. My hope is that we can agree to disagree without violence. That's not saying I want to open our borders to the world and have all our soldiers put their weapons away. I agree that we need a strong defense, but when that DEFENSIVE capacity is turned to OFFENSE for no reason other than a political agenda, personal vendetta, or worst of all a business objective, it's time to re-evaluate the people in power.

Do I truly believe Obama can do this his first week in office? Of course not, he'll be lucky to accomplish any of these goals in 2 full terms, but I have hope that if ielected, he will at least put us back on the right path.

I also hope you can see where I stand and why I am standing there. As I said, I respect your views but I would ask you to think back ato 1960 when a charismatic Senator from Massachusetts was weathering the accusations and half truths being thrown at him from the GOP and rose to be one of the greatest Presidents in US history. We needed change then and we need it now.

Love,

DJ

If you agree with me, great! If not, that doesn't make you a bad person, unless you post an ignorant, rant-filled comment. Then it DOES make you a bad person. Until we can agree to disagree we can't go anywhere in this country. In the words of the immortal Rodney King:

"Can't we all just get along?!"

Please remember that if you don't go to the polls and vote, you have no right to complain. And if you don't vote for Obama, well that's your choice, but I HOPE you know where I stand.

Where Am I?

2008-06-25T22:21:00.003-04:00

I'm watching TV like the rich folks do! The Hyatt Place in Atlanta has 42 inch LCD TV's in EVERY ROOM!!!! WTF???!! I don't understand how they do it (especially at the rate I'm paying), but I am certainly taking advantage of it.

I mean, my TV at home is a standard 27" CRT. It is SO 1990, but as anyone who has read some of my ramblings will know, it's the best I can afford. I mean Jeez, my MOM has a flat screen TV! So here I sit on a couch in a rented room watching my beloved Red Sox beat the Big Unit and the Diamondbacks in glorious HD. I wonder what the peasants are doing this evening?

Now before anyone gets the idea that I'm here on vacation or something (HAH! Vacation in Atlanta in late June??? It would be like vacationing on the surface of the friggin sun! It is HOT down here for a New England boy) I am actually here working.

So much has happened in the last 2 months that it will take quite a bit to detail it all. So much in fact that I have a few posts in mind to lay it out. Unfortunately one of the consequences of the events of the last couple of months means my free time has almost completely disappeared. So once again, the best laid plans may go awry (OK even I felt a little pretentious using that word in a sentence... damn, and now I used pretentious in a sentence as well. I guess that makes me a tool)

So first and foremost, since February I had been looking for a new job, simply out of necessity. I like what I do and the people I do it with, but the pay was causing trouble at home (and by that I mean I needed more money in order to KEEP that home!) So I embarked on my least favorite activity, the job search. If you know anyone looking for work right now, please give them my sympathy. The market is BRUTAL right now.

Well the short version of this is I actually found a position, underwent a strenuous interview process including a nerve-wracking audition (which I nailed, thank you very much!) I was offered the job.

When I called my boss on Thursday before Memorial Day Weekend and informed him, he asked me to hold off notifying HR until he had a chance to talk to some people. As it turns out, they wanted to keep me there and countered my new job offer and so I am staying right where I am. Things are looking up, so now all I need to do is find my wife a full-time teaching gig and it will be coming up roses at my place! OK, maybe not roses, or big screen TV's, but it might be coming up carnations or some other humble flower.

So many topics to cover from the last 2 months, so little time. I need to go waste some more. I mean, what's the sense of having an XBox 360 to demo if you can't smuggle it up to your hotel room to play Halo or Far Cry?

I love the peasants... PULL!

Growing Up...

2008-04-28T13:36:00.004-04:00

OK, I'm being lazy and presenting a piece I wrote a few years back. I was inspired to repost this by Magazine Man's poignant entry about the anniversary of his parent's untimely passing.

__________________________________

It’s around 1 a.m. and the loudest sound I hear is the quiet hum of the street lamps that glow through the newly sprouted leaves. I walk down my street in a quiet suburban town, while all my neighbors are asleep. Returning from work as I do most nights, coming from the noisy turbulence of Harvard Square, with all it’s traffic, punks, and poseurs, the bus acting as a sort of decompression chamber. By the time it roars off into the night, the last one to do so until morning rush hour, I am relaxed, at peace. I’m 18 years old.

I have an easy, ground covering stride, the kind of stride that comes naturally to those who top six feet. High School is over, college has had a false start in the first semester and isn’t due to start again until September… and I’m free. I have money in my pocket; my day’s work is done, nothing left to do but go home and go to bed.

It is my world and I know my place in it.

The walk down that tree-lined street, with it’s softly glowing lights: it’s 20 years gone and I can still smell the subtle perfume of the dew-covered lawns, I can hear the soft chirp of the crickets and the quiet, distant hiss of radial tires gliding down the empty streets. There are some intervals where the Boston skyline peeks through the trees, then the trees close in again, a soft green tunnel, and the city disappears.

I suppose, looking back, that I led a fairly sheltered life, although I would have been offended had anyone told me that then. In some ways, I don’t feel much different than that 18 year-old boy. I suppose I feel a little wiser now, but sometimes I still have trouble calling myself a “Man”. By all definitions I am a man now, and an adult. But I had trouble seeing where or how it happened. As I said, sometimes, I don’t feel much different than on that night 20 years ago.

Was there a certain moment where I went from being that carefree teenager to a responsible adult? Most people will say that there is no special moment where you cross that border into adulthood, that it is a gradual process, that those around you notice it before you do, and I guess I almost agree with that. But I also think that there are moments, defining moments, which push us along that path.

We all have an image of our lives and ourselves; those we surround ourselves with; family, friends, lovers, strangers. I look at it as if we see our world and ourselves in a giant mirror, a “Through the Looking Glass” kind of mirror. Sometimes the image is crystal clear, we know exactly who we are and what we are supposed to do. Other times the mirror gets fogged, things get a little vague and hazy.

And then there are the defining moments.

They can be subtle, hardly noticeable cracks in the mirror that can whittle away the image and reveal something new. Things like a job, or a college course, a new place to live or even something as trivial as a vacation, these are the gradual changes; minor adjustments in how we see ourselves or the world.

Or a defining moment can hit with the force of a wrecking ball, leaving a giant gaping hole, with us struggling to frantically rebuild our world; the ‘phone call in the middle of the night’, discovering your trust has been betrayed, or that someone you love no longer loves you.

Defining moments can be profound and gentle too, seeing your bride on your wedding day walking up the aisle toward you, or hearing your child’s cry as they are born.

I have heard my childrens’ cries and welcomed them into the world three different times. Three beautiful daughters, and I know I was changed each time. The first is always the most profound, since the realization that you are totally responsible for another life can be overwhelming. You think that with the second, it won’t be any big change. Until you are standing there with your second child in your arms and you think: ”How could I have believed this would be anything but astounding?”

Of course, with the third, you are an old pro and certainly won’t be affected all that much… except, of course, you are. Any person who can watch their own child coming into the world and not be profoundly affected by the experience must be made of stone.

I was not the type of person who ever worried about ‘the phone call in the middle of the night’. My world was one where the phone call was always a wrong number, or a prank. It was never a person in hysterics, never someone who you could barely understand, but who was desperate for help, and it never resolved into your mother’s frantic voice. It was never the voice that cried that your father was hurt, wasn’t breathing. Until it was.

The wrecking ball went through my mirror that night. Every so often I think that I have put my world back together, crazy-glued the fragments until I can see myself clearly. But every so often, some of the fragments slip. Some little pieces are missing, microscopic splinters, but, as when I glued my daughters broken music box back together, one missing splinter can cause the pieces to fit awkwardly. The repaired version is never quite the same.

I was a man by all definitions, a father and a husband, a provider, a hard-working adult with all the standard grown-up problems, until that late October night when the person I measured myself against, my own father, died of a sudden heart attack.

He was 63. I was 32.

The mirror shattered and I was a kid again, struggling to pick up the fragments and arrange them in some type of order, a jagged puzzle with razor sharp edges. Images flashed through my mind of my dad playing with my kids, of my kids following him around like a trail of ducklings, of him putting together my new bike when I was seven years old. I saw him tinkering with the engine on an old car in our driveway, and saw myself helping to supply a little bit of needed muscle to the process when I was a teenager. I saw him in a hundred different memories and realized that there wouldn’t be any more. I think that’s what hit me hardest; knowing that my 18 month-old daughter, the youngest, would have little or no memory of him. He would just be a name and a photo: Grandpa.

We made the arrangements as best we could and then returned to our respective homes to prepare for the Wake and the Funeral.

I had been touched by death on a few other rare occasions, and I found writing helped me to deal with it. I decided to write a poem, and if it was good enough, possibly to use it as a eulogy. I sat down at my kitchen table after the kids were asleep and let my mind wander over memories and images. I still have the lined yellow paper, cross outs, tear-stains and all. When I finished it, my wife came and took me in her arms.

I cried like a lost child.

One of my proudest accomplishments was reading that piece in front of a church filled with friends and relatives; I made it through until the last line without breaking down. People told me afterward that they thought it described him perfectly and it touched them. My secret is that I know I didn’t write it alone. My father’s final gift to me was inspiration.

I think about him a lot now, especially at this time of year, and while the edges of my grief have healed over, I still have an occasional twinge. It’s been 7 years since the phone rang and my life changed forever. I find it easier to talk about him now, and while sometimes remembering makes me sad, more often it makes me thoughtful. I find myself wondering if he felt as I do… whether he still remembered his buddies from the Teele Square gang of his youth as clearly as I remember the walk down that peaceful street. I wonder how clear his mirror was, how clearly he saw himself and his place in the world. We didn’t really have those “deep” conversations, but I wonder now how introspective he really was.

I am told all the time by relatives how I am like him in many ways. My wife and my mother laugh about it sometimes. I’ll do something unthinking that seems natural and they will comment how my dad would do the exact same thing. I don’t mind it. I suppose it renews my connection to him.

Most people can’t recall a distinct, single turning point in their lives where they actually felt adulthood rest firmly on their shoulders. I can. When I returned to my seat in church that late October day I felt adulthood settle on my shoulders. It felt exactly like my father’s hands.

October 2003

___________________________________________

My First Meme...

2008-04-15T11:34:00.002-04:00

I don't ususally respond to meme's (since I don't have a big enough readership to receive them, no, it's OK, it's not you, it's me...)
Anyway, the meme is to take a screenshot of your computer and post it.
So here mine is. The background is a picture I took of Cinderella Castle from the second floor of Disney's Polynesian resort a few years ago. The picture is very slightly stretched to fit the widescreen display.
So from this screen shot we can assume that:
1. I really love Walt Disney World. I have been with my family as a child, and with my wife on our Honeymoon (20 years ago this week!), and then with my own kids twice.
2. I am a Vista victim. Had to upgrade for some work apps and I refuse to drink the Vista kool aid. I still love XP.
3. I am out of time to work on this post as I have to teach a class in 15 minutes

anyone who reads this, consider yor self tagged, and blame Suldog!

What a difference a year makes...

2008-03-29T14:49:00.002-04:00

Last year I published a map of all the states I visited here. It looks a little more fleshed out this year due to all the travelling I did for work this past year. Once again, this is based on states in which I have spent at least one overnight stay, so it doesn't count airport transfers, driving through a state, etc. Additions pending for this year are Georgia, Pennsylvania (or Maryland), and Michigan, as well as return visits to several others and a week North of the Border in Toronto. Feel free to follow the links below the map to make your own version... all the cool kids are doing it.

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

Welcome Spring... NOT!

2008-03-28T13:01:00.005-04:00

OK, so this photo isn't from today, but it does accurately depict the conditions outside. (I took this photo over 20 years ago while in college. It's called "Frosting" and it usually lives on my seldom visited "Other Site". In case you're interested: http://www.choicedj.net/writeweb )

According to the calendar, we are over a week into Spring already. And there is about 6 inches of snow falling outside. And I'm about to go off on a rant here... I'm tired of snow. We've had a record breaking season here in NH. Woo fucking Hoo. I'm done now. Turn this shit off. Now. ...please?
I'm tired of being broke. I mean there is only so much satisfaction to be had pointing at the current administration and yelling to any who will listen "SEE!? I told you this would happen!!!" I mean, I-told-you-so's are a little weak when you can't afford to buy oil to heat the friggin house. And I won't even start on groceries. (My kids tell me that if they ever made a doll based on me [excuse me, that would be "action figure"] one of the 5 phrases it would say when you pulled the string would be "I blame Bush". Funny thing is, they're absolutely right. I've been speculating on the other 4 phrases and came to the conclusion that at least 2 of them would probably just be swears.)
(Hah! Take that Suldog! I put a paranthetical phrase INSIDE a parenthetical phrase! I rule!... Back to the rant...)
I'm tired of waiting. Waiting for things to get better, waiting to hear back about job opportunities, waiting to hear back from my daughter's college and the bank regarding financial aid.. and BOY, is THAT a rant for another day!!!
I guess the bottom line is, I am just sick and fucking tired. Period.
And when the Hell is this snow going to stop?
Dammit.

It's that time again...

2008-03-20T13:55:00.006-04:00

A friend sent this to me and I had to share...

I think it's called "Peep Show".

Heh.

Happy Easter!

I Found It! I Found It!!!!

2008-03-20T13:20:00.002-04:00

After more than a year, I finally took the 10 minutes or so to actually find my Google ID... Now, I'm not threatening to post regularly or anything, but now that I've recovered my Blog access, I might actually use this thing again.

I've spent the last year travelling for work and writing and presenting what seems like a million trainings... so many in fact that I hardly DJ'd at all. I'm a disgrace to my blog handle. Oh well, whatever.

Will try to begin posting again. Have several ideas, but still limited time. Until next time...

Don't Drive Angry...

2007-02-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

I am having my own personal weird Groundhog Day experience.
The last couple of days at the gym, Hall & Oates videos have been playing, and the other night while listening to XM online, they made another appearance.
Now, I'm not really pro- or con Hall & Oates, but it seems like a little more than a coincidence. I haven't heard anything from these guys for decades and suddenly they are all over the placeÂ or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm doomed to repeat the same day musically for the rest of eternity.
At least they aren't Hinder.
If I hear that friggin' song one more time I may have to take hostages.

I'm not actually posting...

2007-01-31T19:52:00.000-05:00

I'm actually working, er, supposed to be working. So I don't have time to write about the presentation in front of the Executive team tomorrow morning, or the trip to Orlando in Early March, or the Minnesota trip I was asked to take in late March. I have to finish writing this class so I can record the voice track and post it on our education site. Then I have to get started on the rest of the curriculum.
So I had planned to post more this month, but I don't even have time to post a second entry in January.
Heh, I just TOTALLY posted twice in January!
I RULE!

It's not you, it's me...

2007-01-06T12:34:00.000-05:00

I don't post enough.
I know it, and yet still, here I am without a single post since friggin' Halloween.
Excuses? Hell, you want excuses, I got a whole bagful of them right here! Good ones too, hardly ever used! I got the bag from a little old lady from Portsmouth who only used them on Sundays. Here, let's try one out; I didn't post because I was having hot flashes from the "Change".

OK, maybe I should have checked the contents of the bag before I handed over my $2.58 to that swindling little spinster (try saying THAT one 5 times fast!)

Bottom line is that it's me. I've had stuff to post about, but the problem is, now that I have interesting things to post about (at least I think they're interesting and this is MY blog, after all) I don't seem to have the time. Oh, you scoff at that, eh? You don't believe me? NO??!!!( Sorry, was channeling Judd Nelson from The Breakfast Club there for a second, I'm back now.)
Here is a quick recap of the last couple of months:
November 1st, I got up. Then I took a Shower. Then I went downstairs.
Just kidding.

Seriously though, in November, in addition to regular work (which is extremely busy right now) I went to Long Beach for a trade show for a week, had Thanksgiving at my Mom's, joined a gym (no, I didn't join it as a New Years Resolution), worked out at said gym at least 4 days a week (yes those hoofbeats you hear approaching may be The Four Horsemen, better get your shit together as THE END is nigh), did all my Christmas Shopping ( and completed it early), ranted about the evils of inflatable holiday decorations, and experienced all the joy and stress which make up an American Family Christmas. Oh yeah, and then New Years Eve.

Any one of these would have been a suitable topic for a post (and not to rival Suldog for parenthetical phrases written in a single post, I actually thought several times about posts on several subjects), yet while all this was happening, I simply didn't have the time or energy to write about them.

I don't make New Years Resolutions. I don't really believe in them, as most people who make them don't for a single minute expect to keep them. I am much more of a New Years Rationalization guy. I rationalize all my faults and make excuses for them, but hey, at least I'm friggin' honest. That being said, I have a choice to shut down this blog completely or just deal with the fact that I don't post enough. I don't expect to ever have more that 3 or 4 readers here, but I don't think I want to shut it down just yet. This year I will be extremely busy at work, and it's a really exciting time in the custom electronics world. I will be traveling around the country for 10 or so weeks and adding to my "States-in-Which-I-Have-Slept" map. There will be trainings and trade shows and online presentations, so things will be moving along at near lightspeed. I will try to make a few minutes every so often to write a few sentences about whatever might be interesting at the time. Believe it or not, it's easier to write on the road for me than it is at home, so you may be seeing more of me this year, but no promises.

I don't "Resolve" anything, but I will try to post on a more regular basis.

Thanks everyone and Happy 2007!

What have they done to Halloween?

2006-10-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

Does anyone remember when Halloween had 3 main components: Kids, Costumes, & Candy ? (yes it was hard not to go for the cheap pun and use 'K's on all three words, but I managed it)
I don't know what happened to Halloween. When I was a kid (and the world was a much safer place, except for the dinosaurs) we used to range miles from home in the dark collecting candy from strangers. The worst thing we could imagine was getting an apple with a razorblade hidden inside. Of course, none of us kids ever really worried about that. I mean, who eats FRUIT when you have a pillowcase loaded down with 10 pounds of chocolate, nuts, and caramel? Seriously, what kind of kid looks for the friggin' APPLE in that situation?! OK, I get why we don't send our kids to strangers houses these days, and why we don't send them miles from home in the dark to collect pounds and pounds of candy. Things have changed, the world has "moved on" as Stephen King would say, and I accept that. However, what I don't accept is the homogenization of the holiday. My town actually dictates Trick or Treat times. That's right, city bureaucrats have SCHEDULED Halloween. WTF? It's weird enough that my town does this, but what's even stranger is that it's spreading. A bunch of towns around the NH Seacoast have followed suit.
Halloween used to have an element of excitement and unpredictability to it. Sure, the candy was great too (and I can't state strongly enough the staggering quantities we lugged home) but the freedom and feeling of danger we experienced while marching boldly through our hometowns in the dark; that used to be Halloween.
Now, Hallmark cards for Halloween clog drug store shelves, every other house in the neighborhood has orange lights strung, adults dress up and go to costume parties, while our kids Trick or Treat on Beggars' Night (Oct 30 from 6-8pm in my town) or go to the Mall to collect lame penny candies from bored retail clerks. Halloween has been homogenized and it makes me a little sad. Nothing a bag of Candy Corn, some funsize Snickers and a huge sugar buzz won't cure ;-)

Wake me up when September ends...

2006-10-01T22:42:00.000-04:00

Huh? It did? OK, OK! I'm up already!

Wow, how a month flies when you are incredibly, crazy busy. So what has been going on to make me too busy to even send a short post here?
Well, It started with preparations for the biggest trade show of the year for my company. I was chosen to be the Tech coordinator for the booth, and with all the products we needed to ship and then install at the booth, it was quite an undertaking! Then, of course, was the actual trip to Denver to the show which kept me away from home for over a week. Following that was the aftermath of making up over a week of work, coupled with a failing website (Stay away from Arishost.com... I had good luck with them for a year, but that all went south in a hurry, and their lack of response to ANY contact at all is just appalling! I signed up with Godaddy.com, saved money and looks like better service to boot), upcoming DJ Gigs to prepare for, automotive repairs, major appliance repairs, and kids returning to school, and you get an idea why I have been absent for a while.
I have to also admit that I am going through a bit of an identity crisis with this space. What should I be using it for? Is it just a place for me to write down what's going on in my life? I mean really, who cares about that (other than my kids, who occasionally read this)? Or should I be writing anecdotes, or political views, or cookie recipes? I know the best comments I get are when I put up pictures of my cats or Vegas. Maybe this should be the "Cats in Vegas Pics" blog...
Not sure where I'm going with it, but you'll (all 3 of you) be the first, second, and third to know.
I have some cool pics from Denver to share. I just need to get them copied from one PC to this one and I can publish them here. Probably happen later this week.
Happy October!

Spam, Spam, Spam!

2006-08-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

This is a public notice to every spammer in the world:

1. I do not care about your bogus stock tips.

2. I do not want or need any luxury watch knockoffs.

3. I do not want or need any additional length (or girth).

4. My wife will not be more satisfied if I added any additional length (or girth).

5. I do not believe you are really the exiled finance minister of some central African country or that you will give me millions if I just give you my bank account information.

6. I will not (nor will anyone with more intelligence than a cucumber) provide you with my bank account information, credit card information, mother's maiden name, social security number, or shoe size.

7. I already have a degree (I got it by GOING TO COLLEGE, not by buying it from some shady outfit on the Internets).

8. I do not have a "problem with bad erexction", and I would appreciate it if you would stop insinuating that I do.

9. I do not want or need your V1agara, C1al1s, Pro7ac, or other "medications".

10. I do not want to play at your Online Casino (please see # 6).

11. I do not speak/read Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. Please stop writing to me as I CANNOT FRIGGIN' UNDERSTAND YOU!

I spend at least 15 minutes each day forwarding your "correspondence" to my company's spam filtering software, yet you continue to find new and innovative ways to slip through the filters. I am asking you, as one normal, rational person to each of you individually to stop sending me your "marketing materials". I am telling you right now that I will never, ever give you what you want so you might as well just stop.

And just as an FYI, there is a special place in Hell reserved for spammers where they play Yoko Ono records day and night at ear-splitting volume while you are forced to watch x-rated videos starring your grandparents. It's true. I think it's Corinthians 5… Lions 3 or something.

In case the above is too complex for some of you spammers to understand, try this:

LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

DJ BigMick

George Washington slept here...

2006-08-02T22:52:00.000-04:00

Well, he didn't, but I did!
This is a fun tool to generate your own US maps. This one happens to be of all the states I have visited (and by visited, I am using Andy Ihnatko's criteria of spending at least an overnight there)

create your own personalized map of the USA or check out our California travel guide

Nothing profound today, just a neat widget.

I'm trying to believe in you, but all these satellites and shattered dreams are blocking out my view...

2006-07-17T16:01:00.000-04:00

I promised a rant about the death of the middle class a few weeks ago, but the more I thought about it, the less rantish it became. Does that mean I'm any less passionate about it? Of course not! I just don't have the energy to be angry about it 24/7. Hopefully, after reading this someone else will be angry enough to pass it on to others. I have all I can do to just put food on the table most of the time, which brings us to our subject:
The Death of the Middle Class and the Rebirth of the Peasant Class.
This is not something which was planned by some super-secret cabal (I'm not THAT paranoid), it is caused by a few simple economic and political factors and one human factor: greed.
I trace this economic phenomenon back to the 1980's and good old Ronald Reagan, the so-called Great Communicator. I was never a fan of Mr. Reagan or his policies. Yes, his military spending may have been a large factor in breaking the back of the USSR, but in doing so, he almost bankrupted America. He was also a champion of tax breaks for the wealthy and used a theory he called "Trickle Down Economics" to try to justify how badly the middle and lower classes were being screwed. The theory went something like this: If William Thistlewhite-Johnson the Third, a multi-millionaire from Beverly Hills got a huge break on his taxes, he would then re-invest that money in his local economy (maybe by hiring an extra gardener or pool cleaner) thereby allowing that money to
"trickle down" to the middle and lower classes. Seriously! The President of the United States actually promoted this as a benefit (the wealthy, pro-big business politicians have wisely stopped trying to tell America that the majority of her citizens were being "trickled" on).
I believe this is where the death of the middle class began in earnest, with the leadership of our country adopting policies which, while not actively designed to hurt the middle and lower classes, did nothing to protect them and adopted an attitude of apathy toward those less fortunate. These seeds are yielding a bitter fruit for the majority of Americans who do not live in splendor. The Middle Class is not just shrinking, it's dying. In the 1970's, it was possible for a family to have one working professional parent and still be able to afford a home and a decent automobile; maybe not a new house or car, but still a decent standard of living. That has become almost impossible today (unless that professional job pays over 75,000/year). The effects of this are so far-reaching it's staggering. An entire generation of kids has been brought up in households with little to no adult supervision before 6pm. Aside from all the usual "expected" mischief kids used to get into, we now have several unsupervised hours for them to kick it up a notch or two. Even in those cases where these unsupervised kids are well-behaved, they are now being raised by one of the most ruthless, soulless, entities in the known universe- television. Anybody wondering why many of today's kids feel entitled to everything yet donÂt want to work to achieve it? Well, if they are being told on a daily basis that they can have anything they want without any effort (make millions in real estate with no investment in time or money! Lose weight without sacrifice or exercise! Look at all the cars and houses these Pop Stars own!) it stands to reason that they will believe it. I am not going to go into the evils of TV here, that is another rant altogether. Instead, let's get back on track with more reasons.
The political causes are only one factor in this phenomenon. Another is the "Discount Retailer" economic model we have adopted. American's want it all; they want to have Ron Popiel's super-conducting, instant slow-cooker that they just set and forget. Oh, and they don't feel they should have to pay for it either. Or, at least, they feel they shouldn't have to pay any more than 3 easy payments of 39.95 (plus shipping and handling, of course). Anyone see how the previous statement about people feeling entitled relates here? If so then go to the head of the class and receive your gold star.

One of the biggest exploiters of this consumer mindset is a company which I call "The Evil Empire" (I won't name them here, but their name begins with "W" and ends with "Mart"). We'll call them EE for short. This company could not have done more to destroy middle class America if it had actively tried. Their business model is to offer the lowest prices and the widest selection to their customers. Nothing wrong with that, that's capitalism, right?
Well, no, there's nothing inherently wrong with the philosophy. Where the problem really begins to show is in how they execute this business model: by strong-arming US manufacturers into lowering their prices on goods. When EE says they want a lower price or they are pulling ALL their orders for your product, you better take them seriously. This has been an enormously successful model for the EE, and unfortunately, it's killing us.
Let's look at an example: an established, major US manufacturer of plastic storage containers, we'll call them "Zubbermaid" or ZM for short. When the EE went to ZM and gave them the ultimatum, ZM told them they couldn't possibly meet that demand and still stay in business. They were told that the EE wasn't concerned with that, they just wanted the lower price and they were certain that (insert name of major US plasticware manufacturer here) would give them that price, and if they wanted to continue as "partners", they had better find a way to do it. So, ZM did.
You see, ZM was a good American company, but they also had factories in other countries, where the cost of labor and materials was much, much lower. The only way this company can meet the price required by The EE is to produce the products offshore. Everybody's happy now, right? Well, actually no, not really. Since ZM has to move this manufacturing it is doing offshore, and since that contract is all that was keeping the ZM factory in Heartland USA operating, there are now several hundred ZM factory workers in the unemployment line. Yep, they've been trickled on... I mean down-sized. And now, these same former middle-class factory workers can't afford to shop anywhere else that The EE, so the model is self-sustaining. Wealth is redistributed, and these poor unfortunates start the slide from middle-class, into poverty. The trailer parks are filled with these stories, and this one was even the focus of a TV newsmagazine segment (I think it was 48 hours, not sure).
No, I am not a Socialist, and yes, I love my country, but as long as Big Business and Greed (yes, that is a capital "G") are in the driver's seat of our country, the Land of the Free (already the Land of the wage slave) will become more and more divided financially. The ranks of the wealthy and the Uber-wealthy are slowly expanding, while the ranks of the middle class are shrinking at an alarming rate. The next logical step, as Welfare and social programs are squashed by the Pro-business, Pro-wealthy politicians in power, is to set up something which bears a striking resemblance to Middle Age Feudalism, where a wealthy Lord or Patriarch provides for the serfs on his land in exchange for back-breaking manual labor. It's not slavery, but it's damn close and we are a lot closer to it than you think.
So, what do we do about it? I don't advocate violence or revolution, but I really think the majority of Americans need to wake up. They are NOT headed to "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous", they are far more likely to end up living Lifestyles of the Penniless & Debt-ridden. We need to elect people, not political parties, and not just pretty people. Sure, everyone likes a charismatic leader, but our current leader is very charismatic... need I say more?
Well, back to work, need to continue to feed the family.

Not the Rant I promised, however...

2006-06-18T21:21:00.000-04:00

OK, so I promised a rant on the shrinking middle class, but have been too busy to deliver. It's still cooking and not quite ready , but rather than be a tease, I am reprinting a rant from a while back.

Once again, Suldog's Blog has prodded me into putting up fresh (sort of) content. You can thank him ( or berate him, hey, I'm not the boss of you) for my continuing contributions to the pollution of the Internet. So without further ado...

I am disgusted, really and truly disgusted. I am sick to death of the dozens of credit card offers I
receive in the mail on a weekly basis; the pre-approved (except you AREN'T actually APPROVED, you're PRE-APPROVED… there's a big difference) applications touting amazingly low interest rates which will skyrocket to close to 30 friggin' percent if you have a credit hiccup ON ANY CREDIT ACCOUNT YOU HAVE!!! If you read the fine print, you will see the phrase "if you are late in paying your account with us, or any credit account you have". What it means is if you have paid them on time, every time, they can STILL change your rate to the default rate if you have made a late payment to ANYONE.

Yes that's right; I actually READ the fine print and if YOU don't, well then you deserve what you get. At least, that's what the credit card companies think. If you are dumb enough to sign up for a credit card which has in its conditions a "We can change your interest rate at any time for any reason" clause, they figure they've given you fair warning and can proceed to screw you for all they can. They don't even have the courtesy to buy you dinner first. I don't understand why we let them do this to us. They must be getting some response to these ridiculous offers; otherwise they would have stopped long ago. But every week, almost HALF of my mail consists of "low-interest" credit card offers.

Never one to waste an educational opportunity; let's go over some "bankspeak" vocabulary words here:

Pre-approved - This basically means that you were "selected" to receive the offer. In English it actually means "You have a mailing address and were on the list. It has NOTHING to do with "approval".

Pre-Selected- See above

Preferred Rate- The "low" interest rate reserved for that select group of customer who do not NEED the credit card. Basically, NOT you.

…may… As in "Your rate MAY be higher". In all situations, the word
"WILL" should be substituted here. No exceptions.

Default Rate- The rate which the company will try with every means at their disposal to
shift you to, usually in excess of 25%, sometimes as high as 29%.

Now, let me share some words that these companies seem to have forgotten:

Usury (yoo zhe ree ) -The practice of lending money and charging the borrower interest,
especially at an exorbitant or illegally high rate; An excessive or illegally high rate of interest charged on borrowed money.

Fraud (frôd) A deception deliberately practiced in order to secure unfair or unlawful gain. A piece of trickery; a trick

Misrepresent (mis-rep ree-zent ) To give an incorrect or misleading representation

Yes Virginia, there used to be LAWS which protected people from predatory lending practices, but apparently our government has decided that we no longer need protecting, because 'Big Business' loves us and would never hurt or take advantage of us for MONEY! It's bad enough that we have a mind-numbing variety of idiotic products being hawked on TV, Radio and every flat vertical surface
on the planet, it's even worse that most of these products are of the "use once" variety and do nothing but fill up our overflowing landfills, but now we can buy these stupid things and pay for them a dozen times over in interest. And while the credit card companies get richer, the unwary or the
desperate consumers get screwed… again.

O.K., I'm done now.
/rant

As promised, Vegas pics

2006-05-21T23:30:00.000-04:00

So, as I promised, here are some shots from my Vegas trip. Stayed here at Harrah's "The Luckiest Casino in Vegas!" as voted by some organization. I had NO luck there at all (unless of course if by "luck" you mean "give all your money to the machines and get none back". If THAT is your definition of luck, then boy, was I lucky!)

While it was convenient to stay on the Strip, I wasn't that impressed with the hotel. Granted, it's not supposed to be a five star resort, but aside from the endless construction, the funky smell in the hallway (a combination of cat spray and a deodorizer that's not quite making the grade), the long parades of redneck tourists, and the indoor smog of cigarette smoke, it actually boasted a bar & grille based on a Toby Keith song. Now, I make no secret that I'm not a big C&W fan, but I try to respect other people's taste in music. But this place was just too much. Pictures of Toby, Toby memorabilia, and Toby Keith Videos playing 24/7. Ugh.

Here is the view from my room. It was cool to see the sunrise from over the mountains, but the new structure going up and the construction noise during the day ruined what was kind of a nice view. We are looking towards the LVCC out this window.

So I took more pictures of my second favorite casino, NYNY....

Here is Lady Liberty and the replica of the NYFD boat that floats in the pool at her feet. This was drained and closed down back in January, so it was cool to see it working this time. We had dinner out on the patio at 9 Fine Irishmen and it was amazing. Nothing like drinking Guinness from a place that knows how to serve it properly and with a fine view of the Strip. Awesome!

The image on the right is of the casino floor inside NYNY. I just like the way this place feels, it's a close second to the Venetian in my book.

OK, now the pics you've all been waiting for... my geek trip to the Hilton to see Star Trek:

First we have the Original Enterprise with the Enterprise D in the far background...

And then of course, there's Voyager and the Enterprise D in all their glory.

Even the Monorail car was decked out:

on a final note, you want to see what being "Assimilated" is all about? Check out the vending machine in the picture below. It's located just outside of the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton:

Yes ladies and gents, that is an iPod vending machine. This is not a joke, this is a REAL, UNRETOUCHED photo. Resistance is futile, indeed.

Oh My God! Have I Been ... DORMANT??!!!

2006-05-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

I guess I have.

Damn, I HATE when that happens.

Well, as you may have guessed, I returned safely from Vegas. I actually have pictures from Quark's (ROCK ON!) but the ride was like 40 bucks and there is a line which separates a Star Trek Fan from a ~~looney idiot~~ Trekkie and I decided not to cross over. So I gambled away that 40 bucks as the Las Vegas Tourist Guild requires.

I did however partake of a Romulan Ale while there.

OK, so I didn't cross the line but I am still such a friggin' nerd.

I have the pics to post, as well as some vacation shots from Myrtle Beach and I have a rant brewing about the death of the Middle Class and the Re-birth of the Peasant class... but that will have to wait until later as I am in work and up to my proverbial ass in proverbial alligators. I promise not to wait until Suldog puts me on his "Dormant" list to post again.

Back to Vegas

2006-03-31T11:47:00.000-05:00

It seems that I just can't stay away from Las Vegas. Why, you ask?

Am I addicted to losing money?

Am I having a secret affair with Nikki Cox?

Am I leading a double life?

No,

and No.

Another tradeshow in the tradeshow capitol of the world, Fabulous Las Vegas!

This time it's a smaller show, so it shouldn't be quite as crazy, but I'll be there all next week.

I have mixed feelings about this one... I would have rather gone with the rest of my dept. to the Big Show (EHX) in Orlando this week, but I am flattered that they requested me to go to the ISC show in Vegas, because there is a presentation they want me to do. That's kind of an ego boost, to have the Marketing Dept. request you for a show. But what they don't know is that I would probably have gone to both, even if it meant 2 solid weeks away from home. OK, that's a stretch... I probably couldn't have done that without major stress at home. It turns out that while I'm gone, it will be particularly hard on the family as my youngest daughter's play is next week and anyone who has kids in drama knows why they call the week of the show "Hell Week".

Yes, you heard me correctly... I am the worst Dad in history. I am missing my youngest daughter's first play. Not happy about that at all. And the kicker here is that since they are doing a Disney play, there are no video cameras allowed, so when I miss it, I will truly miss it.

Nope really and truly not happy about that. Thanks Disney! I'm sure good old Walt is very happy that you're protecting his dream by screwing a parent out of seeing his daughter's play. But I can understand their legal stance here, I mean, what if someone were to tape this middle school production and then SELL the tapes on the Internets! How horrible would that be??! I mean, Sales of the ACTUAL Aladdin videos would plummet, rocketing the world economy into chaos!

OK, enough bitter snarkiness. I will try to post some lovely Vegas pics next week. I am planning on finally visiting the Star Trek Experience this trip.

Make it so.

"You can't go home again..."

2006-03-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, my friend Suldog wrote something which touched on a subject that I've been thinking about for a while. I wrote a comment on his blog, but wanted to expand on the subject a bit here. In a nutshell, his entry expressed his sadness and his anger at the loss of some of his childhood landmarks.
I have always been a person who dislikes change. There, I said it. It's "out there" now for all of you to see. It's no surprise to those who know me well.
I like things familiar more than I like them strange & different. My mom likes to tell a story about how when I was about 6 years-old, she got me a new hat for Christmas. I wouldn't wear it, and when she asked me why I explained that I was afraid that nobody would recognize me if I wore a new hat.
(No this is not simply a "Look at me, ain't I cute?!" entry. The picture to the right actually shows me wearing that same gray wool cap in 1971. Don't ask me about the Lumberjack plaid coat, I have no idea what we were thinking either. )
So, this attitude started fairly early with me. I am sentimental. I keep things (including grudges) for a ridiculously long time. I like looking back and remembering and trying to re-create those memories. It has taken me much of my adult life to come to terms with the fact that Thomas Wolfe was right; You can't go home again.
If there was one piece of wisdom I could pass on to future generations, that would be it (that and "Never gamble with the rent money" but that is an entry for another day.)
When you are growing up, you hear these famous quotations, but it isn't until you are an adult that you can actually start to understand and apply them to your own life.
My take on Thomas Wolfe is this: there are so many places that seem so immovable when you are young, but which vanish at some real estate tycoon's whim, and so many people who seem immortal and unchangeable. Yet the one constant in this life is change. Ironic? Sure it is. And until you are able to accept that it can be sad and frustrating. You can go and re-visit some of the places you remember, but even if those places are exactly the same (a rare occurrence) YOU are not. Every minute of life and experience you accumulate changes you slightly, every person with whom you interact exacts some sort of influence, some great, some small. The truth of it is, once you live the moment, that moment is gone and can only be recovered in memory.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm no Zen master. I haven't started wearing a robe, shaving my head and chanting. And I haven't started listening to old Kansas albums either (although, ironically my high school yearbook quote was the opening line from Dust in the Wind. Go figure.)
I still get sentimental. Having accepted that this is the way life is, doesn't mean I have to actually LIKE it. But accepting this does allow you to live in the 'now' a bit more and to appreciate things as they happen, rather than dwell on the unhappiness and the loss.
I am trying to teach this to my older daughters as they reach their middle teens, and they have started to learn it firsthand.
Last summer they asked my wife to take them back to our old apartment for a day so they could visit. They were all sorely disappointed to find the things they remembered from 5 years earlier either changed or in some cases, simply gone. They were particularly saddened by the loss of a favorite playground. The Rec Dept turned it into a skate park or something, and the skeletal remains of the giant slide they used to love were tossed off to one side in a decaying pile (a sad, but fitting analogy.)
I am trying to be gentle with them about it, but I know I would have been happier as a young adult if I understood this sooner. It doesn't mean we don't look back fondly on vacations, or places we have lived, or people that we knew. What it means is that we shouldn't expect those things to stay the same for our benefit. Growth and change go hand in hand, even if we don't particularly like the directions things are growing.
I am still saddened by the loss of familiar places ( my favorite sub shop in my hometown closed up shop for good last winter. I was passing through town and was crushed to find it dark & empty) much as Suldog wrote in his entry. I still miss people who have gone out of my life, one way or another. But knowing that when we intersect with the people, times and places to create the 'now', that these moments are rare gems that seldom repeat themselves helps us to appreciate them all the more.
Wow, I got all profound and stuff back there. I promise not to make too much of a habit of it.

Hey, there's a hairball in my sink!

2006-02-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

What is it with these psychotic cats spending time in the sink? These photos are unretouched, and unposed. They took place over a year apart. And yes, these are 2 of my 3 cats.

It is a well-known fact that cats hate water, right? So I ask you, WTF???!!!

And no, I haven't resorted to posting cute pictures of my cats to fill since I don't have anything interesting to say just now... hey wait... I guess I did just that.
Huh. Oh well. Ain't the wittew kitty's so kyoooot!!!!

Yeah, it's lame. I know. Suck it up.

Almost forgot...

2006-01-29T23:19:00.000-05:00

Wrote something on the plane back from Vegas, posted it to my other site, direct link is here: 30,000 feet.

The link to my other site is on the left or for those of you too lazy to move the mouse, you can get there by clicking here.

Feedback is welcome.

Outside on the Inside...

2006-01-29T21:32:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost 3 weeks since I got back from Sin City, with precious little sin rubbed off on me. I have to admit, I was kind of hoping to have something that needed to "stay in Vegas" (nothing illegal or immoral, mind you, just something a little out of the ordinary) but aside from a little money left in the slots and one member of our party being approached by a very discreet callgirl at the Bellagio, it was a fairly tame trip.
I titled this post based on some of these photos from the INSIDE of the Venetian (and of course it plays off the title of my other website.) Yes, I took the above shot around 11:30 PM after a late dinner. This place (The Venetian) is absolutely mind-boggling... It feels like what the old "Mission Impossible" crew might have cooked up to fool a mark into thinking he was in Venice and so he unwittingly gives up the secret location of the stolen Uranium... Well it did to me at least. It really takes your body's internal clock and turns it on it's head. Granted, I hadn't completely adjusted to West Coast time and we were eating dinner at what my body still thought was around 2AM, and to have this late afternoon glow to the "sky" around the "Plaza" where the "Outdoor cafe" we had chosen for dinner was situated really threw me for a loop.
This picture of the Flamingo and the Barbary Coast were before dinner...

And this picture to the right was taken less than an hour later.. from 10pm back to around 3pm.

And to make it all a little more confusing...
The picture on the left was taken at 11:40PM PST, (See the clock?)but felt like 2:40AM EST and looked like 3:30PM. Needless to say it was a completely new experience in almost-time travel.

The Press presentations went fine on both days, the show went well and breaking it down and packing it up went off without a hitch. I didn't manage to make it over to the Hilton (which was walking distance) to check out the Star Trek Experience AGAIN ( I missed it last time too), but I just found out I am being sent back in April for another show, so I will definitely make the effort to see it then. The other major high point of the trip was scoring tickets to the Monster Cable Party and getting to see Stevie Wonder show why they call him a superstar. Man, he puts on a good show, and the seemingly endless "awards" that Monster gave out before the main event were a small price to pay.

I leave the Vegas entries with one final photo. I really liked this one and would include it in my portfolio, but the quality simply isn't that good. I'm a little disappointed about that, but at this resolution you can see what I was trying to do. This is a piece of sculpture/architecture at Caesar's Palace . I really wish I had a tripod so I wouldn't be stuck with the soft edges. But I didn't and so I am. Oh Well, better luck next time.

Still super busy at work, preparing for another training class and trying to get some online trainings going, but will try to find more time to post for those 2 or 3 people who occasionally check in here.

Your Gambling Dollars At Work...

2006-01-06T14:21:00.000-05:00

Still at CES. Went and walked the strip last night and took a bunch of pictures. These are of the Bellagio hotel. Unfortunately, they were already dismantling the holiday display, but I managed to capture these hanging "snowflakes".

The scale of this place is so distorted. Things always look closer than they appear... a "short walk" up the strip from the Bellagio to the Venetian turned out to be miles. Ok, well it felt like miles, it may havebeen slightly shorter. These "snowflakes" are like 4 feet in diameter, not including the "crystals". See what I mean?
Anyway, these next 2 are of the glass ceiling flowers in the Bellagio lobby:

The ceiling in perspective is at the right. This city is amazing, and not ALL in a bad way. I took some shots of the water show, but I am late for a lunch meeting, so those will have to wait til later.

Viva Las Vegas!

2006-01-05T03:22:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everybody!

My company sent me to sunny Las Vegas this week to work at our trade show booth at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and I finally got to go out. After 3 days of exhausting labor, the booth and the hotel suite displays are set to go and I need to be up in 5 hours to give a presentation on our Education programs to the Electronics Press. * gulp*

Now, anyone who knows me will tell you I am not a morning person. Never have been, never will be. By 7am Pacific time tomorrow, I have to be ready to present to actual industry writers why our education programs are so great. Don't get me wrong, our programs are way cool and I am proud they are having me represent them, but while I am used to speaking into a mic in front of crowds, those are usually off the cuff remarks, or what passes for my wit. It is never rehearsed and rarely thought out beforehand. I am a bit nervous about it and also need to get to bed so I will be awake early enough to set up the final gear and be ready to roll. ugh.
I like this show and while it is grinding work sometimes, it is fun too. But, I do miss my wife and kids and can't wait to bring them home souvenirs.

Here are a couple of other shots outside New York, New York. Had a great steak here and lost 25 bucks to the one armed bandits. Oh well, you lose some, you lose some...
It's VEGAS BABY, VEGAS!

Happy Holidays!

2005-12-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

I had hoped to have time to write a charming holiday anecdote here, but as usual, I left it until the last minute and now have no time to do it. It would have been great though.. you would have loved it. Well, maybe you would have at least liked it enough not to send me any rotten fruit or death threats.
Anyway, my point being (and I do have one) I tend to leave things to the last minute. Anyone who has known me for any length of time will certainly testify that this is the case. You won't even have to ship them to a foreign country and torture them to find out... they'll come right out an say it: "Yeah, he procrastinates... a lot."
OK, so sue me, I didn't get to the holiday anecdote, but I DID get to send out my homemade holiday cards. I used the image above which I took at the Bellagio Hotel in Vegas last January. This bear is about 7 feet tall and covered in white carnations. The Bellagio display is an absolute must see. This is just a small sample of what they concoct there. So if you are in or around Las Vegas this time of year, stop by the Bellagio, check out the dancing fountains and see their holiday display. You won't be disappointed.
To all my friends, family, co-workers, former co-workers, passing acquaintances, and readers of this blog (all 3 of you)... I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons. May you have health and happiness in the coming new year.
God Bless us, every one!

Neglect....

2005-12-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

I'm guilty of neglect. Yes, I haven't posted since the end of November. I know I'm a horrible person, a blight on polite society. Well, I never claimed to be a "blogger" or to be a true citizen of the "Blogosphere", not even a true "Netizen". I don't even have a Technocrati profile for gosh sakes!
Ok, enough snarkiness. The real reason is that I recently changed positions at work (and, no, I don't mean from sitting to standing, wise-ass). I moved from Tech Support over to Education (yes, it IS considered a promotion), and we just finished 3 weeks of marathon sessions where we "trained the trainers". It was very cool, but was also very tiring. I left the house by 7:30am each day and returned home around 8-9pm. So, while I can't totally exclude the possibility that I am a lazy ass, there were other factors to take into account, your honor. I promise (and by promise I mean I will make a half-hearted effort) not to ever neglect my blog again.
So all that being said, I'm fine, thanks for asking!

So, another Friday Winter Wonderland here in the Granite State. I took this picture of the sunset after last Friday's storm. This is taken from the door at my work. If you look carefully at the bottom of the frame, you might be able to make out my Car-Turned-Snowbank. The photo really doesn't do it justice, but gives you an idea of how beautiful it was.

I really love this time of year. I still enjoy snow and the cold weather is really bracing, rather than the hassle it will become as winter wears on. I have always been a Christmas junkie. It is hands-down my favorite holiday, and while our gift-giving is usually very modest (BTW, is anyone else extremely annoyed by these "buy a Lexus or BMW for Christmas ads? I mean, Jesus! who actually DOES that?!) I think we all "get it". My kids seem to get just as much of a kick out of giving, as they do in receiving gifts.
Well that's it for now. I have more pictures of Disneyland Christmas to post later on.

It's a feline conspiracy...

2005-11-28T22:46:00.000-05:00

This is Oliver, but don't let this picture fool you. I bet Hitler looked cute when he was sleeping too. I hear Rasputin looked like a little angel while he napped. The fact is that this animal is trying to kill me. He may be evil incarnate.
Oh, I don't have enough hard evidence to go to the DA yet, but one day I will and then you'll have to believe me. You see, he's a wily little bastard. He doesn't just go to the kitchen and use his little kitty paws to pull the big Chef's knife out of the block.. that would be too passe for this scheming feline. No, he is far more subtle and devious than that. What he does is wait for my medication bottle to be left out and then he bats it off the counter and tries to hide it from me. Now, what he can't know (the murderous little furball can't read! HA! so much for superior feline intellect!) is that it is only cholesterol medication and while it may eventually be fatal for me to stop taking it, it will take some time; probably another 15-25 years. Since he's already like 5 or 6 years old, even if he was to succeed in his evil plot, he most likely won't be around to enjoy the fruits of his homicidal labor. I know he can't possibly understand this (as cats have no concept of time and no long term memory to speak of) but is that an excuse? I'm sure some Johnnie Cochran-like celebrity lawyer would make some sort of stellar defense from it ("How could the poor little illiterate kitty know he was committing murder? If the kitty can't read, he MUST be FREED!") but we both know that he is evil down to the depths of his black, furry little heart, and will do me in in some sort of clever and ironic way given the chance. I must be ever-vigilant if I am to outwit the feline fiend.
And don't EVEN get me started on his partners in crime, the other two cats who live in my house. Please note that I said they live in my house, they are not "owned" by us, and while the young one (Ishmael) does a pretty good impression of actually liking me occasionally (usually when he's hungry) the oldest of them (Gracie) often looks at me like she would enjoy seeing me roasted on a slow-turning spit, and served with a garnish of tuna and tender vittles. Sure, it's a waiting game, but it's one I am prepared to win... after all I have the opposable thumbs and the longer life span. I am SURE I can outlast them.. if I can...
Just.
Stay.
Awake!

A Change will do you good...

2005-11-17T20:39:00.000-05:00

OK, I screwed up.

I freely admit it (a very rare occasion indeed!). I named this blog "Free Prize Inside!" because I thought it was an interesting and familiar phrase.

Now, I had Heard of Seth Godin and I think at some point I had even heard of his acclaimed book "Free Prize Inside!", yet it wasn't until today (when I did a quick Yahoo! search from a work PC, as I had forgotten the exact URL of my blog) that I realized I had inadvertently plagiarized my title.

Color me embarrassed. Seriously embarrassed. Like first-date-fart-in-the-car embarrassed.

No, it was not me trying to hitch my wagon to Mr. Godin's literary star, and it was COMPLETELY unintentional.

So, while I am leaving the URL the same (unless a legal-type person tells me otherwise) I am changing the title of this blog. Not sure If I will be sticking with the new title permanently, but I'll try it on and see how it fits. If it's like most things in my life, the sleeves will be too short and it will bind in all the wrong places.

I'm Back! Did You Miss Me!!!???

2005-11-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

well....??? did you?????
Fine! who needs you anyway! Ungrateful wretches. After all I've done for you!
Oh, right. I guess I havent really done anything for you. Nevermind.

But, I'm still back, whether you missed me or not. Where have I gone you might ask.
Well you might, assuming you noticed I was gone and cared even one whit about me. But since we've already established that you don't, I'm going to tell you anyway, just to punish you.

This picture is a hint:

Yes that's right, I was in CA IFORN A ! Um, I mean California. Or Cali as the ultra-hip and ultra-annoying sometimes call it. My first trip to the left coast ever.

I went to Anaheim not to go to Disneyland, but actually for work. I attended the Electronic Home Expo at the Anaheim Convention center last week. My company exhibited at the show and I actually taught a training class, my first. Sorry to all those who attended my class, but I promise to get better. I am considering using Gallagher-style props and squashing fruit or small furry animals with a giant wooden mallet.

Just kidding... I would never smash fruit with a giant wooden mallet.

So my unsolicited impressions of Anaheim? Well, my time was limited so I suppose I can't really give it a fair review, but what I saw, I liked. I really enjoyed the Downtown Disney area and even managed to score a discount ticket to Disneyland. I only managed 2 hours at the very end of my trip, but it was enough to take some fun photos and to ride one ride that you simply can't ride at Walt Disney World.:

Yep, I braved the cheesy Yeti, the bitter cold (do they actually refrigerate the ride? It did actually feel like ice... and I know ice; I'm from New England!) and the terrifying heights of the Matterhorn. All cynicism aside, I really enjoyed myself. I am actually a fan of the Disney parks and it was a kick to see Disneyland all decked out in it's holiday best. One last photo to give you a sample:

This little picture doesn't do it justice. This tree is absolutely enormous and decorated to the hilt. Ok, so it's a tad gaudy, but I liked it anyway. I think my heart may have grown 3 sizes that day!

I will try to post more photos soon, once I get the all sorted out and completely recover from my jet lag.

Ungrateful sods.

The numbers are cursed, dude...

2005-10-22T10:37:00.000-04:00

Oh.
My.
Gawd.
If you are a fan of the TV show "Lost", you MUST watch this:
http://uploads.ungrounded.net/272000/272811_lostrhapsody.swf

One of the most clever flash movies I have ever seen. The link above is a direct link to the file; if you want to go through the portal where you can rate it and send the linkto your friends and such, you can go to: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/272811

Or you could send them to this page. Whatever. I'm not the boss of you.

Our Top Story Tonight...

2005-10-17T21:55:00.000-04:00

Customer Service is still dead! Good Night and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Yes, I FINALLY received my cd player back from the company who shall remain nameless *cough*Stanton*cough*. It arrived today.
Let me repeat: it arrived TODAY. Not last week, not BEFORE the gig I did Saturday night, but today. The Customer Service people (and, yes as the customer, do I feel Serviced!) made a feeble attempt to help me out, but when UPS wouldn't upgrade the shipping and their local dealers had no product to loan me, they left me hanging out to dry. Luckily, I was able to borrow a cd player from my friend, DJ Nemisius, and it got me through the night.
The thing that really got me about this whole situation was that they could have made the repairs and returned the unit to me in plenty of time. All it would have taken was a little bit of motivation and some follow-up. They had neither.
I would advise any and all comers to avoid my situation. Buy Denon.

16? God I'm old...

2005-10-11T21:13:00.000-04:00

There comes a time in every Dad's life when they need to sit down and evaluate. There have been subtle hints and clues, even for the densest (most dense? dense-licious?) of us; the thinning hair, the occasional lower back pain, the magical appearance of those stunning gray highlights. But "Hey!, I'm a DJ! I'm still cool, I know what's on top 40 radio, I've spun in clubs, I've had college girls make passes at me (well, not really, but it's my delusion, I'll imagine what I want!)" And then you notice yourself saying to your kids "When I was your age..." and then you stop, horrified that you prefaced ANYTHING, no matter how wise or brilliant, with those 5 brain-numbing words.
(On a side note, and this is an HonesttoGodTRUEStory, I once responded to one of my childrens' requests for dessert after she left 9/10's of her steak on the plate with "How can you have any pudding if you don't eat your meat?!" and then immediately broke out in gales of side-splitting, head-pounding, teary-eyed, and other hyphenated-adjectives laughter. It was not planned. It literally just popped out of my mouth. And if you don't know why this is funny, you've never listened to Pink Floyd's 'The Wall')
Anywho, I, sometimes also known as the "King of Denial" could even manage to push all of these obvious signs into the dark and dusty corners of my brain.
Until now.
You see, 16 years ago tonight, while watching Doogie Howser, MD (don't you dare laugh, you watched it too! You know you did!) my wife(who was very pregnant at the time) did an amazing acrobatic thing; she jumped up off of my mother's couch and bolted into the bathroom. Now anyone who wouldn't call that acrobatic has never had any experience with expectant mothers late in their third trimester. To get to the point, she had gone into labor and less than 12 hours later at a little past 8 am on October 12, 1989 my eldest child made her first big entrance.
This means that tomorrow morning, she is 16. It also drives home the fact, like John Henry driving in a railroad spike, that I am Too Friggin' Old.

She is a wonderful girl and is showing signs that she will be a wonderful adult. And if she reads this, she needs to know how very, very proud I am of her. My wife and I have been through quite a lot in the 20+ years we've been together. Some of it was pretty awful, and there were times when it felt like the whole world was pressing down, but the truth is, I wouldn't trade any of it. To change it would change my kids as well, and I wouldn't change a single thing about any of them. We have been truly blessed in that department.

But I'm still Way Too Friggin' Old.

Customer Service is Dead, Dead, Dead...

2005-10-06T14:25:00.000-04:00

One of the reasons I love where I work is that we still provide excellent customer service. If a customer calls, I NEVER promise anything unless I am absolutely sure we can deliver. And we follow up on our service as well, to make sure the customer is not left hanging. Unfortunately, it has spoiled me. I forget sometimes that outside of my company, and with VERY few exceptions, Customer Service has lain down and died a very quiet and lonely death.

In this case, my DJ CD player needed to go back to the manufacturer for service. I won’t mention any names *cough* *Stanton* *cough*, but last week when I spoke to them, they were very nice. The repair tech seemed to understand that I needed the unit back ASAP and that I was shipping it expedited to him. He told me it would take approx. 2 days to fix. So I sent it last Friday by 2-day postal delivery, they got it Monday AM ( I paid extra to track it). Now, here is where I screwed up: I took it on faith that if he got it Monday AM, he would start working on it either Monday or Tuesday and be finished with it, by say today.

So I called this morning to firm up the shipping details and to make sure there weren’t any unforeseen problems. While they are certainly pleasant on the phone, they have no idea where my CD player is or whether it’s even been looked at yet. Oh, and the repair tech won’t be in the rest of the day. They are supposed to give me a call back with status later, but I am not holding my breath. It looks like I will have to make other equipment arrangements for the party I have this weekend.

Not. Happy.

If I have an update and need to retract this, I will post it here. I’d love it if they’d make me eat these words… maybe with some malt vinegar and sea salt. Mmmmmmm… tasty!

This is not a subversive entry...

2005-10-04T19:42:00.000-04:00

Let me preface this entry by explaining I am NOT a political radical. I am not a member of any militia or fringe political whacko-type group. I AM a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but politically, I am a Centrist. What this means is that I see benefits to certain policies expressed by different political parties. I like to think of them as the “common sense” ideas. Virtually all political parties (even the GOP) has the occasional good idea, no matter how far out on the fringe they may be. For example, I like several ideas expressed by the Libertarians (although I wouldn’t characterize them as “fringe”). They have some good ideas about preserving personal freedom (or as our new Chief Justice called it “the ‘so-called’ right to privacy… does anyone else feel a chill?) and I like the IDEA of personal responsibility, but I draw the line there. Simply put, some of the policies require a great deal of trust be placed upon peoples’ common sense and level of personal responsibility. Now maybe I’m a cynic (HAH! ‘Maybe’ he says!) but I simply don’t trust “People”, as a group, to generally do the right thing. History is littered with the bodies of those who counted on others to do the right thing… I just can’t take that one all the way.

So, without going into my all my personal political beliefs let me get to the point; The two party system we currently use is broken. And not just a little broken… we’re talking beyond duct tape and Krazy Glue™. We’re talking a fluorescent light bulb dropped from a 10-story building… you can see the vague outline of what it once was, but it’s just gone. Our political system has become a machine that produces two things: money and power. What does this juggernaut burn? Well lately it’s been burning the middle class pretty heavily, but basically it consumes two things: your money and your freedom.

I’m not saying we need revolution in the country, but it staggers me how the media has conspired with the politicians to keep America pacified and consuming. The more useless crap we buy, the more money goes to big business and the government. And don’t EVEN get me started on the pharmaceutical industry! What we really need is to take money out of the equation. Drop the salaries of elected officials back to 30 or 40K/year. Take away Congress’ lifetime health insurance. Outlaw political action committees. Implement campaign finance reform. Now.

What I’d really love to see would be a return of PERSONAL politics in this country… and I don’t mean pseudo-friendly candidates telling us that they “feel our pain”. I want to elect a Congressman/Senator/President not because of their political party, or because they are the lesser of two evils, but because I respect their ideas and feel that they know and respect mine. "Government of the people, by the people and for the people"… somebody famous and respectable-like said that once. I couldn’t agree more.

October is spider season in NH...

2005-10-02T19:40:00.000-04:00

I almost titled this post "Eight-legged freaks!" but I opted for the less sensational. This little (??!!!) guy has taken up residence just outside my house and my daughter has forbidden me killing him. She wants him relocated, but I'm sure as Hell not putting my hand near that thing. I mean, it looks like it could take down a wildebeast all by itself... OK, maybe not a wildebeast, but I am glad we have indoor pets! I have seen this breed of spider around our house (outside, thank God!) the last couple of years and while I'm not squeamish (I am, after all, a manly man) I find myself wanting to just leave them alone. I don't have a problem killing the little ones, or the assorted indoor intruders we get; ants, flies, beetles, and other assorted creepy-crawlies... Maybe it's just the sheer size of these spiders. They grew to this enormous size and it seems a shame to just squash them. I may end up relocating him to the other side of the yard, since we have some guests coming next weekend and I'd hate to have one of them felled and dragged off by this creautre. I am posting a couple of full-color shots of this guy here. Take a look if you dare!

Meet....

2005-09-29T20:22:00.000-04:00

Shrug, the Wire Guy!

He stands on my desk all day, everyday with that "Don't ask me" expression and that idiot grin. He may be smarter than some of the customers I talk to.

I made this from a siamese cable (cat5 and 16/4 speaker wire with the jackets joined) and a post it note. It's fun with Office Arts & Crafts...

Isn't he cool???!!!

OK, so here I am....

2005-09-27T21:38:00.000-04:00

I'm not really what you'd call a "trendy" person, so while the idea of a blog appealed to me, I resisted. I don't watch reality TV. I don't give a damn who will be America's Next Top Model, who will get fired this week, who will get voted off/out, who will lose the most weight, who is the best dancer, singer, etc. It's all ridiculous. I don't follow dorky fashion trends, eat sushi or texmex or whatever passes for the current flavor of the week/month/year. I have also avoided all of these high tech trends spawned by the "internets"... until now.

I guess I've been assimilated.

I wonder what's happening on that new Martha Stewart show...