The last week left me realizing that I have been running on empty for too long. I am to the point that I have nothing left to give. I have violated rule number 1 - take care of yourself so you can take care of others.
The worst part is you never notice it at first. It kind of creeps up on you. For me at least things were mostly ok, although I had noticed some small things for awhile now. The all of a sudden whamo - the wheels come off and I am ready to go postal.
I am looking to reverse this trend. First off I am making up some good meals for myself for next week. One problem is that I have been eating out too much the last few months, and I can feel the difference between that and what I make for myself. Next I am also going to get my exercise in, which I have not been consistent with for awhile as well.
Lastly I am going to try and refill the well. Today I went to see The Hitchhicker's Guide To the Galaxy. Not a bad film, for those familiar with the books (and it has been awhile since I read them) it is enjoyable.For those who did not like the books avoid the movie.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Your Birthdate: December 20 |
Your birth on the 20th day of the month adds a degree of emotion, sensitivity, and intuition to your reading. The 2 energy provided here is very social, allowing you to make friends easily and quickly. Yet you are apt to have a rather nervous air in the company of a large group. You have a warmhearted nature and emotional understanding that constantly seeks affection. You are very prone to become depressed and moody, as emotions can turn inward and cause anxiety and mental turmoil. It can be hard for you to bounce back to reality when depression sets in. When things are going well, you can go just as far the other way and become extremely affectionate. |
Friday, April 29, 2005
MoveOn PACh
MoveOn PAC
Although I thought he would not make a good president (and no I did not vote for Bush Jr. - I voted for some third party candidate in the hope of getting someone else permanent ballot status in Ohio) I do believe Al Gore is a very intelligent man. He hits home with this speech. I like the way he puts it - aside from the fact the founding fathers wanted the whole freedom of the branches to work independently, eventually the Republicans will fall out of favor (if history is any indicator) and when they are they may WANT to have the filibuster and other tools that are currently in place to fight "the evil majority." I think some people have lost track of the fact that politics is a marathon, not a sprint and there are times you will not be the front runner.
Although I thought he would not make a good president (and no I did not vote for Bush Jr. - I voted for some third party candidate in the hope of getting someone else permanent ballot status in Ohio) I do believe Al Gore is a very intelligent man. He hits home with this speech. I like the way he puts it - aside from the fact the founding fathers wanted the whole freedom of the branches to work independently, eventually the Republicans will fall out of favor (if history is any indicator) and when they are they may WANT to have the filibuster and other tools that are currently in place to fight "the evil majority." I think some people have lost track of the fact that politics is a marathon, not a sprint and there are times you will not be the front runner.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Monday, April 25, 2005
Quick Check In
I was at work for 12+ hours yesterday to come home to a bunch of other crap so I have not felt like doing much of anything. Just a quick note since I have not done anything lately.
Note to phishers
Note to phisers - when trying to extract information from someone you should probably try and make sure that the target at least has some kind of relationship with the entity you are trying to immitate.
Today I got this email addressed to "Dear Keybank Member." Now aside from the fact that my name was not used (one tip I have seen in phishing scams), I don't have any kind of account with Keybank. The level of criminal compentence has truly fallen off of late.
Today I got this email addressed to "Dear Keybank Member." Now aside from the fact that my name was not used (one tip I have seen in phishing scams), I don't have any kind of account with Keybank.
MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture - Home
MyPyramid.gov - United States Department of Agriculture - Home
Looks like a cool site if you want to play around with the new food pyramid. Amazing they finally figured out one size does not fit all! And the web might make it easier for people to figure out what they should eat. Wow.
Looks like a cool site if you want to play around with the new food pyramid. Amazing they finally figured out one size does not fit all! And the web might make it easier for people to figure out what they should eat. Wow.
Friday, April 22, 2005
This and that
Well, I am finally catching up with some things. Things at work have slowed down enough that I can breath, always a plus. My car seems to have settled down, although it still needs some work which I might et done this weekend since it seems that the weather is going to suck out loud. I'm not complaining too much becuase we had a nice run of weather.
New feet
Yesterday during my walk I got some intense shin pain. This is not ot of the ordinary since the shin is the first place something hurts when I am walking too fast. After slowing down nothing changed, so it was time to head to the store for a new pair of walking shoes. Picked up a pair of these. I have to agree with the one review that stated they seem to run a half size small, but overall I am happy with them so far. Of course I only did 3 miles today and my arches hurt and I got a little knee pain while walking, but both of those is normal when I first get a new pair of shoes, particularly a new model. The arch problmes I expect since I need to get used to an arch support that is not borken down. The knee pain with this came from the fact these shoes try to keep the ankle in a neutral position, something my last shoes did not do. It wil take a few miles to get the legs used to the new shoes, but I have to admit by the end of the 3 miles I was feeling pretty good so I have good feelings about these shoes. The big thing I like is the upper is almost all mesh to allow for some great breathing of my feet. When I do longer walks I need to get a lot of ventilation on my feet or I start to get blisters right behind the balls of my feet. I never knew what caused them until I taked with someone who had a similar problem and heclued me into the trick of long distance walkers.
New feet
Yesterday during my walk I got some intense shin pain. This is not ot of the ordinary since the shin is the first place something hurts when I am walking too fast. After slowing down nothing changed, so it was time to head to the store for a new pair of walking shoes. Picked up a pair of these. I have to agree with the one review that stated they seem to run a half size small, but overall I am happy with them so far. Of course I only did 3 miles today and my arches hurt and I got a little knee pain while walking, but both of those is normal when I first get a new pair of shoes, particularly a new model. The arch problmes I expect since I need to get used to an arch support that is not borken down. The knee pain with this came from the fact these shoes try to keep the ankle in a neutral position, something my last shoes did not do. It wil take a few miles to get the legs used to the new shoes, but I have to admit by the end of the 3 miles I was feeling pretty good so I have good feelings about these shoes. The big thing I like is the upper is almost all mesh to allow for some great breathing of my feet. When I do longer walks I need to get a lot of ventilation on my feet or I start to get blisters right behind the balls of my feet. I never knew what caused them until I taked with someone who had a similar problem and heclued me into the trick of long distance walkers.
Oops I Did It Again: The Original
Oops I Did It Again: The Original
I have mixed views on this - I love poking fun at Brittany Spears, but then again the trumpet playing is so bad it is really an afront to Satchmo fans, and anyone who has respect for brass instruments. I could have played that and I have not picked up an instrument since high school, and a trumpet in particular since my sophmore year.
I have mixed views on this - I love poking fun at Brittany Spears, but then again the trumpet playing is so bad it is really an afront to Satchmo fans, and anyone who has respect for brass instruments. I could have played that and I have not picked up an instrument since high school, and a trumpet in particular since my sophmore year.
Yahoo! News - US protestants split over new pope
Yahoo! News - US protestants split over new pope
We live in a world gone wild when protestants should even give a flying fig about the new pope.
We live in a world gone wild when protestants should even give a flying fig about the new pope.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Star Wars Revelations .. A�Panic Struck Productions Film
Star Wars Revelations .. A�Panic Struck Productions Film
I believe I have blogged about this before, but now it is out! The largest file is 260 meg and is just over 47 minutes with credits. With BitTorrent it took less than 2 hours (I did not check the exact time - I started it up and came back 2 hours later it was all done). They alos have a DVD image for those with a burner.
Was this a great piece of cinema? No, but it was enjoyable. Frankly I have seen worse commercial releases. Sometimes the effects seemed a little, the word I thought of was "incomplete". Like they needed another day or two of computer processing to really finish things off. I don't discount this could have been a result of my computer monitor however. Wish I had a DVD burner to get the image and see it on a regular TV.
What I find most interesting is the process they used. Although they will not give a final figure, it looks like the spent somewhere in the neightborhood of $30K or less on the film. Granted all the actors & crew were volunteers and the whole process took something like 3 years to complete, but I think this shows what a group of dedicated individuals who are inspired to create something can do.
Right now the timing is such that such films can gain a market. Low budget films & documentaries have, traditionally, had no good outlet. However with broadband getting great penetration into homes people are now looking at the $40-$50/month and wondering how to maximize the return. Indie musicians figured out awhile back how they can market themselves on the internet, and now I think indie film makers are learning. BitTorrent, I feel, is the tipping factor for video. I know, personally, that is how my thinking has been.
BTW - does anyone else know what Karen Hammang has been in? She played The Emperor's Hand in the movie and her face seems familiar. I plugged her name into Google and did not come up with much. Maybe she just looks like someone I know.
I believe I have blogged about this before, but now it is out! The largest file is 260 meg and is just over 47 minutes with credits. With BitTorrent it took less than 2 hours (I did not check the exact time - I started it up and came back 2 hours later it was all done). They alos have a DVD image for those with a burner.
Was this a great piece of cinema? No, but it was enjoyable. Frankly I have seen worse commercial releases. Sometimes the effects seemed a little, the word I thought of was "incomplete". Like they needed another day or two of computer processing to really finish things off. I don't discount this could have been a result of my computer monitor however. Wish I had a DVD burner to get the image and see it on a regular TV.
What I find most interesting is the process they used. Although they will not give a final figure, it looks like the spent somewhere in the neightborhood of $30K or less on the film. Granted all the actors & crew were volunteers and the whole process took something like 3 years to complete, but I think this shows what a group of dedicated individuals who are inspired to create something can do.
Right now the timing is such that such films can gain a market. Low budget films & documentaries have, traditionally, had no good outlet. However with broadband getting great penetration into homes people are now looking at the $40-$50/month and wondering how to maximize the return. Indie musicians figured out awhile back how they can market themselves on the internet, and now I think indie film makers are learning. BitTorrent, I feel, is the tipping factor for video. I know, personally, that is how my thinking has been.
BTW - does anyone else know what Karen Hammang has been in? She played The Emperor's Hand in the movie and her face seems familiar. I plugged her name into Google and did not come up with much. Maybe she just looks like someone I know.
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Scripting News: 4/20/2005
Scripting News: 4/20/2005
You go Dave!
Seriously it has been my view that most organizied religions just get in the way of your relationship with your deity of choice. I have never figured out why you need to go to a special place at a special time to have a religious experience.
You go Dave!
Seriously it has been my view that most organizied religions just get in the way of your relationship with your deity of choice. I have never figured out why you need to go to a special place at a special time to have a religious experience.
Yahoo! News - TV, Radio to Issue Decency Guide This Summer
Yahoo! News - TV, Radio to Issue Decency Guide This Summer
Why can't people use intelligence when watching a show. There are ratings available already, and any show that may have objectionable material usually warns you at the beginning AND many times just before the segment that will be offensive. Now a delay system on live broadcasts is not a bad idea, but I fear this is going to become pandering to the lowest common denominator, which means anything that could in any way, shape, or form offend ANYONE will never get broadcast again. Why can't people just vote with their viewing habits?
Why can't people use intelligence when watching a show. There are ratings available already, and any show that may have objectionable material usually warns you at the beginning AND many times just before the segment that will be offensive. Now a delay system on live broadcasts is not a bad idea, but I fear this is going to become pandering to the lowest common denominator, which means anything that could in any way, shape, or form offend ANYONE will never get broadcast again. Why can't people just vote with their viewing habits?
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Yahoo! News - Bush Says Raising Retirement Age a Possibility
Yahoo! News - Bush Says Raising Retirement Age a Possibility
Interestingly in my last statement from Social Security my retirement age for full benefits is already 67, and I fully expect it to be 70 by the time I am old enough to draw benefits.
There is one assumption I think that Bush is missing in this - we are all comfortable with investing in stocks & bonds. Most of the people I know (including myself), all of whom are very intelligent, don't have much of a real clue as to what constitutes a good investment. Worse yet we do not necessarily have the time to spend to follow the markets or the money to pay someone to do it for us. If people were serious about individual investment accounts (which, BTW, sounds a lot like the 401(k) or similar programs we have now) then maybe teaching about investing in, say the public schools, would be a good idea.
RANT ALERT - In a country that prides itself on its economic system we do very little to teach our children how to make use of that system. When I was in school unless you took an accounting class you did not necessarily learn even how to balance your check book or how compound interest works. Maybe over the last 20+ years things have changed, but for some reason I doubt it. If people want the whole idea of personal investment accounts to fly (which I am opposed to only because of the governmental control) maybe we should be teaching kids about how the markets work in high school so that everyone IS comfortable with investing in stocks & bonds.
Interestingly in my last statement from Social Security my retirement age for full benefits is already 67, and I fully expect it to be 70 by the time I am old enough to draw benefits.
There is one assumption I think that Bush is missing in this - we are all comfortable with investing in stocks & bonds. Most of the people I know (including myself), all of whom are very intelligent, don't have much of a real clue as to what constitutes a good investment. Worse yet we do not necessarily have the time to spend to follow the markets or the money to pay someone to do it for us. If people were serious about individual investment accounts (which, BTW, sounds a lot like the 401(k) or similar programs we have now) then maybe teaching about investing in, say the public schools, would be a good idea.
RANT ALERT - In a country that prides itself on its economic system we do very little to teach our children how to make use of that system. When I was in school unless you took an accounting class you did not necessarily learn even how to balance your check book or how compound interest works. Maybe over the last 20+ years things have changed, but for some reason I doubt it. If people want the whole idea of personal investment accounts to fly (which I am opposed to only because of the governmental control) maybe we should be teaching kids about how the markets work in high school so that everyone IS comfortable with investing in stocks & bonds.
Monday, April 18, 2005
Developers-Association.org :: Don Box et son groupe !
Developers-Association.org :: Don Box et son groupe !
Time for some geek humor. The video is kind of long, and my guess is the site is in French, although the video is all English. Songs about programming and other computer geeky stuff by geeks. Fair warning - this is not exactly great music AND the songs will probably not be understood by those outside of the computer industry.
Time for some geek humor. The video is kind of long, and my guess is the site is in French, although the video is all English. Songs about programming and other computer geeky stuff by geeks. Fair warning - this is not exactly great music AND the songs will probably not be understood by those outside of the computer industry.
Sunday, April 17, 2005
T-Shirts Akron : Rubber City Clothing
T-Shirts Akron : Rubber City Clothing
There has been a lot of talk lately in town about how to make Akron "cool." More on that, I think, in coming months. Now the idea of making a city "cool" is silly in my opinion, but I like this place's idea of trying to promote a great place to live. Akron will never be LA, Chicago or New York, and frankly I don't want it to be. BTW I highly recommend looking at the "Click Here Vote For Your Favorite Design" link. Some of them are inside jokes that locals would get, but mostly I think everyone would enjoy them.
There has been a lot of talk lately in town about how to make Akron "cool." More on that, I think, in coming months. Now the idea of making a city "cool" is silly in my opinion, but I like this place's idea of trying to promote a great place to live. Akron will never be LA, Chicago or New York, and frankly I don't want it to be. BTW I highly recommend looking at the "Click Here Vote For Your Favorite Design" link. Some of them are inside jokes that locals would get, but mostly I think everyone would enjoy them.
Recovering from Adventures in Babysitting
I am recovering today from two days of babysitting. My sister in law went in for some emergency surgery to drain an infection on Friday. I took off half a day to watch the kids so Brian could go back and be with Carla in recovery. Not a bad day of babysitting, but for some reason the kids wanted to watch DVDs on my laptop that I took over to get some things done. Needless to say I got nothing done, although I bet we were a sight -4 kids and an adult all grouped around a laptop sitting on a recliner.
Last night Carla was not feeling quite right so she went to the emergency room. I stayed up much longer than I would have liked, but the kids were little terrors. They had been to a birthday party earlier in the day and were still all sugared up. After some whining, and 2 of the 4 falling asleep things went a lot easier.
Aside from that, I have been dealing with a car that is not a happy camper. Right now he still needs to go back for some additional cleaning, but at least things are pretty normal right now. I do have to say though at least the car is nice and clean. I hate to clean, but I have to admit there is something very satisfying about the results. As a programmer at the end of the day there is no physical results from my work. It is nice to see the results of my effort for a change.
Geek Alert
Now let me start this off with I am a big Star Trek fan, but I was not a big fan of Wil Wheaton on there. Nothing against him as an actor, in fact I think he did great, but I never connected with Wesley. Yes, I know there is a difference between Wil & Wesley, but it is sometimes difficult to separate emotions when you are watching the show week after week. It was refreshing to read his blog and find out he is a major geek. A few weeks ago I saw he was into short wave radio, so that really pushes him into the geek category. It is refreshing to read about an actor and find out he is a very normal guy who has a bit of a (ok, a big) geek.
Last night Carla was not feeling quite right so she went to the emergency room. I stayed up much longer than I would have liked, but the kids were little terrors. They had been to a birthday party earlier in the day and were still all sugared up. After some whining, and 2 of the 4 falling asleep things went a lot easier.
Aside from that, I have been dealing with a car that is not a happy camper. Right now he still needs to go back for some additional cleaning, but at least things are pretty normal right now. I do have to say though at least the car is nice and clean. I hate to clean, but I have to admit there is something very satisfying about the results. As a programmer at the end of the day there is no physical results from my work. It is nice to see the results of my effort for a change.
Geek Alert
Now let me start this off with I am a big Star Trek fan, but I was not a big fan of Wil Wheaton on there. Nothing against him as an actor, in fact I think he did great, but I never connected with Wesley. Yes, I know there is a difference between Wil & Wesley, but it is sometimes difficult to separate emotions when you are watching the show week after week. It was refreshing to read his blog and find out he is a major geek. A few weeks ago I saw he was into short wave radio, so that really pushes him into the geek category. It is refreshing to read about an actor and find out he is a very normal guy who has a bit of a (ok, a big) geek.
WIL WHEATON dot NET: Where is my mind?: one by one
WIL WHEATON dot NET: Where is my mind?: one by one
Although it looks like voting has closed on this (I could not find the link mentioned as of Sunday night), I thought it was cool to see what an actress was doing. Plus, Ms McKellar is a math major which earns major geek points. Graduating 1 credit shy of a math minor myself I can tell you this lady has some real smarts, plus most of the math majors I have met (my comp sci degree was offered through the math departement) are about 1 standard deviation off of normal.
BTW the reason I was 1 credit shy is because I could not stand to take another math class. That's ok - most people could not understand how I could suffer through all those comp sci classes. So intead of minoring in math I minored in psychology. I had to get some upper level electives and the minor fit the bill.
Although it looks like voting has closed on this (I could not find the link mentioned as of Sunday night), I thought it was cool to see what an actress was doing. Plus, Ms McKellar is a math major which earns major geek points. Graduating 1 credit shy of a math minor myself I can tell you this lady has some real smarts, plus most of the math majors I have met (my comp sci degree was offered through the math departement) are about 1 standard deviation off of normal.
BTW the reason I was 1 credit shy is because I could not stand to take another math class. That's ok - most people could not understand how I could suffer through all those comp sci classes. So intead of minoring in math I minored in psychology. I had to get some upper level electives and the minor fit the bill.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Yahoo! News - FDA Panel Backs Mentor Silicone Breast Implants
Yahoo! News - FDA Panel Backs Mentor Silicone Breast Implants
A similar story was the top story on my paper. I guess after what seems like weeks of stories on the Pope, Terry Shiavo, and the war in Iraq they wanted something a little lighter. Now whereas I am all for breast implants for women who want them, does this really warrent being the lead story on page one?
A similar story was the top story on my paper. I guess after what seems like weeks of stories on the Pope, Terry Shiavo, and the war in Iraq they wanted something a little lighter. Now whereas I am all for breast implants for women who want them, does this really warrent being the lead story on page one?
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