BIRTHDAYS: Tonight we take Anthony to the Daytona Cubs opening game for his birthday. Fun fun fun.
REDNECKS: I found a link to this silly test (probably on one of my daughters' journals) so I thought I'd take it. I'm actually NOT HAPPY with the results...
You Are 5% Redneck
I'll slap you so hard, your clothes will be outta style. You ain't no redneck - you're all Yankee!
TECH NEWS: First step toward family-level geek'ed'ness COMPLETE. All personal computers in the Malena household now use only Mozilla FIREFOX web browser and THUNDERBIRD mail client. Next step is to get OpenOffice onto the kids computers (I'm already using it pretty much full time in lieu of Microsoft Office now -- the biggest adjustment to me has been my VB/macros in Excel which have to be transformed for things such as my Checkbook).
DRIVING: Daniella has officially driven the family vehicle now. Plus, she started her new job today, which is a bonus for both her and I (because I was tired of her doing nothing about her negative financial flow).
WORKING: Work has been fine this week. Having next to nil contact with people who do not know how to do work properly has had a profound impact on my attitude.
PLAYING: I bought the addon The Titans for Age Of Mythology finally. I've breezed through it rather easily, so I'm going to up the ante and do some 2-on-1 now; see if the computer can actually give me a challenge by teaming up against me...
PAYING: It's with sadness that I now see that I will likely meet my yearly deductable for out-of-pocket expenses for outpatient servies on my health coverage due to my illness (and the year started February 1st). I guess I need to go ahead and have any OTHER illnesses I plan on having, THIS YEAR, so that it won't cost me anything. (phbtbtbtbt)
PARTYING: This weekend we take Anthony to opening night of the Daytona Cubs for his fourteenth birthday (which was officially yesterday). Sixteen people total are going, which is a good group I guess.
PLANNING: I've come up with a unique idea for a business venture. Now it's a matter of planning it, creating a Business Proposition ("Plan"), and then finding a location. From there... it's big-decision time.
That's about it for tonight. Time for some That 70's Show to put me to sleep...
It's my opinion that, if you are a fanatic of April Fool's Day (treat it like it's Christmas) you should be "good" at it. Case in point:
Keith at work decided to pull pranks on everyone (just about literally). He disconnected phone headsets. He turned pictures upside down. He taped computer mice. He even put my headphone cable through the handle of my satchel (as well as a spare mouse's cable). None of this worked on me. I found it all.
Once I discovered that he had been doing this to everyone, I took 5 minutes to take care of business at his desk. He only found a couple things "before" they affected him.
Phone disconnected (at a different point than he did to everyone else) -- not discovered until he received a call and couldn't hear or talk. (he then claimed this was amature!)
Pictures in tri-pic holder all in different positions -- he discovered this on his own.
Water on seat of chair -- he discovered this (which I was surprised at) before sitting down.
Email signature altered so he was called "Keith Wheenus" -- never discovered until he emailed something and I replied back to him and told him.
Keys on keyboard altered (home/end swapped, up/left/right swapped) -- never discovered until he was emailed about it at the end of the day.
Note from fake girlfriend with phone numbers put inside DVD case he was taking home -- only discovered due to various hints given by myself ("say hi to Rebekkah for me") and others in the department.
So, in my opinion, Keith Wheeler should probably keep it quiet on April Fool's Day from now on. He's just not good enough at it.
I will give him credit for avoiding the very obvious gag the owners of our company tried to pull on him. They rolled a fake joint and put it in his desk, then went to his desk to get a ruler, and "found it". He was not impressed (this was at the end of the day and would have been better served earlier probably).
EASTER: My dad came over (my mother is in California visiting her sister currently) for Easter. We ate, we drank, we watched SciFi.. it was good.
INSTANT MESSAGING: I think I am going to start blocking people (i.e., females) who decide that the first or second text they type to me via IM should include a reference to me as "hun" or "luv" or "sweety". The fact that current teenage culture allows for such familiarity between people who DO NOT know each other is just sad. The internet should require people be licensed, tested and then force them to be held responsible for their actions (unless they're tech-savvy enough to get around such restrictions -- we geeks have to have our own backdoor, right?) (grin)
TECH: SHAME ON MICROSOFT for not fully supporting PNG format after all this time! Apparently the bit used for alpha transparency is not supported in IE currently. There is a "work around" that can be programmed into the page to support the PNG transparency bit, but it's ridiculous! Therefore, if you visit my FRIENDS PAGE and see a funky color background on the Heads found therein, you must still be using Microsoft's web browser.
MEDICAL: I ran my last at-home IV last night.. I hope. The nurse can't come until Monday to take out the line to my heart they installed (a "pick line", something I pray I never have to get again in my lifetime), plus I have to pickup my van that day as well (having the transmission fixed). Thankfully, both my body and the van appear to be on their way to "like new status". Running an IV twice a day that takes 2-3 hours (or more!) each time is a real pain!
BIRTHDAYS: We've planned Anthony's 14th birthday party -- we're having it at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona Beach (where the Daytona Cubs play; it will be their opening night). That should be pretty cool. We'll get food, cake, drinks, a reserved covered area, and a visit from CUBBY THE TEAM MASCOT! (grin)
BUSINESS: I've been looking more and more seriously at starting a for-real profit-earning business (as opposed to previous opportunities that I did not pursue actively enough even when they were quite successful), and there are a lot of opportunities out there from the various franchises (such as Subway, Chick-fil-A, Domino's Pizza and more) especially if you want to move overseas (such as Great Britain!). I'm weighing the options carefully. Various issues are forcing me to reevaluate my financial and working situation, and the fact that the children are in or near high school age does not help things. Being a full-time single parent can be very challenging... but looking at a possible career change at the same time is... daunting. :-)
CHAT: I have been getting a lot of random, unsolicited Instant Messages lately. Mostly from women of various ethnicities from various countries. Some of them believe that I "hate them" because I do not reply to them all the time (in other words, because my IM Client is online 24 hours a day, and they think I'm sitting there waiting to talk to them, but I'm not). It's been very odd. (one is talking at me right now)
DATING: I take some of these chats a little more seriously than I used to. I am open to the idea of "seeing someone" again, I think. I have been married once, I was the one who remained "in" the marriage (did not have affairs with various individuals for 10 years) and frankly, since my former wife did me the honor of wiping the self-introspection from my life by her actions during our divorce (for which I eternally thank her), I think it's time perhaps I try out the "dating scene", for the first real time in my life. I think I deserve it, and I think my children deserve to have a "more fulfilled" father. I think it's safe to assume my former wife has moved on (I do not know nor ask) in one way or another.
IDENTITY THEFT: Slashdot had a cool article about a gentlemen who had VISA information stolen, and he was able to track down and have arrested the pair of people who did it -- all within hours of it happening! The link is here.
I also just watched the first episode of the latest Doctor Who series (series 27 apparently) which was "accidentally" leaked onto the internet. It was "okay". I'm not sure I'm ready for a Doctor with a buzz cut.
Now that life has dealt me my first (of four) sixteen year olds, we'll see how interesting things get around here.
She already is the owner of a brand spanking new iPod Mini from her birthday (thank you, grandparents). She did the Medieval Times thing and had a blast there. Today, she's back in school for tests and other such stuff, while I continue to convalesce at home.
Since I was home anyway, I called BrightHouse and told them I was sick and tired of having gone through FIVE different DVR Cable Boxes over the past 1+ year (two different problems having happened repeatedly). So, now I have one of their brand new models, which is basically like moving from a Windows 98 Pentium 2 computer to a Windows XP Pentium 4 computer -- it's faster, it's smaller, it has more functionality, and so far, works fine. "We'll see".
Being in such a reflective mood lately (in other words, having to sit/lay around so much) has made me ponder things that should stay buried. Things I don't need to think about due to the impossibility and futility of it all. I really wish I could turn off certain processes in my head, just like on a computer, so that they don't frustrate me so.
I miss talking with you, as stupid as it is for me to type that.
Today, after bundling up all morning to get rid of the last of my flu (I hope), I actually BACKED UP MY PERSONAL FILES. A couple friends can attest to the fact that at least twice in the past decade I have lost information forever due to not having a backup. So, in truth, this is a major milestone. Now let's see if I do it again in 2-3 months...
Despite the fact that an overbearing, empowered-yet-inadequate, oh-so-wonderful member of another department at work has insisted that certain work be done before Monday, and the fact that I took the work upon myself, I am sick as a dog, and have no clue how I'm going to get it done. My entire body aches. For the record, KEITH WHEELER made me sick.
Monday is going to be wonderful... and technically, I'm not fit to go to work, but then my department will feel the brunt of this wonderful co-worker if I don't get this work done.
Spruce Creek High Steppin' Hawk Band is going to State
Journal entry #246
(I'm actually posting this shortly before February 28th, so sue me...)
The SCHS Bands performed at the Florida Bandmasters Association Music Performance Assessment (FBA MPA) this past weekend (February 26) and received 5 SUPERIORS and 1 EXCELLENT.
Due to this, they will now compete in the State MPA. This includes all relevant bands: Symphonic, Concert, 11 O'Clock Jazz and 12 O'Clock Jazz!
Today is also the day that students from schools (such as Creekside Elementary) visit the high school to see what band is like at SCHS (including Color Guard). Anthony should have a good time there.
The Silent Auction is still looming for the band as well. I hope there is a lot of participation by parents and students alike...
Micr050f7 10v3z J00 (for the technically impaired: "Microsoft Loves You")
Journal entry #245
Well, it's "the day after", and I still don't feel any older. That's either a very GOOD or a very BAD thing. I'll probably never figure it out, but it's all good, as my daughters say.
I was hit-on passively last night at Takeya (a hibachi grill and sushi house in Ormond Beach). Funnily enough, it was a hit based on the geek shirt I was wearing. Perhaps I was a bit hasty in dismissing the opportunity... I mean, c'mon. A woman who has geek quality, who was certainly attractive, and who knew I was there to spend my birthday alone sucking down sushi? Hm... I may need to pay a few more visits and see if I can catch up to her. A woman who knows binary just might be the ticket.
Today, I found a VERY HILARIOUS link to Microsoft's website. They want to EDUCATE the technically-deficient on how to translate "leetspeak"! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
The link is here. It literally cracked me up. If you really want to get hip with your kids, but are not computer savvy, download this instead (it's free) and insert random comments in emails to them occasionally.
Final note: I officially renamed this to "Tony's Journal" today since both of my daughters have their own journal on (sic) LiveJournal, and even my youngest son is now starting to edit his personal page here on Malena.Net. This journal WAS going to be something that all contributed to, but it makes more sense for each to have his or her own...
Post-final note: PVR in my personal computer will finally be replacing the expensive Digital-Cable plus PVR expense of Bright House Networks, thanks to my latest acquisition... more to come.
As if the cancellation of Star Trek Enterprise was not bad enough, now the creator of Babylon 5 discusses, and then dismisses, the possibility of his taking the reigns of the Trek franchise. The actual posts are below. (sigh)
---------------------------------------------- From: jmsatb5@aol.com
Subject: Re: UPN Cancels Enterprise!
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Date: 2/15/2005 12:25:46 AM
I'm trying this via google to see if I can access the groups, since I've been offline since AOL stopped carrying newsgroups.
I don't normally do this...in fact, I don't think I've ever done this in any group before, because I've always kind of waited to make sure it was worth doing, and that it would make a difference.
I'm sending this to both the B5 folks reading this and any Trek fans looking on.
Bryce Zabel (recently the head of the Television Academy and creator/executive producer of Dark Skies) and I share one thing in common. We are both long-time Trek fans, from the earliest days, who felt that the later iterations were not up to the standards set by the original series. (I'm exempting TNG because that one worked nicely, and was in many ways the truest to the original series because Gene was still around to shepherd its creation and execution.)
Over time, Trek was treated like a porsche that's kept in the garage all the time, for fear of scratching the finish. The stories were, for the most part, safe, more about technology than what William Faulkner described as "the human heart in conflict with itself." Yes, there were always exceptions, but in general that trend became more and more apparent with the passage of years. Which was why so often I came down on the later stories, which I did openly, because I didn't feel they lined up with what Trek was created to be. I don't apologize for it, because that was what I felt as a fan of Trek. That's why I had Majel appear on B5, to send a message: that I believe in what Gene created.
Because left to its own devices, allowed to go as far as it could, telling the same kind of challenging stories Trek was always known for, it could blow the doors off science fiction television. Think of it for a moment, a series with a forty year solid name, guaranteed markets...can you think of a better time when you take chances and can tell daring, imaginative, challenging stories? Why play it safe?
When Enterprise went down, those involved shrugged and wrote it off to "franchise fatigue," their phrase, not mine.
I don't believe that for a second. Neither does Bryce. There's a tremendous hunger for Trek out there. It just has to be Trek done *right*.
Last year, Bryce and I sat down and, on our own, out of a sheer love of Trek as it was and should be, wrote a series bible/treatment for a return to the roots of Trek. To re-boot the Trek universe. Understand: writer/producers in TV just don't do that sort of thing on their own, everybody always insists on doing it for vast sums of money. We did it entirely on our own, setting aside other, paying deadlines out of our passion for the series. We set out a full five-year arc.
But when it came time to bring it to Paramount, despite my track record and Bryce's enormous and skillful record as a writer/producer, the effort stalled out because of "political considerations," which was explained to us as not wishing to offend the powers that be.
So on behalf of myself and Bryce, I'm taking the unusual step of going right to the source...right to you guys, fueled in part by a number of recent articles and polls, including one at www.scifi.com/scifiwire in which nearly 18,000 fans voted their preference for a new Trek series, and 48% of that figure called for a jms take on Trek. (The other choices polled at about 18% or thereabouts.)
See, if somebody doesn't like a story, doesn't want to buy it, that's all well and good, that's terrific, that's the way it's supposed to be. But when "political considerations" are the basis...that just doesn't parse.
So here's the deal, folks. If you want to see a new Trek series that's true to Gene's original creation, helmed by myself and Bryce, with challenging stories, contemporary themes, solid extrapolation, and the infusion of some of our best and brightest SF prose writers, then you need to let the folks at Paramount know that. If the 48% of the 18,000 folks who voted at scifi.com sent those sentiments to Paramount...there'd be a new series in the works tomorrow.
I don't need the work, I have plenty of stuff on my plate through 2007 in TV, film and comics, so that's not an issue. But I'd set it all aside for one shot at doing Trek right, and I know Bryce feels the same.
If you want this to happen...it's up to the Trek and B5 fans to make it so.
The rest I leave to the quiet turning of your considered conscience.
J. Michael Straczynski
---------------------------------------------- From: jmsatb5@aol.com
Subject: Re: UPN Cancels Enterprise!
To: rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Date: 2/15/2005 3:03:38 AM
> The rest I leave to the quiet turning of your considered conscience.
> J. Michael Straczynski
Actually...belay everything I just said.
In the 24 hours between the time I composed the prior note, and sent it, and it made its way through the moderation software, two things happened:
1) I heard from a trusted source that Paramount is giving the Trek TV world a rest for maybe one to two years, depending on circumstances, no matter who would come along to run it. So it's not right to have folks putting in time doing something that ultimately would be pointless, I don't think that's a proper use of anybody's time.
2) At the same time as the above, an offer came in to run a new TV series for fall of '06, and since there's no way anything Trek can happen in the interim, I've said yes (now we have to negotiate the deal, but that should be fairly straightforward).
So on two counts, the whole thing is kind of moot.
We can reconvene a year or two down the road to see where this takes us, but in the interim...my apologies for waking everybody up in the middle of the night.
Now that Star Trek Enterprise has been officially cancelled (I announced this in an earlier post below), the "official fan club" has begun a campaign to put an ad in a national newspaper to get people to write in and save the show -- by getting it moved to another network (such as SciFi).
Show your support for this latest incarnation of Gene Roddenberry's dream. Buy a paper, write in and show your support, and WATCH ENTERPRISE. These next few episodes may be the last (they already have commercial snippets running stating "the final episodes"). :-(
Well, I think I am done with the basic layout for my Friends page here on Malena.net. Take a look and let me know if you have any ideas for improvement (or if you would like to... dispute any comments made therein). (ROFL)
I just finished watching the season finale of Battlestar Galactica, and was pretty floored by the storyline. The series continues to be a very revolutionary reimagining of the original story.
Some SPOILERS follow. Do not read any further if you do not wish to ruin the thirteenth episode (which won't show in the US for many weeks).
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Now that the BSG copy of Boomer has finally verified (for herself at least) that she is a Cylon, apparently this triggered one of her (if not her primary/only) mission(s). She has shot Commander Adama, right after he arrested the President for her misuse of power in having Starbuck return to Caprica for the Arrow of Apollo.
Starbuck also knows Boomer to be a Cylon, by meeting another Boomer back on Caprica while killing off a copy of Baltar's femme fatale found there, and also meeting up with Helo, who's been running around the planet since the series started. I would assume their next step is to jump into Starbuck's personal cylon "raider" and head back to Galactica.
I really enjoy this series. With the sad news that Enterprise has been officially cancelled after this season ends (and yet has been sold into Syndication to 95% of the primary US markets, go figure), it is nice to know that there is still some quality mainstream SciFi available to look forward to.
Happy Birthday Dad... Enterprise has been Cancelled
Journal entry #236
Today my dad turned 59. I'm taking him for a make-over. It should be interesting...
Star Trek Enterprise has been cancelled. It will finish out this season and be done. This is on the heels of the news that it has beens old to 95% of the US markets for syndication starting next year. Bizarre. And sad.
Today I made quite a few "small changes" to the site, especially my personal page, FYI.
Amanda's birthday party ended up a success, with a lot of Dance-Dancing (thank you XBox). Pics are online. She is also having a "DDR Bash" next weekend for her JROTC friends.
Daniella is mentally preparing for her sixteenth birthday (two separate parties are planned, one at home and one at Medievil Times in Kissimmee, Florida). I think she's probably a LITTLE more interested in the state of her Driver's Ed course and when she gets behind the wheel, actually. I'm not really sure.
Anthony is doing well, and his grades have improved this quarter overall. I'm very proud of him and hope he continues to do better. A lot of that relies on home issues.
Christopher... is Christopher. He's doing "okay" in school, and could certainly be doing better. A couple of his teachers are keeping in contact with me via email every couple of weeks. It's very helpful.
Me? I'm fine I guess. Perhaps a bit lonely the longer it gets since the end of my marriage. That end, however, though not chosen by me, was necessary and I do not regret it OTHER than the negative impact it has on the Mighty Four's lives.
Be sure to visit the live webcam once in a while. Seizure! *ngk*
The family calendar is officially up now here at Malena.Net, with various entries of note available. Daniella and Amanda will be maintaining their OWN calendars (which are merged onto the main Family calender, or can be viewed individually).
I've updated some of the pages on the site (cosmetic mostly). Also installed a calendar I'm evaluating for family usage (I currently use an Excel spreadsheet for a family calendar, but when exporting to an HTML page, it's 47 megabytes... so...)
The kids are all getting new beds today (delivered and setup, thankfully). I also bought some "cabinets" to work as their clothing drawers (very large, nice looking) at WalMart. Did you know that WalMart does FREE ASSEMBLY on "most" of the house furnishings they sell? They do. That rocks. I assumed that, worst case, when I pickup the cabinets, I'll go over them carefully and make sure they are sturdy before putting them into use. Saves me the trouble of building them, and that's a GOOD thing as I'm pretty tired of the buy-it-and-build-it scenario.
This is the final day of my vacation. Tomorrow will be interesting (some things at work don't sound like they went as they should have, based on the tiny bit of feedback I got from my second-in-command). We'll see...
Phantom Of The Opera: Amanda, Daniella and I went to see this adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical in Orlando last night. It was very very good. I can understand why some are giving it a "bad" review -- if you are not a big fan of the opera and/or the music, you MAY not like it. I thought it was truly awesome (the girls seemed to enjoy it also).
I am converting the house to gigabit ethernet, which will be nice for internal speed between machines and especially the server. Looks like a $200-$250 prospect for three Switches and three network cards.
I have purchased curtains for the downstairs (living room, especially so it doesn't look as apartment-ish on the webcam), dining room, back and front doors). Hunter green (and white for the doors).
For New Year's Eve, I plan on playing video games and sipping sparkling grape juice, or possibly watching Spider-Man 2 and/or DodgeBall.
Well, the kids arrived home for Christmas dinner and presents, and it was a blast (and a fairly orderly blast, to boot, serving my anal side quite well).
The new arcade dance pads are probably going to be glued to the living room floor by Amanda before the weekend is over... Check our active webcam to verify. (snicker)
We went out and saw "Fat Albert" tonight at the AMC theatre in Daytona Beach -- that was a FUNNY MOVIE! The audience was HEAVILY african-american, which was cool too, because somehow inside they seemed to have a connection with the movie/show, I guess. I am really glad we went to see it.
My parents bought me a Timex watch, which is just bizarre for me personally since I have not worn a watch in what.. a decade? Hopefully I will get into the habit and not leave it laying somewhere. Ugh.
It is almost midnight, and Amanda is already back on the dance pads, playing in dual-pad mode (where she actually uses TWO dance pads at once). Daniella is playing the Sims, as usual, on one of the home computers. The boys are in bed. I have just posted pictures from today, and also have some videos of the kids playing DDR on the new pads. Cool beans.
Okay, that's it. I am on vacation and do not return to work until January 4th, so I'll surely have to find something to do with my time.
I'm attempting to have somewhat of a normal Christmas, with all the family changes that have happened this year. I did want to have a non-traditional occasion, but my daughters would have none of that. So all the gifts are being wrapped as we buy them (even though I'm doing hothing to hide what I've bought).
I do have FEW surprises up my sleeve, though.
It's been nice to be back in touch with two of my three childhood friends after several years. The reasons for the non-communication were either of laziness (in John's case) or because of issues brought up during my marriage which I allowed myself to blow out of proportion (in Marty's case). Thankfully they appear to be amicable to being friends again (that's my pessimistic view -- I have no reason to doubt their sincerity other than my own self-doubt).
Still haven't found one other childhood friend (and even his parents can't seem to help me). Mike disappeared off the face of the planet in-so-much as people who knew him from High School are concerned. Supposedly he's living and working somewhere around the Hollywood area. I'd love to hear from him.
I am unsure HOW my family is going to handle the extremly LARGE AMOUNT of electronic game craziness that is headed our way Christmas Day. I've gone all out this time. But I still need to figure out how to buy/build/find a hope-chest type item which I could mount small wheels on and customize the interior of to put the second XBox, the N64, and the system I bought for Christmas (something about a Cube..) inside of it so that it can be taken to different areas of the house to be used. The ideal solution (The Arcade Box and Fred and I have referred to it off and on over the months) would also have a PC with TV out plugs, and a copy of MAME (of which I continuously maintain all active ROMs for) plus various other emulators and ROM sets, such as for the Atari 2600.
I hit the nail on the head as far as "when work would die down" FOR THE MOST PART this year. I told Keith that work would die down by the 15th. I was right as far as PROGRAMMING was concerned, but we DID have at least two more days of mop-up duty with DATA SETS from all of those programs coming back from the field.
I moved the uber-computer out to the living area so that I don't feel like a hermit sitting in my bedroom using it all alone. Eventually I'll even let the Mighty Four touch it. Then possibly even let them USE it...
Per the norm, I have no clue what to buy the parents. Or the in-laws (someone needs to educate me on whether it is appropriate to call them that now or not -- I don't feel the relationship has changed, so why change the references?). Or various friends. If I had the money, I'd buy everyone XBoxes and games. And those that had XBoxes, I'd buy more games or perhaps a year of XBox Live and a router to use with the Xbox.
WHICH REMINDS ME: The arcade dance pads will be here by Wednesday before Christmas! That rocks righteously! Two arcade-style metal dance pads made specifically for XBox (not using some controller box like other PS2 knock-offs do). I have NO CLUE how we'll "store them" since they're so big, but they'll get used VERY frequently, that's a given. TV itself has taken a severe backseat in our house (something I'm thankful for since my upbringing lead me to believe I'd be a TV addict; I am not). I love a few shows, and thanks to DVR, I watch them when I want to.
Okay, I guess that's about it. I could say about 20 other things, but I want to do some more things before the kids leave for a week to be with Jamie (they return Christmas day at noon, or 4pm according to the kids -- Jamie likes to change plans without any notification to me so they will arrive "sometime Christmas day" -- no biggie).
Made some cosmetic changes to this journal as well starting with this entry.
The yearly parade in Port Orange was today. The boys and I had a lot of fun (but we forgot to bring the dog -- I felt bad). I got to exercise my new camera, and the boys got to catch a ton of candy.
Halo 2 has ended up "disappointing" me overall; the main issue, I believe, is that I've played so much Halo, that I was literally able to walk through the game (and I mean literally, run through rooms without even firing a shot). Plus, I personally believe that one of two things happened at Bungie (the developers of Halo):
1. They wanted to FINALLY ship the game, so they did not finish the game (either the story and/or the actual programming of it, or
2. They wanted to make more MONEY...
...so they decided to (SPOILER ALERT) split the game up into two parts. One can only hope that "part 2" is a free download on XBox Live, but I'm quite positive it will be "Halo 3" (or "Halo 2.5"?). The game is quite good overall, and was enjoyable, but I finished it after only a few hours of gameplay (and I'm an explorer, typically, who waits around in places and bangs on walls and objects looking for hidden secrets).
I was fortunate enough to get a visit to the homeland -- Southern California -- this past weekend as part of a business trip (which in itself was a bust).
I've posted some pictures from the trip as well. It was great to have a couple days to drive around, remember pleasant memories from growing up, think about the possibilities for the future, and so on.
The new camera (a Sony DSC-F828) is doing very nicely, though I still need to learn all the functions, because quite a few of my pictures are ending up in a timed-exposure mode, so I have a zig-zag of several seconds of image stored in those cases. 8 megapixels and all the functionality I could want, including video (took a video while in California, as well) and night vision(!).
I am in the process of perhaps buying custom golf-shirts for my department as a Christmas gift. Since, as per the norm, at least 1/3 of the department seemed to make derogatory remarks about my idea, I'm not entirely sure I'll spend the $100+ on the shirts. We'll see.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. No big plans. My mother is making a major feast, but it may just be my sons going over there, while I take my daughters to do a special errand...
Friday morning I will likely trek to Volusia Mall very early for whatever specials they have on the supposedly largest shopping day of the year. I only have a few ideas for Christmas at this point (which itself is a miracle -- I *hate* to shop!). Some things are ideas that I've gone ahead and told the kids about (such as a full-blown metal arcade-quality dance pad for Dance Dance Revolution (version 2 is probably out right now I believe, for XBox).
In any case, that's about it. I'm sure I've forgotten some things since it's been over two weeks since my last post. Oh well. Life goes on...
Well, in the process of purchasing my copy of HALO 2, I also happened upon some... extras.
First, I have about ten of the promotional HALO 2 pens that light up. Cool.
Then, I got about fifteen of the HALO 2 dogtags. Rock.
Plus, several HALO 2 balloons, flyers and other stuff. Righteous. (oh, and a retail store promotional package with information on how they were supposed to use these items to help promote HALO 2)
It's nice to live in redneck-town where people do dumb things that I can benefit from. No stealing involved, thank you.
In any case, HALO 2? Yeah, it sort of kind of rocks. Like that second kiss. Like something you'ved waited a long time for.
Cunningham Research had a stray cat roaming around for 2-3 weeks recently -- a very friendly, charcoal colored cat (female, I found out). I decided that, since it was hanging around our office constantly, I'd take it home as a pet to live with Kosh and Rumble.
I took her to the vet yesterday, and she has a clean bill of health. No disease, she's already "fixed", and other than not liking other animals yet, is happy at our home. I have named her "Delen" (another B5 name, like Kosh's).
On a sadder note, Kosh went for a checkup and it was found that his hump on his lower back was apparently cancerous. It has now been removed, and we'll know "within weeks" if it is going to grow back. If it does NOT, he should be fine. If it DOES.... :-(
It's 1:00am (EST) and I'm Bored+Wide Awake (= Bad)
I've been up forever it seems like. Allow me to jump all over the timeline for a moment.
I started my vacation yesterday evening. I have no plans. That is fairly typical. I will do whatever comes to mind on a day-to-day basis for the next week.
I was supposed to go to an impromptu Bachelor's party tonight for Jonathon (a user of Orbiter "On"line). After missing he and Fred at Applebee's (is that REALLY a place to have a BACHELOR party?), I had dinner and then came home, and lo and behold, my children arrived (they were supposed to spend the weekend with their mom, but that rarely seems to work out). I've been doing work around the house on a minor scale all day, and downloading a wide variety of files, reorganizing some documents and folders on both the Web/file server and on the new computer (more on that later).
The girls (Dani and Mandi) had their first OFFICIAL football game (they're in the band, not on the team, silly) Friday night and seemed to come back tired and happy. I really really miss those days. :-/
Coming home to a house smelling like dead animals = bad (a nameless daughter was trying to slow cook chicken for soup, or something, and cooked it TOO slow (low) so it was to the trash with it, pot and all).
My unofficial second-in-command, Keith Wheeler, was officially made DP Supervisor, so he's a bit happier now.
I spent WEEKS looking at computers, then visiting sites like NewEgg.Com, virtually-assembling systems day after day, then going back to Best Buy, Circuit City, etc, looking at pre-made systems (I have not bought a pre-made system for myself since moving up from Commodore 64/128, if memory serves)...
I finally settled(?) on a (drumroll please) Gateway computer with 3 year extended warranty, 19" LCD, Altec Lansing speaker system, blah blah blah. Gateway model 700GR. Specs in general are:
Intel Pentium 4 550 Processor (3.4 Ghz, Hyperthreading, 800MHz FSB)
8x DVD +/- RW Drive
48x CD Drive
ATI Radeon x300 SE (PCI-Express, 128MB)
250GB SATA HD (7200rpm)
1GB DDR RAM (dual channel)
8-in-1 Media Reader
7USB + 2 Firewire ports
Came with free AOL (it's always nice to have something to delete from your HD...)
Combined with the LCD and speaker system, I'm quite happy now. It's in my bedroom where it's safe from the four wide-eyed cherubs dwelling herein.
Bought a copy of Doom 3. To say I was impressed is a severe understatement. I was/am amazed at the detail and complexity of this game. It is truly awesome!
I have converted myself (almost-)fully to Open Source software for internet and basic productivity needs. I have used Firefox (formerly Firebird) for many months now. I recently reinstalled Thunderbird and took the time to configure it and use it, imported/converted all my archived email (going back 7+ years) and now use it full time. I also grabbed OpenOffice, and am quite pleased with it's capabilities (considering it's free, as well). Hence, the footer of Malena.Net is updated accordingly.
Hurricane Ivan missed us. Hurricane Jeanne looks like it's floating off into the ocean, and that K-thing (Kyle? Kevin? whatever..) doesn't appear to be a threat. What a pain in the arse it's been dealing with hurricanes and.. ahem.. locals.. who drive you crazy (I share my older daughter's feelings of want, to return to California, in a big way).
Okay, I think that's everything on my mind for now. TTYL...
Well, the hurricane came and went. We should only get a few more rain showers and a little more wind and we'll be done.
Some pictures I took (and a short video) have been posted to "Recent Pictures". I thought my camera was broken at one point as it would read "ERR" each time I tried to take a picture (and I'll be darned if I could find the manual, and without internet access at the moment, I couldn't find out what to do). Pressing multiple buttons on the camera at the same time ended up clearing the USB-based memory and fixing the problem. Rock.
I am not a frequent eBay'er. My eBay summary reflects this fact. However... there are certain things that just DO NOT MAKE SENSE on eBay.
The biggest problem I have with eBay is the Feedback system. WHY does it not FORCE the SELLER to leave feedback FIRST?! I mean, does this ONLY MAKE SENSE TO ME?!?
I am currently being held for Feedback Ransom (or "Feedback Extortion" as eBay calls it) for two instruments that will be arriving this week.
When I paid for these instruments (both within TWENTY MINUTES of the auction finalizing), I should have received the appropriate feedback from the seller at that time (or soon thereafter). After a few days, I sent a polite note asking for this. The response I received was:
Thank you for your e-mail. Our feedback is
on a automated system thru our Andale checkout,
and is left upon feedback being received
from the customer. Please let us know if
it doesn't show up within a week after yours
has been left. (Sometimes it takes a few days
to show up.)
Bad grammar aside... WHAT?!?! Are you KIDDING ME? I gave THEM their money INSTANTLY, and they are NOT GOING TO LEAVE MY FEEDBACK until I LEAVE THEM feedback?!?
This is very, Very, VERY wrong. eBay needs to fix this.
SELLER FEEDBACK should be based on HOW QUICKLY they received their monies and if there were no problems acquiring those funds. Period.
BUYER FEEDBACK should be based on receiving the item in a timely manner, whether the item was what was advertised, etc.
THERE IS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWO! If someone has a logical reason why it works this way, FEEL FREE to let me know.
Today I took the chainsaw and made firewood (literally) out of the downed tree from the west side of the house. I believe Amanda took pictures of it which may or may not end up on the website (depending on how pathetic I look doing manual labor).
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August 14, 2004
Hurricane Charley (who spells these things anyway?)
Well, we live in Port Orange, Florida, so we were pretty much DEAD CENTER for the hurricane that just walked through town. It was not fun, to say the least...
I have take a bunch of pictures of the damage in the local area. Truthfully, I feel the damage was extremely minor "considering the event itself". A lot of torn down trees (two on our property alone!) and a few aluminum-type roofs ripped off of small structures and gas stations. We heard of two fatalities (one a car crash near Orlando, the other a woman locally who was electrocuted by a downed power line).
The tree on our west-side of the property literally laid down and pulled itself out (almost completely took the roots out too), while the bush-like item by my bathroom also ended up above ground. The house was fine (though I was sure the winds were going to destroy some of our windows).
All in all, we weathered it well. The power went offline at appx 11pm on Friday, and was restored at appx 9pm today (Saturday). I bought a generator, which I've always wanted for such an emergency, so that was a plus. Lowe's (and Home Depot) were only selling one of the top-of-the-line models (I have a generator capable of outputting 5550 watts, 8550 peak/startup). We happily used our stereo, fans, and kept the refridgerator running during the down-time. Cable TV (and internet) has yet to return as of 10pm, unfortunately (so Malena.Net is technically down).
The kids and I, and their papa, drove around town at about 1am this morning, surveying the damage and mess. One car was smashed under a gas pump roof which was ripped off. My thought was "my other car is at the gas station, it will be fine there...." -- he'll have an unpleasant surprise when he returns to work.
The hurricane itself was odd (not that I'm an expert). The EYE of the hurricane was the END of the hurricane. My understanding of hurricanes has always been that the EYE is in the MIDDLE and that there are winds and storms all around it. It was bizarre... but we were thankful that the eye was the end of the night's weather-based festivities.
Then I was assaulted by a neighbor. If you've read older entries here, you'll think this is redundant (as I do) but yes, I was assaulted by another, different neighbor from before, one that I have never talked to nor know anything about. Quite frankly, I'm fed up with this happening (two times in three years?! people I've never met?!) and am considering taking a more aggressive approach with this if it ever happens again... starting with the first two who have made me feel so unwelcome for just EXISTING in this neighborhood, never bothering anyone (maybe that's their problem, I'm not a beer drinking smelly redneck idiot like these two &@#$!s, especially when you see the Geek sticker on my van, so I'm automatically targetted -- what-EV-er). I'm so over this that I am literally counting the days until I return to sunny California and civilization...
The kids and I went to the Musical Beauty And The Beast tonight and it was very well done! I thoroughly enjoyed (as did the kids). I heard that they're going to host Aida next year, which is cool as that is also a very good musical (the modern, Elton John version).
The kids are prepping for the school year (which starts Monday, August 9th this year). Clothes have been bought (sensation of a vacuum cleaner being connected to my wallet), supplies have been bought (though as usual, in the State of Florida's infinite wisdom, the school gives out a list of needed supplies AFTER the week of "tax free supply purchases" has happened. Oh well. I bought a ton of paper, folders, pens, pencils and other stuff that are known necessities.
We had two more ceiling fans installed (dining room and den) so that now all rooms in the house have nice ceiling fans, and all public areas downstairs have the "same fan" for consistency and beauty.
We bought Brute Force for the XBox last week ($19). It's an "okay" game, but the controls completely bite. I'm very annoyed.
The five of us went to PlasterBlaster last weekend and each of us painted something. I ended up painting a baby dragon emerging from an egg. If memory serves (now I'm quoting Iron Chef, that's funny):
The girls are attending Band Camp at Spruce Creek High School this week (8a to 5p) for six days, learning their baseline music for football season, on-field routines, marching basics, and more. They appear to be having a blast, which is good. Daniella's trombone is now paid off, so I'm expecting the worst (bad luck). So far Mandi's Flute and Dani's Trombone are holding up (crossing fingers). I still have two Trumpets to purchase for the Boys...
My mother has gone back to work after being off for several months due to a "botched knee surgery". She is using a walker or cane now (and will be in a wheelchair at work she tells me). It's odd to consider your parent's getting older and having such problems. My own kids already make me feel old (sometimes, by accident I think) while other times trying to reassure me that I'm not. (snicker) Doesn't always work. I'm 36 and have mixed feelings about being "middle aged".
Jerry Goldsmith was the one modern composer who gave John Williams a run for his money. He certainly had a much longer and more prestigious career. He is missed. He is the kind of person I (still hope) to be. A creative one who is able to MOVE OTHERS by way of his life's work.
After having seen the movie "American History X" for the first time, and making sure my kids watched it with me, I can't help but recommend it to any person who can get their hands on it. It says a lot about the basic racism problem in America (it could have gone a lot farther with it's message, but it's powerful none-the-less). It's graphic, it's rated R (easily) and I even felt that despite the fact it is a story about WHITE SUPREMECISTS, it ends up with a negative view of ALL sides of the problem, not just the white trash aspect of it. I really think it should be viewed by anyone even REMOTELY prejudiced against someone "different".
The girls and I also saw "I, Robot" this weekend. I was not as impressed as I should have been. It was "3 out of 5" stars in my book. Modernizing a book is one thing... but this was something only very loosely based on Asimov's work.
Our house was appraised last week for a refinance loan. Hopefully a good appraisal will yield a good return so that we can get rid of the few bills we have and perhaps have some left over to do some upgrades to our lifestyle. I have some lifestyle changes (personal as well as family-wide) I have been trying to make for week (months in some cases). Changes related to home, work and friends, mainly.
I'm looking at an upgrade to this "blog system" (good Lord, I hate that term, "blog"). Stay tuned. I am considering how I'm going to write the code for my idea (it's not exactly unique or new, just new to me personally).
The kids and I saw 4 HIM perform at our church last night. They were great! I was not aware they had been around for about 15 years already. The music was very moving, with a lot of audience participation.
We spent the Fourth of July at Michael Long's parents' house again this year -- with the exception of an unneeded trip back home, the day went without a hitch. The weather was great (some rain beforehand, and a very very light "mist" during the actual fireworks, with winds blowing the smoke from the showcase due East, over the ocean). I also did some impromptu computer work for Mr. Long as well. :-)
I'll post some pictures from the 4th and some other items in the next day or two.
Very good movie! Liked it at least as much as the first one, possibly better... despite Kirsten Dunst (I would have preferred the red-head from "That Seventy's Show" or really ANYONE but Dunst).
Kids received their report cards finally today, and a bunch of free food and fun park certificates. Everyone gets to move on to the next grade (that's always a good sign that SOMETHING is going properly).
Christopher is now all set to go to Creekside as his three siblings did (paperwork is officially done and turned in to Creekside).
Air conditioner is not working, so my parents' were kind enough to lend us an old window-mount unit temporarily until I can rectify the situation.
I'm making Lentil Soup tonight (sort of a pre-cursor to recreating the Lendica/Lendika recipe that my nana used to make which my mom won't share with me). It's cooking right now, and it already tastes yuuuuuuuumy!
Today, I made meatballs for the first time (I believe?). I created my own recipe, and baked them, and wouldn't you know...? They're awesome! I am going to fine-tune the recipe next time slightly, but all four kids agreed. The meatballs were a success. Maybe it's time for a Malena Recipe page...
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June 20, 2004
Father's Day and Other Nonsense
This week at work, a lot of interesting things happened, in various departments, interrelated with my department. The majority of them were "good". Some were bad. Some were just stupid (double standards and the like). Overall it ended up a "better than average" week, I think.
Friday night, I took the ladies skating (at their typical stomping grounds, Skate & Shake in Ormond Beach). I stepped out twice to run short errands while they shuffled and grooved to the (as usual) too-loud music (someone needs to teach the young boys who do the music mixing that "loud" does not make up for their meager skills). The boys spent the evening entertaining their still-half-disabled Nana.
Saturday, we did not do much special. The lawn got mowed (yay).
Today, Father's Day, we had my parents over (Nana and Papa, or 'Grumpy' as he's trained the kids to call him). Let's count down the problems that arose, shall we..?
I was low on money to begin with, so it was not exactly a big spectacle.
When we started the grill, it was apparently out of propane, as it only yielded a minimal flame... so into the house we went with our steaks and potatoes (now being fried, not steamed).
The air conditioning needs the grills cleaned out (and they're all but inaccessible, so I've put it off indefinitely), so with all the windows open and the food cooking, it was only a LITTLE over 127 degrees inside.
We ran out of ice before lunch was ready (I had cleaned out the ice maker the night before and it had not refilled completely, and the kids just went through the ice like it was chocolate).
My father, as usual, acted like if he did not get to watch TV, he may as well not be here.
My mother is still in pain and trying to get mobility back from her knee operation of a few weeks ago.
Insert a healthy dose of personal issues I don't care to post here.
All in all, it was a crap day, to be blunt. So, when everything calmed down, I decided to do some XBox operations.
Background story: We bought our ORIGINAL XBox (X1) the first two weeks XBox was released (either October 2001 or 2002). We had problems almost since the first month with what appeared to be (a) a DVD drive that did not like certain games, and (b) a hard drive that seemed to lock up at random times when saving or loading (apparently). I finally broke down in January of 2004 and bought a new XBox (as it included 3 free games, we'll call this X2). After Jamie left the household and I was able to start concentrating on life again, it was discovered that (c) we could not play movie DVDs for some reason, except one that auto-plays after a few minutes (Terminator 3), and (d) the XBox would frequently flash green-red-green-red when turned on, and never boot. Since I did not get to seeing this problem or reporting it until about 2-3 weeks after it was "out of warranty" (THREE MONTH WARRANTY?!), I was now screwed.
I decided that, if possible, I was going to build "X3" from X1 and X2. It would work, every which way it was supposed to (and possibly do more than it was, with dual hard drives and some specs I had from the web).
Well, the dual drives were a no-go, but only due to a limitation that will become apparent...
In the end, funnily enough, the combination of parts that yielded a (so far..) perfectly working X3 was:
Case, motherboard, power and hard drive from X1
DVD-ROM drive from X2
That was it. The DVD unit from X1 appears to have been it's main issue. I know, from Microsoft tech support, that the red-green flashing I'm getting on X2 is something I'll likely never fix (sans getting a new motherboard, which will not happen), so X2 is now parts... though (unfortunately) X1 does not like the hard drive from X2.
It appears (so far) that locking up "hard drive" problems were MORE LIKELY the bad DVD drive. Time will tell (if it locks up again, with the new DVD-ROM drive).
Oh, and playing movies? Yeah. I opened the remote control and found an object (circuit, capacitor, whatever) that had one of it's connectors pulled off the circuit board (and out of the item itself). Since it was a loss and repair would be more than buying one new, I started fiddling with it. I was able to pry OPEN this unwired item, stuck some metal-wire from a bread bag twist-tie into it to create a new connection, then touched it back to the circuit board and tested -- worked fine. Do I have a (working) soldering gun? Nooooo. So, I scotch-taped the stupid thing to the circuit board, tested it out fine, put it back together, and it works.
So now we have our ORIGINAL XBox, now X3, with our original remote working, and the NEW XBox we bought 5 months ago is good for playing an occasional game and SOME movies (but not, let's say, the Alien Quadrilogy). Now we just need a second TV to hook X2 up to.
Okay, that's it. I have stories from the kids to post, about their week at camp. I'll get around to those later this coming week. G'night...
It just so happens that, out of the blue, I found my long lost cousin, Tisha. I hope to be in further contact with her very soon and get to know her better (and find my other cousin, her brother, in the process). I have not seen or been in contact with them since approximately 1975, if memory serves. This is truly awesome since the only family "above or equal to me" in the famly tree I've had for a long time is mom and dad!
In other events, Anthony and I saw Harry Potter 3 last night. It was a "good movie" but I'm not sure it was the best of the three movies. I still want to see The Chronicles Of Riddick and The Stepford Wives.
I will be scavanging the two XBoxes we own to make one (hopefully) perfect working XBox. Our original one had continuous problems reading various game and movie DVDs, and would lock up randomly when reading or writing data. I finally bought a second one, and when it started having "boot up problems", we did not get to report it until a few weeks after the 3-month warranty was already over. I am quite displeased about my experience with XBox hardware, despite having an awesome game selection and excellent graphics and sound. Maybe Microsoft should hire someone ELSE to build XBox 2 / XBox Next / XBox whatever...
The Mighty Four are going to camp tomorrow for a whole week. I still haven't figured out what I'll do with myself for a whole week. Probably work extra hours. (shrug)
Rumble (the mighty miniature Dachshund) ran across the street today and attacked a dog the size of a full-grown german shepard... and the other dog ran for it's life. It was quite laughable (though if the other dog had stood up to Rumble, he (Rumble) would likely be a discarded playtoy now).
I attempted to sell two items on eBay (twice!) recently and never received a single bid on either one. Apparently I don't have the "eBay Touch". A perfectly working Cell Phone battery and a Green Goblin bust my daughter won simply would not sell. Odd.
My father-in-law stated for weeks he could not email me (as I host my own mail server and have spam controls in place, I assumed I needed to tone down the server's aggressiveness towards junk mail). After several tests, and putting my spam control back online, he suddenly began emailing us like there never was an issue. Ah well. Maybe Earthlink was temporarily blacklisting malena.net or something.
That will be all for now. I hope to hear from Tisha soon. I can't wait to get in contact with more family members. :-)
I can only say, quite simply, "thank you" to those who served in World War II and other conflicts, representing America's interests. I will never (hopefully) know the horrors that these people saw. I get to live under the umbrella of comfort they helped to provide, watching and listening to stories of those survivors who were the heroes of those days. And still are today.
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May 26, 2004
As The World Turns
I haven't been in the mood to post lately. I am trying to keep faithful and post more often. I've failed so far. Hmm.
The family saw the movie TROY on opening night. I have to admit that it was a very good movie! Despite seeing FAR too much of Brad Pitt's... body... it was very very good. Just a LITTLE bit of "gore", and sexual themes were very mild (especially compared to typical Hollywood movies these days). Daniella is begging to see it again. Orlando Bloom. (sigh)
My hope for the future: That I continue to EARN my position, title and income wherever I work. That I do NOT get something merely for being someone's friend, or family member, or because I can pull the wool over their eyes. I enjoy that fact about myself.
We still haven't seen "Van Helsing" yet, which is odd for me (well, the boys did). I have noticed in recent years that if I do not see a movie in the first few days it comes out, it is highly unlikely I will see it at all. I'm not sure why (not done psychoanalyzing myself on that one yet).
I have gotten addicted to reruns of "That 70's Show". Weird. I hated the idea of it originally, since it glorified smoking pot in it's very passive way. But it's just so damn funny. (grin)
The kids get to go to a Youth Camp for a week starting June 13th. I hope I can find something to do with my time. I'm sure something (or someone) will come up.
Laser beams were shot into my right eyeball yesterday. The procedure was a success. I counted 25 beams total. Pretty nift. Next week the left eye gets it.
Boy, as they say: "Times, they are a changin'". All for the better, in the long run...
Let's see what been happening in the past few weeks (since March 6th, my last "real" entry), shall we?
When I broke my hand (right side of my right hand), I was put into a "partial cast" that was removable,and that's exactly what I did, frequently. Eventually I took it off completely, weeks before I was supposed to. Why? I couldn't do my job as "quickly or adequately" as I normally could, and we were very busy. It may sound like I "blame" my employer, but it was all me, I guess. I made the decision.
The result? I can not hold my fingers straight up erect (as if I were saluting someone) and have them all together now. My pinkie is slightly off to the side, unless I push it over. I also cannot do a "vulcan greeting" properly, if I wanted to (with my right hand, at least). It's annoying, but my hand FUNCTIONS fine, at least.
The kids and I have been spending a lot more time "together" in the past few weeks than we have in a long time. We have re-joined the YMCA here in Port Orange, and are going fairly regularly (between 2-4 times a week right now). I've discovered the joy of Racquetball. I'm by no means good yet, but I've learned the basic rules from Mike, and now play with Mandi frequently. Dani has played a bit, and the boys have been known the whack the ball a few times (literally).
We also use the nautalus equipment a bit, and swim frequently (especially the boys). It's a fun place (though I keep getting the feeling it is "small", and the hours are not adequate for me personally -- they close too early, especially on the weekends).
My mother has had a horrible battle with a knee injury. She has had an operation on it, and fluid drawn from it, and is in literal MORTAL PAIN almost constantly. I feel helpless to do anything (which really annoys me) about it. Anthony (my son) spent this weekend with her, helping her out any way he could. Hopefully her Doctor will take a hint and "put her out of her misery" (obviously I'm not implying he shoot her). I can't imagine being in THAT much pain for THAT much time. :-( What a way to spend Mother's Day.
I get to have lasers shot into each of my eyeballs soon (some corrective action, not Lasik though). That will be fun, wearing an eyepatch temporarily over each eye.
There are a lot of school events happening in the next few weeks as well, thanks to the school year ending soon, and the fact that both girls are graduating from Middle to High School (HIGH SCHOOL?!?!):
Monday I take Christopher to his Middle School orientation at Creekside.
Tuesday I go with Mandi to her Honor's Banquet (she was an Honor Student all three years of Middle School, kudos to her!)
Wednesday is regular church night
Thursday is the all-band concert at Creekside
Friday is Crazy Eight's for the kids at Creekside (eighth graders get to dress up and do weird things, equivelent to a Senior "Ditch Day" except they stay on campus)
Saturday I go with the girls to Busch Gardens for the day as a chaperone (get in free, totally awesome)
Sunday is regular church day
It looks like the YMCA will be on hold this week. (grin) Oh well.
I have found what I believe to be a GREAT IDEA for the boys for summer: A summer day-camp in Daytona Beach! They would be able to be there all day while I'm at work, and I'd pick them up on the way home. This way, they're supervised, they're not bored, they're not antagonizing their sisters, and they're mixing it up with many other kids. We'll see how that pans out (it is, as always, an issue of money available versus desire to do it).
I have a BUNCH of pictures to post, both of family events, and of work (current and previous) associates who have had babies. I'll get those up today or "soon".
Movies seen lately (that I can recall):
13 GOING ON 30 -- Saw it twice, that should say enough. It was awesome. Jennifer Garner is fine enough (yum) but this movie was just great. It was like a twisted version of Tom Hanks' "BIG" for the millenium. And, they didn't have to drench it with inappropriate material so taking my kids to it was no problem. A couple of inuendos (she was 30 years old and single..) and that was it.
THE PUNISHER -- This was much better than I could have hoped for. I still can't stop imagining that the actor playing Frank Castle is the younger clone of Christopher Lambert from "THE HIGHLANDER". He has to be!
KILL BILL, VOL 2 -- I never saw Volume 1. This was an interesting movie. I guess I have to say I liked it. It's certainly not for kids. Poking out eyeballs and then stepping on them slowly and deliberately was rather disgusting. The story line seemed "slower" than what little I knew about Volume 1, but overall it was good. Uma = good.
THE GIRL NEXT DOOR -- Also not for kids (waaaaay too much sexually related material, since it revolves around a "porn star" who gives up the business, and falls in love with the young man next door). It was pretty funny, but very adult.
GODSEND -- This was a "psychological" movie more than anything. I thought it ended poorly (like the writer didn't know how to end it, so he/she came up with something at the last second to cap the story off with). Not particularly great, I wouldn't recommend it.
Movies I plan to see in the near future:
VAN HELSING
(maybe) RAISING HELEN SPIDER-MAN 2 THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK (aka Pitch Black 2) HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (maybe) GARFIELD (maybe) THE THUNDERBIRDS ALIEN VS PREDATOR (maybe) RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE HALLOWEEN 9 (apparently in production for an October 31st release date)
The breaking of my hand was a culmination of events which also ended up in my being "not home" for the past few weeks. It was used as a catalyst for my wife to finally file for divorce so she could pursue other opportunities and not be accountable to a marriage that, unfortunately, had gone sour long ago. I, as of this day and time, am waiting a "few more days" until I return home and resume a normal life... the children and I blazing a path to the future as the girls enter high school, and the boys start/continue middle school. The divorce is final (May 4 at 9:22am).
It is sad (I never married with ANY intention of this being a possibility) but also "good" now (there has been too much water under the bridge, too many bad decisions, too much of everything) for everyone involved that it ends officially now. I am to live with my children and continue raising them on the best possible path I can offer them, and we will become an even closer family unit with the help of God, friends and family. The kids also will see little or no "negative interaction" between their parents, which is the reason why this is now the best course of action. The last DECADE has just been horrible, and I'm sad to say it may have been better if we'd divorced long ago. But now it's done, and I am looking to the future...
Well, I will end with that for now. I will be "home" in the next several days, which will be wonderful, and life can finally adjust to the "new normal-ness" that it has become. I need a guide book for dating, I think. "Single computer geek with very little dating history looking for soul mate". Now THAT is either depressing, or ....? Thank God I have my children and a few friends to soak up my time with (not to mention hobbies long abandoned that would love my attention). :-)
Post script: The previous entry ("...Three Years...") was me making a bad decision by opening the floodgates to a situation that should have been left closed. Thankfully I (and the other person involved) were able to shut it down before we got too wet).
