A sad Thanksgiving indeed

Hello people. Long time, no post.
I've gotten too used to our yearly gatherings. This Thanksgiving seems rather grim without the certainty of good friends, much drunkeness, the possibility of a new parlor game and then, inevitably, kolaches.

I hope you all are having a great holiday wherever you are, and I wanted you to know I'm thinking of you.

And hopefully we'll partake in all the aforementioned activities on New Year's Eve.

This line wouldn't work on me.

Overheard outside the best Indian restaurant in town:
Teenage girl: Everytime I come here I eat myself into a coma.
Teenage boy: I'll eat you into a coma.

Colbert for President

Stephen Colbert has announced his candidacy for President. Is he serious? Probably not, but I can imagine a fun campaign. It may even produce higher voter turn out.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/entertainment/5221322.html

The Dangerous Sport of Soccer

Aparently this a very common injury. During a game 30-Sep-2007, I was fouled (rather harshly) resulting in a quick trip to the turf and a slightly less quick trip to the ER. For those who haven't heard yet, I broke my arm. Here's the x-ray.

Some folks at work had a hard time finding the fracture, so if you are having trouble finding the fracture, it's the jagged dark line at the end of the larger of my two arm bones. I thought it was obvious.

I can't play soccer for six weeks, which means by the time I hit the pitch again I will be woefully out of shape.

Maybe I was made for broadcast journalism

Last week, while doing a story on a newscaster, I had the opportunity to sit at the anchor desk of the local Fox 16 studios. (Don't worry, I don't think anyone saw...)
I think it looks good on me! Or maybe my talented photographer is being kind with the lighting...

(This is my 'Jon Stewart' face. It needs some work... right now it's more like my 'mom' face.)


Either way, I may be ready for television, but I'm not sure if television is ready for me.

This embarrassing moment brought to you by Me

Every week at work we have a staff question that we answer. It goes on the staff page next to our pictures. It's my job to email everyone on the staff to let them know the question and give them a deadline for answering it. (Usually multiple times.)
This goes well every week. Until last week.

I work with a girl named Elizabeth.
I also interviewed a girl named Elizabeth last week. I somehow accidentally emailed this week's staff question to the wrong Elizabeth.
Oops.
I didn't realize this mistake and even sent her (the wrong Elizabeth) a REMINDER to answer the question. The funny part is that she answered it! And even met the deadline! (We have people on my staff that can't even do that.) And it was a good answer too.

The even funnier part:
I didn't realize the wrong Elizabeth had answered until I was about to rag on her via email for confusing Darryl Hannah and Darrell Hammond.
Thank god I caught it before I sent that out. That would have been so rude of me.
So, instead, I emailed the wrong Elizabeth, and explained the situation. I told her that if she accidentally gets staff questions in the future, she's welcome to answer those, too.
She hasn't written me back.

Don't I feel silly.

Sometimes talking to my mom is like listening to a country song

Last week my mom called me.
She wanted to let me know that a long-time friend of the family had died.

She also told me to never lose my childlike wonder.
Except she's a rambler so it took her a lot longer.

It's ALIVE!!!! - Updated with Picture

I can finally put away the lightning rods and stop sending Stevie to the brain repository. My car started and ran today. It only ran for about 10 seconds, then Stevie had to shut it off due to a major fuel leak. Gasoline spewing out under the hood is never a good thing. After I get the rest of the gremlins chased out, I'll post some final pictures.

Update 19-Aug:
Started, ran, set the timing everything is cool.

Okay, here is the picture:

It's not porn...

But it's a cow! Check out the newest T from Threadless:

Whaddo you think?

No more Beer & Pizza?

Gotta love Digg...


If you could choose between "Beer and Pizza" or "Porn and Pizza," which one would you choose? Decisions, decisions...

Hear Ye! (if ye be interested)

The 2007 MSA conference is officially over and quite a success. After about 16 hours in the car, I am home safely. Tomorrow the work starts! I need to update my CV because I got three requests for it! Two of the three, I am interested in the work and the location: even better! One is with Tom Horton at SUNY and the other is with Amy Rossman at USDA, Beltsville MD. I rocked my talk, after preparing it a few mere hours before giving it, and ended up making it into the final few to be decided upon for the graduate student talk! Ari was impressed, needless to say, and is interested in pursuing some different more ambitious projects for me before I am done. People seemed to come out of the woodwork with positive feedback for me. I even got invited to speak at The Field Museum in the future... all to say, the conference went very well. Oh and there was also beer and dancing and great food and beer and me educating the imports on the art of mojo and beer. I don't know where exactly this is taking me, but I do know that I feel confident. I spent a whole evening out with a group where a gentleman from the Field spent the evening attempting to convince me that a host of potential scientists would miss out if I chose not to research and train students.... I will keep you posted!

(sorry for no pics, my camera got lost in the humidity)

Now that's sexy...

I guess when you get old and married and stuff, "sexy" can mean more than just cleavage and hot pants. To Dave, it's a bright shiny air intake pipe on his car's engine (pic probably forthcoming). To me, it's a CLEAN office.

Dave and I made an "investment" in my busienss (and our collective sanity) and sprung for a new workbench and shelves for my office. Nich saw the trunk of my car when we came in town for the BBQ...my office had taken over my car. My creativity had run amok! :P

But now it's clean (relative term), and here is the proof:







I included the pic of Dave in his PJ's for the ladies. :) Now that's sexy (at least to me)!

All those years of Jimmy Buffett kareoke...

... and I never knew exactly how that third verse really felt until now. I am a changed man. =P

In response to Stevie's post...

Pornigami?

Origami was never like this when I was a kid...

Porn + origami = Pornagami.

Seriously.

The geometry club

Dave, I just found out today that your wife believes that I was the founder of the geometry club. Though I meet the minimun requirements (barely, I am sure! =), this card-carrying member cannot take credit for that founding. I think you have some 'splanin to do.

A Success! (even if we didnt win)

Thank you all for coming down and doing some cooking last weekend. The rules werent clear, the turn in times werent set, but the fun was golden! I am looking forward to a repeat performance next time, when perhaps the judges will judge based on taste and apperance and not slice thickness.

And the winner is...

"Why buy the milk if you can get the cow for free?" Thanks, Nich!

I think I have large iron-on transfers, so I'll make big ones for the back of the T's too. If I don't have them, then we'll just do breast pocket logos. I'll bring the graphics with me just in case we're feeling frisky and want to run to Wal-Mart or something and get big transfers.

Everyone bring a WHITE T to put their design on. I don't think it matters what kind of T...just make sure it's white so we all look somewhat alike.

Mooooooooooooooooo

Easy Cow Logo for cookoff

So, my brisket's not perfected yet, but I did have a brain fart for the "company T-shirt." You have to open your brain a bit, but you'll get it. :)

Here's the train of thought:

• Stevie: Easy cow...cheese, cow, play on "easy"
• Nich: Something about a hooker cow may be funny...
• Stevie washing dishes this morning: Cow in heels, chessy...Cow with short skirt, cheesy... "Easy" Cow. I like cow hooker, but how to do it funny and not stupid (in one week)...

And here's what I came up with. Imagine if you will, a white T. On the breast pocket area, there are a few little spot (like a jersey cow) around the words "Easy Cow" written in a scripty, swirly, tattoo font. Turn over to the back of the T to find bigger spots/splotches with a larger, more intricate version "Easy Cow" placed right above the butt crack.

An "Easy Cow" tramp stamp. Or we could use "Moo" or "Squeeze Me, I'm Easy" or something like that. And we could change the front up to be like a classic Heart tattoo (you know, the classic "Mom" tattoo with the words "Easy Cow" in the banner).

Whaddo you think? Think there are enough dirty old men out there (and intelligent, cynical young people) to get it. "Easy" Cow...tramp stamp??

Or, do you think my brain fart is just that...a fart????

Some people claim that there's a wu-UUUU-man to blame

That's supposed to be Nathan singing...I guess is loses something in the typing. Anyway, here are some random pictures from FL. I took them with my Polaroid, so they're mostly artsty-fartsy. Enjoy.





(This is what was left from Hurricane Ivan about 4 yrs. ago. They still haven't recovered from it.)





Becky still caught the ugliest fish (the toad fish), but I caught a big, nasty catfish with spiny fins (eeeww). I didn't feel like oily fish for dinner, so we threw him back. I enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing and reading some books.

Speaking of books...for those who like good vs. evil, fantasy type stories, there are three books by Sergei Lukyanenko that you should read: "Night Watch," "Day Watch," and "Twilight Watch" (it's a trilogy, duh). The first two have been made into movies, but I like the books better. Go check them out on Amazon or watch the trailer to the movies on Rotten Tomatoes. Good stuff.

what's up, ya'll

I haven't blogged here in a while. I've been super busy with my swanky new job. Working lots and lots of overtime.
But relief is here and I've started leaving before sunset again. Yay!
So, how the hell am I?
Well things are good.
Nathan's birthday is 07/07/07, so be sure to email him to tell him he's won the jackpot that day or something.
My mom will be visiting that weekend, too. So I guess that means no kinky presents for him :)
There's this band coming to town the night before called Lez Zeppelin, that's an all-girl cover band for (who else?) Led Zeppelin. Thinking about takin him to that.
Heard of them? Any thoughts?

Let's see.. what else?
Oh, we've got a neglected compost heap that has started sprouting vegetables. Right now there's a pretty hefty pumpkin on one of the many thick vines growing out of it. I'll post a pic soon. And we're working on our new deck, too. I'll be sooo excited when it's built, but right now I'm having trouble navigating the stakes and strings blocking the back door. (sigh)

I'm thinking about taking up tennis, so if any of you have any thoughts on that topic, I'd be happy to hear (read?) them.
And I guess that's it for now. Hope that wasn't too boring.
I'll try to post something exciting in the coming weeks -- as my life recommences revolving around something that isn't work....

poor folks have poor ways

You know that your house sucks, when you look forward to coming to work to have access to a full size toilet.

Searchin for my lost shaker of salt

Margaritas, coronas, and other glad tidings from sunny florida. We're vacationing this week with my entire family - brother, sister, mom, dad, sister-in-law, so I guess I've got no excuse for not posting something. Other than the usual swimming in the gulf, we've been doing some fishing. Our condo has a nice pier that juts out into the bay. So far, Becky (sister-in-law) has managed to catch the two ugliest fish I've ever seen. The first was a toad fish. Imagine a giant tadpole. The second was a huge puffer fish. Dan caught a croaker, and as he was asking "Why's it called a croaker?" the fish was obliged to demonstrate. I'll do some fishin' tonight - supposedly that's when the trout are hanging around the pier.

Medieval 2 Hotseat

Cheers Nate. I figured this out. It is not an intrinsic feature so you will have to do some programming. First you need to download update 1.2. Not a simple task since it is over 600 megs. Then follow these instructions:

1. First, copy your medieval2.preference.cfg file to your desktop.
2. Rename the copy of the medieval2.preference.cfg file to multiplayer.cfg.
3. Now, make sure that the multiplayer.cfg file is not read only (right click on the file, and check the properties).
4. Open this new multiplayer.cfg file with Notepad or Wordpad, then add this to what is already in the multiplayer.cfg file:

[multiplayer]
playable = 1
hotseat_turns = 0
hotseat_scroll = 0
hotseat_update_ai_camera = 1
hotseat_disable_papal_elections = 0
hotseat_autoresolve_battles = 0
hotseat_save_prefs = 1
hotseat_disable_console = 0
hotseat_validate_diplomacy = 1

5. Now save the multiplayer.cfg file and put it back on read only.
6. Move the multiplayer.cfg file into your C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War folder.
7. Now open up Notepad again. In an otherwise blank document, type this:

medieval2.exe @multiplayer.cfg

8. Save the Notepad document as Launch_Multiplayer.bat
9. Put this new Launch_Multiplayer.bat file in your C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War folder.
10. Now, if you want to, right click on the new .bat file and send it to the desktop (Create Shortcut).
11. When you want to play the multiplayer version of the game, double-click the .bat file. This will launch the game in multiplayer mode.
12. Once you are in the game, select Singleplayer. Then Grand Campaign.


The crux of the biscuit is, once you finish your turn, you have to send the autosave file to me via email. Then I enter my faction password and start my turn. Now all we need to do is decide what factions we want to play and get a roll on! Give a ring when you get a chance and we can set it up.

Update from Jefferson

Ok, so obviously if you don't post on this website enough to entertain Nich you quickly become the subject of cruel slander. While the story about Nate is probably all true, I am not involved with the clergy. I am however, for the summer only, accepting cash from the church without deductions (don't tell the IRS) for caring for a large group of 3 and 4 year olds a few times a week and school-age kids for 2 weeks in July. This allows me down time with Bethany, possible future fall bosses, the in-laws, friends, family, and most important the bed. All this and pocket money too! How do I get to said job? Glad you asked...My 30th B-day brought me the 2001 blue birthday beetle, which runs on diesel so gets about 42 mpg plus or minus. Verrrrry nice. Mamma Pat cosigned so we are good for low interest and monthly payments...sweeet! I am already picking out flower power stickers to put on the sides and a bobble head chihuahua to put on the dash! Photos are posted.

Note: Hot-rod models not included in purchase price. Lydia noted that I should probably remove the hood ornament before driving.

New Jobs

SO... I heard that Nathan has a new job. Since he does not post, I will make up what happened, and details of his new life.

Nathan was fired from his ass-a-neer position because of an incident involving two drunk goats and a golf cart. The details are fuzzy but now in the middle of the interstate is a livestock shaped pothole and an oddly colored strip of road in the westbound lane. When asked for a comment, Nate said "well, it was the state's asphault." When asked to expound, he simply ordered another beer. Nathan's new job is also near little rock, though he had to change his name to Estemarley Philpott and grow a beard to remain in town. Little is known about his new occupation except he gets his knees dirty while he tests the firmness for his clients. Melissa is embarrased about the whole ordeal and is only staying with him becuase of the dogs.

Long story short: Nate, you need to post on the blog, or call, or email. =)

Charity has just been hired for the summer too... she is doing some under the table work for the clergy and is getting paid in cash. I will give her the opportunity to post more about it.

With love in my heart and beer in my fridge,

NBS

They'rrrrrre Heeeere!

It is day 4 here in Jefferson, Texas and my accent is thicker than ever. It feels good to be South of the Mason-Dixon again. Nich and I made it in during the wee hours of Monday morning with most of our sanity in tact and a few pieces of furniture out of tact...oops. Thanks to all of you who helped us move...we could not have done it without you! No really...we wouldn't have done it without you...we'd still be in Kansas, for real...you know how lazy Nich is! Now we are in the process of trying to get me a job, a car, and perhaps a hair cut...impossible tasks as they seem at the moment. I do have a promising interview set for this Friday, so we will see how it goes. When I spoke with the principal a week ago she told me, (read with thick southern draw) "Weee arrrr veeeerie excit'd 'bout yoor rezoomae!" God, it is great to be back!!!!!!!!

Overdue for a Post

The end is in sight. I can now wrap my head around the number of new parts I need to finish my engine rebuild. Hopefully the motor will fire up at the end of this summer. I snapped this choice picture of the mostly assembled engine. That is one sexy piece of metal.

Divorced-Moms 1, Dead-Beat-Dads 0

So, I have been asked to blog some very delightful news. I told Nich, I don't know if Karma was smiling on me today or just frowning more on Curtis! I had a teletrial at work today with a Louisiana Judge, the DA's office, and an officer with the LA child support enforcment office. The topic...should Curtis be allowed to have his child support reduced? Well, after much interrogation as to his many places of residence, employment, and shady marital status it became evident that maybe the lady with the DA didn't like Curtis much. In fact, I think she was actually trying to insinuate that Curtis might have been trying to dodge having to pay his child support. Can you believe that? Can you say "duh?" At one point the DA asked Curtis how he could afford to buy a house. He said his fiance bought it because his credit is bad. So she asked, "and she wants to marry you?" I almost fell out of my chair! Apparently since Curtis has not worked off shore since 2001, they allowed him to have his reduction from $580.00 per month to $315.00 per month. Of course, this doesn't bother me because I figure I will never see a penny of that either, so no biggie right? But here's where it gets better...

Apparently, the DA had a little surprise for Curtis, because at this point she says, "Your honor, the state would now like to bring charges against Curtis for contempt of court." I don't think Curtis knew this was going to happen because he made a bit of an ass of himself...imagine that! Well, they swear in an officer of the CSE office and he tells them that he has made no voluntary payments since september of 2005, owes an arrears of $28, 000.00 (yes, that is the right amount of zeros), and has made no attempt to try to make current or past due payments. This is the point where the judge decided to put the proverbial "smack down". He found him guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to 90 days in jail. The officer recommended a suspended sentence on the conditions that 1)Curtis pay $2000.00 toward his arrears by 7/13/07 and 2)that he makes current payments for an entire year...if not, he is on his way to the communal showers...I doubt I will ever see a penny, but the thought of pretty little Curtis having too reach for soap next to Guido and Bubba, makes me giggle. I was thinking of sending Curtis astroglide as a gift, but then I thought...you know what, he doesn't even deserve that much.

The missing Sync

Hey guys, sorry I've been kind of quiet on here lately, but I've been keeping up with everything that's been posted, I just haven't had time to write.
Remember that new job I told you about a while back?
Well, our first publication came out on Wednesday.
And I wrote a story about being a street performer. There's video, too.
Ok, I'm going to give you the link to both of these, but go easy on me. I'm very delicate you know...
:)
Here's the story.
There's not a direct link to the video, so you'll have to look for it, at the top of the site there's a pink navigational bar that says "see" just click on videos and mine is in the row of videos to the right. You guys are savvy. You'll find it.

Oh, yeah, and our site still has a lot of kinks, so if it won't pull up the page or if you get error messages, keep trying.

Now I Remember Why I Left

Denham Springs High School Class of 1997 was reunited last weekend. I think I want my $95 back. The food was okay, but the DJ was a dork and the only beer was BudLight. Out of the 300+ potential attendees, I estimate 40 attended. Apparently most of my former friends aren't into the reunion scene. I did run into a couple of the old crew, but most were absent. I'm sure they have good excuses. For the most part, it was the people who hadn't managed to reach escape velocity and break free of the small town gravity. There were only a handful of us out-of-towners.

The best part about the weekend was the time I spent with my parents. It was great being in town without some major event going on (the reunion was only a couple of hours on Saturday). The last couple of visits have been for weddings or funerals or major holidays. My mother was almost calm. Those of you who have met her know this is a rare occurrence.

It's good to be back in H-town. I think I'll skip the 15 year reunion.

Hard, but Fair

I dont even know how many times my daddy said that to me about life. So much I guess that after a while it even makes since. I feel so old sometimes. I am 28. But I feel like retirement should be around the corner. In the past three years, I have lost my research permit for the project that made me want to do this PhD, I have been misdiagnosed and told I would never get out of bed again, I have been the subject of scandal and office politics with regards to my passion, I have been on and off of drugs that made me feel silly, emotional or just plain sad, I have been in and out of consoulors' offices, and I have buried my mother and watched my family, peice by peice, fall apart. And through all of it, I know that life is hard, but fair. I hear people tell me that it will be ok. I tell myself it will be ok. But I am tired of waking up in the morning wondering if today will be ok. I feel old. My apologies for the diatribe.

LOST

Gordita is lost. The same one who gives me hugs and kisses every morning before I get up. The same one who cant wait for me to walk through the door in the afternoon. That Gordita is lost. There is a hole in my middle that I cannot cry enough tears to fill. My Gordita is lost.

Finally

Busy, Busy, Busy. That has been me. I have had more pressure from the classes I am taking this semester than in a long while, but the good news is one will pay off with a trip to the west coast and a publication. Speaking of publications, my master's research was distilled lumped with that of many others (I was a minor contributor), to produce an article published in mycolgia last week. If I knew how to post a pdf here I would, so that you all could enjoy. I recently registered for MSA this summer, which is in August and will be hosted by the beautifully humid LSU. It will be even better than Hawaii I expect! (read sarcasm in previous sentence.) In the meanwhile, I have found an appartment for rent while Charity is in Texas without me, and the best part is I can keep Gordita with me. (She coddles me.) It will be a small consolation for living apart, but anything helps. What spare time I have has been spent playing GW (insert shameless plug for everyone to join me here), but soon softball will start up. I still dont know if I will be teaching this summer or not... though I should find out soon. I am looking forward to coming south.

It's not just a smelly town in North Louisiana

Bastrop State Park is one of the most developed state parks in Texas. We took a hike around their long loop and camped in the "back country" (read - pine trees). Interesting fact though that this area is one of the few remaining habitats for the Houston Toad. Not much elevation change, but it was a good strenuous 8 mile hike. Yeah, I know Nathan you could run that in an afternoon. Here are some pics.

Campsite in the pines.


Hikers in the meadow.


Soft dirt+running water = steep muddy wall.

I believe the puppies are our future...

This is our new puppy. We got her on Friday the 13th, so I had to counteract that by naming her Clover.
I wanted to name our future daughter Clover but Nathan said no way, so I have to settle for a doggy. That's ok. She's great and super smart. I'm posting some video on our other blog at www.fivelettersdown.blogspot.com, it should be up by tomorrow.

Chef Arkansas

Diamond Don's 2007 MX had Chef Arkansas in house, cooking Brisket, Chicken, Hot Dogs, Sausage, 300 lbs. of Crawfish and all the fixings. They fed about 1000 people on Friday night (March 30) before the racing began on Saturday.
I on the other hand went with sane people to the Quilt show in Tyler. Went on the Azalea Trail in Tyler. It is beautiful there and I really hope some folks we know and love settle in that area. I plan on going back in mid May to see the Rose Garden.
All the excitement from Jefferson. Happy Easter to all!
Love, Pat

One Step Closer

For those of you who don't know yet, I've been rebuilding my mustang for a while now. The new engine block took a step toward running again today. It's all machined and ready for reassembly, but first it needs paint. I spent the morning taping and painting. The color is Ford Blue of course.






Next up, piston ring filing. The ends of the piston rings need to be filed to an end gap tolerance of about 0.001" It promises to be a boring, repetitive endeavor.

Harbinger

When you see this rolling in over your backyard, you could be in for a crazy night.
Thankfully, it didn't get to that level. I managed to get back from the grocery store with all of my new perishables safely in the fridge before it started raining and the power went out. (No, just kidding, it didn't go out, but I was definitely prepared for the universe to unleash that irony on me...)
The scene: Me and the dogs curled up on the floor in the hallway while the storm raged outside and Nathan sat at the computer working on his resume. I was reading a "Get Fuzzy" compilation to take my mind off the storm. Our house is in an area delightfully termed "tornado alley" because more than a few have come through here in the past few years (but I'm sure it's nothing compared to Kansas...). The biggest and worst here was in 1997, and apparently people haven't forgotten. So, naturally, I'm a bit paranoid.

The hat helped him score

Here's a pic of Nathan before he left for Nashville last weekend.
He played two games of rugby and scored a try in the second game. We're all so proud! And his name was in the paper. (Yes in the sports section!) We can send signed copies for $29.95 plus $3 shipping and handling.
I keed, I keed.
I didn't go, so this is the only pic I have.

Camping at Colorado Bend

I still think you people have WAY too much time on your hands, but the Cow is a funny read if nothing else.


The weather was pretty and we had quite a lover-ly time. Hey, maybe if you guys all move closer to Houston, we can go camping. Hint, hint. :)


Here's a link to the pics.

That's so something I would do....

Yesterday morning, got to work, threw on my jacket and walked into the building.
Said mornin to the security guard, hopped in the elevator and chatted with the people on there about my new job and how I now work on the second floor instead of the third (people I don't even know are pushing the third floor button when they see me, I guess I just look like a newsroom type of person...you know, disheveled.....). Well, I get up to my desk, and realize that my jacket is on inside out. Nice.
Yeah, way to look cool in front of your new co-workers.

Another unrelated but amusing elevator story: For a few weeks, Nathan would cook us this big breakfast in the mornings. Which was great, but I ended up smelling like onions and fried sweet potato all day because the smell would get into my clothes, and I was pretty self-conscious about it because I could smell it but I wasn't sure if anyone else could.
Well, on one of these mornings, I was riding on the elevator with this guy I had seen a few times but never officially met. And I was carrying my lunch of something very unfragrant, like salad. He said, "Something smells good, is that your lunch?"
And I said, "No, I think it's my breakfast..." and he looked a little confused and somewhat disgusted.
And I realized I should have just said, "Yes, yes it is."

Headed Out the Door

We're headed out to Colorodo Bend State Park for some primitive camping. Since I'm killing time waiting on the wife to pack her gear, I decided to post. The weather should be good, so I'll post some pictures after we get back. We had decided during the fall that we should get out and camp more. This will be trip number three, and we hope to make one more before the summer arrives.

No news is good news

Well, I've landed this new job.
It's for a weekly magazine that's just starting up.
I remember at Christmastime, Charity and Nich said I should write more. Because they like the way I tell stories or something like that. Except I think they meant in a scientific freelancing way ...
Basically I'm the assistant editor of this magazine that's brand new. So, I get to set the tone -- which will be 'have fun' -- and the humor.
I'm hoping to go for 'The Daily Show' type intelligent humor. (Easy on the fart jokes in other words..)

So far, this is basically my dream job.
One of my first tasks is to scope out a band for the launch party. Seriously.

Once we get a website up and running, I'll send you guys the link. All the staff members will have blogs. (ack! another blog!)
And I have a few pretty cool story ideas already lined up. I would be more specific, but I don't want to give away too many details, since it's still in the planning stages and has kind of caused a stir here in Tiny Pebble.
More on this later.

The Blues Box

We interviewed an Animal Physiologist from LSU for a position here two weeks ago. He tells me that Tabby got into some bad health and the blues box shut down. That is sad. I am glad I experienced that landmark just once.

I don't think she means Earl Grey

Well, to help alleviate Nich's boredom... I've got a story.

My boss is easily amused and has no shame.
And the server was down at work and he came to sit next to me and talk for minute. We started talking about slang and he told me he saw a woman driving the other day with a license plate that said "teabag" and he wondered what it meant.
Loudly.
In our very open newsroom.
Among curious journalists who all eavesdrop (it's practically part of the job description...but I digress)

"Maybe she's from England. Or maybe she just really likes tea," he wondered while I giggled to myself and turnred a few shades of red.
I said, "No, I doubt it. It's a euphemism."
"What does it mean?"

I wasn't about to tell him out loud what it meant. So, we looked it up on the urban dictionary and once he read what it meant, he laughed and laughed.
And then because he's gay he said, "Well, that doesn't sound so bad..."

Workday Walkthrough

Well. I am here working hard. I have hundreds and peices of folded filter paper with dried fungal bio-nasty on the inside that must be weighed. It takes nearly 2 minutes for each one to finally stabilize on the balance so leaves a lot of time to blog....

This past week I left a note saying that I needed the sterile environment for a couple of hours. I was later confronted by a newbie undergraduate stating that he would be using the space during this time becuase his research was time sensitive and he had posted his work schedule on the white board. I at that point politely explained that everyone's work was "time sensitive." I continued that just becuase he posted a schedule, it was in no way a method to pull rank to get resources. He stated reluctantly that he wouldnt mind coming in late that day to get his stuff done. That is the first time I have ever wanted to spank someone in public in a non-sexual manner. I "reserved" the hood again today during his "scheduled" work time... and I brought the paddle!

All that to say, you folks should try to post more to appease my boredom. Nothing undoable--maybe 2-3 posts per day tops.

Not the first cow to be easy...

You think you have something original and then during a boring night's googling you come up with this.

Guild Wars

You folks remember back in the day when we played LAN Diablo? Great fun, eh? I have just recently tried out Guild Wars. There seems to be a possibility for such interaction on a stable Network for us, if anyone is interested. It is different from most MMORPG in that quests can be completed in short time periods, like an hour or so, and one can take his character into this game world without worrying about some jackass killing it and taking the gold peices. Check out the website and see if you may be interested in starting up a thursday night game.

Prelims, the sequel

In short, I passed. The decision was unanimous, but it took nearly five hours from start to finish.... That could be some sort of prelimenary exam record. I revieved comments varying from "[He] is confident and very articulate about the subject matter." to " [He] has areas of deficiency in his breadth of knowledge."

I think that the areas of deficiency were a major concern for the committee, as they each offered me up thier favorite text book to study for my defense in December, indicating that not only will I be defending my thesis at that point, but my breadth of biology knowledge as well.

They also suggested that I become an instructor here for a semester before I leave to determine that it is definately my career of choice. We will see next week if that is a possibility or how it will affect my timeline of getting the hell out of this putrid state.

To summarize, I am a Doctoral Candidate at a World Class research University... what else is there to say.

Just for shiznits and gizziggles

Have you seen this web site?
http://www.gizoogle.com/
It translates web pages into "Snoop Speak."
It's hizzalarious.

Try translating our blog....

Funny and frightening

We just watched this Mike Judge movie called Idiocracy. It's supposed to be funny, but Nathan and I just found ourselves going "Holy hell, could that happen!?!?" Seeing as how genetics, biology and math play a large role in the plot, you guys might find it interesting. Or maybe you've already seen it. Let me know if you have.
Wow. Just wow.

If Netscape is shite...

... Then what sort of bodily excrement is IE?

I suppose you would tell me that I should use Safari for OS X... but wait then I would actually have to use a machine that would run OS X. Speaking of OS, any of you running VISTA yet? We dont here becuase my work network doesnt support it (and it doesnt support hardly any programs that arent microsoft in origin).

I am getting frustrated with netscape, though. There hasnt been a support update for it in quite a while and it is starting to act buggy... I love the features it offers! The autofill, the opening of tabs to a webpage and not a screen that says "hey stupid, you managed to open a new tab all by yourself," the google search tools and other features of the UI... .

As far as browsers go, what do you folks prefer?

Medival II Hotseat

Hey nate,

When the next patch for MIITW comes out, which should be soon, the game will support hotseat play. This is essentially a way to multiplayer campaign mode, except that you cannot fight battles between humans players. You interested in playing?

You know you've made it when...

You have fictional character based on you... check out this article. You may be familiar with Chip. Although, I have never "demanded" anything from one of my students; that seems kind of harsh!

In addition do any of you use netscape? I can't post on this blog with it. Every time I sign in it crashes.

Prelims

I finished my writtens for my Prelims last friday. We will see next week whether I pass the orals or I leave here with a master's degree. Wish me haste. ( I figure luck isnt all its cracked up to be, and frankly, I am just ready for them to be over.)

Why I don't post (nag, nag, nag)

It has come to my attention that some of you people have WAY too much time on your hands and just post and post and post. Don't you people have anything else better to do????

Just kidding. :)

Actually, I have my own blog for my jewelry/stationery stuff and I try to post on it (and update my Etsy store and keep my website current and actually do some work...). All the internetting gets to almost a chore after a while. :P But I do read ye ole blog, and it does in fact make me laugh. I just don't have enough energy left to post 98% of the time.

But today, I shall contribute. Stumbling through my webby world, I found this non-diet friendly blog. Bookmark it if you like to bake: the Cupcake Bake Shop. Mmmmmmm, tasty.

And for all you "Lost" fans (anyone...anyone??) click here to make your own fish biscuits. Genius.

There...now you can't say that I don't post. HA! ;)

Home Improvement

So I'm in between trips to the Home Depot right now - taking a break to blog. We're replacing all of the brass door hardware in the house with brushed nickel and replacing the outlets and switches to go from the dirty looking off white color to clean white with stainless steel cover plates. My cordless drill gave out a while back, so I'm using this project as an excuse to replace it.

It must be a good week for electronics to give out, because our washing machine also stopped working. We went out yesterday to buy a new front loading washer. They delivered today, and we're trying it out on some smelly socks right now. The cats are thouroughly freaked out by the various noises that the front loader makes. Hopefully they'll get used to it.

Here's a pic of the new washer:

As promised

Nathan's new work bench.

See, he's already working that wood.

Back in Houston

So we're back in H-Town after a long week of tending to the family in B.R. To fill everyone in, my grandmother (titi - Arabic for grandmother) passed away on Monday. She was 82 and had been losing a fight with cancer for a while. Nothing brings a family back together like a funeral. I saw cousins I haven't seen in decades. I've always liked the way my family is so closely bonded.

On to the good news:

My brother has FINALLY been accepted to medical school. He starts this fall at Texas Tech in Lubbock. For those of you who don't know, Lubbock is west of Abilene, south of Amarillo, and north of nowhere. Not much to do there, so he won't be too distracted. It's about a 10 hour drive from Houston, so I probably won't be seeing Dan and Becky much anymore. I'll need to locate new movie watching buddies.

Happy V.D. everyone!

Here's hoping there's flowers, chocolate and some Barry White waiting for you at home!

My friend Sara sent me this:
"Our high school  FHA used to sell candygrams and in order to expedite filling out many of the cards, we wrote "Happy V.D." After Valentine's Day, we received a talk on why this isn't an appropriate greeting for the holiday o' love."

obsessed with football

We all hate the simpering fruit cuckold king from the end of Braveheart, but here is an extra reason for rushing to give the throne to Wallace and Isabella's illigitimate child.

The bastard banned football!

At least no sane Italian Doge would do that...

cool tunes

For a good listen, you folks should check out K.W. Shepards latest, 10 days out. The music is smooth and the DVD that accompanies it is worth watching. Some of it was filmed not too far from here (bunch of white folks in a church listening to blues...). The most interesting part is it was the last recording for many of the artists as blues took a real hit in 05.

Holy matrimony, Batman!

I agree with David. Blogs are much more fun if there's plenty to read.
So on that note...
Today is our wedding anniversary ... and I'm at work. Buggers wouldn't let me have the day off. But that's okay, I'm not bitter... we've already purchased the strawberries and champagne, so I think it'll be a fun night. And I'll come to work tomorrow hungover and sleep deprived. Serves them right!

I got my pictures from Jefferson developed. I'm really happy with them, if I could ever find the time and a scanner to make them digital, I'd post them, but I don't see that happening umm... ever. But, I'll make some 8x10 copies of my favorites and mail them to you guys in Houston and you can do with them what you will. I think it'd be pretty cool to see one turn up in one of your projects, Stevie! But no pressure, of course. If Charity and Nich are interested in any free photos, just let me know and I can send some your way, too.

But enough of my self-promotion...
Rugby's about to start up again this weekend. So we're getting ready for that.
Nathan's got woodworking under his skin again, and he's building himself a bench for it. We got a lot of it done last night. I'll post a pic when it's finished. I'm sure he'll be very proud of it. Then he can start building me some end tables or something!
Work that wood, baby. Work it!
Sorry.. I don't know what came over me...

Oh, we got DDR at my house now! Yay! We got Ultramix 4, though and I like the song list on the version you guys had much better. This new one's mostly Japanese techno and stuff. But it's still a fun time and the songs are growing on me...
Well, ta ta for now!

A king in my own hole

Well so here it is February. I am in the middle of my prelims... I have two weeks left to finish my proposal and am not much passed the outline. I am sure it will be a busy week. Alas all will work itself out with that. I recieved my TEvals for fall semester back this past week recieving a 5.0 out of 5.0 in overall teacher effectiveness, yet the department hasnt seemed to notice. Charity and I have both been ill since we have been home, myself with a cold and her with some sort of stomach bug.

It will still nearly be two months yet before my sport starts, so here I will sit on my couch or play DDR to pass the time until it warms up. Last week I went to hastings and purchased The Pale Horseman and the Lords of the North. They were both well worth reading. I also found a book called Napoleon's Pyramids by Deitrich that seems promising but just started it on it last night.

IPCC reslults released last friday, so that is pretty much the hot buzz on campus. If you haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth, you should. I carry it around in my backpack just in case.... It was not nearly as politically steeped as I would have assumed considering the source, but neither was Band of Brothers (incidentally, this is also a good watch).

The new season of Rome has started, and that is where I spend my Sunday evenings. (Deep in the land of High Definition). Until we meet in texas...

Blogging and Keeping in Touch

So I thought I should help make this like a real blog where people post on a regular basis.

We're getting ready to embark into another soccer season here in Houston (thanks for the great lead in post Nate c/o Melissa). I'll play my first real game since December-ish on Sunday, and I can feel the nerves building already. Sunday night 6:00 PM we'll see what kind of a season it's going to be. I'll be sure to post the score for y'all next week. In other soccer news, Italians are officially too obsessed with the sport (see this article), and Mexico still can't seem to score a goal in the US (that's 8 games in a row now).

Besides soccer, there's not much excitement here. I'm working overtime trying to complete my current work project. My car is still in pieces (see previous sentence for the reason why).

That's all I've got for now. I'm going to try to post again soon.

Cry, baby, cry

This link was posted on the rugby forum and was called "Why I disrespect soccer."
Nathan thought you might enjoy it... (yes, I do all his posting for him...)
Watch and laugh.

Dave's Jefferson Pictures

I can't let Nate have all the fun. Here are some of my pictures.