Meet the newest member...

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the family...an inferno red crystal pearl pickup truck named Brian. I've just brought him home from the dealership with a whopping 47 miles on him. I'll post some pics and his stats up as soon as I get the chance, but for now he and I have some male bonding to do on the open road. ;)

The Hunt is On!

So now that Justin is gone, it's time to begin searching for a suitable replacement. I had toyed with the idea a few months back of going toward a smaller vehicle...specifically a Toyota Prius for fuel economy. Justin was beautiful and powerful, but that power came at a price. There's no denying Justin was pricey at the pumps, but Justin was also something else that a Prius would not be...big...and safe. After getting rear-ended at what appears to be 40-45mph, there's no denying that had I been in a smaller vehicle, I would have suffered much more severe injuries than the ones I received. So after all that hunting for a smaller, more economical vehicle, I think I've decided to get another Dodge Dakota. The more than 115,000 miles of safety, power, and quality that didn't need a single major repair means a lot.

In Memoriam - Justin - 2001-2005

Well, it's official. Justin has officially been totalled out by the insurance company. We've come to a settlement and I'm signing the papers tomorrow morning to finalize the transfer of ownership to the insurance company. They had already reached $14,000 in total repairs for just the exterior appearance body work....they hadn't even started on the inside mechanical problems that were sure to be there. Luckily the settlement is enough to almost completely payoff Justin's loan, so that's one good thing. But after over 115,000 miles and 4 years of fun, Justin is no more. I fully expected to drive that truck another couple years, but I guess it was just not meant to be.

Parallels

Movie:
Democratically Elected Chancellor of a Republic fabricates his own war to gain Emergency Powers in the name of peace and security. Chancellor eventually dissolves Senate and transforms the democratic republic into a Galactice Empire with himself as it's oppressive leader for life.

Real Life:
Democratically Elected President of a Republic fabricates his own war and claims, through prior legislative approval, to have broad reaching powers to preserve Peace and Security. ...Can you guess what's going to happen next?

Remaining Neutral

Here's a quote from an article I just found on Yahoo. It's about the Ford Motor Company choosing to continue advertising all their brands (Jaguar, Land Rover, Etc) in gay publications.

"All we wanted was for Ford to refrain from choosing sides in the cultural war, and supporting groups which promote same-sex marriage is not remaining neutral," Wildmon said.

I beg to differ. As long as they also advertise in other publications that cater to heterosexual marriage or couples, then they are remaining neutral. NOT advertising in any groups publications is NOT remaining neutral...it is taking the position of "We disagree with this group and don't support them in any way." That's not remaining neutral...that's definately taking sides, Mr. Wildmon.

From Bad to Worse...

Well, as if having someone destroy your truck wasn't bad enough... it now looks like the guy that hit me lied to the investigating officer. He presented the officer with some proof of insurance that looked like it was from the same insurance I'm with. So it looked like it was going to be easy to get everything worked out.

Unfortunately, the claims office couldn't find his policy number. Now we know why. I just received a call from a claim rep saying they've tracked this guy down and he now admits to having NO insurance...none, nada, zip, zilch. So now it reverts back to my own policy. Thank goodness for the Uninsured and Underinsured portions of my policy. But now that means I'm picking up the tab on the deductable, the rental car payments, etc.

All I have to say is they better make me a good offer on Justin. I'm supposed to hear from them by the end of the week. We'll see what happens.

Totalled

This isn't going to be pretty, but I thought I should put this up while I can still remember it. I'll start with the basics. I was involved in a very bad accident just last Thursday. I was on my way to work when the person behind me rear-ended me. That phrase really doesn't do it justice. I was stopped along with several other cars in front of me at a red light. The person behind me appearantly was not paying attention. I heard squealing tires, looked up in the rear-view mirror and saw a white streak coming toward me. And that's when it hit....hit with such force that the vehicle behind me went underneath my truck bed, torn away the spare tire, bent the rear bumper completely under the truck bed, and slammed the truck bed forward into the cab. This in turn cause the rear window to shatter into the back seat of my club cab (extended cab) truck. Thank goodness it was extended or I could have had glass showering down on me.

The force of the impact cause me to be pushed into the full-sized passenger van in front of me, causing their rear doors to be smashed in and also shattering their glass windows. My truck eventually popped the curb on the right and came to rest in the median against a tree...nearly knocking it over.

I would assume from this description you can guess that the instigating vehicle must have been travelling at a high-rate of speed? My estimates put his speed at 40mph on the low end. Now keep in mind, this is after he had been squealing his tires for a couple seconds...in other words, slowing down. I would estimate his actual speed to be closer to 45-50mph at the time he applied his brakes. The speed limit was only 35 mph through there....so you can guess I'm a little upset.

In any case, Justin is now a total loss. The insurance company isn't bothering to have it towed to a body shop. They are towing it directly to their salvage yard where it will get appraised and an offer will be made on it. I don't know what their offer will be, but I hope it will at least come close to what I still owe on the vehicle. If it doesn't, I'll be without a vehicle for a while. We'll just have to see what happens.

Loopholes

We seem to be finding new and interesting ways to allow the torture of captives. Today the US said they took the CAT (Conference Against Terrorism) to mean that we couldn't torture on US soil....but everywhere else was OK? What the hell?!?

The Bush Administration has single handedly destroyed this countries reputation and set us back decades in the fight for equal human rights. The United States use to stand for freedom, liberty, and justice for all.... now it's to all who we deem deserving of it? Fuck that!

Congratulations, Dubya... you've once again fucked over this country. I HOPE TO GOD the republicans do NOT retain control of Congress after the '06 elections. A win for them would only allow Bush to once again say "I have a mandate, the American People have spoken, and they want me to continue what I'm doing."

FUCK THAT!

Troop Morale

What do you think is doing more to damage troop morale?

A) Having your country consider the Iraq war a mistake and suggesting we bring our troops home as soon as possible to save the lives of the men and women of our Armed Forces (ie: Let's save your lives and get you back to your families... you've served your country well)?

or

B) Watching your closest friends and follow soldiers die every day in a war that has been shown to have no connection to Osama bin Laden, WMD stock piles, or any threat to the US at the time of it's commencement (ie: no reason we should have been there in the first place)?

Hmm....

Who is the one actually rewriting history?

Is it the Democrats and anti-war critics as Dubya said in his Veteran's Day rant? (I won't even dare to dignify it by calling it a speech.) Or is it Dubya himself that's delivering yet another skewed look at reality and the world in which we live?

The following is a fairly long post. It's a direct copy from the magazine The Nation. It's an article writen by David Corn that seems to really spell out exactly who is rewriting history. For those wondering, you might want to check his facts that he references. As far as I can tell, they are accurate references to legislation from Congress, a quote from presidential candidate John Kerry, and intelligence findings reported in multiple reputable newspapers.

-----------------------------

In a Veterans Day speech on Friday, delivered to troops and others at the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, George W. Bush veered from the usual commemoration of sacrifice to strike at critics who have questioned whether he steered the country into war by using false information. This has become a tough and troubling issue for his presidency. A poll taken before his speech found that 57 percent of the respondents now believe that Bush "deliberately misled" the nation into war. That is astounding and, I assume, without precedent in history. Has there been another wartime period during which a majority of Americans believed the president had purposefully bamboozled them about the reasons for that war? Addressing this charge is tough for Bush because it calls more attention to it, and the on-ground-realities in only cause more popular unease with the war. But Bush and his aides calculated that it was better to punch back than ignore the criticism, and that's a sign that they're worried that Bush is coming to be defined as a president who conned the nation into an ugly war. So Bush tried. Let's break down his effort:

President George W. Bush: Our debate at home must also be fair-minded. One of the hallmarks of a free society and what makes our country strong is that our political leaders can discuss their differences openly, even in times of war.

Conservative who claim raising questions about the war does a disservice to the troops and is anti-American might want to keep these words in mind.

GWB: When I made the decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, Congress approved it with strong bipartisan support.

Actually, Congress did not approve Bush's decision to remove Saddam. In October 2002, the House and Senate approved a resolution that gave Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq if he deemed that appropriate. At the time, Bush and his aides were claiming it was their goal to force Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass destruction and his WMD programs (which, we know now, did not exist). When the resolution passed---and in the weeks after---the White House insisted that Bush was not bent on "regime change" and that he was willing to work within the UN to force Saddam to accept UN inspectors (which Saddam did) in pursuit of the goal of disarming Iraq. Is Bush now saying that he had already resolved to invade Iraq at this point and all his talk about achieving disarmament through the UN process was bunk? Is he rewriting history--or telling us the real truth? In any event, when Bush did order the invasion of Iraq months later in March 2003, he did not ask Congress to vote on his decision to remove Saddam.

GWB: I also recognize that some of our fellow citizens and elected officials didn't support the liberation of Iraq. And that is their right, and I respect it. As President and Commander-in-Chief, I accept the responsibilities, and the criticisms, and the consequences that come with such a solemn decision.

Bush might accept "the responsibilities and criticisms," but has yet to acknowledge the mistakes he and his aides made before and after the invasion about planning for a post-invasion Iraq. He also has not insisted on any accountability for these mistakes. For instance, he gave a spiffy medal to former CIA chief George Tenet, who was responsible for the prewar intelligence failure.

GWB: While it's perfectly legitimate to criticize my decision or the conduct of the war, it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.

When was the last time Bush talked about how the war began--that is, when did he mention that his primary reason for war (protecting the American public from the supposed WMD threat posed by Saddam Hussein) was discredited by reality? Is ignoring history the same as rewriting it?

GWB: Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and misled the American people about why we went to war. These critics are fully aware that a bipartisan Senate investigation found no evidence of political pressure to change the intelligence community's judgments related to Iraq's weapons programs.

This is not the full and accurate explanation of the controversy at hand. The issue of whether the Bush administration misled the nation in the run-up to the war has two components. The first is the production of the intelligence related to WMDs and the supposed al Qaeda-Sadam connection. The second is how the Bush crowd represented the intelligence to the public when trying to make the case for war. As for the first, the Senate intelligence committee report did say the committee had found no evidence of political pressure. But Democratic members of the committee and others challenged this finding. Several committee Democrats pointed to a CIA independent review on the prewar intelligence, conducted by a panel led by Richard Kerr, former deputy director of the CIA, which said,

Requests for reporting and analysis of [Iraq's links to al Qaeda] were steady and heavy in the period leading up to the war, creating significant pressure on the Intelligence Community to find evidence that supported a connection.

More to the point, Kerr told Vanity Fair that intelligence analysts did feel pressured by the go-to-war gang. The magazine in May 2004 reported,

"There was a lot of pressure, no question," says Kerr. "The White House, State, Defense were raising questions, heavily on W.M.D. and the issue of terrorism. Why did you select this information rather than that? Why have you downplayed this particular thing?...Sure, I heard that some of the analysts felt pressure. We heard about it from friends. There are always some people in the agency who will say, 'We've been pushed to hard.' Analysts will say, 'You're trying to politicize it.' There were people who felt there was too much pressure. Not that they were being asked to change their judgments, but there were being asked again and again to restate their judgments--do another paper on this, repetitive pressures. Do it again."

Was it a case, then, of officials repeatedly asking for another paper until they got the answer they wanted? "There may have been some of that," Kerr concedes. The requests came from "primarily people outside asking for the same paper again and again. There was a lot of repetitive tasking. Some of the analysts felt this was unnecessary pressure. The repetitive requests, Kerr made clear, came from the C.I.A.'s "senior customers," including "the White House, the vice president, State, Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Despite Bush's assertion, the question remains whether undue pressure was applied by the White House. And in his Veterans Day speech, Bush ducked the second issue: how he and his aides depicted the intelligence. This is the source of the dispute over the so-called Phase II investigation of the Senate intelligence committee. The allegation is that Bush and administration officials overstated and hyped the flawed intelligence and claimed it was definitive when they had reason to know it was not.

For example, in his final speech to the nation before launching the war, Bush claimed that US intelligence left "no doubt" about Iraq's supposed WMDs. But there was plenty of doubt on critical issues. Intelligence analysts at the Energy Department and State Department disagreed with those at the CIA about the evidence that purportedly showed Iraq had revived its nuclear weapons program: its importation of aluminum tubes and the allegation that Iraq had been uranium-shopping in Niger. (In 2002, Dick Cheney said the tubes were "irrefutable evidence," and Condoleezza Rice said they were "only really suited for nuclear weapons programs." But a year earlier, as The New York Times reported in 2004, "Rice's staff had been told that the government's foremost nuclear expert seriously doubted that the tubes were for nuclear weapons.") The CIA believed Iraq had chemical weapons. But the Defense Intelligence Agency reported that there was no evidence such stockpiles existed. Some intelligence analysts concluded that Iraq was developing unmanned aerial vehicles that could deliver chemical or biological weapons. The experts on UAVs at the Air Force thought this was not so. Was Bush speaking accurately when he told the public--and the world--there was "no doubt"?

Also, did Bush make specific claims unsupported by the intelligence? The National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, produced in October 2002, maintained that Iraq had an active biological research and development program. Bush publicly said Iraq had "stockpiles" of biological weapons. There is a difference between an R&D program (which Iraq did not have) and warehouses loaded with ready-to-go weapons (which Bush implied existed). How did an R&D program become stockpiles? This is as intriguing a question as how those sixteen words about Iraq's alleged pursuit of uranium in Africa became embedded in the State of the Union speech Bush delivered in early 2003.

On the key issue of Saddam Hussein's alleged connection to al Qaeda, Bush also made statements that went beyond the intelligence. This link was crucial to the case for war, for Bush and other hawks were arguing that Saddam Hussein could slip his WMDs to his pal
Osama bin Laden. Bush claimed that Saddam Hussein was "dealing with" al Qaeda. But his intelligence agencies had not reached that conclusion. (And the 9/11 Commission later said there was no evidence of collusion between al Qaeda and Saddam.) So how did Bush come to make such a statement? Recently, Senator Carl Levin, a Democrat, released formerly classified material showing that before the war when Bush, Cheney, Colin Powell, and other administration officials cited evidence that Iraq had been training al Qaeda operatives in the use of bombs and other weapons, Bush and these officials were relying on the statements of a captured al Qaeda member whose claims had been discounted by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Once more, how had Bush and his senior aides come to disseminate specific and provocative information deemed unreliable by the intelligence community?

Bush's Veterans Days comments addressed none of this.

GWB: They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein.

The people with the most hands-on information regarding WMDs in Iraq did not. The International Atomic Energy Agency, led by recent Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei, concluded weeks before the war (after their inspectors had returned to Iraq) that Saddam Hussein had not revived the nuclear weapons program that the IAEA had dismantled in the mid-1990s. And Hans Blix, head of the UN inspectors in Iraq, repeatedly said that his team was not finding evidence of chemical or biological weapons stockpiles.

GWB: ...And many of these critics supported my opponent during the last election, who explained his position to support the resolution in the Congress this way: "When I vote to give the President of the United States the authority to use force, if necessary, to disarm Saddam Hussein, it is because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a threat, and a grave threat, to our security." That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate--who had access to the same intelligence--voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power.

As noted above, the Democrats voted to give Bush the authority to use force when he thought he should--but only after Bush had promised to go to the United Nations in an effort to disarm Saddam Hussein, who, it turned out, was telling the truth when he denied his government possessed WMDs. Even the John Kerry quote that Bush cites contains the "to-disarm" condition. And several Democratic members of Congress have claimed that they did not see all the intelligence that was available to the White House.

GWB: The stakes in the global war on terror are too high, and the national interest is too important, for politicians to throw out false charges.

It's hard to argue with that.

GWB: These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will. As our troops fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life, they deserve to know that their elected leaders who voted to send them to war continue to stand behind them. Our troops deserve to know that this support will remain firm when the going gets tough.

Who said that "it's perfectly legitimate to criticize" the "decision [to go to war in Iraq] or the conduct of the war"? That was Bush, moments earlier, in the same speech. So which is it? Is it okay to criticize the conduct of the war or not?


By the way, while accusing his critics of falsifying history, Bush never conceded that he launched the war on a false premise--that Saddam Hussein was up to his neck in WMDs--and, thus, as he paid tribute to veterans of this war and others, he did not accept responsibility for sending American troops into battle for a cause that did not exist.

-----------------------------

So...what do YOU think? Was Dubya's rant worthy of all the brave veterans who have served this country and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our way of life? our freedoms?

I don't think so. In my opinion no one speech or one person can hope to give a tribute worthy enough for our veterans. So I'll just say this. Thank you.

The Threshold

You can tell we've move to within 365 days of the next election. Congressional Republicans have started to distance themselves from the White House' "clueless" stance in regards to Iraq and any form of exit strategy. Today the Senate even went in the face of a threatened veto and passed (by a 98-0 vote, I might add) a bill that limits the techniques used to interrogate terrorists and calls for quarterly reports on the status of operations in Iraq.

Let the campaigning begin. Republican Candidates, have you cancelled your "President Endorses You" Campaign Visit yet? ;)

Nothing...

Absolutely nothing has been done to my apartment to make the necessary repairs prior to my move in. I delivered a letter to the office tonight (I'll post the text of it soon) that gave them 48 hours from tonight... until 5pm on Thursday to complete the five urgent repairs and get started on the remaining ones. If they cannot meet this demand, I've indicated I will not honor my obligation to lease the apartment.

We'll see what happens...

Shattered

The repairs have NOT been done at the new apartment. This is really starting to be a nightmare. I've signed the lease, I've packed some stuff...even moved some stuff into the apartment.... but it's not looking good. D-Day is tomorrow. They've promised things will be done by Tuesday end of day. Of course they've promised other stuff before too...

I've written a letter now though... It gives them until Thursday at 5pm to complete repairs to the apartment or I'm scrubbing the lease.

I'll be home....

Well, the move will be decided on either Monday or Tuesday night. I'll need to check to make sure necessary repairs have been completed before any major furniture is moved. If they have gotten to the needed repairs, then furniture will move this coming weekend, so I'll be in the new apartment for Thanksgiving. If they aren't completed, I'm not sure what the next step will be then. I'll need to back up the furniture movers, put a hold on transferring my internet service, etc. Let's hope for the best...

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred minutes...

Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes...
How do you measure...measure a year?
In daylights? In sunsets? In midnights? in cups of coffee?
In inches? In miles? In laughter? In strife?
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes...
How do you measure a year in the life?

-> How about love?

The Wall Between Us and Them

Don't know if you've heard, but some lawmakers are proposing a wall that would run the entire length of the United States' southern border...from California to Texas...to help control the amount of illegal aliens crossing the border into the US. Today, I read an article in the Arizona Daily star the quotes the US Ambassador to Mexico as saying President Bush is against building such a wall. His response is such a wall would is be both "unrealistic and undesireable". Deflecting the reason for the wall to controlling immigration, the Ambassador said supporting President Bush' proposals for a guest worker program would do a much better job of regulating immigration. Here's an exact quote from the article...

He said building a wall also would not help the United States' relations with its Latin American neighbors, relations that appeared frayed in last week's summit of the Americas.

"Looking at the big picture, I believe we should, rather than retrenching into the isolationism that tempts some, build upon our relationships," he said.

Improving cooperation with Latin America would be the United States' best guarantee of security, Garza said, adding that the benefits of free trade needed to be conveyed more clearly to the millions of Latin Americans who live in poverty.

Ok to rebutt each point... "relations appeared frayed"... Of course they do. All of our international relationships have been set back decades thanks to our independant stance the we needed to go to war and to hell with the rest of you. We've abandoned the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, we've not agreed to the Kyoto Accord, we've gone to war with Iraq and destabilized the entire region.... do you think the world has reason to be pissed at us? I would say so...

"Retrenching into Isolationism"... how is protecting our borders a return to isolationism? We have military bases throughout the world, are actively assisting other countries with foreign aid packages, and are one of the most respected members of the United Nations... well, we were until we said "Screw You, we're going to war anyways!"

"Improving cooperation with Latin America would be the best guarantee of security"... No, a wall would. Cooperation with another country will only get you so far. The wall will not only block illegal immigrants from latin america, but will also help curb to influx of foreign terrorists from entering THROUGH another country. It's already been shown that TONS of people of literally walking across the border from Mexico into the United States. Would it not stand to reason that they need NOT be Hispanics?

Living in Arizona, I say build the wall. Those who cross the border for honest work will still have no problems at the official border crossings, but we'll drastically cut down on illegals coming across....AND we'll cut down on the threat of a terrorist sneaking across the border.

New....or is it?

To bring you up to date on the Apartment situation.... I was scheduled for move in on the 9th, but got a call from the management that they would need to back me up a day since new carpet wasn't down yet. This really wasn't a problem since I wasn't planning on moving stuff in right away anyway. I have until the end of the year to be out of my current apartment.

Well, I went to the office this morning to sign lease papers and was told the apartment still wasn't ready, but it should be by the end of the day. They had some issues they needed to take care of with the new carpet and a door needed to be replaced yet. It was explained to me that they were down 2 maintenance people and that's why they were a little slow in getting things done. Again, not a problem because I wasn't moving in right away. I did get the keys and went to the apartment to test them.

What I found there was utterly astonishing. The apartment door was wide open...with no one inside it. The "new" carpet has bleach stains in the middle of the living room, bedroom, and hall closet. In fact in the hall closet, there is a patch that's melted in the shape of an iron! My front door is missing a dead bolt, doesn't close all the way properly (moves back and forth 1/2"), and doesn't even have the apartment number on the door! My storage closet door is rotting off the hinges, the whole place reaked of cigarette smoke, and most of the door jams had scratches of paint missing indicating the walls were never painted!

I immediately went to the office and complained. They told me they will get on it as soon as they can but because they are down 2 maintenance guys it may not be ready to the middle of next week. The wait doesn't bother me. What bothers me is that I was told this apartment was ready...and they could only hold it for 2 weeks...so I HAD to be in it by November 9th. It wasn't my intention to get an new apartment until the 1st of December at the earliest! So why was I rushed into this apartment when it wasn't even ready for someone to occupy it yet?!

In-Stock!

CompUSA had it.... just got it. Also checked BestBuy on the way home...they said tomorrow. So CompUSA.... you win! Next time get it on time and you'll be champs! But now it's time to play!

Annoyed

Ok....it's now the day AFTER the official launch of "The Movies". Best Buy doesn't have it yet.... CompUSA says their shipment hasn't been unpacked yet.... and GameStop in the mall says I should have preordered, they've already used all their copies for PreOrders. Excuse me, but if you KNOW it's that popular (because you've already taken enough pre-orders to sell out), wouldn't you order more?!

Guess I'll check CompUSA tonight on the way home...

BUMMER!

"The Movies" was scheduled to be in stores today. I'm getting real tired of the software industry not taking "release dates" seriously. If movies and CDs can get out on time every Tuesday, why can't software titles!?

You can bet the XBOX 360 will be out at the stores on time...after all it's Microsoft...and it's the next big gaming system available....there will probably be a run on them!

It just doesn't pay to get it from local retail if they don't have it on time. Would be just as easy to get it from Amazon and have it shipped straight to my house! Oh well... maybe it will show up tomorrow...we'll see.

Lights....Camera....

It's almost time for "The Movies" from Activision to come out. Just one more week to go! :)

This...Is...Hollywood.

I've found a new addiction...and it hasn't even released yet. "The Movies" from Lionhead Studios (makers of Black & White) is set to be released on November 8th. After more than 2 years in development, this game is looking really cool. Combining character building and control a la "The Sims" with a tycoon style building/management game a la "Roller Coaster Tycoon" with a movie production engine a la "Windows Movie Maker", this game is looking really sweet.

Check it out at www.themoviesgame.com.

Close...

I was in the Arathi Basin Battlegrounds again tonight in World of Warcraft. Ran it 3 times straight...and we WON EACH TIME! WOOT! But we can't really say it was an all-out win. All three games were progressively closer together. The first time we won by about 200 points. The second game we won by only 60 points. The third game our lead was down to just 50 points apart! All very close and VERY EXCITING! Right up to the end either side could have won! Definately going back in tomorrow night! It's addicting! ;P

WoW Beatings

I don't think I've posted this anywhere on here yet, but I became addicted to the game World of Warcraft (WoW) a few months ago. After an on-again, off-again relationship, I've finally reached 60 with my main character, and have 7 alts at various stages.

But now I've discovered the Battlegrounds (BGs). Specifically, I've become hooked on Arathi Basin...a 15 vs 15 BG that involves capturing specific resource bases and holding them for as long as you can. As long as you hold the base, you gain resource points...working toward a goal of 2000 points. The first faction...Alliance or Horde...to reach 2000 resource points wins.

The problem is that invariably the Alliance loses. I'm not sure if we are just unbelievably disorganized or the Horde is really that good....but we always seem to lose. And I'm not talking a small loss....within a couple hundred points. I'm talking a lose that would make you ask why you ever entered the BG in the first place. 2000 points to 1200 points.... or losses where the Horde control all 5 bases at the end, incredibly accelerating their resource stock piles.

Bond goes Blond

Well, it's almost official. British Newspapers are beginning to report that Daniel Craig (below) has been selected as the sixth person to play the superspy, James Bond. He's the first blond to be assigned the role. Did anyone see his "nude" scene in Tomb Raider? Yum yum ;)

Perfection on Display

Perhaps the most beautiful desktop wallpaper in all the world? ;) ... or maybe I'm just biased.

400% Smart

I found this a fellow blogger's website, so I decided to run my own and see how I turn out. Check out my results below.

Your brain: 40% interpersonal, 160% visual, 40% verbal, and 160% mathematical!

Congratulations on being 400% smart! Actually, on my test, everyone is. The above score breaks down what kind of thinking you most enjoy doing. A score above 100% means you use that kind of thinking more than average, and a score below 100% means you use it less. It says nothing about how good you are at any one, just how interested you are in each, relatively. A substantial difference in scores between two people means, conclusively, that they are different kinds of thinkers. Matching Summary: Each of us has different tastes. Still, I offer the following advice, which I think is obvious: Don't date someone if your interpersonal percentages differ by more than 80%. Don't be friends with someone if your verbal percentages differ by more than 100%. Don't have sex with someone if their math percentage is over 200%.

Moving Up Moving Up

I've currently thinking about moving up the dates of my proposed relocation to the North Valley. My lease currently expires at the end of the year....precisely the end of the year actually....December 31, 2005. The original plan was I would go month-to-month for January and make the move at the end of January so as to not conflict with Christmas or the New Year's holidays. But now I'm thinking maybe I should move before hand...take possession of the new apartment in Mid-December...say around the 17th, so I could actually spend Christmas up at the new apartment. So I'll probably pay a visit to the leasing office up there this weekend to see what availability they have at this point and go from there. :)

Lunch After All

We had a rep from California in the office today, so our "home-office" worker had to be here to put up the good front of "one happy office". As a result, the boss decided we should do lunch that day. Chuck of course still sat it out, but the rest of us all went over to Black Angus for lunch.

Birthday Boy

Today is Chuck's birthday, but you'd never know it around the office. Normally, the boss takes us all out to lunch when it's someone's birthday. Usually with Chuck's and mine being so close, we combine the dates into one luncheon. Well Chuck has been in severe depression mode for the last 6 months, so he doesn't want to do a lunch. Someone else in the office doesn't even WORK in the office anymore...she always works from home...so she probably wouldn't come anyway. So today I just put a kaibosh on the whole thing and said to forget it. It wasn't worth the hassle of trying to get everyone on the same page.

Death of Lucky

Back to the grind stone at work, but there was a hint of sadness in the office today. Our pet goldfish, Lucky, finally succombed to old age. He was nearly 4 years old. He actually was the pet of Cole, our office manager's son. He bought him when he was a freshman in high school. He got the nickname lucky because he just wouldn't die. They would forget to feed him for days on end, the tank would never be cleaned, etc, etc, etc. Finally, he was brought in to the office where he got a new lease on life in a fresh tank with feedings twice-daily.

He took a turn for the worse about 3 months ago when he contracted flukes, but we managed to pull him through it after about a week of treatments and tender loving care. Since then he had been active in his tank and always the hungry fish. However, this morning we came in and he was motionless on the bottom of the tank, a pale white color.

Farwell, poor Lucky, may you rest in peace. :)

Kitty Duty Expiring...and....Smokin'

Well, it's almost to the end of my house-sitting period. I get "relieved of duty" on Thursday night. I'm not sure how the kitties will react to their owners returning. Percival has gotta quite attached to me and now usually sleeps in bed, under the covers with me. I never thought I'd be sleeping with a pussy so near. ;)

After yesterday's email volley's back and forth, we decided I really SHOULD bake one of the pies in the freezer. So I got up early to bake the pie so it would be freshly bake and steaming hot in the office in the morning. Unfortunately, I neglected to put a cookie sheet under the pie and it bubbled over and leaked in to the oven, cause a bit of smoke toward the end. Luckily the smoke detector didn't go off, but I now have some over cleaning to do when I get back to the house tonite. :)

Email Taunts and Apple Pie

Ok, first thing you must realize is the boss' wife makes THE BEST apple pies on the face of the planet. They are simply perfect. Light, flaky crust, spiced to perfection, and made from only the best apples.

Well we at the office have been basically BEGGING for apple pies for the last couple months now to no avail. (The response was we're waiting for the apples to get back in season.) Well, today at the office we just received an email from the "Dude" (Boss) that the Dudette (Boss' wife) was in the kitchen making one of her famous apple pies while they stayed up at his sister's place in Montana....part of their 30th anniversay trip. Well of course, that email just got the office all riled up which then promptly started an email volley back and forth...with everything from "You'll never see the kitties alive again" to "the brush fire in your front yard didn't do too much damage" being sent.

Somehow, I got dragged in to it melee after someone suggested that Percival was now on oxygen but the EMTs say he'll be fine as soon as his furr stops smoldering! Eventually, I revealed that I was in charge of 2 apple pies, left by the Dudette in the freezer at their house for over 4 months...FOUR MONTHS...that the office staff was never told existed! Well it was decided (after I revealed I had been allowed to bake one by the Dudette, under major protests from the Dude) that I would bake a pie in retaliation.

Oh the price of taunting us with FRESH HOMEMADE HOT APPLE PIE...

Hospitalization

My best friend in Kentucky has landed in the hospital. She's been experiencing some stomach pains for the last couple weeks. She hit the doctor who sent her to a specialist for a few tests. When she went in to get the results of the tests, he admitted her to the hospital because all the tests came back negative. She was getting more tests done today but I haven't heard anything yet. They've already eliminated Gal Bladder and Appendix though. But I'm getting worried about her because they don't have a clue what's wrong yet.

Pain thy name is Percival

Once of the kitties at the place I'm house sitting was less than accomodating last night. He desparately required attention...to the point of keeping me awake for most of the night. I think he's REALLY starting to miss his owners. I keep jumping up on the bed and rubbing up against me, meowing mournfully. Hopefully, he'll calm down cause he's got another 7 days of me before he sees them again.

Gay Movie Surge

A few posts back I mentioned a new movie coming out with a gay subtext called "Brokeback Mountain". Well here's one that totally bends the thriller genre... "Hellbent". All the main characters are gay...in fact the movie is set in West Hollywood, so that should give you some idea. Check it out here.

400

Who would have thought that I'd make it to 400 posts?! After all the delays, the laziness, the departures for years on end...this is my four-hundredth post to my site. Oh the sites gone through numerous changes since post one way back in 2001. But then so has the world... September 11th, the Iraq War, the Mars Rovers, Columbia, the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and on and on. So rather than look back....here's a look forward....

To the next 400...I hope I make it. ;)

WORMED...Part 2

Well i finally am having to format the system and re-install everything. Neither McAfee or Norton could remove it. They SAID they did, but after you reboot, the Antivirus program is disabled (by the worm deleting some of it's DLL) and then worm is reinstalled and running. If it wasn't so annoying & dangerous, watching all those "Scanning Email..." boxes appear in the lower right would be funny!

Oh well, it's almost done, and there is good news... I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

Just Kidding. :)

WORMED!

My office got attacked by a worm last Thursday, but we are just realizing it today. Can you imagine the damage it's been able to do in that time. It looks like this work just likes replicating itself. It sends 5 emails out every 30 seconds from an infected computer...attempting to infect another computer. What looks like happened here was someone's Norton failed (or was attacked by the worm) and after the failure, Norton was unable to detect any suspicious activity.

Due to the amount of traffic being sent via the worm, internet access ground to a halt on that PC. We tried uninstalling Norton and reinstalling, but since the worm was still there and taking up most of the internet bandwidth, we couldn't update Norton's Virus definations and therefore it couldn't detect the worm. By the time we had rebooted the computer just one time, the worm had already attacked the fresh installation of Norton and made it inoperable again. Lovely huh?

Can you say format and reinstall? I sooo do not have the time for this either. My workload is already piled high was things that are "top priority".

Wasted Weekend

Well this weekend was a total waste. All I did was play computer games, feed kitties, and clean litter boxes.

Brokeback

There's a new movie coming out December 9th that looks REALLY good. Check it out by clicking the link below.

http://www.brokebackmountain.com/

Mourning A Loss

It's easy to see which kitty isn't coping very well at the house I'm watching the next couple of weeks. He's gotten into the habit and either sitting next to the front door or in the front window just looking out waiting for his Dad to come home. Unfortunately, this is only day 2 of a 14 day vacation trip so he's got a long way to go. Tonite, he started meowing and eventually moaning while sitting next to the front door. :( At least we've kind of bonded. He lets me pick him up and give him "lap-time" now where he just sits on my lap and lets me pet him. But the other kitty is another matter. No matter how hard I try, she won't let me brush her (her favorite thing is to be brushed with a hairbrush). However, she's not moaning either so maybe in a few days she'll finally let me in. Who knows.

Searching for New Digs

I've started the search, somewhat prematurely, for a new apartment. My lease doesn't actually expire until the end of the year, and I'm not really sure I even am going to move yet. But I would like to investigate the idea of moving closer to work, so I don't have the 25 miles (one-way) trip to the office. I do carpool with Chuck, but still it takes nearly an hour to get home from the office, even using the carpool lane (which jams up just as bad as the rest of the freeway anyway). So this weekend I might venture out and look around the area where I'm house sitting for a new apartment. We'll see what happens.

Wake-Up Call

I got woken up this morning (2:30am) by one of the kitties as it meowed and moaned. I think it missed it's Daddy. I talked to my boss just now and he said it's usually the OTHER cat that wakes them up around 5:30am. I told him I hadn't seen either of them except for that one earlier morning visitation. I found them both on the window sill in the front living room...hoping and praying their Mom and Dad would be back soon. :)

Rotation

Well, I just got my truck back from Discount Tire. I wound up buying just 2 new tires, one to replace the blow out and one to replace the spare. Unfortunately they didn't have the matching tires in stock. So I wound up going with Goodyear's Silent Armor tires. The good news is they were slightly cheaper than the Eagle LS tires that I had on their previously. I also had the rotate the remaining tires...the bad part is they rotated the new tires in too. I wanted the brand new ones on the front wheels, but they put them on the back. Oh well....it's just incentive to go back and buy the matching set for the other 2. :)

Hitting the Rubber

Well tonight's drive home was expensive...and I'm not talking about gas prices. On the way home my front left tire decided it was tired of holding up the car and promptly deflated in a catastrophic way. It's my own fault really. I've been nursing that tire along for the last 3 or 4 months. It was get close to flat, I'd re-inflat it. It's would slowly flatten over a period of a month, I'd re-inflat it again....and again....and again. Well I guess finally it said "This guy just doesn't get it" and promptly went SPOOOSSSH...thump thump thump thump.

I did have a spare, but it is as bald as Kojak! So now it looks like i'll at least be buying 2 new tires for Justin, maybe 3, since the left rear is also showing signs of deflating. And since I'm buying 3, I might as well just go ahead and buy 4 brand new ones and make one of the remaining good ones the new spare...and hope that I pick a good one that won't deflat while being carried under the bed.

Hmm....deflation....if only gas prices (instead of tires) could do that...

A couple good bumper stickers...

Saw both these bumper stickers while driving down Camelback Rd today after getting lunch.

#1
Bush's Policy: Leave No Child A Dime

#2
Never have so few
Taken so much
From so many
For so long.

Amen, Brother.

Up Late

Well, it looks like I'm getting hooked on a brand new computer game...and it's not even out yet. I downloaded the demo for Age of Empires III tonite and have been playing it ever since. I noticed it on the File Planet website while I was downloading the new patch to World of Warcraft. I've been a fan of the Age Series since the first one released back in the mid 90s, although I STILL haven't place Age of Mythology yet.

Age III takes the game experience to a whole new level though with simply AMAZING graphics. The demo lets you play around with a couple skirmishes and lemme tell you when you get into the heavier artillary, like cannons and the like, devastation is unreal. Buildings physically break apart upon impact...and not always in the same way! These are 3D models not just good ol' sprites that the previous generation of games used.

I could go on an on and continue gushing about the game but it's WAY past my bedtime as it is. So here is a link to the new Age III website. Check out the screen shots. Scheduled release date is October 18th. Not in time for my birthday, but after playing the demo for 4 hours, I think it will be well worth the wait. :)

http://www.ageofempires3.com

"Fabulous"

Welcome to "Fabulous" Las Vegas... I couldn't agree more. :P
(Photo from my most recent trip to Vegas, August 2005)

Dragging On

Toady is just dragging. Where yesterday I felt I accomplished something, today I feel like nothing has gotten done...primarily because I REALLY don't want to be here to do it. LOL. Tomorrow, I'm suppose to take most of the afternoon and head to the boss' house where I'll be introduced to the kitties. I'll be house sitting for him over the next two weeks while he takes a trip with his wife to go visit family. Thank goodness I have a good laptop that I can take with me. He has high-speed internet at his house, but he's not a gamer. So I guess I better install my favorites on the laptop and get ready to be isolated from my computer...even if it is only 20 miles away...that's a LONG 20 miles in this traffic!

The New Game

Chuck and I have developed a new game for the drive in to work. We carpool, alternating weeks as to who is driving. So to pass the time we started counting cars on our way in. Not just any cars though... Kia Sorentos, Chuck's car. The current record is seeing 13 Sorentos in one day (counting the trip to and the trip from work). We've even implemented rules. For example, The car must be owned by an individual (not on a dealer's lot or carried by a semi). Think we're nutty, yet? Just wait.

We've somehow started counting the Toyota Prius' (cause of the gas mileage), Dodge Chargers (cause they look cool), and Chrysler 300 Hemi's (cause it's a HEMI!). LOL.

Snooze

I soooo did not want to get up this morning. I think I must have hit the snooze button like 3 times before I finally got up. But what a marvelous invention the snooze button is. You hear the alarm and get pissed that it's waking you up. So you hit the snooze button, so you can do it all over again 9 minutes later! What am I glutton for punishment or what?!

From the OMFG Files...

This is the X-Scream at the Stratophere Tower. Topping out at over 1100 feet in the air, the Strat's tower is the tallest free-standing structure west of the Mississippi River. But that wasn't enough for ol' Stupek. They decided to put RIDES on TOP of that thing, and the X-Scream is the latest addition to the entertianment offerings up top. Appearantly, people PAY to get strapped into a wide-open bobsled style car that rides on a single rail. When you first get in, it's pointing skyward. But after it starts, the rail drastically slants downward, sending the bobsled down and out over the edge of the tower before abruptly stopping at the very tip. Now you're 1100 up with just a lap bar and strap keeping you in place. Can you say, "NO WAY IN HELL ARE YOU GETTING ME ON THAT THING!" 

Gaining Experience

Well tonight was very productive on WoW. I thought Janell wasn't going to be able to play tonight, but it turns out I was wrong. She doesn't work tomorrow so she was able to stay up late working on quests with me. I managed to bump up almost a full level in XP tonite. Closing in on that elusive level 40 where I get my mount, and the ability to teleport parties to Ironforge or Stormwind. Cool huh? :P

Productivity Soaring

Wow...today has been an incredibly productive day. I've managed to get tons down here at work and still been able to post and surf a few websites for updates, etc. Tonight, I'll probably skip WoW, since I don't think I have any quests I can do on my own and Janell will be going to bed around the same time I arrive home. (She works early in the morning. That will teach her to be an EMT. :P )

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of.... ;)

This shot is from inside the Bellagio at their Conservatory. They rotate displays based on seasonal events. When I was there, it was still using the July 4th theme. And having that cute guy posing in front of it was just a coincidence.... yeah....that's it....a coincidence. ;) 

Hunter Talents

It looks like WoW is revising their hunter talent trees. I still haven't quite figured out what the differences are, but here is an interactive webpage that allows you to custom build a tree before you can do it in the game. Click here to try it out.

Headset Agony

Damn these phones. Normally they are ringing off the hook, but now that I got Chuck a headset....*crickets chirping*

Back At Work

Well, it's back to work for me. Wish the weekends were longer, but oh well. I think the next big weekend is the weekend of my birthday, due to Columbus Day. As far as my parents know, I work that day, but it's actually what we call a "Skeleton Crew". One person from each department needs to be in the office and that's it. Since there are 2 of them a year, we manage to each get one of them off. I choose the one with my birthday on it so I can do something for my birthday. I'm sure the parental units are going to want to see me that weekend, so I don't know if I'm gonna get the chance to go anywhere or not. We'll see.

Bellagio

Here's my first picture in the blog from my most recent trip to Vegas. My favorite hotel in Vegas is Bellagio, as most of my routine readers would know. So here it is in all it's glory. Notice the new "Spa Tower" on the left side, situated behind the original building. 

Here comes the weekend...

Yeah! The weekend is almost here! I LOVE short weeks. This weekend I don't really have any plans, so that means I'll probably play WoW until I'm blue in the face.

Chuck's headset arrived so he's now calling me every name in the book, otherwise as he puts it "he'd start balling". It's the first real smile he's had on his face for a while though so my work here is done. :)

Headset

I bought Chuck a phone headset today. He's been wanting one forever so I decided to get him one. IT's kinda of a "Birthday-Christmas-Thanks for getting me this job" present all wrapped up into one. I hope it arrives by Friday, but it might not get here until Monday, which wouldn't be all bad so that he starts fresh on a new week.

Homeward Bound

Well, I've hit the road. I'm in Kingman right now, since this is the last place I'll get digital signal on the phone prior to hitting the Phoenix Metro area. This trip was entirely too short, but on the bright side I did everything I wanted to do. I saw the Backstreet Boys in concert, saw the sights and sounds of the strip, watched a show at Bellagio, and took in the new Borg show at the Star Trek Experience.

I only wish I would have had someone to share all this with. Travelling alone is fun, but without anyone to share it with, all I've been able to do is gush to Janell. My parents knew I was coming but didn't realize that the Backstreet Boys were on the agenda. As far as they know, this is just a mini vacation.

Well, I'm running late (at least as far as my parents are concerned) hitting the road again. So I'll catch you all later from Phoenix.

The Morning After...

It's my last day in Vegas. The concert last night was great. I promised myself long ago that if the Backstreet Boys ever went on tour again, I would buy the best tickets I could get my hands on...and I think I succeeded. The concert was as loud as I remember the last one being, but it was worth it. At least this time I'm prepared for the ringing in my ears to continue until Monday or Tuesday morning.

There are a few things I want to take care of prior to leaving Vegas. One is I must catch some shows of the Fountains at Bellagio. I haven't seen them yet this trip and they are my favorite part of Vegas. Also, I'd like to get over to the Star Trek Experience to see the new Borg Invasion 4D show, but we'll see if time permits that.

I'm checking out of the hotel here in a couple hours. I don't know if I'll be able to make a post from the road or not with my laptop and cell phone, but I'll try.

A Rebirth...

It's fitting that since this blog started over 4 years ago after going to see a Backstreet Boys concert, that is should begin again after the very same thing tonight. I'm just arriving back at my hotel here in Vegas from the concert and yes, once again, my ears are STILL ringing. Just like last time, I managed to get seats right next to the main sound speakers...concordantly, I was less than 30 feet from the left side of the stage. Talk about nice view! ;)

Well I meant to catch a show of the Fountains at Bellagio tonight but they stop running at Midnight so I missed the last one by mere minutes. I'll have to check one out before I leave town tomorrow.