144

...that's my IQ... at least according to the FaceBook IQ test. ;)

Excuses that annoy me...

...because you'll never finish. There will always be "one more thing" you have to do. And it's starting to piss me off.

...after I get to 70.
...after I get my set pieces.
...after I get my PvP weapons.
...after I get my trinkets.
...after I get my dailies done.
...after I get my daily honor goal reached.
...after I get my honor capped.
...after I get enough marks.
...after I get Grand Marshall rank.
...after I get ...after I get ...after I get

Can I ask a stupid question?

Why oh why are these people posting "Who Cares" in the commits blogs of articles on Yahoo's OMG website? The whole site is about celebrity gossip... nothing majorly news-worthy. So why the H-E-double hockey sticks are these people posting "Who Cares?!" Obviously they must have cared or why in the world did they go to the site and click on the article to read it in the FIRST place?! Maybe they should stop clicking on the gossip articles in the first place if the stuff disgusts these people so much... SHEESH!

Gone Crazy

Ok look... I'm sorry you lost your son in the war and I agree that Bush has led this country down a path that has placed us in an untenable position internationally as well as here at home. But your latest project... having Congress impeach Bush by your deadline is not only improbable it's done right unrealistic. And to provide an "or else" of running to replace Pelosi... the Speaker of the House? PULEEZE! Time and time again the Democrats have said they do NOT intend to impeach Bush... however much he may deserve it. So all you're doing is just showing your fanatical side now. For goodness sake, just sit down and shut up like you said you were going to do.

On second thought, maybe we should elect her in... so she can see just how difficult it is for one freshman member of Congress to get anything of value done. She'd be ousted by the end of her term. Or she would resign...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070709/ap_on_el_ho/cindy_sheehan_pelosi

The Lost Abominations...

I'm going to use the version of the Bible I was brought up on for this little experiment... the "New International Version" or NIV. I've been thinking about religion a lot lately... and whether or not my parents would ever come to accept as being gay. Their religion tells them not to... but what else have they been disobeying from the Bible? What other detestable abominations is EVERYONE partaking in during this day and age? You might be surprised...

Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.
Leviticus 18:22 (NIV)
...the standard cop out the right wing uses to call homosexuality
wrong.

Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the
edges of your beard.
Leviticus 19:27 (NIV)
...and my parents thought I was just lazy for following this one and
not shaving my beard off.

But all creatures of in the seas or streams that do not have fins
and scales - whether among all the swarming things or among all the other living
creatures in the water - you are to detest. And since you are to detest them,
you must not eat their meat and you must detest their
carcasses.
Leviticus 11:10 and 11 (NIV)
...guess my Dad won't have eating his favorite shrimp dishes
anymore.

Keep my decrees. Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do
not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing woven of
two kinds of materials.
Leviticus 19:19 (NIV)
...Yikes! Lots of bad stuff here. My dad was a farmer in
his youth... and also had a huge garden in the backyard when I was growing
up. I never knew he sinned so much by planting corn, canteloupe,
cucumbers, watermelons, and tomatos all in the same field! And what about
all of the clothes my Mom has bought us made out of 50% polyester and 50%
cotton! FOR SHAME!

The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a split hoof;
it is unclean for you.
Leviticus 11:6 (NIV)
...FINALLY! One we've kept! We've never eaten rabbit or had
rabbits as pets... YAY for us! O.o

Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on
yourselves. I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:28 (NIV)
...W00T! We're following this one too. My mom's ear's
aren't pierced and none of us have tattoos! But I wonder how many members
of the congregation do. I've seen at least two people with them.

Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the
LORD.
Leviticus 19:30 (NIV)
Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you
must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your
God.
Leviticus 19:3 (NIV)
...Aw darn, and we were doing so GOOD too! Both my Mom and my Dad have worked every day of the week in their lifetimes. I have too... so when is this
Sabbath that we're suppose to observe by resting and not working?

Do not hold back the wages of a hired man
overnight.
Leviticus 19:13b (NIV)
...Wait! I'm suppose to be paid for the days work every day instead of
having it held until a payday set aside by the man who hired me?! I'm SOO
barging into my boss' office tomorrow and demanding he pay me because my
religion COMMANDS it!

If you're going to quote ONE ABOMINATION... QUOTE THEM ALL!
Common Sense 1:1

the vision's hazy...

I <3 Idina. ;)

So if you care to find me...
look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately,
Everyone deserves a chance to fly!
I'm defying gravity,
and you won't bring me down!

www.idinamenzel.com

OOH PUULEEEEZE!!!

When all else fail, play the race card, eh Isaiah? It couldn't be your OWN fault that you lost your job on "Grey's Anatomy". Like maybe when you used the now infamous gay slur... TWICE!? Nah... And I LOVE how you did everything the network wanted you to do... as if you really AREN'T sorry for what you did in the first place. So all those meetings and counseling sessions you went to were just to keep you job... not to actually figure out why you're so hostile toward the gay community, huh? Kinda saw that one coming a mile away...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070629/ap_en_ce/people_isaiah_washington

We've All Gone Insane...

...if this is what passes for promoting a more comfortable environment. A school in Virginia has implemented a strict... and I mean REALLY strict... 'no contact' rule. It's meant to ward off fights and the like.... which is a good thing. But the rule also bans handshakes, high-fives, and hugging... and any other form of physical contact! So the rule basically bans being polite when greeting someone, congratulating a classmate, and showing affection to your friends. They say the rule is meant to be broad and up to the individual school official seeing the offending action to enforce it at their discretion. But already a student has been repremanded and threatened with DETENTION for... wait for it... "HUGGING HIS GIRLFRIEND AT LUNCH!" I have never NEVER heard of such a thing!

Betcha prom this year is REALLY going to be fun at that school... with everyone just standing around, unable to dance touching each other for fear of getting detention! WTF!?

Any rule that broad makes enforcement impossible because one teacher will enforce it strictly because they don't want to be the one that didn't warn someone who gets into a fight... while other teachers will be incredibly leanient and then you have students crying foul because of unfair or unbalanced treatment!

In this age of digital communication, the breakdown of social interaction through lack of physical contact is at an all-time high. Do we REALLY want to be teaching our children that ANY form of physical interaction is wrong?! And do we REALLY need to be expending the school's limited resources in policing such a bizarre rule? How about focusing on education... or if you are that interested in what is BAD at the school... work on solving more important issues like drugs being used in the restrooms or other nefarious tasks that I personally have seen done during my high school days.

Read the article on MSNBC and see what you think...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19293872/

How to fight forest fires...

This brought a smile to my face on an otherwise crappy day... (swipped from pinkvinylangel ... blame him)

Out of Focus

I can't concentrate today. I shut my office door right after I came in this morning. I've already gotten an email from the office manager making sure I'm ok in here. I told her I shut my door to concentrate... but I can't get my mind to focus. I had a rough night and now I'm just unable to get my mind wrapped around the programming I'm suppose to be doing.

ARGH!

Why do I do these things to myself? I've been searching and searching for a few weeks now about information regarding the Treo Smartphones on the Sprint Network... only to discover today is the launch day of Sprint's version of the newer PPC phone. I've also uncovered a rumor that a new Treo... the 800... may be forthcoming toward the end of this year.... BUT it will run on what is called Windows Mobile Standard (what traditional smartphones run on because of a lack of touch screen) instead of Windows Mobile Professional (which is what Pocket PC's use WITH a touch screen). Does that mean the 800 is moving toward the Blackjack or the Q? I seriously hope not.

Now I'm concerned if I should just bit the bullet and splurge for the existing model Treo or the new 6800. Either way it's $300-500 I don't have... not good.... not good at all...

Jon's Scale of W00TASMIC-ness

Ok... this is how bored I am at work. LOL Here's my scale of rating the awesome-ness of something...

Level 1 - Kinky = Interesting but not earth shattering
Level 2 - Neato = Merits another look
Level 3 - Uber = Wow... you've got my attention
Level 4 - W00T = That's Cool!
Level 5 - Kinktasmic = Interesting AND earth shattering!
Level 6 - W00TASMIC = I must find more of this!
Level 7 - UB3R-W00TASMIC = Horribly Addicted!
Level 8 - UB3RL33T-W00TASMIC = Should be committed to an asylum for enjoying it this much.

Oscar

I was cleaning up my Pictures Directory on my computer and happened across this photo. This is Oscar... the office kitty we had for a day. One of my coworkers found him on their morning commute and rescued them from the busy street. We attempted to find his owner but no takers. So we found a good home for him with one of our business partners.

Isn't he cute? :)

Laundry

I hate suddenly realizing at 10:49pm on Sunday Night, that you have no clean clothes to wear to work tomorrow. It's off to the laundry room I go...

Jeffrey

I told Kylani I'd post a picture of Jeffrey so here he is... guarding my pillow. Jeffrey is a stuffed panther that protects me from all those evil girls that want to sleep with me. ;)

Happy Father's Day...

...to all the Dad's out there. I'm heading down now to meet up with the family for Dad's Day. We're just going out to dinner and then I'll be heading back home. I'm sure the conversation will inevitably turn to why I don't have a girlfriend...

I just love family gatherings.... :S

Musical Interlude

My friend, Kylani, has been asking me about what kinds of music I like and what songs are my favorites. Well, I'm working on building this into a larger section here on the site... but until then... here are a few of my favs in no particular order...

Linda Eder - If He Only Said Hello
Michael Buble - Feeling Good
Jesse McCartney - Beautiful Soul
Dashboard Confessional - Stolen
Ennio Morricone - Love Theme from "Cinema Paradiso"

Enjoy!

Getting There...

Well, I'm slowly getting the site to look the way I want it to look. Sometimes I hate Blogger's Templates and other times I love them. I just wish their help area was a bit more explicit about what tag does what and when. I know they can't please everyone and overall they've done a pretty good job building a free blogging utility ;)

Tequila (cuervo 750ml) - Take only as directed...

Hmm... where can I sign up?? :P

Powerpoint Mistakes...

Life After Death By PowerPoint - The funniest movie is here. Find it

PARIS HILTON GOES BACK TO JAIL! Exclusive Video

Funny music video... ;)

Personality Test

Advanced Big 30 Personality Test Results Sociability ||| 9% Aggressiveness ||||||||||||||| 48% Assertiveness ||| 5% Activity Level ||| 5% Excitement-Seeking |||||| 16% Enthusiasm ||||||||| 28% Extroversion |||||| 18% Trust |||||||||||| 40% Morality ||||||||||||||| 50% Altruism |||||||||||||||||| 60% Cooperation |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 89% Modesty ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 95% Sympathy ||||||||| 30% Accommodation |||||||||||||||||| 60% Confidence ||||||||||||||| 50% Neatness ||||||||| 28% Dutifulness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 85% Achievement |||||||||||| 32% Self-Discipline |||||||||||||||||| 58% Cautiousness ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 94% Orderliness |||||||||||||||||| 57% Anxiety |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 87% Volatility ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Depression ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Self-Consciousness ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 97% Impulsiveness |||||||||||||||||| 57% Vulnerability ||||||||||||||||||||| 63% Emotional Stability ||||||||| 28% Imagination ||||||||||||||| 42% Artistic Interests ||||||||||||||||||||| 68% Introspection |||||| 11% Adventurousness ||||||||||||||| 50% Intellect ||||||||| 29% Liberalism ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Openmindedness ||||||||||||||| 43%

Take Free Advanced Big 30 Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Trait	.	low score	high score
Sociability	9%	socially reserved, detached	friendly, open
Aggressiveness	48%	mild mannered, uncompetitive	predatory, domineering
Assertiveness	5%	introverted, loner	controlling, aggressive
Activity Level	5%	relaxed, laid back	vigorous, high energy
Excitement-Seeking	16%	sedate, restrained	adventurous, wild
Enthusiasm	28%	somber, pessimistic	cheerful, optimistic
Trust	40%	suspicious of others	trusting of others
Submissiveness	50%	rebellious, lawless	dutiful, obedient, compliant
Altruism	60%	selfish, cold, austere	helpful, selfless, indulgent
Cooperation	89%	argumentitive, confrontational	conflict averse, meek
Modesty	95%	arrogant, self-satisfied	humble, unassuming, doormat
Sympathy	30%	callous, heartless	empathetic, warm
Confidence	50%	not confident in work	confident in work, egoistic
Neatness	28%	disorganized, messy	planner, clean, anal
Dutifulness	85%	dishonest, derelict	honest, rule abiding, proper
Achievement	32%	lazy, unmotivated	driven, goal oriented
Self-Discipline	58%	procrastinator	responsible, efficient
Cautiousness	94%	spontaneous, daring, reckless	careful, controlled, safe
Anxiety	87%	relaxed, fearless	fearful, worrier
Volatility	66%	calm, cool	touchy, tempermental
Depression	62%	content, balanced	emotional, self hating
Self-Consciousness	97%	confident, assured	low self esteem, shy
Impulsiveness	57%	high self control	low self control
Vulnerability	63%	resilient, unphased	confused, helpless
Imagination	42%	practical, realistic	dreamer, unrealistic
Artistic Interests	68%	artistic indifference	art, nature, beauty lover
Introspection	11%	not self reflective	self searching
Adventurousness	50%	conventional, safe	spontaneous, bold
Intellect	29%	instinctive, non-analytical	intellectual, analytical
Liberalism	62%	conservative, traditional	progressive, open

Take Free Advanced Big 30 Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Star Wars: Robot Chicken Edition

Buddy

This is my best friend Janell's dog. Isn't he cute. :-)

Electrified Canon...

Was the previous one too acoustic for you? Check out this kid belt one out on his electric guitar. ;)

Loose Canon...

Pachabel is probably rollin' in his grave... or jivin' ;)

"My Life Is Mine"

Found this vid while I was searching for Melinda Doolittle songs on YouTube. It's an entry into the American Idol Songwriter's competition. I love it. ;)

Transition...

I'm in the middle of ONCE AGAIN redesigning the website. LOL So this is just a generic template provided by the guys at Blogger.... until I get the new layout done ;)

In the dash...

I think I'm going to create a new section to the site about my ecclectic tastes in music. I've started listening to some new stuff and I figured I might as well put something up here about it and maybe put some links into Amazon so I might make a buck. (Hey... a dollar is always a dollar.) :)

Happy Days

My best friend Janell's birthday was today. It was going to be pretty depressing for her cause shes been stuck in the hospital with a headache problem since Friday Night. So I decided to surprise her and took the day off of work. But after I surprised her, she received an even better surprise... she got released and was able to go back home so that was pretty awesome.

Another pretty awesome aspect of my trip down was I got to meet someone new. ;) We've been emailing back and forth for the last few days and today I got to meet him face to face. his name's Corey and I REALLY enjoyed his company today. We just kind of hung-out at the malls and then had dinner together. It was a nice peaceful afternoon and I really enjoyed just talking with him. He's probably going to be reading this (since I gave him my site address) so HI COREY! ;)

Well I think I'm going to hit the sack now. I've been up since 5am and have been long-distance driving for at least 4 hours of the day. Catch you all later.

A new one...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate....
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

Corey gave me this one. ;) -J

As Long As You're Mine...

God, I miss Queer as Folk. :(

No Good Deed

Too Funny...

Cancel or Allow?

The sad part? This is SOO true with Vista. You can put a CD in the drive and get a "Continue or Cancel" dialog asking if you want to allow the system to read the CD! HELLO?! I just stuck it in the drive, of COURSE I want you to be able to read it!!!

Same Sex Attraction Disorder?

Rejection, thy name is IMVU...

I'm discovered a free new 3D chatting software, IMVU, but so far it's not exactly doing much for me. The whole idea behind it is you chat in 3D... with an avatar that you can move around or perform movements like hugging someone. But it's also a bit like an instant messenger rather than a chat room. Normally a chat room could have anyone in it... and you could meet 5-10 people easily just by entering the room. With this software, you need to KNOW the people before you can invite them into a group chat. Until then... it's one on one interaction with random connections to people. Hardly thrilling... and down right depressing when you click "Chat Now" to be randomly connected to someone and 2 seconds later they are already disconnecting from the chat. :(

Seventy

Well, Ardexor finally hit level 70 in WoW. SOme might say that took forever, but I haven't really focused on playing WoW that much. I've once again hit that "burn-out" phase where I didn't have much interest in playing. Now that I've hit 70 though, I'm kinda getting back into a bit. Who knows, I might stick with this yet! LOL

I'm also thinking about going back to my Rogue. She's only in the mid 20s I think, so it will be a while before she makes it up there. But I think it might be fun to play her again for a bit. ;)

PS: Check out Ardy's stats here.

Too scared to go... Too tired to care...

I was reading this story online and I think it really summed up my life best. With all the relationship problems I've had, I think I've reached the point where I'm just too scared to try for another relationship. My gaydar being faulty doesn't help either. Whenever I meet someone, I automatically assume they are straight... it's easier that way. Only the REALLY flaming ones will trip the Gaydar Alert at all... and I'm totally not interested in anyone like that. But while reading this story a quote came up that "it's not easier, it's safer." I think that really hit home with me... It is safer.

I've let only 3 people 'inside' throughout my entire life. Only 1 has stayed with me... through everything... my best friend, Janell. None of the others are still around or in my life anymore. Either from me pushing them away... or them pushing me away. Janell has stayed... even when I've pushed. We lost touch for nearly a year after she moved to Kentucky... through my foolishness. But we reconnected and today she is the only person who really knows me.

Janell's been saying for a while now that we're going to go out to a bar sometime and everytime I just cringe. I've never been good with people, Lord knows. Janell will be the first to admit I basically shut up like a clam whenever anything remotely emotional happens. I don't know what to say or do. I turn into a listener... which some have said is an asset... I think of it as a weakness. I don't say the things I want to say for fear of driving someone away... or worse...coming off like an unfeeling asshole through my insensitive comments. So the thought of being thrust into the dating scene is just incredibly frightening to me.

To make matters worse, I do feel lonely sometimes. I do want someone just to hold. I want a relationship... a commitment... but I doubt I'll ever have one due to my own hang ups about them.

There's a guy I know up here in Phoenix that's been trying to get me to go out on a date with him. We've had a couple dates long ago but I basically stopped calling him and drove him away. We reconnected a few weeks ago and he's been trying ever since to get me to go out, but I keep putting him off. I'm too scared what might happen if I go. Tonight he asked again... and I told him I wasn't feeling too well. But in truth, my stomach only tied up in knots when he instant messaged me.

So instead I sit here writing this. Too scared to go out on a date... and too emotionally tired to care anymore...

Summing it up...

Let me see if I can sum this up...

We elected President George W Bush in 2000... without the majority. Late 2001, we were heinously attacked by terrorists. While Bush was in office... and perhaps might have been able to possibly prevent them, the attacks themselves most likely were beyond anything we could have foreseen enough to prevent them.

However... this one event has caused Bush to so overstep his bounds in the name of keeping America safe that it's mind boggling.

Shortly after the attack, we invaded Afghanistan... and so far, we're on the right track. We're going after the terrorists who attacked us. Good Job all around.

Then came the faulty intelligence.... Iraq has WMDs... aka Saddam has WMDs... or is trying to get them... and is activately working with Al Qaida. Um... no? Proven no? Before invading, intelligence sources said that he DIDN'T had WMDs and he WASN'T communicating with Al Qaida.

But we invade anyways... without completely securing Afghanistan. And before you say "we did", how about those last few remanents along the southern border? You know... where OSAMA BIN LADEN was allegedly in hiding. Remember him? The MASTER PLANNER? LEADER OF AL QAIDA? I think a good analogy is antibiotics. When you have an infection, the doctor perscribes antibiotics. And what does he tell you to do? FINISH THE WHOLE BOTTLE... even after symptoms have long sense subsided... you still need to finish the whole bottle to kill all the infection... so it can't grow back and become immune to the antibiotic... aka harder to get rid off.

Now name that infection Al Qaida. The body is Afghanistan... and the US Military... we're the antibiotic. The only problem is we didn't follow the doctor's orders... we stopped taking it after we felt better (the Taliban were no longer in power in the capital). And now... the infection? It's back... and getting worse.

Anyway... back to Iraq... we went in... with considerable ease, I might add (way to go US Soldiers!). But once we got in... did anyone remember to come up with a plan for that part? Now we basically have our own country... one that we basically invaded for no reason. Sure Saddam was a pretty bad guy, and we did do Iraq's people a favor by removing him... but if you haven't noticed... TONS of people don't like that part... and are still attacking us.

So now we're stuck in a country we can't get out of. (Can anyone say Vietnam?) If we stay, our Military Forces are stretched thin and would be unable to respond to a major incident where are interests really WERE at stake... like say North Korea and their nuclear weapons they DO have. If we leave, the country will decend into chaos and Al Qaida will QUICKLY take over. (See? Saddam was good for something at least.)

But will all the War debacle was going on... what else was happening here at home? Let's see...

• We pulled out the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, destablizing the world's nuclear powers all so we could build a sheild that doesn't work...
• We're using signing statements when signing bills into laws so that we can get around them law in future...
• We're torturing prisoners of war...because they're "Enemy Combatants" not POWs... even though they were captured in the War on Terror...
• We're agreeing with congressional leaders NOT to torture prisoners... while using a signing statement that allows us to continue torturing them...
• We're running secret CIA prisons throughout the world... because US Laws wouldn't apply there and we can get away with things we can't do here...
• We're outing a CIA Undercover Officer to get back at her husband for finding out that Iraq wasn't the threat the White House said it was...
• We've "Stayed the Course" for months and then said "We've never been Stay the Course"...
• We've been unable to respond to disaster relief here at home and we're the most powerful nation in the world, yet a major city can look like a third-world village for days, months, and YEARS after the initial disaster...
• We're tapping phone calls without a warrant in the name of security, even though a special court was set up to HANDLE warrants for said wire tapping exercises...
• We're editing factually accurate scientific reports because they don't mesh with the political agenda of the White House...
• We're firing US Attorneys with White House interference in what should be an internal Justice Department issue, allegedly because they were too soft on Democrats and too hard on Republicans...
• AND FINALLY over at the FBI we're illegally requesting phone records in the name of the Patriot Act...

Haven't we had enough yet? Mr. President... please just sit down somewhere and let someone who HAS a brain run the country? Please and Thank You?

It's over now... the Music of the Night!

Wow! Just wow! We're just getting back up to our room after seeing the 'Phantom'. And the critics are right... there's really no need to see the show ANYWHERE else! The Venetian built a custom-designed theater for $40-million to house the production, and you can see why. The amazing integration with the story is truly incredible to see. The new chandelier sequences are stunning, and will astound even those who have already see the production multiple times either on Tours or on Broadway.

When I first found out that they had cut the production down to just 95 minutes, from the nearly 3 hours of the broadway version, I was nervous. I was afraid the hatchet job they would do to the pivotal songs and scenes within the play would destroy the feel of the play. But I was wrong. The cuts are noticible if you're a PHanatic like me, but they do nothing to the underlying feeling that this is definately the Phantom... and is definately one of the best productions you will ever see.

After the show, we were suppose to go out on the strip to see the Fountains of Bellagio and the Sirens of TI, but once again the winds were not working with up. Sirens most definately wasn't going to be running but I still wanted to try for Bellagio (my favorite free attraction on the Strip). But the parents were both against it, since it was so windy. We just wound up coming back to our hotel and grabbing the tail end of the dinner buffet before coming up to the room.

I guess this town just isn't for them. They like to gamble but the nightlife isn't something they go for. Mom is too much of a morning person and is usually the first one up. So since they're not too keen on seeing anything else, we're leaving a day early... tomorrow morning at 6am. (Yeah, 6am... thanks, Mom).

So I'll probably plan a mini-trip for myself some weekend... when I can afford to come back up. Cause I definately want to see the Phantom again... maybe with someone I can share it with who won't be exhausted right after the performance. :(

Baseball... and Wind

Hello from the Stratosphere in Vegas!

I'm sort of online... and I really hope this posts. I'm on wireless which is supposedly offered here, but you have to pay for it. ($10 per day) But at $10 per day, I'm thinking I should be getting a bit better signal than just 2 bars out of 5. Why can't Cingular do hot spots? ;)

Anyway, we hit the UNLV baseball stadium today to see the Arizona Wildcats play the UNLV Rebels. The U of A had won the previous 2 games but they lost this afternoon's so it wasn't a complete sweep. It was fun sitting out watching the game, especially since I was playing with an electronic device for most of it. ;) I was keeping score on my Palm OS PDA using a program called ScorePad which is really cool. It tracks live stats throughout the game and can even sync the stats back to a desktop system to maintain season stats. It would probably be really cool for a little league or minor league team to use.

What wasn't fun was the wind. Gusting to over 40mph at times, it just got too much for us. Thank goodness the stadium faces northeast and the winds were pretty much at our backs. The stands behind us broke much of the wind but occasionally there was a pretty big gust.

After the game, we drove up and checked in here at the Stratosphere. This is probably my favorite hotel as far as location and affordability goes. Located way north on Las Vegas Blvd, it's situated far from the traffic jams that occur in the main drag of the strip, yet close enough to allow you to get down to the action quickly if you wanted. It's also fairly close to Fremont Street and the downtown action, so all-in-all a fairly good spot. And at just $40 a night, you can't go wrong. ;)

Anyway, we walked through Luxor and spent some time at the slots, but never won anything. Tomorrow we have tickets to see "Phantom" and that looks to be pretty cool.

Parents Arrive Today

My parents should be showing up in about another hour. They're driving up so we can all take a vacation to Vegas for a few days. We've got a lot planned including some college baseball... (mmm college bois)... and a trip to see 'Phantom: The Las Vegas Spectacular' at the Venetian. I'm getting excited to go, but it's gonna be hard to oogle the eye-candy with my parents (who I'm not out to) standing right next to me. :(

Leaving Phoenix

Here's the last post from home for a few days. We're all getting ready to head out in 'Brian' for Vegas. It will be the first time he's been on a such a long road trip, but I'm looking forward to it. It will be good to just get out and drive for a while. ;)

Well, it looks like my parents are ready to leave. I'm not sure if we'll have internet from Vegas. I still need to upgrade my phone to be able to do that, but hopefully soon I'll get to the phone store and buy a PDA phone :)

I'll post Wednesday at the lastest (when we roll back into town) :)

Good Quote...

"Do you ever read the Sunday comics? Well, when I was a little kid, I use to put my nose right up to them. And I was just amazed because it looked like this mass of dots, and none of it made sense until I pulled back. Life looks like that mass of dots to me sometimes. None of it makes any sense, but I like to think that, from God's perspective, life, everything - even this - make sense. It's not just dots. Instead we're all connected, and it's beautiful and funny and good. This close we can't expect it to make sense, not right now."

-Aaron, "Latter Days"

Lakisha Jones on American Idol

wow... :)

Eventide

Abide With Me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

I've loved this song's tune for a while. But it's lyrics are just as powerful to me these days.

Broken Vow

Tell me his name
I want to know
The way he looks
And where you go
I need to see his face
I need to understand
Why you and I came to an end

Tell me again
I want to hear
Who broke my faith
in all these years
Who lays with you at night
When I'm here all alone
Remembering when I was your own

I let you go
I let you fly
Why do I keep on asking why
I let you go
Now that I found
A way to keep somehow
More than a broken vow

Tell me the words
I never said
Show me the tears
you never shed
Give me the touch
That one you promised to be mine
Or has it vanished for all time

I let you go
I let you fly
Why do I keep on asking why
I let you go
Now that I found
A way to keep somehow
More than a broken vow

I close my eyes
And dream of you and I and then I realize
There's more to love than only bitterness and lies
I close my eyes

I'd give away my soul
To hold you once again
And never let this promise end

I let you go
I let you fly
Why do I keep on asking why
I let you go
Now that I found
A way to keep somehow
More than a broken vow.

In today's news...

"This may become the first time in the history of the United States Congress that it has voted to send a new commander into battle and then voted to oppose his plan that is necessary to succeed in that battle," the president said.

The Senate unanimously confirmed Lt. Gen David Petraeus last week to take over as the top U.S. commander in Iraq.

So wait...

Q: Whose plan is it to send the extra troops?
A: Bush's

Q: So whose plan are they voting to oppose?
A: Bush's

Q: So did Dubya just give himself a scapegoat for when the troop build up fails?
A: Yes, Petraeus because according to Bush, Congress just voted to oppose "his" plan... not the President's... but Petaeus'.

Yeah... right...

Thank God Bush can only screw over this country for another 703 days... (until the next boob gets into office...)

History Repeating Itself?

Challenged on the accuracy of U.S. intelligence, President Bush said Wednesday there is no doubt the Iranian government is providing armor-piercing weapons to kill American soldiers in
Iraq.

Wait... where have I heard that kind of statement before? Oh yeah... a long time ago then-Secretary of State Colin Powell presented similar assertions to the United Nations... citing all sorts of evidence from powerpoint slides to photos... that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. His presentation was compelling... and almost entirely wrong.

Now, unnamed Pentagon officials called a similar "put all the evidence out there" briefing showing reporters weapons confiscated from insurgents that supposedly point to the fact that Iran's government is supplying weapons to insurgents... and therefore killing American soldiers. The evidence they laid out, like Powell's presentation, was impressive at first glance: mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and armor-piercing explosive devices called explosively formed penetrators, bearing serial numbers that the officials claimed link them to the Iranian regime. Such weapons, the officials said, have killed more than 170 Americans in Iraq in the past three years.

But because the officials, who insisted on anonymity, could offer no direct evidence of Iranian regime involvement, their claims were met, properly, with widespread skepticism.

On Monday, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, admitted as much. All that could be proved from the seized evidence and arrests of some Iranians in Iraq, he acknowledged, was that "things made in Iran are being used in Iraq to kill coalition soldiers." Pace's assessment was in line with a decision by National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley earlier this month to cancel a planned briefing on Iran because the evidence was not yet solid enough.

Yet today Dubya is out there again... stating that intelligence has 'no-doubt' that Iran is behind this.

Does anyone NOT think this is obviously a pre-text for invading Iran and plunging us FURTHER into harms way?

You know you're lame when...

... you sit at home on valentines day and don't really care that the only person you'll be seeing tonight is your cable repair man.

At least he's cute...

The SuperVillian Quiz...

Your results:
You are Riddler

Riddle me that, riddle me this, who is obsessed with having a battle of wits??



Click here to take the "Which Super Villain am I?" quiz...

I wish...

...I could let someone into my room. But I fear there are too many locks on the door... I'm not even sure there is a door anymore... And So It Goes... (thanks, Billy Joel)

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I’ve held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It’s just as well for all I’ve seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you’re the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That’s if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you’re the only one who knows

Four Years...

Has it really been that long? It's coming up on 4 years since I had a boyfriend. Four years since I've seen anyone steady enough to consider it a relationship. Unfortunately, Valentine's Day has been destroyed for me. It used to be a fun holiday... romantic... but that is all in the past. Valentine's Day 2003 I was proposed to by the man I loved. By mid March, it was over. It fell apart so quickly afterwards. Maybe I should have seen it sooner. Maybe I'm too naive. The tricks he used... the methods... all to get back at his ex... using me.

I'm tired... so very tired... of being untrusting... of being unable to love again... of everything. And I really just don't give a fuck anymore.

ClimateGate?

swiped from Yahoo--

Federal scientists have been pressured by the White House to play down global warming, advocacy groups testified Tuesday at the Democrats' first investigative hearing since taking control of Congress.

The hearing focused on allegations that White House officials for years have micromanaged the government's climate programs and has closely controlled what scientists have been allowed to tell the public.

"It appears there may have been an orchestrated campaign to mislead the public about climate change," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Waxman is chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee and a critic of the Bush administration's environmental policies, including its views on climate.

Climate change also was a leading topic in the Senate, where presidential contenders for 2008 lined up at a hearing called by Sen. Barbara Boxer. They expounded — and at times tried to outdo each other — on why they believed Congress must act to reduce heat-trapping "greenhouse" gases.

"This is a problem whose time has come," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., proclaimed.

"This is an issue over the years whose time has come," echoed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said "for decades far too many have ignored the warning" about climate change. "Will we look back at today and say this was the moment we took a stand?"

At the House hearing, two private advocacy groups produced a survey of 279 government climate scientists showing that many of them say they have been subjected to political pressure aimed at downplaying the climate threat. Their complaints ranged from a challenge to using the phrase "global warming" to raising uncertainty on issues on which most scientists basically agree, to keeping scientists from talking to the media.

The survey and separate interviews with scientists "has brought to light numerous ways in which U.S. federal climate science has been filtered, suppressed and manipulated in the last five years," Francesca Grifo, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the committee.

Grifo's group, along with the Government Accountability Project, which helps whistle-blowers, produced the report.

Drew Shindell, a climate scientist with NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, said that climate scientists frequently have been dissuaded from talking to the media about their research, though NASA's restrictions have been eased.

Prior to the change, interview requests of climate scientists frequently were "routed through the White House" and then turned away or delayed, said Shindell. He described how a news release on his study forecasting a significant warming in Antarctica was "repeatedly delayed, altered and watered down" at the insistence of the White House.

Some Republican members of the committee questioned whether science and politics ever can be kept separate.

"I am no climate-change denier," said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, the top Republican on the committee, but he questioned whether "the issue of politicizing science has itself become politicized."

"The mere convergence of politics and science does not itself denote interference," said Davis.
Administration officials were not called to testify. In the past the White House has said it has only sought to inject balance into reports on climate change.

President Bush has acknowledged concerns about global warming, but he strongly opposes mandatory caps of greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that approach would be too costly.
Roger Pielke Jr., a political scientist at the University of Colorado who was invited by GOP lawmakers, said "the reality is that science and politics are intermixed."

Pielke maintained that "scientific cherry picking" can be found on both sides of the climate debate. He took a swipe at the background memorandum Waxman had distributed and maintained that it exaggerated the scientific consensus over the impact of climate change on hurricanes.

Waxman and Davis agreed the administration had not been forthcoming in providing documents to the committee that would shed additional light on allegations of political interference in climate science.

"We know that the White House possesses documents that contain evidence of an attempt by senior administration officials to mislead the public by injecting doubt into the science of global warming and minimize the potential danger," said Waxman, adding that he is "not trying to obtain state secrets."

At Boxer's Senate hearing, her predecessor as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., had his own view of the science.

There is "no convincing scientific evidence" that human activity is causing global warming, declared Inhofe, who once called global warming a hoax. "We all know the Weather Channel would like to have people afraid all the time."

"I'll put you down as skeptical," replied Boxer.

Please excuse me as a laugh hysterically.

Digging for Sewage

We're having soo much fun at the office these days. We were suppose to move the office at the beginning of the year, well a problem occurred during construction at our new offices. There's suppose to be a break room, with a small kitchen area, and a sink. And that's where the problems began. Because apparently that sink is a sink in name only... unless you considering all the money the landlords are "sinking" into it to make it a sink.

It seems the is no drain in the suite. A minor detail when it comes to sinks. So our question became "How in the world did the previous tenant have a sink when there is no drain?" Easy... massive building code violations. Apparently they had some kind of pump that actually took the drain water up to the ceiling level (yeah... sewer lines over your heads... sounds like a great idea to me). The lovely city is not allowing us to put a pump in, citing health and safety reasons... so now the great dig of 2007 commences. So instead of moving forward with finishing work like final coats of paint, moldings, carpeting, etc... we're sawing through concrete slabs, jackhammering it out, and digging underneath trying to find a sewer line that is suppose to be down there somewhere. But here's where it gets REALLY interesting.

It's not where it's suppose to be. The original architectural plans show one there... and the plumbing company the landlords contracted with to map the lines say there is one there... but so far, they've been unable to physically locate it. At this point, they could keep digging and I bet China would be more likely to be found than the sewer lines!

Gotta love construction delays...

To Be Continued

Another 2 parter for Studio 60. There's a poisonous snake below the stage, Harriet is incredibly mad at Matt and basically told him they'll be finished tonight, and Danny (who finally pulled his head out of his ass) is trapped on the roof with Jordan, while Tom is not helping out that much with the saving of Wilson White's job. The promos for next week kinda show Jordan and Danny might actually hook up after all... we'll see

Dinner?

Studio 60 is back for round 2 of the "Danny Stalks Jordan" fun fest. Hopefully Danny won't come off like the stalker he became last week.

To DC or not to DC? Et tu D-Link?

Well, my high-speed internet provider's technician was out today to try to determine why, after purchasing a new modem, I am still getting disconnected every 5 minutes. Well, as it turns out my apartment building was built back in the stone ages of technology. You know, the early 80's. As such, the cabling within the building is not exactly the perfect match for today's digital technologies. So after replacing every jack in the house, and redoing the junction between cable jacks in the attic... my signal strength improved, but I still disconnected... just not as frequently.

BUT... I think I've managed to narrow it down to the wireless router. When I run through the router, I disconnect that a long distance call that's run out of time. When I go direct from the PC to the modem... Internet Utopia is discovered. So now it looks like a brand new router is in my future.

TV at it's best...

I'm SOO falling in love with Brothers and Sisters on ABC. In the last two nights I've watched every single episode on the ABC website. (Yeah, I'm that hooked...)

Disconnection

I've been having internet connection problems here at the house for a while now. I keep disconnecting and reconnecting. At first we thought it was the modem, but after replacing it I'm still having issues. So the cable guys are coming out Thursday to check it out and we'll go from there. :(

I hope it gets fixed... cause this disconnecting every 5 minutes is murder on productivity!

"Give it a chance to work."

That's what Dubya wants us to do with his Iraq plan. I'm sorry, but you should NEVER give anything a "chance" when it comes to our Soldiers' lives... as if this was just a grand experiment on the part of their Commander in Chief.

Live from Studio 60...

When I heard Aaron Sorkin was doing another series that featured a backstage look at something... a la "West Wing"... I was excited. I remembered the great dialog and dynamic characters from the early season of the "West Wing" and thought "Studio 60" could be another great hit. And for a while, I thought he had done it... even with S60's ratings declining week after week. I thought his "Christmas Show" episode was classic Sorkin... right down to "Oh Holy Night" featured prominently in the episode.

Then "Monday" came... and now I'm not so sure. I'm not sure whether it was the long holiday hiatus... or the fact that the dialog seemed forced last night, but "Monday" just didn't seem to me to a good direction for the show to go. Danny is getting dangerously close to a harrassment suit with Jordan, Jordan is apologizing to a blonde bitch that I think had it coming in the first place, and Jack is trying to break off the Macau deal so Wilson White can stay CEO of NBS?

Let's hope the next episode can get things a bit more back on track...

Slow to the Party...

You know, I should really watch the shows I see promos for that I like the soundtrack to. (Boy that was a long sentence...) Remember back a few months I posted that I got hooked on the SuperChick song "We Love" from the promo to the ABC series "Brothers & Sisters"? Why, Oh Why, didn't I WATCH the show! LOL I'm seriously starting to get hooked. I caught a snippet of "Sexual Politics" last week and feel in love with the characters... and they've even got a gay brother in it! Who knew!? LOL

Burning Mad

Well as I posted the Burning Crusade launched... but what I didn't post was I was hacked back in December. I've been waiting patiently for Blizzard to investigate and restore my characters' items. Unfortunately, they've repeatedly denied my request for a restoration, stating they are "unable to verify my losses." Not sure WHY they can't verify my losses, especially since I caught the hacker in the act and promptly put in a GM ticket to Blizzard.

But anyways, they are refusing to restore my items... so now I'm not sure I want to continue playing WoW. What's the point when someone can totally destroy years of hard work and the community leaders do nothing about it?

The Crusade is Here!

The Burning Crusade released yesterday and Amazon.com was true to their word and shipped the product so that it would arrive on the official Street Date. I'm just getting it installed today however, since yesterday was a busy day for me.

Jump In...

I bought an XBOX 360 a couple weeks ago. Got the Premium version with the built-in hard drive and wireless controller, plus a bonus game of Need For Speed: Most Wanted. Has anyone else had problems getting their Most Wanted games to load/play properly? I've gone so many 360's and game CD's it's not funny. I finally gave up on it at the Best Buy store. The XBOX itself reads every other disc just fine, but the Most Wanted CD's appear to be a bad batch or bad burns or something.

Back 2 Bloggin'

I haven't posted here in forever... again... and I'm thinking I may never actually post on a regular basis here. But I think my "not-so-new" year's resolution (that I just came up with) should be to post at least 1 thought a day in here. So maybe a little catch-up posts should occupy my time today... maybe bring everything up to date and go with this blog's subtitle... and 'rant' a little. ;)