End of the Year

Life is like low proof alcohol:
Sometimes you drink it in because it is so sweet.
Sometimes you get sick because it has too many adulterates
And sometimes you get mad because you meant to buy high proof alcohol.

Things have been going pretty good. Deb and I have been enjoying our time of rest. We still have almost a week of vacation left. The holidays were great. It was a real treat having the whole family over for Christmas. It was pretty crazy having twelve people here though. My prime-rib turned out GREAT! A couple of things didn't turn out the way it was expected. We bought a lot of food for meals that didn't happen, and for people that did not stay as expected. Bad communication was had all around (or none at all in some cases). We will just have to work on that now won't we?

I have an interveiw on Jan 6th for the Fresno Unified School district as a web master. I am looking forward to it, as it should be a fun job. http://hr.fresno.k12.ca.us/jobdesc/classified/Webmaster.pdf

We will be having a nice time of friends joining us around new years. Can't wait to see everybody!

Crazy

I just found out our next door neighbors make twice as much money as me and Deb. That is insane! Fortunately they are 9 years older than me so I don't feel too pressured to keep up (-=

I Passed

Some how (obviously through grace) I managed to pass my Networking class. I had a 63 on the final (after the curve!) and thought that if we had less than 70 on it that we automattically failed. I guess I was wrong. My final percentage in the class was 70.89.

I am deffinitely going to work hard next semester.

That's Fresh Baby!

Ok, so I just have to say I am sick and tired of people selling things that are frozen and calling them fresh. I just ate a Marie Calendar's frozen meal complete with frozen fresh corn. On Thanksgiving I bought a frozen fresh turkey.

Ya.


In other related news... I have a job interview at 10am on Thursday so please pray. This is for senior network engineer at paramount citrus in Delano or Visalia. Either one would be awesome since they are close.

Thanks!

Yummy!

The last week has been good but hectic. I went down to LA on Wednesday with Josh, and read the first three narnia books on the way. We spent the night at the Yoshimoto's, and then got up in the morning to go to work. Deb dropped me off in Norwalk and I took the train in to work. Then I took the train back to Norwalk and Dan picked me up to go to their hooding ceremony (easier to spell than what I actually went to). I read the 4th narnia book there and then we went and stayed in a motel six. We got up and went to Biola in the morning. I had lunch with Melissa, and then we went to Graduation. It was a good graduation (I'll post pics soon). Once that was done we went to Dan's for a party, and left to come home around 10pm.

Today has been slow, but good. We went to Jack in the Box for breakfast. It was supprisingly good. I can definitely recommend their meaty breakfast burrito and their french toast sticks. We didn't get going till 12, so we appriciated that they server breakfast all day. Then we went to costco and got some stuff we needed for the holidays; like TP, napkins, cat litter, cat food, eggs, cheese, and booze (costco is a great place to by alcohol).

For Christmas lunch I am going to be cooking prime rib for everybody so I bought a little hunk (four pounds) to cook this weekend so that I could practice and make sure I was doing since our Christmas hunk will be about $150 of meat and I don't want to mess it up. I put the trial in this morning before we left for costco. We were there for a while and then I looked at my watch and panicked because we had been there to long and I was afraid that I burnt my roast! We hurried on home and it wasn't even done yet. It finished about 10 minutes later (-=
I cut a nice two inch piece out for myself and put the rest in the refrigerator till tomorrow (r pounds is enough for about 3 people). So I sat down and ate it, and it was pretty much the best Prime Rib I've ever had. I've had $50 pieces from places like Mortons, and this beat it out.
I can't wait to cook our Christmas piece.

More later I'm sure.

Review Time

So I haven't had a real post in a while, so I thought I would post something interesting. No one seems interested in my intellectual posts, and no one wants to talk about sex, so I guess I am going to have a review post.

Fast Food restaurant's:

McDonalds
Lately I've noticed that McDonalds is tasting better than it used to. I have a hunch that they realized they were coming close to biting the bullet and decided that they needed to bump it up a notch (so to speak). Try their premium grilled chicken sandwiches if you want something fairly healthy (for fast food). McDonalds fries will probably always be the best; as long as they don't change the recipe in order to appease some activist groups. Stay away from their hamburgers unless you have a taste for them. McDonalds also offers one of the better tasting breakfast options. Unfortunately they are also one of the least healthy.

Burger King
I had not eaten at BK for a while since they last changed their fry recipe. I used to love their fries, but whatever they did just made them taste like... not fries. However, I went there tonight, and I loved the fries that I was given. Either they changed their formula, or I've changed my taste buds. BK hamburgers are some of the best you can get. Whoppers have always been good. Their angus burgers and crispy chicken sandwiches are a little different and a bit more of an acquired taste. They use sauces that are a little on the hit or miss side. I have never liked BK breakfast food. There is just something "not right" about it.

Taco Bell
What happened to Taco Bell? They have not made a real change to their menu in Years. They are still a great classic for fake Mexican food though. There is not a single item on their menu that I won't order; although I usually stick with Bean Burritos and Crunchy Tacos. I wish they used better cheese and meat, but there is just something about the way they make their food that makes my taste buds jump for joy. They also happen to be the cheapest good meal you can find. I miss Taco Bell's breakfast menu. I'm not talking about the one that a couple of them still have; I mean their old one circa 1996. They had the best breakfast then! Their current options are only a pale shadow of what they used to be.

Del Taco
DT is trying hard to pick up where TB left off. They use real ingredients, and stick a little closer to their Mexican roots. Unfortunately most of their menu items are a little hit and miss. I do love their fries, as well as their bean and beef burritos, and their crunchy tacos. Fortunately for Del Taco (or at least for me), they have the best breakfast that can be found in a fast food place. Go and split a macho breakfast burrito with someone. Your taste buds will cheer!

Carl's Jr.
Sigh... Carls Carls Carls... Where are you going? What were you smoking with that whole Paris Hilton thing? You used to be good! Now you are just a poor beggar on the street trying to make America's men fat with your unoriginal $6 burgers. You used to have original ideas; now all you can do is double the meat. The Western Bacon Cheeseburger is still your best burger, and it has been out for 10 years now. Fortunately Carl's fries are among the best, as is their breakfast. Go get their loaded breakfast burrito. Hardees Carls Jr. done right. Some how even though they are the same chain they manage to blow Carls out of the water. There isn't really much to say besides that since they don't exist in CA.

Sonic
Sonic is a rather new entry in the CA fast food market. Unfortunately they fall short in most places. For some reason they do not do things quite as well as they do out east. Their burgers taste way to close to McDonalds, and their fries are pretty lack-luster. They do have several good wraps that compete with anything else out there. Sonic does have the best shakes you can buy though. Make sure to order it extra thick. They also have the best breakfast next to Del Taco.

In-and-Out
Good burgers and real fresh fries. An American classic. What else do you need to know? Personally I don't care for them much, but they are still tasty on occasion. No breakfast offerings.

KFC
I don't really know what to say about KFC. They have the best fried chicken you can buy. I love to get their wrap and fake fry combo. The absolute best thing they offer is their corn on the cob. What does that say about them?

Jack in the Box
I don't like Jack in the Box. They don't really do anything right. It is all almost there, but yet something is just missing. I do like their bacon chedder potato wedges, and they do serve breakfast all day, so I suppose they have something going for them. Most people like their Ciabattas and their paninis. Their fries make baby Jesus cry (I had to say it somewhere).

Stay tuned for the following:

Semi-fast food chains:
Panda Express
Daphnis
Baja Fresh
Rubios
Samurai Sam's

Sandwiches:
Togos
Subway
Quiznos
Panera Bread Co.

Major Sit-down chains:
Cheesecake Factory
Chili's
Applebees
Red Robin
Dennys
Carrows
Coco's
IHOP
Marie Calendar's
BJ's
Something Fresh (and other various names of the sort)
Claim Jumpers
Todai
Hometown Buffet
El Torito
Olive Garden
Red Lobster

Pizza:
Dominos
Pizza Hut
Shakeys
Me & Ed's
First Class
Amici's
You-bee's
Traders
Papa-Johns

Oops

For those that didn't figure it out, I posted the wrong link in the last post. Go to:
http://www.pbase.com/jokerz17/joshua_tree

Joshua Tree Part 2

I posted the rest of my pictures. Go to:
www.pbase.com/jokerz17

2 whole people have looked at them so far. I feel special.

Joshua Tree

http://www.pbase.com/jokerz17/joshua_tree

Check back again in a day or so; I'll have more.

Quick post

I've been crazy busy so I haven't really had a chance to write anything lately.
Here is a brief recap of the past week:

Had fun just being with Deb
Had fun with the Guthries
Had fun with the Winters
Had fun with the kirks
Had fun with the other Winters
Had fun with the Yoshimotos
Had fun with the Prices
Wrote 1000 lines of code for a student records application for school
Wrote a web server (not quite done with that one)
Watered the trees
Got rid of boxes
Donated stuff to a needy family in Mississippi
Ate a couple of times
Drove to LA and back
Worked 40 hours
Researched how to do all the programming I've been doing
Talked on the phone
Chatted with multiple friends when I should have been doing homework
Slept
Check e-mail a large amount of times (still empty)
Packed
Cleaned the kitchen
Dug holes in the backyard
Watered the holes in the backyard
Watered other plants in the yard besides the trees
Bought gas three times
Watched 4 movies
Took out the trash
Fed the cats
Petted the cats
Stepped on a cat
Played with a cat
Ignored a cat
Got blown off by Forward Advantage when I called
Applied for 9+ jobs


I'm tired of typing, so that is all I did this week. Good night.

Bus Routes

I just saw a bus go by on Goshen and remembered that I had been planing on looking up the bus routes and schedules. I did, and I found out that the nearest bus stop is a mile away (half mile if I jump my fence). So I guess I can get around town a little if I don't mind quite a bit of walking. The bus only runs once an hour though, so I don't know how much I would want to risk walking over just to have to sit and wait an hour if I miss it (since we all know that sometimes the busses come early).

It is foggy here. I like the fog.

I don't know what to write about

Melissa says I have to blog so I suppose I had better. We had a nice Thanksgiving break. Everybody came over to our place for dinner so I had a nice time playing host. I bought a 21 lb. Turkey on accident so that was fun. I meant to get 15 lbs. at the highest. The Turkey cooked well. It was fun to use our new oven.

I bought three liquid Amber trees and two Red Maples for our yard. They should be delivered any time now. I will take pictures of our yard once we get them planted.

Our house is mostly put away now. The downstairs is completely finished. It will probably take longer for the upstairs stuff since it is just misc. stuff.

I thought of something else to say a minute ago, but now I don't remember. I'll blog again soon so stay tuned!

Far Cry

Just kidding... I am not going to be playing Far Cry tonight. When I went to the page to buy it before it had a section for downloading the game instead of having it shipped. I can't find it now. So I will have to go to the store to get it (assuming Best Buy even still sells it). Thing is, I don't have a car right now. I am going to borrow my mom's later today, but I don't know if it will be in time. We will see.

What's with Today, Today?

Things have been going good for a change. I spent the week trying to work and unpacking. We have gotten the majority of the work done, with just a little bit of work left. We will finish the downstairs tomorrow in preparation for Thanksgiving.

I bought 14 shrubs (nandina, iris, daisy, and breath of heaven) to replace the ugly dead plants that came with our house. I have planted about half of them so far. It is fun, but hard to keep my attention on. Today we started tree shopping for a tree to go in the middle of our lawn. We are trying to decide on a red maple, or a white crape myrtle. We want something with little upkeep and that will not cast too much shade on our grass. After that we will have about 20-30 more trees to buy for our backyard. I found walk-on bark for $25 CY delivered, so that will be good since we will have about 15-20 CY of planters that will need that and dirt.

I wasn't able to work for Thursday or Friday because my nextdoor neighbor's internet stopped working for some reason. I ended up ordering the lowest tier of DSL service, since that is all they offer in this area (long story behind that, but I don't want to get into it), for $20 a month (I would have had to pay $250 to cancel the contract I was in, and I wanted to keep my e-mail addresses). Then, because that is not fast enough for my work, I also signed up for cable internet at $30 a month. Together these cost less than what I was paying before ($62) so I am happy.

That brings us to the fun story for tonight. I always knew I didn't like cable internet, but now I know it from experience. Here is a chronological order of things I dislike about cable as they happened to me:

1. They scheduled me for Friday morning
2. They never came
3. I called and found out they wrote down my number wrong (4527 instead of 4524)
4. They scheduled me for Saturday morning
5. They gave me a used modem
6. They spelled my name wrong (Seely)
7. I had to do an install off of a CD to start to get it to work
8. It did not recognize that I had a working network set up
9. It changed my network settings
10. It broke my connection to my server
11. The program existed when I entered in the wrong account number
12. It told me I had to get my account number off my first bill
13. The program required that I use a proxie
14. The program completely broke the next time I ran it
15. The first level tech I spoke to couldn't help me
16. The first sales person I was transfered to couldn't help me
17. The second sales person I was transfered to couldn't help me
18. The second first level tech I was transfered to couldn't help me and told me to hang up because at this point the routing was messed up and he was in SoCal

Good Things:
19. The third first level tech I spoke to knew exactly what he was doing and had me up and running in a couple of minutes. What ever he did completely negated items 7-14, and the connection works just the way it should, with no special set up required.

I'm still annoyed about the other stuff, but not so much since I have working internet that is fast (4mb/386k, soon to be 6mb/768k, soon to be upgraded thereafter to 8mb/1mb as money allows). So now I can do my work just the way I need too, not to mention play my much missed Halo 2 online. Monday night I will try to play FarCry with Sam.

Things are slowly becoming normal again.

So Sad...

I just found out that Charles Sheffield, who happens to be my favorite author, died three years ago.

I was wondering why he hadn't released any new books recently......

Fun with Grass

Not what you thought I meant...

I mowed for the first time in like 8 years or so. It was kinda fun. A good work out for sure (and we only have a little bit of grass so far). The problem is... I forgot that I am alergic to cut grass. Or rather my body forgot that it had built up a tolerance to it. I barely made it through sweeping up the clippings I felt so bad. I have been laying around waiting for an anti-histamine to kick in for the past hour, and I am finally starting to feel better. I am going to have to add a mouth and nose mask to my list of things to buy, as well as some gloves.

Things are going pretty good. There have not been any other huge things that have happened for the past couple days, so that has been nice. I miss Deb.
The electrical socket in our tech center doesn't work, so I haven't been able to set up my computer yet. I really want to get it going so that I can listen to music while I am unpacking. I will probably hook it up some where else while I am waiting. It is a lot to hook up just to move it again in a couple of days though.

I met one of our neighbors yesterday. He is pretty cool. I think he is just a little older than me, and he is in the same situation I am in with his wife working down in Santa Clarita a few days out of the week. So we will be getting together to play games a bunch I hope. I will have to introduce him to Far Cry once I have time to buy it for my self so that he can join when I play with Sam.
My neighbor is the reason that I am being able to connect to the internet. He gave me permission to use his wireless access. So I am going to be able to get my homework done this weekend, and start work on Monday; since I STILL don't have a phone line.

I tried hooking up my xbox through my laptop so I could use the internet access that way to play Halo online last night. It worked, but not quite good enough to be able to play with Josh, so I will probably just still be Halo-less for a couple more days )=

No Way!!

http://media.putfile.com/Tonk

This is so funny. It made me happy.

Oh Ya...

Have I mentioned how annoyed I am that I made my pictures 4 pixels too wide and it messed up my template?


grr...

9:20am

Well, I managed to squeeze in an extra 2 hours of sleep some how, so now I feel worse than I did a while ago. At least I won't be too tired later in the day.

We are leaving shortly to go pick up a couple of essentials before getting the keys to the house at 11. We convieniently ran out of a bunch of sundry items right before we moved. Deb is leaving for LA tonight with the car, so we need to go buy them before she leaves.

I don't know how much I will be posting in the next couple of days since we don't have internet access yet at the new place. However we just discovered a coffee place called Maverick's that has free internet access. They also sell Jamaican Blue Mountain by the cup. That makes it a pretty win-win situation as far as I am concerned. Of course, it is on the opposite side of town and I will have no car. I'll probably just end up paying for access at the Starbucks on the corner (that's right, even Visalia has Starbucks on every corner).

So ta ta and take care. Call me if you need me.

5:16am

Yup... you heard me, 5:16 in the morning. I have now been up for over an hour. A combination of excitement and drinking too much coffee last night gave me a pretty lame night of sleep. I used to be able to drink coffee in the late afternoon and still sleep with no problem, but since I have been cutting back I can't any more. I always order a large out of habit and sense of getting the most for my money. It doesn't hurt so much in the morning.
The annoying thing is that I feel very tired. I just can't fall back to sleep.

Boting

Thank you all so much that have been praying for us. Things have been bad this week; one of the worst of our lives, but we are still alive. We have not been tossed out on the street, we had tasty food, we went to the library twice, and have watch good movies. No matter what happens God is there with us!

On a funny note (I thought it was funny anyway), Deb and I could not legally vote today. We do not have a current address in the United States. Technically there are a ton of ways that we could have gotten around it, but we have been way to stressed about life to care about a couple of largely pointless initiatives (I do care about a couple though).

We move in at 11am tomorrow. There is pratically nothing that can go wrong at this point.

Hurray!

Free XBOX 360

I'm not usually one to post about these things, but this is one of the better referal deals that I have come across. You just have to complete one offer, and get 8 people to complete one offer and you get the free premium package Xbox 360. Click on the link below for more info. I will give you $5 for a confirmed completed offer, only one per person. (it shows up on my account)

The deal I signed up for was Columbia House. They have a deal where you can get 6 DVD's for less than $18 with no shipping charges. pretty sweet. Most of the other offers were for credit cards.

http://xbox360s.freepay.com/?r=24783301

"Small" Town Headlines

In the local section of the Visalia Timesw Delta today:

main headline -
Crews patch rail crossing (note the singular)

Man robs 3 places in 24 hours (including a mini-mart)
"It's weird, he wanted the money, he didn't want the beer".

and last but certainly not least...

Puppy rescued by Fire Department

Officially Gone Crazy

"All work and no play make homer something something"
"Go Crazy?"
"Don't mind if I do!"


Ya. Our lender screwed up AGAIN. We are not closing till Wednesday now. I should have called earlier today to make sure they were working on stuff, but no, I assumed they were competent. I just called (it is 5pm) and they are only just now going over the documentation. There are at least two more forms we have to sign THAT THEY NEVER GAVE US!

GRRRR!!!

So ya. Hurray for our life.

Backyard Stuff

Today is Monday... only twenty-four hours to go. I can't wait. Everything better work out correctly or I am going to go crazy. Not that crazy is a bad thing...

Here is our list for the back yard so far. We are still looking for other suggestions. Please throw in all your serious and crazy ideas!

rock garden
spa
fruit orchard (Oranges, Lemons, Nectarine, Peach, Guava, Apples)
Shade Trees (Ash, Maple, Liquid Amber, Eucalyptus, Red Oak, Chinese pistache, Magnolia and sycamore)
patio
built in BBQ
Firepit
Normal Grass (maybe noMow)
Garden
Planter Garden
Bamboo
Trelace above the fence with grape and blackberries (for privacy)
We will probably use flint slate with dark brick boarders for the paths.
The planters, firepit, and walls will probably have flint slate toppers.

We are going to go to Home Depot and Orchard Supply today to get ideas for other stuff and to see what else we need to buy in the way of tools. Our essentials list is:

Lawn Mower
Shovel(s)
Rakes(s)
Broom
Hose
Wheel Barrow
Bucket(s) (maybe something big enough to dye couch cusions in)
Blinds (probably plantation shutters)

Non-essential:
Edger
Leaf Blower (don't need that till we have leaves)
Closet Organizational stuff (clear drawers)
Baker's Rack
Pot Rack
Rugs
Fake Owl to scare birds
Patio and lawn furniture
Ceiling Fans (all our rooms are pre-wired)

More House Pictures.

100th post

We got all of our papers signed today. It only took two trips. We finished everything the first time, and then they called us two hours later to let us know that they forgot two pages.

We went to do our second final walk through at 11. Nobody had told the workers that we weren't closing till tuesday, so when we showed up they panicked. The house was not done yet. The guy was totally embaressed, and let us know he will be working all day tomorrow to make sure that the house is done.

Not much else going on. We have been watching TV and browsing the web. I'll probably end up doing home work tomorrow. It will be hard though with all my "books" being packed in storage.

Stupindipity

I made a word up haha. Or at least I would have if someone else hadn't of done it first. der.

This has been an interesting week filled with fun, excitement, and incompetence.

Tuesday we went to Visalia to do our final walk through on the house. In general the house looks awesome! There were a ton of little things wrong though; like paint blemishes, dings in the floor, dirt, incorrectly hung doors, crooked tile, dirty tile, and a little bad wiring. The one major thing was that they mis-measured the computer desk and messed up a wall because of it. Everything should be fixed now though. We will be doing our second final walk through tomorrow to verify. Overall this part has not been too bad, but it seems pretty unprofessional for them to have not fixed these things without our pointing them out.

Wednesday we moved out of our appartment. This went very well, if a little long. The movers showed up at 10am as advertised, and had us completely out of there by 6pm. They took a lot longer than I had expected, since it only took about 3 hours to get us out of our place in long beach, but I guess it is justified since we didn't own any of our current furniture at that point. They spent a very large amount of time wrapping things up. I was very confident that they were taking good care of our stuff. They even moved our piano correctly (unlike our previous movers). If anyone ever plans on paying someone to move them, go to www.moveus.com for all-american movers. It is worth it. We are paying about $800 more than we had planned due to a mis-understanding on my part, but it is still fairly reasonable for what they are having to do.... plus we get free storage (which will play a role later).
After the move we went to Ihop for dinner. Don't get their dinner food, it is not any good. Their breakfast stuff is way better. Once we finished eating we went over to the Yoshimoto's (Thanks!!!!) to spend the night. We had a fun time, but were boring guests because of how wiped out we were.

Thursday we woke up early and started calling loan people because we needed to schedule our loan signing in Visalia. We had breakfast, and then took off to Visalia for our three o'clock appointment. We arrived at 3:01. I like timing these things close. We sat down to sign our loan docs and realized that the loan people had put the wrong name down for Deb - Deb Feely instead of Deb Price. Deb's license still says Price, so the documents have to say Price as well. The loan people updated them, and resent them out, so we sat down to sign again and found a place they had missed. They are also trying to get me to pay for a collection debt that I paid 2.5 years ago. So we have to reschedule for Friday. Also, our closing costs are $2000 more than was estimated, so that hurts.

Now... on to the fun part. Let me explain it with a time line:

Monday - uncertain if the house and loan docs will be done on time for Friday closing and moving into the house. Please note that Friday is two days after we have moved out of our apartment. This is where the free storage comes to play. The extra $800 that we have to pay the movers is for the unpacking and packing of our stuff at the storage area, plus the extra drive time. Ennis Homes missed our original close date of Oct. 31st, but didn't find out till after we had given 30 days notice on our apartment so we still had to move out on the 2nd.

Tuesday - Fairly certain that the house will be done on time, assured that the loan docs have been ordered. I am happy at this point; everything seems to be going well.
1. Once the loan docs have been ordered,
2. we have to sign them, get them to escrow,
3. then get them back to the loan company,
4. then the loan company gives escrow the money from our loan. Steps 1 and 2 should take one day, step 3 takes another day, and step 4 takes another day. So if the docs had of been ordered on Tuesday then we would sign them on Wednesday, the loan company would have funded on Thursday, and we could have closed on Friday.

Wednesday - Informed that the loan docs are being ordered today, expect a call to schedule signing. Technically we could have still done all the above steps on time if we were in Visalia very early to sign.

Thursday - loan docs get ordered. At this point close of escrow gets moved back to Monday since there is no way that the loan company can fund in time for Friday.
We go to sign, find out that the loan company has messed up and that we cannot sign till Friday. Close of escrow is now moved back till Tuesday. ALSO, we are informed that the City final inspection of the house, which is required before we have an official address and can sign up for utilities and which should have been completed last week, has been completed. This is a huge inconveinience that is mitigated by the fact that our move in date got moved back. We need our gas line to live pretty much. Now our gas line should be installed Monday or Tuesday if we are lucky.

Friday - we will go to check and see if they have fixed everything that was wrong with the house, and try to sign our loan docs.

Saturday - Tuesday.... who knows.....

Stupindipity.

Fortunately I have wonderful parents who are letting us stay here as long as we need. We might go up to the cabin for a day or two if we decide we need to get away from the world (sure would be nice) for a bit. I need to hit Keiko up for a massage. I am feeling exhausted and emotionally dead. I have been working hard to shield Deb from most of this so she doesn't have to deal with it, but there is no way to avoid her having to deal with not getting to move into our house for an extra 4 days.

That is pretty much everything. We already miss everybody. Our cats are doing fine. Ouzo tastes best over ice.

What's My Age Again?

I realize that many of you don't know how old I am, so figuring out my phone number might be a bit hard. It is the same as the current year with no zeros in it.

Still No Phone Call

I am really starting to doubt that Forward Advantage is going to hire me. It is probably best that I feel this way, so I won't be as disapointed if they don't. I am going to call them shortly just to verify that they received my application.

I talked to my manager about the offer, and while they are not going to budge on the salary part (seriously... a promotion with no raise???) they are going to let me work from home "full time" (with "full time" being equal to "I cannot promise anything, but I promise I will try". Just like they promised they would try to get me a raise). So I will take my two weeks off to move, and assuming that I don't get hired by FA in that amount of time I will come back down here to arrange my tasks so that I can work from home. The F35 lead is more than likely leaving the program, so I will probably take over half of his tasks. Working from home will mean only doing the boring parts of my job, but hey, my salary doesn't looks so bad if I am working from home.

We will start packing tomorrow. I already paid $116 on packing supplies, and we probably only have half the boxes we will need. We seriously have a lot of stuff. Current plan is to spend three days packing, do the final inspection of the house on Tuesday, move out of the apartment Wednesday, spend the night in Montebello with the yoshimotos, drive up to Visalia on Thursday, spend the night at my parents, and move into our new place on Friday. We have to figure out what to do with the cats those last two nights. AND this is all assuming that the loan is ready in time, and that the house is not delayed. The loan people told me on Monday that they needed additional paper work before the could approve the loan. Why couldn't they have told me this sooner? I could have given it to them a month ago. grrrr.

We have been too busy and too stressed to really think about it much, but it is starting to kick in a little how much we are going to miss people down here. We won't be that far away, but it is still a different dynamic. Not getting to be with the people that we love will be hard. We will be making many trips down here to see people. We already have at least four planned before the end of the year. Fortunately we are moving to a place where there are other people that we love, so that will be nice.
I was going to make a list of people that I will miss down here so that you can feel special, but I know I will forget someone and then you will feel bad so I am just not going to do it. Instead you can just assume that if you are not on the list below that I will miss you dearly and will hope to see you as much as possible when we visit.

People I will NOT miss:
Phil Frank


I'm going to do something stupid here:
28148272620 (divide by the square root of my age to get our phone number)

76233 Julieann Ct. (subtract the square root of our phone number rounded to the nearest ones place for the real address)
ailasiV, CA 93291 (city is backwards)

jokerz17 TA dslextreme TOD com.

A Short Guide to Iraq

http://digitallibrary.smu.edu/cul/gir/ww2/pdf/w0025.pdf

Duh of the Day.

Don't Try to Surf a Tsunami
# Malibu is distributing brochures advising its residents to head for the hills and away from the beach to avoid giant waves after temblors.

By Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writer

The city of Malibu has a message for its residents: When a big quake hits, don't wax up the surfboard and head to the beach.

City Hall is beginning to distribute tsunami-warning brochures across Malibu that are tailor-made for the surfing paradise.

ADVERTISEMENT
"Never go to the beach to watch for, or to surf, a tsunami wave!" the guide states in bold letters.

" … Because they are not like regular waves, they are impossible to surf. They are much faster, higher and can come on-shore filled with debris."

Officials advise people to watch for other signs of a possible tsunami, including the receding of ocean waters, "creating a vast expanse of exposed beach."

Malibu emergency preparedness Director Brad Davis said some of the tips may seem painfully obvious, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

"You can't overestimate the intelligence of people out there," Davis said. "Some people still might see it as a gigantic wave and think, 'This is going to be the ride of my life.' "

Along Pacific Coast Highway, some Malibu residents were left rolling their eyes at the warning.

"I'm speechless," said Candace Brown, a surfer and co-owner of Zuma Jay's, a landmark surf shop in Malibu. "I think the last thing people will think about if they feel an earthquake is surfing…. It sounds really lame to me."

But others believe that in the wake of the Indian Ocean tsunami last December, the city is being prudent in getting the message out.

Jeff Kramer, a surfer, lawyer and former Malibu mayor, said he thought warning people to clear beach areas in case of a big quake seemed like a good idea. But he said that despite their reputation for taking risks, surfers might be the last people to try to tangle with a tsunami.

"I think surfers, more than most people, understand the power of the ocean," he said. "I don't think they're going to go out there and try to surf a tsunami. That strikes me as somewhat silly advice."

But Malibu officials may have some history on their side.

In 1994, a tsunami warning in Hawaii drew more than 400 surfers to the North Shore of Oahu.

"Fortunately, that turned out to not be a huge, deadly, destructive tsunami. If it had been, there would have been over 400 deaths," an oceanography professor told a local paper at the time.

Last year the state distributed a DVD to 100 surf shops in Hawaii explaining the dangers of trying to ride a tsunami. Besides the risk of death, there are other reasons not to surf a tsunami. For one, according to a surfing website, "a tsunami does not curl."

In the Gulf Coast, people have headed to the beach to witness hurricanes making landfall, Davis said. And after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the Northern California coast in June, there were reports that some people had gone to the beach.

"With a lot of natural occurrences, sometimes people get curious, and we want to discourage people from heading toward a disaster," said Jeff Terry, chairman of the Los Angeles County Operational Area Tsunami Planning Task Force.

Earthquakes below the ocean can cause an elevation in the sea floor that raises ocean waters and could send a wall of water moving toward land at great speed. The December tsunami occurred after an 8.7 magnitude quake below the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia, killing more than 200,000 people in 12 countries.

The Malibu brochure urges residents to immediately head to higher ground in the event of a big quake. People should follow evacuation notices and pay attention to radio and TV for information on when it is safe to return.

The state is completing a mapping of coastal areas in order to help coordinate different cities' response to potential tsunamis, Terry said.

Davis said Malibu has wanted to put out a detailed brochure for years, but was awaiting the mapping of the city.

"The map is still not complete for this area, so rather than wait any longer, we decided to go with some basic information for the public," Davis said.

Signs along roads at elevations of 90 feet or more would direct people to tsunami "safe areas," according to the brochure. Places such as Bluffs Park, Point Dume or along canyon roads are places to evacuate to, Davis said.

But would anyone really think of surfing a tsunami?

You just never know, Davis said.

"You need to make all the statements you can, even the ones you think are pretty obvious to people," he said. "Because what seems obvious is not always obvious to everyone."

In The Mean Time...

I have not accepted my offer from Northrop yet. Technically that means that I don't have a job starting tomorrow. In actuality I am not sure what is going to happen. I am currently "negotiating" with the HR recruiter and my boss to see what is going to happen. I am mostly just trying to figure out if they are going to let me work from home. The salary isn't quite as bad if I get to work from home. If I do get laid off then Deb will be stuck at Boeing till I find another job. This will stink for her of course, but at least we will still be able to survive. It would be good if she stays there till she graduates anyway just so that we don't have to pay back Boeing for her schooling. If I get laid off (or if I stay with Northrop) then I don't have to pay back $4000 for my schooling. We have enough in savings to get by for two months, so what ever happens we should be OK. We will just trust that God will take care of us.

Forward Advantage called me Tuesday night and said that they were mailing me an application to fill out to aid them in their selection process. When I got home I found out that they had e-mailed it to me. I filled it out and e-mailed it back to them the same day, and snail mailed it the next day. A couple of people think that this means that they are going to hire me, but needed to jump through some HR hoops before they can say they hired me. I agree that is a likely scenario, but I am assuming that there are still a couple of people left, and that they needed the application to narrow down the search. The only thing is that it doesn't make sense; the application doesn't ask for anything other than my salary history that wasn't already in my resume. So we will just keeping on waiting. I hope to hear from them today or tomorrow. On a side note, I hate it when employeers ask for a salary history. I don't want my salary to be judged by previous jobs who underpaid me.

We move out of our appartment in 5 days. We have started packing, and Deb has already packed 2 more boxes than she did last year, so I think we are off to a good start. I will be spending the whole weekend and Monday packing, so I am sure we will finish easily.

More later.

Wow.... Just, Wow...

http://www.daytondailynews.com/forum/mboard/SpeakUp!/controlDb?PageId=TlToVt&topicID=76402&boardId=165

The Thick Plottens

I just recieved my updated offer from Northrop Grumman for the transition we are going through. Remember how I had to interview for the job I already hold? I had been looking forward to this offer as an indication as to whether I would be leaving Northrop no matter what. I've been needing a very large pay raise for some time now, and I was told I would very likely get a mid year increase. Once mid-year came around I was told wait and see if you get something out of your offer. Now the offer has come, and I got NOTHING! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! YOU SO STUPID!!!! (UHF reference) I did get a promotion out of it, but who cares about a promotion with no pay raise? So bye bye Northrop, I knew ye well. As soon as I get an offer (any offer) from another company I am gone. I am going to go find some small business where they care about their employees and don't lie to you.

Shut Up and Smile!

It's not the end of the world
In fact its not even the end of the summer
But thank god the tv is on
Cuz there's no way we could know
Anything that’s goin down
Or how were supposed to be feeling about it
I can't tell you how much I wish we could shut up and smile, yeah

Sail around the world and tell them all to keep singing it
la la la la la la
all we needs a harmony and we’ll convince the world to sing
la la la la la la
throw your arms around someone (throw your arms around someone)
maybe spread a little love
I know it sounds a little dumb (or maybe I’m a little drunk)
But all we need is some ice cream and a hug

Take a good look around
Does life really suck
Are we just complaining
I hope that this mic is on (testing 1, 2)
Cuz i'm on a roll here
I hope this is making some sense
I hope that you’ll throw up your hands and sing it
And tell all the haters that they should just shut up and smile, yeah

Sail around the world and tell them all to keep singing it
la la la la la la
all we needs a harmony and we’ll convince the world to sing
la la la la la la
throw your arms around someone (throw your arms around someone)
maybe spread a little love
I know it sounds a little dumb (or maybe I’m a little drunk)
But all we need is some ice cream

All we need is love and beer
And old school metal and holiday cheer
TO be happy
(All you need is someone near)
like ben and jerry
(to hold you close and pretend that they care)

can we all just, get along now
we found something that we all have in common now
we can hold hands, do keg stands
water skiing sounds great to me now

Sail around the world and tell them all to keep singing it
la la la la la la
all we needs a harmony and we’ll convince the world to sing
la la la la la la
throw your arms around someone (throw your arms around someone)
maybe spread a little love
I know it sounds a little dumb (or maybe we’re a little drunk)
But all we need is some ice cream and a hug

(Chanting “All we need is love and beer”)
all we need is some ice cream and a hug
all we need is some ice cream and a hug
all we need is some ice cream and a hug

B.F.S.

The Phone Call

Well, almost.

I called Forward Advantage today like a good little interviewee and spoke with one of the technical people that interviewed me. He said that I am definitely in the final consideration, and that I should expect a phone call in the next two to three days.

Now I can concentrate a little bit better, but I am still going crazy. I am so exicted about this job! I was up till three last night because I was thinking about it and praying about it.

Please continue to keep me in your prayers for a couple more days. I need all I can get!

THANKS!

Wow... Smart peop...

I mean... Smart Rat!
http://www.smh.com.au/news/science/islandhopping-rat/2005/10/20/1129401349899.html

1:19AM

I am not quite tired yet, so I thought I'd post a little blurb.

If all goes as planned we will be asleep in our new house in exactly two weeks from now. What a crazy thought. There is still so much that needs to happen. We need to pack for one... It would be really nice to know what the job situation will be by then. I am still just trusting God on that one, since it is really out of my control. I can't do much besides apply and pray.
It looks like all of our loan stuff if going fine, so that is nice.

I don't remember if I wrote about this.... We have to move out of the apartment on Nov. 2nd, and we can't move into the house till noon on the 4th. Our moving company is going to store our stuff for free over the extra day, but we have to pay for labor for them to unload the truck at the storage facility, and then for them to reload it the next day. That eats up our packing budget, so we have to have everything packed ourselves.

Still didn't get a call from the company I interviewed with. I am going to call them when I get home on Monday just to make sure they know how excited I am about the possibility of working with them.

I have two days of solid homework ahead of me, so I am sure I will post more soon.

goodnight goodnight, it sounds so good to me tonight
the twisted embers running burning through my skull
thoughts of things I should not have
worries of fears I should not know
when I wake up where will I be
what torments will be in my head at the first light
dazed and confused will be the first way that I mull
slowly I will awake and know
things have not changed in the night
I am still the same and it will never go away
perfect peace, a breath away
but that is not for me now

Now THAT's Irony

I finally figured out why I thought irony meant something other than it really does. I am watching Star Trek: TNG and they just used it incorrectly. I bet that because I grew up watching Star Trek I learned the wrong meaning.
Now that is Irony.
I wonder what else I learned wrong... Darn writers.

Still no call.

I can't stand it!

Waiting, being patient, sitting quietly, and going crazy. It has been almost a week since my interview and I am starting to get worried. I was really hoping to have heard from them by now. They did say it would be a week or two, but still. I am just so anxious (so anxious in fact that I am not going to use the spell checker). I applied to 6 or 7 additional places that sounded good today, so I will have a little bit of back up in place in case they do not want me. I am so confident that i did a good job at the interview, but I am just so full of doubts as to what I could have screwed up on. I am sure that something didn't come out right, or that I said something that sounded amaturish. I am a nervious wreck right now, and am not accomplishing anything.

On a related note... why do people insist on not using real fruit for flavoring? I am drinking lemon tea right now with 0% juice. They went to the trouble of putting in citric acid and natural flavors, but they could use a couple drops of real lemon. Water and corn syrup; mmmmmmmmm.

Our Back Yard

So far we have the following ideas for our back yard:

astro-turf
rock garden
spa
fruit orchard
patio
built in BBQ
Normal Grass
Normal Garden

Anybody have any other fun ideas?

House Pictures

Fun Links for the Day.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/17/gaming_shocker/
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/10/toyota_engineer.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/14/google_earth_competition_results/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051014.wxcanna1014/BNStory/specialScienceandHealth/
------UPDATE------
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4334830.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/science/10arctic.html
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/pressreleases/pillows/
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-98062sy0oct07,0,3541049.story?coll=dp-news-local-final

And then there were one?

Thanks to Jen for replying to my last post. I know everybody out there has an opinion, and I really would like to hear it. You don't have to do any research on it if you don't want to; just post what ever comes to your mind first. What were you taught in Sunday School? Looking back do you still agree with what you were taught.

Can some one tell me what the Biblical basis for dispensationalism is, or at least where it came from?

Dispensational Historic Pre-Mid-Post Tribulationistic Pre-Post-A millennialism

Or What I Believe.

I didn't put Preterism in there because it would have ruined the flow (I made a pun, get it?).

This Thread over at Melissa's blog got me to thinking about eschatology (not a very common occurence I assure you). My beliefs tend to not fit into any of the general catagories (as a side note, stay away from Matthew Henry's Commentary. Woah!), so it is hard to say exactly what it is that I believe. Before I continue, I want to make it very clear that this is not a salvation issue. I am not going to hell because I don't believe in Dispensationalism. I do know that I am an apocalyptic( as will be seen below), but that is a little outside the scope of the intitial conversation.

For the purposes of this conversation, I am considering the following catagories:

Pre-Millenialism
      Historic
           Post-Tribulation
      Dispensational
           Pre-Tribulation
           Mid-Tribulation
Post-Millenialism
      Amillenialism
      Preterist

To start off with, I believe that the thousand year reign described in Rev. 20 has not yet begun. Furthermore, I have extreme doubts as to whether it will be a literal Thousand years. The Bible tends to be prolific with symbolic numbers (the first beast will reign for 42 months = 7 x 6, or 1 short of 7 x 7. hmmm... I believe this number is where the midtrib people get the idea that Christians will only be a part of the trib. for 3.5 years).

If you read Rev. it looks like it is most likely that there will be X years of tribulation (maybe 7), and everybody will die, then those who died for Christ will rise and live with him for 1000 years, and then there will be a general resurection of everyone who had ever died and judgement of the same.

Now that I have written that... I took a little break and did more thinking, and all that I have left to say is:

Why do you care?

I am a Christian. What ever comes will come. I will be with Christ when it ends.

Trying to choose one has caused many people to sin because of the anger that has been generated over centuries of pointless argueing. If you had the ability to know exactly what was going to happen would you want to know? Suppose I told you with absolute authority that the thousand year reign started 11/12/1005 at 3:22 PM PST, and that the 7 years of tribulation is going to start in 30 days with all Christians being stuck here till it was over. What would you do? Seven years of tribulation for a Christian is basically the same thing as being tortured for Christ for 7 years. An honor for sure. However, when it comes down to it, wouldn't you rather just die before the tribulation and not have to deal with it?

God set things up the way that he did on purpose. He wants us to be constantly ready and watching for Him, not worrying and bickering about when He is going to come. We must remain true to His name, whether in this life or in tribulation, and not let the works of Satan cause us to doubt Him.




If you want to know more about this:
http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?book_id=73&chapter=1&version=49
http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Matthew%2024:3-9&version=49
http://bible.gospelcom.net/passage/?search=Acts%202;&version=49;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summary_of_Christian_eschatological_differences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypticism


Here is the real day that the world will end: 01/09/2038 3:14:07 Z


I want to hear everybodys' thoughts on this. Please feel free to comment. No rash arguments though. Please back up anything you have to say with scripture. Also, please mention if you are armenian, calvinist, wesleyian, or something else. I am curious how that influences peoples' beliefs.


For those of you who think you got the pun up at the top, please let me know what it is, because I was just making that part up.

untitled

I open my eyes
I try to see but I’m blinded by the white light
I can’t remember how
I can’t remember why
I’m lying here tonight

And I can’t stand the pain
And I can’t make it go away
No I can’t stand the pain

How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
I’ve got no where to run
The night goes on
As I’m fading away
I’m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

Everybody’s screaming
I try to make a sound but no one hears me
I’m slipping off the edge
I’m hanging by a thread
I wanna start this over again

So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered
And I can’t explain what happened
And I can’t erase the things that I’ve done
No I can’t

How could this happen to me
I made my mistakes
I’ve got no where to run
The night goes on
As I’m fading away
I’m sick of this life
I just wanna scream
How could this happen to me

S.P.

Apathetic Blogerism

How many of you have wondered about the title of my blog? Probably only one or two of you since the rest of you probably know me well enough to know that I really am apathetic. I have been thinking about it today because it really bugs me that I really don't care about most things. My particular struggle for the day is the paper that I am working on that is due today. I only have about 400 words left to type plus final formatting, and I don't care if I finish or not. It would only be an hour of my life, but I am just not interested. It is a good paper, and I will be proud of it when I am finished; but why bother? What is it going to get me? I will have a nice fat gold star (or what ever they give out for grades these days), and then I can move on to yet another hurdle to the completion of my masters. It isn't even that the topic isn't interesting to me. I got to choose the topic, and it is pretty interesting to me, although I spend more time wondering why people don't write more about it than I have actually working on it. Unfortunately I could write the most earth shattering observations that would revolutionisze the industry, and it wouldn't matter because no one will ever read it besides my professor.
Aside from school, there are many other things I don't care about. Work, life, friendships, chores, entertainment... you name it. There are a couple of friendships that actually are important to me, so I hope that those of you who I invest time in know how special you are. When it comes to work and friendships it really comes down to the expectation that other people will contribute as much to X as I will. For work, why should I bother expending my energy when I can just wait and someone else would do the job? For friendships, why should I care about you if you aren't willing to invest in me and initiate things? I have been having issues with a friendship with a person who care about very deeply, but she has not had the time for me, and will not listen to my advise. In a situation like that what do you do? I can only beat myself against a brick wall so many times before it stops feeling pleasurable. I only do chores when I get too pissed off at the mess, or if I want to make Deb happy. When I am home alone I will sit at the computer aimlessly browsing the web wishing I could do something interesting, but not wanting to put the effort into actually pleasing myself.
I know that ultimately it comes down to the fact that I am a poster child for low level depression, but I don't want to make depression an excuse for my laziness.
I need to get out and do the things that do make me happy more often. I have not done a real photoshoot in 10 months. I don't even remember the last time I went on a real hike (well, I do, but you get my point). You want to know a secret? I love hiking, but it bores me out of my mind. I am too dependent on technology, so I don't like being away from it for that long. I only ended up going to the beach once this summer. I want to rollarblade more often but I don't want to spend the $50 that it would take to get my 'blades up and working again. I want to ride my bike, but I don't want to spend the $100 it would take to get it up and working again (and Josh says it is too small for me).
Once we move things will be a lot better. It will be good to get away from the stress of buying the house and looking for a new job (speaking of which, make sure and pray for me on Friday at 1pm PST cos I'll have an interview up in Fresno for a job that I would die to have).
The one thing that has been exciting throughout everything is my relationship with Deb. I really do care about her, and love spending time with her; even if it is just watching old movies that I can't stand. Making her happy and loving her has been a very bright spark in my life.

All that being said; sometimes I really wonder if I even should put effort into things. I am successful as it is. I have fullfilled all of my life goals and I am only 25. I have a great job (with annoying management, but that doesn't count since all jobs are like that), an amazing wife, and a huge house. Working harder at work would only increase my unhappiness since I would be doing even more unrecognized work. Working harder at school would get me A's instead of B's. When I put my full effort into friendships people think I am being too intense and avoid me. There are a couple of people that I know that I have to be careful of what I talk about so that I don't introduce the possibilty of jealousy into their life. So what is the point? Maybe I need to find something that I can fail at so that I can feel driven to not. I don't think I have ever failed anything in my life other than a couple of classes that I didn't go too (I got b's in all the other classes I didn't go to). I have always had people to cover for me when things go wrong (I love my friends who do care about me).
I guess I have just always had a plan for my life. It has been a rough plan, but a plan none the less. I made sure that key events took place, and just sat back and allowed everything else to happen. (before you ask or comment: yes I have largely gotten where I am because of trusting in God and his blessings. I am just talking about the human element.) Now that I have achieved everything that I wanted it is time for me to set new goals, and to make a new plan. I already have in fact. People have laughed at me because they think it won't happen (depends on too many outside influences), but we will see. I think that is the one thing that does drive me in my life; people telling me I can't do something. I like a good challenge.

More Bloggerific Car Fun

You know you want to buy me.

Accord for Sale

In case anyone was interested.

Harvey Danger

http://www.harveydanger.com/downloads/

Harvey Danger is offering their latest album for free. Go check it out. For all I know, it stinks, but hey! Its free.

When Is Sex Outside of Marriage OK?

Ooops, left out a couple of words... that should be: "When is Talking About Sex
Outside of Marriage OK?

Odd news for the day:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/30/jets_kill_rudolph/

I had a great rant all worked out in my head the other day while I was on the way into work, but by the time I got in I had forgotten what I was going to write about. In fact, I still don’t remember what I was going to write about. It is a shame too; it would have been earth shattering. Nobody’s life would have been the same once they read what I wrote. Oh well.

Life has been busy for the mo… oh who am I kidding? I have been bored out of my mind for the last couple of days because I have been home from work with a bad back. I am not certain how I hurt it, but bowling might have had something to do with it. I woke up Sunday and could barely move it hurt so badly. It has only been today that the pain has reached a level where I think I am actually starting to get better. When my back hurts it really messes with my concentration so anything involving deep thinking is pretty much out of the picture. That basically left me with watching TV all day, and looking up lame stuff on the internet. Now that I am feeling better I have a ton of homework to do; including a 20 page paper that I have to have done by next week.

House stuff is going well. We are still set to close on October 31st. Word to the wise: even when you are buying a new house, make sure that you bring a realtor with you to help you with contract stuff. There were a couple of things on our contract that we forgot to check on that could potentially cause us problems. There will probably be no problems, but I am annoyed that I didn’t catch them at first.

--------------------Married Person Stuff below this point (Fair Warning)---------


I have been thinking… How much does Christianity’s obsession with not talking about sex effect Christian youth and young married couples? How many of you remember being taught about sex while at church? I have memories about being taught about abstinence and purity, and saving yourself for marriage and all that, but that is all. The general feeling was that sex is wrong, and heaven forbid that you should actually talk about it. How many sermons have you heard about the importance of sex once you get to marriage? It is true that sex is taboo as far as the general church population is concerned. The majority of churches that I have seen offer some sort of marriage class that involves some sex talk, but those are usually targeted towards older couples that are having issues with their marriage, or who need to “bring the romance back”. Pre-marital counseling is always offered, and presumably you would talk about sex there, but if you have grown up in a church where sex is taboo, why would you want to talk to your pastor about it? Talk about feeling dirty. I believe that the average Christian grows up in the church being told that sex is bad, and that you have to wait till you are married before you can have sex. Then they are never exposed to anything else till it is time to get married at which point some well meaning married couple will go out and buy them the first Christian sex book that they find at the Christian book store (you wouldn’t want to get caught looking in that section for too long) and give it to the new couple. The new couple will read the book, and learn the importance “of treating your wife like a delicate flower and gently awakening her so that her petals will bloom and release her delicate aroma” (yes, I actually have read that in a sex book before). They digest this new information, get married, and go to have sex, and realize that they have absolute no idea what they are doing. The physical mechanics of sex are pretty obvious and were probably explained at some point in some sex ed class, or by your parents, but what about the roles of the husband and wife in the marriage?
How often is an appropriate amount of times to have sex in the first week of marriage, or the first month, or the first year, or the first decade? What if 5 years down the road the wife feels that all that the husband is interested in is sex, and the husband is incapable of showing interest in other aspects of the wife’s life because he is frustrated at the lack of sex? What if you have a husband who is not interested in sex more than twice a month? How do you deal with these issues? The Christian sponsored appropriate response would be to talk to some one of the same sex that you trust so that you could get advice. How is that person going to give you the correct advice though? They aren’t going to understand the other sex any better that you do. They might not be having the same problem in their life, but it is more likely due to luck than a perfect understanding. Supposedly you should talk to your pastor about stuff like this. First off, that assumes that you have a pastor that you are close enough with to trust, and secondly, it assumes that they even have any experience in the matter (how many pastors are single?). The next most likely answer is that you should talk to a Christian therapist. Again, this assumes a level of trust that most people are not comfortable with. For some people it is perfectly OK to sit down with a perfect stranger and dive into their sex life. For others that is a little over the top.
These issues would become a mute point if our culture allowed for bringing up children and young adults with a better understand of what sex inside of marriage means, and to allow them to feel comfortable with talking about it. We need to help people to see the emotional side of sex. We must remove the Christian social stigma that surrounds sex before our culture gets any worse. We need pastors who can stand up and preach on the excitement of marriage, and what it means to have that emotional bound cemented by the physical act of sex. I believe that this would also serve to help kids abstain from sex, as they would better understand that the thing that they think they (7 Ts) are doing for fun is actually emotionally scaring them and their future spouse for life.
There is a great story of how one day there was a Torrey class that was covering the Songs of Solomon. There was a huge uproar from the students because they thought that it was inappropriate to be discussing it in public. Several of the students even stormed out of the classroom in tears. How sad is it that one the most beautiful examples of what God wants sex to be would be considered unfit for the Christian classroom? People need to understand it, and to see how wonderful it is to love another person.
Going back to the topic of talking about sex with other people; it seams like the favorite thing for married people to talk about with their close friends of both sexes is sex. It is all well and good to talk about it with your spouse, but people want to be able to discuss it, learn about it, compare notes, and figure out if what they are doing is wrong or right. If their sex life is great, then they want to share and help others to have a great one too. If their sex life is bad then they want to fix it. If this is considered as taboo as Christian culture wants to dictate, then where is there left to turn to? How many of you read this and thought “it is wrong for a guy to talk to a girl that he is not married to about sex”? Now think… why did you think that? Why do you think it is wrong? Where in the Bible can you show me that it is wrong? Ok sure, it can potentially invite temptation in. Why? Because we as a culture find the very act of talking about sex to be taboo, and thus find it exciting and “dangerous”. Of course it is very easy to just be careful to not allow yourself to become interested in the other person; just like you have to be careful not to become interested in the other person based on a million other traits. I can guarantee that the very sound of a woman’s voice is just as likely to excite a guy as talking about sex is. Every person has their own foibles. “Wow, I’m having coffee in public with a person I am not married to. Sexy. Take me now!”

Sssssssssssssssweeet

http://www.local6.com/news/5022100/detail.html

Sex is Bad For You

If you are not married.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/21/teen_vice_research/

Out nerding the nerdiest nerds

I got really excited yesterday when I discovered that the version of Visual Studio that I have installed at home includes a binary file viewer.

And in other news that might actually be interesting to somebody...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050916/od_nm/australia_electricity_dc

Director Level

I was looking at Northrop Grumman jobs to see if I could find a position that would allow me to work from home. I found several jobs that could potentially be good bets, and I e-mailed the managers that were listed on each req. to ask them what they would recommend. Then I pulled up the org charts to see if there were any other managers at the same level that I could e-mail. It turned out that the people I e-mailed were directors directly under the VP of the sector. Oops.

The nice thing is that they returned my e-mails quickly and told me which jobs to apply for. So today I spent several hours making sure my resume was pretty (It was already up to date, but I just re-did it from scratch), and submitted it to 10 different job positions. Hopefully something will turn out OK.

I heard back from another company that I applied for in Visalia today as well. I have an interview scheduled on Tuesday. I am thinking about canceling it though because the pay they are offering is not high enough. Also, I would really prefer to stay with Northrop at this point.

Sigh....

It is Welfare's fault.

An Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State

by Robert Tracinski
Sep 02, 2005
by Robert Tracinski
It has taken four long days for state and federal officials to figure out how to deal with the disaster in New Orleans. I can't blame them, because it has also taken me four long days to figure out what is going on there. The reason is that the events there make no sense if you think that we are confronting a natural disaster.
If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure. For journalists, natural disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.
Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are suppressing an enemy insurgency. And journalists--myself included--did not expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about rape, murder, and looting.
But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster.
The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has gotten the story wrong.
The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over the past four days. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view.
The man-made disaster is the welfare state.
For the past few days, I have found the news from New Orleans to be confusing. People were not behaving as you would expect them to behave in an emergency--indeed, they were not behaving as they have behaved in other emergencies. That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying that this is not what we expect from America. In fact, it is not even what we expect from a Third World country.
When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us. I have seen this a hundred times, in small examples (a small town whose main traffic light had gone out, causing ordinary citizens to get out of their cars and serve as impromptu traffic cops, directing cars through the intersection) and large ones (the spontaneous response of New Yorkers to September 11).
So what explains the chaos in New Orleans?
To give you an idea of the magnitude of what is going on, here is a description from a Washington Times story:
"Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on.
"The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in to restore order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire....
"Last night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders.
" 'These troops are...under my orders to restore order in the streets,' she said. 'They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will.' "
The reference to Iraq is eerie. The photo that accompanies this article shows National Guard troops, with rifles and armored vests, riding on an armored vehicle through trash-strewn streets lined by a rabble of squalid, listless people, one of whom appears to be yelling at them. It looks exactly like a scene from Sadr City in Baghdad.
What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to drive away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the doctors trying to treat patients at the Super Dome?
Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?
My wife, Sherri, figured it out first, and she figured it out on a sense-of-life level. While watching the coverage last night on Fox News Channel, she told me that she was getting a familiar feeling. She studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Chicago, which is located in the South Side of Chicago just blocks away from the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the largest high-rise public housing projects in America. "The projects," as they were known, were infamous for uncontrollable crime and irremediable squalor. (They have since, mercifully, been demolished.)
What Sherri was getting from last night's television coverage was a whiff of the sense of life of "the projects." Then the "crawl"--the informational phrases flashed at the bottom of the screen on most news channels--gave some vital statistics to confirm this sense: 75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the hurricane, and of the 300,000 or so who remained, a large number were from the city's public housing projects. Jack Wakeland then gave me an additional, crucial fact: early reports from CNN and Fox indicated that the city had no plan for evacuating all of the prisoners in the city's jails--so they just let many of them loose. There is no doubt a significant overlap between these two populations--that is, a large number of people in the jails used to live in the housing projects, and vice versa.
There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the deluge hit--but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two groups: criminals--and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The welfare wards were a mass of sheep--on whom the incompetent administration of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves.
All of this is related, incidentally, to the apparent incompetence of the city government, which failed to plan for a total evacuation of the city, despite the knowledge that this might be necessary. But in a city corrupted by the welfare state, the job of city officials is to ensure the flow of handouts to welfare recipients and patronage to political supporters--not to ensure a lawful, orderly evacuation in case of emergency.
No one has really reported this story, as far as I can tell. In fact, some are already actively distorting it, blaming President Bush, for example, for failing to personally ensure that the Mayor of New Orleans had drafted an adequate evacuation plan. The worst example is an execrable piece from the Toronto Globe and Mail, by a supercilious Canadian who blames the chaos on American "individualism." But the truth is precisely the opposite: the chaos was caused by a system that was the exact opposite of individualism.
What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. They don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.
But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are going to make a living? They never worried about those things before. Do they worry about crime and looting? But living off of stolen wealth is a way of life for them.
The welfare state--and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and encourages--is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting.
Source: TIA Daily -- September 2, 2005

More fun with science!

I bet you always wanted to know why pasta breaks in more than one place when you snap it.

Spiritual Gifts

Since Deb brought it up, I figured I'd take the spiritual gift tests too:


This first one is from http://www.elca.org/evangelism/assessments/spiritgifts.html


I don't like it as much as others.

Update:
Sigh, I suppose I should explain why I don't like it.
Discernment should be higher
Hospitality should be way higher (don't know how it got that result)
Music isn't a spiritual gift
Pastoral should be lower.
Wisdom should be higher.
Writing??????? Guess what Mom, one of my strongest gifts is writing.

Come to think of it there are a bunch on there that I don't consider spiritual gifts. I prefer to stick with the ones listed in the Bible.

My "core" gifts are:
Discernment
Giving
Healing (why isn't healing on that list?)
Faith

My "weaker" gifts are:
Prophecy (in the preachy sense of the word, although there have been times that I have seen visions of the future)
Wisdom
Leadership


I will do the other one tomorrow. I don't have the time to answer 125 questions in the 2 minutes before I leave work. The test that I am going to do tomorrow is a better test. We will see what it says.

Earth

Earth as seen by MESSENGER

Sigh...

TCOE called me this morning. They said that they did screen me, and that while they were very impressed with the effort that I put into making sure that they screened me they already had 5 people to interview that were more experienced than me.
Oh well. I know this is God's will. I'll just keep trying and see what happens.

Incomplete (UPDATE)

I just got an e-mail from TCOE saying that my application was incomplete. What the heck? I worked my tail off making sure that they had all the information that they requested. I am still trying to get a hold of them again to find out what is going on.

GRRRRRR.....

---------------------
Ok,
I sort of have things straightend out now. Apperently the lady never received my original e-mail. So I just sent her a copy of the original showing that I had sent it in time. She is going to talk to her supervisor and see if it can get submitted even though they are done with the pre-screening process. I will know later today or tomorrow.

Blogalicious

Still Pending... Forever pending...

Yesterday I took half a day off to go hang out with Laurel in the afternoon. She came and got me around 11am, and we went to the Downey court house so that she could do some paperwork. After that we headed off to the beach (surfside) to float in the ocean and talk. We had a great time and it was very relaxing. I really need to get to the beach more often.

School started back up for me this week and it looks like I will be having as much, if not more, work as I did last semester. On the upside both of my classes (software engineering and networking) should be quite a bit more fun than my other classes. I will have several programming projects due, which should be fun. I am starting out with 160+ pages of reading this week.

I suppose that I don't really have much to say. I just wanted to make sure and get something posted for all your poor readers who haven't had much from me.

Oh, and I am a bad son. I forgot to call my mother yesterday for her birthday. Although in my defence I thought that yesterday was the 30th.

I guess it sounds like Keiko might not want to rent a room from us now because her parents told her that it was a good idea to rent a room from us. She doesn't want to have another set of parents. I need to talk to her I suppose and let her know that we have no intention of playing the role of a parent for anybody that rents from us. We are of course happy to provide guidence and help if someone requests it, but we are not going to force it on anyone. We just thought it would be really cool to have her live with us because we like her.

...I may or may not be going to Dallas in the near future. One of our facilities was destroyed in the Hurricane, and they are recreating it in Dallas so they need all the help they can get in rebuilding it. I am hoping that they will give me enough time to be able to go home and pack before they send me off.

I have not gained any weight in the past year. This is the first year I've ever gone with out gaining weight. I really want to lose about 50 pounds now, so I am going to start working on it. I am just not sure how I am going to work on it. I really need someone to work out with that can keep me motivated. Deb is just as wishy washy as I am about working out consistently, and doesn't like doing what I like to do anyway. Christina used to help me quite a bit, but doesn't have the time to stoop to my puny little 2 mile workouts since she needs to be running 10+ miles right now (training for marathon). Josh does martial arts every night, but I don't think that is something I want to do. He tends to get hurt a lot. Ben and I have been working out every night for the past two years, but we have never actually done anything for over a year (we only even hang out once a week). Laurel said that she would work out with me, but we don't know how that would work out (haha get it?) since she lives 30 minutes away(although that is just as close as Ben). She is probably my best bet at the moment though, so I will have to see what we can figure out. She does like doing the same stuff as me so that is a plus side.

Sigh, that really is all I can think of now. Till later...

Still More...

This one was blocked from work, so I don't know what it is.
http://www.crabwalk.com/archive/2005_08.php#001947

More Stuff from NOLA

http://pointfiveblog.com/index.php/2005/08/286
http://news.com.com/Key+Web+links+for+tracking+Katrinas+aftermath/2100-1025_3-5845076.html?tag=nl
http://www.webshots.com/collections/hurricane/hurricane_0.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/hurricanekatrina
http://www.truthlaidbear.com/topicpage.php?topic=Katrina
http://www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/8/30/224011/855
http://www.supload.com/free/evac.184.1.650.jpg/view/
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/


Desperation, death on road to safety
Wednesday, 11:09 p.m.

By Keith Spera
Staff writer

At 91 years old, Booker Harris ended his days propped on a lawn chair, covered by a yellow quilt and abandoned, dead, in front of the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

Mr. Harris died in the back of a Ryder panel truck Wednesday afternoon, as he and his 93-year-old wife, Allie, were evacuated from eastern New Orleans. The truck's driver deposited Allie and her husband's body on the Convention Center Boulevard neutral ground.

And there it remained.

With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center -- and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them -- collecting a body was no one's priority. It was just another casualty in Hurricane Katrina's wake.

A steady stream of often angry or despondent people, many from flooded Central City, trickled first toward Lee Circle and then to the convention center, hoping to be saved from increasingly desperate straits. Food, water and options had dwindled across Uptown and Central City, where looters seemed to rage almost at will, clearing out boutique clothing shops and drug stores alike. Hospitals would no longer accept emergencies, as staffers prepared to evacuate with patients.

"If you get shot," said a security guard at Touro Infirmary, "you’ve got to go somewhere else."

As a blazing sun and stifling humidity took their toll, 65-year-old Faye Taplin rested alone on the steps of the Christ Cathedral in the 2900 block of St. Charles Avenue. Rising water had finally chased her from her Central City home. She clutched two plastic bags containing bedding, a little food and water and insulin to treat her diabetes.

She needed help but was unsure where to find it. She wanted to walk more than 15 blocks to a rumored evacuation pickup point beneath the Pontchartrain Expressway, but she doubted that was possible.

"I'm tired," she said. "My feet have swollen up on me. I can't walk that far."

The church custodian, Ken Elder, hoped to free his car from the parking lot behind the church as soon as the water went down. He rode out Katrina on the Episcopal church’s altar steps and was well stocked with food. But he feared the marauding looters that roamed St. Charles Avenue after dark.

"I lived in Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots," Elder said. "That was a piece of cake compared to this."

Clara Wallace pushed her brother in a wheelchair down St. Charles from Fourth Street to the Pontchartrain Expressway. Suffering from diabetes and the after-effects of a stroke, he wore only a hospital robe and endured part of the journey through standing water.

"Nobody has a bathroom he can use," Wallace, 59, said of her brother. "Nobody would even stop to tell us if we were at the right place. What are we supposed to do?"

A man in a passing pickup truck from the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries finally directed Wallace and the 50 other evacuees under the overpass to the convention center.

But they would find little relief there.

New evacuees were being dropped off after being pulled from inundated eastern New Orleans and Carrollton, pooling with those who arrived on foot. Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions. They waited both inside and outside the cavernous building.

The influx overwhelmed the few staffers and Louisiana National Guardsmen on hand.

With so much need and so few resources, the weakest and frailest were bound to suffer the most. Seated next to her husband's body on the neutral ground beneath the St. Joseph Street sign, Allie Harris munched on crackers, seemingly unaware of all the tragedy unfolding around her. Eventually, guardsmen loaded her into a truck and hauled her off with other elderly evacuees.

Mr. Harris' body was left behind.

Such a breakdown did not bode well for other evacuees. As the afternoon wore on, hope faded, replaced by anger.

"This is 2005," John Murray shouted, standing in the street near Mr. Harris' body. "It should not be like this for no catastrophe. This is pathetic."

Part of the real story

This post is taken from http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1174992&forum_id=26. Please do not read further if you are sensitive.

First off I wanted to post what REALLY is going on in this city. Please don't get this thread locked people. The news stations are only showing a minuscule of reality. This post may offend some people but I will post what I saw, like it or not it is REALITY.
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Well last night I was watching the 6pm news when they announced the 17th street canal pumps failed as well as another break in the levee. My house is right off St. Charles Ave. and up to 6pm yesterday is was the only part of the city that was dry. Since the pumps failed and the new break St. Charles Ave. would be under 9ft of water in the next 12-15hrs. My brother and I felt if we wanted to save anything we had to leave NOW. We loaded up flashlights, rope, our medical ID's, both our .45 Glocks, 2 shotguns and rode out. En-route we listened to the radio which broad casted all the news about the looters and what not, in hindsight it was a mistake. My mother didn't want us to go by dad who is a Vietnam vet told to be safe and "shoot to kill" if it ever comes to that.

One the way we had to pass 5-6 checkpoints to allow entry into the city. We stated we were medical personnel who were activated, showed our ID and off we went. On the radio reports were coming in about the officer who was shot in the head, the 2 gunman who opened fired on the NOPD station, and how looters were carjacking cars to get out of the city. This started making my brother nervous and giving seconds thoughts.

Anyway we get to the city and it looks like a freaking war zone. The best visual I can give is the movie "Blackhawk Down" when all the Somalians are rushing the city. They are people EVERYWHERE, they are pissed off, and all have weapons, 2X4's, Axes, and guns. If this wasn't bad enough we are 2 white boys in a truck in a sea several hundred armed pissed off blacks. There wasn't a white person to be found. I couldn't get over the little 8-10yr old kids with weapons, I ever saw one carry a claw hammer!

These people were absolutely nuts rammed trucks(stolen I'm sure) in to jewelry stores stealing items, they were tearing apart Wal-Mart carrying out TV's, Playstations, DVD players, etc. One lady was wheeling out an entire rack of merchandise, not sure what it was but sure wasn't clothes for food. They were all laughing and carrying on like it's freaking Christmas.

We got stuck in traffic when we see the group of guys walking down the street w/ AK-47's, at that point the "pucker factor" kicked in, a couple Glocks and shotguns were no match for that. We haul azz trying to get to Uptown when we see these people chopping down the front door w/ an axe of this $4-5 million dollar mansion on ST. Charles Ave. I was just in total awe because it was so surreal. Making matters worse it's 11pm at night there is no electricity and you really can see anything or anyone until they are right up on you.

Our plan was to be in and out in 30min, this included putting his Harley on the trailer. It would have taken me 5-10min tops to get my stuff, all I wanted was my pictures from college, my clothes/shoes, and my computer tower. Well he got scared saying we are going to get jumped while putting the bike on the trailer. Keep in mind this is the only area in the city that is dry. So just like rats who move to higher ground these people were doing the same. Word must have gotten out that Uptown was dry so there started to be a large influx of people.

Needless to say he wanted to go home rather than take our chances. While it was the smart thing to do I was beyond infuriated w/ him because we made it this far. He just kept saying our lives aren't worth it. So we turned around, our next challenge was getting out of the city while not getting jacked. Reports came out that people were jumping in the back of truck holding the drivers at gunpoint. Traffic started to slow so I just nailed it got out as fast as I could.

Even though he was the voice of reason I'm still pissed. All I have is my life and the clothes on my back. I lost my house(which is now 9ft underwater) ALL my clothes, TV, computer, furniture, and photo albums and videos from childhood and college. What makes this worse is my brother owned the house and I was a tenant and I didn't have renters insurance, hindsight is 20/20.

I also hope everyone of the F*(king looters get Tetanus, E-Coli and F*(KING drown. I'm serious I really hope the all die for what they were doing to the city, killing people, and destroying homes. Never in my life have I ever seen people act live savages, it was truly sicking.