August 2005 - Posts
I just received this video clip (slide show done in MS Photo Story I believe).
A few of the images are familiar but most of them I’ve not seen before.
THANK A VET for EVERYTHING you have!
Had to take a break for a few minutes (I have like 4 different irons in the fire right now at work and I needed a little break.).
I’m sitting here thinking about tomorrow. I took the day off in order to bring my son to the Open House at his school tomorrow. You see, Thursday my son starts Kindergarten.
Do you remember how GREAT life was at that age? Now, don’t get me wrong, life is good right now. I am happily married, I have two incredibly beautiful children, I own a home, I have a job that I really enjoy and I get paid well (and have great perks and benefits) to do it as well. But, do you really remember how good life was back then? The absolute definition of freedom is the life of a 5 or 6 year old child (especially in the United States)
You pretty much do what you want, when you want, anytime you want. But, that is no more apparent or incarnate then when you are in Kindergarten. I remember Kindergarten so well that I can tell you them name of the teacher I had (Mrs. Bash) and the fact that I had a crush on her.
I can also tell you that I looked forward to my “job” in Kindergarten as well. It was my job every day to help pass out the little swatches or carpet to everyone when it was nap time.
Remember NAP TIME? The lights in the room would get flicked on and off – you would get your little swatch of carpet, everyone would get some graham crackers and a little 4 oz. carton of milk (no one BROUGHT snacks to school back then – they were given to the kids by the school).
Even though it’s a pleasant (n nostalgic) thought now, do you remember how much of a DRAG nap time was? You’d be right in the middle of making an elbow macaroni picture or eating some REALLY good Elmer’s Paste and off goes the lights. So, it was a drag back then – but can you imagine if that were to happen now?
In your department or work area comes your boss/manager/director – they flick the lights on and off and everyone lines up for some milk and graham crackers, has a snack and dives under their desks (ala George Costanza) for a little nap. You know you would KILL for a nap in the middle of the day – everyday. Sure, you at home contractors and self employed types can’t relate since you can nap (or watch a Stargate marathon on The Sci-Fi Channel all day) when ever you want – but the rest of you know what I mean.
So here I sit excited for my 5 year old son knowing that tomorrow he will start an exciting new chapter in his life. Sure, a chapter that will be a little difficult at first (new school, some new faces, new routine) but exciting none the less. He’ll be doing “big boy” stuff in class every day 5 days a week; he may even start to take the bus in a few months after he settles in. I can’t wait to see his face tomorrow when he walks into that new classroom and gets a look at it for the first time. A whole new world for him to explore. A world full of milk and graham crackers and paste to eat.
Well, the spiders must have done their monthly crawl and my blog must be getting some hits as I just had to delete about 40 pieces of friggin SPAM from my comments.
That being the case – coupled with the fact that I don’t want to go through that chore all the time – I have disabled the comments on my page until we come up with a way to block it. (Of course, when I say WE I mean the myITforum community and of course having nothing to do with ME since I can’t code for crapola).
But hey – trying to find the positive in everything – the myITforum community is getting more and more traffic.
Remember the instant fort a giant box became when you were a kid?
Your parents (or your friend’s parents) just bought a new refrigerator or a new dishwasher and BAM new fort!! Those were the days.
A giant box could be a fort, a castle a FANTASTIC ride if you found a big enough hill to slide down. Again, I say – those were the days.
This morning, while I sit here checking my email and now writing this entry, my children are in the rec room playing in the box that the new TV came in. They are screaming and giggling and telling each other to come in the fort.
Unfortunately, the land our house is on is flat – else when they have worn the box out – I would show them a new world of fun and have them ride (and tumble) it down a hill.
I have to go now – I need to cut windows in my children’s fort.
After all the camp crap – after all the crying poor mouth (“I want more money” – “You don’t pay me enough”) it was nice to see Terrell Owens back on the field last night with the rest of the EAGLES squad.
Now, I am a huge Football fan and I normally don’t put more stock into preseason than is called for. Preseason football is meant (IMHO) to do a few things:
- Help the guys that were injured the previous year get some good workout time with opposing teams so they can get back up to speed and be ready to play on opening day.
- Give the coaching staff time to evaluate the readiness and quality of the newest acquisitions (especially the rookies) as it pertains to their particular squads – not just how they played on their last team (especially the rookies - NFL is a totally different world than NCAA
- Give the coaching staff time to work with one another at “combat speed” as well. Whether that is due to new additions to the staff or the fact that it’s been a few months and they (individually) have developed new systems, plays or ideals.
All of this being said – I liked seeing the flash back to last years preseason opener where McNabb aired it out to Owens on the opening play. Last night was a pleasant refresher. 64 yards – down field – basket catch by Owens – a few stumbling steps after the reception and right in for 6 points. THIS is what the Eagles fans want.
It all comes down to this (for me anyway):
- Is Owens worth more money than he is being paid? – Yes
- Is Owens the best Wide Receiver playing in the game right now? (Again in my opinion) – Yes (whether he is an Eagle or I am an Eagles fan or not)
- Did McNabb have a FAR less than stellar performance in last years Super Bowl? – YES
- Should Owens (or any team mate) call him on the carpet for that in public? – No – that does nothing for team morale – it only puts YOU out in the spot light as a continued trouble maker
- Did Owens SIGN A CONTRACT last year to play for 7 years with the Eagles for $48.97 million? – YES
- Do I think the Eagles would have redone his contract after one more productive year (since that is why they hired him and what the DESPERATELY needed along the lines of a receiver)? – Yes
- Should Owens just be a professional (let alone an adult) and STFU and honor the contract that HE SIGNED? – Straight up and down like 6 O’clock he should!
On top of all that (not like he cares apparently) Philadelphia is one of (if not the) toughest sports towns in the country. Sure – there are fair-weather/bandwagon fans there like any major city with sports clubs. But as a whole that town LOVES its sports and is always ready willing and able to deify anyone that continually “steps up” for one of the Philly teams. The flip side of that coin is Philly is also ALWAYS ready willing and able to utterly CRUCIFY anyone sporting the colors of one of their teams.
Last year Owens did just that in a HUGE way. Not only did he:
- Bring such a threat to opposing teams by his mere presence on the field. But, because of the fact that his presence does bring such a threat – teams double and triple cover him – this opens up avenues of attack from so many other players on the teams that are under (or not at all) covered. But he also -
- Rehabilitated like a friggin MACHINE and came back from an injury that could have ended his career quicker than EVERYONE said he could (including “experts” in the medical field). But, he did it in time to appear in the Super and be THE dominate offensive force for the Eagles and have what would be a career high game for a LOT of other receivers.
Now, this year he pulls all this cry baby poor mouth crap and he is on the cusp of negating all of that. Again, not that he cares.
Terrell, do us (Eagles fans) all favor STFU, honor your contract and play ball. You don’t have to talk to McNabb off the field – hell you don’t even have to like the guy. Just do the job that you agreed to do and that you and everyone else knows you can do. The dollars and The Hall of Fame and the endorsements and the bonuses will ALL come along for the ride.
Just play ball. That all ANYONE is asking – other than yourself that is.
Rod posted THIS earlier today - defintely a worthy cause.
Ok, new news coming in off the WTF wire.
I'm sorry - someone wanna tell me why the F|_|CK should anyone care if this tool eats a sammich or not? Now, “Explain it to me like I'm in the second grade“ since big words sometimes confuse me.
Let him die - no harm - no foul.
Judge Orders Convicted Sniper Forcibly Fed
ROCKVILLE, Md. - A judge allowed corrections officials to forcibly feed convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad while he awaits trial in the county for six October 2002 killings.
FULL STORY HERE
I think it's genetically predisposed for this guy to be a friggin criminal
Clinton Charging $15,000 for Poverty Conference
If you want to attend ex-President Clinton's upcoming conference on solving global poverty, you better not be poor yourself.
The web site for the so-called "Clinton Global Initiative" - set for Sept. 15-17 in Manhattan - is hawking tickets for $15,000 a-piece.
In Case you want to attend
I offer THIS as evidence that there are in fact good parents out there. (and oldie but a goodie for sure)
“What's WRONG with you!?”
So after a few mentions of the new game - there has been some talk on the OT list about the remake of the 1979 classics movie The Warriors.
Now – we all know that Hollywood runs out of ideas now and again and we also know that MTV Films (With the exception of Napoleon Dynamite) churns out junk movie after junk movie. But, is it really necessary to remake this movie?
I’ve only heard a few casting placements – and I am not sure who they are to be cast as – but here are my guesses:
Rosario Dawson (Mariana – the bartender in The Rundown) –playing Mercy (Swan’s love interest) maybe? I don’t know how else (or as whom) they would cast her.
James Franco (Harry Osborn in Spiderman I II & III) – The obvious choices here are Swan, Ajax or Luther. I can’t recall any of his work that he’s done to play a character as tough as Ajax and I don’t think he’s squirrelly enough to play Luther – so I am going with Swan.
Anthony Mackie (Shawrelle in Million Dollar Baby) - I can’t see him being Cyrus – too small a part but maybe Masai (leader of the Riffs after Cyrus is killed) or maybe Snowball – Cochise and Rembrandt are too small as well.
Either way – I stick by my original statement that they should leave the original alone (Take a lesson from Psycho, The Italian Job, The Longest Yard among the countless movies that should never have been remade).
I STILL say The White House needs more cowbells, babies.
DAMN YOU SNOPES!
Rod posted this earlier today.
It’s a simple process and not only will it possibly bring more exposure to your blog - but more importantly to the myITforum community in general.
News like this is a great way to start your day. I can only imagine what the families of these 12 men are going through right now. Not to mention what they have gone through for the last 37 years.
To these men and their families I say THANK YOU
Funny, no matter how crappy a traveling fair or carnival is – it’s ALWAYS fun to little kids.
We just got back from a fair. The tickets were overpriced, the food was crappy (even by junk food and fair-ground standards) and the rides themselves were old and junky.
There were a jillion teenagers there and 90 % of the guys were trying to act all hard and tough and 90% of the girls were far too scantly clad.
The people running the rides were just what you’d expect. The women were old and smelled like gin and Pall Malls. The guys were greasy and un-bathed (my guess is a VERY long time since the last) with the worst looking faded blue (used to be black) ink tattoos and about 11 teeth between them all.
In order to take my son down the GIANT SLIDE we had to sit on these burlap sacks that were so old – they may have been the sacks that the feed came in that Joseph gave to the mule that Mary rode to Bethlehem. They were old and tattered with so many holes they looked like brown dirty afghans rather than burlap sacks. They had hard spots from being repeatedly sprayed with wax (or whatever the lubricant is they use) in order to make them slide down the junky old fiberglass slide faster.
The “Haunted House” was a trailer with a maze made out of old 4x8’s of plywood with graffiti on them and you could see the grass outside through the giant holes in the floor boards. There was NOTHING scary in the haunted house – not even some slack jawed yokel with a Wolfman mask on – just my son and I walking through the maze with me saying “Watch you step, son” “Watch you step, son”.
The ice cream truck was empty, no lights on, nobody standing outside of it nothing. WHAT KIND OF TWISTED INDIVIDUAL posts a vacant ice cream truck at a fair ground for all the kids to see????
This place reminded me of the casino Clark and Eddie went to in Vegas Vacation so Clark could try to win back some of his money.
All of this being said – may son and daughter STILL had a blast.
Do you remember when the world was THAT fun? When you could go somewhere that was a complete DUMP (of course you didn’t realize at the time but your parents did) and still have a blast?
Thank the stars that we just came home from summer vacation and the fact that we are going to the Bahamas in October or I would feel REALLY bad about bringing my children to that junkyard Fair.
Oh to see the world through a kid’s eyes.
The Hurricane
Hurricane 4x4 - 16 cylinders, 11.4 litres and four wheel steering
So – The Holy Grail came up on the OT LIST as it often does. This spawned a good day of quotes and favorite scenes from the movie. Which, in turn, spawned a conversation of British comedies in general which led to my favorite all time British comedy. FAWLTY TOWERS.
If you’ve never seen this show you owe it to yourself to track it down and watch it. Fortunately I have the DVD set. I owe a debt of gratitude to my Uncle (Ralph). He turned me on to this show when I was 13 or 14 years old. He taped the series (there were only 12 episodes) off a beg-a-thon from channel 12 (Philadelphia PBS) and I borrowed the tapes (don’t think I ever gave them back) and wore them out. By the time I lost track of them there were sound lines and tracking problems on the tapes from being viewed so often.
One of the things that makes this show so great is the writing was not only hilarious but it was very clever (but not over your head clever). That coupled with the brilliant comedic delivery of the entire cast (notably the physically comedy of John Cleese -Basil Fawlty - and Andrew Sachs - Manuel).
This show was actually based on a real hotel (The Gleneagles in Torquay) and a real person - Donald Sinclair. The Monty Python troop used to stay at this hotel while filming The Flying Circus TV
Series. John Cleese was once quoted as saying Mr. Sinclair was “wonderfully rude”.
Michael Palin said (about Mr. Sinclair) “He seemed to view us as a colossal inconvenience right from the start.” And Graham Chapman described him as “completely round the twist, off his chump, out
of his tree.”
The antics the cast in this show (especially Basil Fawlty) go through are quite unlike anything ever put on television before (and since I dare say) Not only are we talking about the differences in
standards and practices on The BBC versus American television but it was also a different
time when people were far less uptight and politically correct.
One of the many things they did was screw with the hotel sign in the beginning of the show. While normally reading FAWLTY TOWERS - you could find the sign (in the beginning of each episode)
reading any number of things FAW TY TO ER - WATERY FOWLS - FLOWERY TWATS (my favorite I think) – FARTY TOWELS – FARTY TOWER - WARTY TOWELS
Take it from me – do yourself a favor check out Fawlty Towers
I'm glad these idiots couldn't hit the broad side of a barn but this is getting regoddamndiculous
BREITBART.COM
I thought this was fitting - seeing what's going on today in the Gaza Strip
A mix of Google and MSN Maps done in FLASH - - pretty cool -- this and Google Earth are my newest favorties as far as mapping /satilites/imagining is concerned.
Flash Earth
Another clip hosted on Negative-Shock.net - so may be NSFW (banners and the like)
IDIOT
No blood or cursing ( I don't think) but you may want to be careful anyway at work as the host site is Negative-Shock.net. (may be NSFW for banners and the like)
IDIOTS
After watching American History X again recently it popped into my head that I really dig sad movies (whether they are in your face sad or the fact that the social relevance of a particular film is sad).
That being said - I thought it was time a Top Five Saddest Movies list was put up. We'll put a bit of a twist on it though.
Top Five Saddest GUY Movies
5. Brian's Song - (The original with James Caan and Billy Dee - not that gey remake with Mekhi Phifer and Sean Maher) Story of the friendship between Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying of cancer. Based on a true story.
4. Braveheart – Story set in the 13th Century of William Wallace and how he unites Scotland to overthrow English power and rule in their land. Based on a true story
3. Black Hawk Down – 1993 US Army Rangers and Delta Force Air Assaulted into a town in Somalia to capture the #2 and 3 guys of a top Somali warlord – every ounce of sh|t hits the fan. First a green private falls out of a chopper before he can repel down to the ground, then a Black hawk gets hit with an RPG and goes down and another goes down leaving the entire force trapped in the town waiting for a convoy that is not only lost and taking on heavy enemy fire but eventually has to pull out and return to base camp to bring back the wounded and re-arm. Leaving the Rangers and Delta in the town. True Story
2. The Deer Hunter - Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, John Savage, John Cazale, George Dzunzda, Chuck Aspegren. The lives of six friends are chronicled during the era of The Vietnam War – three of the friends are sent to war (DeNiro, Walken, Savage) the other three stay home. Nick (Walken) stays in Vietnam and becomes obsessed with Russian Roulette, Michael (DeNiro)returns home to Linda (Nick’s wife) and Steven (Savage) comes home minus one leg and refuses to see anyone (including his wife) until Michael comes to see him at the V.A Hospital.
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – Jack Nicholson – Randall P. McMurphy gets caught dating a 15 yr old and gets convicted for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and convinces the prison guards he needs psychiatric help. When he gets to the asylum – not only does he fit in and (directly or indirectly) help some of the patients progress – but his antics and points of view begin to cause the staff to keep a closer eye on him, administer shock therapy and ultimately give him a frontal lobotomy. The person he had the biggest (pardon the pun) impact on is The Chief (an over 7 foot tall Native American) sees him in his vegetative state (after the lobotomy) and not only frees McMurphy by smothering him but also finds the courage to free himself and breaks out of the asylum.
Top Five Saddest CHICK Movies (in no particular order – and I am just guessing)
5. Mask
4. Terms of Endearment
3. Steele Magnolias
2. I am Sam
1. Kramer vs. Kramer
Top Five Saddest Movies (unless you have no heart at all)
5. Casualties of War
4. Philadelphia
3. Saving Private Ryan
2. The Champ
1. Schindler's List
Just have to say - - did the dream sequence scene in last night's episode (2nd to last) between Brenda and her brother Billy skeeve anyone else the hell out?????
Curled my toes RIGHT UP!
So I was watching a prerecorded webcast on Spyware and wanted to get a copy of a statistic the author used. But, I ran into an old problem that I haven't been faced with in a while.
I am sure a lot of us have been confronted with this before - - that annoying blank or black screen when you go to paste ( CTRL-V) the screen shot you just took.
Well after screwing around I figured out a way to get around this - some of you may already know about it - but if not - I figured I'd share. It's all about the Acceleration.
Go into your Display settings (Control Panel/Display)
1. Control Panel
2. Double-click Display
3. Select the Settings tab
4. Click the Advanced button
5. Click the Troubleshoot tab
6. Click and drag the Hardware Acceleration slider all to the left to None
7. Click the Apply button
8. Click the OK button
Keep in mind after you get the screen shot you want - -bring the slider all the way back to the right else your video will be SERIOUSLY effected.
I don't know about you - -- but I think The White House needs more cowbells
So, I am sitting here in my basement getting some systems (at work) ready for a save 21 via VPN. While I am doing that – my son and daughter are playing in the rec room next door.
Hearing them laughing and playing reinforces how much I LOVE the sound of children playing. Their laughter is genuine – their excitement is unmatched no matter if they are playing with their favorite toy or waiting in line for a ride at Disney World.
All of this made me think – what are my Top Five Favorite sounds?
5. The kshhhhhhhh Blip sound the TV makes when you turn it off just before you fall asleep
4. The psssssst sound a popped cap makes on a bottle of freezing cold beer when I am REALLY thirsty.
3. The sound of a crowd as you approach a (open) stadium or arena for an event (especially a football game)
2. The skidding errrrrrt sound the tires on a plane make when you touch down somewhere you have been really waiting to get to
1. The sound of my children playing and laughing
So, I just had something happen in my driveway that is much like when your old girlfriend sees you with your new girlfriend.
I am having Direct TV installed today and while the guy was drilling into the front of my house and setting up the dish – up the driveway comes the Comcast truck to collect my cable boxes and remotes.
Not only did the guy ask me when he took the boxes “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you switching to Direct TV?” but he also stopped to watch the Direct TV guy for a minute before he left and said to him – “I guess cable isn’t what it used to be – I am collecting a lot of boxes today.”
Sorry baby – I found somebody new.
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