On 2/21/2010 I took another step forward in my life’s journey and was baptized at EastlakeCC in Bothell, WA.

Our protaganist takes 10 minutes to demonstrate his inate ability to ramble about NOTHING. He mentions his shrink, Caprica, Matte, the Hallmark holiday known as Valentines Day, and how his has a million ideas in his head and is unable to execute a single one.

Send the boy a topic to ramble about!

Where our hero flows about his weekend, random dreams of The Great White North, and his inate ability to babble for almost 15 mins.

Our hero quizzes Trevor on their commute into work regarding life and his true feelings about Bobby.

Where our protaganist is called to the carpet by Nick Bumgardner on a promise he made.

Where our protaganist and his driver commute the Monday morning path to work.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!!

Matt is a late 30’s single dad who tries to maintain a normal life. However, his life always seems to stumble into trials and tribulations that most times end up with a rolling of the eyes.
Humor, laughter, tears, and the more than occasional expletive.

Would you watch?

Feel free to ask questions! All will be answered honestly to the best of Matt’s ability.

http://bit.ly/4×2ZTu

So, in the film “The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland” *warning, spoiler alert* at the end Elmo takes a blanket that is about 3′x3′ and throws it up in the air far enough that it floats all the way from Grouchland to Sesame Street.

How does Elmo do this?
(I will not even go into the fact that not only does he launch it from Grouchland, but he catches it on Sesame Street)
Just for comparison, I am easily 4x Elmo’s size and I can only get a blanket of that size to go no more than 10′ into the air.

Does Elmo have some sort of magical powers?  If so, where is this disclosed?

Our here and his trust sidekick give Friday night shout outs to family and friends!

The one where the protagonist admits defeat in his New Years resolution….5 days in

Best Buy’s computer optimization service costs $40 and promises to double the speed of your computer. They push it hard, so hard that you’re often forced to get it against your wishes. The trouble? It makes computers slower.

If you’ve ever bought a computer from Best Buy, you’ve doubtlessly been pitched an optimization. And you may have even been forced to buy a model already “optimized” against your wishes, as they have a practice of opening up a sizable percentage of laptops, performing the service, then sealing them back up. Want to buy this advertised laptop? Oops, only pre-optimized models are left! That’ll be $40 over the advertised price, please.

That would be a slimy enough practice if the service was actually beneficial, but a new Consumerist investigation shows that the “service” is actually damaging, slowing down new computers by an average of 32%.

What exactly are they doing to these computers to warrant a $40, then?

Upon comparing the optimized changes, the first noticeable change was a cleaner desktop. Most of the removed shortcuts were for trials, promotions and software added by the manufacture. The programs themselves were still installed and available for later access. Updates had been downloaded on all three models, but differences in the factory default setup can affect how the system is optimized. On one laptop, for example, because Windows Defender was deactivated by default, its definitions had not been updated.

Some optimization changes seemed intended to make the laptop easier to use, such as adding the status bar to the file explorer, or displaying the file menu bar in Internet Explorer. Including a link to the Downloads folder in the Start menu, for example, can save you a few clicks. Security settings were adjusted to allow for automatic Windows updates, and in Internet Explorer, privacy settings were eased up to allow websites you visit to save info you provide on your PC.

Yes, Best Buy is charging $40 to delete shortcuts from your desktop. They don’t delete the actual bloatware, just the shortcuts that let you know what bloatware is there. And they download updates for you. Good lord.

Oh, and did I mention that after one of the optimizations, the Geek Squad forgot to put the power cable back in the box? Oops!

Why is Best Buy being so crazy aggressive about rip-off services like optimization? Well, it’s no secret that they make almost all of their money off of accessories like HDMI cables, extended warranties and services like this. Most of the products they sell have razor-thin margins, meaning they’ll make three times as much profit selling you a Monster Cable than an LED LCD TV. And services like optimizations? Almost pure profit.

But that doesn’t make such anti-consumer behavior acceptable. Pre-optimizing new laptops is a downright scummy behavior, and completely contradicts their claims that it’s a mere choice and not something customers are forced into. If Best Buy is going to continue to push these expensive services, they need to make sure that it’s always a choice for customers. They also need to make clear that it, you know, actually does something useful.

[Consumerist]

The one where our hero throws himself upon his sword and admits that he does not necessarily practice what he preaches.  Backup your files people!

Where our hero and his sidekick wake up not feeling so well and have to cancel a trip to see Tutu and Pappy.   The least the duo could do was send them a video note.

So it begins. Our hero announces his 2010 New Years Resolution to post a video blog to MattEbert.com every day for 1 year. Can he do it? Only time will see!

Mentions:
Arrogant Bastard Ale – Stone Brewing Co.

Note:  Yes, the audio needs some tweaking.  The popping KILLS me!

Where our hero and his sidekick wish the world Happy New Year.

Where the protaginist contemplates getting back into blogging….sort of.

Mentions: Fixx-My-Lipz lip balm – www.my-mamas-love.com

Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt, use it-don’t cheat with it.

Ernest Hemingway

Now I think I’m going down to the well tonight
and I’m going to drink till I get my fill
And I hope when I get old I don’t sit around thinking about it
but I probably will

Bruce Springsteen

Edit:
After reading the above a very close friend txt’ed me the following: Next line please

Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
a little of the glory of, well time slips away
and leaves you with nothing mister but
boring stories of glory days

Thank you dear friend!

Nine socks of similar hue.

Not a single matching one.

(note: This in NO WAY is a reflection on my wife or her laundry skills!)

I walk down a street and there’s a big hole. I don’t see it and fall into it. It’s dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to find my way out. It’s not my fault!

Chapter Two

I walk down the same street. There’s a big hole and I can see it, but I still fall in. It’s dark and hopeless and it takes me a long time to get out. It’s still not my fault.

Chapter Three

I walk down a street. There’s a big hole. I can see it, but I still fall in. It’s become a habit. But I keep my eyes open and get out immediately. It is my fault.

Chapter Four

I walk down a street. There’s a big hole. And I walk around it.

Chapter Five

I walk down a different street.

Poem by Portia Nelson

Dear friends,

The first rule of crisis management is to get ahead of the story. Since my shameful secret is about to be revealed, I decided to break it here first. I’d rather you heard it from me than from the media:

In March 2008 I watched Rick Astley’s music video Never Gonna Give You Up on YouTube. It’s widely considered to be the most corny music video ever created. I have no excuse; I can’t even claim to have been RickRolled. I heard about the video, and willingly went and viewed it. It was me, just me, officer!

The reason for this confession is that Google is about to hand over to Viacom a complete list of every video watched by YouTube users:

[...] the judge granted a Viacom motion that records of every video watched by YouTube users, including their login names and IP addresses, be turned over to the entertainment giant.

The order prevents Viacom from using this information to target lawsuits at users. But it makes no sense to give this information to Viacom in the first place: Google could easily make this data anonymous, and they’ve asked Viacom to do just that. Viacom have said that they won’t use any personally identifiable data, but they haven’t replied to Google’s request directly. These mixed signals make me lunge for my tin foil hat: what could explain Viacom’s behavior? Perhaps, once they have the logs in their possession, they intend to ask the judge to allow them greater use of the data. Or perhaps the data will be “accidentally” leaked — after all, that sort of thing happens all the time.

But criticizing a media company like Viacom for ignoring users’ privacy is like berating a toddler for getting food all over themselves: it’s in their nature, and they’re going to keep doing it. Let’s beat up on Google instead, that never gets old. Google shouldn’t have kept this data around for Viacom to subpoena. Google deletes personally identifiable user data after 18 months, which isn’t enough to hide my Rick Astley obsession. Google’s track record on privacy is spotty in general. For example, after a lot of pressure they finally added a link to their privacy policy on the Google homepage in July 2008, not before bitching and moaning like a teenager whose parents have forced him to clean his room.

Google has some of the most sensitive data in the world; in particular, they know every search that a user makes. In their Privacy FAQ they list several good reasons why they need to keep this data:

• To improve search results
• To maintain the security of their systems
• To prevent fraud and other abuses

It’s true that in order to achieve these goals Google needs to save the search logs. However, the problem isn’t that they keep the search logs; it’s that they keep personally identifiable information in the logs, which lets them (or anyone else, such as Viacom) associate searches and clicks with real people. Google keeps this information for 18 months, and that’s far too long. They could erase the personal information much sooner and still achieve all of the goals described above.

For example, Google use the search logs to find common spelling mistakes made by users, so that they can offer automatic suggestions for the correct spelling. This doesn’t require any personally identifiable information. Another use for the search logs is to detect click fraud. For this purpose it is indeed useful to look at the search and click history of individual users. However, the benefit of this personal data quickly diminishes with time. Data about click fraud that is over a month old should be considered prehistoric; the perpetrators are long gone from whatever IP they had been using.

Google’s privacy policy doesn’t say how long they keep search logs; probably forever. The only promise they make is to scrub out personally identifiable information after 18 months. Google are very vague about where this figure of “18 months” comes from; perhaps it has some religious significance. From Google’s Privacy FAQ:

Why are logs kept for 18 months before being anonymized?

We strike a reasonable balance between the competing pressures we face, such as the privacy of our users, the security of our systems and the need for innovation. We believe 18 months strikes the right balance.

It’s time we told Google: 18 months is too long. One month would strike the right balance between privacy, security and the need for innovation. With one month of personally identifiable information, Google will be able to catch all the fraud they are ever likely to catch. After that, it’s time to anonymize the data. The anonymized data is still useful for improving their search engine.

Go to Google’s Privacy Feedback page and ask them to reduce the amount of time they keep personally identifiable data in their logs. You could use a message such as this one:

Google isn’t alone in this. Microsoft also anonymizes its logs after 18 months. Yahoo makes do with just 13 months (how did they come up with that number? Perhaps it also holds occult significance). Ask.com, the fourth-largest search provider, gives its users the option of making completely anonymous searches. But we should focus on Google: where the market leader goes, the rest will surely follow.

The world shall miss your wisdom.

In memory, “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television“:

1. Shit
2. Piss
3. Fuck
4. Cunt
5. Cocksucker
6. Motherfucker
7. Tits

Gina says (12:43 PM):
matte is at the end of the bed..
Gina says (12:43 PM):
kinda leaning over
Gina says (12:43 PM):
he sat really still and farted REALLY loud
Gina says (12:43 PM):
then looked at me
Gina says (12:43 PM):
threw his head back
Gina says (12:43 PM):
and laughed harder than ever before!!
Matt says (12:43 PM):
BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Gina says (12:44 PM):
he has his tounge hanging out..
Gina says (12:44 PM):
and the cat keeps trying to swat at it

Matte shakes hands with his Pappy

Gina, Jaxon, Matte, and I took advantage of a lovely Sunday to take a lazy ferry ride and drive up to see Tutu and Pappy. 

And even if he did, do you do everything George Bush says? Bush seems to think that every American must spend their tax rebate in the United States. Do you trust this guy?

read more | digg story

License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit – ever. They’re like the Viet Cong – Varmint Cong. So you have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. And that’s all she wrote. – Carl Spackler

That’s right, it is officially gopher hunting season.  The first hole popped up last night.  I am guessing there will be two more when I get home later.  Not happy!  So it looks like my upcoming weekend will consist of crawling around the backyard with a hose, a shovel, and a cooler full of beer, or at least that is what Google is telling me to do.  On the upside, I already know whose yard that I will be disposing of the aforementioned varmint.  Wish me luck!

Get a good look at this face, for one day he will rule the world!

Union gives strength.
Aesop

So as is par for the course I have been lousy about updating this here ol’ blog. It has been almost a month since my last post where I promised an update about the amazing baby shower that was thrown for us. Plus in this past month I have all sorts of Matte news and pictures to share. But this here post will focus on neither. Nope, not this time. Instead, I am going to point the spotlight on a big chunk of news that has happened in my life.

It all started a little over a year ago when I met someone special. It was one of those things where I just was not really looking and there she appeared. Over this past year there has been many ups and downs for the both of us. Many words were said, both good and bad…however, I am of the belief that what does not kill us only makes us stronger. In the past couple of months I had found that I could just not get enough of this someone special. She was making me happy in everything that she did and said. I came to know even more about her inside and out. When I was not with her I was thinking about her and wanting to be with her. Waking up without her smile was just not of value to me any longer.

As far back as I can remember I always thought that the hardest thing in life I could ever do was to ask someone to marry me. However, it occurred to me that with this someone special it was the easiest thing I could ever do.

On Friday night, October 19th, I asked my one true love Gina to marry me.

To my delight she replied with a resounding yes!

I know that there is a long road ahead of us, but this is a road that I have nothing but great delight in traveling down.

I got gaps; you got gaps; we fill each other’s gaps.
Rocky

This position is pictured below:

In this picture you will notice a carseat.  (Happens to be MY carseat that matches MY car, but that is not an issue at this moment.)  This aforementioned carseat is located in the kitchen sink.  Inside the carseat you will see my son Matte, laying facedown.  And if you have the attention to detail as I do you will notice that his head is at the foot of the carseat.

That’s my boy!  Have no idea where he get’s it from.

So until then I will inundate you with pics of the CUTEST KID IN THE WORLD®!

The first two pics are our first documented true Matte smiles.  Gina was trying to shoot a pic with her phone to send to me at work to show me the outfit he was wearing.  She tickeled his cheek a little and we got the below:

These are a couple that Mum-Mum shot.  I have NO idea where he gets the ham factor from.

This here is how he spends alot of his non-sleep/non-bottle time.  Just gazing at the world with bewilderment.

This HAS to be my favorite pic of the week:

Giving the GREATEST MOMMY IN THE WORLD® a kiss.

On Tuesday Matte was officially one month old.  It seems so hard to believe that he is only a month old, yet I cannot imagine a time without him. 

Tuesday morning was also officially the first time that I went 100% solo with Matte.  Gina had a few errands to run, so she asked me to get him all cleaned up, dressed, and escort him to his pediatricians appointment where she would meet back up with us.  Not a problem!  Now I have run sorta solo with him while she ran to the store, but this time I actually had a task list and schedule.  Needless to say, we pulled it off without a hitch.  Not a single scratch, his diaper was on correctly, and his socks were matching.

I do have to admit that the car ride to the pediatricians office was pretty…how should I say it….surreal.  Picture this:

• Original white boy
• in late model Volvo
• cruising through the suburbs
• with his one month old son in backseat

Classy, huh?  But it gets better!

• and the iPod is set to shuffle

"Who you tryin’ to get crazy with ese? Don’t you know I’m loco?"

Oh yeah!  It was not until the end of the first chorus that reality set in.  Drug-reference laden rap songs from the early 90’s are probably no longer appropriate when rolling with the lad.  *sigh*  On the upside Gina said that I do not have to totally curtail my potty mouth for another couple of months!

On to the pediatrician.  All is normal.  We are in the 55-75 percentile in all areas.  He has packed on another pound and an inch in length, clocking in at 10.2lbs and 22.5".  Woohoo!!  On the downside, it was inoculation set #2.  The little man was a complete trooper!

OK, enough of my babble and onto the pics!

And I would be remiss not to share with you the view on my Blackberry:

(top row: Eric H., Matt Mechler, ?, John Youill (sp?), Jeff Myers, Frank Gecze (sp?), Brett Jackson, ?, ?
Middle row: Sean Young, Ian Young, myself, Randy Anson, Paul Austin, ?, Jason Koenig, Brian Pilkington, ?
Front row: Scoutmaster Tom Mechler, Jason Hauschildt, ?, Glenn Johnson, Tom Addleman)

The above photo was taken my second year in Troop 498, I am thinking the spring of 1984, at a campout in Carnation, WA.  I am impressed that I was able to remember all of those names, but at the same time kinda bummed that I cannot remember the rest.

Earlier I was scoping out the website for Salmon Days in order to come up with the best strategy for parking and such this weekend.  While clicking through I found Matt’s name.  The Ohfishals for Salmon Days have chosen a piece of art by Matt as the Ohfishal Print for 2007.  See below:

From the Salmon Days website:

“Historic Return” by Matt Mechler

The Spirit of Issaquah: A Celebration of Northwest Treasures

Mechler is a Washington native and calls Issaquah his hometown. He spent much of his childhood exploring the Issaquah Alps in search of old mines, fossils, and other hidden treasures. “I’ve always enjoyed history and love the outdoors,” said Mechler. Mechler graduated from Liberty Senior High School and attended Western Washington University where he majored in Geography. Matt and his wife live in Kent but they both spend most days in Issaquah working for the City.

“I discovered one rainy winter day that I could create some neat images by altering my digital photographs on the computer,” said Mechler “Historic Return” is a compilation of fourteen different digital pictures and images that have been enhanced. “I wanted to produce an art piece that people would associate with Issaquah and I feel I accomplished that.” “There is a lot to see but you have to look closely to find everything,” said Mechler.

This 2007 Limited Edition Print is produced by the Festival, and signed and numbered by the artist. The previous Salmon Days series became extremely popular with both long-time Salmon Days’ supporters as well as with fine art collectors.

The print is on sale at the Chamber office for $65. Proceeds assist in producing the Festival, which is the major fundraiser for the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce. We accept cash, checks, Visa and Mastercard, and can ship anywhere in the United States.

Individuals who purchased the last print in the Spirit of Issaquah series have been notified of the opportunity to purchase the same number in the 2007 print.

Congratulations Matt!  I look forward to picking up a print this weekend and hanging it with pride in my home.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 9608649

Oh yes, I have gotten the framework and a few photos up in the Photo section on the site.  This all is mainly to appease the Grandmother Factor®.  Just the basics for now with a  pretty slideshow.    Plus, it is a nice place for me to glance at while at work.  In the future I am hoping to add comments and an RSS feed.

In the meantime, enjoy and feel free to comment on my (and my beautiful SO!) keen ability to produce cute babies.

“It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly.” - Henry David Thoreau

“Much of our activity these days is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life.” – Unknown

“The things you own end up owning you.” - Tyler Durden in Fight Club

It is truly amazing the enlightenment you gain when you come to grips with what is truly important in life.  Possessions mean little at the end of the day.

*Of course this does not stop my craving for an iPhone.

The front pack has to be the greatest invention EVER!  I get the boy right up against me AND have my hands free at the same time.  After trying many models we found the Baby Bjorn to be the best.  Also happens to be the most expensive.  Quality does not come cheap I guess.  Also got my car outfitted with it’s very own car seat.  Even took it down to the local fire station to have them inspect it and make sure everything was installed properly.  Anal retentive,maybe, but this is my boy and I will spare nothing for him!

Gina has made an amazing recovery, you would think she was Superwoman.  Even after 1 week you would not have known she had just given birth.  She is just a dynamo.  I am literally exhausted at the end of the day, and she is doing way more.  Makes me feel guilty at times.  Especially when I wake up to breakfast in bed with the boy that SHE made for me.  I just may have hit the lottery with this one.

Isn’t that the BEST view to wake up to?  OK, second best…waking up next to her would rank a tiny bit higher.

It is amazing how an 8 pound little boy who requires you for 100% of his day to day tasks can make you completely forget every worry in the world.  I mean seriously, look at this face.

There is no distance too far that I would not walk to make this boys dreams happen.

We have literally taken a BAZILLION pictures of him, along with almost daily trips to Costco for prints.  I just need to figure out the right way to display them.  Keep looking here and hopefully I will have a gallery setup soon.

That is right, a whole week early.

At 6:00am PST on 9/2/07 Matthew Allen Ebert II made his first appearance to the world. He came to us at a healthy 8lbs 2oz and 19 inches long. He is perfectly healthy, with 10 fingers and 10 toes. Not only does he look just like his pops, he already has more hair than him.

We were originally going to name him Pacen Matthew Ebert, however when we first laid our eyes on him Gina remarked that he looks more like a Matthew than a Pacen. I could not agree more, and am over the moon that he will share my name.

Mattie spent his first day resting with Mom and Dad, and then got to spend a good part of the evening getting to know his PopPop and Tutu. They could not be happier!

I will be setting up a picture album online soon (after a little more rest!) that I will share with everyone, but until then below are a couple of pics to give you a glimpse at how wonderful he is.

Just moments old walking out of the delivery room

The perfect little boy!

Happy family!

That is the look of exhaustion on papa’s face.

Mill Valley, Calif., ca. 1984: Look at the face — it just tells so many stories. I do remember that the day before I was supposed to go up there, I got a call from Bruce Springsteen’s art director, who wanted me to shoot his album cover on the same day, but I had already committed to the John Lee Hooker thing. During the two or three hours that I was at his home, I can remember always thinking, "What an amazing face." You always know when you’re in the presence of a living legend.

Neal Preston

London, 1985: That’s at the height of the ‘Born in the USA’ tour. During the intermission of the concert, I clamped a remote-controlled Nikon onto a railing at stage right, pre-focused it, dropped the long shutter release cable underneath the stage and waited for Bruce to hit his mark during ‘Hungry Heart.’ This shot says "Bruce for the masses" to me. I mean, this was July 4, 1985, right before he went back to America to play stadiums. We were in London, on the biggest American holiday, he’s tearing into ‘Born in the USA,’ and it was kind of … chilling, you know?

Neal Preston

• Matt v2.0 is coming along great.  It was a little touch and go for awhile, and there were a few scares, but the docs are saying things are looking good.
• Only 50 days left until the big day.  Mom is delivering by c-section.  Time and place is booked…as long as he does not come early.
• We decided upon a name.  Pacen Matthew Ebert.  He will go by Pace for short.  (I swear if one of you breaks out with a salsa comment I will shiv you!)  Using my name in the middle was her idea that I had never really thought about before.
• He plays games with me already.  I push on her belly with my hands and he pushes back.  That is my favorite thing in the world to do right now.
• I am officially more in love with him than anything in the world, and I have not even met him yet!
• I want to start reading books to him while he is in the womb.  Anyone have any suggestions?
• After 5 years working in a company of 3 individuals I have decided to move on and return to a company with over 75,000 individuals.
• “Simplify” – This is my new mantra.  Everything in my life I have started to simplify in preparation for my little man.  No chaos for this boy.  My packrat tendencies have gone the way of garage sales, craigslist, and eBay.  I highly suggest it if you can!
• I am still going to marry Kelly Clarkson.

Did I miss anything?

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin, famously

“Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” – Mark Twain

Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

I would totally max out my dental plan on this one.

Pam from The Office

Topping my current Lust List®

“ Stupid TV! Be more funny!

Homer Simpson

Episode: “Marge On The Lam” (11/5/93)

Context: While trying to understand why a studio audience is laughing appreciatively at a dryly serious Garrison Keillor-like performer, Homer pounds the family TV, trying to improve its humor reception.

Real-life uses: Whenever frustrated with any form of insufficient humor, from your friends’ lame jokes to, um, sub-par episodes of The Simpsons.

You know you are getting old when the pharmacist upgrades you to the bigger bag.

“ Is the universe so unfair and unfeeling that it would really present such choices as a zero sum game?

Ron Moore (Executive Producer of Battlestar Galactica) when asked the question of ‘Ginger or Mary Ann’.

“ Dogs are the leaders of the planet. If you see two life forms, one of them’s making a poop, the other one’s carrying it for him, who would you assume is in charge.

Jerry Seinfeld

What if Karl Rove……

Were the strategist for the Democrats this mid term election cycle?
Here are the slug lines Democrats from the candidate for local dog
catcher all the way to Governor or Senator would be saying:

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for crystal meth”

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for pedophiles”

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for homosexuality”

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for larger government”

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for doubling the national debt”

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for Marines in Iraq showering in contaminated water”

“A vote for Republicans is a vote for rigged elections”

The problem is the Democrats don’t have anyone with enough backbone
to say these things and really fight it out. Democrats are void of a
set of balls and Republicans are lying, election fixing, war starting,
power mad, self loathing homosexual, closet meth addicts.

Not voting by the way is a vote for more of the same course
mentioned in the previous paragraph. None of us can take this course
any longer and once again We the People have the power to make a
change…….or do we? See www.blackboxvoting.org .

I agree completely here.  This weekend I watched "Hacking Democracy" on HBO.  I watched the entire documentary with my head just shaking continually thinking that this cannot be happening in the world that we live in.  Unfortunately, it is our world.  Now is the time to make changes.

I implore you to not only vote, but vote smart.  I am not saying who you should vote for, just vote smart.

If the above was not enough….how about this to show a little reality:

Stephanopoulos: You know, in your book, "Lucky Man," you
really are unsparing in your description of the horrors of this
disease. But you also make it seem almost like a gift. Do you still
feel that way?

Fox: That’s unique to me. I’ve
been so incredibly blessed in my life. So lucky. So gifted with amazing
things — my family and my wife; my career; the things I’ve seen; the
people that I’ve met. And I found myself in this unique
position of although I’m facing this, and I’m dealing with it, and
it’s, and it’s not what one would pick out of a catalogue. It does
provide me an opportunity to make a difference and to do positive
things. And for that I have to be grateful and humbled by that
circumstance.

Character is so rarely found today in
public life these days that when someone has it he shines forth more
brilliantly than diamonds and more valuable.

Take this lesson to heart. Life is about the "opportunity to make a difference and to do positive things" and if your life is not about that then you need to re-evaluate your life.

Found here.

Thinking to myself I cannot quite decide if this makes the world feel any smaller…or maybe a little bigger.

As a kid I had an over-sized poster of a diagram of the Space Shuttle hanging on my wall.  If I remember correctly it was an insert from a National Geographic magazine.⁽¹⁾  I would stare at this poster for hours, going over ever inch of the diagram/schematic.  I can still remember it vividly.⁽²⁾ 

I am all for space exploration, yet I prefer to keep my feet on the ground.  The great openness scares the pickles out of me.  Kind of the similar fear I have when flying at a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet and all I see out the window is the clouds below me.  Yet I have no real fear of flying.  Just a fear of the nothingness between the plane and the ground.  Luckily, over the years I have been able to teach myself how to not be bothered by these fears during flight.⁽³⁾

If I have not lost you so far…I guess what I am getting at is that diagram/schematic helped to ignite my desire for how things work.⁽⁴⁾

(1) My google-foo is weak tonight, or else I would be eating up more of your precious bandwidth of a photo of it.

(4) Also that Looney Tunes cartoon where the two squirrels get stuck in the canning factory and spend the entire 4mins 32 seconds scampering around the conveyor belts.

Part One: the most common food
colorings used in the most widely eaten foods and candies, have been
proven to cause ADD in children and even adults.

Part Two: the effects
of excessive television watching generally include lack of motivation,
and overall conformity. Most people desire what they see on TV. The
majority of people will wear the same fashions, drive the same cars,
and attempt to live the same lifestyles that they observe on TV.

The
main effect of excessive television consumption is…short attention
span. So….combine the TV induced short attention span with the chemical
based ADD from the food we eat, and we end up a society that can’t
concentrate long enough to figure out that our basic rights are being
stripped from us. And even if someone laid it all out for us….we
probably couldn’t muster up the motivation to do anything about it.

A couple hundred years ago, a group of men got together and held
secret meetings to discuss the future of our country. They figured out
what was wrong with the current corrupt government, and wrote their own
set of laws that would provide the foundation for a successfully
democratic society, unlike any that came before it. They concentrated their efforts with other like minded individuals, and started a
revolution. Had they not succeeded…they would have been executed for
treason…but the risk was well worth it. Today, there are similar groups
of men having meetings in private. They are also deciding the future of
this country, but these men have a different motivation, different
methods, and a different goal. These men feel that a successful country
is not enough…they want total control over the worlds economy and
military, and they have proven over and over that they will do anything
to stick to their plan. They change laws to suit their needs, and
create laws to ensure their control can’t be taken away. They start out
as business men, and buy their way into government. They are greedy,and
crave power as much as money. They are not concerned with you or your
rights. They feel that they can decide what is right for this country
better than you can, and they will prey on your emotions and instincts, until you conform.

The new anti-terror laws being passed right now, prohibit the type
of meetings that started this country. If our founding fathers were
around today, every member from Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Franklin,
would have been taken away by federal agents, and placed in a foreign
prison with no chance for a public trial to defend themselves, after their discussions were monitored by the NSA. The ideas they had would
be deemed a threat to national security, and they would have basically
disappeared off the face of the earth. This government, or more accurately, the people that pull our governments strings, are gradually
cutting off all avenues of pubic intervention. This government was
designed to serve the public, but a very slick group of people have now
made the government impenetrable. Whether you like it or not, these
people will use our military to conquer the rest of the world. This
will of course make even more people aim their hatred our way, creating
more terrorism. You can rest assured it does not matter which party you
vote for, the outcome will be the same.          Our democratic society
has turned into a dramatic theatrical event, in which we, the public,
act out our parts by casting ballots, writing congressmen, and
protesting…all the while the people in the directors chairs make the
final edits. Whats best for “national security” may not be whats best
for us. History only repeats itself if you let it…     – David Rice

I guess I could say this is my best side…

See my confirmation notations in italics below.  (mmmm…italic pizza!)

White and Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic

First in my class here at MIT
Got skills, I’m a champion at D&D  (I have the dice)
MC Escher – that’s my favorite MC  (blows the doors of MC Hammer)
Keep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea  (prefer Green tea, but you get the idea)
My rims never spin, to the contrary  (you know what kind of laptop I can get for the pricetag on those rims???)
You’ll find that they’re quite stationary
All of my action figures are cherry  (guilty)
Steven Hawking’s in my library  (got his own shelf)
My MySpace page is all totally pimped out  (ok, maybe not totally pimp)
Got people beggin’ for my top eight spaces
Yo, I know pi to a thousand places  (I can remember to 36 places, but cannot remember breakfast)
Ain’t got no grills but I still wear braces  (naw, just rolled with a retainer…top and bottom)
I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise  (this is where the wheels start coming off…light mayo only please)
I’m a whiz at Minesweeper – I could play for days  (hmmm….not so much)
(…)
I’ll ace any trivia quiz you bring on  (bring it baby!)
I’m fluent in JavaScript as well as Klingon

(…)
Even made a homepage for my dog  (ok, maybe not my dog)
Yo, I got myself a fanny pack
They were havin’ a sale down at The Gap  (got the receipts to prove!)
Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
Pop, pop, hope no one sees me
Gettin’ freaky
I’m nerdy in the extreme
And whiter than sour cream  (they do not get much whiter)
I was in AV Club and Glee Club and even the Chess Team  (check, check, and check)
Only question I
Ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk
Or do I like Picard  (do not make me have to answer!)

I got a cock as big as a donkey, hard as a rock
and trigger finger itchier than chicken pox

Alot of this is what I have been consuming my time with outside the office as of late.  Rough gig, I know.  I have been assisting my Chris with his photography.  Our latest work has been for Northwest Vixens providing content for Hot Shots on KISW FM in Seattle.  All Maxim/FHM style photography.

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 1618280

Prime example

Matt, age 18:
Honey Jager

Seriously, what could make a Friday night, or any other night for that matter, better than Jagermeister with honey in it?!?!?!

Matt, age 33:
Fiber Choice Candy Drops

Seriously, what could make a Friday night, or any other night for that matter, better than low calorie candy with fiber in it?!?!?!

Sure, it’s supposed to hold 70 million pounds (the equivalent of 72 747 airplanes) and survive an 8.0 earthquake from 50 miles away, but if you catch me out there after a couple Long Island iced teas, I’ll still slap anyone silly who takes to jumping up and down.

Currently being built at the Grand Canyon for an early 2006 opening, the new attraction is a walkway with glass bottom and sides, composed of a million pounds of steel, and attached to the side of the canyon about 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.

Credit (or blame) the Hualapai Indians, who own one million acres on the western rim of the Grand Canyon and wanted to do something more than add slot machines.

In addition to the world’s first sky walk, other attractions are planned including a hotel and Indian village with authentic native shelters from the Hualapai, Navajo, and Hopi.

This card from Kelley. I can always count on her to pick out just the right cards! So apropos.

If you get a close-up look at Condi, her eyes look like they are rolled back into her head and she is possesed.
Click here for a closeup
(Exactly how Viktor Krum’s looked as he was running through the maze challenge in Harry Potter.)
Answers alot of questions I have though.

I am beat. The words here cannot even express the exhaustion I am feeling at this moment. Both physically and mentally wiped.

I guess I should play a little catch-up with you and tell you where I am at. I am awful at writing my thoughts and feelings, as you well know. So bear with me here.

I have decided to move back to Seattle to be closer to my family and friends. This one point I could not be any happier about. It was almost four years ago that I left Seattle for San Diego. Not saying that I hated it here, it all treated me pretty well. I have grown alot, mentally. Learned quite a bit about myself and human nature. Blah, blah, blah…you do not want to hear any of this, so how about I just move onto the details.

Today I just signed a lease on an apartment. Crazy thing is that it will cost me less than my place here in San Diego and it is more than twice the size with all the amenities and no homeless people sleeping outside my door. Yay team! But I am only planning on holding onto the apartment until I can find a house to buy. I am more than ready for that.

I am fortunate enough to be able to bring my job along with me. This I could not be happier about either. It is a job I actually really enjoy and I do well at. Plus, it takes a huge amount of stress off me having to find a new gig.

As for all my gear/stuff/junk…I am unloading it all. My clothes, DVD’s, and computers will get shipped up to the new place. But everything else is getting sold or given away. I took a long look at everything and decided that it would cost more in both dollars and sanity to move it all then to just unload it and start over with fresh stuff. Last week I hired a great woman who is both organized and highly-motivated. She came through and inventoried everything and is selling it all. YEEHAW! That was a huge weight off my shoulders. Before hiring her I could only picture myself sitting amongst everything the night before I want to leave town and not know what I am going to do. Downside is that the good stuff is already going. For example, my main TV….gone. I have about 2.5 weeks left and I am down to just the small TV from my bedroom. Two TiVo’s and one TV….*sigh*. But this is a good thing. Right? Right?

Jasmine is none too happy about all of this right now. I think it has her stressed as much as me. Not only is there random pieces of crucial furniture all of the sudden missing, but she also got a trip to the vet yesterday for a checkup. She is pretty set in her ways. Not really down for leaving the house. Luckily, the vet hooked me up with some sedatives for her to make the drive up to Seattle easier for me. Now if I could have just gotten her to prescribe me some sedatives…

It was almost 9pm tonite and I realized that I had not eaten yet tonite. I cruised over to Wahoo’s, but they had just closed. So I bopped over to Chili’s for some good old fashioned comfort food in hopes that it would help relieve my stress. It probably would have helped not consuming 3 Diet Cokes while awaiting my Quesadilla. Now I am all hopped up and nowhere to go. I probably should focus that energy on filling a box with clothes. ehhhh….I can’t be bothered right now.

What else is there??? I was on a roll there for a minute, and now it is lost…

Oh yeah…so this past weekend I went up to LA for dinner with Kelley. We had some grubbin italian at The Grove. Must love SoCal….fake snow in December at the mall! After that we cruised over to the Improv and caught Bob Saget doing stand-up. Hil-FUCKING-larious! Dude went for almost 90 minutes non-stop with the funny. And I am not talking Full House funny, I am talking foul-mouthed non-stop making with the funny. Although, he did have a few good Kimmy Gibbler stories. *head scratch* I sure am going to miss those weekend trips to LA.

Well blog, you have been a good ear for me tonite. Thank you. I will try to be a little more regular around these parts.

XOXO,

(the guy whose name is in the address field)

p.s. As I was walking into Chili’s, the following lyrics were playing:

Hey, hey, hey ,hey
Ohhh…

Won’t you come see about me?
I’ll be alone, dancing you know it baby

Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving me everything inside and out and
Love’s strange so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on

Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby

Don’t You Forget About Me
Don’t Don’t Don’t Don’t
Don’t You Forget About Me

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it just seemed right…

So I was going through my head thinking about the things from my everyday life that I miss about living in Seattle. I have compiled a Top 10 list:

10. The first solid rainstorm of fall.
9. Issaquah Salmon Days – two words: Elephant Ears
8. Spuds Fish & Chips (West Seattle, not the bastardizations in Greenlake & Juanita)
7. The view of the Seattle skyline traveling southbound on I-5 just as you cross the Ship Canal bridge.
6. The filet mignon and potato pancakes at Jax.
5. Early morning breakfast at Lowell’s in the Pike Place Market watching the ferries cross Elliot Bay. (BEST punkin muffins anywere)
4. Late night movies with my brothers.
3. Nordies on the first day of the Anniversary Sale. (just not the same outside of Seattle)
2. Dick’s Deluxe with fries and a large Coke. (Gotta say no to the chocolate shakes, they make my tum-tum feel unhappy)
1. My friends Scott & Heidi (and their 6-month old JD). I would (and have) ditch the rest of it all to be able to see them.

Honarable mention: Eggnog Latte’s in November and December from the Nordstrom Coffee Bar. Fuck Starbucks.

This week’s target: Netflix
The complaint: Netflix failed to provide “unlimited” DVD rentals and “one day delivery” as promised in its marketing materials.
The settlement: Subscribers who were customers before January 15, 2005 will get one month of free upgraded service. That is, if you can have three discs out at a time, you get upgraded to four, for free, for one month. Subscribers who were customers before January 15, 2005, but are no longer customers, will receive a free one-month membership.

What you miss in the fine print: If you accept the upgraded account, you will be put on that upgraded plan at the end of your free month and your bill will increase unless you cancel! It seems to me that the number of subscribers who fail to cancel, forget, or just plain don’t understand will likely make Netflix more money as a result of this settlement.

The kicker: The lawyers get $2,528,000

However, there is still a way around all of this. Opt-out!
If more than 5% of the eligible class ‘opts-out’ then the settlement is void and theoretically the lawyers get nothing.

How to ‘opt-out’: Detailed instructions on how to opt-out can be found at http://www.netflixsettlementsucks.com/

Update: Some good coverage here by MSNBC.

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: Myself and Princess Mraw Mraw
WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING NOW: The DaVinci Code
FAVORITE GAME: Monopoly
FAVORITE SMELLS: ocean breeze, first rain of the fall, a beautiful woman, obsession for women
FAVORITE MAGAZINE: Business 2.0, PC Magazine
FAVORITE SOUNDS: My office voicemail prompt saying: You have no new messages
WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD: seeing someone dear in pain and not being able to help
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING: Damn that Ann Curry has a sexy voice!
A PERFECT DAY: really depends on my mood, no good answer right now….check back later
HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE: caller id
FUTURE DAUGHTER’S NAME: Madeline Alicia
FAVORITE FOODS: sushi w/ frosting
CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA: nilla
DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST: define ‘fast’
DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL: only Princess Mraw Mraw after a late-night serving of Tender Vittles
STORMS: Louder the better, when curled up beneath the sheets
WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR: 1975 VW Super Beetle (color: radioactive guacamole)
FAVORITE NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINK: chai tea
WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN: capricorn – the horny goat
IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB YOU WANTED WHAT WOULD IT BE: Technology Advisor to the Rich & Infamous
IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR: such the possibilities
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE: I hope not, at least not yet.
FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE: It’s A Wonderful Life
ARE YOU A LEFTY OR A RIGHTY: right
FAVORITE COLOR: evergreen
FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH: Foxy Boxing

Good for him! I could not be happier to give him all my support. However, I could have sworn he came leaping out years ago. Maybe it is just my rampant imagination. *shrug*

However, tonight the world of the interweb got a little smaller. Sitting down at the table who do I see sitting to my right? (I am SDBeach, btw)

Yup, that is Shane Nickerson! Needless to say my mouth just hit the floor. Shane has a great blog that I stumbled across almost a year ago. He has amazingly well written stories that will tug at your heart strings, pictures of everday life, and is pioneering the Vlog frontier. (The ‘Bonus Vlog’, a personal fav!) Check him out, you will not be sorry.

I have registered to play in the
Online Poker Blogger Championship!

This event is powered by PokerStars.

Registration code: 5449286

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Aug. 28, 2005) – While Gulf Coast residents brace for the arrival of Hurricane Katrina, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is preparing to supply emergency drinking water immediately after the storm. At the request of the Red Cross in Lafayette, La., and Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Anheuser-Busch is shipping 12,500 cases of drinking water (300,000 cans) to Montgomery, Ala., to wait until Katrina passes through the Gulf Coast. The company then will ship the water to relief agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi, and it is prepared to send additional water if needed. “Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers are always willing to step up and lend a hand to our neighbors following natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina,” said Mike Harding, vice president of operations for Anheuser-Busch. “Safe drinking water is a critical need following many hurricanes, and Anheuser-Busch is proud to have donated more than 46 million cans of water to victims of natural disasters in the last five years.” The water was canned at the Anheuser-Busch Cartersville, Ga., brewery and Metal Container Corp. in Rome, Ga., a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Cos., supplied the cans.(…)

Please note the date. August 28, 2005. That was a Sunday. The day the hurricane approached the Gulf Coast. That very same day President Bush was playing golf in Texas, and the very next day he flew to San Diego for a VJ Day ceremony on Coronado Island. It was not until the 31st, three days later, that any real significant action was taken.

Again, I am ashamed of the people we have at the helm of this ship. Quite apparent that there was a lapse of judgement here.

President Clinton was stained a blue dress from the Gap and was impeached. Official reasoning: lapse of judgement.

*sigh*

On that note: My hats off to Anheuser-Busch. Bravo gentleman. I shall congratulate you this weekend by purchasing your product. Over and over….

Looted from here:

Friday, September 2nd, 2005

Dear Mr. Bush:

Any idea where all our helicopters are? It’s Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.

Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren’t there to begin with?

Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn’t want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don’t like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!

I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don’t let people criticize you for this — after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?

And don’t listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn’t cut the money to fix those levees, there weren’t going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them — BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!

On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn’t stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.

There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.

No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It’s not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C’mon, they’re black! I mean, it’s not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don’t make me laugh! Race has nothing — NOTHING — to do with this!

You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com

P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.

I am going to round one of these up, frame it, and hang it in my office.

Luckily, I do not have clients who actually visit my office. Just Princess Mraw Mraw.

Shannen Doherty Flies with UPN as ‘Wingwoman’

Am I the only one in this world that see’s that she has one eye higher than the other?

Am I the only one that knows that she will throw a tantrum and walk off the show 3/4 through the first season?

Aaron Spelling must have paid off all his debts to her, cause he is apparently not behind this latest gig. I swear to you, this girl has some dirt on someone in this town! Cause the last decent role she had was in Heathers. HELLO….that was 16 years ago!

To block pop-ups from plugins, open your Firefox 1.0 or 1.0.1 browser, type about:config in the address field. Right-click in the resulting config page somewhere and select New -> Interger.

Type privacy.popups.disable_from_plugins in the resulting dialog, hit OK, type 2 in the next dialog and you’re all set.

This pref can actually take three values:

* 0: open allowed
* 1: the opened windows are treated as popups, but they’re allowed to open (we limit the number of these types of popups)
* 2: the window is a popup, block it

Note: This entry is mostly for personal reference. Use it how you like.

Uncle Jessie – Willie Nelson???????
Boss Hogg – Burt Reynolds?????????

*palm -> forehead*

Will Smith must not have been available to play Roscoe P. Coltrane.

Ummmmm….so I get that they are trying to round out the cast with big names to make up for what I am sure will be a steaming pile of a storyline. But Burt and Willie?

I will not shy away from saying that I was a Dukes of Hazzard fan as a wee lad. So this is where a bit of my bitterness here comes from.

Does anyone remember Uncle Jessie trying to climb into the General Lee? That was a joke in itself, cause he had to be crowbared in through the window. Ummmm….and what does Willie weigh in at? Maybe 120 soaking wet?

And do not even get me started on the Bandit portraying Boss Hogg. Did casting completely miss the irony in his name??? Yes, I am sure that Reynolds no longer fits into the leather pants that he did 30 years ago, but cmon folks.

If they are going to remake the classics, why not remake them for the love of the genre, and not the love of the almighty dollar.

Prime example of doing it the right way: Battlestar Galactica

Nuff said.

Note: Only use if you have a high speed connection.

1.Type “about:config” into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:
network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests
Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:
Set “network.http.pipelining” to “true”
Set “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”
Set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0″. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives. If you’re using a broadband connection you’ll load pages MUCH faster now!

I had never ventured into one of these joints until this past October. Mainly out of fear of the complese grease-laden aftermath it would make for the rest of my day. Now I have dined at fish and chips joints all my life, such as Skippers and Spuds. But those places are primarily in Seattle, where they do not have any Long John Silvers. I remember seeing the commercials as a kid on WTBS and wondering why I never saw one. But as I grew older and ‘wiser’ I tended to steer clear of places where the primary cooking apparatus is the deep fryer. (WingDome excluded)

How wrong I was. Not only is this place somewhat clean, but it is mighty tasty….and easy on the wallet. However, whenever I dine there I cannot help but have flashbacks to Fast Times at Ridgemont High. They always have some really bad classic rock musak station in the background, and I half expect to see Brad come walking from behind the swinging door in his pirate uniform, with the cruising vessel parked out back. As I sit there munching on my fish filet and hushpuppies this song always plays in my head, no matter how hard I try:

She’s got to be somebody’s baby.
She must be somebody’s baby.
She’s got to be somebody’s baby.
She’s so fine.
She’s probably somebody’s only light.
Gonna shine tonight.

I have not dared try the pineapple cream cheesecake though.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Sponge bob square pants
Absorbant and yellow and porous is he
Sponge bob Square pants.
If nautical nonsense be something you wish
Spongebob square pants
Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish
Sponge Bob Square Pants
Spongebob Squarepants Spongebob Squarepants
Spongebob Squarepants Spongebob Squarpants!

Let’s just hope this does not make me gay.

The #1 song this week on the charts is “Confessions Pt. 2″ by Usher.

This song glorifies knocking up one woman while you are ‘committed’ to another woman.

And I quote:

This by far is the hardest thing I think I’ve ever had to do
To tell you, the woman I love
That I’m having a baby by a woman that I barely even know
I hope you can accept the fact that I’m man enough to tell you this
And hopefully you’ll give me another chance
This ain’t about my career
This ain’t about my life
It’s about us
Please

FUCK that!

Woman, kick his ass to the curb. I do not care if he is trying to apologize, and he has a bazillion dollars, and a #1 song. You let him back in, he is just going to spread his seed in so many cities that it would make Shawn Kemp’s head spin.

And to think there are woman around the world listening to this shit and thinking “Awwww, that Usher is such a thoughtful soul, I want my man to be just like him”. I got news for you honey, that ain’t no man. I would not even call him a dog, cause I like dogs. He is pond scum.

To think that he is profitting cause he cannot keep it in his pants.

We have a serious problem in this country, and apparently Usher is lining his pockets by it. Anyone want to lay money on when some random county has a warrant out for his arrest cause he has neglected to pay baby’s mama child support?

Being a firefighter is probably one of the most dangerous, yet heroic jobs in the world. But guys like Jack made it easy for me to not think of the bad things, and know that my dad was going to be safe at work.

Saturday, June 26th, on his way to a law-enforcement charity motorcycle ride Jack Stevens was killed when he swerved to miss a deer that jumped out in front of him.

From the Sunday, June 27th Seattle Times:

Tukwila fireman dies in motorcycle crash

A Tukwila firefighter participating in a charity motorcycle ride died and his 13-year-old grandson was injured in an accident yesterday morning near Stevens Pass.

Jack D. Stevens Jr., 53, of Buckley lost control of his motorcycle after he swerved to avoid a deer, officials said. He was driving east on Highway 2 about 10 miles east of the Stevens Pass Ski Area, near the beginning leg of a law-enforcement charity motorcycle ride, said Trooper Rich Magnussen of the Washington State Patrol. Stevens’ motorcycle crashed into a pickup heading in the opposite direction just before 7 a.m., Magnussen said.

Stevens’ grandson, Jacob Stevens, of Tukwila, was taken by helicopter to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. Magnussen said the boy had a broken arm. Family friend Darrell Baskin said the boy was released yesterday.

The driver of the pickup, Tyrie Bivings, 46, of Pasco, was not injured.

Magnussen said there was no evidence that speed, alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident.

Stevens was a 28-year veteran of the Tukwila Fire Department. His work on a federal search-and-rescue task force took him to the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, as well as the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Other firefighters said yesterday Stevens was committed to making people feel better, whether through his work as a firefighter, through charity work, or by playing good-natured practical jokes on people.

“His whole focus was on his family and helping people out,” said Lt. Lavern Peterson. “If you see him, you know, it just kind of makes your day a little better.”

“He’s a happy-go-lucky guy all the time,” said Lt. Loren McFarland, who started in the department three years before Stevens did.

Stevens was riding as part of the Lawman 1000, a 21-year-old annual charity motorcycle ride. Riders were on their way to Lewiston, Idaho, to raise money for the Pediatric Interim Care Center, a Kent program that cares for drug-exposed infants.

Riders yesterday decided to continue the two-day ride, reasoning that Stevens would have wanted them to finish.

Stevens had participated in the ride before and worked throughout the year to raise money for the Northwest Burn Foundation and Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Stevens is survived by his wife, Kathryn Stevens; son Bryan Stevens of Spokane; daughters Cheryl Stevens of Seattle and Traci Wilson of Des Moines; and four grandchildren.

“Jack was a friend to everyone in the department,” said Tukwila Fire Chief Nick Olivas. “His loss is devastating.”

Jack – Thank you for bringing my father home safe all those years. You are missed. God bless you. God bless your family.