Randomonium

Addiction

2006-11-21T00:47:00.000-05:00

Apparently I've become addicted to blogging. The server or some such thing is down where I host the new blog and it is driving me nuts. I don't expect it to be up 100% of the time, nothing ever is, but I wanted to post and I can't. I guess it is sort of like when your car is in the shop and you feel the need to go somewhere, but when your car is right out front, it can sit all day and you don't want to leave. It's not that I need to post, but the fact that I can't post that is driving me crazy. Not much I can do about it right now. Just wanted to vent a little and couldn't do it there.

Technorati Blog Claim

2006-10-19T15:58:00.000-05:00

Technorati Profile

We Are Moving.....

2006-10-04T23:52:00.000-05:00

Everything seems to be working over at the new site. I haven't finished tweaking it just yet, but I can load pics and I can post and it seems now that everyone can access it without a problem, so please bookmark the new home of Randomonium and check there for new posts.

I still haven't figured out how to move everything from here to there, but I am hoping they eventually create a way to do that. I could with the old Blogger, but I can't with Blogger Beta. I will keep this up as is until I can figure out how to move everything over. I really don't want to have to cut and past everything one by one.

A New Home.......Almost

2006-10-04T10:08:00.000-05:00

If you check out my links to the right, you will see I've added a link to Randomonium's New Home. I haven't quite moved anything over there as of yet (we are still having some issues), but we are a lot closer than we were a few days ago when I was (as the picture for that post shows) about to blow my top. We've been having some rather confusing DNS issues (well confusing for me at least), but it looks like Aaron has got it figured out and the fixed DNS information should be propagating it's way through the internet as I type this (or so we hope!). Feel free to check it out and make comments on it, good or bad, just please keep in mind, it's still being tweaked.

Savanah Gets A Bit Mixed-Up

2006-10-03T15:09:00.000-05:00

So the other day was Yom Kippur. Savanah, being that she is only 5 and that she isn't 100% on what each holiday is and what it means, was understandably curious about why I wasn't eating. So we sat down and talked about all the holidays and what each one meant (well, as best as I could explain them to a 5 year old, albeit a smart one), from Christmas and Easter, to Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah. Then I explained to her why Mommy celebrated certain holidays that Daddy didn't really celebrate and why Daddy celebrated certain holidays that Mommy didn't. This she picked up really quickly and understood that Mommy and Daddy are of different religions and that she, as our daughter, is a bit of both (the best of both worlds is how I put it to her, which pleased her). We then discussed Yom Kippur. I explained to her that on Yom Kippur we spend the day asking God to forgive us for the things we've done wrong. I told her that we don't eat on that day so that God knows we are serious about asking for forgiveness. At this point she didn't want to eat either, until I explained that God understood that little girls need to eat to grow up big and strong and the he wouldn't be mad if she ate. She seemed to understand all of that and throughout the day she'd bring it up again and we'd go over it all again. Typically when she does this she is reinforcing her understanding of what we've already discussed so that she will remember it. Well, later that evening I was talking to my sister and Savanah wanted to show her what she learned about the holiday. "Well Aunt Lita, today is Yom Kippur so today is the day that God asks us to forgive him!" Apparently, at some point during the day, she got a little mixed up with who was forgiving who.

Morning Traffic vs. The School Bus

2006-10-03T08:14:00.000-05:00

Rush Hour sucks, but it has become a way of life. Between certain hours of the morning and afternoon, depending on where you live, you are gonna get stuck in traffic. As much as I hate this and bitch about this, there isn't much I can do about it.

What I would like to know, however, is when the hell did school buses start stopping at every freaking driveway to pick up a kid? Growing up, the street I lived on was probably about 1/4 mile long, and all of the kids in the neighborhood gathered on ONE corner and when the bus came we all got on at that ONE stop. Today I had the misfortune of getting stuck behind one of the local school buses as it picked up kids. This damn thing stopped at every driveway to pick up ONE KID! And we aren't talking about the boonies here where each driveway is a mile apart. This was stop, go, stop, go, stop, go..........on and on and on.

When did we reach a point where kids couldn't gather in one spot and all get on the bus together? As bad as traffic is in some areas, wouldn't it make more sense to have the kids all gather in one spot rather than stop every 100 feet to pick up another one? Wouldn't that also save gas having it stop and start fewer times on each route? When I was a kid, I had to walk to the end of my driveway (about 500 yards) and then to the bus stop (about another 500 yards) and it didn't matter if it was raining or snowing. That was the bus stop. You didn't get to it in time, he wasn't gonna stop and pick you up along the road. He had his stops and you either got on there or you went back home and told your parents you missed the bus. I just don't get it.

My Daughter Stinks!

2006-10-02T14:46:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is sad but true. Well, some people may find it a pleasant aroma, but I can't stand it.

Last night we put her to bed and as usual, she did everything she could not to go to sleep. "I need to go potty" "I need to get a drink of water" "I need a tissue" etc etc. Well, we aren't going to prevent her from going potty so we told her to go ahead. She's old enough to do it on her own. At around 11 PM she was still up and singing in her room so I went up to let her know that "playtime" in her bed was over. I open the door and I am hit with a smell. I ask her what it is and of course she says "I don't know." I walk around the room trying to figure out where the smell is coming from while Savanah is in her bed snickering. I move over to her and discover the smell is coming from her. I ask her what it is and she tells me in her most innocent voice, "It's my perfume Daddy." Apparently, when she was going potty, she grabbed the all over body spray and covered every inch of exposed skin with it and we aren't talking about a light coating. She put enough of this stuff on her that her entire room smells like it and this stuff gives me a headache. Needless to say, she is getting a bath!

Savanah Wants To Help And Her First Attempt At Guilt

2006-10-01T20:52:00.000-05:00

Two funny little Savanah stories for you all (yeah, like you all don't get enough of those!).

Saturday, as I stated in my last post, we spent some time at Jo-Ann Fabrics looking for material for my Pirate Costume. At checkout there was quite a line, both in front of us and behind us. Savanah, being her usual self was busy entertaining everyone (yeah, people who don't have to live with her think all of her antics are cute). We get to the register and I pay, but before signing, Savanah asks if she can sign for the stuff, to which I reply "No, sorry honey, Daddy has to do it." She immediately responds with "I can do it Daddy....really.....it's just a bunch of squiggles!" (which by the way she is quite good at). I, along with everyone else in line, got quite a kick out of that.

She also attempted to guilt me today. I set up her new computer (her old one was a hand me down from a friend and was overheating and slow) today and got everything, except the CD Drive, working. She was very happy to be able to access Noggin Online again and spent most of the day in the basement playing on it. She did, however, call me down several times when she did something that the computer didn't like and errored to the point at which she wasn't sure what to do. After being interrupted at least seven times (I was trying to get my Pirate Costume pants done) I told her that I was busy and couldn't rush right down just then. Her response to this was "I guess you just don't love me Daddy." Oh my God! I have no idea where she is picking this up, but we had a nice little chat about saying things like that to try and get them to do what you want. I am hoping that she understands enough of it now to know that it really isn't the right way to approach things. It was a bit funny to see her try and play me that way though.

My Aching Head

2006-09-30T20:18:00.000-05:00

OK, so I've spent parts of the last few days trying to set up a new blog hosted by myself instead of one of the free services. It's not that I don't like the free services, because I really do. I've been more than happy with the quality that I get here at Blogger. It's easy, straightforward and looks good (at least I think so). It is however limited. Ron set one up on a friends server using Word Press and it's looking good. Aaron made me the same offer so naturally, I accepted. Free hosting ain't something I tend to turn down.

This, however, is where the aching head comes into play. We set it up, it installed easily and then things started going down hill.

First off, I haven't found a template that I love. I've found several that I like, but none that I really love. Easily fixed, if'n of course you know php which unfortunately for our hero, your's truly, I don't. I have a basic understanding, but I wouldn't call myself proficient. I'm the graphics guy. Give me an image, tell me what you want done with it and chances are I can do it. When it comes to coding, style sheets, etc. I am definitely not your man. Sure I could learn it, but with a 5 year old who is always demanding your attention, finding the time to sit down and learn it is near impossible. I have been playing around with it and I think I'll manage to muddle through it ok.

Secondly, and this is really where the headaches really comes into play, is that my access to the site has been intermittent at best. Ron could access it up until last night and Steve could access it earlier today. I had access to it through AOL, but Internet Explorer wouldn't find it all, unless I logged into AOL, opened it there and then tried to open it with Internet Explorer. Weird. Now, several hours after I could access it on AOL, I can't even do that.

We've had some other minor glitches, like trying to upload everything here to there, but we figure that, plus all the other minor glitches are mainly due to the access problems that we've been having.

On a brighter note though, Annie Ann was over today and we finished off both pairs of pants for the Elf Ranger costume and have everything cut out for the Pirate Costume shirt. Plus, I managed to finally decide on colors for the vest and pants for the Pirate Costume, as well as material. We will see how well my choices work once we get everything put together. All I need now is a maroon colored piece for my head and some tooling leather for the Tricorn Hat. The Brown Tricorn hat turned out ok, but looks more like a Colonial Tricorn than a Pirate Tricorn. I did however get some leather working experience under my belt and the construction of the first Tricorn is nicely done, if I do say so myself.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get the patterns for the pants cut out (I've become quite good with the basic pant) and put together. We actually now have 3 pair of pants for the Elf costume. The first pair I did on my own I thought I had done wrong because of how they felt when I sat down, but it turns out that it's the material rather than the craftsmanship. The pair Annie Ann made do the same thing when I sit as the pair I made, yet the pair made out of the crushed velvet are perfect. Hopefully the material I picked for the Pirate Pants will work was well.

Tuesday we are hoping to get the Pirate Shirt done and I should have the patterns for the vest cut out by then as well. I might actually have a full costume for next week at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Jumping The Shark

2006-09-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

There seems to be some confusion about just what Jumping The Shark means and how it relates to television, so for those of you not familiar with the phrase here is a brief explanation of the term and a link back to their "Official" website.

The phrase Jump The Shark was coined by a guy named Sean (according to the FAQ section of the website). He used the term to describe that point at which a TV series reaches its climax, that moment when you know that the series will never be the same, when you know that from this point on its all downhill. I believe it to be the point at which you begin to loose respect for the show, where whatever it was that caused you to enjoy the show and watch it regularly has been lost. It's the point where good TV goes bad.

As you can tell from the image associated with this entry, the term comes from the infamous episode of Happy Days where Fonzie actually does Jump A Shark. Other notable moments include Cousin Oliver's addition to The Brady Bunch, when they switch actors on you as in Rosanne or Bewitched, or when they add a new baby and then said baby ages 4 years in a season (yet miraculously, nobody else does). Jumping the Shark is a very subjective term and used only to describe the moment that YOU feel a show passed that magical moment.

If you'd like more information about Jumping The Shark or would like to see what others think about your favorite shows, just click on the banner below.

The New Season Is Looking Good

2006-09-27T00:58:00.000-05:00

So far I have to say I've been happy with what I'm seeing. I didn't really have high hopes about this season after hearing about the cancellation of Surface and Invasion as well as the Sci-fi Channel's decision to cancel Stargate next year. But with the premier of Heroes last night and last weeks premier of Jericho and the upcoming season openers for Smallville, Supernatural, Lost, Battlestar Galactica and Ghost Hunters, plus a slew of other non Sci-fi shows that I've developed a fondness for, this season looks to be shaping up just fine.

I only hope that this season they give these shows a chance. Surface was cancelled way before it's time and was probably one of the best new shows of last season. I'm guessing it's Monday night slot wasn't the best place for it, but a move to another time slot would have been a better solution than cancelling the show. Invasion was another good one that I don't feel got a fair shake. Just when it was starting to get really good, they go and pull the plug.

Unfortunately, if you want to catch all the good shows (well the ones I feel are worth something) you're gonna need a VCR or a DVR to record some of em. The choices of what to watch this season is for me, harder than ever. I'm sure as the season progresses we'll narrow down the field, but for right now, there is a lot that we like and it all seems to be on against one another.

Ron, I made sure I didn't spoil anything for you with Heroes, although I'm not sure how much I could have spoiled. There are so many storylines to keep up with that I'd have to type all night to tie all the threads together. Needless to say, it's a great show.

In case anyone is interested the following is a list of the shows that I consider worth watching (ordered by day but the shows themselves are in no particular order):

Mondays:
7th Heaven (glad to see they got renewed for another season. Kathy got me watching the show and now I can't stop LOL)
Heroes
The Class (so far I like it, we'll see how the season plays out)
How I Met Your Mother (one of the best sitcoms on TV)
Two and a Half Men (it may be that this show "Jumped The Shark" this seaons though)
CSI Miami (I actually prefer CSI Miami over the original CSI. CSI New York is one CSI too many)
Prison Break
Vanished

Tuesdays:
NCIS
The Unit
Smith
Eureka

Wednesdays:
Lost
Bones
Justice (I really like this one, and I'm not big on lawyer shows)
Kidnapped
Jericho (so far I love it. I hope people and the networks give it a chance)
Criminal Minds
Ghost Hunters (Sci-fi Channel - can't get enough of this one. Can't wait for this season's premier)

Thursdays:
Smallville
Supernatural
Survivor
CSI
Shark (another new lawyer show and I gotta say I like this one too)
ER (although I'm starting to get a little bored with ER, it too may have "Jumped the Shark")

Fridays:
Ghost Whisperer
Numbers
Stargate
Stargate Atlantis
Battlestar Galactica

Premium Channels:
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Wire (this season has started off so well and looks to be the best season yet)
Weeds
Deadwood
Entourage

This list is in no way complete and I'm sure I missing one or two shows that I watch but can't think of right now.

My 3 Day Weekend

2006-09-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

Had a good few days this past weekend. I took off of work on Friday and was able to take Savanah to school which was nice. She was super excited about Daddy taking her. I was also able to pick her up from school which again, made her very excited. We then went to BJ's to pick up food for dinner (Bill, Annie Ann and Tony all came over and we grilled some chicken). Savanah loves going to our BJ's because they have the greatest play area for the kids. While there I picked up a new cell phone. Mine was getting pretty beat up and the volume wasn't all that great anymore. I think I dropped it a few too many times. It lasted over two years, which was a lot better than the phone I had before that. This time I paid a bit extra and got the Chocolate with the 2GB card for music. So far I love the phone. I'll review it later (maybe it's something Ron would want on his new site, I'll have to ask him about that).

Anyway, like I said, I cooked dinner for Bill, Annie Ann, and Tony, as well as myself, Savanah and Kathy. Not your typical Rosh Hashanah dinner, but with the parents in Spain and Lita's family down in VA. It was the best I could do on a Friday night. It was nice to host a group of close friends and family and cook dinner for them. Might not have been what I was used to on the New Year, but it was nice. After dinner, Bill took Savanah for a Pop Pop / Granddaughter weekend (Mom Mom is in Canada). Apparently they had a great time, although Savanah claims not to remember what they did (which is her typical answer to both Kathy and I when we ask her what she did in school, with Bubbie and Zadie, with Mom Mom and Pop Pop, etc). Bill even took her fishing, and while they didn't catch anything (Savanah says it's cause all the fish were up at the Nature Center) they did have a great time.

Saturday was a me day. Kathy had to work and Savanah was with Pop Pop so that left me most of the day on my own. I spent most of the day playing on the computer and organizing my photos with Photoshop Elements 4.0 (which again, if Ron would like, I'd be happy to review for him). It's a great program for organizing your digital photos. I haven't done much more with it than tag my photos (well most of em.....I'm almost back to Savanah's birth photos, so I've got almost 5 years worth of digital photos organized). I've used it to e-mail some photos, but now with Flickr, don't see much of a need for that anymore. I find it much easier to just send a link rather than zipping up 4 or 5 pictures and e-mailing off in small groups.

Annie Ann came over in the afternoon and the plan was to get to work on my Ren Fest costume, but after clearing off a work space and tidying up the house a bit, neither one of us felt like doing anything else, so we ordered pizza and watched CSI from Thursday. I did manage to build a sewing station for myself out of some cardboard boxes. Not a permanent solution, but a lot neater than how I had been keeping my stuff. I'll eventually either build something more permanent for the basement when it's cleaned up or buy something when I'm ready. I'll post a pic of my little creation on Flickr tonight when I get home.

Sunday, the plan had been to go to the Ren Fest, but unfortunately, the weather was not on our side. According to Tony most of the day down there wasn't too bad, but when he heard thunder, he hit the road. I didn't want to waste the gas and tickets to get down there and only stay for an hour and then get poured on (and had I gone, the storms of the day would have been much more severe....that's just the way it goes). Kathy decided to use the quiet morning sans Savanah to catch up on some sleep and I did a bit more photo organizing. Later that day I started in on the piles of laundry that have been haunting my dreams and managed to put a huge dent in that. Annie Ann came over a bit later and we got to work on the pants for my costume. We now have two pant patterns cut out, one of which is almost complete. We should finish them up on Tuesday. I'll post some progress pictures of that later on. After that, it's on to the shirt and then finally the Jerkin. I've been delaying the Jerkin because it's going to be leather and I'm still working on my leather crafting skills and with leather costing what it does, I don't want to mess anything up. It tends to be less forgiving than other materials. We have a base pattern for it, I just need to cut out the Muslin for it and then we can start making the adjustments needed. While Annie Ann was doing her cutting I puttered around the house doing a little cleaning here and there. All in all a pretty productive day, especially for me on a Sunday.

It's Spreading!

2006-09-20T09:53:00.000-05:00

So just the other day I had a short conversation with Stacy about bloggin where she made the comment about being too busy and not having the time to worry about something like a blog. I had never thought I'd do one until Ron got me interested in doing one. Mike and Tony have one and Tracy just started one (all of these can be found in the side bar for those of you interested). It isn't for everyone. I've found myself enjoying working on mine. It's a great way to keep up with everyone, now that the "group" has spread across the States and we don't see each other every week like we used to and seem to be loosing more people each day (Yes Rhonda, that was for you, Joe and the kids (LOL)).

Well, strangely enough, I got an e-mail from Stacy today and you'd never guess what the content was. Yup, she has now started a blog too. Never say never Stacy. Now you are one of us! (insert evil laugh here)

Dragon*Con 2007

2006-09-18T23:50:00.000-05:00

As you can see, I've added a countdown clock to the right. This is counting down the days until Tony and I leave for Dragon*Con 2007 in Atlanta. Tony went this year and what he's told me about it, plus my life long interest in Sci-Fi and Fantasy, plus all the pics I've seen over at Flickr, made me want to attend as well this upcoming year. If I like it well enough (which I really don't have any doubts about) then the family will come with me the next time, but this time it's just me and Tony. I know it's still some 340 some odd days away, but I am actually really psyched about the trip (as you can tell from me adding the countdown clock). For anyone who is interested you should check out the Dragon*Con Website and/or hop on over to Flickr and search for Dragoncon.

Camera Toss

2006-09-16T08:00:00.001-05:00

rest-in-pieces-8
Originally uploaded by this_is_not_a_name.

Having been exploring Flickr and receiving comments on some of my own work, I was directed to the Camera Toss Group (which I had already come accross in my random searches for interesting groups) which I joined. I have yet to post any pictures there becuase I haven't gotten around to actually "tossing" a camera (I'm sure you can guess why based on this entry's associated picture), but some of the work over there is fantastic.

They now also have a Camera Toss Blog which has some really fantastic pictures up. Some of you out there who really enjoy photography might want to check it out.

I'm not quite ready to start tossing my cameras into the air (I just bought the damn thing), but I have taken some pictures that are similar (although not nearly as good as the really good stuff showcased on their blog or their Flickr group).

I highly recommend you pop over and check out what I'm talking about (especially those of you who are really into your photography).

Another Milestone

2006-09-11T21:54:00.000-05:00

Savanah has reached another milestone. The tooth shown in the picture is loose and should be falling out soon. The Tooth Fairy has been notified and is awaiting word.

First she turns five, the she starts school and now she's loosing her baby teeth. Next thing you know she'll be dating. Geez they grow up fast!

My Daughter's Perspective on Q&A

2006-09-09T21:01:00.000-05:00

So today the plan was simple. Meet with Annie Ann at Reisterstown Festival at around Noon, meet with Mom Mom and Pop Pop around 2 so they can pick her up to spend the weekend with them, then spend the rest of the day helping out at Annie's booth.

Well, we leave the house on time and get to the Reisterstown Festival with plenty of time to spare until I realize I left the damn house without her suitcase and the gift for the party she is going to later in the day, so we turn around and head back to the house.

The minute we head back to the house Savanah starts with the question of the hour. "Daddy, Mommy said I could bring Zingo Bingo to Mom Mom's house. Can we get that too?"

I respond, "If she said you could bring it then it's probably packed. We are only bringing what Mommy packed." Apparently, that wasn't the answer she was looking for so again she asks me the question and gets the same response. We go back and forth several more times until I finally ask her "Savanah, why do you keep asking me the same question over and over again?"

"Well Daddy, sometimes you give the wrong answer."

Reisterstown Festival

2006-09-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

Today was the first of the Reisterstown Festival (a weekend long event held every year in, you guessed it, Reisterstown). This year, I have to say, I wasn't that impressed. They've been doing this thing for 20 years and this year has to be the slowest I've seen. Back several years ago, it was a weekend you could look forward to with a ton of vendors, lots of good food, and good music, capped off by a Sunday concert from a famous, albeit not A-List, country performer.

This year, there were only a handful of vendors, limited food, although what was there was good, and, with the exception of Great Train Robbery, the music was adequate (and I'm being generous with that and that is also taking into consideration that I'm not a Jazz fan). What they seemed to have in abundance this year, however, were politicians and religious groups. It seemed like every other booth was a politician and every forth booth was some church or religious organization. Used to be great place to go to find homemade crafts, knickknacks, etc and spend a fun two days. This year was a great disappointment. Even last year's event had more to offer.

In their defense this year, I do have to add that they are up against a similar event in Catonsville and "Maryland's Biggest Yard Sale" Event which was heavily advertised and sponsored by the Baltimore Sun. Oh yeah, they are also up against a Rascal Flats concert and the Renaissance Festival. So there is a lot going on this weekend in addition to the Reisterstown Festival. I just hope they work it out before next year or it isn’t' going to be worth getting a booth.

I spent the day with Annie Ann helping out at her booth (For those of you who don't know, she makes jewelry). Wasn't a bad day, and I do so love people watching.

Just A Neat Little Map

2006-09-08T07:59:00.000-05:00

I came across this cool little mapping program the other day while surfing on Flickr so I figured I'd post it here as well as on Flickr.

EDIT: Well I posted it and the damn thing is too large and pushes all my sidebar information to the bottom of the page (which I really don't like) so I've moved it to my Flickr Profile. If you'd like to look at it, just follow the link.

The Maryland State Fair (a week later)

2006-09-03T23:18:00.000-05:00

Thankfully the remnants of Ernesto have come and gone and we woke up to a pretty good day today (Not too hot, not too cool, no rain) so we decided to bring Savanah back to the fair (although a lot of that choice had to do with Kathy's desire for a State Fair Corn Dog and Funnel Cake). She managed to win a pink duck this time to add to the pink bear and pink dog she won last time. Kathy and her did a few rides and me and Savanah did a few more (Kathy doesn't like the ones that go in a circle so Zero G was left up to me). Savanah also got to meet some more cows and actually got to milk one as well (pictures up over at Flickr). She also got to meet Homer the Mule who is a regular every year at the State Fair.

I gotta say I was impressed with the behavior of the crowd this week over that of last week (see my rant about that here). The few kids I saw cut in line were quickly put back in line, where they should have been, by their parents. One argument almost broke out over by the pedal tractors, but once it was explained that the little boy cut in line, his mother grabbed him up out of there and "schooled" him about cutting in line. I was really impressed to see parents own up to their child's behavior (which didn't happen at all last week). While visiting with the Chason's and their livestock, I witnessed people actually asking permission before approaching the cows. Amazing. Every problem that I had with the crowd last week was non-existent this week. Hmmmm, do you think they all read my Blog?

Minnie Me . . .Sort of

2006-09-02T19:41:00.000-05:00

A post or so ago, I told you all about Dummy Buddy. Well, tonight was Savnah's turn to make one. Considering she's 5, she did pretty well, with only some minor issues due to the unfortunate mixing of hair and duct tape! Dummy Buddy Jr. turned out pretty well too.

The plan for today was to get at least the newspaper cutouts for the Jerkin done, but alas, time got away from us and after running all over Northern Baltimore County, we were all tired. We did manage to get Dummy Buddy Jr. completed though and I found leather for my Satchel and Tricorn Hat as well as finding out that the woman who runs Tandy Leather in MD also offers free classes every saturday from 10AM to 1PM. I think I know where I'm going to be in the near future!

Hopefully I'll get the newspaper cutouts and muslin mock up for my outfit done this week and can order the needed leather before next weekend.

Yes, I'm Still A Geek....(continued)

2006-09-01T08:10:00.000-05:00

Last night marked the end of the first season of "Who Wants To Be A Superhero" and thank goodness Stan Lee picked right! Feedback was declared the winner and never on any reality show have I seen somebody more deserving of the victory. It's not that I have anything against Fat Momma, but as superhero's go, I just couldn't see it. I also don't believe the victory should go to somebody who at one time wanted revenge against the other players when a favorite of hers was eliminated and then who later wanted to quit the show.

Feedback on the other hand, showed all of the qualities that we have come to expect from our superheroes. Congratulations to him for his well deserved win.

I think I may actually purchase the comic when it's released which is something I haven't done in 20 years.

Cell Phone Rudeness and Stupidity

2006-08-31T14:11:00.000-05:00

Cell phones have become a part of our everyday lives. Hell, they've been a part of our everyday lives for years now. The fact that they have been such a part of our daily lives, you'd figure that people would have finally adjusted to the right times and places to use them. I mean after all this time, and all the years of complaints and arguments both pro and con, you'd figure our society would have come to some consensus about their usage and when and where it is appropriate. One place where their use is inappropriate would be in any room where the following is posted: "THE USE OF CELL PHONES IS NOT PERMITTED IN THIS AREA. PLEASE USE THE LOBBY AND CORRIDOR NEAR THE ELEVATORS." Not very cryptic and it seems to be written in the common tongue of our country. So you would think that people would get the idea? Wrong! I spent most of my day in the Prince Georges County Permits and Review Office and was amazed at how rude and selfish people can be when it comes to the use of their cell phones. What the hell did these assholes do before cell phones? I can understand if you are there and it's your first time and your phone rings and you instinctively answer it. It's become second nature to us. And in defense of those in line with me, the signs weren't right in front of you. Well, almost, but not quite, so I can maybe see that you missed them. But in the waiting room itself, which really isn't that large of a space, it was posted in no less than 10 locations. It was posted twice on the forward wall, three times on the side wall, on the back of the computer facing the line, once on the far wall, once on the back wall, on the door to the office and on a big sign hanging above the desk. Unless you are blind, stupid or just can't read English you CAN'T miss these signs. They all look the same, they all say the exact same thing and they are all larger than anything else on the walls. It was the first thing I saw once I entered the room. Yet for some reason, there are those few people who think that the rule is for everyone but them. I spent most of my waiting time listening to this guy talk to his wife and give her a "honey do" list for the day. He also walked her through which credit card payments he wanted her to make, caught up on the day's gossip and chatted her up about their dinner plans. WTF! I don't want to listen to this guys conversation, and the room isn’t' that big, so no matter where I'm sitting, I can here this guy talking. Apparently the use of a cell phone magically transports people to a land where they think they are the ONLY ONES IN THE ROOM! There were two other people in the room who felt the same as this guy and were chatting away with their friends and/or significant others. It might not have been that bad if they were at least discussing why they were there or getting some other tidbit of information that would make their filing run that much smoother, but no, every conversation had to do with their own personal bullshit. I even pointed out the sign to the guy dealing with his wife and asked if he minded and he looked at me like I was purple with 7 heads (he then went back to talking to his wife like I didn't even exist - Asshole).

Now for the stupidity. Before I start I have to explain the Burger King layout near our house. The drive-thru lane at our Burger King is just that....A Drive-Thru Lane. It is wide enough for a single vehicle, has curbing on both sides, no marked pedestrian access and is landscaped on both sides, except for one section where it is just a curb between the main access to the parking lot and the lane itself. Needless to say, it was not designed with pedestrian crossing in mind. There is a separate area with a marked crossing area for pedestrians. That being said, last night I almost ran over a 12 year old in the drive-thru lane and would have had I not happened to catch a glimpse of her crossing the access drive (where she shouldn't have been in the first place). She was so caught up in her conversation on her cell phone that she was 100% oblivious to what was going on around her. After crossing the access drive (without paying any attention to what was going on around her) she stepped over the curb without a pause and stepped in front of my vehicle. She finally noticed that I was there about halfway across the lane (I was stopped by this time) and jumped like I had come out of nowhere.

I'm not saying that I don't like cell phones, far from it. Cell phones are great. I have one, I use it, I love it for it's convenience and the mobility it allows me to have, but I do know when and where it's appropriate to use (I swear I am going to go nuts the next time I hear somebody talking on one in a movie theater during the movie) and I'm also always fully aware of where I am and what I am doing while I am using it (and I can walk and chew gum at the same time too). Why are there so many people out there who can't seem to figure out when and where their use is appropriate and why are there so many idiots out there who can't pay attention to their surroundings when talking on the phone? We aren't talking rocket science here.

The First Day Of School

2006-08-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

Today marks Savanah's official first day of school. I think she is taking it better than Kathy and I are. Hell, yesterday I said she was 4 (having not quite adjusted to being the parent of a 5 year old). Today was just a two hour intro for the parents and just a few of the kids. Wednesday she will meet the rest of her class and Thursday she'll have her first lunch at school with Friday being the first full day of class. Savanah was all smiles and happiness about starting school, whereas I don't know it I'm quite ready just yet. I still miss the little baby that would fall asleep on my belly. She did well in class today (not that I had any worries about that) and likes the few new classmates that she met today. She also likes her new teacher who from what we can tell is very dedicated and great with the kids.

The Maryland State Fair

2006-08-28T00:56:00.000-05:00

We spent pretty much all day at the Maryland State Fair on Sunday. Donna, Chelsea, and Annie Ann came with Savanah and I and we met up with NTS (Mel for those of you who don't understand NTS) and her friends there as well. All in all a fun day, but good lord my calves hurt now. After a full day at the Renaissance Festival on Saturday, spending 6 hours walking around the State Fair was brutal. Savanah and Chelsea had a blast though.

I was rather impressed with Savanah's daring and willingness and utter enjoyment with some of the rides. She loved the ferris wheel and the Carousel which I knew she would, but she also loved the Zero Gravity, which is one of those spinning rides that stick you to the wall. Her and Chelsea also spent a good portion of the day at Tiki Town (The Fun House) and The Monkey Maze (The Hall of Mirrors).

There was only one problem that I encountered with the Fair and this year was worse than I remember previous years. Why don't parents teach their kids manners anymore? These parents bring their kids to the Fair and let them run wild. I know they are excited and I know there are lots of things to do and see, but really people, cutting in line, pushing other kids out of the way and other such antisocial behavior is unacceptable. The fact that I had to tell two 14 year old boys that the two little children in front of them were in line is rediculous. I shouldn't have to do that! They were slowly pushing past Savanah and Chelsea to the point where they were forcing them out of the line and at 5 and 9, they aren't going to stand up for themselves against two large 14 year old boys. I can't blame it all on the kids though. I watched a mother with her child cut in line as well. They just walk right up, oblivious to the fact that there are other people who have been waiting to get on the ride. And later in the day when we went to see the livestock I watched people walk up to the animals acting like it's a petting zoo. We are fortunate enough to know people who show cows at the Fair, but even knowning them as well as I do, I would never presume that it's ok to just walk up and start petting them without asking first. First off, it's just downright rude and secondly, it's dangerous. If you have a cow step on you it's gonna at least hurt and at worst break something. Don't just tell your 6 year old to run up and touch the cow while you wait safely on the other side of the hay bed. Where the horses are concerned, if one steps on you, or happens to kick cause you ran up behind it and spooked it you are going to get seriously injured and just because their owners ride them, it doesn't mean that they don't bite! These people need to use a bit of common sense and a bit more respect.

Anyway, even with all that, Savanah is looking forward to going back next weekend and I am too.

Meet Dummy Buddy

2006-08-27T10:12:00.000-05:00

Who is Dummy Buddy? Well, in one of my first posts I mentioned that Annie Ann was teaching me to sew. Well, the reasons for me wanting to sew was:
A) So I could help in making a costume for Savanah for the Fairy Festival,
B) So I could start making a custom made costume for the Renaissance Festival,
C) So I could help with any and all future costuming needs and finally,
D) It's a good skill to have.

The custom costume I am working on is a variation of Legolas' costume from the Lord Of The Rings and some of the patterns for this costume we are going to have to create. In order to do this we needed a sewing dummy. Well, rather than spend the $200 or so on a real sewing dummy, I found directions online for making your own Duct Tape Sewing Dummy. I went out and bought the supplies and Annie and Kathy taped me up (I'll have to see if I can find those pictures). I can tell you that 3 layers of duct tape over a t-shirt is an interesting (and very hot) experience! Anyway, once finished I mounted it on an old coat rack and put a t-shirt on him. The next morning Savanah woke up and was amazed by it. She asked what is was and what it was for and then decided that he needed a name. Thus Dummy Buddy was born.

A Fun Day At The Fair

2006-08-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Opening Day for the Maryland Renaissance Festival. It was Savanah's first trip and boy did she have a blast. As picky an eater as she can be, I was surprized at how much she ate. From the Turkey Leg that Kathy "shared" with her (Savanah ate most of it) to the Pork On A Stick that I "shared with her (Again, she ate more than half of mine) to the snacks and treats she didn't stop eating!

She loved all the costumes, but was a bit single minded about the things she wanted to do. They have a Ren Fest period pin ball game that she dragged Stracy, Annie Ann, and myself to so she could play. I think she would have grabbed a lot more people and drug them over as well had I let her.

They have installed a playground for the kiddies since my last visit which was nice. Gives the younger kids a bit more to do.

She dressed in her fairy costume on this outing, but Annie and I will be working on an outfit to match the one I am putting together. It should be cute once finished. I think I'm going to have to make a "Dummy Buddy" for her as well. Don't know what a "Dummy Buddy" is? I'll put up a short post about him as my next entry. I am off to snap a photo of him right now.

Colorado Beware! (part 2)

2006-08-25T09:49:00.000-05:00

I realize that my earlier warning might have been a bit obscure to all you Coloradans (or is it Coloradians?) so I thought I'd give you a little bit of help in identifying said female without breaking any laws. For anyone who's ever played charades this should be easy.........Look at the picture of the Nickle and think "Sounds Like"

EDIT: Part I

There Goes Sci-Friday

2006-08-24T08:17:00.000-05:00

If you've been following along you all know I'm a big fan of Stargate SG-1 and Science Fiction. Well, sad, sad news for any of you who are also fans of the show. The powers that be over at MGM have decided to pull the plug.

Updated:2006-08-23 15:08:37
Booted 'Stargate SG-1' Could Live On
By STARGATE SG-1, AP
NEW YORK (Aug. 23) - The Sci-Fi Channel has pulled the plug on "Stargate SG-1," but there still might be life ahead for the long-running series.

MGM, which produces the show, is hoping to dock it on another channel.

"We do have plans," MGM spokesman Jeff Pryor told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "This is not the end of the `Stargate' franchise. This is just the end of (`Stargate SG-1') airing on the Sci-Fi Channel."

Earlier this week, Sci-Fi announced it would not order further episodes of the show, now in its 10th season. The cable channel, however, has booked a fourth season of "Stargate: Atlantis," a spin-off that debuted in 2004.

The final 10 episodes of "Stargate SG-1," which logged its 200th episode Friday, will air next year on Sci-Fi, Maureen Granados, a spokeswoman for the channel, told the AP on Wednesday.

Beyond that, MGM believes "in this new media world there are many more opportunities to continue (the) franchise," Pryor said. "We're exploring those possibilities."

The show, inspired by the 1994 movie starring Kurt Russell as an intergalactic traveler, has a devoted fan base.

"Even though there's been a slight dip in the ratings, there are still nearly two million homes tuning in a week," and up to about 10 conventions held each year, Pryor said.

At least Atlantis will be around for at least another season and Battlestar Galactica will be back. A sad time for Science Fiction TV. I had such high hopes at the beginning of last season, with Invasion, Threshold and Surface plus the return of the Sci-Fi Channel's programming. Now they've cancelled Threshold (not a big loss), Invasion (just when it was starting to get good), and Surface (what the hell? what the hell are they thinking? This was hands down one of the best new shows of last season!). I guess money speaks louder than quality nowadays.

Blockbuster Nightmare

2006-08-23T08:47:00.000-05:00

So last night I made my weekly run to Blockbuster. I'm there almost every Tuesday night to rent the latest releases. I go in, I pick my movies, I get in line, I check out, I go home. The whole process usually takes about 10 minutes from leaving my house to walking back in my front door. Last night the whole process took 45 minutes. I went in, I picked my movies, I got in line, I waited, I waited, I waited, I waited, I (well you get the picture). I'd like to point out at this time that the line I was waiting in consisted of me and the lady at the counter. Yeah, that's it. They weren't busy.

Its one thing to wait in a line when they are busy and you have 4 or 5 people in line, but it's another thing when it's just you waiting for somebody to finish up at the counter. Now, if she had a legitimate reason for taking so long, that would have been one thing, but no, her whole deal was that she was too stupid to comprehend what the clerk was telling her. She wanted to rent 5 movies for under $10. She thought she had the system figured out. With the rent one, get one free, plus the Rewards program's rent 5 get one free AND the in store Mon. thru Thurs. rent any 3 for $9.99 she figured she'd walk out of there with 5 movies and have only paid the $9.99. Unfortunately the computer system and fine print of the 3 separate and individual programs had her beat. The clerk clearly explained to her that it was one or the other. You can get two for free (the Rewards deal plus the rent one get one free) and pay for the other 3 or you can get the $9.99 for three and pay for the other two, either way, you aren't getting out of here for under $10. Well each time he was ready to ring her up, she stopped him and he had to go over it all again. Mind you her total price was $14.00 plus some change, so this whole ordeal was over $4.00. This whole thing went on for 20 minutes. The poor clerk kept looking at me mouthing, I'm sorry. I was ready to smack the lady.

Finally she just agrees to pay the $14.00 and does so and then doesn't leave. She tries to start up a conversation with the clerk, still expressing her view that she thinks she should have gotten out of there paying no more than $10.00. At this point the clerk is assisting me OVER the computer because she hasn't moved. So now, even though she's paid, she is still in the damn way. She eventually leaves and there is a collective sigh released from the staff and the other customers who had, by then, all lined up behind me. Then the clerk explains to me that this woman does the SAME DAMN THING EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT! So this isn't a case of her not getting it, but rather a case of her playing dumb every Tuesday night to see if she can get away with a better deal than she deserves. At this point I'm rung up and being the smart ass that I am, and always one for some fun when I have an audience, I look at the clerk and separate 3 movies out to one side and the forth on the other and very innocently say to him "OK, so I get these three for $9.99 and this one should be my free rental..........right?"

Colorado Beware!

2006-08-23T08:38:00.000-05:00

Just a friendly warning to all Coloradans. Beware of new female transplants to your state from the state of Maryland! In the near future we will be lucky enough to have this particular female move away from our state, but unfortunately for you all, she's headed to Colorado. Do not, under any circumstances, lend this woman any money and do not accept a check from her! I'd also be skeptical of anything she says!

EDIT: Further Information

My Daughter Has Expensive Taste

2006-08-21T14:47:00.000-05:00

As mentioned in the previous post, we ate lunch at Fuddruckers yesterday. As we were leaving I was waiting for our friends to follow us and I pulled up next to a brand new BMW convertible. Savanah looks over at the car and says "OH DADDY, I really like that car, can we get one?" Never one to pass up an opportunity to instill some values or life lessons, I replied with, "Well honey, those are very expensive cars. If you really want one, you'll have to do well in school and go to college and then find a good job and then maybe you can get one." Now I know most of what I just said is lost on her and she doesn't really understand what I'm talking about, other than the part about doing well in school (which I'm not at the moment really worried about since she is so excited about starting next week), but it makes me feel a bit better having started to encourage some sort of drive to succeed with her. After thinking about it for a bit she looks at me and says "That's okay Daddy, I still like it anyway." So much for encouraging her to succeed with the promise of an expensive car as the prize!

Blasts From The Past And Other Strange Encounters

2006-08-21T08:48:00.000-05:00

I am pretty much used to the random encounters that occur infrequently from time to time, but this past weekend, and this past summer to some extent, was filled with more than its fair share.

For starters, yesterday I got a call from the mother of one of Savanah's friends asking if we'd like to meet them for lunch before attending a birthday for a fellow classmate. Not having planned anything for before the birthday I said sure. So I get Savanah ready to go and we drive over to Fuddruckers. Thinking that I've arrived a bit late (we had to stop for Birthday Cards) I walk around the restaurant looking for them. They aren't there yet, but I do hear somebody call my name. Now, you have to understand that neither I nor any of my local friends frequent Fuddruckers. I've been a handful of times with the last time being over two years ago so I have no idea who would be there that would know me. I turn towards the voice and much to my surprise; Kristy and Mandy are sitting there eating lunch. So what's so weird about that? Well, considering that one lives in Glen Burnie and the other in Deale and I'm sure there are several Fuddruckers between there and Reisterstown, I'd say a lot. I even saw them when I walked in, but my mind dismissed it actually being them due to the impossible odds of them sitting in a Reisterstown Fuddruckers on the same day as my first time being there in two plus years.

So I chat with them for a bit until Savanah's friend arrives and we order and sit down to eat. Sitting in the next booth over from us is a little boy who keeps "flirting" with Savanah and Rebecca. The boy's mother explains that he is all about the little girls and flirting (they are only 5 so it is all rather funny (I've still got a few years before I have to go into "That's MY daughter you are flirting with!!!" mode)). Anyway, I recognize the mother as a girl who attended the same High School as me. I'd like to point out that in the many years we've lived in Maryland, other than the three years I spent living in Timonium, I have lived in the Owings Mills / Reisterstown Area. In the past 17 years I've bumped into maybe 5 people from High School (although thanks to the Internet, I've made contact with a few more than that, but we are talking random encounters here) and strangely enough, most of those people I bumped into in Hanover, MD at the Cancun Cantina rather than back in the Owings Mills / Reisterstown Area.

Anyway, so here I am, I've been at Fuddruckers for 30 minutes and have already bumped into two people who I wouldn't have expected to see there in a million years and an old acquaintance from High School. We finish off lunch and head over to the Birthday Party at Pump It Up. Savanah and Rebecca are off and running the minute we get through the door and I'm over with the other parents chatting away. During the course of the party I notice yet another person that I recognize from back in my High School days. Back in my B'nai Brith days (some 18 years ago) her I and two other friends were a tight group. It took her a few moments to recognize me though after I said hi.

This past summer had several similar occurrences. The party we attended on Sunday was for two of Savanah's classmates. Their father happens to be another guy I knew from B'nai Brith. Another mother of one of her classmates knew me from my life guarding days at the JCC. And another mother we just recently found out is married to a previous exchange student who I knew and who my mother dealt with as an AFS representative back when I was in High School.

It really is a small small world.

Home Is Here

2006-08-20T10:43:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update about Randomonium and Randomonium II. After several weeks at both, I've decided that I prefer this blog site over VOX. They had some nice features, but none that I'd really end up using much. Maybe that'll change in the future, but, with the updates that they are releasing here and the lack of a layout that I really liked over at VOX, I am no longer going to be double posting (one here and duplicate content over there). Two is one too many (when they are the same thing) so now it's just Randomonium and Randa-Movie-Um for me. Hopefully there are still a few of you reading this (I know Tony is at least, and Annie tells me she does, but I never see any comments) and if you followed me to VOX you have followed me back.

Enjoy!

Seinfeld Was Right

2006-08-18T18:53:00.000-05:00

I was always a fan of Seinfeld. I watched the show regularly and always found it funny, but always thought they were taking a particular quirk or situation to an extreme to increase its funniness. Well, today I encountered my first honest to goodness soft-talker. You would remember her from the Puffy Shirt Episode. She was the one who asked Jerry to wear the pirate shirt on TV and he agreed never having really heard her. Well, their portrayal of that character was right on the money! This "real live" soft-talker works for CVS and I'll be damned if you can make out anything she says. I think I was a mere inch from her face before I actually heard noise coming from her mouth. And I gotta say, when there is a problem with their credit card machine and you are asking questions, and expecting answers to those questions, a soft-talker is not who you need to talk to.

Yes, I'm Still A Geek....

2006-08-18T10:49:00.000-05:00

So I was very disappointed with "Who Want's To Be A Superhero?" last night. Yes, I watch and love the show and I'm a sci-fi geek (forever and always!). Anyway, Creature and Lemuria got sent packing last night. Creature was my second favorite with Lemuria being my favorite. Their departure leaves my least favorite character on the show, Fat Momma, who by the way, at least in my mind, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt on last week's show, that she doesn't deserve to be there. Bring Lemuria back and get rid of Fat Momma! I just hope Fat Momma doesn't win. I don't think I could handle a comic book featuring her as well as a sci-fi channel full length movie starring her.

I guess the elimination of Lemuria and Creature bumps Major Victory up as my favorite to win. I really was so hoping for Lemuria to win. Now I'm just hoping for Big Momma to loose.

My Love Affair With Epson Is Over.....

2006-08-15T13:17:00.000-05:00

Since I got my first computer, I've always had an Epson Printer to go along with it. For many years I've sworn by them so when I found a great deal on the CX5400 at BJ's about a year and a half ago I was thrilled. Little did I know that was the beginning of the end.

The CX5400 was a great printer, scanner, copier when I first got it home. Installation was a breeze and I was thrilled with the output both from copying and printing. It was everything I expected from an Epson. Then, about 9 months after I got it, the paper feeder started to jamb up a bit. I thought to myself, ok, than can happen, not a big deal. I called Epson, they shipped out a new one and I sent them the one that wasn't working. Then after about 14 months of using the replacement one, I had to change the ink cartridges again. You use ink, you replace ink, pretty typical of all printers and I've changed the ink on this one several times with no problems. Well this time there was a problem. I started printing again and the output looked strange. So I ran a print head cleaning routine and a printer alignment. That's when I noticed that the magenta ink wasn't printing. Hmmmm, maybe a bad ink cartridge......so I put a brand new one in. Nothing. So I figured I'd do a little research. Turns out that this particular Epson Printer is known for this. Many people have encountered this SAME EXACT PROBLEM. We aren't talking about a "similar problem" or a "problem sorta like that but". We are talking, exactly the same thing. Case after case of the same thing happening. The only difference is when it happens. Most are 14 to 18 months after purchase which of course puts it two to six months AFTER the warranty is up. So, just like everyone else (I'm sure they all went through something similar to this) I called Epson Tech Support. I gave them the serial number and the product number and then was told "I'm sorry, that isn't under warranty." I explained that I've done research and this is a known flaw in this printer. She acknowledged that she had heard that, but still wouldn't help me. So I asked for a supervisor. They weren't much help either. They refused to let me talk to anyone higher up than the supervisor explaining that I would get the same answer regardless. Of that one fact I have NO DOUBT. It was the one truthful thing I heard during my entire conversation with Epson. They'd be willing to help me, but it was gonna cost. They weren't the nicest people to talk to either. I'd rather talk to some outsourced Indian who was polite than these Epson people again. Anyway, after asking one last time if they were gonna help me with this problem and having them tell me NO again, in no uncertain terms, I told them thanks a lot, so much for standing behind your product and so much for customer loyalty and then I told them that I would do my best to make sure nobody ever bought Epson again and that I was done with em. Funny thing about that is that she seemed genuinely confused about why I would feel that way. They put out an inferior product (a piece of crap printer) and then don't stand behind their product and then they are surprised when the customer isn't happy? At least car manufacturers realize there is a problem after a certain amount of similar occurrences and complaints and then do a recall. I wonder if anyone ever thought about a class action suit? Anything to teach them a lesson. I have done my part though, and whenever I'm in a Best Buy, Comp USA or similar store, if I happened to walk by the printer aisle and see somebody looking at an Epson, I feel obligated to share my experience and do. I've seen several customers move over to HP and Cannon after telling them my story. If you are interested you can read the reviews for it over at Amazon.com.

On a brighter note, I recently purchased a Canon MP830 and I can't say enough good things about this one. I absolutely love it. Let’s just hope that it's still printing 14 months from now.

The Big Day...Come and Gone

2006-08-15T10:45:00.000-05:00

The Birthday Girl
Originally uploaded by Cayusa.

Thank god it's over!!! Savanah's 5th birthday party was this past Sunday and all in all everything went well. I did forget the candles for the cake, but a quick trip to 7-11 took care of that and very few were the wizer. The kids had a blast at the JCC playground at the first party and the annual cook out was fun for both the adults and the kids. We set up a table for the kids with pens, glitter pens, fuzzy pom pom balls, googley eyes, foamies and glue and laid out some poster board with a picture of Savanah in the middle and let the kids go nuts decorating it. That kept them busy for a long time and they seemed to enjoy the project and it turned out a lot better than I expected. You can see pictures of them decorating it over at My Flickr. (I'll get the final posted soon!) Uncle Mike, Aunt Stacy and Annie Ann all went out of their way again this year to make the party that much more special for Savanah.

While the turn out for the Kid's Party wasn't as great as I'd have liked it, it did turn out to be better than I expected. With 9 kids showing up (out of the original 25 invited) they all played together rather than splintering off into groups as is typical of any large group. I would have liked more kids there, but what can you do? August is a bad month for birthdays. Camp and other summer activities ended this past week and school starts in two weeks, so if you're gonna have a family vacation during the summer, you are left with little choice as to when it will occur. All things considered though, I'd rather have the August birthday and have the option of an outdoor party and cook out, than risk the winter weather and be forced indoors. So far we've been lucky with Savanah's birthdays and the weather. Last year was a bit hot, but bearable and this year you couldn't have asked for a nicer day. The previous three years were were just as nice as well and you just can't beat a gathering of good friends and family on a nice day.

There will be some occasional updates to My Flickr as I get more photos from the others who were taking pictures at the party, so keep checking back.

To all of you who made it, thank you for helping make it such a special day for my daughter and for those of you who couldn't make it, you were missed but in our thoughts. Thanks again everyone!

The Big Day - Almost...

2006-08-13T00:19:00.000-05:00

Well it is 1:14 Sunday Morning (or Saturday Night depending on how you look at things) and my daughter is 5 (well at 10:14 PM this evening she will be officially 5, but if you start counting from when Kahty's water broke, she was 5 an hour and fourteen minutes ago). I'm pretty sure we have everything organized for her party. Just have to print out a picture, get the hot dogs from the freezer and pick up the cake in the morning and we are set to go (I think and hope LOL). I'll let you know how it went after the parties!

Hair Ties

2006-08-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

Having had long hair pretty much all my life and having worn that hair in a pony tail for probably about the past 10 years I must say that I'm really not thrilled with the direction Hair Ties are going. The powers that be have apprently decided that long hair for men is out or that they just aren't going to put products out there for those of us who have long hair.

It used to be the common hair tie was that little colored band-like thing with the gold colored stripe in it and the metal connector. These hair ties tended to last quite a long time (at least in my experience) and did a damn fine job. The only drawback to these was that every so often your hair would get caught by the little metal connector and you'd end up yanking a few hairs out. OUCH! but it was over quickly. The colors were pretty basic....black, yellow, brown, red, blue, white and green. These hair ties have now become extinct. Nowadays, you have a much greater selection of types (thick, thin, woven, smooth, corrugated (at least that's what I call em) and a much greater selection of colors (pink, marigold, chartruse, purple, neons, pastels, etc etc etc) none of which are very masculine past the black and blues. The one thing that all of these have in common is that they aren't very taught. It used to be that I'd wrap the band aroudn my pony tail 3 times and I wouldn't have to touch it the rest of the day, regardless of the day's activities. Now, however, I find my self wrapping the pony tail 5 times minimum just to get it to stay up and lord help me if I happen to need to run, jog, move quickly, sneeze, or even shake my head yes or no. All of those activities usually require a fix to the pony tail. They just don't hold your hair like they used to. The other thing they have in common is that little metal connector is gone. Apparently this is to make them "ouchless."

Now some of you may be saying "Well, you are getting older, are you sure your hair isn't just thinning out?" to which I must answer yes, I am sure that isn't the cause. I actually found a few of the older ones (the ones with the metal connector) and low and behold, still just need the 3 wraps maximum to hold the hair up. The length and condition of my hair is still as it was when I first started wearing it up.

These "ouchless" hair ties don't seem to stand up to much wear and tear either. After about a weeks use, it is time for another one cause it's lost its elasticity.

My other problem is these new colors. I don't want a pink hair tie or any of these other pastel girly colors. I can live with purple, but that's about as far as I'll go. So I can either buy all black (which is pretty much what I've been doing) or buy a pack with some colors and give Savanah and Kathy most of em, leaving me with the 5 or 6 that will work for me or switch to rubber bands........uggg and ouch!

I want the old ones back, with the little metal connector. They worked, they were the right colors, and they lasted a month or more per band before unravelling.

Attempted Assassination

2006-08-09T18:19:00.000-05:00

Original Post Aug 9, 2006

So I am starting to believe that my cat (Jesse) is out to get Kathy. In the past week he has managed to sneak up on her and get under her feet on at least two occasions that I've witnessed. At the beginning of the week he tried to give her a heart attack by sticking his tail under her as she came in the house carrying bags so that she couldn't see him and when you aren't expecting it, that screech that he gives when his tail is messed with can scare the crap out of you. Especially considering that his normal mode is one of complete silence. For the longest time I thought he was mute cause he'd open his mouth and you could tell he was trying to meow, but no sound came out. So when he does make a noise, it is surprising. On the second occasion he actually managed to trip her causing her to jamb her baby toe. Maybe the second attempt was actually pay back for the tail incident. To add insult to injury, however, after he made her trip over him, he would come up to her on the sofa and rub his head across her feet right where her jambed toe was, causing her further "discomfort."

Camera Fun

2006-08-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

Original Post Aug 9, 2006

Annie was over last night and we packed the goodies bags for Savanah's Birthday Party. In the process several of the glow sticks that I had gotten for the kiddies snapped and as we all know, when you snap a glow stick they become activated. By the time we were done Annie had two necklaces and 4 bracelets on. I pulled out my camera to get a few shots and then decided to see what else I could do with the camera and it's night settings. We took about 40 pictures or so with the only light source being the glow sticks and in a few we added a Disney light toy and out of those 40 or so picture we actually got a few really cool shots. There is a total of 6 that I felt were Flickr worthy. Check out My Flickr to see the rest.

My Non-Celebrity Product Endorsement

2006-08-09T17:33:00.000-05:00

Original Post Aug 8, 2006

This past saturday I went to pick Savanah up from her Mom Mom and Pop Pop's house. Having spoken to them earlier in the week I knew that they were packing up Kathy's oldest sisters stuff that has been in storage in their basement for several years and loading it into a U-Haul for a trip up to Canada to deliever it to her. Being the nice guy I am, I offered to help. Considering how much stuff she had there, what they had packed to deliver wasn't all that much, so I had Pop Pop hand me the boxes and I loaded the U-Haul. We managed to get the thing loaded in record time and were about to close it up when Mom Mom notices that we had missed a box of pictures (framed prints and stuff). Well the box wasn't going to fit, but individulally, we could stick the pictures here and there and make em fit. As I'm putting the last one in, it happens. After loading all of the heavy boxes with no problem at all, a framed print weighing no more than a pound does me in. Next thing I know, it hurts to breath and my back feels like a knife was jabbed into it. Well, I get home and whine to Kathy (I'm such a baby when I'm in pain LOL) and she goes out and gets me the Ben Gay Pain Relieving Patch. She puts two of em on my back which is at first a miserable experience (the are ice cold when you first apply them) but then once they warm up are kinda nice. By sunday morning the pain in my back is down about 90% and by Monday pretty much gone. The last time I pulled something in my back I was in pain for a little over a week. This time the majority of the pain was gone in less than 24 hours. Now if I can only get them to pay me for my product endorsement I'd be perfect LOL.

A Very Rare Occurance

2006-08-09T17:29:00.000-05:00

Original Post Aug 7, 2006

So I get home today and find Kathy waiting patiently for me at the door (she had to work tonight so she was waiting for me to get home so she could leave). She shushes me and then leads me inside and this is what I find. I don't think Savanah has taken an afternoon nap in about 2 1/2 years! Wow, I guess all the running around we did this weekend, plus the birthday party she went to yesterday and the Blue's Clue's watching party she had with her friends last night (Blue got a baby brother for those of you who aren't up on your Blue's Clues) finally caught up to her. She is such and angel when she sleeps (and oh so quiet LOL)!

Back......Sort Of

2006-08-09T17:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a few days over at VOX and I guess I like it well enough. It's got some cool features that aren't located here. I don't know that they apply all that well to me though. So, for the time being, I will maintain Randomonium II there, but will post the same here. I've gotten a few complaints from a few of those who actually follow this blog about the Vox Blog. I am hoping that they improve the site over there (it is still relatively new), but until that time, you'll find the same entries here. With that said, the next few entries are to catch the content here up with the content there.

Moving?

2006-08-07T12:44:00.000-05:00

Ron sent me an invite to move my Blog over to VOX so I'm gonna give it a try for a bit. Not sure how much I'll like it, so this one will remain for the time being, but all new posts will be at Ranomonium II. I may come back here, I may stay over there. So far I've been impressed with some of the features over at VOX, but there are some I feel are lacking, and I'm not really impressed with the available themes, but it is a relatively new service and they promise they are working on more, so we will see. Follow the link above or at the side to get to the new Blog and don't forget to bookmark it!

Tony vs. Sushi

2006-08-07T10:19:00.000-05:00

So about a week ago Tony mentions to me that he has never had sushi before. Being a fan of sushi and always looking for a reason to actually go out and get some, I suggested we go out to lunch one weekend and have him try some. So I got in touch with Steve (another sushi fan) and we figured out where and when. So just this past saturday it fit into all three of our schedules to meet for lunch at Olive and Sesame in Towson for some sushi. For his first time, I must admit that he was open and willing to try it all (well almost all.....The clam....well, even I wasnt' going to eat that one). He does, however, have a unique way of eating it though. Apparently the pieces were a bit large for him, so he decided to cut them up with a fork and knife. I've seen people use their hands, I've seen people bite the pieces in half, but never have I seen somebody take the fish off the rice, cut it with a knife and then place the smaller piece on the rice, switch back to the chopsticks and then eat it. Needless to say, Steve and I had a bit of fun with him after that (thus part of the reason for the picture and this post!)

New Camera

2006-07-29T16:19:00.000-05:00

I finally broke down and got a new camera. It was definately time. My old one was a Sony Mavica 1.6 Mega Pixel Camera and it did (and does) a nice job of taking pictures, but it is also big and bulky and when I printed the images, unless I wanted to put one picture on each floppy (yes it used floppies and memory sticks) the printed image just wasn't that clear. The new one, a Sony Cybershot is 8.1 Mega Pixels and so far I've been impressed with the pictures. The flash isn't as overwhelming as the one on the Mavica so I don't end up with these really dark shadows and the images seem a bit clearer as well. I eventually want to get an SLR Camera so I can really start taking some pictures, but the new Cybershot is going to be great for family vacations and such. It fits nicely on the belt and is very compact.

I've uploaded a few new pictures of Savanah that I took with it today to my Flickr account.

Spinners

2006-07-28T09:26:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you all know what "spinners" are. Those damn rims that cars get modded out with that keep spinning after the vehicle has stopped. Well, I'm not one to begrudge anyone who wants to waste their money on 'em, or any other car mod that they want. The expression of ones individualism is a good thing. However (you knew there was a however coming didn't you?), as much as I support "to each their own", there is a point at which a fad or trend does go too far. I've seen spinners on SUVS and sports cars, even a sedan or two, but yesterday on my way home I encountered a beat up MINI VAN with spinners. When I say beat up I mean this thing was at least 10 years old. The paint was faded, there were some paint scratches and a few dents to boot. The paint job, even had it not been faded, was that yellowish beige color (more yellow than brown) that even fresh doesn't do your vehicle any favors. Needless to say, this was not the kinda car you "pimp out," but low and behold, right there, on her wheels, spinning away, were brand spanking new spinners. It amazes me that somebody would rather spend a butt load of money on new spinners (and they do cost a lot based on what I encountered online looking them up last night) for a beat up junker rather than invest in a new car or even an updated used car. When smoke is billowing out of your tailpipe and you have rust spots and dents and paint scratches all over your car's body...........brand new spinners aren't gonna class it up!

Fun Weekend

2006-07-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

OK, so my sorta rant about birthday parties is over and now here is a bit of an update about the weekend.

I picked Savanah up from Pop Pop saturday morning and we headed home. On the way we stopped to pick up the goodies for her goodie bags (thus the previous rant) and then decided to go visit Mommy at work. Savanah had a grand time at the Disney Store, which she always does. I think she views it as a place to go play with toys. We ended up walking out with a few new shirts, including an orange tigger shirt for her and an orange Sher-khan shirt for me (which when viewed side by side pretty much match)which we ended up wearing on sunday (yeah, I'm a dork LOL), but it was cute.

Anyway, after leaving Mommy at work, Savanah told me she was hungry, so we went and had lunch at IHOP, which was a lot of fun. She's been spending a lot of time with Mom Mom and Pop Pop and my parents during the week due to Kathy's work schedule, so this summer, we haven't been able to do a lot of the things that I'd like to do, so getting to spend an afternoon just hanging out was a lot of fun.

Then sunday I got the family up early and we caught a showing of CARS before Kathy had to go to work. After that, Savanah and I spent the day shopping. When we got home she "helped" me put the groceries away (helped in the loosest definition of the word.....her main goal was to get to the box of chalk I bought her, but was at the bottom of the bag and that bag was under all the others).

All in all it was a nice father/daughter weekend.

As an aside: In the past week we've seen two movies. Pirates 2 and CARS. While I enjoyed Pirates 2, it just wasn't that good. Maybe my expectations for it were too high, but it just didn't have the same flavor and edge that the first one did. There was just something missing. CARS on the otherhand was absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend you catch this before it leaves the theater! It was great!

The Wonderful World of Birthdays

2006-07-24T13:23:00.000-05:00

When did planning a birthday party get so complicated (and expensive)? Savanah turns 5 this August (wow, time really does fly) and I am up to my arse in planning the thing. Apparently, just getting everyone together to celebrate no longer counts as a birthday. Traditionally, we (my family, kathy's family, and our family of friends) have gotten together and had a cookout. Everyone brings a side dish of some sort and we all chow down and just have a good time. This year we will be doing the same, but this year savanah also completed her first year of school, well preschool, but it was a classroom setting nonetheless, and she's been invited to all of their parties, so we have to (well should at least) return the favor. I didn't think having 20 4 and 5 year olds, plus siblings, running around without some sort of organized activity was fair to anyone (Uncle Mike cause it's his house, the other parents who probably don't want their kids running wild, and everyone else). So I started looking for places to have a birthday for about 20 or so little kids. You'd be surprized at how many places there are to have a kids party. You'd also be surprized at what these places cost! One idea I had involved a farm and pony rides but at $20 per kid.............well, that was a no. All the other places I called were either too expensive or booked solid through october. Apparently you have to start making arangements for the kids birthday a year in advance if you wanna do one of the "popular" activities. Then, after thinking I had found a place, things went wrong, but we managed to salvage some of it, so, in the end at least, we have a destination and the kids can run themselves ragged on the playground.

Then of course there is the dreaded goodie bag. That's the little bag that we seem to be required to give all of the guests (well the kids at least). Not that I'm complaining that it's a bad idea or anything, but my recent visit to Party City was an eye opener about what is considered a good give away and how much the stuff costs. Plus you gotta figure that the stuff you put in em has got to be oriented to the child that recieves it. You don't want to put princess stickers in a little boy's bag. So now you have to either shop for goodie bags that are male and female oriented or you have to go unisex and not worry too much about the theme of the party. Savanah, or course, picked a Disney Princess theme (go figure) which made things for me a bit more difficult. Why don't the princes get equal representation? Hell, why don't the princes get any representaion. So princess items (compacts, mirrors, stickers, etc.)were out. I decided early on that candy was out. We aren't real big on giving Savanah sweets (we'd rather see her eat an apple or peach than candy) so why would I give candy to other kids? Sure they like it, but that doens't mean they need it. Don't get me wrong....I'm not anti-candy (those of you who know me know my weakness for chocolate) but it's my personal opinion that at 4 and 5 candy should be doled out sparingly. And I'm not saying it's wrong for others to put that in the goodie bags they give out, it's just my personal preference not to give it out to kids that age. So we ended up with some disney magic towels, some disney light spinners (thank god for kathy's employment at the Disney Store), plastic kazoo's, small bubble containers, pencils (they will be starting Kindergarden at the end of August) and some neon glowing rings, bracelets and necklaces (which are always fun). Should be a pretty nice goodie bag, but wow, ain't nothing in this world cheap anymore!

Then of course we've got to put the goodies in some sort of bag. Well, the theme of the party is the Disney Princesses and I'm sorry but I can't see giving little boys a bag with the Disney Princesses on it. No, I don't think it will corrupt them or anything. I just know if I was a 5 year old boy, I wouldn't want to get a bag with princesses on it, plain and simple. They just aren't cool to little boys at that age. If you listen to my nephew, they go way beyond not cool to icky and gross, but that's little boys for ya. So now I gotta find a container for these goodies. Do I just brown bag em, plain plastic bag.............what? On a lucky note I was able to find a lady on ebay that actually sells colored paper bags, so I can do blue and pink, stick with the theme (Cinderella's gown is blue so that counts right?) and the boys can get blue and the girls pink. Woo hoo, things are coming together! Still costing an arm and a leg, but my little one will be happy and at least there is a plan. How well I'll pull all of this off is a completely different question.

Definately MY Daughter

2006-07-17T09:25:00.000-05:00

Well, there is no doubt in my mind that Savanah takes after me. We arrived at my Sister's place yesterday (on time for once!) and immediately left for her birthday dinner. It was nice, but I think I'm done with Thai food for a long long long LONG time. Anyway, we are sitting down eating and talking and having a good time. The conversation turns to how busy the weekend has been for all of us and my mom starts to relate what her and my dad did that morning before coming to my sisters. She starts at the beginning of the day with what time they got up. She then states that her and my father took a 5 mile walk. Nothing unusual there, they like to take these long walks and long hikes, not my cup of tea, but they enjoy it. Well, after saying that they took this 5 mile walk, Savanah turns to my mother and asks "Why didn't you just drive?" And she asked this with a tone and manner that implied my parents must have been crazy to walk 5 miles.

Birthday's Birthday's Birthday's

2006-07-16T09:46:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is turning out to be one busy weekend. Gary and Vikki's little boy turned one this week so we had his birthday on Saturday. Other than being oppresively hot outside it was a lot of fun. Jeff and I are still undefeated in Trivial Pursuit, although we did have to call the game on account of rain. But I was up by 4 wedges (a total of 5 and moving in on my last one so we were declared victorious!). Anyway, it is now Sunday morning and Savanah is jumping around anxiously awaiting her classmate Jacob's birthday at Pump It Up. I think this will be the 5th party we've attended at Pump It Up. After Jacob's birthday party, it is back home to drop off Kathy and then Savanah and I are headed to Virginia for my sister's birthday dinner. All in all, I will have driven about 250 miles this weekend for birthdays.

I think next weekend is the first weekend where we don't have a birthday party to go to. Last weekend it was another of Savanah's classmates and I believe we have two more coming up in August plus Savanah's birthday on the 13th of August. I can't believe she's gonna be 5 and start school soon! Anyway, that's my weekend. Driving Birthday, Driving, Birthday, Driving, Birthday, then finally home for some much needed rest!

Finally Friday.....Sci Friday that is!

2006-07-14T14:37:00.000-05:00

OK, I admit it, I'm a sci-fi nerd. I'm not as nutty as some out there. I don't dress up for movies and I don't memorize which episode it which, but I do watch my sci-fi religiously. So tonight, finally, after waiting for several months, Stargate and Stargate Atlantis are all new! Yeah, I know, in the grand scheme of things, so what, but i've been egarly waiting for the new season and it's finally here and I am happy! And on Tuesday Eureka starts on the Sci-Fi Channel, which I've been looking forward to as well, so looks to be a good few days for me! Unfortunately I have to wait until October for Battlestar Galactica's new season. Oh well. I'm a geek and I'm proud! LOL. Well, that's about it. Now it's time to wrap up things here at work, get home, make all my phone calls and do what needs to be done so I won't be interrupted during my shows. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

4th of July

2006-07-05T09:04:00.000-05:00

This year we spent the 4th of July with my parents in Annapolis and Savanah was finally impressed with a fireworks display. The first year we took her, she watched em for about 5 minutes and then said, "OK, can we go home now?" The year after that we spent on the eastern shore with friends and a load of store brought fireworks, which she thought were pretty but not impressive. She loved em this year. I hate to say it though, it wasn't the most impressive show I've seen. I am guessing the weather (we had a hell of a storm blow through an hour before the show) had something to do with it. After the grand finale, they kept setting off random shots here and there as if some had been missed.

Was nice to spend the 4th with my parents. They just got back from a trip to Alaska. I am jelous, jelous, JELOUS. The pictures that I've seen so far.......WOW. Definately someplace I'm going to have to visit.

Not much else has happened between my last post and this one....just your everyday sort of stuff and I'd hate for this to get monotonous and just have me ramble on day after day about my daughter (which I do tend to do sometimes, but hey, I'm a proud daddy). I did finalize the design for the built in closet that I plan on installing this summer which can be seen on my flickr page (if I can finally upload again....stupid limits on free accounts). I'll post that one later here, once construction starts. Should be an interesting experience with both my dad and kathy's dad helping.

Father's Day Weekend

2006-06-20T12:41:00.000-05:00

Father's Day Gift
Originally uploaded by Cayusa.

Father's day this year was a treat, not that it isn't always, but this one was a bit more relaxed than I ever remember them being. I finally got to sleep in on a saturday, which was really nice, then Savanah spent the entire day at the neighbor's house playing in their inflatable pool. I got a lot of reading done (another one down Tony LOL) and was able to watch the World Cup USA vs Italy game without interruption. Then Sunday I was allowed to sleep in again (two days in a row, that never happens). Savanah gave me her present (the picture above) which was sweet. It now resides at my office. Then Sunday afternoon we headed over to Kathy's parent's house for a BBQ. All in all one of the most relaxing weekends in a long time and, from the schedule of birthday parties and other obligations that I have marked on our "social" calendar, it was probably the last relaxing weekend I'm going to have for the next few months. But even the busy weekends are fun so not so bad!

Places I've Been

2006-06-15T23:26:00.000-05:00

I did the local map and since there wasn't much to watch on TV tonight I figured I'd make a new map of the places I've visited. So here it is.

My Wayfaring Map

2006-06-15T16:09:00.000-05:00

Well, first Ron did it, then Mike jumped on board, so here I am jumping on the bandwagon! Kinda cool, if not just a bit slow at times. Look for it to be expanded from time to time. It's a pretty cool site and it kept me busy for a bit!

Enjoy

Crafts and Stuff

2006-06-14T17:59:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, two posts in one day. Am I over doing this? I'll probably post a lot of stuff here in the beginning and then slowly fade away into obscurity, but as long as I'm here now I'll keep posting away.

Anyway, i've found myself getting "craftier" lately. I'm guessing Annie is the one to blame for this recent surge of creativity. She started beading a year or so ago (has it been that long Annie?) and I've been helping her out at her shows including making some of the stuff myself. Well after getting a taste for it, but not wanting to be a beader myself, I started making Dreamcatchers and while not having sold any to date (oops, I'm wrong about that....Thanks for the commision Christine!), I have gifted several out and I am slowly building up some stock so that the next time the Reisterstown Festival is in town, maybe I'll have some stuff to sell.

I've also been learning to sew (again, Thanks Annie!) and I'm in the process of making an outfit for Ren Fest and other activities of that nature (I'll post some pictures as progress is made for anyone interested). So far we've made the cape and a pair of pants that didn't quite fit right (I'm still learning). I've also talked with Christine about another outfit for Halloween. We'll see if we get started in enough time for this Halloween.

Another little outlet for me is Zazzle. You can create your own t-shirts there and while I haven't sold any, I've gotten positive feedback and some interest on my first design and I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my second design. I've also got some ideas for some more and will eventually get to them.

Here is the first design

Just Ledoux It
by
Cayusa
Get this custom t-shirt at Zazzle

And then here is my second design

The front is shown here. To see the back you have to actually follow the link......sorry bout that, but I haven't figured out how to show just the back. Just so ya know, the text on the front is elvish for "Go Kiss An Orc" and on the back there is.......yup, you guessed it, an orc.

Go Kiss An Orc
by
Cayusa
Get this custom t-shirt at Zazzle

Well, if you're still with me and at all still interested, the last two craft type, DIY projects I'm working on are a new built in closet for the bedroom and a tapestry type curtain for the windows in the house. Both are in the design phases right now, but I'll keep you posted on the progress once they get going for those of you who might be interested.

Boredom

2006-06-14T17:36:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by
Cayusa.

Every so often things get kinda slow at work so to pass the time I have me some fun with photoshop. I know some of you have seen these, but then, some of you haven't, so here you go .......I'm sure I'll have more in the future (Beware Annie Ann!)

Welcome

2006-06-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Well, this is my first ever attempt at a blog. I don't know how sucessful I'll be at keeping it up nor do I know how many of you out there will actually read this, but thanks to Ron, I was inspired to at least attempt it. THANKS RON!! (I haven't yet decided if that is a sarcastic thank you or not, we'll see how things go)

As for content........I have no idea. I guess you can expect random thoughts and ideas, pictures of the family and our friends, updates on life in general and anything else that flitters accross my mind and I feel like posting. Hopefully, somebody will be interested enough in all of that to at least check in from time to time.

Before I go, just a little disclaimer, with the birth of my daughter 4 (OMG almost 5) years ago, I've made great strides in cleaning my language up a bit, but I do tend to revert when I rant and rave about things, so please be aware of that! Thanks......