Tatoshka

Back to writing!

2011-04-19T10:45:00.001-07:00

Inspired by a blog I ran across a while back and really can connect with most of what Matt is saying http://mattgartland.com/blog/ I feel like I have hit a wall and I need something to fix myself. Is it me? Is it my destiny to have things in my life not go my way? Do I have expectations of greatness that cannot be achieved? There are times when I don't know who I am and yet right there in front of me are the people I love most and don't want to let them down. If this post is rambling it is because I think I am. I am searching for something yet I cannot place my thoughts on what it is. Time to clear the clutter and focus on finding my path. I love my wife, children and family, that is not what this is about. I know I can do more. It is a sense of being, of greatness, of purpose. If you read this, post me comment on how you think your purpose in life is affecting what you do on a daily basis.

- Posted while mobile, out and about. Waiting for the damn software to load!

10 things I want to accomplish in 8 months.

2011-02-28T11:49:00.001-08:00

Setting goals and following through to accomplish them has been a hard thing in my life. I feel as though I sometimes just let things happen to me and then react to them for better or worse. I am tired of letting things happen and am ready and willing to take change by the balls and make things happen for me the way I want them to. Every business has a plan, and my life is no different. My business is me and my family, my household and the things we do to make a better life. I am going to start off with a 10 item list for this year and blog about how, when and why of each item to assist me in keeping my goal. It is a new beginning for me. IF you know me and my last adventure of becoming a vegetarian, starting yoga, and going from 270 to 236lbs in one month then you know I have the tenacity, and “audacity” to complete anything I set my mind to. So here is my list.

1. Be happier, don’t let others affect my being.
2. Reconnect with some of my old friends
3. Declutter my house & garage
4. Lose 39 more lbs
5. Read at least 20 books
6. Spend more time with the kids doing adventures.
7. Be alone with my wife (no kids) once a week.
8. Make more money using my side business
9. Volunteer at least 5 hours a month at local organization, social project or a humanitarian cause.
10. Focus and improve at work and quantify it.

You might ask yourself, why the big change for me? What happened to me to make me different? I have become an “Anti-Hero” inspired by Matt Gartland. (Thanks Dude!) and after reading this post by Matt, I decided to make my own list and follow it for this year. IF this has inspired you to become a better person, follow this blog to see what else happens as my life unfolds and I take charge.

Borrego Springs

2011-02-25T09:23:00.001-08:00

In my effort to go on adventures with the kids, we went out to Borrego Springs, CA. to watch the sunrise and check out the sculptures

Dennis Avery, land owner of Galleta Meadows Estates in Borrego Springs envisioned the idea of adding 'free standing art' to his property with original steel welded sculptures created by 'Perris Jurassic Park' owner/artist/welder Ricardo Breceda based in Perris, California.

- Posted while mobile, out and about.

Tea-Time

2010-12-03T14:03:00.001-08:00

This mornings tea was a blend of a fruit tea with jasmine green tea both from http://www.teavana.com

- Posted while mobile, out and about.

Pictograph quiz!

2010-12-03T13:46:00.001-08:00

I came across this image printed on the side of a box and wondered whether or not it applied to the text below it. It's really a cool graphic. Can you guess what it means? Post your comment and let's see if anyone can guess. Be creative and let's see what we all come up with.

- Posted while mobile, out and about.

Not Motorcycle Weather?

2010-11-30T10:50:00.001-08:00

When it's this cold out, do you ride? Seems as though a Gerbrings liner might help but I just don't have the balls to suit up and go for a ride in this temp. Brrrr!

- Posted while mobile, out and about.

Constant Evaluation

2010-11-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

Children with special needs require constant evaluation.

I don’t want to say attention, because that will make matters worse. Secret watching and attention to the little triggers that make small things turn into large blowouts is what I am referring to. One of the small triggers that happened recently was when I came home from work and I noticed that my boys hair was wet from a recent shower, I lovingly patted him on the head not knowing that my wife had just asked him to dry and brush his hair. When I patted him he thought it was meant as a message to do what she had told him to do and not me acknowledging him as a hello or a “hi” kind of pat on the head. He exploded into “alright, I’ll dry it already “ with a yell from the top of his lungs.

Knowing this coming in the door next time I might do something different. Kneel down and call him over for a hug might work better in not calling attention to the wet head or some parental issue I walked into without checking in first. Getting side swiped by the kids is something that nobody tells you about. We did learn this as kids, but never have I experienced it before. Todays tip, is to meet with the significant other first, ask how it’s going then greet the kids with full knowledge of what has transpired throughout the day. This I don’t think is too important with kids that don’t have special needs, but for some of you that do, this could make for a better day.

Tuesday 9-21-10

2010-09-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Song lyrics resonate within me, meaning not what intended but through my filter they become mine to bounce around and create it’s own reality. Emotions and feelings from spoken word or song.

Today this one is special to me ~ Don’t know why… Pehaps I want to escape sometimes.

Postal service – Brand new colony.

I'll be the grapes fermented,
Bottled and served with the table set in my finest suit
Like a perfect gentlemen
I'll be the fire escape that's bolted to the ancient brick
Where you will sit and contemplate your day

I'll be the water wings that save you if you start drowning
In an open tab when your judgment’s on the brink
I'll be the phonograph that plays your favorite
Albums back as your lying there drifting off to sleep...
I'll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity's done to you...
You won't have to strain to look into my eyes
I'll be your winter coat buttoned and zipped straight to the throat
With the collar up so you won't catch a cold

I want to take you far from the cynics in this town
And kiss you on the mouth
We'll cut out bodies free from the tethers of this scene,
Start a brand new colony
Where everything will change,
We'll give ourselves new names (identities erased)
The sun will hear the grounds
Under our bare feet in this brand new colony
Everything will change, oOo oOo...

~~~
Robert.

Raw food?

2010-09-19T20:46:00.001-07:00

OMG

Once again it’s been a while since my last entry. Family drama has taken over and we are working through some issues that need not be spoken about in this blog. If you know me then you can ask. What is cool though and I can talk about is what a friend of mine has enlightened me to and hopefully will be a significant trend in my lifestyle. The story begins with my wife and a yoga class she was taking long ago, almost 5-6 years now. She wanted me to go to the class; I was reluctant and never went with her. Fast forward to a member of my motorcycle club and the same yoga instructor is giving a presentation on the art of riding and things we can do to be better riders. That is how I met Rached, a good riding friend who truly cares about people and what we put in our bodies. His yoga studio Saatva Fitness is where I attended my first yoga class. YES, I started taking yoga classes AND here is the important part of the story, I am on day 18 of a 30 day raw food challenge. Nothing but raw fruits, vegetables, & nuts. No processed food, no milk, eggs, cheese, beef, chicken, bread, or fast food. Basically everything I was USED to eating on a regular basis. So far so good, I feel great. I have lost at least 15lbs and I have been learning a lot about how the typical American diet was making me fat and feeling crappy. So with that I leave you with two links and the hope that you consider, you are what you eat.

http://www.sattvafitness.com/ Ask for Rached

http://www.sattvaveda.com/ Ask for Ciann!

Both awesome people!

- Posted while driving and eating a apple from my iPhone -

Starbucks Antics

2010-07-10T13:09:00.001-07:00

A while ago I read an article about a marketing guy in Seattle that made a fake Starbucks coffee cup that he magnetically attached to his car. I thought this would be a cool thing to try just for the reactions of people as they drove by. Well its been about three months or so now of "operation fake frappuchino" and the results were stunning!

Basic construction of the covert coffee was fairly simple. I did want to use a regular paper style coffee cup from Starbucks, but the paper posed a few problems, with the main one being that the cup has a gap on the bottom, plastic frap cup was the way to go. Drop a STRONG magnet found at a industrial outlet. Pour in a small amount of plaster of Paris, colored with coffee. Insert straw, and let set!

Placement of the Starbucks cup was critical, I chose to put it on the back bed rail where it would withstand the wind at freeway speeds. Around town you can place it above the driver.

Reactions to the cup were impressive, ranging from the guy who jumped out if his car at an intersection to hand me the cup to people pointing and looking at me like I was a stupid fool!

Overall a great trick that made my kids laugh when people pointed, and made others laugh when they realized it was a joke.

- Posted while driving and eating a donut from my iPhone -

Thinking of stuff and things.

2010-06-02T12:47:00.001-07:00

No matter how much I shake this little bastard, he keeps floating on the top of the blue water. I really think he should be actually in the blue stuff! I like it because he does stay on top of all the wrath I can give him. I have been trying to keep up with alot of personal stuff in life and keeping the happy face at work. I don' t know if it is working or not, only time will tell.

So in the meantime I will be reminded to keep on top of things from my little desktop fish who looks at me everyday, floats on top... No matter how hard I shake the crap out of him!

- Posted while driving and eating a donut from my iPhone -

Multimedia message

2010-04-07T20:40:00.001-07:00

Euil 14 year old look when she wants something and you tell he NO. Come on! Looks dont phaze me, I'm your dad. LOL, POKE, whatever!

Some things I enjoy

2010-01-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

Today I am in a contemplative mood and have been thinking of things I enjoy and I am going to list the things in a list format. A list format for this kind of stuff is hard because I might need to qualify the entry or indicate what it is specifically that I enjoy. There are so many things and circumstances and feelings to put in a list like this so be aware that by no means is this my complete list or by the exclusion of certain things that I do not enjoy it.
MY daughter Talia has been walking around the house saying,
“I Enjoy _____” So here goes….

Some things that I enjoy:

1. My wife, kids and family. (gotta be first)
2. Sleeping in
3. Teaching my children stuff
4. Very cold orange juice
5. Hugs
6. The evening smells on a cold night.
7. Bacon
8. That song on the radio that makes you remember something and you shed a little tear.
9. Hot showers, with a blast of cold at the very end.
10. Driving in 45 degree weather with the heat on and the windows down.
11. Cheese Danish
12. The feeling of acceleration in a car or motorcycle
13. Precision
14. Birds
15. A jug of ice water on a 100 degree day
16. Soft dogs ears
17. Coffee with hazelnut creamer
18. Jasmine dragon phoenix pearl Green tea
19. Fixing things
20. Making funny voices and sounds
21. Cream cheese and strawberry jelly sandwiches on white bread.
22. Getting up before the sunrise and watching it.
23. Weekdays 5:00pm
24. Sci-fi movies
25. Gravity

Well there is 25 of them, there are a ton more, I will be adding to this list. So come back later to check.

The $112 Screw

2010-01-24T13:18:00.001-08:00

Woke up the other day only to find this stuck in my tire. It seems that the rainy day money we save quickly dissapears into the abyss and the money is used for stupid stuff like this. I dont go around tossing giant screws out of my window. The carelessness of others finds me all the time and I am getting sick of it. It could not be patched because it was too close to the sidewall - Of course!

Avatar Restroom

2010-01-13T10:45:00.000-08:00

I have been opening this door for about 5 years and after seeing the movie Avatar it made me laugh so hard. Please tell me its not just me or Im reading too much into this. MY daughter laughed when I told her I could tell her one word and make her crack up after seeing the picture. I showed her the picture, waited a moment and then said "AVATAR" Funny huh?

Down for solid waste

2009-09-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

Saving water for those who choose to sit and pee only

Poked

2009-09-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tools of the trade

Chipped filling

2009-09-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

At dentist ...

Got the name "inigomontoya" @ myname.is

2009-08-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

What a sweet site that myname.is OR is it?

A few questions though, Why have I not gotten a mail confirming my url? (dont put any of your passwords that you use for other sites in thier box)

Not many followers that look legit.

IS this a password scamming site?

only time will tell.

IF anyone has the same issues with logging into their site, twitter me @tatoshka

40's music

2009-08-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Why does the music of the 40’s call me? I call it happy music. Is it a snapshot of simpler time when things were less complicated, no talk of terrorists or car bombings, when things were black and white, good and evil were standing across lines drawn in the sand. Staring from steadfast shores of right and wrong they mock each other knowing that their view is best. To me this music is straightforward, and to the point. Simple, honest, fun, and romantic music that my kids can’t stand and call crap

Red Hot Riders

2008-10-22T07:34:00.000-07:00

Yea, its been a while since the last post again... so sue me. Do you ride a motorcycle? Well I do and its a lot of fun. It's alot of responsibility also. People on the road in cars have no clue when it comes to us. I dont know what they are thinking sometimes. Do they hate us because we are faster, more nimble, and can get through traffic that would otherwise cripple the freeways. Do they hate me because I can go on the express lanes without paying?

I have ridden some sort of 2 wheeled incarnation since I was a wee lad of 8. Here are a few things I've learned.

Your invisible, ride like you can't be seen and avoid the "car"nage.
You will fall, prepare for the fall, expect to fall. (You rode a bike right?)
Be relaxed, if your stressed out, drive the car.
IF you have a "weird" feeling that day, drive the car.
Plan your ride, Weather? location? Gear?
Painted lines on the road are VERY slippery.
Freeway entrance ramps are a good place for cars to leak gas, Especially the circular ramps.
Cops will pick YOU out of a crowd, its just the way it is.
You can fart and not smell up your helmet.
Freeways are smelly, mountain roads smell AWESOME.
El Centro is a bad place to be at dusk.
Keep a pair of Shoes at work.
I can go 100mph and still get over 30mpg.
All dogs hate you.
Ride near an orange grove when it flowers.

Just a few things, IM sure if you ride you have your own.

Be safe and above all have FUN!

Tuesday?

2008-06-24T13:19:00.000-07:00

Well here is a post for you....

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it
deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod
are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and
lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a
total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Fcuknig
amzanig, eh?

on another note,

I have a good website to recommend today.

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/

I've been here a few times now and find that there is alot of really good information here. The site focuses on saving money in really simple terms and has alot of great innovative ideas. Todays post at his site focuses on "Ceiling Fan Hacks" ways to make your heating and cooling more efficient.

A very well put together blog... I'm jealous!

Gas prices in November 2006

2008-06-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?
I was looking through some older photos, How easily we forget!!!

Still kicking!!!

2008-05-16T19:21:00.000-07:00

Things I have been doing lately.

Blogging...not much and not this one.
Geocaching.
Geocaching "Flashmob"
Geocaching "CITO"
Being an agent at ImprovEverywhere and SceneDiego.
Riding my motorcycle.
Creating a network at NING.
Updating my youtube account.
Updating my Myspace account.
listening to pandora.

And Work.
Being a husband, lover, parent and friend.

Out Geocaching

2008-03-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

A Day out Geocaching, we are in a local park and stopped for a picture. With my new Garmin 60CSX it is making finds much more fun and we are all enjoying it on a sunny day.

Persian fire jumping?

2008-03-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine invited us to go to a party tonight. Festival of Fire or "Chahar Shanbeh Soori" is a traditional event to ring in the new year. I think it is going to be a great experience to get the kids out to experience another culture. WE get to jump over a fire and shout…

(Sorkhi-e to az man) Give me your beautiful red color
(Zardi-e man az to) And take back my sickly pallor!

Persian culture is rich in tradition and history, I am looking forward to the night.

More info here,and here. "No-Rooz Pirooz" (Wishing you a Prosperous New Year)

Im Still alive..

2008-03-13T12:08:00.001-07:00

Just checking in to let you know. Some new items at Tatoshka

Since my grandmother died things have been weird, More on that later. Im getting back into my interweb things and this blog is one I will be keeping.

Kevin Kelly has some interesting posts and items, I highly suggest this blog.

OH, I am now an Improveverywhere agent! We had fun on our first mission.

See you tomorrow.

George

2007-12-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

George, a coworker died suddenly on Saturday or late last friday, details are sketchy. Today I had to remove the harddrive from his laptop. Turns out last thing he did with his laptop was to puke on it, right before he died. Nobody would touch it. George had a way of pissing me off. Yea i'm sad he died...sort of. Should I be bummed? I kind of hope people dont think the same of me if I die suddenly. I seem to be thinking that If I die I dont puke in a laptop. Im thinking alot about death and puking.

Its been cold at night, we usually dont keep the heat on much as it makes my sinuses all krusty if its warm all night. The kids still creep into our bed at night, they made it all cozy last night and I kept snuggling up to vinny, he was so warm.

Death, kids, love, drinking, puking, laptops. OH...and getting ready for christmas. We got the tree. Small but it fits in the house in the spot we picked and it is size appropriate.

My Company cristmas party was fun. Lisa and I stayed at the hotel it was in. I rented a tux. We went all out and had alot of fun.

Lisa's Dad was in town for a few days. Looking for work and a quick stop in with all the relatives. it was nice to see him.

Mom's Main Squeeze Jim

2007-11-22T19:32:00.001-08:00

Hanging in Bullhead with Mom and new man Jim. YO Jim!

MY new favorite video

2007-10-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Chemical brothers ROCK, This new video really rocks and I especially like the "puffer"

Hope this makes you smile.

We are all ok from the recent "Witch Fire" and are back in our intact and safe houses.

Razrsnap

2007-10-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

Rough morning.

The motorcycle ride in to work was nice at first, then the drizzle turned to rain. I managed not to get my undies wet, but my legs were front soaked and my gloves dripping. The coffee had two packs of nestles chocolate in it and as you can see here the mug was thouroughly enjoyed.

Busy Busy Busy

2007-09-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

So as you can see, this is not a very well kept blog. Sporadic at best. We all have our ups and downs and priorities. The kids have started 8th and 1st grades. My brother got his 15k BMW Motorcycle stolen the same day his wife wants to divorce him. I found out that my mom (single) is dating a guy into bondage. My truck has been acting up so I had to spend $1100 to get it fixed, now My motorcycle is having carb issues and sometimes when its cold , only likes to run on two cylinders. Work is getting weird again. (cant say much more than that) and the weather is shifting which means that my allergies have been acting up again. Blogging is in the back seat.

MY daughter turned 13 –TEEN and only 5 more years till she’s 18. YIKES! My son is getting used to 1st grade and I have been more active with their school stuff, spending way more time reading to them and following up on their homework, Lisa has a new job teaching preschoolers, so more help around the house is in order, Especially if I want clean undies and stuff…lol… I need to assist a lot more. Its just crazy how things can go one way and then go another. I really don’t mind as long as I get a bit of free time to putter around the house or take a short motorcycle ride. I need to also get some more exercise, im feeling like a clod and although I have been doing better, I have regressed and visited the dreaded fast food establishments again. Time to start packing healthy lunches, Which I did today.

Ive been trying to read up on friends at myspace and classmates, and a few blogs here and there, PC gaming has also been lacking, I got “Bioshock” and have not had the time to get though the levels like I want.

Well, I hope that your life is going well, mine is, I’m just really busy.

My Nephew Jesse Parker

2007-08-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

My sister in laws son Jesse Parker - "the Parkinator" or "sparkinator"
Skates for Gravity Skateboards
Purchase his custom designed board here

James Lee Co. Circa 1900

2007-08-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

JAMES LEE CO. Chicago, Illinois. circa 1900
On a trip to Chicago, wandering the villages on the outskirts of the city we came upon a little art gallery. We wandered in and along one wall was a stack of old prints. They were damaged, old 1900's and some with severe water stains. They were of various prices and all seem to be from James Lee Co. in Chicago. While looking at them we came across this poster. It is the Lord's Prayer. It has one little stain on the lower left that can only be seen from the rear of the poster. It is dated 1905. It has no series # or any other markings. What struck us as unusual was that there are various portions that look to be gold leaf or very bright gold sparkly ink. It is a very beautiful poster and we just had to have it. We paid about ten dollars for it.
We are now looking to find any information on this print, or the company that produced it. If you have any information on the Company, Please let me know

Bark

2007-07-05T18:05:00.001-07:00

Dennis's min-pin Moto

My Helmet

2007-07-03T10:48:00.001-07:00

Read the f-ing manual

Ride the fast motorcycle

Rob the fast man

You decide, But It's there for the stupid drivers... Outta my way!!!!!

Whoo-hoo!!!

2007-06-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

Alyssa da b-day buzz! We met up at the pub for some birthday celebration and spirits.

The usual antics of my younger sister permeated throughout the establishment. Free drinks were generously donated by her friends. (Thanks All) We ended up hanging with Wally's crew at his place for some AWESOME pepperoni pizza. Overall a great evening, with a great bunch of peeps.

This morning I realize that im no rockstar...so I should not be partying like one. its a slow go friday. A Starbucks triple venti hazlenut latte, and a piece of low fat orange creme cake are helping calm my jittery head.

10 miles an hour

2007-06-21T18:01:00.001-07:00

10 Miles to go

Dark Sam...

2007-06-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

Sam at work, His evilness continues to this day. His exterior is made to repel the common person and avoid any unnessary chitter-chatter. He is an avid wordsmith and has a soft gooey interior. Give him a hug and you will see he is quite squishy. Gift = Vodka

Angry Sam or Squishy Sam?

Snap! The Drive home

2007-06-14T19:46:00.001-07:00

The Drive Home was awesome! hardly any traffic. The office get-together was fun. Sliders were good. But now I feel like a fatty again. I was doing so good on watching my input, and went and piged out this week. Pizza, Dogs, Sliders...the week was not a nutritious one.

Office antics

2007-06-14T17:01:00.001-07:00

Bananas and a pig

My view

2007-06-14T16:13:00.001-07:00

My view from my enslaved position, the chain will not reach far. They let me out once a day for food and water. They say I can leave in 20 more years. I hope your view is better than this!

You can see the many other slaves areas, none of them are standing at the moment. We are all going out to a watering hole after work. I will get a group shot then.

MY Razr Snaps during the day

2007-06-14T15:58:00.001-07:00

Testing the new phone camera blog feature, snap a pic, send it to go@blogger.com and it is posted into the blog of yours. SWEET! Hopefully this will get me typing again, it has been four months or so. Alot has happened. I will get it posted

So....This is my drinking container made of NALGENE, it does not absord odors....a cool feature in water bottles.

updates

2007-02-27T22:48:00.000-08:00

Since I've last posted, blogger has upgraded the tools to blog with, and I like them. Tonight I upgraded all three current blogs and it is easier to change things and especially easy to add code and change things around to really make this my own.

An interesting idea was found here "Kudos"

Added my links from delicious, and my pandora songs. Hope you enjoy!

Lately, got my bike down, rode 7 miles, and it felt good, been geocaching and work has been good.

Well Hello!

2007-01-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

No posts in a long time, sorry. But who reads anyway. I've considered quitting all of my internet projects, two websites, three or four blogs, myspace and other weird stuff I surf. Motorcycling and Geocaching seemed to have taken over. I have been sick along with the family and just have not found the time to update anything. Got my new book by Glenda Watson Hyatt. Started reading it and can't get through but a few pages without getting all teary eyed. Vincent has exceeded all of our fears, but reading her book brings back the feelings, fears and unknown all over again.

Ive also been going through 62GB of music that was a gift from a friend, all 13,192 songs. A mixed bag of rock, Spanish, classical, 70's and up to present. Listening to stuff I have not heard in years and stuff that can just be deleted.

Here is on of my current favorites right now from the Animatrix soundtrack, from an artist Junkie XL... I almost blow my speakers when driving with this.

Junkie Xl - Beauty Never Fades

See a glimpse inside the pool, it's hollow,
Come to know a time when he will haunt you.
Snapping at my heels made me live,
Someone take me back to the angel realm,today.

Each step I take the shadows grow longer,
Padded footfalls in the dark I wander.
Come to steal your lifeblood away,
Looking for a beauty that never
fades.

-----

SO the next few posts could be catchup for us..you the anon lurker and me the average blogger.
Take care and stay out of trouble!

Cruelty to children no matter where is wrong!

2006-12-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

A friend sent me this….I feel sick, I hope more cruelty is put in the light for us to judge the actual behavior of stupid people. I hope they get caught!.

________________________________________
From: Greg Sent: Monday, December 11, 2006 8:38 AM
Subject: American Soldiers always do the right thing!

People wonder why they hate us over there, that is a given. But we always say "support our troops" no matter what. While collectively I think most of our troops are doing things right, considering the situation, the rape and killing of an Afghan family involving several troops really shows that our soldiers are no better than anyone else. This video shows a "lighter" side of some of our troops and their actions. Stuff the mainstream news networks will not show you, since we censor so much over here.

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/2006/11/taunt-with-water.html

Any more of this crap keeps showing and our troops are going to come home with people spitting and throwing rocks at them. Are they all this friggin dumb? Bored? Cruel? Hard to say without being over there, but I really can't see myself ever doing something like this. Hopefully an isolated incident.... but I doubt it.

g

Sunday Ride

2006-10-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

My Brother Dennis and I on a sunday ride. It was 85-90 inland and 70 and foggy on the coast, a sweet ride.

Land of Buffet!

2006-10-29T10:33:00.000-08:00

My fat ass in Las vegas during a recent Training class my employer sent me on. Im doing the tourist pose here on the bridge from the Wynn hotel to the mall over the strip. I was there for three days learning about a software application we have. I had a good time and learned that the land of buffets is not a good place to diet. I only lost $5 to the one armed bandits. I was glad to get home because there is nothing like your own bed! Cheers!

new digs!

2006-09-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

So, looking at Real Estate, We found our new home. look

Sweet Huh? This house is really cool but I dont think I'll ever afford something like this. IF you want to help me out, hey no problem.

Why Tatoshka?

2006-09-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Massive Multiplayer Online Games as “Third Places” Tasty Research

Finally an article on MMO's that explains the feeling I had when playing. For me StarWars Galaxies was this place for me. I felt as if I belonged, Everybody was in the same social structure and provided a sense of home, when playing. ITs a good read, hope you like the link.

lates!

My girl turns 12...Yikes!

2006-09-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Talia just before getting her ears peirced for the first time.

Vincent holding her hand for comfort. Nice little brother!

Just after they clamped them on. she is still thinking about what just happened.

She is happy now that it is over. Happy 12th Talia.

What the heck?

2006-08-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, you know me, blogging is not my life, again another couple of weeks since a post.
Sorry... to those 2 readers who actually read this crap. Work has been very busy after my two week vacation. This is my second week back and they have sent me off to training.I see I lost you. Let me explain it.

So here has been the schedule. A week of training, a week of work, two weeks vacation, a week of work, now this week its training again. Do I get two more weeks off now??? HA! I wish.

I visited my Mom in 114 degree AZ. Nice when your indoors! I have alot of pictures to post to my regular website and I will post a few here too. Enjoy

This is Talia, and its 109 degrees out. YIKES!

Til tomorrow, Tatoshka

Been playing BF2 no time to post.

2006-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Here is my stats SIG, I really should be working on my other list...OH-well!!
Click the here to get even more trivial info of my cyber warfare statistics
Another game ive gotten back into is City of Villians, its double XP weekend and I'm leveling up pretty fast. I'll post a few images of my Villians soon.

Buh bye!

Things I Really need to do...

2006-07-13T12:48:00.000-07:00

Things I NEED to do:

Install ¼” water pipe to the fridge for in the door water.
Eliminate all useless crap from the garage.
Sprinkler lines fixed in the front lawn.
Organize crap left over from garage.
Organize workbench and desk in garage.
Get electrician to fix front porch light.
Develop garden plan – prep for sprinklers / patio
Empty crappy shed, destroy it, and build a new shed.
Install nonexistent sprinkler lines in the rear lawn – garden.
R&R concrete patio in rear.
Build shade/ patio cover.
Build fire-ring. (Concrete & Mosaics)
Purchase & mount mirror for master bedroom.
Purchase Headboard for master bed.
Frame and hang the Chicago poster & wedding picture.
Replace windows in house. (5 & slider)
Organize CD collection. (3 location consolidation)
Scan all important documents & PDF to safety deposit box.
Backup files on PC and store in safety deposit box.
Fix oil leak on motorcycle & tune.
Tune up truck.
R&R motor mount for truck.
R&R shocks for truck.
(possibly buy a new truck )
Be a better father.
Be a better husband.
Be a better worker.
Be a better friend.
Make more Money.
Spend less money.
Lose weight by exercising and eating better.

I have this weird feeling I am forgetting something, If you remember, please let me know!

Been a while

2006-07-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

Yes, its been a very long time since my last post. I needed some time to just let things happen and refocus my efforts. Ive been thinking alot about education, Lisa just got a new job as a "Part time Substitute teacher" at a local Church preschool. WOOT to Lisa!

Two important links you need to watch, which will give you some insight to the things i've been doing.
First, this 15 minute video on education. Sir Ken Robinson

Next sheer power

I'll start posting some more, check back in a few days.

Long needed break

2006-05-28T11:39:00.000-07:00

Dad and Deb took the kids overnight, whew! ITs kinda funny how even though we needed some adult time. We sure do miss them, its only been less than 24 hours, A quiet morning, with no cartoons or fights amongst the sprouts. I miss the hugs and the "hey Dad, can you help me" all the time.

Last night was dinner out and a movie. X-MEN. Good movie but same old stuff. The usual twist at the end to make you think there will be another movie. I hate it when you think something is over and there is the obvious tiny little hint that "yup - One move movie out of this" feeling. BAH!

My freinds that played "City of Heroes" with me will appreciate this comic.

Going to swim at dad's here in a few minutes, Lisa is bugging me to get in the shower. Hmmm, she's in there right now......BYE! (Duh, I almost missed the hint)

Rollercoaster!

2006-05-25T18:45:00.000-07:00

We are struggling with a study Vincent is in. Specifically weather or not we want to keep him in it or not. Do we need to put him through the stress for the benefit of knowing what his limitations are, or do we keep on? Weighing the pros and cons has been taxing on me. Emotional control for me has been limited and I have been tring to hide my emotions at work. A very hard thing to do. Even writing now is hard so, enough.

I need control in my life, something exact and precise. Life is not. Here is some precision, check out this guy.

Congrats to Taylor Hicks, I picked him from the day I saw his audition.
GO "Soul Patrol" I cant wait for his first album, Well Second...lol.

Dance it off

2006-05-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

May 17th brings parenting issues, Tied with my sons CP/stroke/learning issues.
IT has been an emotional rollercoaster lately, I can't seem to get a handle on my emotions at work and at home lately. I suppose this is the time to write how I feel and post it. Sounds easy, but it is not right now. I need to find some quiet time to reflect and really get it off my chest. Im still deciding if this is the best forum.

I'll keep you posted.

in the meantime

What’s New in May 2006

2006-05-03T12:48:00.000-07:00

Not a whole lot to tell the truth. Some interesting points include a new tire for my motorcycle. It was worn quite a bit and I put the bike away for a few weeks The ride in this morning, I felt like a gazelle running through the open plains of a African desert, bobbing and weaving with grace and elegance though the large elephants and lions, constantly scanning the lane..er..Horizon for danger and planning my next move. I got to work and felt “ INVIGORATED” I’ve been missing riding my bike.

A new website in development http://myeasy.info What it is for I don’t know yet, just seemed like a cool name to register. The dot INFO sites were a free registration at a site called “One And One” I think I will try to get some sort of public review bulletin board up, so that when your friend asks you…”can you recommend a good Realtor, drycleaner, restaurant, or some other service you liked, you can refer them to your posts on “myeasy.info” A local networking of all of the cool places you’ve enjoyed or gotten good service at. How many times have you been asked for a reference and forgotten the company name or phone #…now you could refer your friends to your posts and you only have to remember one thing….myeasy.info! COOL huh? I hope it pans out… hahahah. OF course, I will be putting my ads to generate $.

Gaming, Battlefield 2 style, enough said about that. One week I was not getting to bed until midnight, all week. ZZZZZZzzzzz

Family, we have been ramping up the geocaches lately and over Easter we did the same, My wife Lisa finally found her first. Yay!

After the computer crash and actually loosing some files and photos, we are getting a new DELL PC it should be here in a few days. Ill post the specs later.

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”
Herm Albright
(1876 - 1944)

BACKUP YOUR HARDDRIVE!

2006-04-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Yea, I know. I told you so! The sprouts were on the PC playing games. I was watching TV with a beer in hand and one of them says, hey DAD!!! the computer went all blue. This is not a good thing, but with windows, happens more than it should, it has not happened in about 3-4 months. I expected that the PC was getting old, we usually leave it running when we go out or on short leaves from the household, if we are leaving for the day then it wil go off. There was no indication that anything was going bad. IT is a good DELL PC with a sizable drive, 120GB. I tell people at work almost every day..."dont leave stuff on your hard drive...copy it to the netowrk where we have backups" I think that being a tech has me thinking sometimes that I am invincible.

SO, I check the PC out. Shut it off and reboot. "NO BOOT DEVICE AVAILABLE"
WHAT?!?!?!

Damn, it happened to me!!! Luckily, I had copied my "My Documents" folder to another drive about three months ago. so the only thing I lost was about three months of personal photos and my e-mail archive.

Looking online, with my "symptom" of the hard drive making a clicking oise, the companies want anywhere from $400 to take a look, if im lucky. and $1500 for a clean room recovery, which by my symptoms, is the likely scenario for this type of "CLICK"

SO, with my data lost(because I cannot afford it) and my tail between my legs. I emplore you.

~~~BACKUP YOUR HARD DRIVE~~~~

looking at a blank box

2006-04-03T21:12:00.000-07:00

So for the last two hours, I have been looking at my blogger box, thinking of something to type, somthing witty, clever, or cool. Well... you loose! None of that here tonight. I got an e-mail from Brazil, for my other website...A guy looking for geneology info about our last name. Kicking around itunes, then at www.pandora.com, 40's music - then over to Depeche Mode. Listening to Lena Horne right now. Ive been reading blogs, randomly, with no real goal. Thinking where the hell my drivers license went to. I lost it somewhere in the house, go figure. I worked all last weekend, a little at the normal job, and a little at Dad's buisiness. Lisa just walked up behind me to read the post, laughed and walked away. I'm real tired from the weekend but am feeling a need to fix my site, blog, listen to music, read cool stuff...

Basically just a few hours of weekend that I missed, tonight on Monday.

Don't forget on wednesday morning @ 01:02:03 04/05/06 Ring a bell, toot a horn or maybe a moment of silence...

Yea, Right!

Margie by Ray Charles - Find Music You'll Love - Pandora

2006-03-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Margie by Ray Charles - Find Music You'll Love - Pandora

This is such a cool site!!! My days have been filled with work and my "Gamez". I got 2 new fillings at the ever so fun Dentist...one has been sensitive, I had to take two partial days from work to get it fixed, It is still a little sore and hard to eat, which for me is a good thing.

So, my newest find is Pandora. Only for those with cable or DSL connections. I will be putting my playlists up here shortly. Stay tuned.

Tatoshka!

Dont hold it!

2006-03-22T22:52:00.000-08:00

Don’t know why I have not posted in so long. Other priorities in life have taken over, seemed like things were getting crazy. I never finished the 4 seasons of 24 that my friend let me borrow. OH well, I’ve still got them on my hard drive and will probably watch them later. During the last weeks, I’ve been sucked into the American Idol black hole.

I got involved in looking up the info on the contestants and ran across this site
No wonder Kevin Covais got so far, every week we were wondering who could be voting for him. Now I know!!! I really like Hicks and Mcphee. Simon is usually dead on with his comments, he is always true to his gut feeling, Dog pound and high clapper try to sugar coat the bad singers.

OK, I know its not funny to laugh at dead people but that’s not what is so funny, What was the last name of the officer?

I was talking to a friend today and we were discussing the benefits of keeping a good attitude at the workplace (cough!) and chances are that I was completely wrong, MAN what are the odds of finding this snippet of enlightenment The complete article is here. It was just so fitting I had to provide you with a link.

And work is not that important that you can’t leave a meeting to crap! You look silly holding it and squirming in your chair, we all know…silly.

Tatoshka

Ocean View

2006-03-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Overlooking Rancho Santa Fe. We stopped by the "Govenators" house. His house is near the top, which is gated. I took this photo about 4 weeks ago but just remembered to post it.

If you download Google Earth here are the coodinates
His house is the huge one on the very top. Enjoy!

33° 4'5.11"N 117°10'46.19"W

Bye!

No More Starbucks!

2006-02-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

"Sick cultures show a complex of symptoms such as [wars, slavery, and the like]...but a dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot." -- Robert Heinlein.

With that in mind…

So Today I felt like getting a hot cup of tea for the ride home. A new place opened by work called “The coffee bean & Tea Leaf” I went in and started discussing Coffee & Tea with a real nice guy, sorry but I forgot his name. I was kinda bummed because they did not have hazelnut syrup for my latte, (read: Starbucks) but was surprised when he offered a free one of theirs. Well lets just say that my Starbucks days are over. The drink was so rich and flavorful that there is no way I will be going back to the other joint. Then I drank my tea, A Lemon Jasmine Green Tea. Awesome!

In addition to the latte and a tea, I also purchased a cannister of “Limited Edition African Sunrise Tea” The description from their website…”African Honeybush has a mild, sweet taste and aroma, somewhat like honey, and is infused with an aromatic vanilla flavoring to create a truly unique infusion. This herbal infusion yields a vibrant reddish orange liquor not unlike the famous red glowing sunrises known throughout Africa. Naturally caffeine free, Honeybush is said to calm the central nervous system and is especially suited for nighttime consumption. This full-bodied blend of African Honeybush and orange peel, has a sweet vanilla flavor with a hint of citrus.”

Thanks goes out to the staff at my new coffee shop. See you tomorrow! I’m free of Starbucks!

Why not?

2006-02-23T23:32:00.000-08:00

"Shoes don't stretch.
If they don't feel right at the time of purchase
they probably will never feel right."

Was surfing some weird websites lately. Brannock device, yea youve seen one!

Manholes of Japan was fun, and in case you need more of these, visit here.

Now you can baffle your coworkers and amaze your spouse with your newfound knowledge.

Go forth and amaze!

Perfect Ending

2006-02-12T22:00:00.000-08:00

Warm and sandy, the perfect end to a day at the beach. We headed out of the house late in the day to find a parking spot 20 steps from the sand. Kids romped around in the sand. Dad resting on the beach blanket. Perfect sunset, then a taco shop stop on the way home. The whole feeling made me wonder why this did not feel so good 20 years ago. Then I looked in the back seat to find two tired out kids, all wrapped in towels, sandy as all hell. The feeling was because I could share this with them. There is nothing in the world that compares.

MOTO

2006-02-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

I belong to Dennis, I'm his Dog MOTO. Robert has been very busy with work and home chores. More to follow in a few days. Woof!

whale puke!

2006-01-19T22:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday 1-19-06
Had to take the day off and be a chaperone for my daughter who was going on a 6th grade field trip. The school would not let her go unless I went also, the school has a policy about her “epi-pen” due to her severe allergies. The Wale watching trip was fun. You just have to picture 120 kids, 11-12 years old, Six-seven foot swells, lots and lots of snacks, and a two hour boat ride. I figure that 20-30 kids puked! Including mine!
Yea we saw the whales.

Sploosh! Cha-Ching!

2006-01-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Well, Well Well. 15 long days since the last entry. I know I said I would keep up, but who’s reading this crap anyway?  Since my “work issue” I have been really trying hard to keep up with the other techs. This Work as fast as you can, no stopping to smell the roses or be friendly with co-workers is a double edged sword. On one finely honed edge of the blade is getting things done as fast and accurately as possible. The other hair splitting side of the blade is keeping friendly, happy and not being in a rush to keep up. I have been keeping up and in one way, I have no worries about what to do next. There is always something to do.

One fine customer / Co-worker calls with the irritating issue of the toolbar stuck to the left edge of the screen. “ok” just drag it back, I replied, Down to the bottom of the screen, and it will pop into place.  No such luck! IS dragging and dropping a concept that escapes you? I really hope not. Your reading this so at least you know what a blog is.  I’m really tired of telling people about my blog, because I need to explain what one is. Geesh!

Recovering from Christmas was ok. We did not go overboard with the kids, our colds are over and things seemed to settle down, or at least I thought. The car needed some repairs, 800 stinking bucks worth, then on MLK day the water heater decided it did not like to hold water anymore. That was another 500 “stinking bucks.”

There was no way I was going to pay a plumber to cut it out and torch in a new one. I also wanted to arrange the pipes in a way that facilitated actually shutting the water off without a ladder the next time we needed to turn it off. So I did it all myself. I figure I saved another 500 with the extra pipe rearrangement and the install.  Thanks to Dad and Little Bro for helping!!!  Thanks Guys!  MY kids named the new water heater “Phil,” somehow the conversation was overheard between my wife and I and all the kids heard was “ blah, blah, blah, fill the heater, blah, blah, blah”  my 11 year old runs in and says, you named the heater Phil?  Ahahahahaha.  And it stuck! There is nothing like having kids in the world, I would never have it any other way.

MY new CD for the week is “Depeche Mode – Playing the Angel”

Later FReAkS!  Post a comment.

2006

2006-01-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

2006 arrived without fanfare or hoopla. We were so sick over the holidays that a quiet evening watching TV was just in order, the kids fell asleep, I woke up just before midnight and went to the closet for the compressed air horn. Midnight came And I went outside to blow the horn. Some neighbors had fireworks going, a few came out to check on me and my horn. I went back in and to bed. Nothing special, no alcohol, no party. just the quiet comfort of a warm bed. Jan at work provided a recipie for some pecan rolls, a little brown sugar, corn syrup, cinnamon, and butter in some crescent rolls @ 350 degrees. Seemed like a good idea on New years morning...Jan's came out really good at work last week. My mistake was too small of a pan. Fricking melted sugar and corn syrup all over the oven. That stuff Smokes you know!!! For days! It was raining and we had to open all of the windows. Happy New Year! Cold, rainy, and Smokey! Still getting over our flu, both of us had a 102 fever. Yea for vacation. At least I got some sleep.

Death Cab for Cutie

2005-12-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

"Soul Meets Body"

I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there’s a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they’re far more suited than here

I cannot guess what we'll discover
We turn the dirt with our palms cupped like shovels
But I know our filthy hand can wash one another’s
And not one speck will remain

I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body

I do believe it’s true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you’re the only song I want to hear

A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Bah humbug!

2005-12-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

The week leading to Christmas was very VERY hectic. I know you all had a better Christmas than we did, ours was and as I write this, still a struggle.

Money wise and family wise we are blessed by what we have and I could not wish for a better family. Christmas eve we had Lisa's side of the family over for turkey and fixings. Talia was just getting over a small cold. The trouble started when I did not feel so good that evening. I had (have)the flu! Lisa got the flu and it hit us hard.
Like a freight train on crack! Today is the 28th and we are just getting to the point of moving around the house to assist in the cleanup of the next stage in our holiday season "the aftermath"

SO, all is getting better here and we can move on to better things for the New Year.
MY family wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and a Very happy New Year.

(all with a pounding headache and a snifly nose) Cough, cough!

Trying to get on track

2005-12-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

3 more days till vacation. Not done with Christmas shopping yet. Thinking of this for the kitchen...and later this evening. Just angry I dont have my "binkie"...I loved that blanket. (not pissed at mom)

I believe things will get better. I have to.

F*%K Everyone Else

2005-12-16T22:46:00.000-08:00

So the last two weeks have sucked! Im beggining to realize that i am not defined by the work I do, but by what people THINK... We all have to make money, in the profession that has beeen their existance, the thing they do, I really like what I do, I enjoy figuring things out, correcting problems, helping others.

~~~~~~~~~~~
For those that read what was between these lines...it is gone. Sorry. I realized I was being childish in thinking that I could vent my frustrations about work. What is happening there is only something I can internalize and change by being quiet and picking my battles

Ive cooled down and read this last night.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Lets boil this all down to one thing, I am the happy go lucky guy who believes anything that anybody tells him, I truly believe that I am gullible in a way, and this is my fault. Because I dont ever lie or hide the truth and my "fault" is that I expect others to do the same. I dont expect others to hide truths or to bend the truth to benefit themselves. WEll I guess I was wrong. WAY Wrong

Time for ME to change. Take no prisoners, F*%K everone else, Im in it for ME ME ME. Dont be my friend, Because Ive gotten screwed too often. I have no friends, only family.

Work is not for friends. Its too bad. I used to have fun at work. We will see what happens next week.

BMW K1200S

2005-12-10T17:52:00.000-08:00

Going down the freeway, Dennis gets an action shot! His new bike is awesome. Heated grips, nice riding position, power, and smooooth.

We went for a short ride today, a bit too warm for my jacket liner, but real nice weather. A ride to visit mom is in order, We just need to plan out the gas stops.

Later!

Quail Eggs?

2005-12-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

Remember in the Movie "Big" with Tom Hanks, the scene where he is at his fancy work party. If you do then this is even better, but if you don't its OK too. Tom takes the little mini corn and eats it like it is a big one. I Really love that scene.

A few posts back we went to a party for Lisa's work friends. To our surprise there is this bowl of eggs...yea, tiny quail eggs. IT took a few beers before I got the hang of peeling those little suckers, and just like condensed milk is sweeter, these little eggs had the same effect, alot more Eggier? Is that a word? Eggier?

The Eggs were really good. Hope you like the photo. Got a little salt shaker? LOL.

Bye!

Have not had time to blog, random work Pic!

2005-12-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

Thought this was a good shot of some pipeline inspection that happend here recently, hope you like it!

More thoughts later.

Welcome back!

2005-11-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I did. It was a quiet one, the family all had plans to be at different locations. Dad in Vegas, In-laws at two seperate celebrations, which left Lisa and I to invite g-ma over for some fixins. The day was good, we got all the food in on time and a moist bird it was. Kudos To my lovely wife for a great meal. I did not overeat like previous "holidays" in the past. Dennis stopped by after his meal and we played Battlefield2 "special Forces" expansion pack.

We are all still a little sick and geting over all of the colds in the house. it looks like we contracted two seperate colds. Our relative sickness factor in the house right now is probably a 4 out of 10.

Dennis let us "borrow" his Dog "Moto" for a few days to test my allergies and the kids with a dog. Everthing went well and Moto was a blast. A real good dog, Quick and he eats his own poo! Nice.

Microsoft Training all this week so hopefully something interesting will happen to post.

Till Tuesday!

Friday was a waste!

2005-11-18T23:30:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning with intentions of using my friday off for constructive things. The cold has gotten worse and I feel like a lump of poo. So I watched TV all day except for a few trips to the restroom and a lunch break. Then I went to bed. Happy Friday!

Feeling Sick & Feeling Good

2005-11-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been uneventful at work. This is a good thing. Ive been feeling a cold coming on and a slight cough make for a long day. Been trying to get more sleep, but last night was a jaunt to Grid05 and some BF2 time. Got home and My daughter was still up, It didnt help that when I came riding up to the house om my motorcycle, that it was not the slowest or quietest I could have done it. The ride home was awesome, the weather has been warm during the day and makes for brisk nippy rides in the morning, but the evening rides are the best. The tempurature is just cooling down with warm spots along the route home. Not much traffic and the smells of dinner coming through my helmet also make it a very fun ride.

This is on my xmas list in case anyone wants to get me one (in black, Please)

So you could say that even though im feeling sick, im feeling good. The holidays are a coming, and that contributes to some good tings , Time off of work, good eats, friends, family and booze!!!

Till next post...LATER!

Trying to post more often

2005-11-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

Another long stretch between posts....I hope this is not becoming a habit, I really like to keep up with my daily thoughts. The last few days were OK. Went out last thursday with a group of co-workers, and I'm feeling OLD. The twenty-somethings were everywhere. Slamming shots and doing Irish-car-bombs. I sat with another 40's "folk" and chatted about the good old days when we could do the same. Inside I was thinking that "they will learn" and "good luck driving" thoughts. A sure sign that this was not my ideal night out. When I got home and curled up with my wife, I knew this was the place to be, warm and cozy. Kids all settled down for the night. large extra cozy extra expensive mattress. I bet none of the 20's kids knew how cozy a new mattress could be.

Fri-Sat-Sun
Mostly the same old stuff. cleaning the garage, laundry. Lounging around. We are all feeling a bit under the weather. Rented "Robots" a good kids movie. Went looking again at homeless dogs, nothing special today and we did not get the rigamaroll that my daughter put us through the last time we went. She actually helped so much on Sunday that we had to take her to look.

Today so far has been good. I will report back later. Things could get worse, Cause I expect it. its just my way.

Feeling Better

2005-11-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

It’s been a while since the last post again. I’ve been very busy, and not really motivated the past few weeks. Depression? Who knows…Just felt like sleeping a lot.

Talia had her 11th birthday and Vincent had his 5th birthday. See this LINK for Pics. Talia really wanted an I-POD “Nano.” She had saved up $100 of her own money so I really could not say no. She really loves it and calls it “I-bob” Everything is Bob and we are all called Bob. It’s a kid thing, and I don’t get it. Could it be that I’m getting old and father like…NAH, could never happen!!!

We have been integrating the new version of “PeopleSoft” at work, the go live date has passed and everyone at work is all in a flutter about it. The people I’ve worked with during the change and integration have been great. The management and inclusion of the IS group has been horrible. Most likely due to our management at work, Well knowing our management, I just can’t figure out what the priorities are sometimes, but I guess that’s just not my job. I really get angry sometimes about how things are handled. I really think that some people at work are just there to do “whatever” the boss says. Now don’t get me wrong, you must always listen to your supervisor and do what they say. I just sit in meetings where we are supposed to give input and nobody speaks up. Then 5 minutes after the meeting they are venting in the hallway about how crappy their life is because things are not going how they want at work. I think I have overcome the urge to speak up sometimes because I know it falls on deaf ears. MY goal lately has been to do my job the best I can with the resources I get. Nice HUH? But I feel like others are getting to bend the rules, I see it all the time. The rules apply differently according to who you are and where you are in the “good ol’ boy” network. Enough about work!!! Lets talk about play!!!

Battlefield 2 -- I play at Grid05 after work with some friends. We are trying to get going on a league ladder at a site called TWL. It is 5 vs. 5 infantry only, with no artillery attacks, and no use of vehicle mounted guns or tanks, Well no vehicles at all. The use of stealth is important, but the most important thing is accuracy and getting the drop on you victim. Dad got “Gran Tourismo 4” for his Playstation 2 after trying my copy when they came over for the party. He went out and got the same steering wheel and even a sport seat to use when playing on his big screen. I have been playing a lot of GT4 also.

We took Talia to look at dogs last weekend. WE found a really cute Chihuahua mix. He was larger than most and looked like to have some terrier. A really snuggly dog. The deal was we would look and not get a dog yet, It has been really hard for her. We are ALMOST ready to get one, We just have not found the one that appeals to all of the family. She really cried when we told her no. (WE got the mean parent treatment)
It’s been a week since the ordeal and we are still getting the tough sell on a dog…I’m almost ready. We just need to find the right dog.

WOOF!

Tale of an allergic asthmatic.

2005-10-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a pretty fair day, nothing special, usual routine. Coffee, bagel, news & check the websites for spam and traffic. My wife had been invited to a dinner party with some of her new coworkers. No worries, casual folks, and my wife really wanted to go, and so did I. I was looking forward to getting out of the house and coversing with some adults with the same interests as ourselves.

The day progressed well untill about 3:00pm, we were supposed to be out of the house at 4 for the drive over to our friends. Then all hell broke loose!!! Something, a product, perfume, lotion, I dont know, made my very sensitive allergies EXPLODE with a vigor and vim that I had not experienced in about 2 years. You see, these attacks of nasal floodwaters cannot be stopped. OH I tred the usual tricks, like washing up and snorting some water to rinse my nasal passages. I popped a few allarest, and it seemed to be getting a little better, it did SEEM that way. MY instincts told me to retreat to the couch with a hand towel to hold to my nose for a few hours while the meds kicked in. But I am a grown man and would not be a wimp and bow out of an important event that my wife was so looking forward to.

Driving and sneezing is not very fun. We missed a turn , or turned too soon, I dont know which. but we made our dinner party on time. The kids were in tow because all of the other folks had kids and the party was kid friendly. The nose was still dripping. When I say dripping . I literally mean dripping. If I did not have a tissue at all times, I would have a river running out of my face. A quick blow of the nose gives me about 45-90 seconds of drip free conversation. DING DONG, and we are greeted. Introductions are great and then the nose drips, a quick dab while no one is paying attention gives me 45-90 more. God, im thinking, this is gonna be hell. Through the house and out to the gathering out back, YIKES, the sun is in my eyes, nose tingles and KER-CHOO. "excuse me" and the conversation turns to my allergies, what else could we talk about, it seemed the natural thing to do. MY wife was very understanding, and I was trying to just converse without bringing much attention to it.

The evening progressed well, I really enjoyed the new friends, and I made exactly 15 trips to the restroom to blow my nose and get another paper towel. You see if I used tissue, when I blow it disintegrates and specks of tissue go all over my shirt. The stream of fluid from the histamines trying to quench the itchyness of my nasal passages was the most intense I have ever had. Paper towels last a good 15 minutes or so, thay had a good roll, not the cheapies. I was thankful for that.

A beer and two glasses of wine assisted a little in keeping me from being too nervous during the evening. At one point I must have been really drippy, my wife asked if I wanted anything else for the allergies. I asked her what she had, an adult "benadryl" appeared and I popped it and chugged the rest of the wine in my glass. Louis, one of the guests, eyes popped and he asked if it was Ok to do that with the medicine, It was kind of funny. Louis is a very fit and health concience guy, he seemed very concerned and I appreciated it. If he knew all of the things I did to keep my asthma and allergies in check over the years. My past experiences assured me and Louis that the only thing it would do was make me VERY sleepy, and thats what I needed. We are mid way though dinner. My sinus passages and teeth hurt.

Eating and the meds were working a little, I could feel the itchyness and dripping subside just slightly, it made the rest of the night tolerable. Pie for dessert. I dont know about the french apple pie, was it really "french"? Our hosts took to the lemon cheesecake, it was a hit. OK, almost finished, and then we can make our escape from my liquid lanquish. As soon as some of us were done with dessert, I really made it a point to my wife that we REALLY needed to go. I wish the evening was less of a splash & dash. As soon as I got in the car I must have passed out, as I don't remember the ride home.

Well, the evening seemed to go ok, but the first impression of me must have been the talk of the evening. I felt slightly embarrased, yet glad I got to meet everyone, and happy that my wife got to visit with her friends. Dinner was very good and the wine was even better. Another person might have not gone to dinner that evening, but for me it was just another hill to climb in the neverending battle against my allergies and asthma, and not a drip or sneeze on sunday. You just never know.

Weird huh?

Added blogroll...

2005-10-07T21:47:00.000-07:00

Blogroll lets you add a button to your browser like, lets say... ahem, "FIREFOX" so you can click to add links to your blog....like the ones on your right under "Cool Friends & Neat Stuff"

neato!

Don’t track mud into the house!

2005-10-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I have not had time to write lately. So since the last post…work has been very busy, I had jury duty and ran into an old friend, which made the day go by fast.. Later in the week we went to “Bates Nut Farm” I had a good time and it was cool to watch the kids run around. It is basically just a store on some guys land. They have caged farm animals to look at and pet. My allergies went crazy. My brother Dennis showed up to hang for a while & we ate greasy, grilled onion burgers…from a grill that looked like it went through WWII. Some lady in the line was complaining about all the flies around, I commented that they had good protein, but she didn’t like the comment. She just huffed and got quieter in line.

My knee is still a little swollen, and the followup to the doctor revealed absolutely nothing. No Surprise there eh?

I love Fish Tacos!!! Went to Rubios today….YUMMY!

One last item…Im working on a magnetic “Starbucks” coffee cup that when finished should stand up to 80mph driving…ON THE ROOF! It’s a gag of course and I just can’t wait to have it on my roof. People will pull up next to me pointing at my roof…I’ll just wave and smile like I’m oblivious to my surroundings, and keep driving. I just hope the cops think it is as funny as I do…. The beer can theme just would be too risky & the big gulp or soda can is not trendy enough. The magnets I got for it are super powerful. So powerful are these magnets that I can put one on my wrist, and the other under my wrist and they will hold each other through my arm…NICE! I believe “starbucks did a promotion with this idea several years back, I got the idea from another blog.

Well, take care till next post….and don’t track mud into the house!

Notes for thursday, DUH!

2005-09-29T16:12:00.000-07:00

Notes for today:

Staff meetings reinforce keeping thy mouth shut!
No matter what you think, Management will do what it deems best. PERIOD! So just shut up.

Doctors dont really know what the hell they are doing just like the rest of us.
Computers can be rebuilt, reloaded, parts changed....People need to heal over time.

Your kids love you... Even though they dont do what you say. Love is unconditional. IT's just there. And We love them too.

Iced tea, Vodka, Amaretto, with a splash of vanilla coke....Frikin awesome!!!

That damn bug is a "PRAYING MANTIS"

MY 5 year old can drive a car...on Playstation-2...not a real one silly.

Its blazing hot. HOT HOT. I want winter.

Ants are not a good topping for honey nut cheerios...ask my wife, they float in milk!

A tail?

2005-09-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

Found this on rants & raves section of San Diego Craigslist...

"I would love to have a tail. That would be the bomb! I'd be at parties with a bow tie on the end of it. People would be like, "I'm a muscleman,""I'm in a band," or "I'm a lawyer." And I would be like, "Yeah?! So what! I got a tail!!"

Made me laugh...

Sat around all day today watching TV and playing Battlefield 2.
Nothing to report!

Have a better monday than me!

Motrin and Vodka!!!

2005-09-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my knee swelled up. I thought it was nothing but the pain was really bad and it was swollen like crazy. Urgent care did not know what it was and they put me on antibiotics just to “Be Sure”  Like right, Hmmm don’t know, but take two of these and call if it gets worse. Typical answer.

The swelling has gone down and although it gets worse occasionally I don’t think it is much to be concerned about, short of cutting it open and taking a look, pills are the only thing I want for my knee right now.  Some research has led me to believe my “bursa” has become infected. I’ve got an appointment on Thursday this week and I hope they can let me know it won’t get worse.

Work has been going fine, took Grandma to the Cemetery to see gramps.  photos here

So, other than my knee… which requires Motrin and vodka… I’m doing great.

I’m sure I will post something else that happened last week but I can’t remember now.

The Flaming Burger Trick

2005-09-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you microwave a burger with foil wrapping! Go Vinny! He just didnt know...KIDS! The kids started yelling in the kitchen...I run in and there are flames in the microwave. Nice!

demise of the Mulberry

2005-09-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

When we bought our house, the giant Mulberry tree the city planted in '65 was about twice the height of the house. Over the last 5 years we have struggled with the city to get it trimmed correctly, laced and just looking better. two or three times a year we need to have roots cleared out of the sewer main leading to our house. Well Finally the city I guess got fed up with us calling and e-mailing.. They decided to destroy the tree. I can understand all of the root problems, the cracked driveway the roots in the sewer, and all the issues it created. I will still miss the tree. it provided so much shade for our house, it was beautiful and the kids really enjoyed it.

The Demise of our tree can be found here.

The city says it will plant a different tree but not so cloes to the drains. I hope that in another 40 years the next one wont be cut down too.

Tatoshka

Fastest shower ever

2005-08-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

We lost our Battlefield2 match last night...bummer! after the match I called home to find out our sewer mainline was clogged again....156.25 later we are flushmonkeys again! So I called into work to let me boss know I would be late...the plumber comes and does his thing and just as he is putting things in his truck...The City decides to fix a neighbor down the street and shuts off our entire block...ok....WTF... I cant win! I dive down and see how long its gonna take, and he says three hours, but they need to turn it on for a few minutes to test something.

There I am a few minutes later standing in a dry shower, with the water valve in the "on" position, waiting for water to start. How gay is that? I can now hear the water coming up the pipes and prepare for the rush of fluid. READY? GO! GO! GO! the most frantic shower of my life. Getting all of the important parts first, in case it shuts off again, face, pits crotch...DONE! now hair, rinse....TADAAAA. one squeaky clean dude in 3 minutes flat.

link of the day..... HERE but you need a gmail account and broadband.

Now SHUDDUP!

Long time no post...EH?

2005-08-22T16:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, Thats right, it has been a long time. Work has been going good and things are looking like there is a light at the end of this tunnel. The consultant onslaught has tapered down a bit and some of the remote site work is getting done without incident. I've been looking at alot of random blogs and it seems as thought people are creating blogs for the sole purpose of generating money. I agree that the ads here are for that purpose but not the SOLE purpose of this blog. I've put some time into my family website. It is coming along and it is much easier to post items there too. Those random blogs seem to have a common theme....mesothelioma... REALLY WEIRD!

here is a short excerpt from http://www.mesotheliomaweb.org/exposure.htm

Read this....

Malignant mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure. There is a latency period of 20 to 50 years or more between initial exposure and development of the disease with the average being between 35 and 40 years. Rare instances have been documented when the interval was less than 20 years.
The incidence of mesothelioma rises with the intensity and duration of exposure to asbestos. However, there are numerous cases of mesothelioma among people with very little occupational exposure or even household exposure. There are cases of people getting mesothelioma 30 or 40 years after a summer job working construction, and cases of housewives or children being exposed from work clothing. Many people being diagnosed with mesothelioma now were exposed in the Navy many years ago, often unknowingly.

Now I've been thinking....havent we all been exposed to some weird shit during our lives? give it another 20 years and then we will come to find out that the ink they used on keyboards is dangerous and our fingers are going to rot off. Or Starbucks coffee is toxic...ok, well it is....BUT I LIKE IT!!! WHAAAAAA!!!

Here is a link to a windows media stream that my kids are dancing to. The creepy guy with no eyes freaks out my boy! Enjoy...good song too.

Untill next post....SHUDDUP!

40

2005-08-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

Turning 40 sucked! Now This year 41...WTF? Went to the doc for a full checkup. EKG, Bloodwork, Stress treadmill test, and Fecal samples....How nice!!! Drop the drawers buddy, hernia check! What a wonderful way to spend some time off. Dad has been giving me hints that I am overweight, Comments like " Hey Fatty" or "need another beer?" Like I dont know....DUH! I wish he would sometimes listen to himself, Or I had some secret video and play it back to him. He can be such an ass sometimes. I got into it with him and then we had to stay cause the kids wanted to swim in his pool. We promised to stay a while and eat over. OH yea...I'll come to the table and eat with him now, NO WAY! I waited till they were done. Had a small plate and then went back to escape and watch TV. I guess he just thinks that he's so perfect. They make mirrors you know!

Sick and tired.....

Back to Work!

2005-07-19T22:47:00.000-07:00

Well the two weeks off was awesome, but I am now back in traffic and back to getting up at 5:00am again. Sleeping in every day was the best but just wrecks your schedule. Battlefield 2 is taking up some time now, Ive quit playing COH and Guildwars. Hopefully our team will do well and be in the top half of the teams, I will be very happy if we do that well, I think we can get in the top 100!

2005-07-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Ever seen this? I wonder? Roaches or just bad food? YIKES!
Pacific Beach California

2005-07-15T15:54:00.000-07:00

Untouched photo from previous post,
Posted by Picasa

Disneyland...$800 later.

2005-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we are recovering. The Trip was awesome, I really needed to spend some time with my family. The money was well spent. Remembering back to my trips as a child are priceless, so no worries. Im really glad we got a room and spent the night. Some people told me that California adventure could be done in about 3 hours, but they were wrong, 12 hours later we were checking out Downtown Disney, between the regular park and Adventure. The food could have been better, but for $8 a hamburger and fries was not too much out of the price range for a out of park burger.

The first day was California Adventure, and it was true to the detail that Disney puts into all of its endeavors. Soaring over California was the best. Imagine an Imax Film in a flying seat in the middle of a giant room, the smells are pumped into the air as the scene changes. It was Cool!

Talia enjoyed the canoe's that you can paddle around Tom Sawyers Island, and Vincent Liked the fireworks. This was the first time he did not cry when fireworks were going off. A big step in development for Vincent. Thats all for now, I will get to posting some more pictures later.

What Day is it?

2005-07-07T15:53:00.000-07:00

Time has flown since my last post, my domain and website are looking for a new host. I hope I can get it hosted somewhere cheap, but still keep the functionality that I need for hosting my website. Since being on vacation for the last week, I have had alot of time by the pool to think and chill. A whole day at the lan center to play my game helped alot. We are getting ready for our trip out of town and the kids are looking forward to it. No problems, no worries, no hassles....I need to take more vacations...Hawaii? New York? Chicago? time to surf and check Yahoo and other search engines for a quick trip.

Relaxed.....Tatoshka!

white flag....

2005-06-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Tuesday drive home....call from wife.....Our main sewer line is clogged.....139$....brick in the head....im getting contusions!!!