Shangri-La .... or so it would seem

Nova

Here is a picture I made in Photoshop that I think makes a great background for anyone that wants to use it.

Mozilla

I'm pretty much sold on using Mozilla for email and web browsing now. Their browser, Firefox has all the features that I like in Opera. I love using tabs in both, but Opera does seem to be better when I use dial-up since it doesn't reload sites when I go back/forward.

I'm also looking into switching over to Thunderbird for my email client. I've been using Eudora for years, but Thunderbird certainly seems to work very well and have a lot of features. Plus it is open source so users submit their own tweaks which really adds value to the program.

New Nunchuck Gun

I wish I had a new nunchuck gun.

Today is alright for tonight...
Ridin' in a corvette and feelin' alright.
Today is alright for tonight!

Dude

I asked my boss for a new computer a couple of days ago. The computer they had for me kept crashing and really couldn't handle the programs I needed to run. Well, the new computer arrived this morning. It is a Dell and is a vast improvement over the old one. It isn't as fast as my personal desktop, but it is a nice computer. They even gave me a flat screen monitor. I'm not sure whether I like it or not yet. I looks cool sitting on my desk, but the resolution only goes up to 1024x768. I'd like to set it a little higher than that, but it's not a big deal.

I didn't get too much done today other than set up my computer. I spent most of the time searching for software and loading it. Here is a picture of my first wallpaper.

Inter-not

T.G.I.F. day and I was all set to play games last night. When I got home, I started my computer and tried to connect. There was no dial tone, though. Picking up the phone confirmed it was off. I thought that maybe I had neglected to pay the phone bill, but was sure I had. I went outside to check the nid (Network Interface Device where your phone line comes into your house) and it looked fine. Then I traced the phone line with my eyes and saw where the problem was. The line was broke at the pole. Apparently the guy that was dumping dirt at my neighbor's house backed up and the line caught the dump bed and it snapped. The dirt piled up was fresh and I could see tire tracks in the mud right beside the telephone pole. Unforunately, it was too late in the day to do anything about it. I ended up playing editing some video I've been working on and watching more of the second season of Alias

6X6

My dad stopped by today and we went and looked at a 6x6 amphibian vehicle for sale. The guy was only asking $50 for it. It was in pretty bad shape though. It was missing the engine and most everything had been rusted to the point of replacement. The chain drives would have to be replaced, a new engine was needed, exhaust would have to be redone. It would be a good project for the winter, but I'm doubt you could make any money on it. I'm sure kids would love driving it around in and out of water. It drives like a tank, where you engage the different sides to turn or both to drive straight.

Here is a picture of one I found on the Route 6X6 website

Sweet Tooth

We may never have to worry about cavities again. Scientists are developing a new strain of bacteria that will protect your teeth from decay. Normally, when you eat sugar, bacteria on your teeth convert it to lactic acid which rots the enamel on our teeth. This new strain doesn't produce lactic acid and produces an antibiotic to help get rid of the lactic acid producing strain.

Of course, this has me thinking that since the bacteria is engineered that it will take over people's bodies and cause all kinds of havoc. I've seen too many sci-fi tv shows so I know what will happen. Actually, I read Michael Crighton's book, Prey where this happens but with Nanites, microscopic machines, instead. The world will be destroyed just because we don't want to brush our teeth. Oh well, sign me up.

First Day

Today was my first day at my new job. I set my alarm for 7am but I must have hit it during the night and bumped it up two hours. It went off at 5am and just as I was ready to get in the shower, I noticed that the other clock said 5am. I did go back to sleep but only got about 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night.

Everything went pretty well today. Everyone is really nice and seems willing to help. The day passed quickly all in all. I had lunch with Lefty at Provonce. I get an hour for lunch so I actually have time to eat out somewhere.

After work, I stopped at K-mart and picked up some socks. I noticed that people do seem to treat you a little different when you are wearing a tie. Almost as if they are paying attention to me.

After K-mart, I grabbed supper at Chick-fil-a. The guy packed too much in the paper bag, but I didn't really notice. I went out to my car and put my drink on the roof of my car. Then the bag exploded and my fries went all over the parking lot. I let out a growl that made some passer-by's look at me funny. Oh well.

Irish Town

Last night I dreamed......

I watched over a village in Ireland. I was pretty much the camera and I didn't interact with anyone. There was a run-down house where a man, his wife and two daughters lived. The dream was focused on the eldest daughter that was living a miserable life. She was outside trying to do laundry, using a muddy pond for water. There was a town nearby that had an eerie feel to it like it was oppressing the family. Day after day went by and the girl dreamed of leaving but could not find a way to do so. Then one day a young man showed up looking for work. They found a room for him and a lot of chores for him to pay for his room and board. Then one day they were going to re-enact a battle that the father had participated in. He dressed up in his uniform and the boy had to clean a bunch of cloth to make a suit for himself. It was filty, but he kept scrubbing and made it look presentable. The battle was re-enacted and everyone had a good time.

(This is where it gets weird.)

After the mock battle, the town had a pic nic on top of a hill. There was a playground there. The father wanted to show off to his youngest daughter and way playing on some of the equipment. Then suddenly a loud explosion went off and a morter shell hit the town monument. (looked just like the Washingon monument) It fell over and broke into several pieces. Everyone was stunned. Then as they looked around, they realized that the playground equipment were actually weapons of war. Then they all started screaming and running around. Some big jungle gym was actually a bomb. (It even was labeled as such.)

Big Bada Boom

Beaver had a party at his house this evening that was great. I went swimming in his pool, had a ton of food, and got to shoot some fireworks. Beaver and Donna are great hosts and fed us Steak, Chicken, Pork Chops, Hamburgers, Corn and Beans. It was an All-American meal fit for Uncle Sam himself. Camy was excited to see me and jabbered on and on till Paige showed up and she could talk to her. Beaver bought a lot of fireworks and we had a pretty good showing. I have always loved shooting off the morter shells. (ones you drop down a tube before you light them) Beaver likes the Saturn rockets and at one point we shot three packs of 100. It didn't seem like they were going to stop. But the classic moment of the night was when Beaver lit a spinner (it spins around really fast and goes up into the air). It hit a tree and turned back towards us. Beaver had to hit the ground and then I realized that I had better do the same. It barely missed my head and I saw sparks go over my head as it flew past. Everyone said that they don't know how it missed me.

Blind Prison Guards

Last night I dreamed......

The Bryons, Donna and Beaver, put Fireball, Lefty and me in prison. The prison was my garage. We were "watched" by blind prison guards. If they heard a noise, they would shoot in that direction so we had to be really quiet. Of course, we kept messing up and getting shot at. At one point, I was holding a tea saucer and cup making them clink together. I was then shot at several times. We finally escaped and made it outside. Then a giant dog (about the size of Kujo) attacked me as Beaver and Donna drove up the driveway. I was on the ground dying. They got out of the car and stepped over my body as they went inside the house.

The guards being blind comes from a Samurai Jack cartoon where he fought some blind warriors. They would shoot arrows at any noise, so he had to find a way to overcome that. His solution was to blindfold himself and react to sound as well. Then he heard the arrows being launched at him and could dodge them.