This weekend Little Sister got to pick out the Saturday family movie. She wanted to see "The Ant Bully." It is an animated flick about how ants are better than humans because they all work together for the greater good of the colony. But that isn't what I learned about.
The disc we received was damaged. The first 45 minutes of the show worked just fine, but then started to skip and pause and the sound would cut out and the image would break up. I kicked myself for not cleaning the disc before playing it - one of the kids put the movie in. Usually I clean the discs before watching them because the Einsteins at the video store always seem to manhandle the discs getting them ripe with finger prints.
I removed the disc and cleaned it off, chose the scene from the index about where it was we were at when the trouble started. The cleaning did on good. Still the same problem. That is where the teenager came to the rescue. He took the disc into the bathroom and coated with with toothpaste. After that, the movie worked flawlessly. I don't know what toothpaste does for the disc, and neither does he, but he says it works on his console games, so he thought it might work on the DVD as well.
Toothpaste to fix problem DVDs. Who knew?
Technorati Tags: DVD, Scratches, Toothpaste, Ant Bully
23 April 2007
21 April 2007
Learn something every day
I learned something I consider rather valuable with my last post. That is, that the OpenOffice document writer makes a pretty crappy editor for writing a blog post before posting it. It puts hard returns at the end of each line, not just the lines you want hard returns at.
Lesson learned. Maybe there is a setting in the properties would would stop this from happening, but I don't really feel much like looking for at this point.
Thanks for visiting - and have a GREAT day!
UPDATE: Holy Cow! I didn't realize just how bad it messed up the formatting. Looks like is saves everything in HTML, which would be fine if 1) I knew it was going to do that and b) I wanted it to do that. Sheesh.
Lesson learned. Maybe there is a setting in the properties would would stop this from happening, but I don't really feel much like looking for at this point.
Thanks for visiting - and have a GREAT day!
UPDATE: Holy Cow! I didn't realize just how bad it messed up the formatting. Looks like is saves everything in HTML, which would be fine if 1) I knew it was going to do that and b) I wanted it to do that. Sheesh.
Waiting at the tire shop
Sitting in the lobby of the Kansas Tire and Auto shop waiting for them to fix the hamster that runs around in the wheel to power my little nothing of a car. I have a Honda Insight - sure it is supposed to be good for the environment, but my purchase of such a vehicle was purely selfish - I had to admit it but it is the truth - commuting 70 miles each way to work everyday, I needed something that would get good mileage, and, seriously, without embellishment, I have a 58 MPG lifetime average on the car. That means over the course of the 172K + miles I have put on it in the past six years, I have saved...well, A LOT of money in gas. I spend about five and a half dollars a day on gas with that little thing.
So anyway, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Kansas Tire and Auto while they are replacing the front tires of my roller skate, and my mind starts wondering. They have no TV for those waiting and no free coffee (or even pay-for coffee) like most places do. So my mind starts thinking. This is usually a fairly dangerous thing. My mind goes places that Angels fear to tread when it is without stimulation. It makes it's own stimulation, and then takes some wild turns down tangents most people have never considered.
Luckily, this time, my mind was still mostly asleep after staying up so late playing Raven Shield with my buds, and getting up early to get the car here for the new tires, so I started thinking, and I mean seriously thinking, about what I would do if I won the lottery.
What I would do if I won the lottery:
Really, my plans for any lottery winnings would depend on how much was won. But lets pretend it is the $300 million lottery. Taking the cash and after taxes, I'm guessing there would be about 125 million simolians in my bank account after all the dust settled and Uncle Sam got his share.
First, I would give ½ to charity. That would be about $62.5 million dollars (I think most of it to charities the help the families of US service men and women who have been killed or injured). Then I would openly challenge John "you little people don't do enough for the poor" Edwards to match the donation.
Second, I would setup a college fund for any and all family members. The fund would be such that any family member who wanted to tap into it could. It would be a small interest loan (like 1.5% or something ridiculously low), unless the student received at least 4.0 GPA, then the loan would be forgiven and they would not have to pay any amount back. This might seem like a high GPA, but when one doesn't have to work, and all of their expenses are paid, and they get a monthly allowance for pocket money, there should be absolutely no reason why one cannot get a 4.0 GPA.
Third, I would hire a plumber and have all the plumbing in my house re-done.
Fourth, I would hire an electrician and have my entire house re-wired.
Fifth, I would quit my job and tell the little dictator in the corner office to 'have a nice day'
Sixth I would seriously investigate what it would take to get a fuel cell generator for my house. Not only would it generate electricity, but also produce water. And, if rumors be true, any electricity one produces but doesn't use, gets pushed back onto the grid, so the electric company has to pay them for the power (it would be SOOOO cool to get a check from those folks for once!). And for water, if I could get off the city water supply and have pure H2O - well, all the better.
Seventh, I would get the 5/8th that Jaguar she has always lusted after.
Eighth, I would by myself a big fat Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and ride the Al-Can highway on my Hog, camping from here to Alaska. Well, okay, I can get one for the 5/8th also, and she could come if she wanted to (I guess).
After all that, I figured I'd have about 20 or 30 million clams left, and I could use part of that to open a coffee shop. A roomy place, with tons of hard back books and giant, comfy leather chairs and big couches. Like those libraries one sees in those movies made from Agatha Christie novels. People could come in, be comfortable, enlarge their knowledge with old dusty books, drink coffee (or chai tea or whatever else suits them) and surf the 'Net if they so wanted. Oh, and board games, I'd have board games for people to play, checkers, chess, Chinese checkers, pente, Monopoly, stuff like that (hey, anything to keep them in the shop drinking coffee or what not). I'd need the business because, with only 20 or 30 million bucks left, even if on got only 5% interest on investments, that is only about 1 or 1.5 million dollars a year, and who on God's green earth can live on that pittance? I'd need the business to supplement that measly income.
Technorati Tags: Honda Insight, Winning The Lotto, Charity, Dreams
So anyway, I'm sitting in the lobby of the Kansas Tire and Auto while they are replacing the front tires of my roller skate, and my mind starts wondering. They have no TV for those waiting and no free coffee (or even pay-for coffee) like most places do. So my mind starts thinking. This is usually a fairly dangerous thing. My mind goes places that Angels fear to tread when it is without stimulation. It makes it's own stimulation, and then takes some wild turns down tangents most people have never considered.
Luckily, this time, my mind was still mostly asleep after staying up so late playing Raven Shield with my buds, and getting up early to get the car here for the new tires, so I started thinking, and I mean seriously thinking, about what I would do if I won the lottery.
What I would do if I won the lottery:
Really, my plans for any lottery winnings would depend on how much was won. But lets pretend it is the $300 million lottery. Taking the cash and after taxes, I'm guessing there would be about 125 million simolians in my bank account after all the dust settled and Uncle Sam got his share.
First, I would give ½ to charity. That would be about $62.5 million dollars (I think most of it to charities the help the families of US service men and women who have been killed or injured). Then I would openly challenge John "you little people don't do enough for the poor" Edwards to match the donation.
Second, I would setup a college fund for any and all family members. The fund would be such that any family member who wanted to tap into it could. It would be a small interest loan (like 1.5% or something ridiculously low), unless the student received at least 4.0 GPA, then the loan would be forgiven and they would not have to pay any amount back. This might seem like a high GPA, but when one doesn't have to work, and all of their expenses are paid, and they get a monthly allowance for pocket money, there should be absolutely no reason why one cannot get a 4.0 GPA.
Third, I would hire a plumber and have all the plumbing in my house re-done.
Fourth, I would hire an electrician and have my entire house re-wired.
Fifth, I would quit my job and tell the little dictator in the corner office to 'have a nice day'
Sixth I would seriously investigate what it would take to get a fuel cell generator for my house. Not only would it generate electricity, but also produce water. And, if rumors be true, any electricity one produces but doesn't use, gets pushed back onto the grid, so the electric company has to pay them for the power (it would be SOOOO cool to get a check from those folks for once!). And for water, if I could get off the city water supply and have pure H2O - well, all the better.
Seventh, I would get the 5/8th that Jaguar she has always lusted after.
Eighth, I would by myself a big fat Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and ride the Al-Can highway on my Hog, camping from here to Alaska. Well, okay, I can get one for the 5/8th also, and she could come if she wanted to (I guess).
After all that, I figured I'd have about 20 or 30 million clams left, and I could use part of that to open a coffee shop. A roomy place, with tons of hard back books and giant, comfy leather chairs and big couches. Like those libraries one sees in those movies made from Agatha Christie novels. People could come in, be comfortable, enlarge their knowledge with old dusty books, drink coffee (or chai tea or whatever else suits them) and surf the 'Net if they so wanted. Oh, and board games, I'd have board games for people to play, checkers, chess, Chinese checkers, pente, Monopoly, stuff like that (hey, anything to keep them in the shop drinking coffee or what not). I'd need the business because, with only 20 or 30 million bucks left, even if on got only 5% interest on investments, that is only about 1 or 1.5 million dollars a year, and who on God's green earth can live on that pittance? I'd need the business to supplement that measly income.
Technorati Tags: Honda Insight, Winning The Lotto, Charity, Dreams
20 April 2007
Religious History
I have, for years, been interested in apocrypha and the gnostic texts and other books of antiquity and scripture that is not part of the canonical bible. There is a very good website which hosts these texts at the Internet Sacred Text Archive. The texts contained in that site are all in the public domain. One can also get a CD or DVD of the site's content.
At about Easter time (which is the usual time for this stuff) the History Channel aired several shows, "Banned From the Bible" and "Banned From the Bible II". Four hours of information discussing ancient texts which, while widely read and well known at the time, were for whatever reasons not included in the official canonical bible we all know and love today.
There are a variety of reasons why these books were left out. Some, especially the gnostic texts, were (and still are by some) considered heretical. As more and more of the earth is used and settled upon and trampled, more and more of these ancient writings are coming to light. They are being found where they were left thousands of years ago. This is terribly fascinating to me.
One of the books discussed in the section we watched last night (we Tivo'ed the shows for later consumption) discussed the "Testament of Solomon". This is one book I would like to read. I couldn't find it on the Sacred-Texts archive, but I'm certain enough of an internet search will reveal one or more translations. In this book, which was discovered as a 14th or 15th century manuscript, but is believed to me much older due to several early AD and even some BC texts that reference the writing.
In "Testament of Solomon", Solomon is not only super wise and super rich, he is also quite the wizard. He is given (I suppose by God or an angel) a special ring which gives him the ability to control Satan and the demons (like "Lord of the Rings" - kinda). He uses the demons as slave labor to build the great Temple of Solomon.
Sheesh, sometimes I just ramble don't I.
Hey, thanks for visiting!
Technorati Tags: Religion, Apocrypha, Ancient Scripture, History, Gnostics
At about Easter time (which is the usual time for this stuff) the History Channel aired several shows, "Banned From the Bible" and "Banned From the Bible II". Four hours of information discussing ancient texts which, while widely read and well known at the time, were for whatever reasons not included in the official canonical bible we all know and love today.
There are a variety of reasons why these books were left out. Some, especially the gnostic texts, were (and still are by some) considered heretical. As more and more of the earth is used and settled upon and trampled, more and more of these ancient writings are coming to light. They are being found where they were left thousands of years ago. This is terribly fascinating to me.
One of the books discussed in the section we watched last night (we Tivo'ed the shows for later consumption) discussed the "Testament of Solomon". This is one book I would like to read. I couldn't find it on the Sacred-Texts archive, but I'm certain enough of an internet search will reveal one or more translations. In this book, which was discovered as a 14th or 15th century manuscript, but is believed to me much older due to several early AD and even some BC texts that reference the writing.
In "Testament of Solomon", Solomon is not only super wise and super rich, he is also quite the wizard. He is given (I suppose by God or an angel) a special ring which gives him the ability to control Satan and the demons (like "Lord of the Rings" - kinda). He uses the demons as slave labor to build the great Temple of Solomon.
Sheesh, sometimes I just ramble don't I.
Hey, thanks for visiting!
Technorati Tags: Religion, Apocrypha, Ancient Scripture, History, Gnostics
18 April 2007
Viva Las Vegas!
When I was a kid, I used to watch a television show named 'VEGA$'. For three seasons Dan Tanna - played by Robert Urich - tooled around Las Vegas in his little red corvette, helping people and doing the right thing. This was in the late 70's. I think the show started in 78 or 79, but I can't be 100% on that.
That show started my fascination with Las Vegas. Since then there have other shows based in Vegas. 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' - which I throuroughly enjoy even though it doesn't so much glamourize the city. My current favorite show about the Soddom of the Sands is 'Las Vegas' with James Caan as the president of the fictional Montecito casino (the Montecito also made an appearance in the NBC show 'Heroes' when Hiro was kicked out of the casino for suspicion of cheating).
The show 'Las Vegas' really captures the fantasy that is Las Vegas. From Highrise condos, to the glitz of the strip. They don't seem to make it to downtown area much, but that is probably because the strip is really where it is all happening.
One of my favorite story arcs was when Danny, Mike and the girls build a new home and were renting it to a gay couple. The couple broke up and one of them, in a fit of anger, burned the house down. And they were under-insured. I don't know why that tickled me, probably because it is always refreshing to see seemingly perfect people do dumb things.
This post brought to you by:
Las Vegas Homes
Technorati Tags: Las Vegas, Television, Entertainment, Real Estate, Las Vegas Homes, millionsaver.com
That show started my fascination with Las Vegas. Since then there have other shows based in Vegas. 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' - which I throuroughly enjoy even though it doesn't so much glamourize the city. My current favorite show about the Soddom of the Sands is 'Las Vegas' with James Caan as the president of the fictional Montecito casino (the Montecito also made an appearance in the NBC show 'Heroes' when Hiro was kicked out of the casino for suspicion of cheating).
The show 'Las Vegas' really captures the fantasy that is Las Vegas. From Highrise condos, to the glitz of the strip. They don't seem to make it to downtown area much, but that is probably because the strip is really where it is all happening.
One of my favorite story arcs was when Danny, Mike and the girls build a new home and were renting it to a gay couple. The couple broke up and one of them, in a fit of anger, burned the house down. And they were under-insured. I don't know why that tickled me, probably because it is always refreshing to see seemingly perfect people do dumb things.
This post brought to you by:
Las Vegas Homes
Technorati Tags: Las Vegas, Television, Entertainment, Real Estate, Las Vegas Homes, millionsaver.com
17 April 2007
They don't watch '24' in China
I have to assume that the good folks in China do not watch the Fox TV show '24'. If they did, the Chinese official on the show would have done a couple of things differently;
I'm pretty certain it was SunTzu in his writings 'The Art of War' that said "know your enemy" (I could be wrong - it has been a long, long time since I read the book). At any rate, after saving America from sure nuclear annihilation at the hands of terrorists, Jack now has to steal a component and hand it over to the Chinese, or his girlfriend dies. Riiiiiight, how much you wanna bet the Chinese official actually walks away with the top-secret component?
Technorati Tags: 24, Television, Entertainment, Jack Bauer, Fox
- He would not have kidnapped and held Jack Bauer prisoner
- While holding the kidnapped Jack Bauer prisoner, he would not have tortured him
- He would not have kidnapped and held Jack Bauer's girlfriend prisoner
- After all of the above mistakes, he would not have required a meeting with Jack Bauer
I'm pretty certain it was SunTzu in his writings 'The Art of War' that said "know your enemy" (I could be wrong - it has been a long, long time since I read the book). At any rate, after saving America from sure nuclear annihilation at the hands of terrorists, Jack now has to steal a component and hand it over to the Chinese, or his girlfriend dies. Riiiiiight, how much you wanna bet the Chinese official actually walks away with the top-secret component?
Technorati Tags: 24, Television, Entertainment, Jack Bauer, Fox
13 April 2007
Friday the 13th...
I'm going to keep a type of 'running total' for today...Friday the 13th (dum-dum-dummmmm).
08:00
So far, not a terrible day. Sure it's raining, but I did get to meet with a fellow Topeka blogger this morning. It seems that I won a contest on his site for a copy of the book "Good Debt, Bad Debt" by Jon Hanson. Well, okay, I was the runner up, but the original winner didn't claim their prize so I won (w00t!).
And...I made it to my desk without having to be nice to the little dictator that sits in the corner office (double w00t!).
10:41
Everything seems to be coming up roses. No complaints about the the module I delivered at close of business yesterday (I am awesome!). I finished up the bug I was working on - and was expected to take the rest of the day fixing. I mean sure, the weather stinks, but other than that....
17:57
I made it through the day with nary anything bad happening. I even made it home through the freezing rain without incident. When I got home, the 5/8th had cooked a delicious chicken and noodles -all that while the kids were home sick. So it is my observation that Friday the 13th is not necessarily an unlucky day. I also would not classify it as a lucky day since I did not find any money just laying on the ground, I did not receive an unexpected pay raise or bonus, and generally, nothing lucky really happened - but then, neither did anything unlucky.
Technorati Tags: Friday the 13th, Luck, Superstitions
08:00
So far, not a terrible day. Sure it's raining, but I did get to meet with a fellow Topeka blogger this morning. It seems that I won a contest on his site for a copy of the book "Good Debt, Bad Debt" by Jon Hanson. Well, okay, I was the runner up, but the original winner didn't claim their prize so I won (w00t!).
And...I made it to my desk without having to be nice to the little dictator that sits in the corner office (double w00t!).
10:41
Everything seems to be coming up roses. No complaints about the the module I delivered at close of business yesterday (I am awesome!). I finished up the bug I was working on - and was expected to take the rest of the day fixing. I mean sure, the weather stinks, but other than that....
17:57
I made it through the day with nary anything bad happening. I even made it home through the freezing rain without incident. When I got home, the 5/8th had cooked a delicious chicken and noodles -all that while the kids were home sick. So it is my observation that Friday the 13th is not necessarily an unlucky day. I also would not classify it as a lucky day since I did not find any money just laying on the ground, I did not receive an unexpected pay raise or bonus, and generally, nothing lucky really happened - but then, neither did anything unlucky.
Technorati Tags: Friday the 13th, Luck, Superstitions
12 April 2007
"You can just drop me off"
Little Sister is set to start her second year of softball out at Shawnee Lake. Her second softball season, but her last for coach-pitch T-ball. Next year she graduates to 'real' softball where the other team pitches.
She is a good hitter. Probably the best on her team. I'm not saying that because I am biased, it just happens that she hits really well, she always has. She has been having practices on Saturdays and Tuesdays in the school gym. I know, softball in a gym doesn't seem like it would make any sense at all, but they make it work I guess.
Her coach this year is a much more strict coach than last year's. Last year it was all about playing around and having fun. This year it is all about preparing the girls for the cut-throat world of real softball they will be experiencing next year. Some of the mothers were complaining early on about how strict the coach is. But they asked this guy to coach. I took her to a practice, and frankly he didn't seem that strict. Maybe he was only strict, I told the 5/8th, the first couple of practices to set into the girls' head who was indeed the boss of the team.
Last Tuesday, the 5/8th told me the coach would allow parents to stay and watch practice, but that he would rather they didn't. I was going to leave it up to Little Sister. I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her at practice or just drop her off. I was certain what the answer would be. She had never attended anything without either mom & dad or one of her brother's present. I didn't want to drop her off. I wanted to watch the practice. I wanted her to know that dad was right there...always.
When she went to Judo by herself one Saturday because the boys had a Boy Scout event to attend, she wanted me to stay with her there. I was sure as nails that she was going to want me to stay. But when I heard "you can just drop me off," my heart sank. She was too big now to have dad chaperon her around. She doesn't need dad in easy reach for everything anymore.
I begrudgingly dropped her off at the school gym. When I picked her up an hour later, she seemed different. Like something about her had changed. She was excited, more than usual, about nothing. I think it was because she proved to herself that she could make it through something like practice without having dad around for security.
I am certain I will be hearing a lot more "you can just drop me off" statements from her in my future. For Judo, for school events, for practices, movies, skating....
I suppose it is unavoidable. As she grows older she must grow more distant. That is the normal progress of things -but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Technorati Tags: softball, growing up, daughters, dads
She is a good hitter. Probably the best on her team. I'm not saying that because I am biased, it just happens that she hits really well, she always has. She has been having practices on Saturdays and Tuesdays in the school gym. I know, softball in a gym doesn't seem like it would make any sense at all, but they make it work I guess.
Her coach this year is a much more strict coach than last year's. Last year it was all about playing around and having fun. This year it is all about preparing the girls for the cut-throat world of real softball they will be experiencing next year. Some of the mothers were complaining early on about how strict the coach is. But they asked this guy to coach. I took her to a practice, and frankly he didn't seem that strict. Maybe he was only strict, I told the 5/8th, the first couple of practices to set into the girls' head who was indeed the boss of the team.
Last Tuesday, the 5/8th told me the coach would allow parents to stay and watch practice, but that he would rather they didn't. I was going to leave it up to Little Sister. I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her at practice or just drop her off. I was certain what the answer would be. She had never attended anything without either mom & dad or one of her brother's present. I didn't want to drop her off. I wanted to watch the practice. I wanted her to know that dad was right there...always.
When she went to Judo by herself one Saturday because the boys had a Boy Scout event to attend, she wanted me to stay with her there. I was sure as nails that she was going to want me to stay. But when I heard "you can just drop me off," my heart sank. She was too big now to have dad chaperon her around. She doesn't need dad in easy reach for everything anymore.
I begrudgingly dropped her off at the school gym. When I picked her up an hour later, she seemed different. Like something about her had changed. She was excited, more than usual, about nothing. I think it was because she proved to herself that she could make it through something like practice without having dad around for security.
I am certain I will be hearing a lot more "you can just drop me off" statements from her in my future. For Judo, for school events, for practices, movies, skating....
I suppose it is unavoidable. As she grows older she must grow more distant. That is the normal progress of things -but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
Technorati Tags: softball, growing up, daughters, dads
11 April 2007
I'm it?
Okay, I'm an idiot. I didn't read the rules properly, so here goes it the proper way (I'm new to all this stuff, so please bear with me!).'
I've been tagged by PixelHead for the meme (no, I don't know what a meme is, just go with it okay?) "Gotta Get Goals" started by Alex Shalman. Take a look at Alex's blog for the rule (I didn't and now I have to perform 50 mea culpas - don't let this happen to you!)
So, I need to set some goals. Here we go:
1) Spend Christmas in Bethlehem (talk about your 'down home' Christmas)
2) Spend Easter in Jerusalem.
3) Visit the Aztec, Inca and Mayan ruins in Central and South America
3) Open a bar in Telluride, CO
4) Start a horse ranch in either Colorado or Alaska ( or heck, BOTH)
5) Have kids that actually do what they are told, when they are told, with a smile on their face thankful for the opportunity to do the task assigned, and without whining, complaining or otherwise ticking me off.
I know, that last one is a huge stretch, but the rules said "achieve your wildest dreams" or something, I'm paraphrasing.
I know, I know, they are not the best goals, but I've never been all that great a goal setting.
In return, I figured I'd give a couple of people some tags as well. Places one might like to visit, and even hang out a while.
tags: ianr, mylifestartsat42, fortywhat, my2cents
TAG - you all are it. Now you have to tag someone else! Have fun, and thanks for visiting.
Technorati Tags: Tag ur it, blog community, bloggers
I've been tagged by PixelHead for the meme (no, I don't know what a meme is, just go with it okay?) "Gotta Get Goals" started by Alex Shalman. Take a look at Alex's blog for the rule (I didn't and now I have to perform 50 mea culpas - don't let this happen to you!)
So, I need to set some goals. Here we go:
1) Spend Christmas in Bethlehem (talk about your 'down home' Christmas)
2) Spend Easter in Jerusalem.
3) Visit the Aztec, Inca and Mayan ruins in Central and South America
3) Open a bar in Telluride, CO
4) Start a horse ranch in either Colorado or Alaska ( or heck, BOTH)
5) Have kids that actually do what they are told, when they are told, with a smile on their face thankful for the opportunity to do the task assigned, and without whining, complaining or otherwise ticking me off.
I know, that last one is a huge stretch, but the rules said "achieve your wildest dreams" or something, I'm paraphrasing.
I know, I know, they are not the best goals, but I've never been all that great a goal setting.
In return, I figured I'd give a couple of people some tags as well. Places one might like to visit, and even hang out a while.
tags: ianr, mylifestartsat42, fortywhat, my2cents
TAG - you all are it. Now you have to tag someone else! Have fun, and thanks for visiting.
Technorati Tags: Tag ur it, blog community, bloggers
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