CMA Fest - Day 2

2:30am was way too late to go to bed. At least for someone as old as me. The wife wanted to go back to the convention center for pics so we were up at 8:30 for breakfast. In downtown Nashville by 10:30. I decided to try and park closer to the river. Found a parking garage near 3rd and Commerce. Much closer than on Day 1.

Saw more people in the convention center. Even Alan Jacksons hat. Jessica Simpson was there promoting a Country CD. Kellie Pickler as well. Two truly beautiful women. Brooks and Dunn had a booth there but since they were not playing at the fest (something about money - funny coming from millionaires...) there was not a whole lot of traffic at the booth. Kind of reminded me of Juan Pablo Montoya's trailer at Chicagoland Speedway last July. Hunger started to set it so we went off looking for barbecue.

And had no luck. Lots of busy restaurants. We ended up at Coyote Ugly (again) and took in the lunch buffet. It was pretty tasty. Then it was time for cold beer and hot women. The singing Coyotes were there as well and quite enjoyable. Lil and Jacqui were behind the bar taking in the show. As we left I managed to get a picture with the two of them.



With shade on the river front we went and watched the performers there for a while. Soon it was time for the nightly show. Lady Antellum, the beautiful and sassy Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Julianne Hough, Faith Hill, and 'special' guest Keith Urban performed. Keith ran into the crowd while playing guitar. One really lucky fan held up a sharpie and got a autographed guitar for her effort. Soon it was midnight and the show was over. Whew. Headed back across the bridge for some refreshment. Ended up with ice cream. It was perfect.

Around 1:00am we headed for the car and noticed something that we had never seen before in Nashville. My wife referred to them as 'angry urban youth out looking for trouble'. To be they were black teens out looking for an easy target. I'm not sure that a drunk redneck would have been the smartest choice. More about these folks later.

Time for sleep.

Big Day for Thing1

He has his first job interview. It should be interesting. Hopefully educational too.

Update: It seemed to go well. Thing1 reports that it was more like a intro to the interview rather than the interview. If he decides he's interested in working at the school he can meet with another person at the school in July. We'll see.

More of Day 1 at CMA 2008

After watching the Air Mutts I found the wife at the convention center. She was trying to get pictures of some of her favorite stars. Some of the folks there were waiting hours in the 'hopeful' line in an attempt to get a signature. Thats dedication.

After that it was off to Coyote Ugly. I'm not big into the bar scene but this is a fun place. Beautiful girls tending bar, BMF's keeping the peace, excellent entertainment, and reasonable beer.

Now that the sun was getting lower in the sky we went over to the riverfront stage. The last 20 feet or so of the lawn was now in the shade and made the bands so much more enjoyable than sitting in the sun.

As evening approached we headed across the bridge to LP Field. We ran into the Nashville Metro PD Mounted Police at the peak of the bridge. One of the officers was the same man we talked to last year. Once the wife mentioned that the conversation really got going. Officers Stockdale and Dzirany (along with Storm and Henry) were a blast to talk to. The horses loved the attention. And according to Officer Stockdale, Storm loves the post show fireworks.

The show started promptly at 7:45. Shocking. :-). The National Anthem as well as a F18 flyover was a great way to start. Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Pickler, Taylor Swift, and Sugarland were among the performers along with 'surprise' guest Rascal Flatt. Four hours later it was over. The wife really enjoyed MG and Sugarland. Taylor Swift has excellent stage presence. If she stays out of trouble as she grows up I think she will rule country music.

For someone like me, who isn't a big fan of country music, this was a pretty good show. Most of the artists are great on stage and know how to handle a crowd. We'll see what Friday brings.

After the show we headed back over the bridge and started looking for an open bar with a decent band. Found both at Legends. The beer was cold and the music was good. All of the sudden it was 2:00am and us old people were tired. Time to find the car and the hotel. In that order...

Flying Dogs

As mentioned below - furry things to watch.



The entire Air Mutts show is worth your time if they are in your area. The neat thing about the dogs is that they are either adopted or rescued.

VMFA-224 flyover at CMA Fest

We were treated to this every night to start the show.



It was much louder in person.

I'm not a country boy

The wife is a big fan of country music. I, on the other hand, am not. There are a few country artists that I like but for the most part it's just not for me. So when she decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to go to the 2008 CMAFest in Nashville I was like - can you take your sister?

Well - her sister, thanks to snow days, was still going to be teaching when the festival started on June 5th. Bummer for me.

So she booked a motel room for 5 nights and started looking for tickets. She had first looked for packages that had club level seats (private 'facilities' as well as concessions) and the prices were $700 per person. A bit pricey so she got a cheap motel. Now it was ticket time. E-Bay came to the rescue. She found a pair of club level seats that had no bids on it and was due to expire in a day. Set a watch on it and ended up winning the auction. Got $280 worth of tickets for $175. Not a bad deal.

(attentive readers might notice that 'she' has been doing the work. Not being a fan has its rewards...)

So we had a motel and tickets. Nashville is 500 miles from home so gas wasn't terrible. 8 hours of driving and we were there. Music City. Not our first time there so we kind of know our way around. OTOH we never had to try and park when there are 150,000 of our closest friends there looking for parking as well....

I'll say this for Nashville - it's a easy city to get around in. Just remember that you can circle the city using 24, 40, and 65 so if you miss an exit you can just loop around. Not that I ever had to that before...

Day 1 meant dropping off the wife at the Trace Adkins fan club party. (more on that later). I went back to the motel (after scoping out parking and exits out of the city) and waited for her to call me back. Since the show ended up running late I went downtown to look for a parking spot as she was going to take a cab. Parking was easier than expected and I got to wait. Luckily there was something fun (and furry to watch)...

Dog meets food

Buffy was a bit hungry and decided not to wait for dinner...

He has a way with words

Chris Muir that is. Pretty good cartoonist as well.

He's a Graduate!

Thing1 was graduated on May 17th, 2008 with a BA in Elementary Education.



The last 3.75 years flew bye. I don't feel old enough to have a college graduate for a son.

We spent the last couple of weeks moving his stuff home.





Soon he'll be able to use his bed again.

Now to get him a job and out of the house!

Where do the buffalo roam?

At Fermilab, thats where.

American Idol - the night America lost it's mind

Carly and Syesha as the bottom two? Was no one listening to Brooke and Jason? Carly going home?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

No Flipping Way

One Gun a Month - It's the law

Watching the news last night and they had a story about how some Chicago Public School students went down to Springfield to lobby for a '1 gun a month' law to stop the violence in the city of Chicago (somehow the fact that violence is a social problem escapes these clowns). The measure was defeated and the usual whining ensued.

I looked at the wife and I said - just think - a few more votes and I'd have to buy a new gun every month. I mean it would be the law. :-)

One Step Closer

Thing1 has passed his education certification test! He finishes up having complete control of his class this week and then he gradually turns control back to his co-operating teacher over the next week or so. Graduation is only five weeks away (man it seems like yesterday we dropped him off for the first time) and then we have him back at home till he moves out on his own.

If anyone is looking for a elementary ed major certified to teach K-8 I've got a great one here.

How to destroy a Toyota

Michael McDowell does it today at Texas Motor Speedway.

Playing with blocks

At least he didn't make the mistake for 20 years

Perception

From one of my brothers

--

Perception

A biker is riding by the zoo, when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs her by the cuff of her jacket and tries to pull her inside to slaughter her, under the eyes of her screaming parents.

The biker jumps off his bike, runs to the cage and hits the lion square on the nose with a powerful punch. Whimpering from the pain, the lion jumps back letting go of the girl, and the biker brings her to her terrified parents, who thank him endlessly.

A New York Times reporter has seen the whole scene, and addressing the biker, says, "Sir, this was the most gallant and brave thing I saw a man do in my whole life."

"Why, it was nothing, really, the lion was behind bars. I just saw this little kid in danger, and acted as I felt right."

"Well, I'll make sure this won't go unnoticed. I'm a journalist from the New York Times , you know, and tomorrow's paper will have this on the first page. What motorcycle do you ride and what political affiliation do you have?"

"A Harley Davidson and I am a Republican."
The journalist leaves.
The following morning the biker buys The New York Times to see if it indeed brings news of his actions, and reads, on first page:

Republican Biker Gang Member Assaults African Immigrant and Steals his Lunch

Another reason I'm a Netflix fan

I'm in class this week so I'm really behind on email. This showed up this morning:

As you may have heard, our shipping system was unexpectedly down for most of Monday. We should have shipped your DVDs but were unable to. Your DVDs were shipped today, Tuesday, March 25th, instead.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. We will issue a 5% credit to your account in the next few days. You don't need to do anything. The credit will be automatically applied to your next billing statement.

I really didn't notice anything. Yet they stepped up, admitted a problem, and made it right (even though the didn't have to). Well done Netflix!

An Easter Transition

We planned a small gathering. The four of us, my wife's dad and his wife, my sister, and her family. Much less that the usual chaos that seems to erupt on holidays at Casa de Al.

After church the prep began. Ham in the crock pot, potatoes, veggies. And candy. Lots of candy. So far it was it was a typical Easter.

Dinner was great. My brother-in-law headed out to the family room to watch college hoops on the HDTV. He was asleep in just a few minutes. Too much Cabernet with dinner I guess as there was no triptophan in play. After clean up I went out to harass him and that's when it got weird...

My sister and her husband lean to the political left. My wife and I lean to the political right. Needless to say it can get interesting at times when the discussion turns to politics. Always friendly but interesting. So when my brother-in-law started asking questions about guns I was just a little confused. It turns out that they are worried about society and the possible problems ahead if the economy tanks. They live in a more upscale neighborhood than I do (making 3 times what I do helps in that regard) so Randy thought (correctly IMO) that they would be a more likely target for home invasion and burglary. Randy was thinking that having a gun for personal protection might be a good idea. I was kind of surprised. Then he said that my sister was in favor of this as well. I was shocked. My sister had made it very clear over the years that "guns were bad". Having me around constantly challenging her must have finally sunk in. :-)

So we talked. I got out my guns and went though each one and why I had it. During this Thing1 came out and started talking about his favorites and the tens of thousands of rounds that we have fired together. Time together shooting - as he gets older we need to do that more often before he moves out and starts his own life. Anyways I started with my .22's. A Ruger MarkII and a Dan Wesson 4 inch revolver. Cheap ammo and great practice. Then it was on to the Glock 17 and the CZ75c. Ammo costs more but as far as personal protection a 9mm is far superior to a .22. Randy seemed to like the grip of the Glock. Not so much the CZ. The grip circumference really seems to matter to him.

Then the long arms came out. A old H&R 865 .22 that my dad gave me 25 years ago. It's a great little bolt action rifle that is very accurate. Then the Ruger 10/22. It wears a dot sight that makes hitting the target easy. Finally the KelTec Sub2000. Kind of a scary black rifle but it's inexpensive and, in my experience, reliable. I had a couple more but it became obvious that Randy was interested in the handguns.

So we talked some more. My big question seemed to surprise him. Would you be willing to take a human life? Or are you hoping to scare the bad guy away? How would you secure the house? Secure the gun(s)? These questions need to be answered before buying a gun for self preservation. Then Randy started asking questions: How to buy a gun? Where? Where to practice, how often, etc. What is a good home defense weapon? Lots of great questions. Hopefully my answers will get him thinking.

It looks like a Ruger MarkII will be his first purchase. If that works out then Randy and his wife need to see if they can share a gun or if due to some physical strength issues, will need something lighter and less powerful than Randy can handle. Lots of decisions.

It looks like the transition from sheep to sheepdog has begun.

My next Nerf gun

Full auto

Now thats fun! Thing1 will probably get one as well. That will be a battle.

Want a million dollars?

Netflix is giving it away.

You do have to earn it.

No contest

Code Pink vs the United States Marine Corp

iTrojan

Glock in a Box

The Magpul Industries FMG9



Thats cool.

Perfect for a summer day

With it being ~5 degrees Fahrenheit right now the thought of spending a warm summer day laying on the grass and listening to great music has a lot of appeal.

Ignite Chicago

Newsboys, MercyMe, David Crowder Band, Hawk Nelson, Superchic[k], Todd Agnew, Red, John Reuben, Tenth Avenue North

Alexian Field - Schaumburg, IL
July 20, 2008

I can't wait!

Driving through Montana

Two men were driving through Montana when they got pulled over by a state trooper. The cop walked up and tapped on the window with his nightstick. The driver rolled down the window, and WHACK, the cop smacked him in the head with his nightstick.

'What the hell was that for?' the driver asked.

'You're in Montana son,' the trooper answered. 'When we pull you over in Montana, you better have your license ready, by the time we get to your car.'

'I'm sorry, officer,' the driver said, 'I'm not from around here.'

The trooper runs a check on the guy's license--he's clean, and gives the guy his license back.

The trooper then walks around to the passenger side and taps on the window.

The passenger rolls down the window, and WHACK, the trooper smacks him on the head with the nightstick.

'What'd you do that for?' the passenger demands.

'Just making your wish come true,' replied the trooper.

'Making WHAT wish come true?' the passenger asked.

'Because I know your type,' the trooper says, 'two miles down the road, you're gonna turn to your buddy and say, 'I wish that a**hole would've tried that CRAP with me!'

Lunar Eclispe

Took some pictures last night. Well I tried to take some pictures. It was kinda last minute and just a bit chilly (~3F).

Angry White Men

I think I might be one.

Fast Cars

We headed off to the Chicago Auto Show today. Picked up Thing1 at school, dodged lots of potholes, and made it to McCormick place to wander the aisles and see what grabbed our attention. Thing1 graduates in just over 90 days and is thinking of a new car once he has gotten that first job so he had certain models he wanted to see. Me - I just like to look and dream a bit.

We found some race cars. One of Tony Stewart's new rides was there.



He managed a close second in the Bud Shootout tonight.

Kevin Harvick had a car at the Shell display.



Shell was nice enough to have a board so that fans could wish Kevin well.



If one goes straight down from the first O a little bit you might find something a little different...



I wonder where that came from...

Chevrolet had a Bumblebee Camaro on display. What a beautiful car. Thing1 wants one as one as long as it can transform.



And if I had 100K to spend... It would be on a Chevrolet ZR1 Corvette.

Compusa.com ?

I was on the CompUSA email list for advertised specials when the brick and mortar stores were still around. When they went away I stopped getting email from them. Today I got a email ad from compusa.com that looked a lot like a TigerDirect.com ad - right down to the prices.

So I looked at the bottom of the compusa.com ad:

CompUSA.com
7795 W Flagler Street, Suite 35
Miami, FL 33144

Dig out a deleted TigerDirect.com ad:

Copyright (c) TigerDirect Inc. 2008
7795 West Flagler Street Miami, FL 33144

I guess they are one and the same now.

I won!

The caption of the week contest at WizBang!

A nurse at the bank

A nurse walks into a bank totally exhausted after a 20 hour shift. Preparing to write a check, she pulls a rectal thermometer out of her purse and tries to write with it. She looks at the flabbergasted teller and without missing a beat says,

"Well, that's great... that's really great.... some a**hole has my pen."

HAZMAT

Women As Explained By An Engineer

From my soon to be married niece...

You might be a Redneck Taliban if

From a list I'm on

You might be a Redneck Taliban if...

You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.

You own a $300 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't afford shoes.

You have more wives than teeth.

You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.

You can't think of anyone you HAVEN'T declared Jihad against.

You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry ammunition in your robe.

You've felt the urge to rub one out after seeing a woman's exposed ankle.

You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting off roadside bombs.

You've ever uttered the phrase, 'I love what you've done with your cave.'

You wipe your a** with your bare left hand, but consider bacon unclean.

USRSF

The Pentagon announced TODAY the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF)



These boys will be dropped off in Iraq and have been given only the following facts about terrorists :

1. The season opened today.
   
2. There is no limit.
   
3. They taste just like chicken.
   
4. They don't like beer, pickups, country music, NASCAR, or Jesus.
   
5. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt
   

The Pentagon expects the problem in Iraq to be over by Friday.

Campaigning versus voting

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man. "Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people.

They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises... The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity"

The senator reflects for a minute, then he> answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell.

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above.

The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder "I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning.....Today you voted."

This is one of those times

that I wish I had money to burn.

Michael Yon is selling his Dragon Skin body armor on ebay.

I'd love to be able to replace the funds he feels he wasted on the product.

One has to wonder what the vendor is thinking right now...

An Expensive Toy

A category that I'm all in favor of but this one comes with lousy keyboard and no user replaceable battery.

The MacBook Air

When seconds count

The police are only minutes away.

The lovely Laurel has video

From the front step of my house I can see the village hall of my town. The police station shares a parking lot with village hall. In regular traffic one can drive from the police station to my house in under 2 minutes. In an emergency I would imagine under 60 seconds. However since the police are usually not at the station and on patrol I would guess 3 to 5 minutes is more like it.

Maybe having guns in the home isn't such a bad idea...

If I had 100K to spend on a car

It would be a 2008 Corvette ZR1.

More at Popular Mechanics

You don't have to be Blond

These Contractors are installing the steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a Sports Bar downtown. They are now in the process of cleaning up at the end of the day and anxious to go home.

How long do you think it will be before they realize where their vehicle is parked?

(Making the rounds at work)

Interesting

If you read Day by Day (and if you don't you should) you may have noticed the Free DBD books text in the left hand pane. After clicking on the link (and finding nothing) I went to the DBD homepage and there was the link. Setup my registration (and awaiting confirmation since I have my own domain...) and searched for Chris Muir. Found the DBD books. And a book on Issac Newton as the 16th link.

There appears to be much more to Chris than I thought...

Shamrox Season opener - video coverage

Some video shot at the 2008 season opener


First - we get bagpipes



And fire!



And finally - Lacrosse!



A fan fav at Shamrox games are the dancers. After the first quarter we were treated to some Motley Crue



After the third quarter the girls wanted some respect



And then it was over. A tough game but the Shamrox just didn't have enough offensive firepower to keep up with Toronto.

After the game fans are allowed down on the field to get autographs. I think this is my daughters favorite part of the game. While we were doing this local band Facing Forward was playing. To be honest I couldn't understand a word they were saying...





Like most bands they overdrive the bass but I have a feeling that their gear is designed for a much smaller room than the Sears Centre.

Thing1 remembers seeing them when he was in high school at the Bartlett Public Library. Now they are on MTV, WGN TV, and playing here. Looks like the future is bright.

The Shamrox are back

Me and the kids went to the season opener tonight for the Chicago Shamrox. The ended up losing 11-9 but we still had a great time. Pics and video tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

Have a great day and remember the reason for the season.

From my family to you and yours.

Merry Christmas!

Fred08

This is not an official campaign commercial.



But it probably should be!

Right Wing News is where it started.

Official Fred!

My kind of Dad

Son smokes pot, son loses Christmas present.

Bears vs Vikings on Monday Night Footbal

First: ESPN HD audio sucks. We're watching on ABC HD out of Chicago and it keeps dropping out. It's gotten better as the game has progressed but it's still on the bad side.

Second: These announcers are annoying. Could they have found three guys who disliked the Bears any more than these guys?

Third: The refs are terrible. The penalty right before the half for a hit out of bounds was yet another gift to the Vikings. Right after the review taking away the TD from Moose (who was nice enough to actually catch a ball that Orton threw to him)

Fourth: According to the Daily Herald Orton was supposed to have the full package. Way to many passes for 5 yards. C'mon - stretch the field!

Update #1: Whoever Jaws is - what an ass!

Update #2: C'mon Bears - tackle!

Update #3: The announcers really need to remove their lips from the Viking's rears. Could they just be a little impartial? And could the Bears stop the one yard passes to the wide receivers? Go down the field!

Update #4: Kyle - please settle down. That was an easy pass. Had McKie wide open.

Update #5: That was really bad Chicago. Allowing a cold QB to run the ball in like that.

Update #6: The refs blew the intentional grounding call. Orton's leg is being pulled as he strides into the throw and the pass goes short. Are they trying to make sure the Vikings win? It doesn't help that the Bear's D seems to be giving up.

Update #7: So close. A little more to the center of the field and it was a TD.

Citizen Soldier

This played before I Am Legend today. Great song.

Superchick

Every once in a while you hear a song where the lyric just sticks in your head. The first time I heard "Bowling Ball" by Superchick and the line:

you need that boy like a bowling ball dropped on your head which means not at all

I was hooked. As a father of a 16 year old girl I wanted her to understand that as well. So I bought Beauty from Pain and gave it a listen. Awesome. Gave it to Thing2 and it went right on her iPod. Great music for anyone but especially for girls. Lots of girl power in those words.

Last Sunday Superchick headlined at a concert in Naperville at the Harvest Bible Church. I got Gold Circle tickets for Thing2 and myself. The wife doesn't like Christian rock so it was just me and my girl.

Harvest is in a office park area in Naperville. The build seemed like a converted office building with the sanctuary in the basement. We got there ~90 minutes early as it was general admission and we wanted to get as close as possible.

First the bad: Edan Concerts in the promoter of Christian music in the area and the crowd control was terrible. The doors didn't open till 15 minutes before the show started and people were able to walk right up and get in front of people who had been there for an hour. Even with this mess we ended up in the second row.

Now the good:

Starlit Platoon led off. IMO this is a band with great potential. Tight music with excellent lyrics. Thing1 would like these guys.



Jimmy Needham was next. Just him and an acoustic guitar (and his wife for two songs) I was so impressed I bought the CD afterwards.



Next up was KJ52. Did I ever mention I really don't like rap. Or hip-hop. On the other hand they were kind of fun. Thing2 seemed to really like them. She got their autographs afterward.



And then there was Superchick. The only bad thing I can say about Superchick's performance is that it was too short. Other than that they were great!





And now for some live music. I apologize for the audio. It was my wife's point and shoot Canon and the mic on it is very sensitive.

Bowling Ball

Rockin around the Christmas Tree

It was great to see all the girls there singing every word right along with the band and bouncing to the music. Great music for kids. Girl power all the way. Just what a dad should want for his daughter.


Go see Superchick. Starlit Platoon and Jimmy Needham as well. And if hip-hop is your thing KJ52.

Daddy

A great Christmas gift

via Hot Air

Another reason to have Legos

Forbidden LEGO: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You Against!

Thing1 is home for Christmas break today and we have over 30,000 Lego pieces to work with. I can't wait for the book to show up!

Of course YouTube has examples:





My thanks to Chris on the KTOG list for the pointer.

Back to work so I can rest

Yeah - it's an old joke but this was a tiring weekend.

Friday nightwas the wife's company Christmas holiday party so we got home sometime Saturday morning. Up early to go Christmas shopping for my gift (CZ75C!!!) Saturday night was the Elgin Symphony Orchestra performance at the Sears Centre. Thing2 was singing as part of the ensemble choir. Not so late but still up past my bedtime. Last night Thing2 and I were at a SuperChic(K) concert in Naperville. Home by 10:00pm but - man I'm tired today.

Christmas Spirit

A woman goes to the post office to buy stamps for her Christmas cards.
She says to the clerk, "May I have 50 Christmas stamps, please?"
Knowing many people are still buying $.02 stamps to catch up to the recent postage increase the clerk says, "What denomination?"
The woman says, "God help us. Has it come to this? Give me 6 Catholic, 12 Presbyterian, 10 Lutheran and 22 Baptists."

All I want for Christmas is

I have a Ruger SR9 or a Taurus PT1911 on my Christmas list but this is what I really want. I wonder what the wife will think? It's just a little more than a year of Thing1's tuition...

GI Jill

What does the following have in common?

Miss America 2008 contestant
Combat Medic
Summa Cum Laude graduate
Registered Nurse
Marathoner
Utah National Guard member

It's a simple answer. They can all be used to describe the same person. Jill Stevens, aka Miss Utah, aka Sgt. Jill Stevens. More at the North Shore Journal.

via Blackfive

TwinkeClaus

The fall project of one of my co-workers

twinkleclaus.com

A Hillary Fan

Update - included the link
From Polipundit

A grade school teacher in upstate New York asked her class how many of them are ‘Hillary fans’.

Not really knowing what a Hillary fan is, but wanting to be liked by the teacher, all the kids raised their hands except one boy.

The teacher asked Johnny why he has decided to be different. Johnny says, “I’m not a Hillary fan.”

The teacher says, “Why aren’t you a Hillary fan?”

Johnny says, “I’m a George Bush fan.”

The teacher asks why he’s a George Bush fan.

The boy says, “Well, my mom’s a George Bush fan and my dad’s a George Bush fan, so I’m a George Bush fan!”

The teacher asks, “If your mom was a moron and your dad was an idiot, what would that make you?”

So Johnny replies, “That would make me a Hillary fan.”

Confidence Inspiring

Not!

Went online to order some tickets for a local performance of the Nutcracker. Instead I get:

Exception Occured. System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: The log file for database 'unity' is full. Back up the transaction log for the database to free up some log space.

Nice error handling.

Giving Thanks

It's something that everyone tends to do at this time of the year. For one day a year Americans pause to give thanks for all that we are blessed with. And we are a blessed people.

But giving thanks is something that I believe we should do every day. Think about it - if you're anything like me you probably have a long list of things to be thankful for. Looking out my office door to the dining room I see my wonderful kids, my wife and my crazy dog. For all the health issues that our family faces I am thankful that we are alive and kicking. I have faith that all that we face will work out in the end.

I'm thankful for my job. It's not perfect but it fits my life right now. I'm thankful for my family and friends. I'm thankful for a country that is blessed with people who only want to make it a better place to live. I'm thankful for the men and women who willfully go in harms way to make the world a better place.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

P.S. - If you're looking for a easy way to say thanks to the men and women of the Armed Forces Xerox is sponsoring the Lets Say Thanks program. Please take a minute out of your life and spread the love.

Teenager Daughter Owner's Manual

(making the rounds at work)

Teenager Daughter Owner's Manual

Instructions for all those with teenage daughters or daughters who think they are teenagers or who will eventually be teenagers.

Congratulations! You are now the proud new owner of a teenaged daughter. Please read this manual carefully, as it describes the maintenance of your new daughter, and answers important questions about your warranty (which does NOT include the right to return the product to the factory for a full refund).

IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR TEENAGER IN ERROR:

To determine whether you were supposed to receive a teenaged girl, please examine your new daughter carefully.

Does she:

1. look very similar to your original daughter, only with more makeup and less clothing?
   
2. refuse to acknowledge your existence on the planet Earth(except when requesting money)?
   
3. Sleep in a burrow of dirty laundry?
   

If any of these are true, you have received the correct item.

BREAK-IN PERIOD

When you first receive your teenaged daughter, you will initially experience a high level of discomfort. Gradually, this discomfort will subside, and you will merely feel traumatized. This is the "Break-In Period," during which you are becoming accustomed to certain behaviors that will cause you concern, anxiety, and stress.
Once you have adapted to these behaviors, your teenager will start acting even worse.

ACTIVATION

To activate your teenaged daughter, simply place her in the vicinity of a telephone or Instant Messenger. No further programming is required.

SHUTDOWN

Several hours after activation, you may desire to shut down your teenaged daughter. There is no way to do this.

CLEANING YOUR TEENAGED DAUGHTER

Having a teenaged daughter means learning the difference between the words "clean" and "neat." Teenaged daughters are very clean, because they take frequent showers that last more than an hour. They will scrub themselves with expensive, fragrant soaps which you must purchase for them because like I'm sure I'm going to use like the same kind of soap my mom and dad use. When they have completely drained the hot-water tank, they will step out and wrap themselves in every towel in the bathroom, which they will subsequently strew throughout the house. If you ask them to pick up the towels, you are confusing "clean" with "neat." Teenagers are very busy and do not have time to be neat. They expect others to pick up after them. These others are called "parents."

FEEDING YOUR TEENAGED DAUGHTER

Your teenaged daughter requires regular meals, which must be purchased for her at restaurants because she detests everything you eat because it is like so disgusting.

She does not want you to accompany her to these restaurants, because some people might see you and, "like I'm sure I want my friends to see me eating dinner with my parents". Either order take-out food or just give her the money, preferably both. If you order pizza, never answer the doorbell because the delivery boy might see you and, "ohmigod he is so hot!" Yes, your daughter's idea of an attractive man is the pizza boy.

CLOTHING YOUR TEENAGED DAUGHTER

Retailers make millions of dollars a year selling stylish and frankly sensible clothing which will look adorable on your daughter. If you enjoy shopping, you will love the vast selections which are available to you. Unfortunately, your teenaged daughter wants to dress like a lap dancer. You may be able to coerce her into putting on a cute outfit before leaving the house, but by the time she walks in the schoolhouse door, she will be wearing something entirely different.

OTHER MAINTENANCE

Teenaged daughters require one of two levels of maintenance:

"High," and "Ultra High".

Your daughter is "Ultra High." This means that whatever you do won't be enough and whatever you try won't work.

WARRANTY

This product is not without defect because she has your genes, for heaven's sake. If you think this is not fair, talk to your parents, who think it is hilarious. Your teenaged daughter will remain a teenager for as long as it takes for her to become a woman, which in her opinion has already happened and as far as you are concerned never really will. If you are dissatisfied with your teenaged daughter, well, what did you expect? In any event, your warranty does not give you your little girl back under any circumstances, except that deep down she's actually still there--you just have to look for her.

Chuck

I'm really enjoying Chuck on Monday nights. The stories, while unbelievable, are fun and Adam Baldwin is just great. Tonight was one of those perfect exchanges between Chuck and John Casey (Baldwin) when Chuck was interrupted while brushing his teeth.

Chuck Bartowski - Is there nothing sacred to you?

John Casey - Just the right to keep and bear arms.

Delivered in the classic Adam Baldwin deadpan way.

Christmas Cards

When filling yours out please consider adding a couple of more:

A Recovering Sailor or Marine
National Naval Medical Center
Marine Corps Liaison Center
8901 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20889-560T

or

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20307-5001

The word via Blackfive is that there is a need of Christmas cheer at both hospitals.

National Ammo Day

Yea - another reason to buy ammo. Please do your part and support National Ammo Day.

Now where does the Exchange server plug in?

Saving the world with AOL

24: The Unaired 1994 Pilot
Jack Bauer saves the world with AOL 3.0.



From collegehumor.com

Smile

What Is A Veteran?

What Is A Veteran

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the bar room loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade - riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravating slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier, and a savior, and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, the greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say, "Thank You". That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU."

author- Father Denis Edward O'Brien USMC

Chase Daniels Live

Chase Daniels? Just who is he? To the thousands of people at Chicagoland Speedway back in July that were there for the Montgomery Gentry show on pole day they were the opening band who's lead singer didn't bother to give out the band's web site so any potential fans could find out where they were playing. The wife and some of the other MG fans that were there in July went back and forth after the show trying to remember the name of the opening band. After they figured it out and found the bands website we (well not so much me) made plans to go see him. And thats what we did last night.

We went to the Last Shot Bar and Grill in South Elgin, Illinois. Not to far from home so we went a little early to get a decent seat as the person on the phone said it was a small place.

Walking into a small bar when you're not a 'local' is a strange experience. Everyone looked at us as we walked in. The wife poked me and told me to go first. Cold beer solves everything :-) The barmaid told us where the band would set up so we kept moving seats as people left to get well positioned for the show.

After a while some guys showed up and started setting up. I asked one if he was with the band and it turned out to be Chase Daniels himself. He talked with us for quite a while. We got to meet his wife, other band members and the site webmaster. The wife told him about seeing him in July and he shared the story of the band coming out at Joliet and being shocked at the size of the crowd. Anyways he was a real nice guy as was everyone else we met. Well except the woman next to me decided that her rear end was supposed to be in my lap much of the evening...

Once the show started it was pretty enjoyable. A mix of covers and original songs. Some of the audio may be a little distorted as I was ~3 feet from one of the speakers.












And just because the drummer is a fan of #24 don't hold it against the band. #20 is our guy and we still enjoyed the show. In fact the wife has made plans to go see them again next year.



We left at the end of the second set. We were up way past our bedtime... Chase and his wife thanked us personally for coming. Real nice people. One of the guitarists and the webmaster did the same.

If Chase Daniels and Western Star are ever in your neck of the woods give them a listen.

Happy Veterans Day

Too many it's just another day. Another day to shop. Another day to advertise. To me it's a day to remember the sacrifice that a few have made for the sake of many. It's a day to remember my granddads, my dad, my brothers Rich and Bob, and my sister Cheryl. For serving in time of war and in time of peace. For taking time away from family and friends to serve their country. I stand in awe of you and your fellow veterans.


I'm incredibly happy to say that Google decided to (finally) create a special logo for Veterans day.

See anything wrong?

We got our new refrigerator delivered today and magnet wars started soon after. A interesting grouping was noticed. Some may find it amusing.

No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy

Happy Birthday to the United States Marine Corp!

Sadly - Google choose not to create a special logo for today. I wonder if they will do anything for Veterans Day.

Chris Muir rocks!

I've said it before but Day By Day is one of the best cartoons out there. Today's strip is perfect.

Thanks and Praise

Thanks and Praise: I photographed men and women, both Christians and Muslims, placing a cross atop the St. John’s Church in Baghdad. They had taken the cross from storage and a man washed it before carrying it up to the dome.

More about this event from the incredible Michael Yon.

May all God's people say Amen!

Congratulations Patti!

Microsoft and USO Announce Microsoft Above and Beyond Award Winners.

One of them should be familiar...

Effort Award: Patti Patton-Bader, Pasadena, Calif. Soon after Patton-Bader began sending care packages to her son in Iraq, she started a group of volunteers to “adopt” soldiers. Since then, the group’s 100,000 members have sent tens of thousands of care packages and hundreds of thousands of letters to make sure no soldier is forgotten while serving. Its motto: “May no soldier go unloved.”

The group she founded? Soldiers Angels.

Don't forget - there is still time to get involved in the the annual fund raising drive for Project Valour-IT.

Happy Birthday to you!

Thing1. He's 22 today!

It seems like yesterday that we were sitting on the couch watching the Super Bowl bound Bears.

One more week

to donate to Project Valour-IT during the Veterans Day challenge. (Team Marines please) Don't wait till the last minute.

For a little extra incentive go check out Badger6's blog.

Math 1950-2006

From my sister-in-law (a teacher with over 30 years of experience...)

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl took my $2 and I was digging fo r my change when I pulled 8 cents from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.

Why do I tell you this?

Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950

   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?
   

2. Teaching Math In 1960

   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?



3. Teaching Math In 1970

   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80. Did he make a profit?



4. Teaching Math In 1980

   A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.



5. Teaching Math In 1990

   A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of$20. What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after answering the question: How did the birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are no wrong answers )



6. Teaching Math In 2006

   Un hachero vende una carretada de madera por $100. El costo de la producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

Real American Heroes

Not GI Joe but Sergeant Josh Morley, Specialist Tracy Willis, Specialist Chris Corriveau, and Specialist Eric Moser. Their story is one you won't read about in your local paper but deserves a few minutes of your time.

Jeff Emanuel has their story at The American Spectator

After reading consider a donation to Project Valour-IT

The day the routers died

Geek humor at it's best

Project Valour-IT 2007

I had been wondering when this was going to start as Veterans Day was fast approaching. A visit to Blackfive confirmed it was time.

Time to give.

Project Valour-IT is simply a way for the average American to give something back to the brave men and women who, while in service of our great country, have lost the ability to communicate. Valour-IT provides voice driven laptops and software to those in need to help them stay in contact with their loved ones. As a geek I think this is a awesome idea and one worth funding. It is run by Soldiers Angels and, as before, the fund raising is a competition between the services. This year my money to the Team USMC in memory of my dad.

Dad, My headlights don't work

That was Thing1 a week ago when he called home one night. He had gone out to his car to go somewhere and he had no headlights. Parking lights were ok, DRLs worked, and so did the high beams. But the regular lights did not. He replaced the bulbs and checked the fuses - nothing. Since he was coming home in a week I just told him not to drive at night and I'd take a look at it when he was home.

I did some research on his car and found that this is a common problem on late 90's GM J body cars. At least there was some hope of a simple solution :-). The solution was either the headlight switch, a bulb socket, or a wiring fix.

So yesterday I started poking at the car. A check of voltage at the sockets show 12.8 volts with the lights on. That seemed ok so I ruled out the switch. No obvious scorching on the bulb sockets or adjacent wiring. Ok - its probably on of the junctions that are ~1 foot from the battery. So I grab the DVM and check continuity between the positive and negative leads of the regular beams. Positive was 0 ohms. Negative was 1.3 Meg ohms. Thats bad. Thats wiring.

So I started to unwrap the harness going across the front. Got the the junction area and no problems with the negative wire. In fact there was no junction for it. Hmmm. Then I looked closely at the negative wire from the drivers side. It headed in the harness over to the passenger side rather than back to the firewall socket. So I unwrapped the passenger side of the harness a bit and counted wires. Compared to the drivers side there was 1 less. And it was the color of the negative wire. There was another junction somewhere. So I unwrapped the center of the harness. In the middle of the car, right by the hood latch, there was another splice. This was for the negative lead for the low beam lights. And it was corroded. By the time I got it unwrapped it fell apart.



In a effort to clean things up I unwrapped the whole harness and cut back the corroded wire about 6 inches on each end. A little bit of spare wire, solder, and heat shrink tubing and the lights were on. Took some electrical tape and re-wrapped the harness. 4.5 hours after I started it was done. Just in time for cake! Smiles all around.

Free Tacos!

For those interested in Baseball in general and the World Series in particular (not me since the Cubs chose to, once again, choke):

Free taco at participating Taco Bells on October 30th. See the MLB site for details.

Of course - maybe Taco Bell and MLB are really celebrating my birthday...

Christmas comes early. Well earlier

I love Christmas. Not only do we celebrate the birth of Jesus but people in general seem to be a bit more alive. The spirit of giving comes out as well. What drives me crazy is the push for Christmas decorations. They are already in some stores. Before Halloween.

Instapundit linked to a James Lileks post and one comment cracked me up:

Well, we spend $5 billion on Halloween and put the decorations out about a month beforehand. Sooooo, since we spend $460 billion on Christmas, let's see...that means the decorations for this Christmas should be set out in mid-1999. Or maybe this is just the rolling out for 2016.

Jack's back. Tony too!

Can't wait!

Advice from a Penguin

Taken at Brookfield Zoo. Perfect for Thing1.

And he's back

Day by Day

Keep the Muir family in your prayers

Day by Day is one of my favorite daily reads. Chris Muir is an awesome talent. When I took a look at his site today I saw this:



So - if you believe in the power of prayer keep the Muir family in your prayers.

This is sad

The brilliant minds that created the Cox and Forkum editorial cartoons are calling it quits.



The story is here.

If everything were sold like iPods

We would be shopping like this

Windows Server 2008 RC0 is fubar?

In a post on the Microsoft Technet blogs a German employee of Microsoft titles his post:

Windows Server 2008 RC0 ist verfügbar!

According to a online dictionary verfügbar means available.

However when I glanced at the title in my RSS reader I saw (incorrectly)

Windows Server 2008 RC0 is very fubar!

That would have been unusual considering the source...

I remember

I remember getting up that morning and heading off to work. Three people from my group were at a conference so I had to run some meetings. I was sitting in my office creating some slides when one of the other people on the floor said that he had heard on the drive in that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers.

I remember looking for a live video feed to see what what going on in NYC.

I remember seeing the second tower hit.

I remember calling my wife to tell her to turn on the TV to see whats going on.

I remember seeing people jump...

I remember seeing fire fighters head into the towers

I remember seeing the aftermath of the attack on the Pentagon

I remember seeing the towers fall

I remember crying

I remember seeing the crash site of United 93

I remember Kathy Bantis

I remember getting home and hugging my kids and my wife

I remember September 11th, 2001

I will not forget

I will not submit

Iraq in stereo

Chris Muir (the one who posted here?) shows why the milbloggers are so important.

Peder Eide - Live

For those who have never seen Peder you are missing something special. Peder refers to his worship events as worship on Mountain Dew and I have to agree. Thing2 and I went to see him last night at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and it was awesome!

This is Peder:



He's a independent Christian artist from Minnesota who spends his time leading worship at churches and at teen gatherings all over the mid-west. This was the fifth or sixth time I've seen him perform and the first where it was really worship rather than a concert. He rocks, he rolls, lifts you up, gets you to look inside, and helps you remember that there is someone waiting for you - if you'll just look. For those you have never seen Peder - take a look.

All I Needed To Know



As Is. Listen closely to the words.



Some older songs



Rise. One of my favorite songs.

Great idea for a PPV Super Bowl half time show

Featuring Michael Vick and Happy the Wonder Dog

---

from my sister Maggie (and no doubt her Doberwoman Mitzi)

Sweet. That's Danger Close

JD Johannes has a little something from the 2007 edition of Outside the Wire.

I have the 2005 edition of OtW. Worth watching (and buying as it supports JD in Iraq). With people like JD, Michael Yon, Michael J. Totten, and Bill Roggio over in Iraq as well as other places where the MSM fears to tread one has to wonder who to trust for the real story about whats going on in Iraq.

The MSM and their stringers or the guys who are there embedded with America's best?