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?

Line of the day

From PoliPundit;

I own more guns than I need, but not as many as I want.

Thats me!

We're number 1

U.S. Most Heavily Armed Country

Back to School

Today was the day we took Thing1 back to his college to start his senior year - unlike freshman year. No tears, no hysterics, nothing. Just another day. After we had gotten home and fed Buffy we couldn't find her anywhere. I decided to check Thing1's room.

And there she was:



I guess she misses her boy...

Raindrops keep falling on my head

We've been getting a lot of rain. Somewhere between 10 and 15 inches this month where normal is somewhere around 6 or 7. Most of it comes in one hour deluges. Today we got two of these deluges. The first one included some nasty straight line winds and numerous funnel clouds a couple of counties away. And damage...

This is part of my next door neighbors tree



And one in the parkway. It used to be as tall as the one next to it



There was a bit of flooding in the streets



Some people don't know to slow down



The backyard took a hit as well



The second wasn't as bad. Lots of rain but no damage.

It did kinda flood the intersection. Again.

Once the neighbors started clearing the drains the water went away quickly.







After the water receded it was easy to see how far away from the street it had gotten. The debris line is about 10 feet from the curb.

It had to happen sooner or later

I spent my first night in the hospital as a patient. To the best of my knowledge I had not been there since I was born almost 46 years ago. I got to spend two nights in the local hospital getting all kinds of tests (and no diagnosis...). On the plus side I did get to eat filet mignon for dinner one night and lobster tail the next :-)

Details soon

Great UI but does it work with gloves?

The Apple iPhone

GOP fundraiser to feature machine gun shoot

This is a great idea. I wish the Illinois GOP had the stones to do something like this.

Via Instapundit

Crowd(er) Surfing

This goes along with the picture I have

More from Ignite Chicago

Some stills to go along with the videos from Ignite Chicago. Ignite is a Christian music festival held at Alexian Field in Schaumburg, Illinois. Thing2 and I went and spent the day (a beautiful day) listening to great music and talking to people.

TruEmotion - Cute girls with nice voices. Great for the young teens.



Vicky Beeching - An import from England. I predict a big future for this girl.



John Reuben - To be honest I'm not a hip-hop fan but the words are worth listening to.



Seventh Day Slumber - New to me but a pretty good band. The last song of their set was really a testimony about the power of God. Incredible.



Me and Thing2 during a break in the show



Tree 63 - Another import. This time from South Africa. Great worship band.



And several thousand of my closest friends. Taken from the first base line up by concession stands





Barlow Girl - One of my favorite bands. We have seen them lead worship at Willow Creek (awesome) but in concert they are incredible.

Alyssa



Lauren



Becca



Rebecca St. James - To be honest I wasn't expecting much. I like listening to her but I didn't think the performance would be much to watch. I was wrong. Great performance.



David Crowder Band - I didn't realize how many of his songs I knew and loved. Next time he comes through town I think I'll take Thing2 and see the show. Wow!

Here's David Crowd(er) surfing



And performing



Finally - Casting Crowns. Great performance. Awesome way to end the night.



What a great day! If you're into Christian music this is a festival for you. I hope it becomes an annual event.

Ignite Chicago

July 21st, 2007 at Alexian Field in Schaumburg, Illinois. Thing2 and I were there. Here are a few videos that I took.

Barlow Girl - My Gods Enough



Barlow Girl - Million Voices



Barlow Girl - Average Girl



Barlow Girl - Let Go



Casting Crowns - Glory



Casting Crowns - Lifesong



David Crowder - A Joyful Noise



David Crowder - Forever



David Crowder - Here Is Our King



David Crowder - Undignified



John Rueben - Trying Too Hard



Rebecca St James - Alive



Seventh Day Slumber



Tree 63 - King



More later.

Now this is a gun

All Of The Above!

German’s survival is a story of numbers:

Burned over 97 percent of his body.

Nearly 17 months in the hospital.

More than 40 surgeries, and counting.

Practically everyone who has met the Marine describes him with one word: Miracle.

Sitting in the therapy gym, sucking on a “fentanyl pop” — a plastic stick tipped with a morphine-like painkiller — he pulls a T-shirt of his own design from his gym bag.

On the front, it says: “Got 3 percent chance of surviving; What ya gonna do?” The back lists four options: “a. Fight Through. b. Stay Strong. c. Overcome Because I Am A Warrior. d. All Of The Above!” The last one is circled.

Read the rest

Day at the Races - Part 2

As I said before - Thing1 and I were there for racing. And looking at race cars. Thing1 found a truck he'd like to drive home.



Whereas my chosen form of transportation was just a bit faster.



After wandering the booths for a while and checking in with the wife and her sister who had staked our front row for the Montgomery Gentry show we went in to watch practice and the time trials. We are Tony Stewart fans so I did my best to get a picture of him flying by at 180+. Took ~15 trys to get a full frame picture.



After the time trials there was a USAC midget race scheduled. According to the track announcer the MG concert was to start after the race was over so Thing1 and I settled in to watch the race. About 10 laps in my phone rang. It was the wife trying (talking on a cell phone while cars fly by at 175 is difficult...) to tell me that the opening band was done and that I should get down there. Thing1 stayed to watch the race while I shoved my way up to the front where they were.

Time to step back a few hours: the wife and her sister met a couple of guys from Iowa named Randy and Travis that were there to watch the races. Neither had seen MG before so they asked my wife how they could sit that close as they wanted to go inside. Well my wife simply said "It'll cost you". One of them reached for their wallet and said how much? My wife just smiled and said "Beverages. Beer or water every hour or so" And so the wife and her sister drank for free all day. Randy/Travis brought them beer every hour and they joined us up front with their friend Doug. Nice group of guys. I hope our paths cross again some day.

And then it was time for show. I'm am not a huge fan of country music but the boys put on a pretty good show.








This is Eddie Montgomery with a flag my wife gave him. She was hoping to get it back but it didn't happen.





I stopped taking pictures around the time of the encore. People were pushing their way up so the guys formed a wall around the women to keep the crowd back. It was pretty wild there for a while. I was sure that a big fight was about to break out as some people would not take no for an answer.

In the end we survived. A fun but very tiring day.