My Life, Briefly

New Blog

2009-01-08T15:19:00.000-06:00

Please come follow me to my new blog on my shared server at http://blog.stringoftheories.com/.

Original Pirate Material

2008-11-20T16:25:00.002-06:00

So apparently India kicked some pirate butt recently and sank the pirate's mother ship. See here. I find this oddly appropriate... I guess every country was thinking they didn't have the right to do that.. in addition to being in complete shock of the pirate surge as of late. Bizarre.

In better news, oil is below $50 a barrel. I wonder if that will encourage people to start buying SUVs again... doubt it. I understand how if the "Big 3" car companies go bankrupt, that will have a major ripple effect across america, but I also understand that it is their fault (for only their situation, not the whole US economy) that they are in that place in the first place. Take the $25 billion and give it to Tesla Motors so we can all drive electric cars.

Lily Allen - LDN

2008-11-11T15:24:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas, Diana

2007-12-24T08:32:00.000-06:00

I knew what and why, but I didn't know when, how, or where. I wasn't nervous. The experience was surreal and life changing. It wasn't the place or time that was important. It was all the events and feelings leading up to it. The circumstances felt right... again not necessarily because of the time or place, but more because of our circumstances. We were alone (for the most part) and all of the other restaurants were closed, but that didn't seem to matter because we were together and can handle anything... together. We braved the birth of our first child together without being married... easily the scariest thing for me and anyone who hasn't been through it before.

You and Elek are THE best thing that has EVER happened to me. Without both of you, I would be lost. You give me strength and encouragement to do things I never thought I could do. It is hard to believe that this is our third Christmas together, though I couldn't imagine it any other way. Your aura is unlike anyone else's I've ever seen and I knew you were special from the start. I knew that you had so much to teach me.. and now we have a little one teaching us both a new meaning of love, understanding, persistence, endurance, and happiness to name a few. You made all of this possible and for that I am truly grateful. I hope your Christmas is relaxing and better than any before it. With love,

Peter

Some Music

2007-12-22T22:54:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd post some music for your enjoyment. The first song is geek synth which I've been missing lately.
Chairs in the Arno - Size Thirty

For the next song.. just think Bobby McFarin + Sliding Guitar + Organ + low fi pop. I know.. ridiculous.
Benji Cossa - Sunset

Back later with more.

M.I.A. - Paper Planes

2007-12-17T19:01:00.000-06:00

Quarterlife

2007-12-17T18:49:00.000-06:00

Quarterlife is the name of a show that is directed by Marshall Herkovitz who produced "My So Called Life". I must say I went from liking it (the first several episodes) to not being so sure, then to liking it again. It has been picked up by NBC apparently.. I hope they don't screw it up. Hope you enjoy.

Lykke Li - Little Bit

2007-12-17T18:34:00.000-06:00

What do you do?

2007-12-03T09:47:00.000-06:00

What do you do when your life goes through a transition and you wake up one day, nothing is the same, and you wonder what just happened? When going out to bars was 'the thing' to do on the weekend. How do you transition to something more wholesome? It's inevitable and deep down you know it, though you don't know how to transition slowly. All is not gone or lost, actually quite the opposite. You are starting to really live. Priorities change and it will be wonderful, but what to do in the meantime?

Drop Aural Review

2007-11-07T13:45:00.000-06:00

I've decided to drop Aural Review as far as putting music on it. I know I haven't posted on here in forever and I'm hoping if I drop the other one maybe I can post music stuff here too. It will at least make it more interesting.

In other news, I left my job at FedEx and got a new one here at Securas. So far so good.

I found some interesting music lately. One is listed on this page to the right. You can find their music on MySpace or on this site I love to frequent called 3hive.

Also some other interesting music I found is streaming here. Not to mention a great internet radio station to listen to at work is Radio-Indie-Pop, IndiElectronica Radio, and one of my favs Pandora. Hope this holds you over for a while.

Tax-Free Real Estate Investments

2007-06-26T10:27:00.000-05:00

I'm going to summarize the book The Insider's Guide to Tax-Free Real Estate Investments by Diane Kennedy and Dolf De Roos by section.

Section 1

Basically this is the introduction to why the current retirement plans won't exactly make you rich easily. We all (should) know there are the the basic retirement plans such as 401(k), IRA, and Roth IRA. This books describes these plans and some new plans that have a tax advantage that go along with them. It also mentions the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which is a tax between 26% and 28% of your adjusted gross income. To help avoid this tax, this book introduces the Solo 401(k) and the Solo Roth 401(k) retirement plans.

Section 2

This section talks about the different kinds of income including Earned Income, Portfolio Income, and Passive Income. The book mentions "The Jump Start Program" which consists of the following steps:

Create a business, and maximize your business income with tax loopholes.
Maximize your tax-free benefits with tax loopholes by discovering your hidden business deductions.
Once you have minimized your taxes from your business, pay your taxes.
Invest in real estate, and maximize your real estate investments with real estate loopholes.
Maximize your cash flow with real estate loopholes.
Buy a house, and maximize your home investments with home loopholes.
Get money out of your house! Maximize your cash flow with home loopholes.

Something else worth noting here is the two-out-of-five-year rule which says once you have lived in your home for at least two years out of the preceding five years, you can sell the property and take the first $250,000 in gain tax free (or $500,000, if you're a married couple filing a joint tax return).

Two Ways that Tax-Deferred Plans Can Get You

If your tax bracket is low now but will be higher later, you've traded a low tax for a high tax.
If the income you're deferring is considered long term capital gains (from the sale of assets held over 1 year), you've traded capital gains income tax (maximum of 15%) for ordinary income (maximum 35% tax rate).

This section of the book describes the differences between several different plans, the most important of which were listed earlier in my summary(Solo 401(k) and the Solo Roth 401(k)). I also wanted just to mention the Education (Coverdell) IRA where you can contribute a maximum of $2,000 per year for each beneficiary.
There are three basic rules for the two pension plans which I mentioned above (Solo 401(k) and the Solo Roth 401(k)):

You and your spouse are the only full time employees allowed.
You have to draw a salary from the business.
You have to contribute the right kind of income.

For these types of plans you must receive income through either a Sole Proprietorship or a (S or C) Corporation. The book describes in more details the above mentioned pension plans and then lets the reader know why they beat the other plans. The Solo Roth 401(k) has no income limitation, you can put away a significant amount into a Roth fund (for 2006 $15,000 per year or $20,000 if you're over 50), you can use your tax free Roth funds to invest in things you couldn't before like S Corporation stock or life insurance policies, you can borrow up to $50,000 or 50% of your plan's value, there is no mandatory distribution requirement for your Solo Roth 401(k).

Section 3

This section describes things you can and can't do/invest in with your Solo Roth 401(k).

You must find a custodian to hold your pension assets and administer your pension funds so that you stay within compliance with the IRS. These are the questions you should ask and the answers you should get:

Will the custodian allow you to invest in real estate and businesses? Yes.
Is your proposed custodian government regulated? Yes.
How much malpractice insurance does your proposed custodian have? Enough. This is important because the IRS is very unforgiving.
Who are your proposed custodian's auditors? What does their last audited financial statement show? Ask for a copy and make sure that the auditors did not include any comments of concern.
Does your proposed custodian offer ongoing client education? Yes.
Ask about standard operating procedures and time requirements for new account setup, transfers, purchases, sales, funding, distributions, IRS reporting, statement productions, and phone contacts.
How much are your proposed custodian's fees? Preferably a flat fee.

Avoid Prohibited Transactions

The sale, exchange, or lease of any property between a plan and a disqualified person.
The furnishing of goods, services, or facilities between a plan and a disqualified person.
Using any portion of your pension fund as security for a loan of a disqualified person.
Use of income or assets of a plan by a disqualified person for his or her own profit.

Disqualified Persons

Direct line relatives (parents, grandparents, or children) are disqualified persons.

Prohibited Investments

Collectibles such as art, rugs, antiques, metal, gems, stamps, coins, alcoholic beverages, or other tangible personal property
Life Insurance

Section 4

The problem with being self directed is that you must have a plan administrator to purchase and sell your investments and since they are not available 24/7/365, this may slow down your response time to some investments. There is, however, a way around this by using a IRA or Tax-Free LLC. This method allows you to use your pension plan in conjunction with your LLC. The LLC is important because it limits your liability to that which has been invested into it and it also allows you to personally manage your funds faster. The LLC usually should be set up in the state in which the investment such as property is. It is very important how you set up the LLC, because otherwise you could suffer a hefty fine or two. I won't go into it, but the most important thing is to set up the Tax-Free LLC where you are the only manager (no salary) and your pension plan is the only member. The LLC is then funded by your pension plan and you can act as the manager to direct the funds into the investments we discussed above. But be very careful when signing checks to make sure you sign it as the manager of the LLC and not with your personal signature! It is also still very important to let your plan administrator know what you're doing. You will be held responsible for making prohibited investments, not your plan administrator. Many more important details for this section need to be read in the actual book as it would take too long to summarize them here.

Section 5

This section is about leveraging the money you have in your pension fund or LLC. Essentially it says that if you don't have enough money to buy a property (investment) out right, then a bank can loan you a money. Typically they want you to put at least 30% down and they will loan you 70%. This is called a 70% non recourse loan. One downside of leverage in an IRA LLC is that you are subject to a Unrelated Debt Financing Income Tax(UDFI) and Unrelated Business Income Tax(UBIT) tax on the percentage of the profit made from the portion of the investment funds that was loaned to you.

Section 6-7

The rest of these short sections discuss what type of investment is a good investment, what types of property to buy, etc. I won't go into this details, because it doesn't exactly relate to why I read this book.

All in all, this book was very informative and up-to-date, which is more than I can say for a lot of books I read. This field is constantly changing which makes it hard to keep up with all the information. Hopefully now you'll know enough to at least ask pertinent questions to accountants, plan administrators, etc. Read the rest of the book and leave a comment if you like.

Exercise Your Mind (Mind/Matter)

2007-05-30T12:38:00.000-05:00

Today I finished Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki. I actually read it in ebook (a pdf) on my computer in two days. I like the ideas presented in it and I see a similar trend in most of these books which is investment, specifically in revenue generating real estate. While my father was a commercial real estate appraiser in Memphis, he never really invested in real estate with one exception. That one exception had at least a 2000% return. Why he didn't do more of that, I will never really know. He said he wasn't interested in it, but clearly he had the knowledge to be able to do it... and successfully.

I, in my quest for knowledge, have been picking up more and more books and reading them faster and faster. I started The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell two days ago and right after that I started and finished Rich Dad Poor Dad. I also downloaded several audio books that I can listen to in my car on the way to and from work and to and from midtown including Freakonomics by by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. I am also looking for 16 Percent Solutions by Joel Moskowitz and Beating the Street by Peter Lynch. I think I've become a little obsessive, but that's ok. There are much worse things to be obsessed with like Unreal Tournament, Grand Theft Auto, or drinking.

All of this talk of reading made me think of the time when I told my mom, "I hate reading." That was the dumbest thing I've ever said. I'm pretty sure I meant reading subjects that I'm not interested in, but that is still stupid. Now I love reading.. especially those subjects I'm interested in and some that I'm not. It exercises your brain and makes you want to read more and more. I'm just hoping I can implement some of these principles that I'm learning. That's when the real learning starts.

Memorial Day Weekend

2007-05-28T16:19:00.000-05:00

Friday, May 25, 2007

Diana, Elek, and I had a couple people over for a relaxed cookout. This may have been apparent to everyone but me, but you're supposed to season the hamburger meat then mix it all together and grill it. That way the meat is seasoned on the inside. I feel like somewhat of an idiot since I can cook... at any rate, I'll know how to do it better next time.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Diana, Elek, and I left Memphis around 10:00 AM and drove toward Jonesboro, AR. We got to Lake Thunderbird around 1:30 PM. Jake Mohundro (friend of Diana's family) has two lake houses and a couple of boats. We rented our own house and got to ride in a pontoon boat and do some tubing. This was Elek's first time in lake water. We bought him a little turtle floatie. He didn't really know what to think. It was also his first boat ride and he HATES the life preserver! Going to the lake was very relaxing.

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Diana and I dropped off Elek at my mom's house so we could go eat at Bluefin at 6:00 PM with Connie and Adrienne. It was really good. We also went to see India Arie at the Orpheum at 8:00 PM. It was an awesome show. I wasn't really a huge fan of her music, but I really enjoyed her show and I became a bit more open to her music. After the show we went to Celtic Crossing for a bit and hung out. Finally we retired about 1:30 AM. So far, it's been a fun filled, excellent weekend. Tonight is the Jolley's house at 6:30 PM or so and I'm really looking forward to that. :D

The Meaning of Life

2007-05-23T20:15:00.000-05:00

So I dropped off the face of the planet (in the blogosphere) pretty much since my son, Elek was born. I finally decided to pick back up.

My friend Chris and I were talking the other day about what we want to do with our lives. Currently, the one bad thing about my life is my job. Chris currently doesn't have a job (lucky him) and doesn't want one similar to the kind of dream job I'm hoping to secure. He wants to promote the freedom of information through a serious of papers and lectures, somewhat following in the footsteps of Richard Stallman, who some consider somewhat crazy. This is beside the point. Chris brought up the fact that he doesn't really want to work, but to discover the secrets of the universe, study quantum physics, and try to extract the meaning of life from life itself. That got me thinking and I don't think I've stopped since he said that. In the back of my mind that question has been there for quite some time as it is for many people. "What is the meaning of life?"

I think for each individual the meaning of life can be quite different. I recently discovered the meaning of life while feeding my 7 and a half month old son. It is simply him. He is the meaning of my life. He is the reason I strive to be better. He is the reason I want this country to turn itself around. And he is the reason I named my business Elek Technologies. While I was thinking this, I took one step back and thought that perhaps the meaning of life for all of mankind... the real meaning of life is life itself. To live life. To create life. To enjoy life.

Tonight I rewatched one of my favorite movies American Beauty and was reminded of what really matters in life when Lester shouts "It's just a couch!" followed by "This isn't life, it's just stuff." Money is not the answer, though I can see how someone could easily slip into that mindset. Happiness is the answer. Living life is the answer. And preserving that which makes us happy is the answer.

Mind Dump

2007-05-22T09:21:00.001-05:00

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down for firing nine of the U.S. Attorneys for political reasons, lying under oath, and being incompetent. Hopefully there will be a no-confidence vote and he will be forced to step down.

The RIAA is evil and will eventually self destruct and implode. The reason I say this is because they are attacking everything that helps spread the music that pays their bills, from internet radio to regular radio. There is only one path that I see them taking and it's straight down the drain while more 'indie' music replaces the mainstream. Since equipment and the such is getting cheaper, then more bands can afford to go without a large record company. Their position is being phased out and they're helping to do it. Bravo!

In other news in the great state of Tennessee, a pornstar was pulled over and found to have illegal drugs in her possession and the TN state trouper accepted sexual favors in order to turn a blind eye.

Investing 2nd Edition

2007-05-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

So now that I've read books like All About Asset Allocation by Richard Ferri, The Bull Hunter by Dan Denning, Rule #1 by Phil Town, The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni, and Creating Wealth by Robert G. Allen. One of the better ones for me was The Bull Hunter. The others market themselves by making the consumer think by reading them, the consumer will somewhat automatically become a millionaire. This is not the case. While that may be obvious to some, it's not nearly obvious enough to many. Not to say that these books can't help you understand more about how to create, build, and maintain wealth. They can, but they're not going to give you the exact recipe to do so.

I have discovered, at least for me, through reading these books that I do NOT want to spend my time investing in individual stocks. In my opinion, it's a waste of time for me and I don't enjoy it that much so it's not really worth doing. Of course to every rule there is an exception and mine is MySQL. When MySQL goes public I will be investing in it. I believe in Open Source and free software AND I've used it so much that I want to have a stake in its future. At any rate I'm done for the most part with individual stock investment. edit: I am much more interested in Mutual funds for their increased diversification and security. There is a lot of potential there. /edit

Investing

2006-08-11T12:26:00.000-05:00

So lately Nick and I have been really interested in money management. I don't know why, but I've become almost obsessive about it. I've read Rule #1 by Phil Town and have begun my extensive research into hundreds of stocks. Not to mention that I just got a Roth IRA set up through Scottrade today. I'm transferring funds and soon I'll be able to invest tax free (for retirement at least). There are lots of rules and I'm understanding them slowly but surely. The guys at the Memphis Scottrade branch are really nice. I encourage you to go talk to them.

Americans are in the Dark

2006-08-06T08:48:00.000-05:00

Apparently many Americans are in the dark about Israel. I found this article on Reddit today and I think everyone should see it. There are several videos that were not shown to Americans. It is located here. This is also an interesting website. I hope you enjoy.

Working weird hours again

2006-07-26T16:18:00.000-05:00

So I'm working odd hours again. Yesterday I went in from 8AM to 5PM and then again from 10:30PM to 4:00AM. I really really wish I got overtime, but alas. Again tonight I'm going in for the same time, but at least we're accomplishing a lot.

I'm also trying to keep cooking, though I'm running out of things to make. Diana and I have a couple of Southern Living Magazines and Real Simple Magazines that have some recipes in them. Some of them look pretty good and I think we may try to make one tonight or tomorrow night. In fact I may call her now to see if she would like to try one. :) More on this later.. also enjoy the new music video on the right. -===>

Fishing in Arkansas with Nick

2006-07-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

So Nick and I thought it would be a good idea to fish in Arkansas on the Little Red River with some fishing equipment my dad gave me. We also took two tents and some other supplies (mainly beer) so that we could stay the night. Of course we didn't both to check the weather.. or to make sure we had everything. We were missing pillows and the tarp among other things including the bigger tent poles. D'oh! So we now had to set up a tent that was able to sleep two nine year olds comfortably. Great! Now Nick and I get to spoon and I can't even stretch out. We got to the camp site maybe at 5:00 PM. We had plenty of time to set it up before it started pouring. It so happens that the campground's power was out therefore we had to eat hamburgers at the camp ground restaurant. They were actually pretty good. That's when the rain came. We took cover under a pavilion that we weren't supposed to be under, but nobody knew or cared so that's where we stayed for hours as the rain came thundering down and filling our tent with water. I admittedly left the tiny window open for air circulation. Luckily there was one sleeping bag that wasn't too wet so we slept on top of it.

We awoke at about 6:15AM to start our day of fishing. On our way to Ramsey's Access, we passed the dam. There was an overlook with a great view. The dam wasn't generating and we took about 3 or 4 pictures from the overlook. This alone was worth the trip. There were many things that made me think the trip was worth it. The cold front that came through there was another reason it was worth going and the cool breeze that blew off of the river when we were near it.

First we went to Ramsey's Access where we of course caught nothing and the water was freezing! It made my feet numb. But we had a good time there. We also saw a Great Blue Heron, I think, in a tree across the river. Can you spot him? After that we decided to go to Mossy Shoals where my dad told me we should fish. He also warned me to keep my eyes open for signs that say that it was a catch and release area and not to use a barb on your hooks. I kept my eyes peeled. We had to walk through 5 minutes of utter hell to get to the river. It was like a bog with lots of high growing grass and tons of sticks. God only knows if there were any snakes in there. Luckily we did get to see a butterfly that landed near us once we got to the river. I took this as a sign of good luck... my mistake. If you look carefully in the picture to the left, you can see the Arkansas Game and Fish Warden in the background and Nick in the foreground fishing with barbed hooks. This is a recipe for disaster. Once again we saw no signs that said this place was catch and release. So the game warden came over and talked with us. We both ended up getting a ticket for $205 for using a barb on a hook. We still hadn't even gotten a bite and this was the nail in the coffin. It was time to go home and fishing is definitely not for me. There's way too much to do and it takes way too much trouble to actually fish for me. We both had bought licences costing $52 for the whole year. My paper that was printed expired two days before and the good ol' boys at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission failed to send me my actual licence and of course this is my fault. So the actual cost of the trip is as follows:
Two Fishing Licences with Trout Added: $104
Cost of campground: $18
Cost of Food the night before: $13
Cost of Gas: $35
Cost of beer etc (of which we have a lot left over because we cut our trip short): $50
Cost of two tickets given to us: $410
This all adds up to about the cost of our dignity. This is probably something I will never do on my own without someone else who provides a boat, the knowledge etc. But at least we saw a dam, Great Blue Heron, butterfly, felt a breeze, and went on a trip.

Part two of today's blog

2006-07-19T21:40:00.000-05:00

OK, so here's part two of my blog today. When I was still at work with my coworker C, we were working hard on this new project that was recently assigned to us. Swizzle.

Next, after we picked up Luna from the vet we went to Ben and Rebecca's house near my old apartment at Poplar and Highland. Luna was doing pretty well, but she was out of it. She seems better now. We left our apartment at around 6:10PM and go to Ben and Rebecca's house at about 6:35PM.
So once we got there Diana was introduced to the dogs Kyla (the 3 legged dog) and Roo (the scared one). Ben and Rebecca also have a chinchilla named Gabriel and a rather large rabbit named Lilith. Lilith isn't really scared of anything and neither is the chinchilla. The chinchilla enjoys night time play for one to two hours,
many dust baths, and a raisin or two. Kyla is a very sweet dog who loves to lick and is really horny for some reason, while Roo is afraid of almost everyone and everything. He barks enough for both dogs for sure!
While we played with the dogs in the backyard we also walked around and saw their pretty garden on the side of their house. All the time we were out in the back yard, they were preparing a wonderful dinner in the kitchen. Dinner consisted of fettuccini with parmesan topped with browned mushrooms, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread. It was very tasty. I drank a lot of water I think because I was dehydrated. Finally, for dessert we had fresh pie that Ben's grandmother made topped with whipped cream. It was fantastic! We had some nice conversations about pets, movies, the new idiotic statue of liberty at the "World Overcomers" church near Diana and my apartment, and idiots in general. We had a really good time and we will have to have them over a couple of times in the near future. It was a good time to be had by all.

Moving on at work

2006-07-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

Today is the first day that I've felt like I actually spoke intelligently about a sub project of one I've been on since December. I feel bad for the guy hosting the calls because he somehow knows less than anyone. C and I feel that he needs to actually go to the operation to learn the projects. We've been in the operation for almost two weeks now trying to catch up and learn about this porject (thanks for that upper management). Our group, does not like to involve us until the very last minute which makes it hard for us to support whoever needs it. Our upper management does not really back us up with the sole exception of our immediate boss. He's a good guy and boss. At least this sub project is on the upswing. I'm learning a LOT in a relatively small amount of time and get this... we're actually performaing our role. I'm glad we have direction, but not too happy about the fact that we have "advisors" in our group that just don't advise. That's unfortunate.

Tonight Diana and I are going to Ben and Rebecca's house for dinner. I'm really excited and glad that we get a night off of cooking. We will definitely have to have them over a couple of times in the near future.

In other news Luna, the dog, got spayed today and we have to pick her up at 5:30PM after work. Or rather right now. Gotta go, but may continue this later. ;)

My Apartment

2006-07-17T22:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't ever posted pictures of where I live so I thought I'd do that now. Remember I just moved into this apartment June 26th, so it's still not completely done of course. This picture is the front of our apartment.

This one is right when you walk in.

Next is after you take a step down into the living room, our little bar area.

Now for a pic of the living room from the far side.

Now we take the stairs to the left of the entrance in the previous photo. Up we go, and we take the first left into the baby's room!

Directly across from the Baby's room is the master bedroom which looks like the following:

Then you take a left into our walk-in closet/bathroom which looks like this.

Next pic is of the bedroom from the far side.

Since we don't have the 3rd bedroom/office in order, I won't show it here. Finally, we go out the back sliding door.

And last, the whole back yard area.

So I hope you all enjoyed your virtual tour of my home. Stay tuned for more pictures. ;)

Feeling Better

2006-07-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling better now. My appetite is back pretty much and I'm a little less stressed. We did spend a LOT of money this weekend on a washer and dryer among other things, but at least I have my music back thanks to the temporary use of the neighbor's wireless. My hours at work are back to normal and I'm beginning to work on a new project which hopefully will go pretty smoothly and help me learn this other gigantic project I'm on. I think tomorrow is payday! SWEET and FINALLY! I'm still looking for a damn "L" shaped desk like they have at Staples, which can be found here. The only problem is that Staples signed a contract with UPS and UPS refuses to deliver this particular desk to Memphis, TN so it looks like the customer isn't always right. Oh well, I guess I'll take my money that I would have thrown their way somewhere else. That being said, is there anyone out there that has an "L" shaped desk for sale?

Side note: I'm going to start adding more pictures to my posts. I think it will make them more attractive and easier to read.

So I got Butch Walker's "The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Lets-Go-Out-Tonights" and started listening to it. So far so good... nothing amazing yet, but I guess that's why I have Aural Review. ;) Tomorrow is the start of a new week. New earnings. New and better hours.

For those of you who don't know, I'm having a baby boy due October 5, 2006 with the most wonderful woman I've ever met. Our baby's name will be Elek Owen. We're not sure about a middle name quite yet. I suppose I should get back to the main reason I got on the computer in the first place and calculate some monthly expenses. Oh what fun. "Goodnight and have a happy tomorrow."

Something's Weird

2006-07-13T20:38:00.000-05:00

So I've been working weird hours this week... 2PM to 12 midnight. I think maybe I'm a little depressed or lonely because I get to see Diana maybe 2 hours a day. I've lost my apetite and eat very little now, which is weird for me. I wonder what's going on. I've been thinking about it a little bit and the only thing I can come up with is that I haven't been able to do what I like to do in a while.

I was going to mooch off of the neighbor's internet, but I've decided to actually buy it since I want a stronger signal and faster downloads. Hopefully I can get back into my other blog called Aural Review. I kind of think that breaking that blog out of this one was a stupid idea since it's harder and more time consuming to manage two blogs than just one.

I am learning a lot at work, which is good, and makes me more of an asset to the company, though overall I'm depressed with the way things work around here. For example, recently we got our annual earnings report and we made something like 104% of our goal.. therefore our bonuses got a higher percentage so that means we get a larger bonus than last year right? Wrong. Someone thought it would be a good idea to mind trick the employees into thinking they're getting a better bonus, but they changed their obscure formula to actually pay out less than they would have last year if we had obtained the same goal. Great. I think I've decided to always speak my mind (i've done a good job so far) regardless of whose company i'm in at work. I may and probably will get in trouble, but who cares. I've already been wearing old tennis shoes to work for two months straight and now I'm at work wearing sandals. What a rebel. Anyway, I hope this feeling of being stagnant passes soon and my appetite resumes. "You have to let the world change you and then you can change the world."

I'm back.. finally

2006-07-12T10:59:00.000-05:00

Finally, after exactly 2 months I'm back to hopefully start posting again. I moved into a 1600 square foot apartment with my pregnant girlfriend June 26, 2006. She was on vacation the whole week so guess who got to move all the heavy stuff. :P We're finally moved in and pretty close to being settled. We still need to buy some more things and get everything set up the way we like it. It's been a long tiresome project, but ultimately definitely worth it. I will post pictures of the place once its finished or maybe even once I get this wireless desktop card from Nick.

The other day Ben helped me (actually he did all the work) install a $30 programmable Thermostat by Hunter. It was really simple to install and now I can program the temp whenever I want so that way we can save $ on the utility bill. I haven't gotten to program it yet because I'm working some weird hours at work.

PS does anyone have a large yard and a desire for a cute 50 pound 7 month old puppy? If so, please contact me! We have one that we want to find a good home because the ba by is coming in October and we really don't need the extra responsibility of a dog AND the dog needs someone who will pay more attention to it than we can. A yard is a big plus. Until next time, you stay classy San Diego!

Life is coming at me fast

2006-05-12T09:22:00.000-05:00

So I decided since I listen to so much music that buying an Ipod would be justifiable. My own parents even thought I already had one. So I bought a 60 gig black one that looks fantastic. I put it on the charger last night and plan on setting it up and using it today. I do need to also get a protective case, maybe some better headphones, and perhaps at some point the radio transmitter so I can use it in my car. The one thing I already have is music. I can't wait to be able to use it.. I'm sitting here at work wanting to go home so bad to get it set up.

Lately I've also been looking for an apartment with Diana. We have looked around a bit including looking at a house or two as well as duplexes and apartments. So far we like the Poplar Place apartments out near and on Kirby. If anyone has any suggestions about places to live in East Memphis between Poplar and Highland and Kirby or so, please let me know. :)

Startup School in Palo Alto, CA

2006-05-02T14:28:00.000-05:00

The whole Palo Alto/Startup School experience was absolutely AMAZING. I'm going to try to relive it day by day.

Day 1, 4/28/06
I arrived in San Francisco, CA at roughly 11:00AM. After I got off the plane and collected my checked bag, I took the airport shuttle to the BART connection. I got on the BART to go to Millbrae where I met Nick and Doug. I had to rush to get a ticket for the CALtrain so I could continue to Palo Alto, CA which is south of San Francisco. I love their public transportation there! About 25 minutes later we were walking down El Camino Real to our first hotel. This was a nice hotel. $260 a weeknight nice. After putting our stuff down, we decided to walk about 2.5 miles to Fry's, an electronics store. It's like a Best Buy, only bigger, better, and cheaper with more electronics. By the time we got back, it was almost time for the reception at Y Combinator for some selected startup school attendees. They served free beer, wine, salmon, cookies, etc. There were many people there, none of which Nick or I knew.

There were several metal robots there, one of which was basically a copy of human legs. The operator set something and then would gently push the robot in one direction and the robot would shift its feet in order to keep its balance. There was a homemade segway there that we both got to ride. Now I really want one. I didn't even attempt to ride the unicycle segway.. I may have killed someone.

While we didn't know anyone there, we did happen to meet Aaron Swartz who helps the Reddit guys and has his own website called Infogami. We also met a guy named Vinnie Lauria of Meetro.com. Meetro is a creative location aware instant messaging program. That night we rode the train back to Palo Alto and then hung out with him among others. We went to a Sushi Bar where whenever a group of people wanted to do a shot, they would all stand up in their chairs with one person leading, shouting "Sake!" and then the rest yelling "Bomb!" three times and then they drank. The energy in that place was awesome.

Later we went to a bar called Nola's across the street from the Cardinal which is where we stayed my third night. We made it back to the hotel and fell asleep.

Day 2, 4/29/06
This was startup school day. We woke up early and walked to the Stanford campus to the location of the presentations. They went on from 9AM to 5PM roughly. It was a long day. The notes for what happened at startup school can be found here. After that day Nick and I worked on Scenefoo a little, got something to eat at a good Thai restaurant, and then went to sleep.

Day 3, 4/30/06
We woke up early and got something to eat at the University Cafe which was pretty good in my opinion. After that Nick and I decided to go into San Francisco via train to see the city. We saw the city all right. We walked about 7 miles that day from the baseball stadium down to Fisherman's Warf. There we saw these seals that were just sunning themselves and play fighting.

We ate above them in a seal cafe where we could also see Alcatraz in the distance. Luckily we were able to catch the trolley about two blocks from there and ride it back to the train station where we took the train all the way back to Palo Alto. Vinnie texted us and invited us over to drink some beer at the Meetro Headquarters. We accepted and walked about 10 blocks over there. The Meetro crew was just hanging out in front of their place with a sign that said "Beer 10 cents" so we paid and drank.

We talked for a long time, traded stories, bought more beer, and rode in their rickshaw. We had a great time talking about ideas, what Nick and I have been working on, Meetro, the future of the internet startup world among other things. At one point an employee of google came over from across the street to hang out. At about 10:30PM we decided to go and to keep in touch with the Meetro guys. I left the next day around 12 noon.

The overall experience of Palo Alto was a truly inspirational one. Hanging out with people that have similar ideas, experiences, backgrounds, and interests was one that does not happen often at all at least in Memphis. I truly hope I can arrange to visit again, possibly move out there.. where it's a perfect 68 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Impeach the President?

2006-04-26T10:28:00.000-05:00

Apparently there have been three states thus far that are starting to build cases to impeach the president of the United States. Notice it's not the united federal government of America. I'm surprised and relieved that this country can manage to at least start a change for the good. In this article, it says that Vermont has joined Illinois and California state legislatures in discussion about impeaching our current president. It is refreshing to me.. very much so.. to see this kind of response to actions (in my humble opinion) that are just wrong and evil. I've been told that I'm a pessimist at times. This is true. But I'm also trying to move myself more towards a realist. It's better on that side of the fence.

SceneFoo

2006-04-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

SceneFoo is finally online, but it's not available for testing yet. It's coming along pretty well and I'm hoping within a month we'll be able to have alpha testing. :D There is still plenty to be done before that point, but the good thing is that we're still moving forward! Peace out.

Startup School

2006-04-14T13:29:00.000-05:00

I bought my ticket today for Startup School. San Francisco, here I come!

Indie CD and Things You Should Read

2006-04-10T09:50:00.000-05:00

First off, the Indie CD that I put together is finally posted at my other blog: Aural Review. Please let me know what you think.

Secondly, there are two articles that everyone should be aware of. The first is an article written by Bill Moyers. The second is an article about the certain collapse of America. These are really interesting things to think about. If you have a second, educate yourself.

Gearing Up

2006-04-07T16:11:00.000-05:00

I'm gearing up to post the Indie music CD that I'm trying to put together. I have all of these sources and have been gathering potential songs for about a month now. I'm narrowing them down currently and I will put them in order then post them online and list the tracks and the bands' websites on my blog. I can't wait and I hope you can't either.

Linux Smartphones

2006-04-03T12:19:00.000-05:00

My roommate, Chris, and I recently stumbled across this linux driven phone developed by this company in China called E28 Limited. The phone is called E28 Hawk and it has just about everything. This phone is able to switch back and forth between GSM (standard cellular network) and Wifi (wireless internet, using VoIP). It's a truly innovative phone that has been missing here in the United States. Cingular was supposed to pick up the E2800 model a couple years ago, but I'm pretty sure that deal fell through. You can read more information on E28's website or in this article on LinuxDevices.com.

Primer

2006-03-28T11:02:00.000-06:00

Primer is an independent film that won both the Grand Jury Award and the Alfred P. Sloan Award at the 2004 Sundance film festival. I was introduced to this movie last night by my roommate Chris. It starts up a little slow. You are introduced to the main cast consisting of four friends who all have full time jobs, but have been taking turns trying to come up with a business idea that will take off. So far, none of the ideas have been winners. They spend an extra 30 hours a week doing experiments in the garage of a generic house in an unnamed town. One day the two main characters Aaron and Abe make an astonishing discovery in the garage. They must decide how to use the device they invented and then how to deal with the consequences of using it.

The actors' dialog was excellent in that it sounded like they were actually talking. This movie was definitely worth seeing. The end becomes difficult to follow which warrants watching it multiple times. Apparently out of the 80 total minutes shot for the movie, only 4 were cut out. That's one hell of a good ratio. I give this movie a 8/10 for it's dialog, budget, and intelligence. Primer is no action or comedy movie, it is for the mind.

WORK!

2006-03-23T12:33:00.000-06:00

I have been so busy this week. I can see how some people can't just leave work at work and go home when they know they've worked enough. I have started to do that lately. Letting things go for a while never killed anyone (I don't think). I get about a 30 minute break today because I created it, not because I don't have anything to do. So much stuff to do that its ridiculous. THat's about it.. I'd rather spend my break not writing this blog. ;)

Indie Music CD

2006-03-20T18:09:00.000-06:00

I am currently looking through as much of the internet as I can get my hands on in order to put together an indie CD of maybe 17 songs or so. I will post a link to this CD for your enjoyment on this and maybe the other blog as well. I am really looking forward to it. I have gotten about 24 songs so far, but I want to get about 40 so I can narrow them down to the best. Hopefully I'll be done with this in about a month or maybe before. I am looking everyday. :)

Busy Yet Bored

2006-03-20T17:52:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been too busy to write on this blog, but not busy enough to not be bored at times. I still don't know how that works. So this is just going to be my current mind dump. I got my KVM switch and it's working fine for my Slackware server and my PC at home. I'm working on securing my lniux box and have implemented several things, yet I realized there's really nothing on it to protect... yet. I have been busy trying to write a good review of a new album by Dave Doobinin on my other blog http://auralreview.blogspot.com/. I am just about half way through with In Search of Schrodinger's Cat: Quantum Physics and Reality, but it, too, is a little boring at times. One of the main things I can count on to NOT be boring is my girlfriend, Diana.

I have decided to dual boot my PC at home AND my work laptop to both Windows and Linux. Slackware on my work laptop and Ubuntu on my home PC as soon as the new one comes out. That might keep me busy for a while. I still keep up my routine of going to work out 3 times a week. I think I may want to start going to a coffee house with my work pc so I can work on linux, my server, and my work work at the coffee house. Of course they have to have free internet.. so this limits it to two places that I'm aware of in Memphis. Java Cabanna or Atlanta Bread company. We shall see what will come of this. Until then, check out my other blog. I listen to music until I get sick of it just about daily. You never know what you're going to find.

-Pro

Our government/economy is destined to collapse

2006-03-14T15:16:00.000-06:00

You heard it here first (maybe). Our government or economy is set for a crash unless those who are greedy and in power do something about it. This won't happen. It's depressing. Too bad money, oil, and greed run this country incorrectly I might add. Every empire in the past has come to its collapsing point. They reach their peak and then begin to fall. Do you think it's any coincidence that the Euro has gained so much on the dollar? Do you think it's happenstance that arabic banks have started changing their money from the US Dollar. I think not. I think it all means something and I think that we should be prepared. I keep getting really bad feelings about the United States. I read an article today about how the federal government won't be able to pay off its debt unless we do something... how is this even possible? We keep spending... but on what? I haven't seen any money go to schools, roads, public anything. I believe power should be shifted back to the states since our name is the United States of America, and not the federal government of america. The government's job is to serve the people, not exploit them. Though I supposed pretty much every government has had to exploit the weak and the poor in order to gain more money and power themselves. Why should the supposed best country in the world be any different? The masses are too fat, happy, apathetic, and selfish to change anything. I think for this reason that the US of A will spiral downward towards a collapse. Even Alan Greenspan retired... I think the economy just about killed the poor guy. There are plenty of signs and there are few options. I don't know if we can make it to the next presidential election. May God have mercy on our souls and our corrupt country.

Trip to Beaufort, SC

2006-03-13T09:03:00.000-06:00

It has been yet another week with no blog. Surprising since when I first started this, I was doing almost two a day. I recently took a trip with my girlfriend, Diana, to see my Dad in Beaufort, SC. I didn't even know how much I needed a vacation until I was on it. I shuffled some hours around last week so that I could leave at about noon Wed. 3/8/06. I went home, ate lunch, and packed. Nick picked us up at a little before 3PM so we could catch our Delta flight. Diana apparently hates flying. Luckily we made it fine to Savannah, GA (about one hour away from Beaufort) at about 9PM. My stepmom, Kay, and my Dad picked us up at the airport and we talked for the hour it took us to get to their house.

My dad had a guest house built and barely finished before we got there. The guest house sits back and to the right on the property and includes a single car garage, a small workshop for my Dad's woodworking tools, and a guest suite with a kitchenette. The colors are French, blue and yellow, which make the guest suite look bright, happy, and open. There are many windows in the guest room as well which also adds to the openness.

Wed. night we pretty much got there and unpacked, then went to bed. Thursday morning I had to wake up at 6:30AM to do some work for about 4 hours. This was extremely frustrating considering that my Dad's internet connection kept cutting out since their ISP Hargray is horrible in their area and can't keep a connection. By the way Hargray, it's not CLIENT SIDE you IDIOTS. INCOMPETENT PEOPLE THAT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THOSE WHO KNOW LESS BY TELLING THEM IT'S THEIR FAULT MAKE ME SICK. That being said, I had to 'borrow' the neighbor's wireless. Their wireless wasn't very strong in my Dad's house so thanks to the new and "better" asset management software hogging all the bandwidth, I got cutt offline probably 10 times until it was finally done making my life a living hell. After that things went smoothly. Once I was done with the work, I helped my Dad clean up his office for a new desk so I could set up his computer. While I was doing all this work, I felt bad for Diana who had to entertain herself for countless hours, but I knew I had to work and I'm pretty sure she knew when I asked her to come, though I dunno if either of us knew how much I had to work. Luckily that day we got to take a couple of walks, one to the big dock and one to the smaller one. Later that night we took a car down to Beaufort's downtown area. We ate at a restaurant called Panini's. It was alright, but my lasagna was a little over cooked. There were plenty of shops to take a look in after we ate.

Friday I worked again in the morning setting up my Dad's new office fruniture and computer... then I finally got to a near completion stopping point and Diana and I went to the beach. On the way we stopped at a small seafood restaurant and got fried pickle spears and chicken fingers. The chicken fingers weren't exactly cooked all the way through and I ate a whole one. This made us both lose our appetite. After they took those off the bill and we paid, we continued to the beach. We walked up and down the beach without shoes collecting shells along the way. It was extremely windy that day and a little overcast. We both had on light jackets to shield us from the wind and the sand that it carried. After we collected enough shells, we headed back to the homestead. A little later that night we grilled out steak and greens. That was a great dinner. It was hard to believe that we would be leaving the next day.

Saturday morning we woke up and ate corn pancakes which were quite good. We also got to take a boat ride and check a crab trap to see how many were in it. This day it was very sunny and much less windy than the day before, though the boat ride was still bumpy. We got to see an old plantation house which was very cool. I took my Yashica camera with me so I could get some good black and white pictures. This was one of them. This reminds me... I hope that putting the camera through the Xray machine didn't destroy the film. Oh well, a little late to worry too much about that now. After we got back, we packed and headed out about 1PM to Savannah, GA where we ate lunch and drove around to see all the pretty squares in the downtown area. We also walked along the touristy area on the riverbank so Diana could do a bit of shopping. After a couple of hours, my Dad dropped us off at the airport so that we could come home. We each checked a bag and waited for our flight.

The two flights home were much better than the two going to Savannah, GA. Delta seemed to sense our bad flights and tried to make up for it this time. The flights were fine, but Delta promptly lost our baggage and didn't bother to tell us. We had to go to the window and wait in line to give them our information. This consequently bumped Chris over the free 30 minute time frame for short term parking. Delta says they don't have anything to do with parking and parking said the same thing about Delta when we asked if we could get the ticket validated. Funny thing they're both at the airport. It being completely Delta's fault that we went over the 30 minute time limit, I don't see why they couldn't pay for the parking. Fortunately we got our bags yesterday and they, and everything in them, smell of jet fuel. Thanks Delta.

I don't know what it is about me and companies/corporations, but it seems they always try to screw me (Delta, Airtran, Cingular, Sprint, Buy.com, Time Warner, MLGW to list a few). I guess it's fitting that I am currently employed by one. I really enjoyed the trip and I'm very glad that Diana got to go with me. It leads to a less stressful work week.

AOL Opens up AIM Code

2006-03-06T09:53:00.000-06:00

When I saw this article on Slashdot, I must say I got pretty excited. According to Red Herring,AOL is releasing AIM's code, which will provide developers with the code they need to interact with the AIM servers. I'm hoping we will be able to see many many more features on these newly developed instant messenging programs. It makes me want to make my own.. or act on an idea I had earlier with Nick. We will see what happens.. but hooray for open source!

Watching a DVD on your Computer

2006-03-04T14:31:00.000-06:00

Watching a DVD on your computer may not be as easy as it sounds. I have been frustrated year after year of all of this software that comes with DVDs to supposedly let you watch it on your computer. All of this software is half assed and my computer has crashed so many times when trying to view a DVD that I bought. I think that it's a load of crap that you cannot watch a DVD you bought on your or any computer. The reason you need this software is because the DVDs are encrypted with CSS (Content Scrambling System). The DeCSS is the program needed to decrypt the DVDs, but is not available free because the people who created CSS wants you to use hardware to play the movie so they could receive royalties on it. Crock of shit. Anyway, now you don't have to have non free software or hardware to play DVDs on your computer. This program is called DVD43. It runs in your background and recognizes when you put a DVD in and will decrypt everything allowing you to watch the DVD in a multitude of media players. While it's not the ideal solution, it's still one that works. Hope you enjoy.

Ultraviolet

2006-03-04T10:58:00.000-06:00

Last night the movie Ultraviolet opened. I agreed quite some time ago to see it with Lofidelity at the Paradiso. So we gathered some friends and prepared to be awed by action. It turns out the only thing worse than the acting was the script they were reading. Ultraviolet was THE worst movie I have ever seen in my life and I have seen some horrible ones. The action was not even that good and that is the reason we went to see it in the first place. Everything you have ever heard that made you cringe because it was so corny in other movies was conveniently packed into this one half assed action movie. Ultraviolet is 88 minutes of pure shit. Do not waste your money on this movie like I did.
Rating: 1/10 (The 1 is because I don't see how they could possibly even put this movie out. The fact that they did means they know something I don't.)

Comedy on the Web

2006-02-26T13:00:00.000-06:00

In a previous post called Comedy Shorts, I briefly mentioned two websites. One was Channel101.com and the other was Channel102.net. They have some funny skits on there such as The 'Bu, Dick Richards, Private Dick, Wastelander, Locked in a Closet, and more. After watching The 'Bu, and then seeing Andy Sandberg on Saturday Night Live, I was interested to find more of his skits. Today Nick IMed me with a link to a video in which there was a link to thelonelyisland.com. How interesting. It seems these three guys have started really making names for themselves from Andy Samberg performing on SNL to Akiva directing two of the videos from We Are Scientists. Who would have thought?! Anyway, keep these three in mind because I think they can only get bigger and funnier with more direction.

Indie Music and Aural Review

2006-02-26T10:58:00.000-06:00

I decided that I need another blog to keep track of the music that I really like and/or want to review. This way I can remember what I've heard and what I thought of it easily. There are so many bands out there that it's pretty hard to keep track of them all, especially when you listen to as much music as I do. The address of my new blog is: http://auralreview.blogspot.com/ so write it down. ;) I'm going to try to do up to 3 reviews a week if possible, but I may slack off a little. So far I like the format because it's pretty simple, but if you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks for reading.

Microsoft Genuine Advantage

2006-02-25T11:27:00.000-06:00

This article is specifically to tell you how to disable Microsoft Genuine Advantage. You know, the software that doesn't allow you to check for updates without verifying your CD key on the Microsoft Update site. So here we go...
First, you must navigate using Internet Explorer of course to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/. Once you get past installing whatever things you need to get to the page that has two buttons on it that say:
"Express"
"Custom"
You need to paste the following code in your browser's address bar and hit enter:
javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')
This turns off the trigger for the key check. Once you've done that you're home free.
On a closing note, Internet Explorer is awful. Please consider using Firefox for all of your browsing needs that don't include Microsoft Sites. Thank you and good day.

Beaufort, SC

2006-02-24T12:45:00.000-06:00

I found my dad a new computer courtesy of Dell.com. He promptly ordered it the other day and now I have scheduled a trip down to Beaufort, SC with my girlfriend, Diana, to see him and to set up his new Dell. We are leaving Wed. afternoon March 8, 2006 and returning Saturday March 11, 2006. The weird thing is that he's run out of hard drive space on his old machine.. not to mention it's so very slow. He will be blown away by this new one.

One must always remember that the FIRST thing you need to do if you buy a pre built computer is to format the hard drive. Yes that's right... erase the whole thing because there is no telling how much CRAP is on there. That way you can control exactly what goes on your computer. That is the first thing I plan on doing, getting rid of all the bloated software.

The trip itself should be fun with boat riding, fishing, and eating good seafood which Diana hates. This should be fun. He has a guest house that is currently being completed so I think we will be the first to actually stay in it which is exciting. I wonder if he thought to run ethernet out there... somehow I doubt it, though he does have wireless. I'm excited about it and hope the flights are better than my recent trip to Philadelphia, PA.

Oh, Crap!

2006-02-23T13:35:00.000-06:00

This topic isn't all that deep or inspiring, though it can be at times. I was just thinking, what is the ONE thing you don't want to happen when you're in a stall at work? You don't want anyone to know that it's you. You don't want coworkers to be able to identify you in a stall by your shoes, grunting, coughing, talking, or any other identifiable trait. And most of all, you don't want to be associated with your length of time it takes, stentch, grunting, straining, shouting, sighs of relief, or any other audible noises. Most of the time, none of this is a problem at all. But every once in a while there comes the guy that you thank God that you aren't. He's identifiable by most of, if not all, of the above mentioned items. Not to mention the king of all giveaways... he drops his ID Badge face up and readable just about in your stall and takes his time picking it up. Every day I'm so glad that I'm not that guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Act One, an Indie Memphis Film

2006-02-22T13:39:00.000-06:00

Tuesday Feb. 21, I went to see Act One at the Studio on the Square. It is an local Memphis, TN independent film from East Memphis' filmmaking collective Old School Pictures. It got 3 stars from film critic John Beifuss in the Commercial Appeal. Act One also won an award at the Indie Memphis film awards as documented by Chris Herrington of the Memphis Flyer.

Basically this movie is a Comedy (with a little Drama) about a guy who wants to be a writer and uses his own life experiences to help him write a script that will be made into a movie. He's from Memphis, TN, but has moved out to California to be a writer. I thought all in all this movie was a 4/5 when it comes to Indie Memphis films. The first 3/4ths of it was better than the last 4th. Be that as it may, I would definitely recommend going to see it.

West Philadelphia, Born and Raised

2006-02-21T13:21:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I've blogged.. one week exactly, but that was because I was getting ready to go visit Joel and Ally west of Philadelphia this past weekend. I took two days off work and visited them from Feb. 17-20. It was a lot of fun. I got to see the house they're renting from Ally's Dad and Uncle. It used to be her grandparents house before they passed away. It has 2 floors not including the basement. The second floor is unfinished and the basement needs some repairs, but the main floor is in great condition. They have a dog named Macy that is a small, yet vocal dog who will bark at you for about 8 hours before she gets used to you.

I flew Airtran because they have cheap tickets and let me tell you 3 out of 4 of my flights were late because of the weather. That was just sad, but at least I didn't have to spend the night in ATL. I arrived Friday at about 6:20 PM or so and Ally picked me up from the airport. We got to their house about 7 and Joel was already home. He has to commute 1.5 hours EACH WAY to work in New Jersey. And you thought your commute was bad. That night we went out to a pub that Joel and Ally go to every Friday night. It's a little weird that despite the fact that they've been going there for months, the people there still don't know them.

The next morning I woke up around 9:30 or so and Ally made us chocolate chip pancakes! They were awesome. We decided to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. You know, the one where Rocky runs up the long set of stairs in front like the winner he is. They had a large selection of art from various artists including Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, and many many others. There was also a pretty cool photography exhibit on the first floor. That tired us out a little, so we went back to their house to eat sandwiches. That night we went out to a couple of bars in another suburb/college part of Philly. They were alright, but I'm glad I don't have to be in crowded places like that. Good times.

The next day was Sunday and right after we woke up, we went to watch Georgetown get whooped by Bella Vista in basketball thanks to Allyson's dad, who then took us out to lunch with Graham, Ally's little brother, and her mother. We went to an Italian place that was awesome! After that meal, we went back to Joel and Ally's house to rest a while and we ended up watching Guess Who, which I thought was pretty funny, but not nearly as good as The Butterfly Effect. Sunday night we decided not to go out and to watch some of the Olympics and snack some since we were all too full to eat a meal.

Monday morning Joel had to wake up at 5 AM to get to work a little early and Ally and I woke up about 8 AM so she could take me to the airport. Unfortunately my flight had been delayed and I didn't check before we left so I had plenty of time to finish my book The Love of the Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was a pretty good book, but I liked The Great Gatsby better.

All in all, I had a really good time and I'm glad I got a chance to see Joel and Ally's place and to visit Philadelphia. Hopefully I can go back and visit their beach house in the summer!

Politically Enlightened

2006-02-14T09:53:00.000-06:00

Today I was fortunate enough to run across an article about a man named Mark Warner, a former governor of Virginia who lives in New Hampshire. This led me to talk about the Democrats' counter-State of the Union address by Tim Kaine with Ben. We both agreed that we just want a president with good morals and some sense. It doesn't mean he or she has to be black, white, purple, Democrat, or Republican as long as whoever s/he is has common sense and stands firm for something that is important to us all. I am, by nature, a very logical person and the current administration is severely lacking that quality. Here is an excerpt from the speech:

"No matter what political philosophy you hold, or what state you call home, you have a right to expect that your government can deliver results. When there’s a crime or fire, you expect that police and firefighters have the tools to respond. When there’s a natural disaster, you expect a well-managed response. When you send your children to school, you expect them to be prepared for success. And, you have a right to expect government to be fiscally responsible, pay the bills and live within its means.

Tonight, we heard the President again call to make his tax policies permanent, despite his Administration’s failure to manage our staggering national debt. Over the past five years, we’ve gone from huge surpluses to massive deficits. No parent makes their child pay the mortgage. Why should we allow this Administration to pass down the bill for its reckless spending to our children and grandchildren?"

I believe that this speaks directly to what I have been complaining about recently about the attitude of our current administration. It seems to me, the attitude is one of "let the next generation figure it out". For a couple of examples, take a look at Social Security and the environment.

I am hoping that Tim Kaine runs for the Democratic candidate in the next election. He is the first Democrat or Republican I have heard of that has said, "There’s a better way. Two years ago in Virginia, Democrats and Republicans worked together to reform our budget." 'Democrats and Republicans' is the important part. I think, as he says, that it's time for a change. With all of the progress he, other Democrats, and Republicans have been able to make in the state of Virginia, he would be an excellent candidate.

New Music

2006-02-13T15:39:00.000-06:00

I'm thinking about posting a new music blog every once in a while (once every week or two) and including some sample songs for those who want to hear. They will only be online for about a week and there will be a maximum of 25 downloads using YouSendIt.com. Perhaps I'll start this next week or so, but stay tuned for more. ;)

More Respect for George Clooney

2006-02-10T17:53:00.000-06:00

I never thought that an actor turned writer/director could be so politically charged, ready and willing to make a difference. I guess I would then have to say that George Clooney is my new hero. After reading this article and this article on George Clooney, I found a man who is refreshingly using his influence for the greater good. Making movies to educate the general public that always seems like they're in a trance. Clooney is who I want to be like. Extraordinary. Two movies he has been involved in creating are Goodnight and Goodluck as well as Syriana.

Screw MLGW

2006-02-07T17:31:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, MLGW (Memphis Light Gas and Water) is THE utility company in Memphis, TN. They provide electricity, gas, and water for an excessive fee. MLGW is a somehow legal monopoly supported by the City of Memphis. I'm sure this is normal along with the money laundering that goes on through them. (Yay for our Mayor Willie Herenton!) In the past when I have tried to switch the utilities to my name since my roommates moved out, I was threatened multiple times that if I did not pay my bill on time they would cut off my utilities and charge me a $200 deposit. Up until that point I had never been late with one bill or a customer of MLGW. I'm glad they welcomed my business and treat their customers with respect, otherwise I would have gone to their competitors.

Now that you know who or what MLGW is, you should also know that they have been jacking up the price on heat during the winter supposedly due to the increased demand. Outrageous utlity bills are quite usual here in the midsouth. Well, my roommate and I received a bill for about $140 last month which was double our highest bill in the summer of about $70. We did not even turn on the heat that much and took the time to turn it off during the night and while we were gone during the day. Chris, my roommate, and I just said screw it and he switched the heat off which is where it has been ever since. We each have a small electric heater in our room that neither of us really use that much. (It causes a short when we use it and the microwave. Thanks again MLGW and faulty, old wiring! But that's another story.) We just received this month's utility bill and low and behold it was $67. We cut that murf in half back to where it was. We are not only ecstatic about getting a lower bill and damning the man, but we also offer hope to those that still have exorbitant utility bill. Our actions set an example and also lower the average cost of gas by 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%. Pretty sweet deal huh? In conclusion, screw MLGW and the horse that they stole to ride in on!

Philly Here I Come

2006-02-07T08:43:00.000-06:00

I'm going to visit Joel and Allyson Smith, some college friends, in Philadelphia, PA 2/17/06 - 2/20/06. It should be a lot of fun. Unfortunately I don't qualify for a discounted plane ticket through work yet. I have to work here for 6 months (March 16th) for a discount on Airtran tickets and 1 year (Sept. 16th, '07) for American Airlines. That was somewhat of a disappointment the other day when I went to get my ticket here at the WHQ. Oh well. I bought a ticket off of Airtran for around $250 with the "web special". Not too bad. I'm hoping my travel goes off without a hitch, but I have had travel troubles in the past such as missing my flight from Dallas to Seattle and having to wait in the airport for 12 hours. That was just sad.

Super Bowl Party

2006-02-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

So we're having a small get together for the superbowl even though we only have bunny ears to watch TV with. I stand by my decision not to pay for cable TV and subsequently the commercials they put on it. Anywho we're going to grill out and everyone should be bringing something so it should be good times. I invited our neighbor Mitch who while seemingly a little shy at first seems like a pretty cool guy. Our other neighbor that keeps calling the police on us is not invited. I hope he stubs his toe. For Zach and the party I bought 3 5ths of Panama Jack rum that was on sale at Buster's yesterday. Good deal me thinks. Now it's time to clean my room, do some work for a while, and take a shower. Enjoy the superbowl and the commercials.

Another Ebay Update

2006-02-05T01:44:00.000-06:00

Yay! My Yashica T4 Super D Camera has been bid on two more times on Ebay.com and is at $50.04 with 5 days remaining. Awesome. :)

The RIAA

2006-02-03T10:01:00.000-06:00

The RIAA sued yet another person who is obviously innocent of downloading music illegally. This time it was a woman in Brooklyn, New York who has never bought, owned, or used a computer in her life. Way to go RIAA.

Music, Who Buys It?

2006-02-01T18:36:00.000-06:00

I do! I love music especially obscure bands that aren't well known yet. For example, I bought 4 CDs recently off of Amazon.com. I'm really lucky they even had them all. Their titles are as follows:

Jens Lekman - Oh You're So Silent Jens

David Mead - Indiana

Dirty on Purpose - Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow

The Cloud Room - The Cloud Room

I absolutely love music and will do anything to listen to it.

Yashica T4 35mm Camera on Ebay

2006-02-01T13:26:00.000-06:00

Last night with the help of Chris I put my extra Yashica T4 Super D camera on Ebay. This is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras ever made. It was discontinued a few years ago and therefore is somewhat sought after by professionals and amateurs alike. We listed it for 10 days and as of a few hours ago it already had one bid. I've never really seen a 10 day listing get one bid in less than 24 hours of listing unless the item is in real demand. I tried to wait and put it on Ebay when there were only a couple listings of similar cameras. We'll see if I can get what I hope to get out of it.

Google's Stock

2006-02-01T09:31:00.000-06:00

Google's stock plunged about 20% yesterday and today merely for the fact that it did not meet its analysts' goals for the quarter. I don't know about you, but I'd love to have enough money to invest in it as soon as it levels off, which may be quite soon. I'm sure it will rebound up to its former height "with the quickness" as a friend of mine used to say. It must have been a sad day for those who owned Google stock, but hopefully they'll make the best of it and buy more while it's low. Maybe I want to be an investor when I grow up. I've definitely thought about it, but need to learn about it and such.

Music Discovery

2006-02-01T09:18:00.000-06:00

I read an article that compares Last.fm and Pandora.com which are two online streaming music sites. The article states that these two sites accomplish roughly the same thing by providing a streaming internet radio station to the end user, but that they both have their pros and cons. It's an interesting article because it tells you how each service gets to the point of suggesting new songs for the user. Personally, I like Pandora.com better because it tends to recommend more obscure music and I love obscure music. I wouldn't really say anyone else has exactly the same taste in music as I do. On the other hand, Last.fm could provide me songs that others with similar tastes to mine enjoy. I really need to check out both and continue to use both until one proves better than the other. The article which I highly recommend you read comes to the conclusion that Pandora.com will be better in the long run considering that it can implement the Last.fm strategy easier than the other way around. What do you think?

Party and Ebay

2006-01-30T14:24:00.000-06:00

So the party this weekend was a success, except for the fact that our neighbor yelled obscenities out of his window at us. Apparently he sleeps with his window open even when it's absolute zero outside. He's done this before and called the cops AND our management without asking us to quiet down. The thing is that we make people go outside to smoke and they talk. Nothing was rambunctious or anything, but apparently it warranted him yelling obscenities, calling the cops and our management again AND chewing out Chris after he went over there to tell him that all he has to do is ask and we'll make people go inside. What a jackass. So the cops showed up with only Chris and me sitting on the front porch in silence. Our neighbor went up to them and started talking to them etc. Then it was our turn to talk to them. The cops said since they didn't see anything like what our neighbor said that it technically didn't happen. We told them the situation and he said it was pretty childish (which it is) and we apologized for wasting their time and asked how we could avoid things of this nature in the future. He told us to stay away from our neighbor since he may be crazy (i'm leaning toward this) and that it's ok if people are smoking outside, but to keep the noise level at a minimum. Next, we get to talk to our management.
In conclusion, I hate how our neighbor acts.

I'm going to put 2 things for sale on Ebay. One is one of the best point and shoot film cameras ever made and the other is a decked out Dell Laptop. I'm hoping I can sell the first for around $100 and the second for around $1,000. I need Chris' help in this as I don't have an Ebay seller's account. I don't like that fact that they keep all of your information on a central server which I'm sure isn't very secure. I hope my laptop at least goes for several hundred so I don't end up losing everything I put into it.

Google and the Oil Companies

2006-01-27T13:16:00.000-06:00

Lately Google has been in the news several times. Once they were in the news for refusing to give the overbearing government random information about searches for pornography. You can't tell me the government wouldn't take a foothold and exploit it. Anywho, the other reason Google has been in the news is because they agreed to censor information that they provide to China. This is the only way they could continue to be accessed by people in China since their government controls all of the gateways in China. Google usually takes the high road.. but I don't know about this time. Their stock should probably fall a bit.

The oil companies are at it again with records profits.... again. The American public thinks that there is an oil shortage and OMG that's why prices are so high.... well think again. First off there is no oil shortage to the extent that it would raise prices this high and secondly how would the oil companies be making record profits if there really was an oil shortage. Lastly, if there was really an oil shortage and you hear it in the news the shortage doesn't actually reach America for quite some time. The only reason gas prices would raise immediately is because of the people fearing that it will run out. This stuff makes me go insane. Stupidity of people in large groups. Arg!

Partay

2006-01-27T12:50:00.000-06:00

Tonight there's a party for our friend Ryan (Spaceman Spiff) on MySpace. I don't know how much longer he'll be in town, but he's definitely coming back for the summer. He'll be attending the U of M this coming fall. It's a byob party and there will be plenty of fun to be had.

Finally work has lightened and next week I'm sure I won't have too much to do. In other work news, I will be able to do some project management work on the new scanner manuals that have to be updated for the new scanner models that are currently being deployed. So hopefully this will give me some good experience. I really can't wait to have some sort of permanent responsibility other than helping (incompetent) Don out. (His name has been changed to protect the innocent, but the story is real.) Today I think I'm going to get to leave shortly after a conference call at 1PM. We will see. Yay!

Tonight I am also taking Diana out on a date. It should be fun, though I'm not sure where we're going yet. I will be going over to her place beforehand to run around with her puppies who are the cutest puppies I've ever seen in my life. I'll have to take some pictures and post them online pretty soon.

The News and Training

2006-01-19T08:31:00.000-06:00

These two topics have nothing to do with each other really. Anyway, I'll start with training.. I've been in training all this week learning how to use a tool called Quality Center and Quick Test Professional. These two tools are provided by Mercury and provide a way to keep track of business specifications and link them to specific tests of a certain GUI. The Quick Test Professional is designed similar to Visual Basic and allows you to record and test certain features in your GUI. Of course you can add variables, if then statements, etc. This tool really makes testing easy. We're just now getting into the good stuff and it comes really easy to me since I have a background in programming.

Ok, so to the news and what I think about it. Today I read that Iran is basically cornered as far as the United States, France, Germany, etc. wanting them to cease enrichment of uranium for the fear that they may be trying to produce nuclear weapons even though they have said again and again that they just want it for nuclear power. We (those countries mentioned above) have threatened economic sanctions against Iran (4th largest producer of oil in the world) and if that happens, then the world's oil prices will skyrocket. I mean even the talk of it has made gas prices jump the last couple of weeks. Russia offered to enrich Iran's uranium for them which to me seems like a compromise that should be considered. If I were Iran, I would be sick of these other countries telling me what to do. It seems that no one ever puts themselves in the shoes of those they are speaking to anymore. If talk about future gas price hikes can create one itself, then I would hate to see the actual economic damage that would come from Iran cutting us off from their oil. Then again it's completely our fault for not coming up with more environmental friendly solutions to personal transportation. Even the efficiency of the car has been hindered in order to keep those with influence with the oil companies in power and control. Greed has really taken over this nation to a point just about beyond repair. I've started to feel ashamed of being part of this country and what the powers that be are doing. Really, it's sad. That's my rant on oil for now. Stay tuned for more later. ;)

US Senate

2006-01-14T16:27:00.000-06:00

So I was told about this woman running for US Senate against Harold Ford Jr. since Frist wasn't going up for reelection. Her name is Rosalind Kurita. I believe that she has some interesting ideas and the only idea that I do not necessarily agree with on her website is about the "war on terror". You and I should know that there cannot be a "war" on terror since terror isn't a country and congress has not declared war. That being said, I have to say that everything else covered on her website in the issues section falls under what I feel is important and what should be addressed. I don't like being uneducated about candidates running in an election, especially when I may be voting for one or the other. I recently decided to check out each candidate's website and cmopare them issue by issue. I started at Kurita's website. I read the entire issues section and then decided that to be fair I would read Harold Ford Jr.'s website since my mother seems to be a supporter of his for one reason or another. Well, it turns out that in Harold Ford Jr.'s issues section, which I find to be the most important section on a candidate's website, is "coming soon". He does, however, have a blog on blogger.com. I found this blog to be next to worthless in my quest to find out if Harold Ford Jr. is a good candidate. It's mostly finger pointing.

Now here I sit wondering what kind of candidate one is and only having read the other's website. Luckily, I may get to talk to or at least see Kurita at an event in Memphis. I'm really looking forward to this. I know almost next to nothing about politics and I have never been interested because I have seen so much corruption and greed that it gives me no hope that there can be a straight and intelligent candidate for any position. I think I would like to be more involved. At least to know which candidate I should give my support to and perhaps in the future I can make some sort of impact for the better.

The Book Boat

2006-01-11T14:29:00.000-06:00

There's a lot of money to be made in books. Well at least that's what a friend told me. He has created his own book buying and reselling business that could theoretically be perfect for him and his partner. (Business, not gay/sexual) They even create competition that drives down prices which is why we all love this country. Their creation is the Book Boat. They visit colleges around Nashville, TN and buy books off of students for more than the bookstore or the creepy man in the van will pay. This is good for the students and for them, but bad for the creepy van guy and the schools.

Allow me to retell the tale of their book buying adventures. Once upon a time (several months ago) when people were finishing their classes at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN there appeared the regular sketchy guy in a van who buys books. No one expected to see what came behind him. A medium sized sail boat with music blaring and a captain and his mate aboard. Eyes began to stare in wonder at the towering boat. That first day few ventured to the boat, but many noticed it. They were offering to buy books for cash. Not only that, but they were undercutting the sketchy book guy in a van's prices. The first day at the college was a minor victory. Our two heroes were using their life savings to buy books to resell later. Arriving a bit earlier the following morning, the Book Boat was able to slip into the sketchy guy's parking space and they began to buy. More books that day than the previous. More people ventured to the now closer Book Boat to see what all of the commotion was about. The next morning played out the same, except this time the sketchy guy in a van had had enough! This time he called the police to report a boat that was buying books in his spot! The nerve! He was shouting at the Book Boat. The police arrived on the scene only to laugh at the spectacle that was the Book Boat. The parking meters were paid and the Book Boat was fracturing no law. The buying of the books continued and on the fourth day the Book Boat was finally out of money. The two entrepreneurs had made their investment. It was then time to sell the books back. The two lived off of almost nothing for a week's time before they saw any of their money return. After 11 days they had made half of their money back. Book sales are still continuing to this very day and if you're lucky, purchase a book, live in Nashville, and request expedited shipping, you may get a personal visit from the crew of the Book Boat.

Relax the Back

2006-01-10T19:14:00.000-06:00

Lately my back has been killing me. It hasn't been a problem until maybe several months ago.. roughly the time I started work. I don't have enormous breasts so that can't be the problem. I kept wondering why my back was hurting until someone said that my bed felt like a solid rock. So there in lies the problem. My bed is a rock. I decided to get some memory foam to lie on top of my mattress. I just can't decide whether to get the 3" or 4". I can't wait! I hope this cures my back problem.

I think I'm going to start reading again tonight. I need to save money instead of going out and wasting it all in bars and the such. (By bars, I mean almost exclusively the Blue Monkey) I'm off to fix some cheap dinner.

Cheney Hostpitalized... Again

2006-01-09T08:43:00.000-06:00

I don't know if it's just me, but every time I see Vice President Dick Cheney's name in the news it is due to a heart attack or some such related occurance. If you remember back in Clinton's presidency, Al Gore (Yes, he invented the internet) would actually participate in extra curricular events in order to get his name out there and support the administration at that time. Honestly, I cannot for the life of me remember when the last time I read in the news that Cheney was doing anything other than having a heart attack or triple bypass surgery. But don't just take my word for it.

The Blue Monkey

2006-01-08T15:36:00.000-06:00

Last night was a lot of fun. I went to eat dinner at my mom's and then shortly after went to the Blue Monkey. Several different people showed up last night including Chris, Ryan, his girlriend, Barbara, her brother, James, Zach, Jenny, Scarlett, Nick and Leila were working, Kelly, and Parker. Good people and good times. I managed to run up quite a bit of a tab, but it was worth it. That night was a liquor only night. I'm completely over my cold now which is a relief. I didn't want to go back to work sick.

Yesterday I checked out several books from the library including Murder in the Cathedral, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Last Tycoon, and The Wasteland. I should be able to finish them all before the end of the month. I've started reading again. I've scanned a couple of pictures that I may add on myspace soon.

I've been thinking a while about getting a video iPod. I don't know if I would really use it. So I'll continue to think about it. We shall see. I got two books and a CD for a late xmas present. The books are Hardening Linux by James Turnbull and the O'Reilly MySQL Cookbook. Rock. The CD I got is pretty good. It's called Wherever You Are by David Mead. Worth checking out at least. That is all for now. Perhaps it's time for some Perfect Dark.

Still sick, left work early

2006-01-04T16:28:00.000-06:00

Today was awful. I got up a little bit later with the hopes of overcoming whatever sickness I have (I think a sinus infection with a hint of a fever). I did not. I went to work with good intentions and finished the work that I had to do, but then I started feeling even worse and took the second half of the day off. I still feel bad, but I've been drinking plenty of liquids and taking a pill or two. That being said, I have nothing but time, hence the blog.

I read today that the French Police switched their personnel over to the Firefox Web Browser and Thunderbird Email Client, both of which happen to be open source. They had already switched to Open Office. This is great news. And in related news, Wisconsin requires the use of open source software in their electronic voting machines. The world could be turning over a new leaf as far as open source software goes.

Getting Sick

2006-01-03T15:23:00.000-06:00

Last night I started feeling under the weather and today I feel like I just want to go home and sleep for about 14 hours. I did, however, manage to work before feeling too bad. Tonight there is no way I'm going to trivia at the P&H Cafe. Tonight will be a staying in, eating soup, watching last night's epidsode of Arrested Development, and taking some Nyquil. Also, before I pass out Annabeth is supposed to come over to return my movie L'Auberge Espagnole and I'm going to show her some tips on how to work sudokus. Tonight will be a recovery night hopefully.

Online today I read that Google may be planning on selling their own computers with their own operating system(OS) on them in Walmart. This should be good for the public in that hopefully the operating system will be much more secure and better than Microsoft Windows and it will FINALLY get some real competition. EDIT: However, I just read that it was just a rumor. Oh well. :(

Comedy Shorts

2006-01-02T12:26:00.000-06:00

So Chris, my roommate, and I have decided to make either a DVD or a CD of some funny short films that we have found on the internet. It's turned into me downloading them and gathering them. So far we have the following:
GI Joe Public Service Announcements
Heat Vision and Jack
Sock Baby
Homebase
And several shorts from http://www.channel101.com and http://www.channel102.net
We are at approximately 719 megs, so if you know of any more that we should add, please let me know.

Lately I've been doing a lot of sudokus in a book I got for christmas. You can do them too online at http://www.websudoku.com. I also downloaded some technical e-books mostly on internet security and I've started reading them. I'm glad I have today off.

I saw Wolf Creek the other night and it was horrible. It wasn't worth the $4. Quite possibly the worst horror film of all time. Anywho, I'm off for some food.

The Protomen Site is Up!

2006-01-01T12:58:00.000-06:00

The Protomen website is up for the new year! Take a look around: http://protomen.com
Their forums are at http://protomen.com/comm
This band is now based out of Nashville, TN and they tell the story of Megaman in rock opera format. Their shows are obsolutely amazing. I suggest trying to see them in or around Nashville on April 22, 2006. I know I'll be to at least one of their 3 shows that weekend. They also have MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/theprotomen

Happy New Years!

2005-12-31T18:36:00.000-06:00

So tonight should be fun. Going over to Chris' house for a rockin' good time. I've decided to pass out in one of his chairs or on the floor so I don't have to drive home tonight. Probably a good idea. I'm hoping for this to be a good time for all to be had. If you want directions.. here they are:
New Years Party: Go East on Poplar towards Germantown. Turn Left at Kirby. Follow that down and turn Right at Cottingham and cut an immediate Left on the first street on the left. You're going to follow that down a little bit and his house will be on the right. I don't know the exact address. But I'm sure you won't miss it.

Have a happy new year.

The day before New Year's Eve

2005-12-30T10:05:00.000-06:00

Today work is going slower than ever. It's not just the fact that there is very little work for most people to do currently. It's that the work that my workgroup consisting of Don (Changed the first letter from "R" to "D" to protect his identity.) and myself actually has, Don insists on claiming it all only to do absolutely nothing. I mean honestly, I've never seen anyone so incredibly bad at multitasking in my life. I've also never heard of the term "half tasking", but let me tell you, he just invented it. This guy literally sends one email and then waits minutes, hours, even days for a response before he can tackle his next huge, intricate task. What's worse is this guy has actually complained to me about not being able to move into management 2 years after he's been at this company, which led me to my next thought. Maybe there's a GOOD REASON. When I complete some trivial task which is usually extremely redundant and Jon tells me good job and that sort of thing. That's fine, but when Don says "Uh, didn't he only do this much?" and then Jon says "No, he did much more." That is absolutely ridiculous. "Ever heard of the concept of other people?" Obviously Don never has and also has no concept of a team.

That being said, I think I may take a late lunch and just not come back assuming I can track down Zach. We're supposed to see Wolf Creek at the Majestic today. We'll see if this movie is worth the hype. Then tonight I'm going to the HiTone to see a reunion show of Snowglobe, a local Memphis band that I actually like. The one local band I actually like and after the first show I saw them at the Young Avenue Deli they broke up immediately. Anywho, hopefully I'll be seeing you at Chris Covington's house for a great New Year's Eve party. Remember: Don't drink and drive. Crash at your friend's house who doesn't want you staying there.

For Reeal

2005-12-29T23:12:00.000-06:00

So Nick finally made a blog and I thought I'd join him. http://luckycan.blogspot.com Now I get to keep track of stuff I do, find out, etc so I can remember it as well. Sweet.

Tonight... so today I worked from 9AM to roughyl 9:30 PM with a break only for dinner. I didn't eat lunch. This has got to be one of the worst days ever. I helped reformat this banker's computer and it took about 4 or 5 times as long because Dell's setup is making the processor run at 100%. Good god that sucked. So now I'm working sudokus, listening to www.pandora.com , and drinking some beer. pandora.com is a great internet radio site. I highly recommend it. Goodnight cruel world.