One By One - Alter Bridge

I mentioned last year I had this new album, Blackbird, by Alter Bridge. It really is fantastic. Read the lyrics to this song and you may see why this is one of my two favorite songs on the album. Also, listen to part of the song here. Unfortunately, you can not get the full effect of the intense cord progressions of the chorus in this sample, so head over to the Alter Bridge website and you can listen to their songs there (bottom left on their page).

Underneath the desert sun
They bid my brother’s blood to run
Many miles away
Hell has come today
Fire raining from the sky
See the face of fear asking one last time
Let me get home safe
Before it’s too late

One by one
The brave will fall
Life is lost again
They gave it all

Deep within the castle walls
So many grievers’ funeral songs
Echo in their sleep
Ode to memories
The sacrifice of flesh and blood
For a promise land that may not be won
Let us not forget
The hero laid to rest

One by one
The brave will fall
Life is lost again
They gave it all

And they gave it all
A price we can’t ignore
Is there hope in what they're dying for?
For every hero gone
For every family torn
We will honor you forevermore

One by one
The brave will fall
Life is lost again
They gave it all

One by one
The brave will fall
Life is lost again
They gave it all
They gave it all

Comcast - Day 1

Day 1 status after being switched from Insight to Comcast.

HDTV Not Working (Jan 1, football day)

Thanks Comcast. Get ready Dish/DirectTV. I am switching soon.

Geeks Love Foxtrot!

From Foxtrot.com today

Beautiful!

Google Street View has come to Indianapolis

Google Maps has added Indianapolis to Street View. But, they have not stopped at just downtown, no, they have added the greater area, including many cities and towns within 50 miles!

Greenwood, IN

So, this includes Martinsville, Terre Haute, Greenwood, Brownsburg, Shelbyville, Bloomington, Lafayette, Kokomo, Muncie, Anderson, Columbus, Crawfordsville, the list goes on (sorry Ft. Wayne, you were just barely missed).

Now, if NAVTEQ would only add my subdivision! (My battle continues with them, as they supply map data for nearly ALL online map services for Indianapolis and Greenwood)

Recycling and Cleaning

We are doing some cleaning around the house and we are attempting to recycle nearly everything we throw away during this cleaning. (BTW, we currently recycle glass, plastic, and newspaper/phone books, and we compost).

I know there are several good options out there for recycling old cell phones, but I thought this was especially easy. You print out this postage-paid label for a box, and throw your cell phones in the box. Its that easy! We are sending about 5 cell phones out on Monday.

http://www.recellular.com/kab/shippingLabel.asp?RequestID=199&barcode=KAB054

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all! And my God bless you and yours during this season of remembrance.

So I am up on Christmas morning reading news, actually. This article about the Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD war sparked a thought as I disagree with their opinion.

Some powerful voices are telling buyers to remain on the sidelines.
Consumer Reports instructed readers not to purchase either HD DVD or Blu-ray players. Film critic Roger Ebert recently wrote that he's not buying until the format war is settled.

If people take a passive approach and wait for one side to win, no one will win. We, the consumers, will continue to be the losers until some sort of agreement is made, or dual media players become more prevalent. I say pick a side, and go with it! Pick the side that you prefer (depending on if you are an XBox 360, PS3 fan, Disney fan, etc).

For consumers, picking one high-def player means some favorites flicks won't be available in their chosen format.

While this is true, the flicks will continue to be available in regular, good old DVD. So, you will be able to purchase and watch in home any movie you desire. For example, I wanted to purchase the Bourne Trilogy, but as it is not available in Blu-ray (my choice), I will purchase the DVDs. And, as I have picked Blu-ray, I have access to great titles such as The Simpsons Movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, and all Disney filmes. I say we the consumers work to end the war and pick the side we think is better (Blu-ray!) and help ensure they win the "war".

Lucky for my side, Blu-ray has Disney, which is what I hope will help end this so called war.

New (To Me) Web Site!

Ever try to park at the airport parking during a very busy holiday or other time of the year?

Now, we need not worry anymore. I just made my first reservations, for about the same price as the long term lots, and they may even wash my car!

http://airportparkingreservations.com/

The website was very easy to use. I will let you know how the experience ended up.

PS3 to get DivX Support Tomorrow

According to a thread on neogaf.com and Engadget, Playstation UK leaked the updates to v2.10 scheduled to come out tomorrow.

Among them, DivX support! This is one of the last things that XBox360 had that PS3 did not have (that I want). So now when I am streaming my mp3s to the PS3, I can watch those TV shows I have as well!

It's full throttle at 15

This is Kacey's cousin!
------------------------------------------------------
It's full throttle at 15
Sophomore at Carroll has her sights set high
By Ben SmithThe Journal GazetteAdvertisement

She has been to Charlotte. She has been to the Brickyard. She has met Kyle Busch and David Stremme, followed with a more clinical eye than most Denny Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin.

You could say Andrea Hans is into NASCAR.

Where it gets interesting, though, is when she tells you she also wants to get into NASCAR.

As a driver. As a competitor. As an equal, maybe, someday, to the Busches and Stremmes and Hamlins and Stewarts.

This is not as preposterous as it sounds, even after you’ve learned that Hans is a 15-year-old sophomore at Carroll who loved NASCAR but never thought about it beyond the spectator context until three years ago, when her dad, Karl, bought her a go-kart.

“I loved it,” she says.

And that led to novice racing in the go-kart. And that led to quarter midgets. And that led to a deal with Team Full Throttle, a program specifically designed to develop young, prospective NASCAR drivers on and off track.

Hans’ dad bought her the Legends car, sort of a mini late-model stocker, from fellow Team Full Throttle racer Thomas Hartensveld. It’s one more step in a journey that has been nothing if not meteoric.

“The difference between quarter midgets and Legends cars is (the Legends car) has a lot of throttle control,” says Hans, who raced from Kansas to Ohio in quarter midgets and won her share. “In the midgets, we’re just used to flooring it the whole time around the track. The Legends cars, we have to roll off the throttle and roll on. And we use the brake. The quarter midgets, we don’t use the brake that much.”

It’s an adjustment, Hans admits, but she’s had a few practice runs at Baer Field and in Charlotte, N.C. She needs all the practice runs she can get, because come January she goes to Lowe’s Motor Speedway to run a road course, her first official Legends event.

Life’s a blur, in other words. In more ways than one.

Her career, for instance, accelerated to warp speed the day Tom Baker called. Team Full Throttle’s founder, Baker brought not only expertise and guidance to the table but connections. He got started 15 years ago in New York state, just sort of informally mentoring young drivers, showing them how to deal with the media and woo sponsors and move up in short-track racing.

A perceptive man, he took one look at the rise of Jeff Gordon – polished, media-savvy, a sponsor magnet – and realized the game had changed. And there were all these kids coming after Gordon who needed to understand just how the game had changed.

Team Full Throttle was the result.

“We’re an independent company, and what we do is cultivate drivers for NASCAR opportunities,” Baker says. “We’re very fortunate in the fact that our company gets probably 20 inquiries a week from drivers who want to be involved. And whenever we’re at a racetrack, we’re obviously keeping an eye out. You never know who the next star is gonna be.”

The program, he explains, does two things at once: train and develop drivers and also manage and represent them. They counsel young drivers on when to move up a class, where to move and how long to stay there.

Hans struck them as someone who was ready to move on from the quarter midgets. She’s the first female driver Team Full Throttle has ever signed.

“She’s an outstanding young lady,” Baker says. “Her parents are top-notch people who add class to anything they do. She’s got a lot of energy, and she’s a very good racer, and she just needs to be developed at her pace.”

bensmith@jg.net


http://www.journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/SPORTS09/712160437

Home, Cold Home

So the reason I have not posted in a while is we were in Australia and New Zealand for three (3) weeks! It was a blast, and exhausting, and memorable. I believe we took around 4700 pictures, so I have a lot of sorting to do. I will post links here when they are all up. Our itinerary...

4 nights in Melbourne
2 nights in Ayers Rock
3 nights in Cairns
3 nights in Sydney
1 week driving from south to north island New Zealand

I wrote a journal through the trip, and I intend on writing a little about each city or area on here as time allows.

New Music

I am back home and done with Puerto Rico for the year. I figured I would get back on the blogosphere by talking about a new CD that is out. Alter Bridge just released their second album, Blackbird. Let me say in brief, it is great. The guys have really moved beyond their initial release One Day Remains and pushed themselves musically. This album has a wonderful mix of different musical sounds and has very quickly become one of my favorite at this time. If you liked their first album, you will love Blackbird.

Thanks Again, Google

How many times have you used an online Map service and wanted to slightly tweak the route (e.g. use a different highway or interstate, or take the south route versus the north route)? Its not easy! You had to give the service an intermediate waypoint to fake it out, then map from the new waypoint to the final destination. Kind of a pain in the butt.

I was playing on Google Maps this morning (yeah, I do it sometimes) and accidentally found a new feature. When your cursor is moved over a driving directions route, the cursor changes to a box. You can then drag the route to a new route! It essentially creates a destination on that new route that the map service thinks you want to drive through. If you right click and remove the destination, the route is moved back to the "google preferred" route.

Here is a quick example for driving to Toledo from Indy. We normally drive through Ft. Wayne, but by dragging the route to somewhere near Richmond (or anywhere along I-70), a destination is dropped in and the route changes.


I thought it was cool. Give it a try!

It's the End of the World. . . No, Just Another Lawsuit

When I first saw the headline "God sued for terror acts", I figured that was it... the end of the world. But as I read the article, it is just a man using the absurdity of the case to make a point regarding frivolous lawsuits. I am not entirely sure if I like the idea of using God to prove a point about our law system, but I am sure it will get some attention. I doubt, though, that it will do any good.

What are your thoughts?

Goodness

I am finally back home. Just in case anyone still visits this blog, I am not dead. I have been gone for work most of the past 3 months. I am now home, for about two weeks. Most of my time is spent in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I have been working on my Spanish speaking skills, but as I have not been taught, I am picking up conversations and listening to Pimsleur Spanish learning series.

I'm Back, and its Time to Rock (afire)!

I have been gone for work for about three weeks. While I am enjoying a little time off and trying to catch up on news, I found this on Engadget. Before even watching, I knew I would love this.

So this guy, Chris Thrash, got his hands on this set of the Rock-afire Explosion from an old Showbiz Pizza. He has posted a few videos on YouTube, but I have created a link to a couple of my favorites.





See his YouTube link for all the videos.

Another sick trip to Puerto Rico

I spent the past two weeks in Puerto Rico for work. As happened last year, I got an upper respiratory infection, again. I have a few ideas for why it always happens. The air is extremely dry due to air conditioners constantly running (work and hotels). Normally humidifying the room helps, which I forgot to do. This time, I started the trip slightly sick. And, feeling ok half way through, I stopped taking meds. Had I done those two things correctly, I may be feeling much better. Hard to say, as I was working 14 hour days.

Lesson learned, I suppose.

Calamari anyone??

Unless you have been living under a rock, you are familiar with the iPhone commercials. This commercial has created such a stir in the area for calamari, that this restaurant added calamari to the menu!

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/seasick/iphone-popularity-forces-calamari-on-menu-275940.php

PS3, Finally In the Game

Today I ordered my PS3 from Costco. Costco still has the fantastic repair/return plan built into their gaming systems, so this is the best way to go (only recently was the 90 day part added due to abuse). We have already changed our BlockBuster selections over to Blu-ray in anticipation. Also, I have my copy of Planet Earth in Blu-ray on its way.

Guitar Hero 3, here I come!

Update - Safari

I hope to read about other people's experiences regarding Safari on their PCs. Here were my 3 strikes that led to setting Firefox back to my default browser

1. Safari did not import my Bookmarks from IE or Firefox - Firefox imported my Bookmarks from IE when installing and Safari didn't. You would think that is a brand new deployment of a browser to the PC world, that is something that the average Joe would want to take place automatically.
2. Gmail.com crashed Safari and continues to do so - Not much more information than that, I still can't get on gmail.com using Safari.
3. Hotmail.com crashed Safari - although I am not a huge fan of Hotmail, I still use it for certain things.

So, for now, its Firefox for me (although I am still looking forward to a couple of Safari's other features)!

Apple Announcement That I Care About

Safari was announced today for Windows. I am going to give it a try on my desktop, because I am thirsty (read the story). To my mac fanboys out there, tell me your thoughts on Safari vs. Firefox

Two New Things

Browsing some news today, I found two cool technologies worth sharing.

A sound way to turn heat into electricity

University of Utah physicists developed small devices that turn heat into sound and then into electricity. The technology holds promise for changing waste heat into electricity, harnessing solar energy and cooling computers and radars.

MIT's wireless electricity demoed, dubbed WiTricity

A team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers reported in Science Express, the online publication of the journal Science, that they had demonstrated wireless transmission of electric power by magnetically coupled resonators. They dubbed their technology "WiTricity" for wireless electricity. -via Engadget

Cingular or AT&T? Who cares, neither works!

I have been a Cingular customer for a few years now, and have been generally happy. You know, inexpensive phones, nice coverage, and good plans. As of Friday afternoon sometime, if you too are a Cingular customer, you can not call me.

Sound weird?

Well it is to me, and to Tier 3 Tech Support at Cingular. After 45 minutes and multiple tech support levels, they don't know what is wrong. A trouble ticket is getting logged, and that is it for now. Great, glad that my wife, all my family and some friends are all Cingular.

We learned because my neighbor tried to call me Friday afternoon, and was told that his call could not be completed as dialed. So, he called my wife, who is also a Cingular customer, and got through just fine. So after talking to him, I tried to call my phone from my wife's cell phone, and no go. But, I can call all of them just fine!

I am guessing they magically fix it tonight and the problem just goes away. If not, I am guessing they give me a new phone (which I wanted anyway).

Is this even possible?

When we received our sewer bill last week, we were a little surprised.

sewer bill Hosted on Zooomr

I quickly checked the water bill to make sure it was not also outrageously high; it was not.

When I called them, they explained that the meter reader fat-fingered the reading and immediately fixed it. But, they had not the capability to keep that first entry from reaching our bill. As you can see from the bill, we only paid $13.39.

Sorry for the excessive blurring, I don't trust many things these days.

Our Belize Trip: Day 1

Our trip to Placencia, Belize was an interesting and much needed one. It was nice to get away to a place that is pretty slow and low key, as well as not too touristy (yet). It took us most of a day to get there due to the connections we chose (but wasn't too expensive). So, I consider Day 1 of 4 our first full day there.

Day 1 was filled with a lot of nothing. We stayed at a place called Westwind Hotel. (See it located on the map. The black line is the sidewalk, and the gray path is the road). We sat around the room. We sat in hammocks. We sat by the beach (which, although hot, was very breezy). We walked to a couple stores. I listened to music most of the day on the beach while Kacey knitted. One time as we had walked out to explore, we walked by a place called Omar's Diner. Omar's is a two story *house* where the first floor is his restaurant and the second floor is where his family lives.

(Notice, this sidewalk is considered the second biggest thoroughfare of the town, and is about 100 yards off of the beach). As we walked by his place, he was advertising his fresh Red Snapper they had caught that day. It smelled good as we passed by, so we figured we would head back there for dinner.

We sat down for dinner later that night at Omar's Diner. There was one other couple there at the time who were ready to receive their food. Kacey ordered the Snapper, but I always love to try new seafood, so I got the Barracuda steak. We sat and sipped our juice as we waited a few minutes for our food. The couple next to us had ordered the same thing as us and were enjoying their food; we were looking forward to eating our meal!

It was getting a little dark out when I noticed the smell of smoke. This wasn't the smell of his kitchen, this was something burning. But, in a small village like this, I wasn't surprise if someone was burning something in their yard. But I got to thinking a little bit - a small fire, in a hot environment, with a very nice breeze always flowing, no fire department, and no access even if there were a fire department. I guess the wind shifted for a minute as the smell dissipated, but a couple minutes later, I heard the voice of an older woman yelling for Omar in Spanish. I asked Kacey if she understood, and she thought it was "Omar, Omar, come quick". Seemed strange to ask a known chef to leave his kitchen while preparing food, but he quickly ran out. Then, we heard yelling.

The smell of smoke had returned, so I stepped outside to see what was going on. Then, I heard someone yelling "Fire". The house next to Omar's Diner was on fire.

Let me describe the homes here just a little bit. All of the homes are small, but close together. Most newer homes are made out of concrete and a pine wood, shingled roof is placed on top. Palm trees and other bushes also surround the homes.

I could not really see much of a fire at the house next door due to the large amount of smoke pouring out as the trees and bushes were burning. I ran back to the other side of Omar's where Kacey and a few other tourists stood and let them know that yes, there was a good fire going. And, that with the winds, Omar's was next to catch fire. The next ten minutes were filled with lots of yelling, people running with buckets towards the fire (no fire department, trucks, or hydrants), people running in and out of Omar's house to remove their belongings (as most fires here tend to spread quickly, they know the drill), people removing palm branches and other brush from near Omar's house and the gift shop across the sidewalk, people trying to wet down the gift shop to prevent it from going up in flames, and us, standing there watching helplessly.

We don't know anyone, no one knows us, we have no buckets, we felt bad as we struggled with what to do. Then, we noticed a small girl crying a few feet away from us, so we look to her. She catches our eyes and says to use "I live there, that is my house and it is going to burn down". As we give her a little hug, we try to talk to her briefly, asking her about her family. She tells us that she has a couple brothers and sisters, but no one is in the house. Then, a local villager runs to her, crying, and starts hugging her. An old man starts telling us that he tried to convince the town last year that he wanted money to put in a fire department, but politics got in the way. Then, as he is telling us that Omar has two large butane tanks for his kitchen (a sign that Kacey and I need to get out of there), some men run by, toward the ocean, with a generator and pump, and a large roll of 3" hose. We decide it is time for us to get out of the way, away from the commotion and butane tanks, and walk back toward our hotel (up-wind, about 150 yards north of Omar's).

As we get to the beach, we see the men fiddling around with the generator. They do not have it started, and a 4-wheeler arrives to shed some light on the scene, as it is pretty dark out by now. In my efforts to enjoy the trip, I was not constantly carrying my camera with me, but at this time, I decide to run back, get it, and snap a few pictures of the scene at the ocean. When I return, I snap these.

Sorry for the blur, it was very dark, I was walking, and not wanting to use the flash due to the sensitivity of the situation. I then looked inland toward the house, and snapped these.

Here is the short video I shot of the fire. You will be able to see people throwing buckets of water on the house. I also heard rumors that a few men got onto the roof and were having buckets handed to them to dump in hot spots.


After shooting this, I turn back to the team at the generator, which is still not running. As I approach, I see their problem; the starting cord for the engine was pulled off. They had disassembled the starting mechanism to put it back on for another pull. They had to do this each time trying to start it. God was looking down on them as the next pull they tried, it started right up. Everyone started yelling and cheering! Then, as they started to pump, they yelled for help. The 12 foot hose that went into the ocean appeared to be duct taped to the pump, which meant with every wave, it could have been ripped off. Kacey jumped into the ocean with a couple other people to hold it down. I notice that a couple men are holding the end because they are using a milk crate to prevent seaweed from entering the pump. I jump in to help as well (with my camera and all my money). After a few seconds, I realize we are all going to be there a while. I quickly jump out, take off my shirt, throw it in the sand, and put my wallet and camera on the shirt. I jump back in to assist.

For nearly an hour, myself, and about 4 other men, struggle to hold the crate down, with the hose inside it, whilst about 3 foot waves pound us. We are constantly skimming seaweed off of the crate to prevent it from clogging up. Every once in a while, one of us will spot a large wave and yell "BIG" (that is what they shout in Deadliest Catch, so its what I started yelling). When a big one comes, it may knock one man down into another, while the others hang on. Kacey and a couple others are still holding the hose down to keep it still in the waves. As the hour progresses, a few other men tire jump out, but only because someone else has come to jump in and help out. We are all talking about getting a beer after this, and as most men were locals, I told them "I came to your country to enjoy some water activities, but I never imagined this!" Also towards the end of the hour, children begin to run and jump into the ocean. They seemed happy; I am guessing because what could have been a catastrophe, has been put out. One of the children asked Kacey, "You came here wanting an adventure, right?!" It wasn't until the last 3 or 4 minutes that I jumped out as many others had jumped in. The fire was mostly out, and just smoldering as the last fire report we received was "They are putting out hot spots, almost done". One of the two men running the pump grab me and shakes my hand for a few seconds, saying thank you my friend. And, after a couple minutes, they notice that the waves are washing out the sand below the generator, and it is falling into the ocean. They start to maneuver the generator and as I pile sand under neath it, it turns off. But, with the start cord broke, we decide, we are done.

Everyone quickly ran toward the house to see the damage. Kacey and I are left behind to just sit and asses the situation. I ask her to take all of our stuff back to the room and start drying the money and cleaning up (we were covered in seaweed, but she deleted those pics). I walk toward the house and in the dark a few people notice me, and thank me for helping while shaking my hand. The house is destroyed, but the gift shop and Omar's are saved (minus minor burning of the exterior wood).

It was an exciting night; many more memories are in my mind that I can write down, but here are a few pics snapped the next day. This is looking south toward the burned house with Omar's in the back ground.

A closer shot of the house.

Omar's

Omar's closer


We have a few more pictures, but they will be posted with all the others, once I get them online. Thanks for reading our story.

Back from Belize!

Stories and pics to come soon. In the meantime, ponder this...

Did C&K a) catch a 50 lb tuna on a fishing trip or b) help put out a house fire or c) help catch a run away horse

We did one, just wait and see! Comment with your guess (if we already told you, don't ruin it)!

BOOOOOOOOO!!!

Its not fair, I have been free from Comcast for 3 years now since we moved in to our house, as we are served by Insight here. With this story, Comcast is taking over most of Insight's business.

<sarcasm>Com-freakin-castic!</sarcasm>

Insight has bumped us up to 10 meg for quite a while now. Insight has been good to its customers. Comcast has not. I still recall getting yelled at by Comcast representatives because I was frustrated that their technician missed the 4 hour window. I really can't stand Comcast.

Please, AT&T, hurry up! I am watching...

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6325419

Belize

We are headed to Belize. I won't say when on here, though. We will only be there for a long weekend. If you have been there, or know someone who has, we are open to suggestions for things to do. We will be staying in Placencia.

I Am Just Trying To Do My Part

I love this site, and what they are trying to do. THEY GET IT! They understand reality.

http://www.votefortheworst.com/

Saturday Night Live, Funny?

We DVR'ed Peyton Manning on SNL last night. He was pretty entertaining. But, Weekend Update did a joke that I really liked, so I share it here.

A cat in Long Island recently received the first total hip replacement for a feline. This, of course, was about $3000 more than the typical total cat replacement.

Tomb after Tomb Boom, Boom after Boom

It may be more powerful than my Velodyne, but it won't fit in my living room!

http://stuff.tv/blogs/future/archive/2007/03/22/this-one-goes-up-to-38-800.aspx

Hot Or Not

Remember Hot or Not? I am sure you do. My favorite thing to do there was vote 1 for everyone. Its mean, I know, but who cares!

Well, this is a little different. Fetcho, get your systems up!

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/pcs/macbattle-hot-or-not-for-computer-nerds-245969.php

http://www.macbattle.com/index.php

Your Choice in Tech News

I am just curious what people prefer, so please respond with your favorite site for tech news.

Me personally, it is close between Gizmodo and Engadget. I have read Engadget longer, but like the spins and occasional off-the-wall stories of Gizmodo.

Please, share your insight, even if I don't know you!

It Is Done!!!

Yes, as of today, my last school loan reads the following status:

"Paid in Full"

I am free! It's been almost seven years, but I am done.

Best Buy or OK Buy

This story is interesting. As we all know by now, Best Buy sometimes has different (lower) prices on their website than the intranet site you can view in the store. And what response do you get when you ask for the lower price???

We don't match our online store prices.

I assumed this was correct, but I always asked anyway; you know, just in case I could get the lower price. But, now that I see that "company policy is to always offer customers the lowest quoted price". I think this could be a big deal. Best Buy claims that they have dropped the ball when it comes to training employees to give us, the consumers, the lowest Best Buy price. But, considering that all of their employees always say the same thing, this has got to be what they are told to say! We will see as this unfolds.

Considering stories like this, could Best Buy be hurting as well in the near future?

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-15009112.htm?cnn=yes

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/cheap-lcds-to-blame-for-compusa-store-closing-242244.php

Hot Off Of The Press!

A confirmed source has given exclusive news about a black, flash based MacBook in the second quarter 2007! It may be time to buy...

Thanks Apple Gazette!

FBSOD

This was interesting; the most advanced fighter ever made brought down by the time of day. Can you imagine, the Flying Blue Screen Of Death?? I was hoping there would be an artist's rendition of what the cockpit would look like, but oh well. I recall that when auto companies were considering Microsoft in their cars, everyone was worried about the BSOD while driving.

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6225

Can You Do It???

Can you, huh??? can you unplug for 24 hours???

I will not. That is my vote. What is the point?

http://www.shutdownday.org/

How many miles you got on that thing?

Just as we broke 25k miles on the '04 TSX this month, we found out this. Maybe we didn't really break it yet???

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-02-19-odometer-usat_x.htm

My Car's Big Day!

It was a big day for my car and I. We turned over 100,000 miles! Here are a couple pics, and a (slightly blurry) video of the event.

IMG_0544 Hosted on Zooomr

IMG_0550 Hosted on Zooomr

In the Coke vs. Pepsi Challenge, Chuck Norris chose Moutain Dew...and he was right!

 

Hello, I'm A PC

I would prefer to be using an Apple at home, but atlas, work pays for my laptop, thus making me a PC. These are funny, enjoy.

Bill Gates on the Daily Show

I am sure you have all heard about this or seen this by now, but I still must link to it, as it was quite amusing.

Go Colts! . . . And Help Out A Little Kid

Hey folks, please take a couple minutes and vote for my cousin in this photo contest. They win money if they come in first! Also, I vote "1" for all the others, and a "10" for them (is that mean??) You can vote every day.

Thanks for your help!

http://www02.reporter-times.com/superbowl/vote/

9 Hosted on Zooomr

Friday, huh

Its alittle sad... I am in Puerto Rico, at a beautiful hotel/resort on the beach, but I am so tired from crazy work while here, I can't leave my room. I did manage to leave the plant today before the sun went down, so I sat by the pool for about 45 minutes, but I have since retired to my room for web surfing.

Once I figure out what to do for dinner, I will eat early, watch a movie, and fall asleep early to catch that early morning flight back to Indy. So its Friday, huh?

Since it is inevitable that I will be back soon, hopefully next time will not be 12 hours days in front of 3 computers. Atleast my spanish is getting better!

First Snow of 2007

This was Mason's first snow ever, and our first snow of the year.

Unfortunately, I forgot sound on the first one as he was cutely meowing.

Unfortunately, he is a good learner.
Again, testing Zooomr.

P1210695 Hosted on Zooomr

P1210694 Hosted on Zooomr

Let the Hacking Begin!

HD DVD was cracked, somewhat, a few weeks back.

This just came in yesterday. My favorite quote:

Oups, I did it again!

In less that 24 hours, without any Blu-Ray equipment, but with the help of Janvitos, I managed to decrypt and play a Blu-Ray media file using my known-plaintext attack...

Not perfect yet, but moving along nicely.

Is LG Gonna Get Served?

Maybe I am just too anxious for an answer on where this will all land, but this Blu-Ray/HD DVD thing is interesting. I guess I don't really remember the battle that went into Betamax/VHS, so this is my first time following a format war. I typically don't early adopt anyway, so I should just wait and stop reading the news. But, now we are hearing this.

Fine, here is an iPhone blog

Colbert is awesome, take that Apple! HA

Tech-News 'till ya puck!

This week, I am hooked on Engadget for all news CES related. Not that I buy the latest and greatest toys, but there is some cool stuff, more cool stuff, some why stuff, and some I-guess-you-can-do-that stuff. (Can you declare yourself the winner???) They update about every 15 minutes, so it has been tough keeping up while trying to work and not sit at my computer every living minute.

Let me know what you like from the show!

YO, the big three

I always wondered when it would happen, and it has. Daimler Chrysler has been bumped by Toyota as the number 3 auto seller in the US. We have a new Big Three. So, for now, when you say "Big Three", remember who that is. . . or say Big Four.

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5890027

Lyriki

I love music, and I often times find myself using Google to find lyrics. I also use SongMeanings.net quite a lot because users can chime in on what they think each song is about, which I also enjoy.

Now there is Lyriki! Its Wiki for lyrics. If you too are into music or lyrics, check it out, contribute, edit, read, enjoy, whatever.

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a good time last night, and did so safely.

I saw this sad news this morning. Considering this, you probably should put an article titled this on your website. In case the link changes, here is a screen shot.

How Did I Not Know?!

I just learned about this today.

http://www.wd40.com/Brands/wd40_no_mess_pen.cfm

I also just learned about this.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/11/samsung-developing-pram-alternative-to-nand-flash-memory/

Merry Christmas

Merry CHRISTmas to all.

Flickr

I decided to put our Favorite Italy pictures on Flickr. Originally, I was only going to use Flick for non-trip photos, but with the gift of more space for free accounts, I figured what the heck!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phillipsrhit/

Go Ahead

I dare you, eat half of a good pineapple with chapped lips.

By the way, thanks for the Hawaii fresh pineapple Adam and Amanda.

They Are Officially Up!

I have been playing with this for awhile, time to let you all look. Italy pictures are up! There is a Favorites folder if you don't have much time, or a slow internet connection.

http://www.chrisandkacey.com/Vacation/Italy2006

Enjoy! Feel free to comment, or let me know if you have problems with the site.

Mesmerized

We are Home, and its Faster

We are home from Italy! It was very cool. We crammed a lot of sights in, but it was still a good vacation. Pics are coming, but I have to convert from RAW to jpg, and then upload it all. This will take a while. Once the first city, Rome, is done, I will get it up first.

Secondly, the saga of the growing cat continues. We weighed Mason when we got home. He gained almost a pound while we were gone! He is now 11.4 lbs, and still crazy!

Lastly, the faster part. I got a letter in the mail today from our cable/internet provider, Insight, telling us this. Unreal! Who else in the US is at 10Megs? I bet a few big cities are there, but Insight is mostly a rural provider for southern Indiana. I am impressed, thanks Insight!

Kitties

Mason is officially 10.2 pounds. If we leave the cat food out, he claws at it because he is always hungry! He is even eating bugs because he is so hungry! Here is a nice pic of the cats.

Finally back

It has been a busy couple of weeks, but I am alive. The manufacturing plant I work in is going through upgrade projects right now. My project took me 9 days or so WORKING 14 hour days, but it is done. And, just as things were supposed to slow back down, I dislocated my finger playing soccer two nights ago, so playing volleyball is out now (my favorite sport). So, now I won't have much going on at all.

Man, typing with 1 hand is terrible!

The first Pacers pre-season game is tonight. We will see how it goes. This whole story with Jack and Tinsley is still strange to me; I don't know how to take it yet. These are the two guys I thought the Pacers should have got rid of (knowing that no one really wants them though). I have hope for the new guys, though.

I have created blog alerts. Even though I am pretty sure no one else out there wants to be alerted when I write something, let me know if you do.

Mason is growing like a weed! He is up to 9.6 pounds, and still skinny! (He is tall and long). I snapped this last night.

Another Reason to Love Sears

Those of you that know me, know that I love Sears. Not only the store, but the brands. Here is yet another great reason to love Sears.

http://www3.sears.com/

This is their online parts store. You type in ANY Sears brand model number, and you get a diagram and parts list. I have used it twice this week for my mower and my drill; both of which I abuse and after this much time, you expect to have a replace a few parts here and there. Its MUCH cheaper than buying a new tool of another brand because you can't buy replacement parts.

I also used it for our dishwasher. Last year it started leaking, so I pulled up the parts diagram from the Sears parts store, and was able to use it as a guide when I tore it apart to replace the seal that was bad (which of course I was able to order as well).

Lastly, my grandpa gave me his old angle grinder because the motor went out. Now, they don't make them this big anymore, but even though it was old, I decided to check the Sears part store. Sure enough, they still have parts for it!

Just something to think about when you buy new tools and household items.

Last Weekend and Your Life Expectancy

Last weekend we went caming with some of my friends from college. I thought it was a lot of fun. I learned a new game, played some washers, canoed for a few hours, did some hiking, its was relaxing. The river was alittle low, so canoeing took a little more effort than normal, but oh well. The weather was nice, food was good, good times. My wife doesn't really like camping too much, but she played some games and hopefully wasn't too bored.

So I am stealing this idea, but its still cool. This site, Livingto100.com, calculates how old you should live to be. I should live to be 88 years old. Leave me a reply with your life expectancy.

Falling Away

I have been looking forward to this CD for a few weeks now. I thought the radio single "Invincible" sounded different. Lead singer Tony Byroads left the band to be with his family. It is obvious where the creative talent and sound came from here. This new CD isn't bad, but they should have changed their name from Crossfade, this is a much different sound. I am let down.

A Great One is Gone

Maynard Ferguson, one of the greatest trumpet players ever, has died.

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/015107.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdQtlsog2PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDhh_j_9aSE

Thanks for the info, Chip.

The latest video

Playtime

They are having fun!

Ya Baby

DPS-10, its hot, and finally in my living room.

A Little Music, Please

First, Red

Red is a relatively new band to me and to the major record business. A couple months ago I was searching the internet for some Christian rock bands, and came across Red. There were at the top of multiple charts, and their CD wasn't even out yet. I listened to a couple tracks, and wow. Their new CD, End of Silence, is fantastic. The vocals are strong, the melodies enthrolling, and the lyrics are inspiring. I like the fact that their lyrics can be interpreted about real life situations (which they are, read their bio), and about a relationship with God. If you like rock, you will like this CD, give it a listen, and tell me what you think.

Next, I just wanted to mention a couple other songs. The song This Life by Sevendust is really cool. He is writing about his soon to be born child. I won't put the lyrics here, but go check it out.

Lastly, I also like the band Cold. Their latest CD, A Different Kind of Pain, is really good. As I have been reading lyrics to songs more lately, this song was very interesting. I read the lyrics today to the song When Angels Fly Away, and was surprised. It made me think about all the families affected by the war, and I pray that they know that some people understand and appreciate all they are doing.

I'll make a soldier's decsion to fly away
load my gun, paint my face, call me misery
i can see the sky light up and the ground explode
got my sights locked in, i can see you breathe
there i watched you fall and somebody scream
it's the saddest thing when angels fly away

i can't be home tonight
i'll make it back it's alright
no one could ever love me
half as good as you

got a badge for my scars just the other day
wore it proud for the sake of my sanity
i could see the flames burn bright from the winding road
like a haunting page from our history
watched a young girl cry and a mother scream
it's the saddest thing when angels fly away

i can't be home tonight
i'll make it back it's alright
no one could ever love me
half as good as you (half as good as you)
you can't be strong tonight
love makes you sad it's alright
no one could ever worry
half as good as you (half as good as you)

half as good as you

i can't be home tonight
i'll make it back it's alright
no one one could ever love me
half as good as you
you can't be strong tonight
love makes you sad it's alright
no one could ever worry
half as good as you...
(from www.songmeanings.net)

High Seas!

This year we decided to do funny faces :)

Its Been Awhile, Here is a Few Things

So we just got back from vacation. It was a good time, but too quick. Kacey's family goes to Ocean City, NJ every summer. Lots of junk food and playing games while staying at the Forum Motor Inn. I only took a couple pics, nothing too exciting there.

The Pacers are hard at work. I am mostly anxious right now to see what Larry and Donnie do regarding our perimeter shooting. Everyone knows its a problem right now, and Donnie acknowledged it in an interview.

Alan and Ericka had their baby!! We went to see the baby before they headed home, and before we left for vacation. Courtney is a little cutie! Alan put some pictures up that they took during the first few days. Congrats to the happy parents!!

It has been a busy summer. Its not over yet.

Recommendations...

Does anyone out there have any recommendations for an online investment site?

Also, destinations in Italy and Austria? We are still hoping to go this year.

Kitty Showdown 2006

What a competition! But luckily for the owners, the war never broke out. Here are some shots from the action...

A Quick Video

Yesterday was his trip to the vet. He appears to be very healthy! (and big pawed)

Welcome Mason!

Meow meow!



He seems to be a pretty good kitty!

World Cup Hopes Over

Well, I got home from work today and was fortunate enough to not hear the scores all day. The first half was alittle exciting, but all in all, the US just didn't have it in them this year.

My brother, in the events of getting married last weekend, received an email regarding a job he applied for at Lilly. So while he is on his honeymoon this week, he was asked to interview! Its good news. The job is a Fixed Duration Employee job. I don't know much about it, but it atleast gets him some experience at Lilly. His job will only be 12-15 fixed months, then he has to find another job. The hope would be that there might be something at Lilly after its done, but who knows. We will see how the interview goes.

An Exciting Weekend

This weekend, my younger brother Adam was married to Amanda Love (now Amanda Phillips)! It was a great weekend. I was the best man and I was honored to stand next to my brother on this memorable day. I wasn't nervous for my speech as I have done this a few times, but I couldn't really read my notes (oops). Since I hadn't looked over the notes much, I struggled to read. Oh well, the cake was good. Oh yeah, and they are extremely happy!

Luckily, there was a TV in the basement of the church, so we were able to make an antenna out of a piece of wire and catch some of the World Cup! Way to go US. This Thursday might have to be a long lunch off site :) It should be a good game versus Ghana, who looked great against Italy.

Take care everyone.

The Weekend

This weekend we went camping at Turkey Run State Park for my brother Adam's bachelor party. It was a great weekend! The weather was awesome, hiking was good, people were cool. We played washers, cornhole, frisbie, basketball, and took a canoe trip. The river was nice, but unfortunately my cousin Jacob lost his wedding ring while we were tipping each other's canoes over (he didn't notice until we got back to camp).

Thanks A lot Wendys

So, for reasons I am not going in to now, I am eating much, much less cholesterol and fat nowadays. I have mostly been watching what I eat during lunch. I recently have been enjoying the Wendy's Chicken Grill and a side salad (just replace the fries with salad, a good deal). Then yesterday, Kacey noticed on the Wendys web site that this sandwich has 70mg of cholesterol!!! What?!?! This is more than a Classic Single!! Unreal. So, we did some thinking and Arby's has Chicken Natural sandwiches. 0mg of cholesterol, cool. And, I can get a baked potato with alittle butter, and there you go! So, thanks Wendys for ruining your chicken sandwich. Man, how hard do you have to try to make a chicken sandwich that unhealthy for you!

Sudoku

Yeah, so I am hooked. This is now my favorite thing to do during lunch. Somehow, I see it as a break. I like this particular one because it has a nice interface.

Indystar Daily Sudoku

I like to do 3 stars and below without notes. Not many 4 stars, so haven't attempted it without notes yet.

In other news, we are still planning on Italy this fall. We still need ideas! Surely a reader out there somewhere has been and has an idea or two. We are contacting the travel agent soon.

Lastly, my good friend Tom and his wife are moving in next door. There will be one house in between the two of us. They are great people, and Tom and I have been roommates before, so I know we can get along. We were roommates when I met Kacey and he met his wife. Finally, we will know a neighbor!

Ong-Bak

So I watched Ong-Bak last night. Its a Thai fight movie, but its pretty good. I am a fan of Jet Li, but man, Tony Jaa is cool. If you liked Unleashed (Danny the Dog), then you might like this movie. It is subtitled, but who cares, its good fightin'.

We're Back

So we just got back from our trip to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Learned a few things about the area... We had a relaxing time, though. We plan on writing some letters to some Food Network people and ask them to open a decent restaurant in that area! Nothing was terrible, some was ok, but there is nothing that looks both really nice and tastes really good. That and the traffic and the amount of touristy stuff (I knew there was some, but wow), not sure when we will get back there. We did have some nice hikes in the Smokies, though.

Pics will be up soon.

YouTube Rules

I like Mad TV. Recently, there have been a coulpe skits that have made me laugh hard, and even made Kacey laugh (and she doesn't like Mad TV). Here are two that I really like...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfMUCIuXBrw&search=Yule%20blazers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K8KvHxh1VI&search=big%20bird

Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I can't stop laughing.

Trip Ideas???

So we are looking to take a long weekend later this month. Does anyone out there know where we should go??? We have considered Scottsdale, AZ, and San Antonio. Hopefully its warm where we end up.

Impressive

I have been teaching myself to juggle some, but man this guy is good!

http://s158645047.onlinehome.us/video_5290_10558.html?sid=5290&aid=10558

(Make sure your speakers are on)

Meow

I don't think I have a picture up of our kitty, Stella, so here you go.


She doesn't really realize how hard it is to type while she is sitting on my lap at the computer play-biting my hand.

With Love

"How wonderful it is to have something so precious, that makes saying goodbye so hard." - Unknown

Stevie Wonder Makes People Look Foolish

So we watched American Idol because they are singing Stevie Wonder, and he is on the show. So these poor people are trying to sing Stevie, and only the finest in the world can do this.

The first guy sang "Do I Do". Atleast he knew the song, but vocals were weak. The next chick sang "Blame It On the Sun". First, she didn't even really know Stevie Wonder, and she destroyed the song. You almost feel sorry for them having to sing Stevie, he can make you look foolish. The next guy was a huge Stevie fan, and he sang "Knocks Me Off My Feet". He did alright. He had a lot of respect for what he was asked to do. Another guy sang "Superstition". He didn't have a clue. Another chick sang "Lately", and forgot some words. Please. Taylor did a good job with "Living for the City". Why didn't someone sing "Sir Duke"?????

Ok, thats enough. Have a good week everyone. Go listen to some Stevie Wonder.

I Will Be Getting Alittle Dumber Tomorrow

Thanks right folks, tomorrow morning I am having my wisdom teeth taken out. It shouldn't be that bad. They have all come in, none are impacted, and when I was in 5th grade, I had 4 baby teeth pulled at once.

Europe

Who has been to Italy? Austria? Switzerland? Let me know, we are wanting to go this year and are starting to plan.

An Interesting Few Days

This is where my mother-in-law works. Another link, and pic I stole that Eric found.


Oh, and by the way, this is where my father-in-law works. Just tons of great news this weekend!

Shabbat

So our church has just started something called a Shabbat. It is taking place during Lent, but not really related. There are a lot of details to this, but it is basically a rest period. We the church are being challenged to do four things...

Focus on Rest
1 - Give up all church activities (basically, meetings at church) except for Sunday morning worship.
2 - Give up one non-church activity.
Focus on Relationship with God
3 - Use the Daily Shabbat devotional provided by the church during our quiet time (created by reducing activities).
4 - Learn and practice one new spiritual habit.

We aren't really supposed to get caught up in the rules, they are just guidelines. This Sunday will be the first service during Shabbat, so we will see what happens. I know for us, since we don't have kids, we aren't nearly as busy as some of the parents at our church. But, once being a kid that got ran around, I can appreciate what its like. I hope this time does create rest and relationships.

In other news, my father-in-law Mike works for Dana. If you follow financial and business news, you may know that Dana isn't doing very well right now. Keep the Fetchos in your prayers as we see what the future holds.

Maybe You Can Hire...the A-Team

In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire...the A-Team.

Wolfgang's Vault

I just heard about this on Bob and Tom late last week. For you classic rock fans out there, get ready for Vault Radio! I have been listening, and its cool. Take a listen! Here are some details...

About Vault Radio

Bill Graham and his concert promotion company, Bill Graham Presents, produced more than 35,000 concerts all over the world. His first venue, the legendary Fillmore Auditorium, was home to many of rock's greatest performers - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Doors, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Prince - and the list goes on and on.

Graham taped thousands of live performances and stored the tapes in the basement of the BGP headquarters. These tapes and the concerts they captured lay dormant until the Bill Graham archive was acquired by Wolfgang's Vault (Bill Graham's given first name was Wolfgang) in 2003.

Vault Radio is now playing selected tracks from these concerts in an FM-quality, 128K digital radio stream. Songs will be added to and removed from the radio show on a regular basis. We will be broadcasting unaltered live performance music from many of the greatest bands of the last 40 years. The music you hear on Vault Radio has not been sweetened or polished. You'll be listening to what the band played that night - nothing more, nothing less.

Smoking Ban in Greenwood, IN

On the news tonight, it was reported that Greenwood is voting tonight on a smoking ban. I know these have been instituted in many other cities, but here is my problem. I know many people have made the statement, "You don't have to go there". I agree with this. But the thing that really gets me upset is this. When we ban all the places that people can smoke, that means we are forcing them all to smoke in one major spot. If you are at work and can't smoke outside, where do you do it? In your car after work. If you are at dinner and can't smoke, where do you do it? In your car after dinner.

So what is my point??? I don't think you can sit there and tell me you haven't noticed how many people throw cigarette butts out of their car windows. And if you haven't noticed, just watch for it. You probably won't even have to try hard. I feel it is a problem that has run out of control. Its everywhere! Even officers are doing it! What kind of example does that set? Yes citizens, its ok to throw cigarette butts out of your car, because I am doing it.

I don't know who I need to tell this to, but this is a start. Smokers, I believe you should be allowed to smoke in bars and areas of restaurants. But please, do us all a favor, please don't throw your butts on OUR streets and roads.

Agree, disagree? Link to this post, get people to think about this!

The Worst Day - Finale

Ok, so from the PR doctor, I drove back to the hotel. Still very sick, very tired, very hungry, just wanting to feel better. I was now thinking that I would feel better soon, but I was wrong. Luckily, there are Walgreens in PR, and one very near the hotel. I walk over there as soon as I get back from the doc. Although I can't read the prescription card, I figure they can. After a brief talk with the pharmacist (who doesn't speak very much english), I find out that I have to wait 2 hours. Just another reason to love the health benefits we have here. (Note, today, I had to wait about 15 minutes for meds). So, I decide to wander back to the hotel and I say to myself, in 2 hours, I will FINALLY start to feel better.

On my way back, I decide to get some juice from the grocery store since I am out. This is pretty much my favorite place to buy juice and fruit and other little snacks while I am on the island. Its close and easy. This time, no go. My corporate card was declined. What???? Can that happen??? I just pay with my personal card and move along, I want the juice pretty bad.

On my way to the hotel, I call the corp card 800 number. He explains that since I am over the $1500 limit, I can only use the card at certain "ok" locations related to business travel. I say "Isn't food an ok location?" He says "No, grocery stores are not approved by your company." Great! I am (at this time) supposed to be here another week! I am guessing, since I normally stay at the Embassy, and they charge your card when your stay is complete, that this is why this has never happened. But, I guess the Holiday Inn is different. Just another reason to stay at the Embassy.

So, I wait out the two hours. I tried to nap, but I am not a napper. Between some History channel and trying to nap, its now almost 5. Time to head to Walgreens. Finally, relief is close. When I get there, they inform me that they are out of the Brand name of one of my required meds. I say "So what, then just give me the generic!" Luckily, they hurry this preparation along since it has already been two hours. I hand them my RX card. I wait. She comes back and says "Sorry, your card is not working." Ug. What else. They call the company and they claim that I am not covered. I can't do the wait I experienced justice. It was horrible. I felt so terrible. After 40 minutes, I said "Forget it, I am in too much pain, I will pay out of pocket." Wow. Zithromax, 3 pills, $80. In all, I paid $180. (Luckily, we have since figured this out, and tomorrow we are going to Walgreens to resubmit the expense).

Well, I buy some water too, and just get back to the hotel. I say finally, relief is in sight. I take my meds and relax alittle in the room. After a few hours, something is happening. Although my head is clearing, my throat is beginning to hurt. Its kinda weird. By time I go to bed, I can't really swallow water, and when I do, its extremely painful. I don't even feel like trying to attempt food because of the pain. So no food since breakfast, and I am exhausted. Time to attempt some sleep, but due to the pain, its not working.

Finally, after a few 30-60 minute sleeping sessions, its Saturday morning.

Unfortunately, this kept up all weekend. I called to talk to my doctor's nurse on Saturday, she said let the meds work alittle more and call the doc Monday morning. I spent all day Saturday in bed, sweating, trying to sleep, trying to drink water, hopeing the pain goes away. I take a couple steamy showers, drink some tea, nothing. By Sunday morning, the room STINKS from sweat, the sheets are all wet from sweat, I have had some grapes and a banana, and I still can't swallow. Its time to go home.

Luckily, my boss is cool. He tells me to get home. And even though the northeast is a mess, I get a flight through Philly for Monday afternoon. I start taking Tylenol for pain, and it helps me sleep some Sunday night, thank goodness.

I am now back home, I saw my doctor this morning, and I am on more anti-biotics WITH pain killers! Ug. Diagnosis. . . upper respitory infection. Ears, throat, head. I am very fortunate that the flight home with pressure fluxes didn't hurt more than it did.

Well, take care everyone. We should all feel very fortunate to have such great health options here in the states who can see us quickly, care for us personally, and do what it takes to make their fellow man feel better. I am also grateful that I have a wife who supported me, even when I couldn't talk back on the phone from the throat pain, and a God who gave me strength through his Spirit.

The Worst Day - Part 2

So, I am now heading to the doctor. I am not 100% sure where this is. No roads or streets really have signs, only highways. The plazas are all kinda run down, and I am heading to Iturregui Plaza. All I know is that it is near a big mall (on the left), then on my right should be a funeral home, and then is the plaza. As always, the roads are jammed pack full of people, everyone in a HUGE hurry to get no where. I was amazed that I found it on the first try. After I was buzzed in, I walk into the very full waiting room; it is now 11:30.

The place is tiny, and full of people. No one is in the little room where the receptionist should be, so I take a seat and start waiting. After a few minutes, a woman appears at the window; I approach her and she starts talking in spanish (as most people do to me even though I am white). I smile and say "No espanol, do you speak english"? She looks at me and says "A little". Oh crap. This is all I can thing right now. Luckily, a woman in the waiting room stands up and says "Can I help"? Ah, I am saved! I tell this woman that I am in Puerto Rico for work from the states, and that I work at Lilly, and that they send people here who are sick. She translates to the receptionist, and the translator speaks back to me "Put your name on the sheet". Thats it. No long forms, insurance, no nothing. Ok, let the waiting begin. Oh, I am also informed that the doctor DOES speak english. If I had gotten the response back that he didn't, I was outta there and hopeless.

There are a lot of people in the room, but I am optimistic (mostly because I am sick and I must remain optimistic). And, if I were a better writer I could create suspense and entertainment by writing out my agony of the wait, but I am too tired and not creative enough.

I waited 2 and a half hours.

It is now 2. I haven't eaten since breakfast, and haven't had any water since 11. Luckily my runny nose hasn't been much of a problem during this wait as I had no more tissues on me. Now right before I am called in, the receptionist hands me a notepad and a pen and says in broken english "Name, address, phone number".

When I head back to the doctor, he warmly greets me and tells me I am welcome in his office (of course, its broken english). He asks me the standard health questions, to which I respond. He says "So you were a healthy boy before Monday". I say "Yes Sir". He asks me what hurts and I reply. We quickly move into his checkup room. He has me take off my shirt and check all the stuff doctors check. He says "Put on clothes, how you say?" I reply "You are correct, put on your clothes". We go back to his office and he says he is giving me 3 prescriptions. Cough medicine (which I really don't have one), clarinex (for my head/sinuses), and Zithromax (anti-biotic, which is all I really wanted). I say thank you very much, he says my pleasure, and please come back if you don't feel better by Tuesday.

I then return to the receptionist and she says "Insurance". Well, I don't figure my card works here, but I hand it to her anyway. She stares at it for about 30 seconds, then shrugs her shoulders and hands it back to me. I say ok. She says "Twenty" and I hand her a credit card. Again, she stares and me and says something in spanish. I stare at her because I do not understand. She says something in spanish again, I continue to stare at her. My guess is she doesn't take credit cards. Luckily, a couple other people waiting say cash. I, unfortunately, do not have cash. I have no reason for cash on this trip. Again, the people waiting tell me "Go to the Walgreens down the road and get cash". I say ok. If I were a less moral man, they would never have seen me again, but I am grateful for the doctor, so I go for cash.

As I pull out of the lot, I see the Walgreens. I go to the ATM and figure "I will get $40 while I am here". Good thinking Chris. I return to the doctor and hand the receptionist a $20. She looks at me and says "No, $40". Now, I recall my team leader here and the lilly doctor saying it will be $20, and I could have sworn she said $20 the first time. Although I am sure she just stole $20 from me, I give her the $40 because I don't know how to argue with a woman who doesn't speak english, and I really wanna get my prescription filled.

Ok, enough for now, I have worn myself out again. Don't worry, more to come.

Oh, and by the way, my throat has been swollen since Friday afternoon. Which means I can barely swallow water. The only foods I have attempted are grapes and a banana. Thats all I have had since Friday morning, and its now Sunday morning. Also, all I have done is lay in bed and sweat, so my sheets and room smell horrible right now.

The Worst Day - Part 1

February 10th, 2006

So I have been working in Puerto Rico all week, and I have been pretty sick. But, I have been working through it, drinking lots of water, getting rest, and taking Tylenol Cold and Sinus (usually does the trick for me). As of Friday, instead of getting better, I was getting worse. So Jaime, the team leader down here, told me to go to the infirmiry. He tells me how to get there, and I head over. I wait at the guard shack for PR02 for about 20 minutes before I am escorted to the doctor. When I get to the doctor, they proceed to tell me that they cannot squeeze me until later next week, and that I should go to a non-Lilly doctor. After I beg and plead that they squeeze me in because I don't know where anything is here, I don't know how health benefits work here, and I am very sick. They still say no without hesitation. I then call HR Direct to find out how this all works. They say that I can go to a doctor and turn it in as out of network emergency, so I proceed to get the car, get directions (kinda), and head out. This so far has taken all morning; its 11. To be continued.

Tired, will type more later.

A couple things

First of all, I am back in Puerto Rico. This time, I am in my room during the Superbowl, and am missing Valentine's Day with my wife (who I miss very much). Oh, its grand here. At least I know that I helped make some more insulin.

Next, I am sad to say that Bender has made a decision. I am sorry that he never got a chance to shine, because he would have. Hopefully the Pacers' appeal to the league regarding cap relief goes well.

Third, as I sit and write this, the infamous Superbowl commercials came on the TV in my PR hotel room. THEY CHANGED THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I don't even get to see the cool commercials :( They are all in spanish and obviously NOT the originals.

I am out.

Stupid MTV

This morning as I showered, I heard some Pink Floyd on the radio. It reminded me how much I hate MTV. Here is why...

While watching Live 8 last year on MTV, it was awesome to watch as Pink Floyd (with Roger Waters) performed together for the first time in 25 years. Now, I am not old enough to say I remember this whole time, but I do understand it. And it was incredible! There was an energy there. Then, while playing Comfortably Numb, MTV does what. . . they start talking, over Pink Floyd, with the camera on the MTV idiots! Seriously! MTV, you have ruined what a lot of people think of music!

Thanks a lot MTV!

Here we go again

Looks like on a 2 day notice, again, I am traveling to Puerto Rico for work. This time, the work will not be interesting, but I will be traveling with a co-worker, so that will help. Nothing like 2 weeks in the land of sunshine, and I won't see the sun for 2 weeks!

On a lighter note, I received this picture as an attachment on a forwarded email. This picture perfectly describes our kitty, Stella. She is orange tiger stripe and loves to drink from the faucet.