A Little Better . . .

Well, we've finally found some good eats. We've had to ask around some.

Now, we're hoping to find some good sites. The problem? It rains every day after I get out of class.

Oh well . . . this town ain't so bad if you look around and ask for some help.

Time to go to bed. Got class in the morning and my belly is full.

Cookie Cutter U.S.A

Now, I'm not well traveled. I've been a few places across the Southeast United States. I've been just barely out towards the Southwest and I've been up north a little around Chicago and Michigan. I've also had the pleasure of visiting our nation's Capitol for a week many, many years ago.

But other than that, I really haven't been anywhere.

So maybe my comments are a bit unfair and off base.

With the exception of Washington D.C., some parts of Chicago, and Louisville, KY, all of the parts of the United States that I've been to seem like they were produced out of a cookie cutter.

I've flown over to a different time zone, but I can't find anything different to eat than what I can find back at home. At least, not yet. And I haven't seen anything different or captivating so far when compared to the current city in which I live.

I'm sure something interesting is out there somewhere, but where is it???

In the training class I'm attending, our instructor is a native of Cuba. He came back from lunch and complained that the so called Cuban restaurant where he visited wasn't authentic enough.

I'm in Tampa, Florida as I write this. I wasn't too familiar with Tampa before I got here. But from what I've noticed in just staying here one day is that there ought to be some really good Cuban food around here somewhere. I mean . . . I've seen Spanish billboards here that have no English translation. If you don't speak Spanish, that advertisement just wasn't for you.

Not to say that everyone who is Hispanic in Tampa is from Cuba. But, I bet a lot of Cubans come here to Florida. So . . . there ought to be some Cuban food that a native Cuban would call "authentic".

If he is having trouble finding some authentic and unique, how can I find something new and different in a town that is just a mirror image of where I already live?

Maybe that isn't a fair question. Perhaps I've made a false correlation. But, I feel like all hope is lost when it comes to doing something that's unique in Tampa-- something that I can't do back home. Because so far, everywhere I've been in Tampa looks the same to me.

The sweltering heat is the same.

The afternoon thunderstorms are the same.

OK, no palm trees where I live. But, I see plenty of other trees back home.

"Variety is the spice of life", I hear. I think that saying has some merit.

Ah well . . . I can't complain too much. Our hotel is really, really nice and familiarity is also comforting. But still, I'd like to see something a little different from back home. Just a little.

And on a side note: although I miss my kids, I've got a really, really, really, really, really nice break from them. They stayed back home with other family members while my wife and I traveled together. And by the way, they are doing just fine.

Touch Down!

Touch down! We've landed!

I've made my destination; I'm in my hotel room. Yea!

Boy . . . the accommodations are really nice, too.

I'm not used to this!

The lady in our finance department gave me and my wife the hook-up!

Now it's time to relax for a bit before I try to find the location of my training class.

And my wife . . . she's lovin' it!

They May Love to Fly, but I don't.

My job is sending me to a training class. I'm headed out of town.

My wife will tag along. The company is OK with this as long as I understand that I'm responsible for taking care of her expenses. The company will only take care of my plane ticket, hotel, and car rental.

The hotel will accommodate us both, but I have to take care of the my wife's air fare.

I'll be in a training class from 9 to 4:30. My wife will get a nice little vacation while I'm in class.

Family and good friends will watch our kids while we're gone for a week.

Cross your fingers; I'll be in the air early Sunday morning.

I've got blogs queued up on MDLS (my other blog). However, if this post on this blog ends up being my last, you'll know what happened.

But hey, let's try to be positive, huh?

You can probably tell that I don't like flying much. I like it, but then again I don't.

I love when the plane lifts off the ground. I stare down with wonder when looking out of the window.

But, I become very nervous when I wonder if our pilot is drunk, sleepy, angry, suicidal, or incompetent. I get worried wondering if the airline has cut corners on safety and my plane might burst into flames on the run way, or we go careening towards the ground because of some malfunction that was ignored to save some money.

I don't even think about terrorists. I just have to ignore that idea . . .

And that's when I realize that I don't like to fly in the long run. But, I can't let my fears show.

Even though my wife has flown a few times, she is a little scared, too. So, I gotta be strong for her.

Anyhow-- hopefully, I'll live to update this blog another day.

All in all, I think I will.

GoogleCL

Hey, all you Google fanboys (and fangirls) out there! Google has released a new command line interface that works with Blogger, Picassa, Google Calendar, Google Docs, and YouTube! If you enjoy the command line environment, you'll get a kick out of GoogleCL.

Using the Google command line a little tricky to get the hang of it at first (to me) but if you're no stranger to the command line, you'll find it quite neat!

Also, you can upload text files if you don't want to type the whole post out onto the command line. That helps with puncuation, spacing, and spell checks if you edit in a word processing program before uploading with the command line.

This new feature from Google will be great for people who want to develop their own software tools.

And this feature will also be great for those who want to write their blogs while at work, yet still sound productive because of all that command line typing they're making at the keyboard!

Who? Me?

I wouldn't dare do something like that while at work.

Four Inches

I'm having to deal with maintenance for two houses.

I bought my first home years ago. It was a tiny match box.

That's fine for a newlywed couple in love, love, love.

Ah . . . I remember those days . . .

But a matchbox house sucks when you've been living in it for five years now and your second child is on the way.

Our house changed from our nest to the incredible shrinking box. It just got smaller right before our eyes.

My wife eventually told me that she was moving, with or without me.

She wasn't joking, either.

Hmmmm . . . .

So now I live in a second home. My first home is still my financial problem. Oh, and so is the current one. But I won't gripe about my current house. It's not shrinking like the first one. But I pay enough on it each month to where it had better not start shrinking.

I'm renting my first house out to someone (finally). I had a different tenant months ago, but she vanished after not paying rent for several months.

At least the place was really clean when she left and she didn't steal the stove and refrigerator.

So, now I have to be the landlord and Mr. Handyman. I have to fix things I don't even know how to fix around my current home.

I had to change the locks because of the previous tenant. Kinda neat-- but only when you don't have a million other problems to fix. At least I found out that you can have a lock re-keyed instead of buying new locks. That saved me several hundred dollars!

I also learned how to get a broken key out of a door knob. Take the cylinder off the door and then carry it up to Ace hardware! Oh, and don't throw away the broken handle part of the key in disgust. It can come in handy if you need to make a new copy of your broken key.

I had to get a guy to add freon to the refrigerator. He educated me on the implications of a freon leak. While cheap to repair, leaking freon is your refrigerator warning you that a $500.00 repair is in your feature should the leak be a bad one.

Or, perhaps you're being forewarned that a new refrigerator is in your future. Which ever comes cheapest-- $500.00 part or a cheap (but decent) refrigerator for a rental property.

Hmmmm . . . .

At least I'm informed.

And I had the illustrious opportunity to fix a toilet as well. I didn't know I could fix toilets. But I can.

A little. Just a little.

All that-- a broken key in a lock, changing locks, fixing a refrigerator, and fixing a toilet all in one day!

I even went to the hardware store and found the concrete based tile for the siding of the house. A few pieces have to be replaced or my insurance company won't renew my insurance policy.

Apparently the style of this tile is rare. I tried to get some custom pieces made. I measured and everything.

But they didn't have any sheets that were wide enough to make the pieces the correct size.

But maybe I can still make it will work . . . so I decided to take a chance.

I'm four inches short.

Four inches stands between me and getting the most important task out of the way concerning that old house that I've grown to hate so much.

Just four inches.

Grrrr . . .

Back to the drawing board.

It might also be time to look for a different insurance company.

Day Two

I had Green Tea today.

My brain felt washed, cleansed, and renewed by the goodness of the golden liquid.

I felt as though the Tea washed down the actual organ of my brain as I drank it.

Straight from the roof of my mouth, then somehow up and over the inside of my cranium, washing away all the subtle tensions of caffeine withdrawal.

It was WONDERFUL!

Yes, I know.

I'm a weak bastard.

But, now I am at peace with the universe.

Day One

Day one without caffeine.

It sucks.

Very tired. Headaches. Tylenol.

I have uncontrollable salivation every time someone walks by me with a cup of coffee in their hand.

I can smell my co-workers coffee before they round the corner on their return to their cubicle. I can smell coffee three aisles away while in the grocery store after work.

I smell coffee as I'm typing this even though there is none brewing. There is none to be found near me at the moment. My brain is just re-creating the aroma in hopes that I will cave.

I'm going to bed now, right after I take out the trash.

Maybe day two will be less difficult.

Maybe a cup of coffee will help get me through this.

On Being Dad

Today is probably the nicest Father's Day I've experienced. It was simple, but everyone made it a point to tell me why they think I'm a good father.

It's not that I'm perfect. It's that I try and stay committed. I get the important things taken care of, even though I could do better with a lot of things.

My family really came across looking like a wonderful gift today.

Some days . . . well, I just hang in there.

But, today (and yesterday) made all that hanging in there so worth it.

I want to do better now. I want to try and become the best Dad that I can be. They deserve at least that much.

The Kung Fu Kid

Just saw the new remake of Karate Kid with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.

I enjoyed myself. I generally (not always) like a movie with Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith looks like he's going to walk in his daddy's foot steps.

The details are very different the original Karate Kid movie, but the essence of the story is basically the same as the original.

Anyway, I enjoyed it. I walked away wanting to learn Kung Fu more than ever. I've wanted to learn. I suppose I shouldn't keep putting it off.

Vital Records

Why can't you find your child's birth certificate when you need it?

It's like that sock that vanishes forever after you do laundry.

Just fuckin' gone. No trace.

Why do I even need to show someone my child's birth certificate? Just look at him! Look at her!!

They have been born, see? And my son looks just like me. My daughter looks just like her momma.

You can just look and tell that they're our kids!

So, why else do you need my child's birth certificate?

Greene Means "Go"

Looks like Alvin Greene is hanging in there.

The South Carolina Democratic party couldn't find any fraudulence after investigating Greene's unlikely nomination.

So, they gave Greene the "green" light. He may keep his nomination.

Now he doesn't need to lift a finger to pay for his campaign. The news media is doing it for him.

I've heard people call this guy a moron. I've heard people call him dumber than Sarah Palin.

(I personally don't think Palin is all that dumb. I think she's just doing what she has to in order to stay in the media [make money]).

Greene isn't that great of a speaker from what I've seen-- true dat.

And Greene does seem a bit unprepared for the daunting task ahead of him. No visible campaign efforts. No money. Hell . . . no employment! And he's facing Federal charges!

But, maybe he has an inner genius that told him he'd win if he did something different and unexpected-- like run for office without spending a dime on campaign signs.

I think there's something to this because, you see . . . I like all those things about him (minus the Federal Charges if they are true). It seems like the political process might actually have a glimmer of hope just by the mere fact that he's gotten this far.

Maybe Alvin Greene bit off more than he can chew. Or maybe he knows exactly what he's doing.

And maybe he just got lucky.

Time will tell.

LA Lakers Win It in Big Game Seven!

I'm a bit late in posting this, but I unexpectedly ended up working for 26 hours before the big Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals series. The last thing I felt like doing was posting anything on my blog. I had spent all that time on a malfunctioning server. After 26 grueling hours, I needed a break from technology.

I was whooped down when I finally got home. I was only sustained by a 30 minute nap and a 5 hour break that occurred between getting of at 5:00 PM Wednesday night and having to go back into the office at 10:00 PM. I ended up staying up all night at work, and then into the morning. I worked Thursday and all the way until 6:30 PM. Ugh!

I felt like a zombie.

But, I just HAD to watch Game 7 after I finally got home!

And it was great!

It makes sense that this series came down to a final "Game 7". Both teams were really good this year and deserved to be at the top. Neither team was going to lay down and let the other simply "win".

But a sporting series usually has an odd number of games for a reason. They only give out one big trophey at the end. And this year, it went to the LA Lakers!

To see a great best of seven series by two great teams that was tied at the six minute mark was a thrill! And even better when the team you're rooting for wins!!

What a way to end a 26 hour workday from hell!

Woot! Woot!

I Gotta Stop Being a Fat Ass

I struggle with my weight. I have for a long while now. I grew up really skinny. I marvel at old photos of myself. I looked pretty good back then (but I didn't think so back then).

Now, I'm a fat slob.

But I've been working on changing that these past two months.

I've lost about 20 pounds so far. I'm getting back into clothes that I couldn't wear for a few years.

I'm eating better, jogging every other day (more or less), and lifting weights on the days I don't jog. I give myself one day off within the week for recovery and I let myself splurge on the weekend.

So hopefully, I'll go from fat ass to being able to kick yo' ass.

OK, not you personally-- you who might be reading this. I meant "you" figuratively.

I've been on this weight loss journey before. But this time I think I'm going to stick with it and succeed.

I've realized that it's really not about losing any particular amount of weight. It's simply about adopting a consistent lifestyle of health and wellness.

The weight loss-- that will simply be the icing on the cake, so to speak.

The region I live in is noted for having a population with high obesity. That seriously needs to change. That's gotta start with me. My family and our habits.

Just can't eat those fried Twinkies any more.

OK, I've never had a fried Twinkie before. But I eat my share of burgers, French fries, pizza, fried chicken and fish, chips, chocolate, cookies, cake, and Southern Iced Sweet Tea.

OK, see . . . I'm not helping myself right now.

Arts & Crafts

My wife is quite creative. She is an artist and has command over the elements of design.

No, she did not help me with the look and feel of this blog.

Thus the shoddy look.

She helped me just a hair with MDLS. So, don't judge her abilities based on that blog, either.

Anyway . . . I digress.

She got the idea from a friend to take some heavy duty cardboard boxes and use them as toy chests. The kids can just dump their shi . . er, toys in the box after they play, therefore making clean up time less of a chore.

Well, my wife isn't going to just get cardboard boxes and throw them in their bedrooms like I would do.

She sat the kids down, made them plan out what they will draw on each panel of the box. She had them sketch it out on paper first. Then, she had them color their sketches.

Then she went and got supplies based on their ideas. She bought cut out rockets, robots, butterflies, glue, glitter, paint, sponge brushes, beads-- the works!

Then she had them painting their boxes, painting their cut-outs, and decorating the panels of their boxes.

She reminds me of an arts & crafts kindergarten teacher.

And the kids love it!

Yes, even my 8 year old know-it-all cynic.

And I love my wife for it, too.

And I can also tell that my wife wants to make her own box, too.

They Just Won't Quit

Damn. These 419 scams are getting ridiculous! If you can stomach it, read the one below. I got this in my spam box. And by the way, do not visit any of the links in the quoted e-mail below. Your computer could get ate up by viruses.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

Anti-Terrorist And Monitory Crime Division.

J.Edgar. Hoover Building Washington D.C.

Customers Service Hours / Monday To Saturday

For more information call during working period

Telephone number: 2033330996

Attention Beneficiary,

Records show that you are among one of the individuals and organizations who are yet to receive their overdue payment from overseas which includes those of Lottery/Gambling, Contract and Inheritance. Through our Fraud Monitory Unit we have also noticed that over the past you have been transacting with some imposters and fraudsters who have been impersonating the likes of Prof. Soludo of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Bode Williams, Frank, Anderson, none officials of Oceanic Bank, Zenith Banks, Kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx, Ibrahim Sule, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen and some imposters claiming to be The Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The Cyber Crime Division of the FBI gathered information from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) formerly known as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) of how some people have lost outrageous sums of money to these imposters. As a result of this we hereby advise you to stop communication with any one not referred to you by us.We have negotiated with the Federal Ministry of Finance that your payment totaling $6,100,000.00 will be released to you via a custom pin based ATM card with a maximum withdrawal limit of $5,000 a day which is powered by Visa Card and can be used anywhere in the world were you see a Visa Card Logo on the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). We have advised that this should be the only way at which you are to receive your payment because it’s more guaranteed, since over $5 billion was lost on fake cheque last year 2009.

We guarantee 100% receipt of your payment, because we have perfected everything in regards to the release of your $6.1 million United States Dollars to be 100% risk free and free from any hitches as it’s our duty to protect citizens of the United States of America and aslo Asia and Europe including Canadians. (This is as a result of the mandate from US Government to make sure all debts owed to citizens of American and also Asia and Europe which includes Inheritance, Contract, Gambling/Lottery etc are been cleared for the betterment of the current economic status of the nation and its citizens as he has always believed “Our Time for Change has come” because “Change can happen”).Below are few list of tracking numbers you can track from UPS website to confirm people like you who have received their payment successfully.

Name :Racheal Frank :UPS Tracking Number...1z89249r2210011070 (www.ups.com)

Name :Zaidi Mohammed :UPS Tracking Number...1z89249r2210011025 (www.ups.com)

Name :Stephen Medaris :UPS Tracking Number..1z89249r2210011089 (www.ups.com)

Name :Seddek Farhard :UPS Tracking Number..1z89249r2210011098 (www.ups.com)

To redeem your fund you are hereby advised to contact the ATM Card Center via email for their requirement to proceed and procure your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order on your behalf which will cost you $135.00 only nothing more and no hidden fees as everything else has been taken cared of by the Federal Government including taxes, custom paper and clearance duty so all you will ever need to pay is $135.00 only.

Contact Information

Name: Dr. Fred Williams,

Email: wdrfred@yahoo.com.hk

Phone: +234-807-625-4991

Do contact Dr. Fred Williams of the ATM Card Center via his contact details above and furnish him with your details as listed below:

Your full Name:

Your Address (where you will like your ATM CARD to be sent to):

Home/Cell Phone:

Occupation:

Age:

Bank Info:

On contacting him with your details your files would be updated and he will be sending you the payment information in which you will use in making payment of $135.00 via Western Union Money Transfer for the procurement of your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order. After which the delivery of your ATM card will be effected to your designated home address without any further delay, extra fee or any authority raising eyebrow.Upon receipt of payment the delivery officer will ensure that your package is sent within 24 working hours. Because we are so sure of everything we are giving you a 100% money back guarantee if you do not receive your ATM CARD Shippment Confirmation within the next 24hrs after you have made the payment for shipping.Once again we are so sure of you receiving your payment at no any other cost as we have taking it upon our duty to monitor everything in other to cub cyber crime that is perpetrated by those

impostors.

Thanks and hope to read from you soon.

ROBERT S. MUELLER,DIRECTOR

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535

TELEPHONE: 206-666-5283

FAX: 206-666-5283

Note: Disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM card, you are hereby advice only to be in contact with Dr. Fred Williams of the ATM card center who is the rightful person to deal with in regards to your payment and forward any emails you get from impostors to this office via the above fax number so we could act upon it immediately. Help stop cyber crime.

Grounds Keeping

Adam and Eve weren't kicked out of the Garden of Eden.

Adam gave God "the finger" and walked out.

Adam said, "I'll be damned if I tend to this garden for the rest of my life!"

I finally had this revelation after cutting down a lot of neglected weeds and vines that were growing up around my house this weekend.

Yeah Adam. I don't blame you for leaving Eden one bit.

The Night Owl

I'm a night owl. I think I have a sleep disorder.

No, really. I think I do.

I think I have delayed sleep phase syndrome. When I read the Wiki article, I felt like someone had been spying on me all of my life and then wrote this article.

I thought it was a joke at first. But, that's really an accurate description of me. I have all the challenges and emotions in that article. And the problem started when I was in middle school. I just started staying up and couldn't go to sleep one summer. And that become natural to me.

Dude! I'm living in the wrong time zone!

The problem with this disorder is that if I had trouble taking it seriously and I have it . . . who else will take it seriously?

Not my employer on my dreaded 8 to 5 job.

Honestly, I really, really, really like (not quite love, just like) my job.

I hate mornings. Mornings is what makes my job "dreaded".

I wish I worked at nights, could sleep all day, and run around town in the evenings before and after work.

If I could work from 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM every day, I'd be in hog heaven!

My struggle with my coffee addiction doesn't help one bit. Coffee just makes the vicious cycle worse. Lately I've drank tea in place of coffee. I get by, but man-oh-man do I miss grinding coffee beans and slipping on that rich, hot, fresh coffee with sugar and creme and . . .

OK, I'd better quit that.

Hell, my coffee deprivation runs deep enough to where I'll drink grocery store brand instant coffee at this point!

My Favorite Animal

Here's a cute little e-mail I ran across. It reminds me a lot of my son-- not just the wit of the narrator, but also the endearing affection the speaker apparently has for fried chicken:

Our teacher asked us what our favorite animal was, and I said, "Fried chicken."

She said I wasn't funny, but she couldn't have been right, because everyone else in the class laughed.

My parents told me to always be truthful and honest, and I am. Fried chicken is my favorite animal. I told my dad what happened, and he said my teacher was probably a member of PETA. He said they love animals very much. I do, too. Especially chicken, pork and beef.

Anyway, my teacher sent me to the principal's office. I told him what happened, and he laughed too. Then he told me not to do it again.

The next day in class my teacher asked me what my favorite live animal was. I told her it was chicken. She asked me why, just like she'd asked the other children. So I told her it was because you could make them into fried chicken. She sent me back to the principal's office again. He laughed, and told me not to do it again.

I don't understand. My parents taught me to be honest, but my teacher doesn't like it when I am. Today, my teacher asked us to tell her what famous person we admire most.

I told her, "Colonel Sanders".

Guess where I am now...

A Pot to Shit In: Part 2

Here's Vangaurd's full documentary entitled The World's Toilet Crisis.

*VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED*

But interestingly . . . that's the point of this piece. It has to be very gross because this is a very gross problem. People are either oblivious of this problem, or very numb to it.

Don't worry. If you make it to the end of this piece, you'll see that there is hope.

And you will certainly walk away with a new found respect for your toilet.

Shit, I know I did.

Sleepwalking

Under everyone's noses, a fellow named Alvin Greene snagged the win at the Democratic Primary for a Senate seat for South Carolina.

He was not only unknown, but has absolutely no political back ground whatsoever.

At first, I was really excited about the idea of a "no-namer" coming out of nowhere and wining a primary. He spent NO money on campaigning. Not one commercial. Not one ad. He only did the bare minimum and got his name on the ballot and then went door to door.

Awesomeness!

But then I learned that after he paid his $10,400 fee to run for the Senate, he never attended one meeting of the Democratic party for his state. (I didn't know you had to pay a fee to run for the Senate. This in and of itself is an outrage to me. Yet, everyone else around me shrugs their shoulders at the fee).

Not only did this guy not show up for any functions with the leaders of the Democratic party in his state, he ran for office knowing that he has Federal charges hanging over his head. If he were elected, he could possibly be carted off to Federal prison right after he finishes taking his oath of office.

He was honorably discharged from the military and earned a few medals for his service. That's good to know at least.

Currently, he is unemployed-- which really isn't a shocker in this economy. But, you'd think someone running for the Senate would be employed-- especially if there's a $10,400 fee just to run!

I mean, shit, man . . . $10,400 just to run!

But on the other hand, you gotta admire his resourcefulness.

Now that he's won the primary, the Democratic headquarters in South Carolina wants him to withdraw from the race as they threaten a Federal investigation concerning his payment of the Senate race fees. He used a personal check rather than an account fund according to Democratic headquarters in South Carolina. The Democratic party claims that this is not acceptable and that this action voids his candidacy from the start.

Some members of the Democratic party even claim that the Republicans planted Greene so they could get an easy win for that Senate seat.

You know what I say . . . .

Too much sleep walking going on.

The Dems should have cared enough about that seat to encourage a sound candidate to run if they didn't like Greene. They should have at least noticed that Greene could use some grooming before being taken seriously as an honest contender against an opponent with four million dollars of campaign cash on hand. Remember, Greene is running his campaign off of unemployment benefits. This is noble, but this is daunting against an established incumbent with deep pockets.

Perhaps the people were sleepwalking when they voted. Did they simply click on the first name they saw? Did he reach across the state so much that he picked up the majority vote in the primaries?

I realize that when you point one finger at someone else, three point back at yourself. I am guilty of this sleepwalking, too. And this whole episode inspires me to try and wake up and not just blindly punch names just because I don't know anyone on the ballot. No longer will I simply default to my party of choice just because I need to select a name. Voting isn't eeny-meeny-miney-mo.

And there is also the possibility of electronic voter fraud. Maybe someone hacked into the machines and altered the votes. Hacking voter machines isn't so far fetched these days. Someone might have been sleep walking in the security department as well.

But worse, it is very clear that only the wealthy can run for office. This is dangerous that only a certain class of people can expect to ever be successful in politics. This is the most frighting notion of all, in my view.

Or maybe Greene will prove that notion wrong.

Either way, we need to wake up and smell the coffee. We need to stop sleepwalking.

In case your interested, here's an embedded YouTube video of a recent media interview with Alvin Greene:

The Action Plan 2.0

I read a book last year called StrengthsFinder 2.0. The author was affiliated with the Gallup poll people.

The book isn't really what you're buying, though. You're really purchasing one shot at taking an online personality test which will try to asses you innate strengths.

The idea is that you learn your strengths and then focus time building them up. They also try to give hints as to what activities you might consider in order to hone your strengths and offset your weaknesses. The results also suggest the type of people you might want to partner with or consult in order to help complement your natural abilities.

Interestingly, personalities weaknesses seem to be personality strengths in overdrive.

After taking this test, you're given an "action plan" that lays out your top five strengths along with suggested activites that will help you use and hone those abilities.

Here are the top five strengths in my test results along with a short paraphrase of their implications:

• Learning -- Enjoy taking in new information. Sometimes teaching is the best way to learn, so a tendency for teaching might be there, too. (I hate learning.) (Just kidding. I hate learning stuff I'm not interested in. I love to follow my nose, though! I've battled with wanting to teach. I'm too afraid to go into education.)

• Restorative -- Love to find the root or source of a problem and then fix it. (Hey . . . I have to do that at work fixing computer problems. Hmmm . . .)

• Input -- Love to express oneself. Especially information recently learned-- Love to teach, express oneself or make presentations. (My blogging activity is an example I guess . . .)

• Analytical -- Detailed oriented. Enjoy the logical analysis of data. (I am a little anal sometimes . . . but the logic processing aspects of my brain have been asleep most of my life. I've got a lot of catching up to do!)

• Harmony -- Hates conflict and confrontation. Looks for ways to reconcile oneself to others, or looks to reconcile estranged parties as a mediator. (I do hate conflicts. I will get angry sometimes. But generally, I'm a pussy. But when I do get pissed . . . I'm like David Banner off that '70s Hulk TV series: Please-- don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry . . .)

I forgot about the results of my personality test until a few days ago. I found where I had copied my action plan somewhere and forgot all about it.

I dusted it off (so to speak) and thought I'd give it another go.

Monday through Friday of each week, I'll dedicate each weekday towards honing each of my strengths.

I'm a little excited. I hope I see some results in the months to come.

NBA Awesomeness!

I'm an LA Lakers fan. Have been since Magic Johnson graced the basketball court.

My second favorite team is the Boston Celtics. I admire their rivalry against the Lakers. Larry Bird was awesome, as well as the other Celtics of that era that played by his side. Same goes for the rest of the Lakers, of course.

Regardless of the respect that I have for the Celtics, (and regardless of the fact that I have a little Irish in me) I cheer on the Lakers whenever they are up against any other team. After the Lakers, I cheer on the Celtics.

So, I'm really enjoying this year's NBA playoffs. I almost want them both to win, but deep down inside, I want the Lakers to win it the most.

So, I thought it was total sweetness when Derek Fisher made that one-on-three lay up against the Celtics. I think that was the straw that broke the Celtic's back in Game Three of the 2010 Finals.

Now, if I could just get the newest season of the IT Crowd on DVD-- man, that would make for a perfect evening!

IT Crowd Withdrawal

Man, when are they going to come out with another season of the IT Crowd on DVD?

I miss seeing that show.

I work in IT, so I get it.

Get it?

Anyway,

The IT Crowd splits my side. I laughed so hard at one scene, I got light headed and felt like I might pass out. I couldn't breath for laughing and yet, I couldn't laugh hard enough at the same time.

I've never had a fit of laughter like that in all my life!

But many other scenes are close contenders on my laugh meter.

My wife and I both love watching that show. We just say lines from the show to each other as inside jokes.

If you watch it, see it from the beginning. The first episode might be a bit weak. But after that, it's all on.

You can get it on DVD from Netflix. I also think you can watch episodes on YouTube.

I think.

The British Channel4 doesn't seem to allow streaming from outside the country or something. I dunno. If it worked for me, I wouldn't be writing this post. Also, I don't have BBC. I only have bare bones basic cable so I can see my network channels. That screwy digital converter was a bunch of bullshit.

Anyway . . .

See the IT Crowd. You just gotta at least try it.

Oh, but if you don't like watching that sort of thing . . . then, well . . .

*Shrug*

"Doesn't bother me".

;-)

Facebook Rant

I don't like Facebook. It's has stolen all my friends from me. I can't seem to communicate with many of them any more.

Hell, some bastard even started trying to woo my wife away from me. She didn't realize what was going on at first. He was really subtle. That is, until he started asking if they could arrange a way to meet in person. She woke up and smelled the coffee then and realized what he was trying to do. She became really alarmed and told me what was going on.

I don't boss my wife around; She's her own woman. But on that evening when she told me what she thought he was up to, I became the boss in that moment.

Un-friend him. No . . . wait . . .

Block the bastard.

Now.

I don't even want him to be able to see your page any more.

She followed through without hesitation. After all, she was unnerved by the whole thing herself.

If my wife had not been open and honest with me -- shit -- I could have eventually lost my wife to that fucking Facebook shit!

She my best friend of all!! Facebook can't have her.

Yes, I've joined Facebook. After all, that's what everyone says I need to do to keep up. People say that I wouldn't lose my friends if I stay active on Facebook. (Hell, now I think I need to stay on Facebook just to keep other people from bothering my wife).

But people in my circle rarely seem to talk about any in-depth topic of substance. WTF!

Chat is really cool, I'll admit. But Facebook didn't invent chat. You can do that in so many other places with less distractions than Facebook!

We all seem caught up with either surfing each others walls or playing flash games as we make as many superficial connections as we can.

Sorry. I'm not interested.

I want my friends back.

And as I already alluded to above, Facebook can connect you with people you DO NOT want or NEED in your life. Facebook seems to be morphing into a environment for forging clandestine relationships rather than keeping up with true friends and relatives. Or, people you never really got along with find you and keep pestering you with "friends" requests over and over.

Can't you tell that I've been clicking Ignore, over and over again on your requests?

Huh? Can't you? Huh?

I know; Some people sit back and reflect on Facebook and say "Ah . . . thank you, Facebook".

But I say, "Fuck you, Facebook". And then I emphatically give them The Finger.

Then I make a sour face and log into my profile.

I have to; otherwise, I'll be out of touch even more than before.

I hate Facebook. It has become a necessary evil in my life.

Fuck you, Facebook. Fuck you.

A Pot to Shit In

Shit . . . I didn't know there was a toilet crisis that effects half the world's population.

That would be billions of people.

That's billion, with a "B".

Shit.

Well, see for yourself-- just make sure you watch the video on an empty stomach if you watch it at all.

So, in other words:

*Viewer discretion is strongly advised. Fecal matter abounds in this Current TV video*

* Note -- This video is only the preview as of the original posting. The full video will be uploaded by Current TV on June 9th, 2010. I will try to update this post by embedding the full video after it's release. Or, you can go to Current.com to see the full video on June 9th for yourself-- if you can stomach such a thing!

Pressing the Record Button

Welcome to my second weblog outlet. Here, you will find my open-book journal in digital form--the other things I think about when I don't post anything on my original blog spot titled My Dirty Little Secret.

This blog spot is for me more than any audience besides myself. But if you should follow me here or stumble upon my page, feel free to comment if you want.

Or not.

Oh, and if you don't already know about My Dirty Little Secret . . . then click that link and check it out.

Or not.

:-)