April 2008 Archives

Thats right folks. ITS LINK MADNESS TIME!!!!! (I cant seem to edit the html in this new version of MT, so you might want to open them manually in a new browser)

Wanna learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube?

Even in this economy, there are still lots of people hiring. Here is 35 things to avoid an interview.

I am not sure if this is true as I hear about all the tax breaks the oil companies get, but if it is true it is pretty amazing.

10 great downloads for your network

7 Habits of highly successful SPACE CAPTAINS!

Secrets behind your favorite toys

Why your not getting sex.

Even smart people can change their minds.

20 of the worst foods in America

Top 50 programs that drive us crazy and open source alternatives

Tesla was THE MAN

Best Con-Artists of all time.

How Americans Spend their money. Pretty suprising

20 Things Life taught me

Science Valentines (Yeah I am way late with this one)

If you are a LOST fan, This site has some pretty cool info on the Island.

I could totally use these at work.

Lets get on Solar!

Stupid Science Fair projects

Wealth = Religion? Maybe, maybe not.

No news here. The government totally blows spending your tax dollars.

Remember that missle that was shot at the falling satellite? Here is the video.

Some Great saftey pictures here.

I SO WANT THIS!

Thats it folks. Still have more links I have been saving.

Michael, out.

My friend Bill used to tell me "Remember the good times when things are bad. When things are good, enjoy them cause the bad is right around the corner". To be perfectly honest, I am not 100% sure if Bill did say this, but I will attribute this to him.

It's been a rough few weeks. I wont go into details but I am worn down. It was interesting though cause even though I might have it bad, it could also be worse. Tara was telling me today about this family who have been trying to have kids for years and then finally had a daughter. The woman had a hystorectomy afterwards and they just found out their 18 month old has cancer. Man, I may have it bad, but when people tell you things like that, it makes you appreciate all you have.

Michael, being thankful, out.

Wow, what a rough day. Sometimes Music can just tell it like it is.

I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I'll be alright
Perhaps it's just imagination

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away

Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
It's time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation

At least there's pretty lights
And though there's little variation
It nullifies the night from overkill

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Come back another day

I can't get to sleep
I think about the implications
Of diving in too deep
And possibly the complications

Especially at night
I worry over situations
I know I'll be alright
It's just overkill

Day after day it reappears
Night after night my heartbeat shows the fear
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away
Ghosts appear and fade away

-Overkill by Colin Hay

"Health is not valued till sickness comes."
 -Thomas Fuller
 
 Somehow I picked up a sinus thing that is fighting for control of my nose and throat. I haven't been sick in a LONG time so it was suprising to feel as crappy as I do. One of my vendors told me my immune system is down because of all the stress, late nights and lack of sleep. I am beginning to agree with him. I feel extremely tired, so much so that I could fall asleep at my desk. I was tempted to go to my car in the parking garage and see if I could nap for 10-15min during lunch but I am always worried that someone will walk by and think I am dead. Instead I am heading downstairs and going to get a redbull and see if I can power through the rest of the day.
 
 I rode my motorcycle today to work. It is supposed to rain but I am hoping that I can sneak in and out between showers. The main reason for riding the bike is gas. It is getting crazy and to be honest, I think it will get much worse. I remember my wife laughed when i said that gas will reach 4 bucks a gallon by summer (I think I will be right). Also oil speculators are saying that a barrel of oil will reach $180 which translates to $5.50 per gallon at the pump before the end of the year. If it reaches that high, I am going to mention telecommuting.
 
 While Keri was visiting she lamented the lack of a LINK MADNESS. Don't worry Keri. I have one ready to go! Check out tomorrow for the new LINK MADNESS!
 
 Nothing else is really going on. Or in other words, nothing that is worth talking (e.g.: complaining) about.
 
 Michael, about to nod off, out.
 

"Incompetents invariably make trouble for people other than themselves".

Larry McMurtry (1936 - ), 'Lonesome Dove'

 

Today is one of those days you wish you could forget. Just about everything went wrong and to be honest, I never have felt so tired. I won't go into detail, just to say that I.....

 

*long pause of thinking*

 

I don't know. Maybe I am just discouraged, stressed, not sleeping, not exercising. I am just glad the day is done.

 

You know what is really funny? When your best friend throws your own words back at you. "Eating your own dogfood" is hard but needed. My friend Chris threw a phrase back at me ("this too shall pass") that I tell him all the time. When he said it, it almost hit me like a brick. He is right of course, and it made me feel better.

 

Another thing that makes me feel better is writing in this blog. I am going to try and make it a daily occurrence. I have noticed my stress levels are much higher since I quit writing everyday and so I am going to make a concerted effort to write daily again (and get my archives back up!)

 

Until then, I am going to go home. hug my kids, kiss my wife and play with the dog.

 

Michael, out.

We had a great weekend. Man, I needed it. I made a concerted effort not to work and for the most part, I was successful.

Keri was in NOLA getting residency VISA's for her move to Spain, so her whole family came down and spent the night with us. It was fantastic to see her (I haven't seen her in 6 years since she got married) and we were able to spend time with her and her family. We went to dinner at the Cheesecake Bistro (Wow, what a great place) and got to catch up with what is happening in their lives. We even talked about visiting them in Spain (Yes, I know if you dig deep in my blog archives, which I eventually will get back up, you will see that I don't have a great affinity for the Spanish due to their handling of the Najaf area while I was in Iraq. However since Keri is like a sister to me, I'd be willing to bite the bullet and visit Spain. Just to see her and her family).

After Keri left, we went to my companies "Family Day" at the Fairgrounds. The kids got all kinds of swag and little trinkets from the midway they had. Also all sorts of bouncy castles and lots for kids to do. Eventually we wore out the kids and headed for home.

I am going on the record to say that we have some awesome neighbors. It's one of the main reasons we have become more comfortable in BTR (Takes some time to get used to things here). However our neighbors are awesome. On Saturday Chauncey (Yup, if that isn't a Louisianan name, I don't know what is) and his wife Cathy and Allen and Allison decided to have a crawfish boil. Then Allen decided to throw on some shrimp he purchased (The shrimp was HUGE!) and it was a full on Louisiana feast. Tara, Lauryn and I (Alyson won't eat crawfish) had a blast and were sooo full when we left. Before we left we were sitting around talking about different food and Allen mentioned that he wanted some cake. So as you would expect plans were made to smoke a brisket and then Tara would make her Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake, Cathy would make her "Mississippi Mud" and Allen would cook the brisket. So Sunday night we went back over to Chauncey's house and ate again. The girls went swimming (They have a pool) and had a great time. Now, I feel fat and will have to work out.

The dog is doing fine. We need to take some photos!

Nothing much to report. Going back to the grind.

Michael, glad he had such a good weekend, out.

Sorry for the lack of updates. Its been totally crazy.

I posted the photos of our DC trip on Facebook.

I know many of you have been bugging me to get my blog up and running but I have so many personal and work related things going on, I am not sure when it will be done. Just know that I havent given up on blogging.

Work is totally crazy. We have so many moving parts going on at the moment that I havent had time to do much. By the time I get home I am exhausted. When i get home Tara and I have a list of things we need to do (I have to get my media center fixed up, the garage is in serious need of cleaning, etc) I also helped a friend with his backyard (tiled his patio) and I am still sore!

I think once this next 6 weeks (according to the project schedule) is done, then I might have more time. (Hopefully).

 

Michael, out.

Back from DC and now I am in Boston. I swear this project is going to be the death of me.

 

I have lots of photos which I will eventually put up (prob will be on facebook). Alyson and I had a great time in DC and she was awesome. I learned alot about her (that girl can EAT and she is always hungry). We went all over DC and saw many of the landmarks. Interestingly enough she thought that Arlington Cemetary was the best part of the whole trip. Seeing the changing of the guard and Kennedy grave was amazing.

 

I am now in Boston for meetings. I had to fly from DC to BTR on Sunday to drop Alyson off and then fly back up to Boston on Monday morning. Whew, I am tired.

 

I know most of you are wondering when updates will be forthcoming and when I will get the archives up. I am hoping to do most of this on the weekend so I can finally get this blog going again.

 

Michael, in Boston, out.

Although I have been on a "blocation" it doesn't mean that things haven't been crazy. The project is going in crazy directions and my travel schedule is heating up again. To be honest, I am just plain tired.

 

Too all of you wondering when this blog will be back up in full, it will take some time. However, I will do better about updating. I think the "blocation" is just about it. I am finding I really need an outlet to vent sometimes and just writing is a major stress relief.

 

To those of you "LINK MADNESS" lovers don't worry. I have been saving lots of links for you.

 

Tomorrow my daughter and I go to Washington DC. I haven't seen her so excited. I will be taking photos and blogging about it.

 

Michael, getting ready to come back from his blogcation, out.