9/4/08
Ya gotta wonder if the Afganies and Iraqies might sing the song below here a decade from now. I heard it at the KC IrishFest this past weekend and it made me really think about the American attitude of suposed superiority. Damien Dempsey, a very talented Irish musician performed it live. The last verse is the clincher... believe it freedom fighters.
COLONY
I sing the
song of the colony
How many years and you're still not free
And your mother cries and you ask god why
Greed is the knife and the scars run deep
How many races with much reason to weep
And your children cry
And you ask God why
Annie, she came from Dunlavin
Town
The TB came and killed her family all around
Population booms
Eleven in two rooms
Katie she came from down Townsend street
Ten in a bed and no shoes on their feet
1916 came
They played the patriots game
Freddy, he came from the Iveagh flats
Tenement slums and infested with rats
Sleeping on damp straw
Trying not to break the law
Thomas, he came from Kilmaine in Mayo
Semi starvation was the only life you'd know
In a two room shack
Then jailed in Letterfrack
I look to the east, I look
to the west
To the north and the south, and I'm not too impressed
Time after time
After crime after crime
They raped, robbed, pillaged, enslaved and murdered
Jesus Christ was their god and they done it in his name
So he could take the blame if it's not all a game
With bible in one hand and a sword in the other
They came to purify my land of my Gaelic Irish mothers
And fathers, and sisters and brothers
With our own ancient customs, laws, music, art
Way of life and culture
Tribal in structure
We had a civilisation
When they were still neanderthal nations
We suffer with the Native American, the Indian in Asia
Aboriginal Australia
The African people with their history so deep
And our children still weep and our lives are still cheap
You came from Germany, from France, from England
And from Spain
From Belgium and from Portugal
You all done much the same
You took what was not yours
Went against your own bible
You broke your own laws
Just to out do the rival
But did you ever apologize
For the hundreds and millions of lives
You destroyed and terrorised
Or have you never realized
Did you never feel shame
For what was done in your country's name
And find out who's to blame and why they were so inhumane
And still they teach you in your school
About those glorious days of rule
And how it's your destiny to be
Superior to me
But if you've any kind of mind
You'll see that all human kind
Are the children of this earth
And your hate for them will chew you up and spit you out
You'll never kill our will
to be free, to be free
You'll never kill our will to be free, to be free
You'll never kill our will to be free, to be free
Inside our minds we hold, hold the key
7/8/08
Flobots - There's A War Going On For Your Mind
Media
mavens mount surgical strikes from trapper keeper collages and online magazine
racks
Cover girl cutouts throw up pop-up ads
Infecting victims with silicone shrapnel
Worldwide passenger pigeons deploy paratroopers
Now it's raining pornography
Lovers take shelter
Post-production debutantes pursue you in Nascar chariots
There's a war going on for your mind
They construct ransom letters from biblical passages and bleed mascara into the holy water supplies
There's a war going on for your mind
Industry insiders
slang test tube babies to corporate crack heads
They flash logos and blast ghettos
Their embroidered neckties say "Stop Stitching"
Conscious rappers and whistle blowers get stitches made of acupuncture needles
and marionette strings
There is a war going on for your mind
Professional
wrestlers and vice presidents want you to believe them
The desert sky is their blue screen
They superimpose explosions
They shout at you
"Pay no attention to the men behind the barbed curtain
Nor the craters beneath the draped flags
Those hoods are there for your protection
And meteors these days are the size of corpses"
There's a war going on for your mind
We are the insurgents
7/3/08
4 months is too long... that's what summer and two kids will do to websites and rambling internet commentaries. Since March our little bundle of joy has blessed us with daily reminders why two people who have no clue what they are doing decide to have kids. Lexi is the polar opposite of Zoe in many ways. She's the happiest, most contented baby I've ever laid eyes on. She'll crack up with her trademark ear to ear grin whenever you look at her and loves to be around people. She's sleeping through the night and I think we'll put her in her crib in Zoe's room tonight. I believe she's up to 14lbs now and loves to eat like clockwork. Zoe loves her to death and has proclaimed "she's my baby and I made her first". I'll wait a few decades before explaining how Lexi came to be :) Zoe is growing up to be a smart little girl who talks to her cat Peanut and wants to "grow up fast so she can do everything". Some days we wish she would but most just cherish the age she is at. Life has been challenging at the Vincent house the past couple months with health issues but God is good to get us through these times and family and friends are faithful to pray for us. --- The Goat is sadly gone and in it's place is a '07 Hyundai Azara Limited. 4 doors are nice and it gets a little better gas mileage than a 350HP V8. I know I've said I'd never buy a brand new car but nearly 0% interest for 5 years and a 100k warranty were very appealing. Sorry domestic plastic car makers, there's a reason you are all going bankrupt and can't sell your offerings. -- I got some more ink done last week. I again had Kevin over at Electric Tattoo add an "A" for Alexis to the Z H V tat and added another "dot" to my celtic cross for Lexi. Pictures are below:-- May marked my 29th year on this earth and another day of mourning dressed in sackcloth and ashes upon my head. Next year I will officially have to grow up and act like I'm in my "30's". Haaaaaaaaaaaa, Right... Have a blasted 4th of July, enjoy your freedoms, you might not have them here soon.
Another edition of:
WHAT'S ON MY IPOD PLAYLIST (I've finally caught up with technology and got an iPOD)
3/25/08
So far Lexi Lyn is doing great. Oh, yes we finally gave her the middle name "Lyn" after my mother's middle name. Mother and child are doing as well as can be. She's sleeping through the night for the most part and only wakes to nurse or when her diaper needs changed. She sleeps most of the day and can dream right though everything from vacuuming to the ghetto blasters driving by. She's gained 7oz so far and seems to be content just being held and looked at. Her newest cousin Elli was welcomed in last week as well. I'm back at work after a two week stint as a stay at home Dad. I loved being off and playing golf a couple times and have begrudgingly gone back to the daily grind at the VA. For those who think the VA is doing badly check out www.vawatchdog.org for their latest follies. Most of them are right one the money.
Here is some tips I found helpful regarding protecting yourself from an intruder or person who might want to cause harm to you and your family.. Value your 2nd Amendment rights now, that's about the only good thing this administration has left alone in their anti-liberty campaign against the American people. That's a Glock 22 by the way...
3/7/08
Surprise! "Life comes at you fast", as the insurance commercial says. Heather, Zoe and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, in true Vincent men tradition, last night at 7:12PM. She's a precious little baby that loves to sleep and enjoy life on the outside. Heather is doing well as can be expected and there were no complications with the birth or with Lexi. The actual labor, once Heather's water broke, was only 30min, so many many prayers were answered last night. Although extremely painful, it took 3-4 pushes and out she came. I don't think either of us were ready for her, but she wanted out and she made sure it happened. No cone head or elf ears this time, she didn't have time to perfect them : ) She's slept really well so far and was nursing minutes after she was born. We were able to come home last night around 10PM or so and her proud big sister Zoe welcomed her with open arms and awe this morning. Our thanks goes out to all who prayed, gave encouragement and thought of us during the past 9 and half months. The fruits of our labor are rich and wonderful. God is so good to us... Lexi's stats are below:
2/3/08
Happy 2008, mass populous.. As you can see I decided to dump most of PatsHideOut and go with a more simple design. I'm sure the few who visit this page realized "The Attic" was the only part of the hideout that I actually updated regularly, so I converted it to the main page when you visit www.PatsHideOut.com . Enjoy your stay but knock first...
I'll stay clear of politics this time so don't fear, you can read what's below without feeling uncomfortable or angry.
Heather and child are doing well as the weeks count down. It's hard to believe it's only 7 weeks until the stork will come deliver us a new addition. If only it was that easy! We look forward to being able to announce with joy here soon. The Birth and Women's Center of Topeka has once again been a blessing to us and they are the best to deal with. For people who are searching for their own answers, you might check out a documentary called The Business of Being Born produced surprisingly, by Ricki Lake. Another eye opener, as was "Sicko", on the US healthcare system. ---- The winter has been hard on all of us. This bitter cold has broken us in sickness mostly. I'm ready for some heat baby. Noah and I got a membership to the prestigious Berkshire Country Club and Fitness Resort here in Topeka. (please note a small bit of sarcasm in my voice). It's actually really nice and we hope to play decent amount of golf this spring and summer at their 6 courses around Kansas. ---- Unfortunately with the upcoming addition of our family, I am regretfully forced to sell the Goat. It ran surprisingly well in all the snow and ice this winter, which is another trait American made "sports cars" aren't to great at. It's on AutoTrader.com if anyone cares. If we can't sell it for what's it worth, then we'll keep it for the summer and speed around blowing the doors off unsuspecting motorists. I saw a personalized licenses plate on a GTO recently that sums it up for us: "VETTEFOR4". Sweet...
In the past I've posted "What's In My CD Player" and I will continue to do that, but I am also going to start posting "What's On My Bookshelf". This will be books that I've read recently or are going to be reading. I'll start the inaugural post with one book that just finished and some that I'll be reading soon:
What's On My Bookshelf:
Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
Death by Supermarket by Nancy Deville
We Don’t Die, We Kill Ourselves by Roger Dehahn
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell II, John Robbins, and Howard Lyman
Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson
Blowback by Chalmers Johnson
The Sorrows of Empire by Chalmers Johnson
A Foreign Policy
of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship by Dr. Ron Paul
12/13/07
The PMC (Punisher Media Center) is back online, though not without some headaches. Namely Microsoft's new pretty boy OS, VISTA. The main system drive went six deep a while back and just recently I got around to installing the replacement drive. I decided, hell, while I'm at it, why don't I install VISTA Ultimate and see how this sparkley new OS works. I'l knew l'd be running into it sooner or later at work and MS willl kill XP so let's jump in. It's funny, some people act like it's all so yesterday that you run XP. There actually is a large non-coperate XP following which is why DELL, HP and other PC vendors are offering it as an option. Anyway, I get my hands on VISTA Ultimate and put it on the PMC. Surprisinly enough it ran fairly well on year-old hardware. The Aero interface looked pretty but hogged RAM and hit my CPU. Since the PMC was hooked up to my HDTV I downloaded the latest drivers from NVIDIA and thought I'd be good. After hours of tweaking and reading internet forums, I could not get a decent picture or a 1080i display. Plus my NForce oboard NIC would keep disconnecting from my router/switch. I really wanted to keep it and see how much I could fix, but in the end I blew it away and re-installed Windows XP Media Center 2005, which BTW, works great. Needless to say I don't see any real reason ANYONE would willingly upgrade to VISTA. You will be forced to by the PC makers sooner or later, but other than the eye candy and a couple new features, it's just not worth it. Tests have been run and even with SP1 installed, it's a slug compared to XP SP3. If you want all the pretty eye candy for your XP box, it's out there. I especially like something I found recently called Yahoo Widgets. IMO, they are a ton better than the VISTA "sidebar" and there are alot freakin more of them than MS will give yah. There's actally one that will show you what day your baby is in the pregnancy and give you a 3D represenation of what it looks like at that time. Let's just say there is one more thing to add to the list of things that are truly inevitable besides death and taxes, "Windows OS Upgrades".
I'll leave you with a couple thoughts to ponder on:
Around the holidays I wonder when a person says "it's so hard to buy for so-and-so since they have everything". Maybe they truly do have EVERYTHING they need, did you ever think of that? You want to be "Green" and save some money? Listen to them when they say they don't need anything.
"We are making enemies faster than we can kill them" - I challenge you Bible Belt Bush fans to read the following verses out of Luke 6 from the mouth of Jesus himself and not have a conflict of interest.
"But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. 30 “Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. 32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned"
11/14/07
A break in the political banter.. Here are some recent sonogram pictures of our blessing. Call us old fashioned or just backwoods, but we didn't find out what the baby's gender is. Another surprise next March! Can't wait for #2 to come along and give Zoe a sibling! The important thing is Heather and the baby are doing well and growing beautifully. God is good..
Side view of the little guy/gal
The face of our precious munchkin
11/3/07
Change is in the wind....
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." - James Madison
"The First Drop" - Rise Against
I’m calling out
Only echoes respond
But I scream ‘til my voice is gone
Crouching in corners and hiding your face
I’m sick and tired of playing your games
I’m not alone
I stand amongst the voiceless
Millions in the unforgiving sun
Here arm-in-arm
We parade these streets
And sing our songs
We’ve had enough
Is there even anything left to explain?
Am I really someone you need to restrain?
Can’t you listen to what we have to say?
Unknowing, we lie and wait for the rain
To wash away what they have made
Face down in the dirt with your foot on my back
In the distance I hear thunder crack
C'mon Stand up !
This system of power and privilege is about to come to an end
Here come the clouds
The first drop is falling down
We’ve had enough
Is there even anything left to explain?
Am I really someone you need to restrain?
Can’t you listen to what we have to say?
Our futures burn in red horizons
Ashes scattered in winds of change
Casualty numbers are rising
Now it’s time to raise the stakes
We’re meant for something more than living just to put food on our plates
I can’t help but wonder--why should we participate?
We’ve had enough
Is there even anything left to explain?
Am I really someone you need to restrain?
Can’t you listen to what we have to say?
10/15/07
Hello again lonely web page. All alone in the digital wasteland called the Internet. What a time waster it can be. We spent a week in Chicago last month and was surprising to see how much people had a love affair with technology. Even in the short years that I've been an adult, society has changed, I suspect for the worse. Nearly everyone either had some sort of phone, Blackberry or IPod stuck in their ear. The streets were eerily quiet except for the bustle of cabs, busses, and elevated trains. People just didn't have time to look around and enjoy the real world. Interaction was digital and remote. People didn't want or need to talk in person and could ignore the world by stuffing some earbuds in their head and look blankly out the window. Some people looked nervous when NOT toying with the various gadgets they were connected to. I'm fully convinced the future generation, by the time they are 30, will be deaf from their IPods, blind from their Blackberries and have no real conversations from the addictive use of cell phones. Forget trying to motivate them to do anything important, HALO 10 might be coming out so they gotta sit in line for three weeks to get it. I think the apathy of this next generation will play a large part in America's downfall. ---- CHI town was relaxing actually. Compared to NYC, it was fairly light traffic both pedestrian and vehicular. We were able to get out and do and see some things before the week was up so it turned out well. We did eat at the Weber Grill Restaurant, which was some of the best BBQ I have tasted. They cook the food on huge Weber charcoal grills, which give it that backyard BBQ taste and it was done perfectly. It's the only place I have ordered my burger medium-well and it actually came out medium-well. The bill came with two packets of their house meat rub which was a nice touch. We didn't get to try out Heaven on Seven, which I hear is excellent cajun, but we did dine at P.F. Changs for the first time and I was impressed. We always love trying out new dining when we travel. Zoe had fun going to the Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum and Navy Pier with Heather while I went to class. They got around the town like regular pros using the subway, elevated train and busses.
Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
8/31/07
Hello on this last day of August. Here's some great news in the midst of all the bad:
If you can't tell from hint dropping, Zoe is going to be a big sister her in April! We're naturally excited and are looking forward life with two children with anticipation and a little bit of uncertainty. I was recently told, "hey if you haven't experienced it yet, how do you know what its going to be like?", so we just jumping into this next step in life with faith that we'll do fine. God's blessing are meant for good. ---- We didn't go on any vacation this summer, but Heather and Zoe were able to accompany me to some training in Boston, MA. They had fun exploring Boston and seeing the pond from the "Make Way for Ducklings" book. I was able to get out early the last day of class and we took the subway into Boston. It was a very historic city and it was neat to see the birthplace of America where Benjamin Franklin and Paul Revere walked all those years back. What impressed me about the historic part of the city was that it was somewhat different from places like NYC or Chicago. Very little traffic, manly walking and biking were the two modes of transportation. The people just seemed to enjoy a slower way of life. Very friendly people and overall somewhere where I could see myself vacationing. The seafood was excellent and the New England Clam "Chowda" was superb. I had a whole lobster for the first time which was good but blew my perdiem for the day. We plan on going to Chicago for a week in late September for another training class. Can't wait for some Bubba Gumps and Lou Malnatis. --- I leave you with a couple links to stories that don't need explaining and I just don't want to rant today. My 5 day weekend is just starting.
It's about time, play the game fair is all we are asking
This made me sick, but then mad. Seeing I'm paying more taxes for less, many people in America are going into debt to get medical care even if they have insurance, and our veterans are being denied basic medical care when they get their a$$ blown off in this conflict called "war". Part of me is glad that veterans are sueing the VA to get free proper medical care.
Good for them..
7/4/07
It seems like I'm not the only one fed up with the our government. I was watching Lou Dobbs speak to the National Press Club on CSPAN this past weekend and he's actually urging people to renounce their political affiliations and register as an Independant. He says "don't let someone else who has only the interests of corporations take your vote for granted". They want you to buy into that whole two party bickering crap. They are just two wings on the same broken, corrupt, bloated bird. That's the road I'm headed down. I think if enough people made a statement that they weren't going to put up with the current politicking parties and joined the crowd of the "non affiliated", the men and women we elected might actually take their head out of the black caldron of special interest money and look around at the people they are being paid quite well to serve. It worked for the immigration bill... think about it. Here are some YOUTUBE videos of Lou's speach VID1 and VID2 . Hmmm, maybe I'm on to something here. Lou Dobbs knows better than anyone how politics work. He reports on them everyday and I'm sure sees the blatant ignorance of the mass media to report on the real cost of the war and immigration.
6/28/07
Umm... paging the president, commander in chief, or whatever you might call him, too bad the American people said not just no but HELL NO to your little amnesty bill. Now it's not just some renigade MinuteMen kooks on the border, America has spoken. GO HOME ILLEGALS, leave AMERICA or GET ARRESTED, no PARDON for all you lawbreakers. You know, if you've read this little braindump of mine over the years that I lean towards the right on most issues and have supported the president on the war and other social issues. I no longer in good conscience support the president, his staff, or his policies. I won't stop there or just flop on over to other side, I'm done with these useless corporate tools we call politicians. It's blatantly obvious and ironic that the same staunch Democrat voters that were singing the praises of the their victory in the last election and were convinced "thing were going to change", are now giving up in pure bitterness and frustration of how their perfect little regime has sold out to the same corporate money and lobbyists and NOTHING HAS CHANGED. The war is still costing American lives and TRILLIONS of dollars. Care to help the poor in America, fixour utterly deplorable healthcare system, build a fence on our southern border?, No we have to spend more money hiring mercenary corporations to support our "war" effort in a part of the world that will NEVER be at peace. Did anyone read that the lady who utterly HATED George Bush, camping out in protest at the White House and his Texas ranch after her son was killed in Iraq, recently gave up the fight after the newly minted Democrats kissed the bloated pig's arse hard and laughed wickedly while drinking deeply from the golden cup of power.
I'm OUT... I'm done with these two-faced LIARS. Mark my words, in the near future if there isn't a drastic change in the American government we will see an uprising from the American people forcing BILATERAL GOVERNMENT reform or a mass revolt. I'm not so sure I believe that propaganda about God blessing America anymore.
Here's a great article about Michael Moore's latest movie "SICKO", which yes, I'd actually watch. America is due for extreme HEALTHCARE reform. I'm not talking about making drugs cheaper or proving free healthcare, I'm talking about limiting the WAL-MARX's and McDonalds, completely eradicate most drug companies, and providing true ILLNESS CURING care.
WHEN THE RICH WAGE WAR IT'S THE POOR THAT DIE...
5/15/07
Thought I'd share a song I heard on the radio that sums up my feelings on childhood and how children should be raised, except for the moms smoking and drinking thing. I believe it's by Bucky Covington, an American Idol finalist. Oh, and don't waste your money on the new Linkin Park album, Minutes to Midnight. I listened to it a week ago and they're now just washed up Nu-metal rockers wining about the war, trying to sing pop, and saying a word that rhymes with "Luck" alot. When did LP get into politics?? It's funny, when a band makes a point to tell the media that they don't swear, it's ironic when they come out with a record that's pretty blatant in that way. Too bad they couldn't shut up about politics, play some good rap-metal without the language and stop filling their records with 3/4 pop ballads.
A Different Life:
We were born to mothers who smoke and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead-based paint
No childproof lids
No seatbelts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets
and still here we are
Still here we areWe got daddy's belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside
Playing outsideIt was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different worldSchool always started the same everyday
the pledge of allegiance, then someone would pray
not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed but that was alright
We turned out alrightIt was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different worldNo bottled water
We'd drink from a garden hose
And every Sunday,
All the stores were closed.It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different worldIt was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different worldIt was a different world
5/9/07
Happy late 2nd birthday to our little Zoe. Her daddy turns 28 today. Two more years and I'll be able see the top of the hill. It just occurred to me a while back that my senior class of '97 would be getting together for our 10 year reunion this years if we hadn't been home schooled and then moved out across America. I think there was eleven of us. Wow, a decade since we left schooling behind, doesn't seem possible. Just yesterday we were all pimply faced, OK not ALL of us were, twerps trying to be cool and impress our friends. "Hey Dad, can I borrow the station wagon" comes to mind just now. My, time does change, but enough of that flashback, living in the past is useless. At the present we are doing well. We went camping two weeks ago at Lake Perry which was fun. I am now a believer in propane camp stoves. So long caveman Patrick has slaved over a smoldering fire trying to whip up some breakfast, when little did he know there was a better way. In life, now that time is so valuable, I'm finding that being a purist in some things is just frustrating and wastes alot of time. This past weekend we attended a Royals - Tigers game, which KC lost. It was buck night for food so the night wasn't a total bust. I'm taking off this week to relax so I decided to get some more ink done. It's not as fancy as my last tattoo, but it's still hand drawn and something I designed, not from some overused flash sheet. If you can't tell what is is in the picture below, it's the initials of my two lovers: Heather and Zoe Vincent = ZHV. One night I was bored and started doodling, as these things usually happen, and out came this. I still want to do more more detail work to it, but that could next year's project. I had it done at Electric Tattoo again, but Heath had since moved on, so I had Kevin do it this time. He is a great guy and I'll definitely ask for him again. --- Other than that I'm loving life and the sunshine, now that the floods waters have receded and the dove came back with an olive branch. I was afraid I was going to have to blame George Bush and yell loudly that he hates white people if the waters had kept coming. --- The RedGoat or GTO to the uniformed, is getting a workout when I drive it. I'm having the dealership fix some minor items right now that these first year GTOs usually have. Hey, these factory warranties are the best. Won't cost me a dime. I leave with the obligatory picture barrage:
4/7/07
Heather turned a quarter century young on Friday. We enjoyed a night out without our lovely daughter. Zoe is next here in a week and a half. Here is a studio picture we got taken for the two year aniversary of our life changing forever
4/4/07
Yes, I'm back, back in black... back to life, back to reality. Gotta get my tight rock shorts out 'cause it be summer my gents. Here is a little synopsis of the past three months... Going to New York = cold bitter weather, loosing camera, great Italian food, Jamison. Going to CO Lost Valley Ranch = out of this world food, beautiful mountains, stranded in blizzard and Walt. St. Pattys Day = beads for Zoe, Strongbow , long-a$$ parade, and way too many rednecks trying to be Irish. Potty training Zoe = lots of carpet shampoo, the word "poo", deciding to wait until next year. --- Yes it's been a busy past couple months but we are ready for a relaxing summer. We are planning on doing alot of camping and such. Got a near new 6 person tent for $18 at the Next to New Sale. Can't wait until it warms up. This past weekend we got a wild hair and decided to trade in the Yukon for a more, shall we say, "sporty" car. I can't truthfully say it's more economical, but it is sure a heck of alot more fun to drive : ) 350HP of pure sinful power w/ 365 ft. pds of torque. Umm, let's just say it can go well over a 100 and corners like a bike delivery guy in New York. With the traction control off you can't keep the back end on the ground at WOT. The kicker is... it's Heather's car. I'm still driving my old truck to work. Makes me want call in sick : ) It definintaly turns heads, but when you are sitting at a stop light beside some ricer with a wing on it, they have no idea it has a tweaked Corvette LS1 in it that could probably dust them with one hand tied behind it's back. It's hard not to speed in it, but those days are behind me.. I think.
Below are some pics of the new sleeper, but first I can't leave you without a picture of the two things that I love even more than a piece of metal with a big engine:
1/31/07
On this blistery cold day I'm sitting at home here watching it snow. I always like this white stuff since it covers all the dirty world and almost makes it new again. Feels like we're living in damn Siberia though. So much for Global Warming. Oh yeah, happy new year. Another one down. We have been busy lately after the holidays ended. Work has been hell with a new VOIP phone switch install but there's only so much you can do in 8hrs and always a cold one at home to cheer the spirits. Brothers Matt and Noah, aka: Golden Rule Remodeling, built a new room in our basement this past month. We finally decided we wanted to do something with part of the unfinished basement and our main floor was filling up with stuff we had bought at auctions. It's a total transformation from what it was. We are loving it. Below are some pics of the finished product. Heather did a great job on the color and decorating. It's perfect as guest room or TV/bar area. Finally got the put the Neon sign to use and the bar is now official. The built-in mini fridge behind the bar is an added bonus. There are some finishing touches to be made but it's the last major project we will do or have done in this old house. We might do something outside, but we done for good now on the interior until we sell it. 8 more year to pay it off! Speaking of selling, we sorrowfully sold our boat this past November. We are morning the loss of the fine vessel and the thought of not having it this summer but rejoice in the fact we won't be broke trying to keep it in shape. So long my summer lake. We actually hope to do more camping this summer now that Zoe is a little older. It's hard to believe Zoe is almost 2 years old now. She is becoming a smart little girl who can eat with a fork and go on her potty (when we sit her on it). Her vocabulary has grown steadily and Heather has taught her to say "Please" and "Thank-You" when she wants something. Winter has been hard with her cooped up in the house but when she does go outside, she loves running around touching new things and riding her old-school CHIPS bigwheel. Being a natural child (free of vaccines, drugs, harmful prescriptions, fast food and unnecessary doctor visits) Zoe has been virtually sickness free since she was born. She has the typical winter colds that are usual for children of her age but we have not had to take her to the doctor once in her lifetime, except for the recommended check-ups. I'm fully convinced healthy, drug free living is the way to go.
"They say the the devils water, it aint too sweet, you don't have to drink right now, but you can dip your feet in...every once and a little while."
12/8/06
Here is what I think about the Illegal Immigration debacle, (there's nothing to DEBATE)
This topic has so many facets, so I'll make it short and simple. I challenge anyone to tell me they would be OK with me doing the following to them, including the politicians that were recently elected and promised to do something about ILLEGAL immigration:
Allow me to break into your home, a criminal act based upon national law. I'll leave trash all over your fence line while I'm tresspassing on your property, breaking parts of the fence and destroying your flowers. I don't steal much but I eventually take up permanent residence, maybe I’ll even do a decent job cleaning the place up but kick your son out who mows the lawn for $5, since I do it for free or little than next to nothing. Once I’m settled, I'll invite my friends over to stay permanently too. I will not speak in a language you are familiar with but demand that you do. I will also demand that I and my family be on your company’s health plan and then ask that you support me with an allowance when I can't find work. When I do find work, I will ask for your driver’s license to use so I can drive legally but will then steal your identity, and those of your friends, so I can be “legal”. Maybe you feel sorry for me so you let me stay, on one condition, that I pay rent and speak your language. I say "hell no", I won't do that and send the money I do make, at the job I got illegally, to my distant friends so they can catch a plane ride to come live you/me also. When you ask me to leave or at least abide by the standards that you’ve set for your household, I call you a racist pig who hates me and then I'll organize all my friends to come picket your house, yelling and screaming at you. Oh, and that fence that I broke when I first trespassed? I'll prevent you from building it back since it encroaches on my personal freedom to rome about.
Would you be OK with that? Find me a legal citizen who would and I'll find 100 million who aren't. Every single deplorable act that is described above, illegal immigrants do every day in America. You notice I didn't mention any nationality or skin color. I don't care if you’re from ANY nation or ANY skin color, or lack thereof, Illegal, is Illegal.
10/17/06
Enjoying a puff of a "Pirates Gold" stick. Great everday cigar for the pocketbook concious:
Zoe's new Fish
Zoe and Momma at the Pumpkin Patch:
9/20/06
Won’t you light my way… oh, was I singing AudioSlave? Hopefully their new record is a good one, haven't heard it yet. The past three months of summer have been a whirlwind. Updating PH is just no fun when you have to go up to a burning attic and mess with computers when the lake is open and waiting. I expect to have updates more often now that fall and winter are coming on. I did finally break down and build a HTPC (home theater PC for the uninformed). I’ve dubbed it "PMC" or Punisher Media Center. I didn’t spare too much when building this rig. I wanted it quiet, cool, and be able to fit in with my current home theater setup. I found an excellent article on Tom’s Hardware that I based most of my PMC on. So far I’m satisfied with my efforts. Windows Media Center 2005 was my choice for the OS and media center experience, not MythTV or BeyondTV. MCE 2005 has its cons, but it was easy to install, came with the OS, and it’s easy to navigate with a Microsoft remote. I had some problems getting my sound card (Chaintech AV-410) to output pure digital sound to my JVC surround sound receiver, but after installing NVidia’s PureVideo app and using the VIA Envy24 drivers, instead of Chaintech’s homegrown ones, I was able to get sweet digital sound to my ears. Not bad for a $24 sound card w/ optical SPDIF output. The main reason I built this was to be able to listen to my 15,000+ MP3s and watch 50+ DVDs on my surround sounds system and TV. It’s nice to be able to pull up any album and play it in high definition sound. The videos are decent, but I’ll do some tweaking and get the content high quality. Since I spent all this money on a high end living room component, there was no sense in viewing it on a small, non-HD compliant TV so I purchased a Sony Wega 34’ Widescreen Trinitron flat panel tube HDTV. Using a DVI to HDMI cable, it’s a crystal clear 34 inch monitor at 1280X768 resolution. The quality is by far better than ANY plasma or LCD you can buy. Tube technology is still the king, although its heavy as hell and not kosher on physical space conservation. I will never go back to SDTV, unless I’m broke or semi-blind. The picture is amazing and the HD-TV, when you can get a good signal, is breathtaking. Who knew you could send this type of content over the airwaves. Marconi probably did, but I’ve just now seen the light. Sunday night football in HD!!
The boat had a couple voyages this summer but not as much as I would’ve liked it to. Once again I’m in the market to sell it, but it’s the wrong time of year. Zoe is one active little girl now. She runs around the house chanting da-da and mama, leaving a path of toys, paper, clothes, ect. in her wake. She’s now going to "BookWorms" story time at the library with Heather and loves to pet the black cat on the porch. She took a rather hard fall down the attic stairs a couple weeks ago, but she bounced right back, physically and literally : )
What's In My CD Player:
1. AFI -December Underground
2. Blue October - Foiled
3. Breaking Benjamin - Phobia
4. Angels and Airwaves - We Don't Need to Whisper
6/15/06
My first tattoo project is complete: During a particularly boring night a ways back I decided to do some doodling, something I hadn't done since I left art for the nerddom years before. What started as a simple celtic cross morphed into something I really liked the look of and worked on over the next three years. I've revised it, started coloring it in, digitized it, added words, and finally decided to make it a reality and get it tattooed on my right arm a month ago. You'd think it would be a major deal to get something on your body that will be there as long as I am alive on this earth, but it was just like any other day when I got the ink done. After some research and site visits I decided upon Electric Tattoo just down the street from us on 6th and Macvicar. Heath over there does excellent work. It only took around an hour and wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. More annoying than painful... Felt like I was being cut, pricked, massaged and burned all at the same time. It's taken some time to heal though, something I had never thought about. I always assumed that you got tattooed and that was it. Nope, it has to heal for over 3-4 weeks and by the second week, scab layers of ink filled skin start peeling off. It's now finally completely healed and looking sharp. Below is a pic of the final result a couple hours after the got the tat. The words "Athair Laidir" mean "Strong Father" in celtic. You pronounce it: "Ah-her, Law-jer" . The dot with the circle around it at the top of the cross is for Zoe. Any other kids we are blessed with will get their own. I submitted it to the Christian Tattoo Association's website and they posted it. Just search for my name under the "Gallery" and you'll find it. --- That's whats new in my life. Zoe is pretty much a walker now, waddling around bowlegged with her stuffed elephant "Elli" in hand. Heather, Zoe and I took the boat out this past weekend to Perry Lake and it ran surprisingly well. That new prop really makes a difference! I'll throw in a pic of Zoe relaxing up front:
5/3/06
The attic seems to be visited less and less for some reason, I wonder if life is getting busier or I'm just doing things slower? Enough of the deep thought.. Life has been great over the past 6 months. Zoe has turned into a little 1 year old girl, winter came and went without much struggle, Summer is just around the corner and I'm turning 27 here in a month. Rather than asking where time goes, I've given up and am seeking to make the most the free time I have. I'm looking forward to boating this year. I've done some extensive work on the boat so hopefully this year will be enjoyable. I got a new stainless steel Michigan Wheel prop, installed a new sound system and reupholstered some of the degraded interior. Now all I got to do is find a new hydraulic pump for the trim and it's good as new. The PUNISHER recently got some work done to it also. After being frustrated that I couldn't play Battlefield 2 at all and FarCry was just too beautiful to not be played, I tore out my aging Geforce 4ti 4200 and purchased a ATi Radeon X800 GTO, another 512 MB of Corsair XMS RAM and a new 450w Thermaltake Power Supply. The PUNISHER is humming right along, playing Doom III and FarCry with room to spare. Although I rarely have time to play these games, I relish in the fact that I COULD play them if I wanted. How lame is that... Work is work. I'm thinking about going out on my own and leaving the political headache that government work is. To be my own boss, that sounds nice right about now. Heather and I will be leaving for Virginia Beach next week for our first vacation in 2 years. We'll only be there for a couple days but it will be well worth it. We're leaving Zoe in Topeka with a babysitter so it will be like we're newly married, won't it??
One of my more recent causes has been The Minuteman Project (www.MinuteManHQ.com) With the immigration debate a battle now, the Minute Men are the only real organization that is actually doing something about illegal aliens and the destruction they are causing America. While some Amercians politicize about what to do with the 2 million+ felons in our country and the Senate is slogging through a watered down bill that will do nothing to stop the inflow of thousands daily from the south, the Minute Men are building fences and stopping the perpetrators from getting across the border. If you feel strongly about this cause, please join and support the MinuteMen. I could say much more about how outrageous this issue is but it would involve too many four letter words. Keep America American!
As with any new post, here are some recent pics of our sweet girl and little sprinkling of us for taste...
11/7/05
Man, I'm lovin' this weather. Mid 70's in early November! Although Thanksgiving just wouldn't seem right if I could wear shorts and the cranberry juice was replaced with margaritas. '05 is almost over and I don't even know where it went. I know I keep repeating that, I'm just getting old.. Zoe is growing, finally after loosing some weight here recently. She's now eating solids primarily. I swear, if she could hold the spoon, she could feed herself. Something I thought was going to be a huge chore actually turned out to be quite easy. She gets so excited when she sees that rice mush and goat's milk/carrot/celery juice cocktail come out. Shows you how much I know about parenting. Other than work, life has been all about preparing for winter. With the help of Will, I got the crawlspace in the basement insulated and boarded off. I really think that's going to help us here when it actually gets cold. Watch it stay 70 all winter long. I also retired the boat for the season. I tore off the rotted back end piece and am hoping to rebuild it. I'm also working on getting a new prop for it so it will be ready to roll this next spring. -- We finally got a camcorder to record our little angel's living diary. It's a Sony DCR-H21 MiniDV model which is actually quite small compared to most. The one thing I love about is it's touch LCD screen. Can't beat that with a stick. I'll hopefully get a i1394 firewire cable and start downloading the video to my server here soon. I'm also looking at finally porting all my MP3s, DVD rips and images to the living room TV with this little device. Since I'm too poor to afford a Media Center PC, I think the Showcenter 200 will work well for me. Let's hope my server can handle it. I'm must sign off but I'll leave you with some recent pictures of our sweet Zoe Jayne:
9/26/05
Just checkin' in on the 'ol Attic to clear some spiders out of the way and get the fall clothes out of storage. Since I haven't been up here for over a month I guess I'll just sit down a while and write. --- Don't get me started on the hurricane crap that's going around, God bless the people who were devastated but god D*MN those who are turning this whole tragedy into a racially charges hate fest. Come on all you idiots, hasn't enough sadness happened, why bring more gloom and doom to America now? My money is well spent somewhere else if I, the evil American, can never do enough for the poor souls who can't drag themselves out of the steaping socialistic government-induced welfare state they've lived in for so long. Enough of the rant, I'm getting too overworked. --- On to a much better subject worth my time and money, ZOE JAYNE! The little bugger still amazes me on a regular basis. Almost daily she'll pull out of her bag of tricks something that Momma and I are overjoyed and compassionated by. Although she's not sleeping through the night, or taking too well to our schedule, we love her just the same. Her radiant smile and perky attitude seem to lift us up when we need it. I'll include some more pics of her farther down. --- The boating season is now over and sadly I look out over the waters in longing for next year. As traitorous as it might seem I've been trying to sell the boat lately, but am having no luck. I'm thinking about dragging it around to the front of the house and seeing what kind of fortune I might have there. I did get her cleaned up this past Saturday so she's all ready to go into storage or someone else's care. -- I haven't smoked too many cigars this summer but lately I've been turned on to this delicious concoction called Kalua by Drew Estate. They are buttery smooth and have that rich caramel taste and smell of Kalua Liqueur. I'll try and post some of my other favs here more often. Well, I'm off to bed so I'll get some shut eye for the morn.
8/10/05
Call me what you want, even stupid for never watching Good Will Hunting in its entirety, but this little quote I heard from the movie recently seemed ever so true about America today and the political atmosphere we live in.
"Why shouldn't I work for the NSA? That's a tough one. But I'll take a shot. Say I'm working at the NSA, and somebody puts a code on my desk, something no one else can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break it. And I'm real happy with myself, 'cause I did my job well. But maybe that code was the location of some rebel army in. North Africa or the Middle East and once they have that location, they bomb the village where the rebels are hiding... Fifteen hundred people that I never met, never had no problem with get killed. Now the politicians are saying, Oh, "Send in the marines to secure the area", 'cause they don't give a shit. It won't be their kid over there, getting shot. Just like it wasn't them when their number got called, 'cause they were pulling a tour in the National Guard. It'll be some kid from Southie over there taking shrapnel in the ass.
"He comes back to find that the plant he used to work at got exported to the country he just got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his ass got his old job, 'cause he'll work for fifteen cents a day and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile he realizes the only reason he was over there in the first place was so that we could install a government that would sell us oil at a good price. And of course the oil companies used the little skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices. A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain't helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. They're taking their sweet time bringing the oil back, of course, maybe even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who likes to drink martinis and f*cking play slalom with the icebergs, it ain't too long till he hits one, spills the oil and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic.
"So now my buddy's out of work. He can't afford to drive, so he's walking to the f*cking job interviews, which sucks, because the shrapnel in his ass is giving him chronic hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he's starving 'cause every time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate special they're serving is North Atlantic scrod with Quaker State. So what did I think? I'm holding out for something better. I figure f*ck it, while I'm at it why not just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I could be elected President."
8/2/05
Am I loud and clear or am I breaking up?
Am I still your charm or am I just bad luck?
Are we getting closer or are we just getting more lost?
I'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worse
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words(Chorus)
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my handI've been here so long I think that its time to move
The winter's so cold summer's over too soon
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow
And I've got some friends some that I hardly know
We've had some times I wouldn't trade for the world
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go(Chorus)
We live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand
Until you hold my handI'll show you mine if you show me yours first
Let's compare scars I'll tell you whose is worse
And let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own wordsWe live on front porches and swing life away
We get by just fine here on minimum wage
If love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end
I won't cross these streets until you hold my handswing life away
swing life away
swing life away
swing life away
7/21/05 - Our baby Zoe is 3 months old now. She's growing up faster than we can change her diapers. Here is a collage of some pictures we took at the park a couple days ago showing her various facial expressions that are so fun to watch. As you can see she loves sticking her long tongue out whenever possible. Her smile makes us love her even more. -- Congrats Josh and Ruth on your marriage! May it be blessed.
6/27/05 - Following my lazy monthly posting schedule is my downfall. Having a child seems to limit the time I have to even touch the computer except for the random email or surfing excursion. Zoe Boe, as I affectionately call her, is such a doll. Sure there are the occasional sudden outbursts of screaming, but she makes up for those moments with her vivacious smile and her cheerful attitude. You know, growing up with 10 siblings didn't prepare me for being a parent as I thought it would. I can't pass her off to Mom and Dad when she's crying and it's a different feeling being parent that's responsible for every detail of this person's life. Zoe can now recognize faces and I think can smell Mommy from miles away (in a good way). She loves to be close to Mom and will instantly quiet down if she's outside. Maybe it's the light, sound from the busy street or just the fresh air, she's a regular porch-sitter for sure. Here are some recent pics of her and us from various events. The fifth one down is one with her cousin Nathaniel who was born a couple weeks after her.
5/20/05 - Zoe is almost 5 weeks old now and I never knew time would fly this fast. I'm back to work, which wasn't a bad transition from being off for 2 weeks in a row. When I thought about it, I hadn't had two weeks off in a row like that in the past 7-8 years now. It was really nice. Needless to say there is little time to do anything else but eat, sleep, take care of Zoe and maybe pay a few bills. She seems to be getting life, which I bet is really strange to her. I wonder some days if she thinks we're strange too? Knowing that she can only see fuzzy shapes of us makes me less worrisome she'll develop a disliking to her surroundings anytime soon. She's getting more of a joy out of keeping us awake at night than anything. Some days I just wonder if her batteries will ever die and the loud cries will slowly fade away. It's a small price to pay though for a sweet daughter. Below are some studio pics we had taken of her and of our family. In the first one she's sticking her tongue out at us as if to say "Just you wait until tonight, then I'll get you back for flashing those bright lights in my eyes"
4/26/05 - Week one is over and we're into week two. Being off from work is really nice and it has given me a break from the daily grind to spend time with Heather and Zoe. I've become used to actually being able to function after minimal sleep at night. Zoe is sleeping well most nights but every so often she just doesn't agree with us : ) She has a feisty attitude but loves to be held by Daddy and Mama and we love it too! She's such a cutie. The remainder of her umbilical cord fell off today so she officially has a belly button. I had thought about posting Heather's Birth Story but it's really long so I'll wait and put it up as a PDF when I create a page for ZOE. Below are the lyrics to the song where we first heard Zoe's name. The group Staind sings it and every time I hear it, I start to choke up... Here also is an MP3 of it...
ZOE JANE
Well I want you to notice
To notice when I’m not around
I know that your eyes see straight through me
And speak to me without a soundAnd I want to hold you
Protect you from all of the things I’ve already endured
And I want to show you
To show you all of the things that this life has in store for you
I’ll always love you
The way that a father should love his daughterWhen I walked out this morning
I cried as I walked to the door
I cried about how long I’d be away for
I cried about leaving you all aloneAnd I want to hold you
Protect you from all of the things I’ve already endured
And I want to show you
To show you all of the things that this life has in store for you
I’ll always love you
The way that a father should love his daughter
Sweet Zoe Jane
Sweet Zoe JaneSo I wanted to say this
‘Cause I wouldn’t know where to begin
To explain to you what I have been through
To explain where your daddy has beenSo I want to hold you
Protect you from all of the things I’ve already endured
And I want to show you
To show you all of the things that this life has in store for you
I’ll always love you
The way that a father should love his daughterSweet Zoe Jane
Sweet Zoe Jane
4/22/05 - As requested... more pictures of our sweet ZOE JAYNE......
4/20/05 - HUGE NEWS... IT'S A GIRL!!!!!! Heather and I were blessed with a wonder bundle of joy late Monday night. --- ZOE JAYNE VINCENT, our new precious little baby girl, was brought into this world after much intense work, (mostly by Heather), at approximately 10:12PM Monday night. The actual labor was around 12 hours, which were extra long considering we had only gotten a few hours of sleep the night before. She has the ears of an elf, a head of a cone, and a cry that lasts forever : ) Her more desirable stats are the following: Weight: 8 Pounds and 8.5 Ounces, Length: 20.5 inches, lovely curious blue eyes, long slender fingers, and big feet. We love her to death and are so happy we have been blessed with this adorable child. Thank you all for your prayers and support through this pregnancy and birth. We really felt them yesterday as things seemed like they would never end. Momma and baby are doing great health wise and are up and around today. We can’t wait to show her off : ) Here are a couple of pics that we snapped right after Zoe was born. The bottom one is one of our midwife Dr. Josie holding her. I'll post more info when I have time...
4/14/05 - One more day until the due date, although we don't know if it will ever come : ) I'm posting a clip of the Napoleon Dynamite doing the Top Ten on David Letterman. It's pretty much the funniest thing I know..
3/30/05 - Here is the Yukon we recently procured. Heather's now rollin' in style with the Big White Whip....
3/23/05 - Check out Blind Tiger. They make some of the best hand micro-brewed beer in the mid-west. I frequent them quite often. Thanks to them I will have a free lunch tomorrow. I have to listen to some financial guy hawk his services for "5 minutes" but I think I can endure it for some good BT BBQ. --- Well, just about three weeks left until the due date and I think Heather is counting the hours : ) Sleep has been rare commodity around the house lately but I guess it's nature's way of preparing us for the future. --- This past weekend I helped my brother celebrate matrimony for the first time. Noah and Kahle were married at 2PM on Saturday and whisked away to Hawaii for the Honeymoon Monday. I apologize for the car "decorating" guys, it was too fun to resist. --- I'm fixin' on buy a new camcorder but want to get something I can really use for a couple years. I'm thinking about the Samsung SCD107 which has a whopping 4' LCD screen and IE1394 output so I can download the video to my computer, edit it and copy it to a DVD or stream it on the web. I'm pretty sure I'll go through a large amount of tapes these next couple years. ---
Here's another installment of What's In My CD Player. I've been on a CCM kick recently and have been downloading alot of the old albums that I used to have. Ahh good memories.
1. Reliant K - Mmhmm
2. Jars of Clay -Redemption Songs
3. Lifehouse - Self Titled
4. KJ-52 - It's Pronounced Five-TwoHere's a pic of Heather she recently had taken of her wonderful tummy : ) I also found this pic of me and neice Chandler from last year before I cut off my long locks of red and lost my strength..
3/12/05 - Check out the new Star Wars Episode III Trailer. I found the leaked version that played on The OC Thursday night after much searching. It's a large file and requires Quicktime to view it so be patient. Enjoy..
3/11/05 - I'm slacking, I know I haven't updated the Attic in over a month, you can beat me now if you want. I haven't had one moment to spare.. OK that was a lie.. Umm yeah, actually I've been ripping DVDs lately and am really enjoying it. How's that for an excuse. I HAVE been ripping DVDs now that I got my burner and 200GB hard drive setup. I think it's already full now : ) I am using CloneDVD2 to do the ripping and AnyDVD for the CSS decoding. I can rip and burn a normal DVD in about 20min. I haven't had a coaster yet which is big props to my Lite-On burner and Verbatim 8X DVD+R media. Now that Dual layer drives are out, I'm jealous but will stick to being contented in my movie piracy for now. ---- We recently traded in the GTP for a 98 GMC Yukon SLT which Heather drives most of the time. It's a nice SUV and has tons of room for future growth : ) I like the automatic 4WD feature which has come in handy this past winter. I might even try and pull our boat with it this summer. I'll take some picks of it here when the weather is nicer and the new tires are on it. --- Heather is just about 36 weeks now and we both are ready for the birth! From the birth classes and information we've read I think we're prepared for the little guy to pop out any day now. Still haven't picked a boy name out yet, so I think we'll just name it when he/she comes. The nursery is all setup and we finally got the crib we wanted. Heather's had a couple baby showers which has completed the inventory of "stuff" we needed. When you think about it, you're buying for a whole extra person, that really can't use anything you already own. We don't mind though, it's a small price to pay for a healthy and wonderful child. --- I gotta go to work now so I'll leave you with my farewell. Who knows, the next time I post The Attic might have another member!
2/7/05 - Not much to report this time... I think the baby and Heather are ready to bring this pregnancy to an end soon. She's about 30 weeks along and we're going to doctor's office twice a month now. The birth will occur at the Topeka Birth and Women's Center, which is somewhat of a midwifery based clinic where we can get very individualized care and Heather will be able to give birth in a healthy and a relaxed environment. All the doctors and midwives there are very nice and we expect for everything to go smoothly. If all goes well, we'll have the baby back at home within a couple hours after it's born. For some reason I think it will be a boy, but I'm sure we will be surprised whatever sex it is. --- The super bowl was a boring game until the end but good fellowship was had by all at the small group party we went to. ---- I recently picked up up a recently un banned 17 round clip for my Glock, but I'm lacking ammo so I'll have to test it out sometime later this summer. -- Here's a pic of Heather and her tummy stickin' out...
What's In My CD Player:
Green Day - American Idiot
Matchbox 20 - Mad Season
Disturbed - Believe
Future Leaders of the World - Self Titled
1/3/05 - I trust everyone had a great holiday and made some good memories. We found Christmas somewhat exhausting but the long New Years weekend rejuvenated us. The baby got most of the gifts and money, which was OK. The home Beer kit from Heather was all I needed : ) New Years was quiet with a little shot of flavored rum thrown in to mix it up. --- Another year has come and went but I've stopped counting now. The best I can do is just hope I can remember to put 05 at the end of my dates. This year will be an exciting one for sure. -- The baby is doing well, I think we're up to 26 weeks now. I can feel the little guy kick on a rare occasion. Maybe if I was more patient I could feel it more... I think he just knows who's the boss and kicking the said boss won't be favorable to future spoiling : ) Below are some pics of the nursery which we finally finished and now are just filling with baby stuff. We left the dark blue paint from the office days and lightened it up with a sky blue and color-filled border. The ceiling fan is Heather's doing and I think it's very ingenious. If you can't tell from the pics, it's a ocean theme.. Be safe out there..
12/23/04 - Merry Christmas from us to you! May the real reason we celebrate this time be thought about... Have a safe and peaceful holiday.
12/22/04 - Here are some more pics of our little baby we got taken on Monday. Everything is going well and Heather is growing quite a belly. I think she is cute... If you squint real hard you can see the face and hands by the chin in the bottom pic.
Baby's Face in 3D (and no it's not a screen shot of the next "The Ring" movie : )
Baby's face and hands
11/29/04 - Ahh.. the blessed peace of an empty stomach.. Thanksgiving sure did taste good, but I think I probably ate the least amount I ever have. The food and family time was a great way to relax, but I guess my appetite is getting less and less as the years go by. --- Some exciting news on the baby front! We got a sonogram done this past Wednesday after our monthly doctor's visit. Below are some of the more memorable pictures that we got to keep. It was amazing to see the little guy "swimming" around in momma's belly : ) We think Heather is feeling the baby kick and play about now. It's now even more real to us... What a mysterious but enchanting process the development of life is. I did learn one small fact I didn't know before.. the amniotic fluid is.. nevermind, I'll keep that to myself. Enjoy..
OUR BABY RESTING....
A LITTLE FOOTPRINT
THE LITTLE GUY SUCKING IT'S THUMB
11/18/04 - We all live in a yellow submarine... or maybe just in a messed up city. With half of the city counsel and mayor biased towards people of faith and the Phelps gang giving anyone who claims God or the Bible a bad name, what can anyone do to prevent meaningless amendments from being passed? I guess as a Topekan I am a discriminator by default. No questions asked, I just am, according to a small sect of bitter people. What a pitiful view of Topeka the city some of the city counsel must have. Or just maybe, they don't care and are hell bent on their own agenda. Off the soap box... --- Have been quite busy with consulting work lately. For some reason, maybe it's full moon time, people's computers are failing or in need of attention recently. Last night I finally finished the web site I was asked to design for a local business. www.skillenhancer.com. Nothing fancy, just a simple, easy to navigate promotional site. If The Skill Enhancer is something you would like to purchase, check out the contact page and get a hold of them. It's a great tool for schools and basketball camps. --- Going to spend some time in Branson this weekend at my cousin's wedding. We might go over to Silver Dollar City if we have time Friday. --- We got the nursery painted this past weekend. I had off Veterans Day and I took off the following day so we had four day weekend to work. It looks really nice, I'll actually admit better than before. It has a little more balance now that there isn't so much dark blue. Heather is doing well, her belly is growing by the day, which is exciting to me but not always to her : ) The baby should be about a the half-way point in it's womb life. This next doctors visit we might get to see a sonogram! -- Check out this article on Tom's Hardware on how to build your own home projector. It's free, unlike those crappy "plans" and lenses for sale on Ebay. I might just have to build me one.
UPDATE : I guess I was too pessimistic about the presidential race. Kerry decided to be a gentleman and not drag it out forever. GW is still president and commander in chief. All the hyped up crap that most of the entertainment world and news media spewed out against Bush and bogus slogans such "Vote or Die" did nothing to keep the true voters from coming in droves and voting on issues of morality and who would be the best for America as we venture into these coming years of uncertainty. Just goes to show you that Hollywood and most of the mainstream media is so out of touch with reality and the "real" America that does not listen to them or their biased views. I'm all for freedom of speech and such, but using your profession as a political mouthpiece to broadcast lies and hype is pathetic. No amount of Democratically alligned actors, movie stars, musicians, TV personalities, athletes, or world leaders swayed the people who actually think about their vote...
11/3/04 - We won't have an official president until a couple weeks from now so I won't even comment on that whole deal. I was glad to hear that all of the 11 states that were proposing a Gay Marriage ban passed the resolution to amend the state constitution. . Time will tell how many of those states will actually weather the legal onslaught brought against the constitutional amendments. Now why can't Kansas get it's act together and get this to a vote? --- Here are some pics of the front flower bed that Heather asked me to post for her. She sure has a green thumb..
11/2/04 - Election Tuesday... I don't know if I've EVER seen so much fervor for ANY of the Electoral races, from the County bookkeeper all the way up to the El'Presidente. While I'm no Kerry supporter, I'm not all that excited about Bush either, I guess I'll vote for the lesser of two evils today. Who knows, it's hard to tell which who is telling the truth or if they are being told to tell the truth at all? The local races are hotly contested with a ton of people running. Hopefully we can get some backbone in offices that can fight back for less government, lower taxes, cheaper healthcare and marriage between a man and a woman. To tell you the truth I could care less about national security or supporting the troops, both of which are great things to do, but nothing that I'd hinge my whole campaign on. Yes, protect our nation but don't put the issues that we were told were important last time around on the backburner. Kill Bin Laden, block immigration of anyone from the Middle East and get back to the issues that will affect us and our children for years to come. --- The baby and Heather are doing well. We had her monthly checkup last week and everything looked and sounded fine. We heard the baby kick which was neat. Here in a couple months we'll hopefully see the sonogram. --- Here are some pics that Heather took at the annual Oktoberfest in KC last month. Germans love Beer...
Where the Drinking started.....
Where the drinking ended.....
Me thinking about getting another one.....
Me thinking "WHY did I get another one, I feel sick?"
A huge Pumpkin shooting Cannon that was quite cool...
10/26/04 - Here are some funny baby video clips that I've gleaned through email I thought I'd post. Clip1 Clip2. They seemed extra funny now that we're going to have one here in a short while. Life seems to be quite busy lately, not much time except for work and sleep. With this fall weather, yard work has come to a temporary close for now, but the leaves are falling steadily so I'm sure I'll be back out there soon. ---- Here is another installment of "What's In My CD Player:
Earshot - Two
Chevelle - This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
Alter Bridge - One Day Remains
R.E.M. - Around the Run
Shinedown - Leave a Whisper
10/12/04 - Did some camping this week and did alot of painful work. Since the government loves it's employees so much, we get every conceivable holiday off so Columbus day on Monday was no exception. It was good to have the time off, but it wasn't spent idly. Dad and Mom Adams came up and graciously helped tear down and install new vinyl fencing on the south-side of our backyard. It looks just like the west side now. I'll post some of the pics here soon. It looks very nice. We appreciate all their work on it. I hate our back tree though since it's roots were constantly in our way, but I guess I won't cut it down yet though since it does provide us some shade. --- Heather is doing well, just trying not to wear herself out too much during the days. Staying home is good for her, not having to work and all. -- Recently I checked an email box I hadn't logged into for over a year. Just to give you some idea on how much SPAM really goes around the Internet, I had over 2000 SPAM emails and maybe 40 legit ones. I did some simple math and that came out to 5.4 SPAM messages a day. What a pathetic waste of time for me and other email users. I wish there was something that could be done about crap like this from a global standpoint. It's just going to get worse I suspect. --- "Maybe we're sleeping with our eyes wide open, maybe we're bent and broken."
10/7/04 - Remember when I said "Do you ever have a feeling that the future is exciting?" Oh of course you don't, no one reads this part of my website.. If you DID read that a couple months ago, it does have meaning. Heather and I will be parents here next April!!! We found out around 13 weeks ago and life has been changing ever since. Heather is now in her second trimester and the baby is doing well. We got to hear the heartbeat last week at her monthly doctor checkup. It was awesome to actually hear and made me realize that we did have a actual living baby inside Heather. The rate was an unbelievable 150 beats per minute. I think it will hit me that we are expecting when Heather starts to show and then for sure when we deliver it ; ) The doctor says the heartbeat "sounds" like a boy but I'm going to wait a while before I make any grand predictions. Right now all I care about is a healthy child. Hopefully Heather will feel better now that the first trimester is over. It's exciting, I can't wait.... I'll keep the Attic updated on the progress. Below is a snapshot that proves the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words"
----- We finally got the attic all ready to go and actually got our study moved up there. It looks very nice and we actually are able to use both our computers now independently. I really enjoy it and am glad we decided to do it. We got it finished just in time since we now need to start doing a nursery. Just when I thought I was done with remodeling! We will take our current "Ocean Room" and turn it into a nursery. Heather and I've decided on a underwater theme so we won't have to make too many changes to the room and paint since it's already quite water-like. Hopefully we can do some work on it this winter and early spring. I have a feeling it will be down to the wire on some of it. --- I've been in Cisco training all this week so my head is full of useless bits about routing 8 bytes over an Etherchannel and not getting a loopback ARP request. It's not too bad though, the VA is good to me.
9/24/04 - As promised I am posting some "after" pictures of our attic study. Heather picked out the yellow and we both picked the carpet so consifer it a joint effort : ) You'll notice on the stairway shot some of Heather's custom "ghost" painting she did. It's gives what was once a grimy nasty place a real unique look and hides some of the plaster inconsistencies. I think she did a great job of "decorating" the space. You all have a great weekend...
9/23/04 - Here is a very interesting article from the
