So I'm Smarter Now, Right?

As some might have noticed, I haven't been here to update much. But I've had a very good reason. I went back to school to finish my degree (you could almost say start my degree for as much credit they've given me). I have been takin 3 classes this semester and it has made my life busy. However, tonight I finished my last final and I'm offically out of school until mid January. From how it looks right now, I probably got an A in Business Calculus, an A or B in Financial Accounting and a B in Intro to Psychology. They may not be the greatest, but it's damn good by my standards. Plus, work only says I got to get a C for them to pay for it. Suckas

The Russian Mafia Already Got Me

OK, So i joined the whole MySpace thing and got half-way literate on the ins and outs. In less than 48 hours, I get a message from some Russian chick in the worst broken english I have seen. It was so bad that I really couldn't make much sense of it with out getting a headache. It said something about nobelmen relatives, some cat, how she's going to send me photos of her fine Russian ass, and I think there was something about potatoes near the end. Whatever... If Roman's silly ass would ever add me, I'd have him check her out in person. That would freak the spammer out. Of course if she was for real, Roman would probably pimp her out before I could even see her.

Respect

Today I received an award for a project I was part of at work. The award is a Chairman's Award of Excellence for Raytheon's Supplier Diversity Program. As in Chairman of the Board... The big one.

Halloween Pics Are Up!

Beau has the pictures from the party now posted on the Redshoe Photo Album. Head over there and check out the fun and debauchery that was had by all. This was 2 in a row now, so get ready for the 3rd. You have plenty of time to pick up a costume... I'm already working on ideas.

While you are over at Redshoe, drop Beau a line and let him know what you think about the new layout.

Loathing the Kingdom Downtime

Well my current favorite game, Kingdom of Loathing went down 2 days ago and the entire community is waiting with baited breath to see what the outcome is. Now baited breath in the sense of tension, not the kind that smells like bad fish. Since we have nothing else to do while at work, I went and tried out some of the community websites. One is The Rye's KoL player personality test. Here's my results...

Midwest BeerFest

I spent my Saturday down at Century II this week. The Midwest Beerfest was this weekend and I finally got the schedule right to get to go. There were about 240 different beers from all the major and minor distributors here in Kansas. There were all the standards and most of the kansan micro-brews. There were quite a few new beers and off the wall ones that I had never seen or tried before. Stouts are still my favorite beer and the new one for me that I thought was pretty good was the Rouge Shakespeare Stout. I had to try all the hard ciders to compare it to Beau and I's home brew cider. They were all pretty good and I think we did really good for our first time too. None of them had much carbonation. The one that stood out above the rest was Woodchuck's Granny Smith Cider. There were two surprises for me, the Anheuser World Lager (yeah, as in Anheuser-Busch... like Budweiser) was actually pretty good. It was a nice hoppy ale, kind of like a Heineken. The other surprise was the Heineken Dark. It was decent, but that was about it. I'm already a Heineken fan, so I guess I expected too much from the Dark. I was good for a free beer, but I doubt that I would spend the money for it myself. The new discovery for this year was one that I have never heard of from a brewery called Unibroue out of Canada. They have this beer called Trois Pistoles (I think it means Three Pistols in French). This is a damn good beer, but the flavor is so different I can't really describe it well. I will definitely be buying some of these in the future.

Halloween Party Time!

The time has drawn near once again for a night of frights, fun and fdrinks... Ok, the drink thing was a stretch, but you can't blame for trying.

Time to dust off the pitchforks and phalluses (don't believe me? check out the pictures from last year) and press your best spiderwebs. I'm having another Halloween party and it's going to be a blast. Get a costume, get some booze and get your ass to my place on Saturday, Oct. 29th.

Bump, Bump... Is This Thing On?

Wow. I have completely ignored this for too damn long. Time to get back in the game...

So You Think You Are Smart?

If you can build an MP3 player from scratch, then you really are pretty good. It's pretty cool little toy for not too much money. The kit is a bit expensive but if you could get all the pieces it might be worth it. However, I did get an player for myself for about half the cost, and it had a radio too. Of course, buying one doesn't get you all the geek points though...

Google Toolbar for Firefox

For all us alternate browser folks out there, Google has finally released a toolbar extension for Firefox. This was the only thing that i missed when I switched from IE. It's still a beta so use at your own risk. At least the blogger button works :) Click here to get it.

Luke's Heading to the East Side

My man Luke Hutmacher, aka Luke Skywalker, aka The Man With Mo' Balls is getting ready to leave town for a while. Evidently the company he works for thinks that he has some idea about something to do with work; so GE is sending him to Beijing China for 6 months to a year. We all got together to see him off and throw down some booze. The Halstead crew, the Hays posse and the KC crown were all in effect and we all had a good time. Candace even got lucky and got to ride in my new car ;-). Have a safe trip bro, and don't get caught by the Chinese Death Truck while you are over there.

Back For the Good Bye's

While Luke was back in town to say his good bye's, we took some time out for some wholesome family entertainment. I'm gonna steal that sign next time I'm at the movies...

More Pics From the Past

Another trip down memory lane here. Notice the classic blue hair and the fresh clean grill. This was from the 4th of July party I had back in 2001.

Time to Put On the Track Suit Again

For the first time since my divorce, I went on a date... While I fear dating again like the plague, I did have a good time. For all my friends and family that are wondering, her name is Amy, is 28 and from Rose Hill. We went to PF Chang's for dinner, went for a walk by the lake, then went to The Shadow for a few drinks. I had a good time, and I figure any date that lasts four hours can't be all that bad.

Boulevard for Dinner

Every year (if you count last year and this one) Boulevard Brewing Co. hosts a dinner at Yia Yia's Eurobistro here in Wichita. They have a five course dinner and every course is matched with a beer that Boulevard brews. Lucky for me, I am friends with Sarah Blanchard who is married to the executive chef of Yia Yia's. Since her husband was working the dinner, she invited me to join her to partake in all the gourmet goodness. Check out this menu:

• Beef Garspachio with Waffle Sticks and Grilled Onions
• Veal Knockwursts with Boulevard's Special Mustard Sauce and Crushed Potatoes
• Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Grilled Veggies
• Roasted Duck with Crepes, Watercress and Veggie Medley
• Funnel Cakes with Ginger Sauce

They served the Boulevard Pale Ale, Unfiltered Wheat, Bully Porter, Stout, and Zon beers with each course respectively. Needless to say, by the end of the night, I was fat and happy. Thanks Scott and Sarah for a great night!

Revenge of the Sith

I got lucky and some friends of mine had an extra ticket for the midnight showing of Star Wars Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. I got the joy of being able to be the first in my town to see the flick in all it's THX and digital projection glory. This last movie in the Star Wars series told the story perfectly. It showed how a headstrong Anikin was lead down the path to the Dark Side with the best intentions. It filled out the rest of the movies like they were all filmed at the same time. If you are going to see any movie this summer, see this one. I know I'm going to see it again.

Star Wars C3 Pics Now Online

Beau has graciously posted most of the pics that we took while we were in Indiana for Celebration III. He has them all posted in the redshoe.cc's Galleries here. Be glad someone took pictures of me in costume, because you won't see me in color anytime soon. You can also see why Slave Leia was such a hit with all the fans. If you have any pictures from C3 that you would like to share, please drop me a line and we'll get 'em posted.

Power Movers

I helped one of my adopted families move this weekend. Steve and Mary Clairborne, my cousin Jeff's in-laws, are moving back to Wichita from Paducah, Kentucky. We needed to pick up some necessities from their storage in Kentucky but were very limited on time. Steve, Jeff and I loaded up in Steve's extended cab pick-up and left Wichita at 1:30am Saturday. We drove for 10 hours straight, only to stop for some breakfast on the way there. Once in Kentucky, we picked up a trailer, built sides for the thing out of plywood, brackets and baling wire. After a few hours of moving and picking out the things we needed, we loaded the trailer and hit the road again. All in all, we were pretty impressed with our packing job and only had to stop a few times for load issues. At one point we realized the table and chairs had shifted, and when we stopped, we found out the hardware holding the table together was coming apart. If we hadn't have caught it, the entire dining room set would have spilled out on the highway between Paducah and St. Louis. We traded turns driving and sleeping the way back, and arrived back in Wichita at 5am Sunday, just 29 hours and 1200 miles later. Not a bad days work for a Saturday, I just don't want to have to do it again anytime soon.

Post Celebration III Reactions

My four days in Indianapolis for the Star Wars C3 convention were a total blast! With all the time we had at the convention center, I still did not get to see all I wanted to see, let alone everything that was there. It was great fun to see how the crowds reacted to all of us in costume. Jim, Christy, Grant, Seth and Beau showed me how much fun you can have at one of these things. We have about 400 some pictures of the whole thing, and we should have some of them posted up on the Redshoe Galley soon. One of my best highlights was actually getting recognized by my costume and getting asked for a picture. Not bad for a poor moisture farmer from Tatooine.

Getting Ready for Celebration III

The costume is almost done, and the bags are almost packed. I am on my way to my first Star Wars convention. Celebration III is the "official" convention of Lucas Film and the Star Wars Fan Club. This thing is supposed to be huge and have everything you could think of for a Star Wars nut. I'll be spending 4 days in Indianapolis, IN partying and being a geek. Just so you know, I'm going as Owen Lars, step-brother to Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader and uncle to Luke Skywalker. Guess what? It's not black either. Check back soon for some pics of the whole thing.

Happy Birthday Evan Dealy

Congratulations to my good friends Beau and Angie Dealy on the birth of their new baby boy, Evan Miles Dealy. He is a healthy boy with all his fingers and toes :) He weighed 8lbs 5oz and is 20 inches long. He has a good set of lungs to keep everyone up late at night. Good luck and much love for Beau's little "experiment" :D

I should have some new stuff up soon, baby pics, new car pics, and maybe some more. Stay tuned...

My Next Car (already?!?!!)

Maybe when I pay off the Benz, I'll be able to afford one of these. And don't even ask, it will be black. Check it out here.

Made it

10 hours from Houston to Wichita, including Houston at rush hour and stopping to eat a late night breakfast. If I would have actually planned it, I could have made it in 9; with a catheter, I could do it in 8 :) But for now, I'm beat. I'll get all the good details later.

To the Stars and Back Again

I'm off to pick up the new ride early in the morning. With any luck I'll be able to keep clear of the storms on my way to the layover in Atlanta. Into Houston by 2pm, get the car inspected and paid for by 4:30 or so, some Texas BBQ for dinner, and on my way home that night. I'm probably going to drive straight on in overnight to avoid the weather brewing over in Colorado. No need to drive the new Benzo through the harshness on my first trip. The map says that the trip from Houston to ICT is 9.5 hours plus time for rush hour and traffic. The speedo goes up to 160 mph... We shall see who wins.

p.s. I'm in love with Adriana Lima. I want to have her babies. What else would you expect from a Brazilian supermodel.

Need Some Tunes That Go Zoom Zoom

One thing about my new car that I do not like is the factory radio/tape deck that it has right now. WTF? A $43,000 car when it was new in 2000, and all they get is a tape deck? So since I want to put a new head unit in this, I wanted to get something that had all the stuff that I wanted. Things like in-dash CD player, MP3 and CD-R compatibility, and fit in the same as stock. That last part turned out to be the issue. I had purchased a nice simple Pioneer unit about a year ago that did all that for $150, but no aftermarket units would fit in the SLK320. After searching around, I found that the only real option I had is to get one of the European models that are their stock systems. Evidently, the euros are more up on car stereos, because they ones they get are cool, much cooler than a freakin' tape deck. I found the Becker Monza 7882 fits my needs and it is on the net here and here. Evidently, MB stands for Mo' Bucks...

My New Car

I finally broke down and got a new car, well new to me at least. I had to settle for and economy car, if you consider "settling" and "economy" a 2001 Mercedes Benz SLK320 Roadster. I got it off of eBay for $21,500, and I think I've got a pretty good deal. It's down in Houston, so I will be flying down there next Wednesday to pick it up. Hopefully everything will go smooth and it will be a nice drive home. I need to get a new Venom...


2001 Mercedes Benz SLK320 Roadster

Time For a Tune-Up

This personal frustration with my extra weight has nearly reached a boiling point. Lucky for me, the Raytheon Fitness Center is offering a free class once a week on healthy lifestyles and eating. The good thing is that they let you use the facilities to workout for free during the 13 week class. Hopefully this will be the swift kick in the ass to get me back in the gym and back in shape.

There is one thing I have noticed about the way we think as a whole and it's really starting to irk me. When I talk about being fed up with my weight, the first thing people say is "You're not fat, you look just fine." Now I don't know if it is because we are so used to overweight people that we are blind to it, or if we are just to polite in our passive-aggressive consumerism that we just give everyone lip service to make them feel good about themselves so we can feel good about ourselves. Either way, I'm tired of it. So if you hear me talking about weight and lazy people, make sure you remind me that I'm one of them too and to get my ass moving. I'd rather have honest and healthy over fat and polite any day.

Give Me the Damn Car Already...

I'm still tryin to get the dealer to come down on the price of my Z3. Just $3000 less and it will be worth it.

I Am TeH sMartest Man Evar!!!!!111

I spent about 5 hours last night with my buddy Beau installing Linux on my home theater PC and trying to MythTV up and running. Linux is the open source operating system for computers and MythTV is a robust suite of applications that are used to control a computer hooked up to your entertainment center. It does all kinds of good things such as digital video recording, photo slide shows, mp3 music playback, TV scheduling, video conferencing, video games and much more. The best part about it is the entire package of software is free and developed under the open source convention buy other users. I still have a few kinks to get ironed out with the video display, but we got the entire operating system up and running in just a few hours. Not bad for some white boy from Wichita :p

And Now for Some Real Kart Racing

I've found my perfect economy car. Of course compared to my Bronco, a 3.0i BMW Z3 Roadster is an economy car. It's all about perspective. Now all I need is another $5000 so I can actually pay for it. I really think I can get this one. I just have 2 days to wheel and deal so they don't sell the damn thing to someone else. If I'm lucky, I'll get to take a trip to Houston soon.

Who's Weight Problem?

I just watched "Supersize Me" on Showtime tonight. It didn't exactly hit home, but it did remind me how fat my home is. Over the last 6 months, I've put on about 20 pounds. I haven't been exercising, walking, jogging or anything remotely active. That means for some one my size I have increased my body mass by 10%. If you go down to the bowling alley, you won't be able to find a 20 pound bowling ball. Now think about carrying one around with you everyday. When I was half-way in shape, my BMI was anywhere between 22 and 26%. The simple calculation for BMI now has me at 30.5, obese by definition. Looking through the CDC's website, I found that they have a state program for obesity and nutrition. Too bad that there are only 28 states that have the funding to implement the program. A state gets $800K to $1.5M to start the program up after they have built up the capacity and support, and they only get $300K to $450K a year to do that. Right now there are only 5 states that are implementation stage of this program. Fast food chains can pump out a new product worldwide, once a month. They have contests that give away millions and spend over 2 billion on advertising a year... each. Guess that let's you know where our priorities are.

Damn Sickly Bastards!!!

For the last month and 1/2, everyone me has been sick. Work, family and friends have all been a wandering pool of virii and coughs (I guess that's technically the same thing). Right now the house is so hot, the cats are sweating, but here I sit, shivering my ass off. Probably going to have to take off work tomorrow, but hey, that's the breaks. Hopefully this Camomile tea and Hot Tahti's will help me sleep it off. For those that really want to see me back up and running (at least up), you can shoot me some chicken soup email here.

Dance Hall Daze

In my ever-growing roundness, I figured that it's finally time to do something about it. Gone are the days of the ex-wife dragging me to the YMCA for hours on end, and as a result, I am steadily pushing 220 pounds. Hell, I don't think I can lift that much. This is where my new "toy" comes in. I call it a toy because it has lots of buttons, flashy lights and loud music that comes from Japan. I picked up DDRMax and a dance pad controller, not a bad deal for $50 plus tax. This game is flippin' crazy. It took me about an hour to get through the training, and I was already sweating at the end of that. I tried a bit of the game and soon found out that white guys really don't have rhythm... and it's not pretty. The workout mode is pretty cool, and it even keeps track of calories burned and your weight history. Now all I have to do is use it. I'll keep you posted on the results.

Have to Say It Was a Good Day

Another day older, another day wiser... or something. I had an killer time at my birthday party. I'm glad everyone was able to come and have a good time, and for those that couldn't make it, I'll have a drink for you next time we meet up. There's something to be said about having a good time with friends and family. Hopefully someone will send me some of the pics so I can put a few up here.

Here Comes the Big 3-0

I'll be turning 30 in about a week. To celebrate the occasion, I'm having a party at my house with friends and family. I've been trying to call and email everyone, but if I've forgotten anyone, feel free to drop me a line here and get all the details. It'l be a fun time, hope to see everyone there!

Congratulations To Me

I passed my final APICS test this Saturday. I passed the "Strategic Management of Resources" exam with an impressive 311. This makes me fully APICS certified, which is a badge of honor in the supply chain industry. After 6 months of classes and 5 of these 3 hour tests, I can finally relax a bit. And for those interested, my average score for all 5 tests is 309.2, respect. For those interested in what the hell APICS is, check out the official webpage at www.apics.org

Picasa 2.0 Out Now

The new version of the worlds most intuitive digital photo management tool was released this last week. Picasa is now up to version 2.0 and they have some new features that help out most everyone. The software organizes all your photos into albums sorted by date and displays them all for an easy management. It also has some simple tools for removing red eye, cropping, resizing, and blog posting. Picasa was bought out by Google and the new version makes it easier to tie into other Google tools like Hello photo sharing and Blogger personal online journal applications. Go an and check it out. All the cool kids are doing it.

I'm a Lumberjack, and That's OK...

Here in Kansas, we just got hit by one of the worst ice storms we have had in a while. All the trees have been breaking and tearing down power lines. I think about 80,000 customers were out of power at the worst of it. The storm started Tuesday and the news says that it might be a week until they get all the power restored. Take a look at the pic to see what we are dealing with. Funny thing is that it's supposed to be 60 degrees this weekend. Typical Kansas weather...