forgetender

Who throws a shoe? Honestly!

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:20:21 GMT

I have to offer a hearty congratulations to the Iraqi journalist who threw not one but both of his shoes at president Bush during a news conference in Baghdad today. There's a funny aspect and a sad aspect to this story...

Funny: The journalist commented "This is a farewell kiss, you dog!" in Arabic before lobbing his size 10's at Bush.

Sad: Neither shoe that was thrown hit it's mark.

Why did the man have to be so good at dodging!!!

Pool League

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:20:21 GMT

Tonight was the first night of playoffs in my pool league. My team was in 8th place out of 9 teams. We had to play the 1st place team in the league. I had to play the top player in the league and I managed to beat him by one game. My win put my team into the top 4 teams which will be played next week. We have to play two rounds next week. If we lose the first match we have to play a second match for 3rd or 4th. Either way it's the furthest I've ever made it in a pool league. :)

Back home

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:24:44 GMT

So I came back Sunday night from my vacation. The week was filled with mini-golf, go kart racing, swimming, theme parks, ice cream eating, and much much more. :) Pictures to come on facebook.

I was kind of glad to come back home. The feeling of missing work was a bit odd but I think it means I really like what I'm doing. Next big plan will be for Halloween! I'm still nailing down this year's theme but I know I'll be needing some help with the haunting. All are welcome to help. Crash space can be made available.

Vacation tomorrow

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:02:27 GMT

So Sunday morning I'll be getting up stupidly early to catch a plane to Florida with Kym, Justin, and Kristen. My plan is to spend the week trying to do most of the things in Orlando that are not related to the theme parks. At some point we'll spend a day at Disney. I decided that Medieval Times would make a good birthday dinner so I made sure to book tickets (I'm very excited about seeing the show). I packed on Friday but don't seem to have that much in my suitcase. Today I'm headed out to do last minute errands before we fly. So it's Angela's for a haircut, Coinstar to get some cash, Depot to pick up some parts for my rope chair, and back home to finish my leather helm. I'm bringing the camera to take tons of pics. I'll be putting them up on Facebook when I return. See you next Monday. : )

Tornado full of hippies!

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:03:26 GMT

That's right. I was outdoors during a freakin a storm that was classified as a tornado this past Sunday. I was with Kym at a folk festival called Falcon Ridge in Hillsdale, NY.

We arrived last Wednesday and it was raining heavily. We managed to get the one break in the storm to set up tents. I was working in the first-aid tent and Kym was next door in the merchandise tent. It cleared up Thursday and was sunny through to Sunday morning. Then we got word that there was a storm coming in. Bigger and windier than the one Wednesday. So it starts to pour heavily with gusting winds. We get told to bring the people in from the handicap tent just outside of the first-aid tent. At this point it starts to hail (nickel to quarter sized chunks). We herd all the people into the first-aid tent but there are still non-handicap people left on the hill where they were sitting in front of the main stage. We get told to leave them there to weather the storm. So we pack into first-aid and seal the canvas walls of the large tent. We then get told that the gusts of wind can damage the tent polls so we're all assigned to hold a tent pole. (tent pole = 2" x 3" x 8' piece of lumber) There's roughly 8 of these on each side of the tent. We then get told to stand on the canvas wall as not to let the wind gust under the wall and tear them down. After about a solid 1/2 hour of relentless wind and rain we're all standing in 3" of water. Fortunately the wind begins to die down and rain slows slightly and after about another 1/2 hour the storm ends.

During the storm there was a lull in which Kym and crew in the merchandise tent decide to abandon tent and find more secure grounds. She came to find me in the first-aid tent which was calming for me. Overall damage was two major tents the size of the first-aid tent or larger were ripped down. Several personal tents, including my own, were destroyed. Fortunately, I did not see a single harmed person from the storm. We were told after it was over that the weather station classified it as a tornado, and I survived it!

Thanks LJ for reminding me...

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:05:18 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!!!

When I grow up, I want to be different...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:55:50 GMT

I've been noticing more and more lately that some of the engineers I work with are more setting shining examples of what I shouldn't be like. I don't know why it is that people aren't willing to step up and help when others ask for their help. I also don't get why people think they're so smart that they don't need to listen to the opinions of their peers. I'm disappointed by the people that should be setting examples for me.

Long weekend...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:57:59 GMT

At least it felt like a long weekend because I got to do a ton. Friday started eating Chinese food with Justin then leaving for Worcester. Went out with Kym and my friend Jay to see Wanted. Was very impressed with the cinematography. Also, the pace of the movie was done very smartly speeding up and slowing down as needed to set the mood.

Then Saturday Matt met me in Worcester to go to Mike's batchelor party. Tons of fun there chilling with people I don't get to see anywhere near enough. Got to learn a new game about throwing sticks at other sticks called Kubb (very fun!). Ate hamburgers, played poker, consumed rum soaked pineapple... Definitely need to do more gatherings along these lines.

Sunday Kym and I cleaned her yard a bit and fixed a light fixture that wasn't working. I think I'm going to have to start my own handyman service. Then we went out for sushi and to see Wall-E. Very cute movie. I'm really impressed with how far CGI movies have come.

Stupid o'clock and all's well

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 09:17:09 GMT

So at work I have to meet a deadline of shipping units to our customer by Friday. I know this early in the week so I lay out a game plan that shows the timeline for the rest of the week and how we can ship on time if all goes well. Turns out in reality all hardly ever goes well and you get to find that out when it's too late to change anything. Or so I thought...

My supervisor was repetitively asking me on Wednesday and Thursday what our new plan was to make sure we didn't miss our shipment to the customer by Friday. I told him the only way that would work was if someone came in late Thursday and stayed to complete all the testing. I got the expected response out of him saying, "I've had to pull late night shifts in order to get the customer what they needed too you know."

So I explained to him that what I meant by a late night shift was that the person would need to come in around 11pm on Thursday night and stay most of the night/morning to finish testing. He took this as my actual plan to get units built up and tested to ship on time. So being the nice guy I am, I told my technicians that I'd be the one to come in and get the work done. I relay this to my supervisor and tell him that I'll probably be here for at least 6 hours starting around 11pm Thrusday night. His response to me was, "Ok, so you think you'll be in by 10 or by noon on Friday?"

Some days I love my supervisor, other days... not so much.

p.s. I got to work at midnight and it looks like I'll not only get to watch the sunrise from my cubicle but I'll get to say hi to people as they come in to work this morning!

Little bit of entertainment for my friends...

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 00:05:36 GMT

So I got a visit from a sales rep from Clearwater gutter protection tonight. By the end of the conversation with him I had been told that my opinion didn't matter to him. So here's the letter I sent to his parent company. Enjoy,

To whom it may concern,

I'm writing to inform you of an absolutely terrible sales experience that I just went through with one of your sales representatives (David Spinellt). During the initial presentation for Clearwater gutter guards I was very impressed with your product and the information that I received about your company. I loved the product demonstration showing me how reliable the Clearwater gutter guards were and the solid construction. I first became concerned when David was only interested in getting me to sign up for the installation that very moment. I explained to him that I wanted to take some time to read up on what was on reviews for Clearwater from the BBB and other web sites. He countered by saying, "So what you're saying is that you don't trust me?" I immediately felt like I was placed on the defensive for wanting to be an informed buyer, My response was, "To be honest, I really don't know you and this is the first time I've heard of your company so I want to do some research." He responded with, "BJ's has already spent over $20k to do this research for you." I said, "I understand that but I want to see if there's any other information available online." At this point he moved on to working out the price quote for the job. We talked about pricing options (1st call, BJ's discount price, my price after today). I proceeded to ask how long the quote was good for to which he responded that the 1st call price was only good for today. I told him that I didn't want to commit to anything today and that it would be worth more to me to have a day or two to think about it. He wanted me to sign up for a smaller amount for the job which would freeze the price for the remainder of the job. I again said that I didn't want to commit to any purchases today and would get back to him. He proceeded to tell me that there must be a reason why I don't trust Clearwater enough to make a purchase right now. I again said that I just wanted time to think about signing up for a $3000 dollar purchase. At this point he again noted that he must have done something wrong to make me not want to sign up tonight. He then called his supervisor. I don't know what the conversation on the other end of the phone was but I did note that at three different times during the conversation he noted to his supervisor how it must be his fault that I didn't trust Clearwater and how he must have done something wrong. I felt completely on the defensive having to justify why I didn't want to spend the money right away. When he got off of the phone he asked me why I didn't want to even put down a down-payment for a portion of the job. I said to him, "I want you to understand, it's not that I don't trust you or your company..." At this point he proceeded to try and talk over me. He told me to take his copy of the BBB magazine and handed it to me. I said, "Hang on, I'm trying to explain to you..." David cut me off saying, "Really, I'm not interested at all at what you have to say." At this point I was very offended so said, "If you don't want to hear me out then I think this is the point where you can leave my house." He quietly packed his things up. I said to him, "I don't think I want to hang onto this magazine." David became irritated with me at this point and responded with, "I don't want it back." I said, "I have no need for it if you're going to try and force this on me." His response before walking out the door was, "I don't care what you do with it. You can use it to cover the cat piss on your rug for all I care!" I was overwhelmingly offended at this point and responded to him saying, "I guess I should contact your company about this interaction." He felt the need to get the last word in by saying, "You can go do whatever you want."

Up until the point where David tried to force the sale upon me and then became accusatory, I was very interested in purchasing Clearwater gutter protection for my house. After I was told that my opinion didn't matter to him, I'm not sure I want to interact with your company. You can be assured that I will be telling everyone I know about my experience with Clearwater gutter protection and will be calling the company that referred me to you to inform them of this as well.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Bernard

Now tell me, would you want to buy what this guy was selling?

Thought for the night...

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:49:17 GMT

Quando omni flunkus, moritati.

Favorite D&D quote from Monday

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:11:15 GMT

Seer overuses their ability to sense life so I the kind DM reward this by causing her eyes to roll back into her head and be out of action for a short while. The cleric standing next to the seer says, "Oh, that looks like it might be a seizure." Cleric rolls ok on the heal check. Me continuing on my streak of rewarding my players says, "Yep, that looks just like a seizure to you, but the seer hasn't collapsed yet." Cleric says, "Ok, I'll keep an eye on the seer then." Rest of party returns to the cleric and seer and notice the seer's condition. Fighter says, "What's going on with her?" Cleric responds, "It looks to me like she's having a seizure but she hasn't swallowed her tongue and fallen over dead yet. So I've got nothing."

I love my players.

Leatherworking continues

Fri, 30 May 2008 02:17:59 GMT

So I've started working on a pair of grieves for darthdragon out of the red leather I picked up. I'm going to be accenting them with black straps to hold it onto his leg. One of my future projects will be to replicate the leather mask I made as a gift for a larp called Tales of Valor. I really need to start up a photo site to show off my work.

All of these little projects are being done to build up my confidence so I can start working on the full suit of leather armor for myself. I'm sure it will turn out great, I'm just too much of a perfectionist.

If only we ended the series one movie sooner...

Fri, 23 May 2008 04:24:47 GMT

I saw the latest Indiana Jones movie this evening. I was pleased to see that in the first few scenes it followed the standard pattern from the previous movies. However things kept on getting more and more ridiculously exaggerated as the movie progressed. I think one of my fellow patrons in the theater put it best during the movie when I heard him snoring profusely a few rows back.

I think the movie I saw tonight was an amalgam between several individually creative movie ideas. George Lucas must have mixed up pages from the scripts for Indiana Jones and Star Wars Episodes 7-9. I can hear it now, "No, don't worry about separating these scripts back out. Let's run with it and see what we get. It could be the greatest Jones movie yet!"

...but sadly it was quite the opposite

tax rebate FTW!

Sun, 18 May 2008 21:37:09 GMT

So i spent my tax rebate on a kayak. Nothing fancy, just a no name brand that I sat in and felt comfortable. Got a great deal because it was a factory second. The only thing missing was the coating on the inside of the boat (purely cosmetic). I'm planning on taking it out on the local ponds to get used to the way it wants to move.

Random update

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:42:40 GMT

So college came to a finish last Thursday which puts my third semester of teaching behind me. I really enjoy what I'm doing with the students because I get to teach them about the reality of engineering which is a perspective you don't necessarily get until you see it for yourself. Unfortunately I had to fail two of the students but they weren't turning in work so I had no real choice. One of them was a senior who needed this class to graduate.

In other news, I planted a row of flowers this past week in the dirt patch that was in front of my house. Kym was really helpful and tore out some of my creeper grass (aka devil weed) and then she planted some broccoli and a green pepper plant along my rock wall. I got several different seed packs but need to figure out where to plant them so they get good sun.

My pool league playoffs were last Tuesday. My team won the first round but got knocked out in the second. If we had won the second we would have been in the top 4 teams of the league. I'm ok with how things turned out because I got to play some people who were a lot better than me and was able to learn a bit.

Things are great with me and Kym. I'm wicked happy... I don't have the words to best describe it. :)

Spring time = project time

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:21:51 GMT

Now that it's getting warmer out I can finally start working on the house again. I started this season off with yard clean-up. After one evening of raking leaves, Justin and I ended up catching poison ivy (yes, just like last fall). The good thing is that we were smart monkeys and washed up directly after raking which took away most of the ivy oils. So I ended up with two ivy spots on my right hand and Justin has a slightly worse case that extends to his elbow. But this will not slow us down! I still need to finish the yard raking and will be avoiding the edge with the ivy.

In other news, I'm picking up where I left off with the kitchen by installing can lighting into the ceiling to replace the dim fan light. Hopefully this weekend I can spend some time wiring them in to close up this job. I promise I won't electricute myself, but I make no promises about falling off of the 3-step ladder as I proved to Justin a week ago.

New job assignment

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:06:03 GMT

This past Monday I was reassigned from being a Design Engineer to a Product Engineer for the next three months. My director thinks this will get me some good experience working with the production floor. So far it's been two days and I'm really happy with the job. I'll be posting more on my new job as time progresses and I get into the real work of it.

Dinner was served

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:11:22 GMT

So I had a successful execution of the jasmine rice and coconut milk meal. Kym and I ended up finding a recipe for shrimp cooked in a coconut milk sauce and served over the rice. On top of that was a home made salsa comprised of mangoes, basil, scallions, and lemon juice. Overall, I was told by my three guest judges that the food was mighty tasty. :) Keep watching for the next dinner creation.

mmmmm, tasty

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:22:23 GMT

So I'm sitting in work enjoying a sandwich I made from two thick slices of pumpernickel bread and some chunks off of a block of extra sharp cheddar cheese when I thought to myself that I haven't tried developing any culinary masterpieces in a while. So this weekend I'm taking on a challenge... Jasmine rice and coconut milk will be my base ingredients.

The results should be mighty fattening. I'll be at Fort Bagle all weekend with the Kymie so let me know if you're daring enough and want to stop by to try my mad creation.

Plato's cave

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:46:03 GMT

For those of you who haven't heard of the allegory of Plato's cave before, give it a quick look into on wikipedia.

I truly love it when I have a week where I figure out that I'd been staring at shadows and not reality. It really feels good to be able to get a better understanding of someone else's position in life and how my words and actions were perceived and/or made them feel. Now if only I could have seen these shadows for what they were sooner. Perhaps I could have done more to prevent damage done. Anyhow, sorry for being so vague. I've been coming to several different realizations about people I let slip away in my life. I think it's time I look to changing that.

VIVA LA RESISTANCE!

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:39:27 GMT

FYI...

For those of you who don't already know, there has been a strike scheduled for Friday, March 21st, 2008, during which we hope to have many members of LiveJournal provide LJ with absolutely no content for twenty-four hours.

This means no posting and no commenting. If you post elsewhere and have it set up to be posted through a feed on LiveJournal, don't do it. Stay away from LiveJournal for twenty-four hours. That can't be too hard, can it?

I know some of you are probably quite active on LiveJournal and will find it hard to stay away for an entire day, just as I will, but this is something that needs to be done, to show the people running LiveJournal that we're watching the changes they are making, that we're paying attention, that we're discontent, and that we want to be heard and taken in to consideration. We are not simply users who can be tossed to the side and ignored. We are the people who make up LiveJournal.

Without us, without the content we create, without our words, our voices, our creativity, our participation, there would be no LiveJournal. This is a fact, and it needs to be realized and understood and then taken in to consideration when making decisions regarding the way that LiveJournal is run. The strike is only a few days away, so there isn't all too much time to prepare.

While this is unfortunate, it isn't enough to keep this strike from taking place. It will take place, the second it is meant to, and it would be best to have as many people take part as possible. Please, spread the word. Spread it fast. There are only a few days to organize this. If you find that you care about LiveJournal or care about the people you interact with on LiveJournal or simply want it to remain a place where you can entertain yourself without constant censorship and money-hungry practices being thrown in without the consideration of those who use the service, act now. If you don't wish to spread the word, that is fine, but please: refrain from using LiveJournal on Friday, March 21st. Do something else for a change. It's for a good cause. :)

For background on this strike and why it is being held, please read the following posts:
http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/394838.html
http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/395310.html

To find out exactly when the strike begins and ends, depending on where you are located, please see this:
http://beckyzoole.livejournal.com/395125.html

What's this about?

* It's about free and ad-free LiveJournal accounts being abolished for new members, ignoring the advice from the newly-formed Advisory Board.
* It's about LJ staff trying to sneak this decision in under the radar, and when people found out, telling the users it was done 'to make the signup process less confusing'.
* It's about LJ staff failing to apologize for trying to hide the facts from view and for lying about the actual reasons for their actions.
* And finally, it's about the latest decision to hide certain user interests from the list of Most Popular Interests, some of them being fanfiction, bisexuality, sex and depression. This decision was not announced or explained in any way. Users found out for themselves.

The 24-hour strike will begin at the following times for the following locations:

Thursday, March 20, 2:00 PM -- Honolulu
Thursday, March 20, 4:00 PM -- Anchorage
Thursday, March 20, 5:00 PM -- San Francisco
Thursday, March 20, 6:00 PM -- Mexico City
Thursday, March 20, 7:00 PM -- Chicago
Thursday, March 20, 8:00 PM -- Montreal
Thursday, March 20, 9:00 PM -- Buenos Aires
Midnight -- London
Friday, March 21, 1:00 AM -- Paris
Friday, March 21, 2:00 AM -- Istanbul
Friday, March 21, 3:00 AM -- Moscow
Friday, March 21, 4:00 AM -- Dubai
Friday, March 21, 5:00 AM -- Islamabad
Friday, March 21, 6:00 AM -- Bangladesh
Friday, March 21, 7:00 AM -- Bangkok
Friday, March 21, 8:00 AM -- Singapore
Friday, March 21, 9:00 AM -- Tokyo
Friday, March 21, 10:00 AM -- Brisbane
Friday, March 21, 11:00 AM -- Sydney
Friday, March 21, 12 Noon -- Suva

locals times are here: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?year=2008&month=3&day=21&hour=0&min=0&sec=0

In my area the strike starts at 8pm tomorrow.

Since it's been a while

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:23:01 GMT

Last night was league night at the Boston Billiards. I played someone who was one rank higher than I am and still managed to eek out a win. I'm realizing that I'm severely out of practice. Hopefully I'm going to go practice this Thursday night since I don't have to teach because of break. Other than that, I'm building some engineering marvels for the carneval at Kym's feast this Friday which I have off from work. If anyone else is free, feel free to stop by the house and see what kind of mess I'm making.

~Peace

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:54:35 GMT

A. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag seven people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it."

1) I'm a shark when it comes to pool tables.

2) I love teaching and am currently doing so part time in the Electrical Engineering department of Western New England College

3) I have a great appreciation for plays and operas.

4) My long term career goal was to work in research and development, my first job out of college hired me into their R&D group.

5) I enjoy spending tons of time in the woods and some day I will own a house on a lake.

6) I love to have conversations about philosophy and religion with anyone of any belief structure because I enjoy hearing other people's ideas and beliefs.

7) My goal in life is to be a modern day Renaissance man. (example: I'm attempting to teach myself how to make latex and silicone masks for Realms NPC masks.)

As far as tagging people, I decided to be a bum and go against the dictation or rule C. Feel free to continue spreading this around if you like.

The Janna made me do it!

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:14:51 GMT

...but it's all so true...

Superhero Team Quiz

LiveJournal Username

Your Primary Super Power

Cape?

Identitiy

Origin

Location of Head Quarters

Primary Costume/Uniform Colors

Why are you a Superhero?

Your Superheroic Codename

The veteran grim member of the team

shirak_dalamar

The sexist and crass but annoyingly effective one

mysticrat

The bright-eyed novice or sidekick

sommelier0124

The teammate that will eventually go evil or insan

demonfiretiger

The inept yet determined/reoccurring supervillain

kymied

The sinister Arch-Villain and team's greatest foe

philanthropyman

The perky civilian that keeps getting kidnapped

scottamemnon

How often does your team actually 'save the day'?

This Fun Quiz created by Shannon at BlogQuiz.Net

Aquarius Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz