Wanted: drummer for rock band 2. Sign me up! Larosas makes me feel crappy. Another one bites the dust.

Typical day at work today. Had a Rock Band II contest, free pizza, pasta, salad ect. Talked to complete A-holes, and tried to relax. Then it happened....

I got this text message: "Apply ASAP" Now, you might think you have it all figured out because your an avid reader of this silly blog, well i assure you, you are wrong! This was a message i have been waiting for for several months, well before i was told to apply for a competing company's NOC job. Its for Children's Hospital, and its a damn fine job. So now i have some things to think about. I guess its time to press the suit, shine the shoes and go to some interviews. Salary is one concern i suppose, but both jobs are almost twice what I'm making now. Trying not to get my hopes up, but i do want to be prepared and i want to make the right move. I am perfectly content where I'm at, I'm comfortable here but as they say... money talks.

Halloween is tomorrow and i have yet to decide what i will be. Kristin is having a party and it should be a good time. Meghyn is going as Tank Girl.

I'm thinking pirate again, but that's what i was last year, and i pretty much act and look like a pirate all year anyway so i don't know. Marley will be staying with Meghyn's parents, and i hope that goes smoothly. I really want Meghyn to have a good time (she deserves it) and I don't want her to worry too much about leaving Marley. Im sure we will both worry, it's our responsibility to make sure our daughter is safe. Meghyn's parents are fully qualified to handle this, after all they raised three girls and to be honest have done a heck of a job.

Post Halloween pictures to follow....

Did you know?

Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."and is said to have called it his best work. I know he was a brilliant writer, I have read some of his work, its good and i enjoyed it. But, how in the world is this considered a story? One could assume many things about those words. Where did the shoes come from? Who's selling them and why? Why were they never worn? You could develop any story you want with just those six words, but it would be your story not Hemingway's. I mean, since when is it up to the reader to develop the story, or was that the point? That might explain why he considered it his best work, because anyone who reads it is going to imagine a story that is specifically tailored to their imagination. If that's the case then i suppose it is his best work. A story that can have an endless possibility's, yes i would say that is just brilliant. However, anyone could write like that i have found several people you might be familiar that have tried to duplicate this brilliance.

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.
Margaret Atwood

With bloody hands, I say good-bye.
Frank Miller

Kirby had never eaten toes before.
- Kevin Smith

Easy. Just touch the match to
- Ursula K. Le Guin

Bush told the truth. Hell froze.
- William Gibson

Pain, unutterable pain, stertorous exhalation. Death.
- Will Self

They awaited sunrise. It never came.
- AS Byatt

In the end, everything simply began.
- Ali Smith

Dad called: DNA back: he isn’t.
- Helen Fielding

Dream punctured. Build pyre. Curses… Adolf.
- Beryl Bainbridge

“It can’t be. I’m a virgin.”
- Kate Atkinson

Veni, vidi, vici: heavy the crown.
- Evan Maloney

Now, these people were challenged with the task of creating a six word story, these are not simply one line or partial sentences of something they had previously written. These are all good and i think my imagination could run wild with any one of them, but I'm just not sure i can consider it a story. In any case, it is what it is. I will stop doubting it, and just accept it as brilliant. I guess there is something to be said about being the first to do something. I wonder if Hemingway knew just how much would be written about those six simple words, i know I'm not the only one who has written about them and i won't be the last. Maybe i will write a full story based off of those words, would that be plagiarism? Has it already been done? I think i might do it anyway.

That's all for today, i leave you with this:

"Forget your personal tragedy. We are all bitched from the start and you especially have to be hurt like hell before you can write seriously. But when you get the damned hurt, use it-don't cheat with it. "

Ernest Hemingway

Cook time 5min, yeild - 8, leave work in 10min!

Yes i forgot the blog again, and yes I'm OK with that. Work was unbelievably slow today, i really did nothing productive at all (for TWC anyway) I watched YouTube clips, read some poker strategy, learned more CCNA/sub netting/networking, and day dreamt about opening a restaurant which lead to the best thing i read today...........................


Ingredients

1 gallon peanut oil
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons (approximately 1 large) jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
1 (8.5-ounce) can cream-style corn
1/3 cup finely grated onion
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons cornstarch, for dredging
8 beef hot dogs


Directions

Special equipment: 8 sets chopsticks, not separated

Pour oil into a deep fryer or large heavy pot and heat to 375 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. In a separate bowl, combine the jalapeno, corn, onion, and buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients all at once, and stir only enough times to bring the batter together; there should be lumps. Set batter aside and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Scatter the cornstarch into a dry pie pan. Roll each hot dog in the cornstarch and tap well to remove any excess.

Transfer enough batter to almost fill a large drinking glass. Refill the glass as needed. Place each hot dog on chopsticks, and quickly dip in and out of the batter. Immediately and carefully place each hot dog into the oil, and cook until coating is golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. With tongs, remove to cooling rack, and allow to drain for 3 to 5 minutes.


THANK YOU Mr. Alton Brown! You saved my work day.

I will make these, soon.... very very soon. I will post results.

damn @! its 1030 I'm outta here!!

Poker, WSOP? Marley is cooler than you, Meghyn is hotter than you, Fierce Beard=profit?

Back to work......... I had a nice couple of days off. Played poker on Friday and Sunday i won both games ;) brag post obviously. I've been getting better, but i think playing with the same group of friends over and over helps... everyone is really there to have fun and for 5 bucks its really just an excuse to hang out and be lazy at the same time. In any case i still feel i play pretty good and want to keep progressing. I have decided that i will qualify for the WSOP main event this year. I say that every year, but this will be the year i actually try. It might not be possible to go and play but i will try to win the seat regardless. The main event will be the week of Marley's first birthday, I don't want to miss it but i think she would forgive me cause by that day if I'm still in i would be on day 3 or 4 and if i get that far the payoff is HUGE, but if i bust i can hop back on a plane and be with her. We shall see, a guy can dream right? 10 million dollars? Yes please! Oh, and speaking of poker, i have decided to take a break from playing online. I have had TONS of success playing online but money is really tight right now and i cant afford to play because i cant afford to lose. I have been running bad and just not playing well, most likely because I've been playing with "scared money" and therefore making lay downs and calls i would normally make if i had a decent bank roll. So i will take this time off to read more books, analyze my game, and continue to improve my live game. OK, moving on.... i fold.


For those of you who don't know, or missed the memo, Marley is the cutest baby in the world. I know every parent says that, and they think they have the smartest, cutest baby, but they are all wrong and I'm right.. I'm sure of it. Have a look:


yes, the beard is fierce! And Marley is too cool to look at you...



Meghyn's the reason Marley is cute ...


enough said.

I feel very fortunate to have such a beautiful baby and a wonderful, smart, funny, hot girlfriend! I'm also glad we decided to get this house, even though our income has been cut in half i think working harder for it will make us appreciate it more. I know the hard times will pass, they always do, i just hope its soon! I want Meghyn to not be so stressed out about money, if i could turn the doom switch off i would. She has been very good about the whole money thing, but i can see its starting to wear on her, there is only so much one can take ya know? The good thing is we are both on the same page and we usually work things out together. I know things will get better, and i am confident we will be much better off, it's just a matter of time.

In other news, I have not heard anything more about the new job. Come on dealer! One time! I need this double up bad if i am to survive this very long tournament. I don't know if the job gods are the same as the poker gods, but at this point i would love to hear from either of them.

OK, i think were just about done for the day. I leave you with some Pirate jibber jabber....


-I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, A poet, a pawn and a king; I’ve been up and down and over and out, And I know one thing; Each time I find myself flat on my face, I pick myself up and get back in the race

Life’s pretty good, and why wouldn’t it be? I’m a pirate, after all.

Anti Limericks? OR Has it come to this? OR Bad dreams: fear and loathing in dreamland. OR Money: make you or break you, the real value of a dollar.

There was a young man from Japan
Whose limericks never would scan.
When asked why this was,
He answered "because
I always try to fit as many syllables into the last line as ever possibly I can."

I guess its possible to have an anti-limerick............ who knew? not me.


Moving backwards.....

A quick search of the Internet reveals that yes in fact IT has come to this..... Just something for you to think about.


OK, so as far back as i can remember... um, oh wait... what?

DREAMS yeah i never remember them. Not really sure if I'm just not trying hard enough or if they are just not worth remembering. Meghyn has very real very scary dreams, so much so that it can bring her to tears and cause sleepless terrifying nights. I wish there was more i could do when that happens but i can barely remember my dreams, so it seems futile to try and leave my dream world, enter hers and save the day. I hope she knows if i could i would. I'm pretty sure if people could choose what they dreamt about they would become pretty boring and eventually they would no longer be dreams, they would just become you remembering the stupid stuff you do in your life. No imagination, no adventure, it would just be reality, just you closing your eyes and thinking about how good that piece of cake was you had at your 7Th birthday was. So whats the trade off? Dream in epic adventure with somewhat unbelievable over the top characters and colorful surroundings with the possibility of some being horribly frightening, grossly sadistic and just plain mean? Or, would you rather have a nice familiar picture of a time in your life that was pleasant, safe, and happy? I guess it depends, and i guess it doesn't matter cause you don't have a choice, your brain is going to do whatever it wants while you sleep.



So, as my eye Doctor says... better here?

Or here....

On another completely different c-note............

I think money has everyone down. As Trent put it last night.. "Getting out of debt is the new American dream, its no longer the house with the white picket fence, the dog, the wife, and the 2.5 kids." Damn! if that's not the most sad and depraved, true statement I've heard in a while. If you or someone you know is hurting financially right now remember, its only a matter of time before someone tells you something cliche' like "it could be worse!" or even better "its gotta get worse before it gets better!" or my personal favorite.. "FK IT lets go to the BOAT!!". If someone tells you something like this, just nod and smile, unless its the latter in which case get out your fkn checkbook, shove all in, double down, get a drink and relax, then tell the guy at the bar who just lost his house to the craps table.. "Hey, it can always be worse!"

Oh, if you have no idea how this country's monetary system works you really should check this out http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912 I try to take everything with a grain of salt but this really got me thinking how far off this world really is from where it should/could be. Most of the points in this movie are true, which is scary. There are however, some things that are just not feasible and will never happen, for better or worse. So, if you have 2 hours to kill and want to see just how crazy we are click the link and get cozy. That's it for now folks. Today i leave you with words from someone who was smarter than me and you.....

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both. "

-Benjamin Franklin

subnetting, binary hell, CCNA + new job= more $ ?

OK, I keep forgetting i have a blog. I will try to post something here everyday, but i make no promises. As you can see from my first entry technical support can be loosely linked to hell. I've been doing this line of work for so long it just rolls off my shoulders. I don't take anything personally, you really can't in a job like this. I've seen the smartest people get beat down by jobs like this because the are not mentally "tough enough" to take the onslaught of hateful ignorance most consumers spew while hiding behind their stupid VOIP telephones. Again, if you must call technical support understand that they are there to FIX YOUR PROBLEM, they are not CUSTOMER SERVICE and they sure as hell cant give you credit. Let them do what they do and when they are done ask to be transferred to the correct department regarding your bill..... OK, enough about this crappy job... how about we get a new one? eh? why not.....



Oh, this is a very good picture by TRENT it not only shows how boring this job is.. it shows just VOIP works... enjoy !!




I recently applied for a NOC (network operations center) for a competing company. The pay is about double what i make now so i have to go for it. As much as i complain about my current job, it really is not that bad and i do enjoy working with my friends. Money is really tight right now and i think this would be the best move for me and my family (much more on them later ;). The only problem i see with this new job prospect is all the damn reading i have to do! I forgot just how much stuff i forgot! Basically i have to become a network engineer in a week without any formal education. That may sound like a daunting task but most of this information is stuff I've learned on my own over the years. So the re-learning begins and i have to ace this interview/test, i just have to. Can anyone in the class tell me what the network address is for a host with the IP address 123.200.8.68/28 is? I will update with progress and hopefully with good news of new jobby job. I leave you with this old Irish blessing....

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

bobblogblah!

This will be my first entry, since im at work now i thought it was fitting. My MS Paint skills are not all that great, but i just wanted to show you what its like working in tech support. If you call tech support, do me a favor and remember that your problem is not unique or special and the person your talking to has had the exact same call over and over again all day and your really dont need to give them a story or "background". Tell them what the problem is and let them fix it.. and if at all possible stfu and be patient. That is all for now, my first post will not be spell chedcked or proofread for grammer so if that bothers you.. well, your probly gonna hate this blog anyway. Until that time my friends......