Let's say you turned into a zombie while you were listening to your iPod. What one album would you want on repeat for the rest of your undead afterlife?

Abbey Road.

Anything

You know, I really love kicking back and playing a good scary game every once in a while. What video game scares you the most?

Dead Space. Hands Down.

Anything

Have you ever been to San Francisco? What's your favorite spot in your hometown? Snap a picture and show us in your response!

Love San Francisco. Wife and I both felt it was one of the cleanest major cities we've ever visited. My favorite hometown spot is hard to place, but I'd have to say somewhere in the mountains of West Virginia or Tennessee.

Anything

You guys, in the movie version of your life, what actors should play you and I in the scene where we first meet?

Kevin Smith would play me. For you, Richard Pryor.

Anything

Do you like playing in the snow?

Yes! But I live in a perpetual green state...

Anything

You guys, what's the best gift you've ever given anyone? Also, what are you getting me for the holidays?

I really don't know what the best gift I've given is. That would depend completely on who rec'd it and their opinion of the gift. The best gift I have ever rec'd would be the year my parents gave us a Christmas tree when we could barely afford to keep the heat on in the house. We didn't have much that year, but my mom knew how much having a tree meant to me and the family. Not sure what to get you Kevin....but I will say have a blessed Christmas and a safe, Happy New Year.

Anything

Photo Book

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly offers exclusive layouts and designs so you can make your book just the way you want.

Retrieved

During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000 people died, nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave owners scoured Ground Zero for survivors.  The dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in the rubble, along with countless emergency service workers and members of the public.

Traveling across nine states in the U.S. from Texas to Maryland, Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twilight years in their homes where they still live with their handlers, a full decade on from 9/11.  Their stories have now been compiled in a book, called "Retrieved" which is was released on September 9th, in advance of the tenth anniversary of the attacks. Reprints of the book are due out in late October.  Noted for her touching portraits of animals, especially dogs, Charlotte wanted "Retrieved" to mark not only the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also as a way to offer special recognition for some of the first responders and their dogs.

'I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs, who although they are not forgotten, have not been as prominent as other stories surrounding 9/11,' explained Charlotte, who splits her time between New York and Amsterdam.

Now, ten years on, just twelve of these heroic canines survive, and they have been commemorated in a touching series of portraits entitled 'Retrieved'.

Moxie

Moxie, 13, from Winthrop , Massachusetts , arrived with her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days.

Tara

Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts, arrived at the World Trade Center on the night of the 11th. The dog and her handler Lee Prentiss were there for eight days.

Kaiser

Kaiser, 12, pictured at home in Indianapolis , Indiana , was deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for people in the rubble.

Bretagne and Owner Denise

Bretagne and his owner Denise Corliss from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days.

Guinness

Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee on the morning of September 13 and was deployed at the site for 11 days.

Meryln

Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days.

Red

Abigail

Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went with Heather Roche to the Pentagon from September 16 until the 27 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines.

Tuff

Abigail, was deployed on the evening of September 17, searching for 10 days while Tuff, arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day.

Hoke

Handler Julie Noyes and Hoke were deployed to the World Trade Center from their home in Denver on September 24 and searched for five days.

Scout

Scout and another unknown dog lie among the rubble at Ground Zero, just two of nearly 100 search and rescue animals who helped to search for survivors

'They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly

important -- [they enhance] our sense of empathy and [teach us] to put things into perspective.'

Doublespeak 101: How your Government Lies to you

Sneaky: sneak·y/ˈsnēkē/; Adjective: Furtive; sly: "sneaky, underhanded tactics". See, US Government.

All kidding aside, there is always a good reason for the people of the United States, especially her registered voting public, to know exactly what it is you are voting for. Take for example the following bill introduced to the House of Representatives back on May 25, 2011:

H.R. 1981: Protecting Children From Internet Pornographers Act of 2011

Seems innocent enough right? We all want to protect our children from the perverse nature of sexual predators, regardless of intent. I'll be honest and state right here that looking at the bill in the manner it was presented to me, had me thinking this isn't a bad thing and caught me off guard. Only later, researching the bill, do we see the true nature and the full extent that our government is willing to go, just to invade our privacy.

To be fair and to give credit to the folks that wrote and presented the bill in it's true form, H.R. 1981 was originally about protecting children. Sadly, like most things our government gets it's hands on, it's been twisted from it's intent and seeks to invade the privacy of every American who browses the internet from any device, any where, any time. The Patriot Act was just one stepping stone and this is yet another avenue to dig deeper into our personal lives.

I won't bore you with all the gory details and let you read the bill for yourself, as you should, and not take mine or any one else's word for gospel truth. I will however, skip to the most intriguing part of the bill in order to save you some time:

SEC. 4. RETENTION OF CERTAIN RECORDS BY ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS.

(a) In General- Section 2703 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘(h) Retention of Certain Records- A provider of an electronic communication service or remote computing service shall retain for a period of at least 18 months the temporarily assigned network addresses the service assigns to each account, unless that address is transmitted by radio communication (as defined in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934).’.

(b) Sense of Congress- It is the sense of Congress that records retained pursuant to section 2703(h) of title 18, United States Code, should be stored securely to protect customer privacy and prevent against breaches of the records.

What does this mean exactly?  Well my fellow American's, it means that each and every one of us will be treated as a criminal.  Guilty until proven innocent.  An invasion of our right to privacy.  For those of you who failed your US Government classes, that's the 4th amendment to the Bill of Rights. 

The bill will mandate that any provider of electronic communication or remote computing service (your internet provider) to retain at least 18 months of log files on each and every leased computer IP address assigned to it's customers accounts. Your computer IP address is the unique number assigned to your computer from the moment it gets internet access from your provider, be it home PC, Mobile Device, internet enabled vehicles and so on.  Anything you search for, research, post on a message board or share about your life on a social network, is now 100% available to the US Government, at all times, for a period of time equal to 18 months.

Imagine having all your dirty laundry from that nasty divorce your going through, instantly available to your estranged spouse's attorney.  Those pics you shared with your friends on your last drunken night of debauchery before the wedding, are now available online for the right person.  Your private medical logs, discussions with your doctor, or labs that are now easily available to you online, have just become open reading for the United States Government.

Am I exaggerating?  Possibly to small degree, but consider this; nothing online is safe no matter how well you think you are protected.  The US Government or any local municipal authority only needs "suspicion" of child exploitation to go snooping through your private stuff.  Have nothing to hide?  Neither do I, but I still don't want anyone to have access to my personal info without a damn good reason, and while you think that this is just the extent of the bill's problems, I haven't even started on hackers or other unscrupulous individuals looking to find "info" on you or a member of your family, especially if that info is related to one of your kids. 

The very bill that was originally trying to protect our children, will become a tool to use against them.  If you think for a second that this law will protect you and your kids, think more outside the box.  If passed, this bill would hand deliver access to all our personal information, packaged nicely in gift wrap and ribbons of 18 months worth of data, to those who have the knowledge, tools and means of finding it.  The Government is the least of our worries folks.  Just ask Sony, HBGary, Bank of America, and a plethora of other well know institutions, how having their vulnerabilities shared to the world really feels.  Then stop to ask yourself if you are prepared to share your own.

If you, like myself, are not yet ready to give out access to your own or your loved ones personal lives, visit a small group called Electronic Frontier Foundation to get more info.  They'll even help you write to your favorite Representative and count you among the many who have already taken action to stop this bill from seeing the light of day.

A Very She and Him Christmas - Zooey Deschanel

Thanks Zooey for sharing this wonderful news. I loved you since you sang in Elf. Can't wait to hear the new Christmas Tunes!!

A Very She and Him Christmas

Don't Weep for Me

Dad had me looking for a specific poem several weeks ago.  Something he'd seen or read before that he wanted to share with his brother and sister.  I found this one instead and he liked it so I made a copy.  It brings me a little comfort reading it and today was a little better. I still have trouble being alone or sitting too long where I tend to think too much, but all I can do is take this one day at a time.  

I'm sharing the poem with you, in hopes that it might bring someone else comfort in a time of need.  I will share the actual poem dad was looking for tomorrow.

Don't Weep For Me 

If ever you should get the word; 

That I went unexpectedly. 

Please don't waste your precious time; 

Crying needless tears for me. 

If I was to leave tomorrow; 

For a far much better place. 

Please know that I would see you; 

And would look upon your face. 

No matter where, or when I go; 

I will always be with you. 

Right there, always at your side; 

Helping to see you through. 

And know that we will meet again; 

In a far off, better land. 

Where we will hug each other again; 

And walk together, hand in hand. 

I will always treasure what we had; 

And you're forever in my heart. 

And remember the precious life we shared; 

For you played a most important part. 

So, don't shed any tears for me; 

Be happy that I have gone. 

For I'll be with my loved ones then; 

And will never again, be alone. 

Spend your precious time on earth; 

Helping those that are now left here. 

And making other friends to love; 

Remembering, I will always be near. 

Weep not for those that have gone on; 

For they are now at peace. 

They took that final walk towards home; 

And all their pain and trials have ceased. 

 

© Betty Hawkins 2003 

Day 2

Had to make one last stop by dad's to go through his things.  Not the easiest of days, by far, but I haven't even begun to go through the old pictures.  Tina wouldn't let me do it right there and she's probably right, so the pictures are sitting here beside me at home for when I'm ready.

Never done the whole cremation thing before, but you would think it goes faster.  Either the weekend or some of the other red tape with death certificates is holding things up for 3 days.  I don't know if that's better or worse for me, but it feels like it's taking forever to get things done.  I'm not in a hurry to forget, just in a hurry to put all the death behind me and start thinking more about the good stuff.  Even the good memories hurt right now.

Dad and I had our rough patches, but we always seemed to work things out.  Dad's last couple of years have been hard on him and I think that brought us closer than we ever were.  I'm thankful for that.  I'm glad he made all the birthday parties here at the house, even when he wasn't feeling well.  I'm glad he and I spent time watching all the movies together here on our couch.  Even though he was in pain and tired, I love the past three weeks of sharing lunch, Ice Cream and our talks.

What I miss are the daily phone calls to tell me how he was doing, or to ask if I had any new movies for him.  I miss him trying to get me in trouble with Tina, or her in trouble with me and then laughing at us bickering in jest.  But I think I miss him more because we didn't get to finish some of the things we started, that the next birthday party and holidays will be empty by one chair and that the next movie will be without him by my side on the couch.

Love you dad and I miss you terribly.  I promised you I'll be OK and I will, but I never realized the hole you'd leave in my heart.  I hope you know that.  I hope you heard all those talks last week as I sat by your side.  I just wished you'd let me say goodbye one last time.

Day 1

I knew this was going to be hard.  I just didn't realize how much so.  After a month of spending each day with him, it's all come abruptly to a stop.  I've never felt so lost or unsure of myself.  Never had to stop and ask my wife "what do I do?"  Never looked at so many things around me and just lose all my composure.

Gone from my sight

As my time with you grows short, I sit here by your side, thankful for the past 3 weeks we've had running around like crazy to all your doctors, treatment centers and Milky Way/Ice Cream trips.  In many ways, these 3 crazy weeks have brought us closer together than ever before and I wouldn't trade a minute of them.  I'd give anything for just one day more.  So many things I wanted to ask you that we never got around to talking about.  So many movies we need to see.  So many cartons of Ice Cream left that need to be eaten.  Love you dad.


Someone was kind enough to share the following little essay with me today and I wanted to share it with our friends and family.  Regardless of what you believe in, these few simple paragraphs sum things up nicely.  It helped me and I share it with all of you in hopes that it will someday help you in return.

     I am standing upon the seashore.  A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean.  She is an object of beauty and strength.  I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.


     Then someone at my side says:  "There, she is gone!"
      
      "Gone where?"


     Gone from my sight.  That is all.  She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and she is just as able to bear the load of living freight to her destined port.


     Her diminished size is in me, not in her.  And just at the moment when someone at my side says:  "There, she is gone!"  There are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout:  "Here she comes!"


     And that is dying.


-Henry Van Dyke

I don't buy Cheeba, I grow it. Werd.

Listen up folks.  I'm about to get sensible all up in this shit.

I posted a Facebook status today; "Pot is a gateway drug. But the gateway is cluttered with gallons of ice cream and stacks of pizza, so it's hard to pass through."

Little did I know that I was starting a war on my own profile.

First, let me start by saying that statistics are shit.  I can make up anything and quote it as a common statistic and have people eating out of my hand with their full and undivided attention.  Why?  People have weak minds.  I don't mean that in a derogatory sense, but in general, people will not think for themselves given the chance.

A good example of this:  I write "how-to" articles and reviews of hardware, software or other technology trends.  I have yet to find someone who didn't want me to spoon feed them information, even when I've presented it to them in full detail, on black and white, served up on a golden platter with pretty Crayola pictures to illustrate.  No, I have to "dumb it down" even further to one simple sheet of paper that can be read/glanced at and surmised in less time than it takes for them to answer the next email, text or funny tweet that comes across their smart phone.  People are fat lazy slobs who think the world owes them this luxury.  But I digress.

My point, is simply this:  statistics are useless unless you have full data to back up your claim.  Even then, I could argue with you that you're still wrong, because for every piece of data you have, I have another piece that contradicts yours. So who is right?  Well, that all depends on all the data, the circumstances on how the data was obtained and if the data is presented in an unbiased manner.  Did you catch that?  UNBIASED manner.  The key word that most, if not all, arguments suffer a sever lack of.  We all know the old saying right?  Opinions are like....assholes.  Everyone has one.  But to present your argument in a new light with no bias to one side of the coin or the other...that is EPIC my friends.  This is the path to enlightenment.

So the argument for today - "Is Pot, Cannibus, GiggleWeed, Ganja...a gateway drug?"  Without naming names, I'm gonna go over some of the "facts" that were flying around in today’s discussion and see what we can come to.

Statement: Marijuana is a gateway drug–it leads to harder drugs.

Fact: The U.S. government’s own statistics show that over 75 percent of all Americans who use marijuana never use harder drugs. The gateway-drug theory is derived by using blatantly-flawed logic. Using such blatantly-flawed logic, alcohol should be considered the gateway drug because most cocaine and heroin addicts began their drug use with beer or wine–not marijuana.

Statement: Marijuana is addicting.

Fact: Marijuana is not physically addicting. Medical studies rank marijuana as less habit forming than caffeine. The legal drugs of tobacco (nicotine) and alcohol can be as addicting as heroin or cocaine, but marijuana is one of the least habit forming substances known.

Statement: Marijuana use impairs learning ability.

Fact: A 1996 U.S. government study claims that heavy marijuana use may impair learning ability. The key words are heavy use and may. This claim is based on studying people who use marijuana daily–a sample that represents less than 1 percent of all marijuana users. This study concluded:

1. Learning impairments cited were subtle, minimal, and may be temporary. In other words, there is little evidence that such learning impairments even exist.
2. Long-term memory was not affected by heavy marijuana use.
3. Casual marijuana users showed no signs of impaired learning.
4. Heavy alcohol use was cited as being more detrimental to the thought and learning process than heavy marijuana use.

Statement: Smoking marijuana can cause cancer and serious lung damage.

Fact: There chance of contracting cancer from smoking marijuana is minuscule. Tobacco smokers typically smoke 20+ cigarettes every day for decades, but few smoke marijuana in the quantity and frequency required to cause cancer. A 1997 UCLA study concluded that even prolonged and heavy marijuana smoking causes no serious lung damage. Cancer risks from common foods (meat, salt, dairy products) far exceed any cancer risk posed by smoking marijuana. Respiratory health hazards and cancer risks can be totally eliminated by ingesting marijuana in baked foods.

People undergoing cancer chemotherapy have found smoked marijuana to be an effective anti-nauseant - often more effective than available pharmaceutical medications. 15 Indeed, 44 % of oncologists responding to a questionnaire said they had recommended marijuana to their cancer patients; others said they would recommend it if it were legal. 16

Marijuana is also smoked by thousands of AIDS patients to treat the nausea and vomiting associated with both the disease and AZT drug therapy. Because it stimulates appetite, marijuana also counters HIV-related "wasting," allowing AIDS patients to gain weight and prolong their lives.

Statement: Smoking Marijuana is a leading cause of traffic and vehicular accidents.

Fact: A number of studies have looked for evidence of drugs in the blood or urine of drivers involved in fatal crashes. All have found alcohol present in 50% or more. Marijuana has been found much less often. Furthermore, in the majority of cases where marijuana has been detected, alcohol has been detected as well.

For example, a recent study sponsored by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) involving analysis of nearly 2000 fatal accident cases, found 6.7% of drivers positive for marijuana. In more than two-thirds of those, alcohol was present and may have been the primary contributor to the fatal outcome.

To accurately assess marijuana's contribution to fatal crashes, the positive rate among deceased drivers would have to be compared to the positive rate from a random sample of drivers not involved in fatal accidents. Since the rate of past-month marijuana use for Americans above the legal driving age is about 12 percent, on any given day a substantial proportion of all drivers would test positive, particularly since marijuana s metabolites remain in blood and urine long after its psychoactive effects are finished.

A recent study found that one-third of those stopped for "bad driving" between the hours of 7 p.m. and 2 a.m.—mostly young males—tested positive for marijuana only. To be meaningful, these test results would have to be compared to those from a matched control group of drivers.

Dose-related impairment was observed in drivers' ability to maintain steady lateral position. However, even with the highest dose of THC, impairment was relatively minor—comparable to that with blood-alcohol concentrations of between .03 and .07% and many legal medications. Drivers under the influence of marijuana also tended to decrease their speed and approach other cars more cautiously.

Statement: Most users of heroin, LSD and cocaine have used marijuana. However, most marijuana users never use another illegal drug.

Fact: Over time, there has been no consistent relationship between the use patterns of various drugs.

As marijuana use increased in the 1960s and 1970s, heroin use declined. And, when marijuana use declined in the 1980s, heroin use remained fairly stable.

For the past 20 years, as marijuana use-rates fluctuated, the use of LSD hardly changed at all.

Cocaine use increased in the early 1980s as marijuana use was declining. During the late 1980s, both marijuana and cocaine declined. During the last few years, cocaine use has continued to decline as marijuana use has increased slightly.

I could go on and on.  Point being, it is a debate that continues to rage from both sides.  I don't support one side over the other, rather I see valid points on both sides of the fence.  Unbiased.

What I think is probably irrelevant as many of these arguments are.  What I will say however, is that with the proper regulations, legalization of Marijuana could work.  There are economic benefits as well as the medicinal uses.  Properly taxed, like cigarettes, marijuana could help put money back into the budgets for schools, medical research, work programs and the like.  Put into a different light, it seems silly that we haven't already legalized marijuana in the same manner of other, similar substances.  In the end, do your own research for the facts and stop following along with the sheep.

Peace.

How many things are we missing?

Everyone should take just a minute to read this.  True, it may not have been the most accurate representation of peoples reactions had it been done in a place "less time committed", but it does point out the the lives we're leading.  The hurried rush, the lack of attention to detail.  Lately, I've been asking myself if the extra hours I put in to the office are really worth the lost time with my family and friends.  If the hurried rush of my life in general is really worth the fleeting moments of life that are passing me by.  Maybe it's because I'm about to turn 39 and I'm reflecting more on the things I could have done; should have done.  More importantly, I think it's the perfect time to reflect on what I WILL do and HOW I will do it.  After all, if we don't get busy livin', we'd better start getting busy dyin'.

Honesty, Respect and Sex with Celebrities

In a recent discussion, I mentioned how much I love Pink, and joked about her being on my "freebie list".  My cousin responded with, "funny how you don't have to explain what a freebie list is as we all have one", which leads me to this post.


It's harder than you'd think...coming up with the list.  Perverts.  I always thought I had it figured out in my head and never ever put it to paper.  Tina and I joke about each of ours all the time, but when you really stop to think about it, it's damn hard picking one hottie over another.  I managed it and without further ado, I present you with my top 5 celebrities freebies, in absolutely no particular order.




Drew Barrymore

Not hard to see this one I think.  She resembles my wife a lot, but I've had a thing for her since she started making a comeback in 1993 in Wayne's World.  


She's beautiful both naturally and when she's on the red carpet.  Down to earth and humble enough to date a guy who went through hell to just meet her, I figure if I had a chance with anyone, it's Drew.




Zooey Deschanel


She's been around for a while now, but she's so damn cute and she's getting more popular by the day.  I first saw her in Almost Famous and I've watched most everything she's done since.  Some good, some bad but she's always easy to look at.


As an added bonus, she has a nice singing voice.  Those big eyes of hers are intoxicating to look into and like Drew, she has that natural beauty that puts her tops on my list.   




Rachel McAdams


Loved her in Hot Chick, even more in Mean Girls but fell head over heels for her in The Notebook.  Yes, I watch chick flicks so what?  Moving on...


I don't care what hair color she has, if it's cut short or long or if she's in sweats or a dress and Rachel just gets prettier with age.  


She is by far, my top celebrity freebie.  Tina will even taunt me with her if she's on TV or if she's been dating some new beau.  It was hard even picking out my favorite picture of her as I drooled over each trying to decide.




Eva Green


Eva caught my eye in the awful Kingdom of Heaven.  She was the one thing that kept me struggling through the film.  But it was Vesper Lynd that really drove her beauty home in Casino Royale.  Eva screams sexy.  She's just hot and has those beautiful green bedroom eyes that are haunting and alluring at the same time.


I recently caught her in the new Starz original, Camelot and she's a very, very bad girl.  The show itself is very, very slow and I begrudgingly suffer through each episode whenever Eva is absent from the screen.




Pink, aka Alecia Beth Moore


Alecia is one of the few women who wear their hair short and wear it very well.  Her style is ever changing, but she's beautiful in anything.  While her style of music is not always my "cup of tea", there are the occasional songs that take me by surprise and more often than not, I find myself giving her albums another listen.


Alecia is different, but in ways that pronounce her beauty and her soul.  Most people are surprised she's on my list, but they'd be even more surprised to know the runner ups I cut from list as well.  She is elegant and punk, wrapped up with a sultry voice that makes me melt when I hear her speak.  She's just a cool chick and she'd probably tear me up in the bedroom.


Oh, and she loves bullies.

Apple apps you can't live without

Since a good friend of mine did all the work on the iPhone apps, why reinvent the wheel?  Besides, he's done an excellent job of capturing the must have apps if you're an iPhone user, and it saves me time for another post.  A sure win for me.  Thanks BigBizKits.

Fallon does Sheen

I have to share this clip from a buddy of mine.  Jimmy Fallon does impressions well so no surprise Charlie Sheen was in line to be the next victim.  Good stuff.

Google Reader - Play

Google Reader - Play

Google has unleashed a new way to read your news feeds with Google Reader Play. Similar to some mobile device readers like Pulse, you navigate through your news feeds visually like a slide show.

Play comes with a very minimalist toolbar at the bottom where different settings are available to experiment with, my favorite of which is "Magic Layout". You can choose to hide the article thumbnails, what streams pull from your feeds and if you're really adventurous, turn on slide show to let Play do the hard stuff, like clicking next.

As with most readers you can expand the full article or jump to the full story. Also retained are the Star, Like and Share buttons from Google Reader, center toolbar. With the thumbnails, you can easily scroll to the next article of interest and click to bring it up in the main window.

All in all, a nice change to the typical day of reading RSS Feeds but it may not be for everyone.

A poem

My 16 year old daughter Alyssa wrote a poem that I wanted to share.  Simple but elegant.

What happens to a girl that can't be with the boy she loves ?

Is it like a mirror that shatters ,
and becomes a broken matter .

Will it be like a fire with a terrible flame,
that cannot be tame

Or will it be like a sun shining day ,
with a stormy night that comes by to stay

28 Droid tools you can't live without

Gizmodo posted the best of series on their site a few days back, including Droid, iPad and iPhone lists of best apps.  Much of what they had there I'm a big fan of but there were some I felt had been left off.  So, here is my list of Droid stuff you can't live without.

1. Download AppBrain App Market and set up an account online.
   
   
   
   • Once you have the app on the phone and you’ve created an account, you can go to the web, pick the stuff you want and send it directly to the phone
   
   
   • This also keeps a record of all your apps, so if you have to reinstall or your memory card fails, you have an online back up.
   
   
   
   


2. Tango – video chat for the Droid like the FaceTime for iPhone.  Even better, iPhone users can Video chat with you using Tango.  Something FaceTime won’t allow.  Apple Sucks.


3. Handcent SMS – for SMS Texting.  Just nicer than the standard android sms.  You can do all kinds of things with it, including set your own backgrounds, chat colors, etc.


4. Pandora – if not already installed, get it.  Free internet radio that selects music based on recommendations you give it.  If you don’t like a song, tell Pandora and it won’t play it again ever.  Plus, it builds your taste preference and eventually selects stuff geared to your likes.  Not all artist are available, but still plenty of tunes.


5. Shazam – can listen to a song and tell you who the artist and title are.  Helpful when you’re in the car and hear something you like and the radio fails to tell you who it is.


6. IMDB – dur.  A must have for those arguments about who was or wasn’t in that movie.


7. Vignette – Awesome picture tool


8. Listen – Google's answer to podcasts.  You’ll be surprised at how many are out there and the content.  Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), my buddy Jim Mercurio at Shouts from the Lawn, NPR, This American Life, and tons more that are geared toward your fave topics.  Podcasts are nice to listen to in the car during a commute or when you need something more than just a song or book to read.  It's my only way of staying connected to the outside world now.


9. Alchemy – You can thank my cousin Aubrey for this one.  Simple but clever little game where you combine elements (Fire, Water, Air, Earth) to make new elements.  Those elements then make more elements and so on.  I played this for 1 hour last night and only got 80 of the over 600+ Possible elements.  Addictive.


10. Angry Birds and Angry Birds Seasons.  I don’t have to explain these two.


11. Google Voice – Google’s free internet phone number that you can point to any phone.  Give this number out instead of your real number and get added benefits like live call screening, voice mail transcripts, caller identification or blocked caller to VM and lots more.


12. Swift Keyboard – Scary accurate predictive text…


13. Beautiful Widgets – transform common apps into widgets on the home screens.


14. AKNotepad – simple, but one of the best.


15. Weather Channel – not the most with features, but it wins for me on simplicity and the “Feels like” feature.  Just give me the weather!!


16. Google Shopper – bar code scanning, voice and image searching, product finding, savvy shopper app.


17. Google Goggles – take a picture of something with Goggles and it will try and tell you what it is.  Buildings, famous paintings, etc.  Also a bar code scanner for searching best prices.


18. Spaghetti Marshmallow – Supposedly a very fun game.  Haven’t tried it yet. Damn you Alchemy!


19. Backgrounds – thousands of free wallpapers.


20. HandyCalc – Best.  Calculator. Ever.


21. App Organizer – if your Droid gets filled up with apps as quick as mine did, you’ll need this one.  It allows you to create “Folders” that store all the shortcuts for your apps, based on “type”.  You could have a Games folder, Tools folder, Social Folder, and so on.  It just makes finding that app you need one step easier.


22. Kitten Cannon – fire a kitten out of a cannon and record the farthest distance.  Hit bombs, dynamite and trampolines to make him go farther, but avoid spikes and other hazards that will stop him dead.  Not for the kiddies.


23. Mint – keep track of all your bills, bank accounts, etc.  Alerts for bills coming due, spend trending, etc.


24. Random LOLCat – 'nuff said.


25. Dolphin Browser – a much more user friendly and customizable internet browser.


26. Chrome to Phone – send your Google Chrome browser links directly to your Droid browser from your PC.


27. PicSay photo editor- add cute cartoon bubbles to your photos.   A must for parents who moonlight as comedians.


28. Goby – find fun things to do around town.  Still a work in progress, but getting better.

I'm sure I'm missing some but 28 is a good list.  I'd love to hear about your favorites so post it here and I'll give it go.  I'm always looking for the next cool app.

7 Best Android Apps Students Can Really Make Use Of

Are you a student with and Android?  Check out the goodness.

7 Best Android Apps Students Can Really Make Use Of | Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers.

Migraine

Those of you who know me well, know that I've suffered with these for a long time now.  Sometimes I can go months with nothing and other times I'm hit back to back.  This week has been one of those latter times.  Because I was blessed with one yesterday morning at 1AM, the blog has suffered and will suffer again today outside of this quick and dirty note.

I can't begin to explain to you what it's like unless you've experienced them before.  There is just no physical description that will do it justice.  They are not just "a bad headache".  They are excruciating pain that makes even the simplest tasks impossible.  Moving your head, neck or shoulders, any form of light above pitch blackness, and loud noise just add to the pain.  Very little medicine is out there that really and truly helps.  The triptans do a great job, IF you catch them before they get too far along.  Otherwise, you are in for a day of hell.

I take several medicines as preventatives and that does help keep them at bay, but only for so long.  When they hit and the rescue meds are needed, you pray there is a dark quiet place to hide in for the next 4-8 hours.   When the rescue meds don't cut it alone, I've found that taking two benedryl helps to bring sleep, but only if it's not too bad.

So as I play catch up with my life the blog will take a hit.  I probably need some new material anyway.  The blog every day thing is a good goal, but a little unrealistic for me.  There are just so many hours in a day and I do like spending time with my family.  Besides, who wants to read crap about migraines anyway?  Those few followers I have come for the silliness that is my life and the stories that I tell.  I'm not about to lose them for some depressing pain recaps.

For those of you who have started following, thank you.  It means a lot that you come here in your busy day to spend just a few minutes with me.

So, until next time - peace out.

Sir Rodney the Neurotic

I've talked about our pets before.  After all, I live in a zoo and have plenty of animals to write about.  So it should come as no surprise that the time has come for me to introduce you to Rodney our 4 year old bully.

Raising a bully is no easy matter.  They take a lot of time and handling.  Thanks to my lovely wife Tina, he's handled with extraordinary care.  It's like raising a child all over again and I'm completely serious.  You would be surprised what has to be done to keep him clean and healthy.

To the point of this story; Rodney loves toys.  More so than any other animal we've ever had.  He loves them so very much that he can't stand for anyone else to have them.  He is a toy hoarder.  Not many toys last long in his paws so we've had to buy industrial strength toys so as not to go broke.

Still the back yard is littered with toys, because if they are back there, no one else can get them.  He plays with his older sister, Belle, our Golden Retriever and they mock fight over the toys.  Belle just sometimes grabs it from him and runs away with small bully legs in full pursuit.  What he lacks in gait, he makes up for in speed.  When he gets the toy back, the direction of the chase changes, but Rodney has learned to get so far, then stop dead and fall over, feet in the air like a dead possum.  His poor sister has no choice but to leap over him and double back, by which time Rodney is already on the other side of the yard in the opposite direction.

It wasn't until a few months ago that we started buying toys with squeakies in them.  Stuffies, balls, nylon ropes or anything that squeaked.  On delivery of the first squeaky, we unleashed some dark hidden side of the sweet little bully we were raising and we were introduced to Beelzabobo - demon dog.  Fluffies became fluff, ropes became threads and balls were small pieces of rubber or latex scattered to the wind.  One thing became perfectly clear; he had to find and kill the squeak.

Being the good parents that we are, we bought him more to destroy and watched him in foolish delight.  Then we did the unthinkable.  We collected the small plastic squeaking devices from inside his fallen toys.  We found that it's pretty easy to drive our dog mad while three people, in opposite sides of the house, all have small squeaky devices.  It starts simple with just one small squeak and then grows to a crescendo of harmonious squeakage throughout the house.  Rodney immediately picks up the sound of the first squeak and begins to seek it out.  Then another squeak follows and he changes track.  Then another squeak until we are doing them at random and Rodney is spinning in circles trying to hunt it down.  If he finds that it's just too much, he'll go for my wife and starting barking and chewing on her, I suspect because she is the source of all these neat ideas and he knows it all too well.

Because of the balls with squeakies, no other ball is safe.  We recently put up a tether ball pole in our back yard for our youngest daughter.  Rodney saw this as an opportunity bring down another opponent, but with a challenge.  We put the pole 1 foot deep and another 7.5 feet out of the ground.  When we first attached the ball, it hung too low and Rodney was able to bite it with no effort at all.  So, we raised it high enough off the ground that all of us could still reach it, with the exception of psycho dog.  Or so we thought.

We'd all play, with Rodney running circles around the pole trying to catch the ball and then running back the other way when the ball changed direction.  After about 15-20 minutes of this, Rodney looked like a dog that had spent way too much time hitting the sauce.  He couldn't walk a straight line or stand for more then 2 or 3 seconds before falling on his side and rolling over.  That didn't stop him from trying though.  This has gone on for about 2 weeks when finally, he became super dog and managed to jump high enough to get the ball and hang on.

We are currently looking for a new tether ball.

My son, friend of Smitty

It's the little things that he does.  Some will drive you crazy and others will have you laughing hysterically.  Facial expressions add to the comedic value, but it's a "you had to be there" thing.  He's always done it and even when you think he's being dead serious, he's likely pulling your leg.

The routines go back as far as I can remember but there are quite a few that stick out in my mind.  The first of which is Denny's...

 

Those of you who have seen Pulp Fiction would easily remember this scene with John Travolta and Uma Thurman.  My son, who was but 4 at the time, had not.  That didn't stop him from busting out in a dance routine of The Swim while seated at our table in Denny's while we waited for our food.  No prompting, no key word mentioned and no music.  Just Josh bustin' a move.

A few months later I would be getting married to my beautiful fiance'.  As I'm dressing my son in his little dress shirt and vest, he's fussing with me as most boys do when wearing dress clothes.  After a few minutes, we finally get him situated and I let out a heavy sigh.  He looks at me, pulls down his vest to straighten it out and says very matter of factly, "Dad, you know the difference between you and me?  I make this look good".



Josh is not one to have attention drawn to him, unless it's at your expense.  For the longest time, Josh and his friend Jordan went everywhere with us.  Having the two of them together was a blast, but by the end of the weekend, you were ready to commit them to speacial care facilities.  For the longest time, my wife and I thought they had a friend named Smitty.  We stopped believing in Smitty a long time ago as he never was around when the boys said he was.  We could be in a movie, at a restaurant or smack dab in the middle of a hot tourist crowd in one of Florida's many theme parks and "Smitty" would just pop up.  At first it was a lot of coincidences.

Josh: "Jordan, there's Smitty!"  as loud as he could.

Jordan: "No way where?"

Josh: "Right there! HEY SMITTY!"

When we'd all look at the two of them, Josh would just say "Dad, it's my friend Smitty" and point in some random direction.  Later, we learned that we were the butt of a long, never ending joke.  There really is a Smitty and my son does know the kid.  He was just never anywhere we were and thus began a long line of deception and pranks.  While it was fun for Jordan, it sometimes took a different turn when he became the butt of the jokes.

Josh: "Dad, Jordan says you're going bald."

Jordan: "Wait, what?!?  No I didn't!"

Josh: "Dad, he did.  I don't think that's very nice of you Jordan."

Or even worse, just yelling out at random, "Jordan!  Stop hitting my sister!  She's smaller than you.  I know she can be a brat but..."   And all Jordan could do was look at me like "please, you really don't believe this do you?"

Part of the fun is his randomness.  He torments his grandfather with obscure comments, quotes movies he's fond of and swears you are off your rocker when you try to recall a conversation with him just moments before.  It can drive you insane.

Some of his favorite quotes:

"LT. DAN!  You got legs!"



"I hid this uncomfortable piece of metal up my ass for two years."



"Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."



In all fairness, he comes by it honest.  I've always been the one to make up wild stories when the kids asked me a question about something like "Why is the sky blue?" or make them apologize to the wall when they run into it.  After all, the poor wall didn't do anything to them.  Tina isn't much better and I blame a lot of my own sarcasm on her.  After all, I was this shy, reclusive guy who never would say much of a peep much less give off any sarcastic remark.  She's made us all unbearable (kidding babe).

Josh is much older now, drives his own car, works a lot after school and we see much less of him than we'd like too.  But that little boy is still there and apparently, so is Smitty.  Josh has been dating a wonderful young lady and she's perfect for him and this crazy family.  She has been known to hack into his Facebook account and post wild messages professing his undying love for her.  He deserves every bit of it.  I only hope that he one day experiences the same joy I've had watching him grow into the young man he's become.  More importantly, I can't wait for the opportunity to spend my time with his children so I can share my knowledge in the art of pranks and sarcasm.  It's only fair to them right?