Hamilton and Dawson
Hamilton is the 2 yr old son of my cousin Rowena and her husband Dave. He happens to have his own website: Hamazahn.com. The site has been updated by my cousin Ren, who’s now had time to catch up with family since his return from his world tour (see the journal of his travels at Global Transmission). Ham’s website features lots of great pictures and stories told by Hamboy himself (transcribed by the Godfather).
And not to be outdone, Hamilton’s younger brother Dawson (seen here with his mom) just celebrated his 1st birthday on September 20. Be sure to also check out Daws’ own website, Dawboy dotcom.
love my 4 day work week
Working 10-hour days can be very trying at times. But I learned that I can get more done in the office in 10 hours, and I absolutely love having an extra day a week to do whatever I want. I don’t know that I can go back to working 5 days a week.
Telecommuting, cell phones and the Internet are just some of the other tools that can offer more flexibility to the outdated idea that we should all be at the office from 8 to 5 on Monday through Friday
new Foo
The latest album from one of my favorite bands was released today. Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace is the Foo Fighters’ sixth studio album. I had pre-ordered this on iTunes at the beginning of August. However, this morning, I didn’t get an offer to download the album as soon as it was available. So, me being impatient like an avid gamer buying Halo 3 at midnight, I immediately purchased it when I woke up this morning. Little did I know that Apple would send me an email this afternoon telling me my pre-order was available for download. Thank goodness I wasn’t billed twice; I was able to cancel the pre-order. I gave it a listen while eating lunch at my desk. It’s new and different. Dave Grohl shows he’s capable of writing great music. The album rocks when it wants to, and the soft stuff is very good too (check out their live DVD Skin and Bones; this acoustic set is one hell of a concert). Granted all of this is from one listen; it still needs to grow on me. I’m listening to it now as I write this, and I must say I’m liking what I hear. Here’s the first single, “The Pretender”:
Prison Break
This series should’ve ended midway through the 2nd season. With that being said, putting Michael Scofield in the Panamanian prison Sona (along with Agent Alex Mahone, Captain Bill Bellick, and fellow fugitive T-Bag) has put a new spin on the premise of the show. The odds are against Scofield, given he knew exactly what he was going to do at Fox River. In Sona, there are no guards and no rules. Should be a good season.
Accepted
Accepted – 4 out of 5 – Justin Long is charming as Bartleby Gaines, a high school grad who’s been rejected by every college he applied for. So he and his friends fool everyone by claiming they’ve been accepted to the South Harmon Institute of Technology, a college they made up. Classes include skating, meditating, and anatomy (above). Things quickly get out of hand when other students realize how easy it is to get into this school. Bartleby’s best friend Schrader (played by Superbad‘s Jonah Hill) earned the movie another star for screaming early on.
seduced by the dark side
I’m back in black. Darker is better. More on that later. This took me two hours to get it where I like it, and I’m tired now. So I’m going to bed.
changes
I think I need to put more time and effort into this blog. I plan to post more frequently (maybe not daily, but certainly more often). Some changes are on the way, including possibly a new layout. I got a long weekend coming up, and I plan to use it, so stay tuned.
the Tremont
I’ve uploaded photos of the house my in-laws plan to build in a new subdivision a few miles from where we live. Click the photo above or here for the link to the set, or go straight to the slideshow on Flickr.
Below are links to larger sized panoramic shots (recommended desktop resolution 1024 x 768). These are also included in the Flickr set.
Netflix – 1 month free
For a limited time, you can get one month of Netflix for FREE (twice the length of the regular free trial).
Offer expires 9/30/07, and quantities are limited, so go check it out!
birthday greetings
It’s my cousin Rowena’s birthday today (seen here with her husband Dave on their wedding day – May 2003). Happy Birthday Rowena! 
unlucky 7
The Cardinals had surged from 10½ games out at the end of June to within a game of first place in the NL Central before hitting the road and hitting the skids. The latest loss dropped them 4½ games out.
Embarrassing. I can’t watch anymore.
hanger bar
hanger bar
Originally uploaded by Teny Jr.
in-laws house hunting
in-laws house hunting
Originally uploaded by Teny Jr.
iCandy
Apple announced its next generation iPod lineup on Wednesday. Pretty cool stuff, but the general consensus is they failed again to give us what we truly want in an iPod. Daniel is enthusiastic about the 3rd generation iPod Nano (he currently owns a 1st gen-1GB Nano). I don’t blame him – higher storage capacity at 4GB and a larger display with video capability for only $149! The only thing he’s miffed about is having to pay more for the 8GB to even have the option to choose another color; personally, I think silver is just fine. Me? Well, being the geek that I am, the new lineup is intriguing, to say the least. I mentioned before I want an iPhone without the phone. The new iPod Touch is just that. However, I’m disappointed that they didn’t pursue using hard disk drives for the Touch. Granted this model is real slim and slick using flash memory, 16 GB is still skimpy in this day and age of storage, especially when you want to show off the widescreen display with videos purchased off of iTunes. I’m quite happy with my 5th gen-80GB model; it can hold my entire library and then some. If I were to go the way of the Touch, I’d only invest in 8GB and use it as a supplement for viewing videos.
Of course, I’d need a new hard drive to store those videos since the last one died.
short and sweet
Been yet another busy week at work, even though I was only there 3 days. I got slammed with new tickets, jacking up my total to 30. But I was able to stay productive. With only 1 meeting, I sat at my desk to hammer out these tickets. When I left Thursday night, I got it down to 13. Probably the best week ever.
random 10 #121
10 songs that sum up your weekend… or were on your weekend playlist…
“I’ve Got a Feeling” – The Beatles – need I say more?
“Talula” – Tori Amos – only song I own of hers
“One I Want” – Van Halen – rare gem from the short-lived Gary Cherone “era”
“Marigold” – Foo Fighters cover a Nirvana tune
“Old Love” – a classic performance from Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged”
“Love Me” – Elvis Presley – I like to sing this one out loud
“Eminence Front” – The Who – one of the 1st videos I saw on MTV
“The Story” – Brandi Carlile – a new tune introduced to me by a friend
“Getting Better” – The Beatles – still can’t believe this was used to promote plasma tv’s
“Like a Star” – Corinne Bailey Rae – just got this album
…and one picture that relates back
Salem’s all worn out
Happy Birthday, Jean!
Sending best wishes to my mother-in-law Jean (seen here with her husband Derek and their grandson Daniel in Myrtle Beach – June 2007). Happy Birthday Jean
Happy Birthday, Sarah!
Sending birthday greetings to my niece Sarah (seen here with her brother Tyler and cousin Daniel, taken last Christmas). She turns 18 today! Happy Birthday Sarah
in memoriam
Teodoro M. Jose, Jr.
November 23, 1950 – September 1, 2006
We miss you, Tito Teddy.
