the flying tomato wins gold
Shaun White, heavily favored to win in Torino, nearly missed making the finals. But he set the pace, and no one could catch him. “Il Pomodoro Volante” took the gold. A bright spot on a mediocre day for the US.
update 021206
Congratulations to Chad Hedrick on winning gold in the 5000m!
I have a new doctor now, and I had my first physical in 7 years. This doctor is big on preventive medicine, and he’s very thorough. His diagnosis – I’m a healthy 33 yr old with a little bursitis in my knee.
It’s finally been winterlike here; temps in the 30′s. January was unusually mild (avg temp in mid 50′s). All we want is some decent snowfall; wouldn’t mind one storm like the one they’re getting back home.
Ordered my new PC yesterday. Due to the constantly changing deals by Dell, I opted for the XPS M140 instead of the Inspiron 6000. Surprisingly, the powerful M140 is more affordable than the 6000 after I customized them with the features I want. I went back and forth between the two many times before finally weighing the pros and cons. And the M140 won decisively. I should be receiving it this week. I’m trying to contain my excitement, but it’s difficult. 
Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10
Congrats to Bill Cowher and the Pittsburgh Steelers on winning Super Bowl XL. It was a sloppy game with sloppy officiating. Seattle was robbed on several occasions and it probably made the difference. But Pittsburgh made the bigger plays, and that’s why they’re holding the Lombardi trophy.
The commercials weren’t that great either. My favorites? The cell phone with “crime deterrent” from Sprint, and the young clydesdale for Budweiser.
super bowl sunday
Went to Walmart for a few items this morning, and upon leaving, my car wouldn’t start. Dead battery. CL showed up, and I tried jumping it, but no luck. We went to the garage at Walmart, and the guy told me they were short-staffed at the time but it would get done. The problem was my car was sitting in the main lot, and he didn’t have anyone to bring the car to the garage. So he had me choose a battery, pay for it, and he would come out with me to the car and replace the battery. Not even 15 minutes later, he had the new battery in and the car was running again. I couldn’t thank him enough for stopping to help. I always hated Walmart’s customer service (their “happy face” campaign is a bunch of BS). But this guy went above and beyond to help me out, and God knows I greatly appreciate good customer service.
Super Bowl Sunday.
CL and me in front of the TV.
CL’s gumbo!
I hope for a good game and good commercials.
I say Pittsburgh over Seattle, 30-21.
Enjoy the game!
update 012206
A lot has been happening, particularly at work. I’m still trying to keep up …
Major projects are going live in the next few weeks, starting with the biggest one on Monday. I think this one scares us all the most; it affects the entire organization, and management waited til the last minute to realize how important this system is. Now the entire place is freaking out.
We’re experiencing more change. We lost our secretary at the beginning of the month; we’ll have a new “assistant” start on Monday. Terrible timing, but we need the help. We’ve been interviewing for 2 more system administrators to assist our current one. I just found out Friday that one of our techs might be filling a slot, which would open up his position. I like what I’m doing at the helpdesk, but I prefer to be running around putting out fires. Another door might be opening for me.
MIA on tenyjr.com
audioblogs (no time)
new photos (no time)
WordPress 2.0 (no time and too new)
What I’m watching:
NFL Playoffs – I like Pittsburgh to go all the way, beating Carolina in the Super Bowl (sorry to my in-laws). Highly unlikely, but that’s what I’d like to see.
Lost – you either love it or hate it. I love it.
24 – ditto. If you haven’t watched this show, where the hell have you been the last 4 years?
American Idol – I hate this show. I’m only watching because we talk about it at work.
The Godfather Part II – I remember seeing this over 15 years ago and thinking to myself, how can this be better than the first? It was so depressing. But I watched it again yesterday, and now I know. It is still depressing, but the contrasts between Vito Corleone and his son Michael make the story so powerful. If it weren’t 4 hours long, I’d watch it again today.
I visited the Dell kiosk at our local mall Friday night. I got to see with my own eyes and touch what could potentially be mine soon. The salesman was very helpful and very honest on what is new, neat, and necessary. As soon as I got home, I customized several more laptops. I’m now down to 3 candidates:
It will most likely be the 6000, but if they can knock off some unnecessary options and up the warranty, I’ll go for the M140.
The dog is going through some phase. He gets up every other hour in the middle of the night to go out and chase something. He’s been doing this for a week now. Last night, CL tried locking him up in the guest room. He barked for a good hour or so. She let him out of the room, and he went straight to the door to be let out. After he got it out of his system, she locked him back in. This time, he started scratching at the door. We finally let him loose; he slept in our bed.
He didn’t wake us up to go out again.
Albert Pujols – MVP
Congratulations to Phat Albert, and thanks for a memorable season. Well deserved!
hello again
Hey gang, it’s been a long time since I last blogged …
The Cardinals were defeated in Game 6 at Busch Stadium by Roy Oswalt and the Houston Astros. St Louis fans were happy to see the Chicago White Sox sweep the Astros in the World Series (despite the NL link).
Work is crazy. The biggest problem we’ve had is our email server. It’s crashed twice in the last week and a half. We’re lucky to have it back, but the server’s a mess and all the data needs to be migrated to a new one. I’m also learning about the power struggles that goes on in this dept. Politics and control play a huge role, and I’m doing my best to stay out of it. For the first time in my career, I love the work but the teamwork sucks.
CL’s parents were in town last week; it’s always good to see them. We also hooked up with her brother and his family. Will post pics when I find the time.
I’ve been dealing with pain in my right ear. It’s similar to pain I feel when I’m sick and on a plane. The problem is I’m not sick and I’m not on a plane. If it continues this week, I may need to seek medical attention; super.
D celebrated his 13th b-day with friends last night at our house. We all ate pizza, then I took the boys to see The Legend of Zorro. Very entertaining; I liked it (as did the boys). They in turn stayed up all night, so they’re lacking in the energy dept.
Christmas is just around the corner. To my family – we need wishlists! I’ll probably post mine here. I’d really like cash towards a new PC. But I’ll have a list nonetheless.
Cardinals and Busch Stadium shut down
Houston 5, St. Louis 1
“A dramatic National League Championship Series, a remarkable Cardinals season and beloved Busch Stadium all deserved better, but Roy Oswalt was all business and in no mood for sentiment.”
turning point
Last night, everyone at Minute Maid Park had already assumed what Astros’ fans have been craving – their beloved team will finally play in the World Series. Even the commentators on Fox believed the deal was sealed after Berkman hit a line drive 3-run homer against Carpenter in the bottom of the 7th. Fox picked Berkman as Chevy’s Player of the Game in the 8th. The crowd was loud, the Houston dugout was giddy.
But the St Louis Cardinals were not done. They’ve stated time and time again – they play 9 innings, 27 outs. And when they were down to their final out, their final strike, Eckstein got a base hit. Then Lidge, the best closer in the National League, walked Edmonds. The winning run was at the plate. Albert Pujols cemented his status in baseball lore by smashing a monstrous home run over the train tracks in left field. And the silence was deafening.
Was Pujols’ homer a turning point in this series? The Cards no doubt needed this. The fans in St Louis get to watch them play at least one more time in Busch Stadium. And Houston, with 1 strike away from the Fall classic, saw their dreams slip away once more. It’s not over for them in any way; they still lead the series 3-2. But they led St Louis 3-2 in last season’s NLCS as well, only to have the Cards take it away from them in 7 games. What could hurt the Astros is their mental game. If they think about Game 5 and “what if”, they could be in trouble. The Cardinals are riding a wave, the 412 ft homer Pujols crushed, and it might be what the doctor ordered for St Louis.
Pujols’ blast forces Game 6
St Louis 5, Houston 4
How Pujols changed the world (ESPN)
Oh my gosh, Astros lose (ESPN)
Pujols' blast forces Game 6
St Louis 5, Houston 4
How Pujols changed the world (ESPN)
Oh my gosh, Astros lose (ESPN)
full moon
Today was the official first day of the IS help desk for our organization. On my way to work I saw the moon shine through the clouds. I noticed it was a full moon, but I didn’t put it all together. Saturday was downtime for the main system for maintenance, and usually, the Monday following downtime is hell. It started out surprisingly quiet. Problems that we would normally deal with after downtime didn’t really exist. Then the main corporate computer center pulled a fast one on us. The organization’s internet access was taken down with no notice at all. And everyone’s username and password (which is entered and saved by IS for security purposes) was erased. All hell broke loose. I probably handled on average 1 problem every 2 minutes for the last 2 hours of my shift (as did my partner). I was able to take care of everyone I spoke to right through 15 minutes past my clock-out time. What I wasn’t able to do was open every ticket and close them. I got my work cut out for me tomorrow morning.
Cardinals. The defending National League champions. Led the league with 100 wins. MVP candidate Albert Pujols. Cy Young candidate Chris Carpenter. And they’re on the brink of elimination as they face Andy Pettite and the Astros in Houston tonight. St Louis lost the last 3 games to Houston on great pitching from Oswalt, Clemens, and Backe (not to mention closer Lidge). And the Cards lost their cool Sunday. Tonight, Carpenter will play the game of his career, and I hope (along with the rest of St Louis) he can handle the pressure. Or last Thursday’s game was the last to be played at Busch Stadium.
D has a PSP (aka PlayStation Portable for all you non-geeks). Combined with b-day gifts and his own cash, we bought it on Saturday. The kid is in heaven. It’s a nice gadget. Great for portable gaming (almost like having a portable PS2 with a widescreen tv). My computer will have to wait a little while longer, but I’m ok with that.
overwhelmed
My second day with the techs was no better than the first. The tickets we received just added to the frustration we had been dealing with. I thought I could help them get caught up, but all I could really do was observe and learn from them as they fought with the problems that were given to them. A lot of these problems are time consuming, and more tickets get pushed back. And they don’t seem to get the support they need from up above. Sounds all too familiar.
On a lighter note, the Cards took game 1 against Houston 5-3. Reggie Sanders hit a 2-run homer in the first inning to get things started, and Chris Carpenter pitched 8 great innings.
update 1012
How’s it going?
Work is good. It’s very busy. My partner and I are starting to learn some of the other functions that will keep us busy when the phone calls don’t. This week I’m rounding with the other techs to see them handle the actual tickets we give them. Yesterday was pretty crazy. People want to know why their ticket hasn’t been worked on yet; it’s because there are too many open tickets. More people and more resources are needed for this department to function well and get caught up.
It’s October, and Christmas is roughly 2 months away. Ugh. Gifts will be less this year. And what do I want? A computer. Well, cash to go towards one. Oh, and polo shirts for work. The computer may have to wait until next spring since it seems a PSP may be looming in the next few days for me and D. More on that later.
It’s playoff time in the Major Leagues. Angels stole one in Chicago last night, beating the White Sox 3-2. Tonight Carpenter takes on Andy Pettitte and the Astros at Busch Stadium to open the NLCS. The bats need to be swinging and our bullpen needs to hold up in order for the Cards to return to the World Series.
Til the next time …
Cards sweep the Padres
St. Louis 7, San Diego 4
Cards return to the NLCS with a sweep; Sanders sets an NLDS record with 10 RBI’s for the series.
Audio Blog 1007
Shownotes:
1st audio blog in 2 weeks
First week in IT complete
blog/databases
busy Friday
$2.94 a gallon
Friday night plans
night out at Cutters
Salem’s nighttime adventures
weekend plans
Cards up 2 games to none
other stuff
what else is going on?
Monday I start a new chapter in my life with the IT department. I’m nervous, excited, anxious, and happy. Everything changes now.
We went to the Chili Cook-off in Belleville last night. D hung out with his buddy Dil while CL and I sampled just about all of them (we missed the last 3 or 4). We were both chili’d out by that point. Good stuff tho!
Cards are 99 and 62 with 1 last game against Cincinnati. It will be the last regular season game @ Busch Stadium. They start the playoffs against San Diego on Tuesday.
Yankees clinched the AL East division today by beating the Red Sox. Red Sox can still make the playoffs if they defeat the Yanks on Sunday or if Cleveland loses to the White Sox.
I’m now using a new theme for my blog. I just want a simpler look. I will try tweaking it this week as time allows. If you prefer one of the older themes, click on Pages, and choose Switch Themes.
With this new job, I’ll need more computer time. I’m saving for my own computer. Not sure if I’ll get a Dell, a Shuttle, or a simple machine from the local Best Buy. Need to start thinking about what I’ll need versus what I want.
Audio Blog 0914
Shownotes:
- 2nd interview
- relatives in town
- work: feedback cancelled
- bug bites
- sports update
happy friday
what’s going on …
- Kids are back in school. I think I speak for all parents in saying, “Thank God!”
- Interviewed for the tech support position yesterday. Went very well; it sounds as if the IT department is excited that I’ve applied. The pay is better, and the work is right up my alley. However, there are other top candidates; I’ll find out next week regarding a 2nd interview. It won’t be til after Labor Day when a decision will be made. I will say that I do like my chances.
- Tony La Russa is third on the all-time managerial win list; St Louis 6, Pittsburgh 3
- $2.45 a gallon; I see it dropping some more this weekend before it goes way up on Monday.
- Want to see where the sun is shining? Check out the World Sunlight Map.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Cards update
Both good news …
- Both Molina and Walker return from the disabled list
- St Louis 5, San Francisco 4; Edmonds hits walk-off double to cap 9th-inning comeback
- St Louis 4, San Francisco 2; Morris hits century mark
and bad …
