France, the #1 seed in the 2002 World Cup, lost to Senegal.
Expect a general surrender soon.
I found the time this morning to finish up the story of our three attempts to find the A Tale of Two Bridges cache.
I'm still working on my E3 stuff, but it's time to go to work now.
So, I was going to update with tons of cools stuff last night.
But I went up front and laid down on the couch around 9PM and woke up at midnight. Then I went to bed.
No update for you.
Watch this video clip from Conan O'Brien now.
Yes, now. It's too funny.
Yes, I know I haven't updated. I've been busy.
Backyard Spa
This weekend I sanded down the spa and then painted it with the nasty pool paint. When I get some time, I'll update about geocaching & E3. Until then, go somewhere else.
1 -> A few minutes ago the doorbell rang. I answered the door and a young woman was outside with a clipboard. I knew she was selling something. She began her rap, "Hi, I'm with the blah blah blah and we are learnign marketing blah blah blah..." I interrupted and asked, "What are you selling?" She said "Don't freak out when I show you the card, k?" She showed me the card. It was a subscription form for the Pasadena Star News.
I said "We already get that newspaper every morning." This created a brief eye in the verbal windstorm. She reached into her clipboard and pulled out another card. "How about this newspaper?", she said with a smuh look on her face. It was a subscription form for the LA Times. I said "We already get that newspaper every morning, too." "You get both?", she questioned. "Yep", I replied. Disbelieving me, she said, "Show me." I said "OK." and turned toward the side where the trash is and where the used newspapers go.
Seeing that I was not kidding, she gave up. "That's OK. I believe you." As she walked away, as I was shutting the door she said, "Go to church, Jesus loves love." I'm not sure why she said that. I don't think she recognized the Mezuzah on the door.
2 -> I'm overwhelmed. All of the sudden I am overwhelmed by the complexness of life. It happens to me every once in a while where they day to day things build up to the point in which I feel paralyzed. I don't know what set it off today, but at about 7:30 the combination of the emergency Walmart trip, the missing tree in the backyard, the laundry, the full dishwasher, and children crying over linens seemed to toss my normally calm view 90 degrees out of kilter.
I feel like one of those toy dipping birds. You know, the kind where the water is added to the bird one drop at a time while the bird stands upright. Finally at the addition of one final drop, the bird can no longer resist the urge to tipover and spill out all the water. Once the water is spilled out, the bird returns upright to catch more water.
Somehow the last little drop of water for added to my mix and I feel as if I'm tipping.
I hadn't mentioned it before, but on the last geocache trip, my mother lost her wedding ring.
Ever since her new arthritis drugs have been working, her ring has been loose on her finger. It seems that while my dad and I were looking for the cache, my mom dropped her ring while playing with the girls.
She realized the ring was missing when we got back into the car at the trailhead. We searched everywhere nad my dad walked back to the site where we had been looking to no avail.
The next day, I talked to my mom and I could tell she was quite upset. I found out that I could rent a metal detector for $10 in Pasadena. $10 bucks? It's worth a try. I picked up the detector, listened to the brief instructions, and headed home.
I changed out of work clothes and into some hiking clothes, grabbed Zoe, and drove to the park. Zoe and I hiked in to the spot where Mom had been sitting. Along the way, the metal detector had been going off and I thought the chances of finding the ring were low.
At the spot, I started hunting while Zoe played. I dug up a few metal things like part of a soy sauce packet and a bottle cap. The detector went off over a large rock, next to the boulder Mom had been sitting on. I crouched down and started scraping and looking. It was tough to get my fingers between the rock and boulder. I decided to pull up the rock. As I did, I saw a flash of gold roll into the hole created when I lifted the rock.
It was a gold ring. It was THE gold ring. Success.
We then proceed to look for the elusive Geocache. Still no luck. That box is hidden well.
I woke up this morning sore. It must be the combination of scrubbing the backyard spa, going to the Fun Fair and climbing the rock wall, and the unsuccessful geocache hunt.
Sunburn and a sore ankle are making this a slow morning.
Time to have some tea.
BTW, here is the story of Geocache attemept 4 for your perusal.
Beware the dead skunk.
I should be posting the next geocahcing story I just finished, but I'm out of energy.
I'm heading up to the front room to spud out in front of the TV.
Michele, Zoe, Mira and I went out Geocaching today. I wrote up a little story about it for you all.
Success.
Me with Vanilla Coke
I stopped by the Pavilions today on the way to work and found Vanilla Coke. It was kind of like a commercial. I walked up to the soda aisle and the Coke Guy was there, unloading soda onto the shelves.
Me: Hi, you got that new Vanilla Coke?
Coke Guy: We don't have the two liter bottles yet.
Me: Do you have any Vanilla Coke?
Coke Guy: Yes, but no two liter bottles of it.
Me: I don't really care about two liter bottles, anything will do.
Coke Guy: Oh, well the one liter bottles are up front in the cooler next to the register.
Me: Cool, thanks.
He then walks me over to the cooler. The Store Manager appears.
Store Manager: Can I help you find something?
Me: I'm just going to get some of this Vanilla Coke here.
I reach toward the cooler.
Store Manager: Vanilla Coke?
Me: Yah, you know, the new Coke flavor?
Store Manager: New flavor?
At this point the Coke Guy and Store Manager begin discussing Vanilla Coke and I sneak off to the cash register. They are still talking when I leave.
One Liter Vanilla Coke (not two liter)
How does it taste? Good.
I get Vanilla Coke at Soda Jerks in Pasadena whenever we go there, so the flavor is familiar to me. The slight vanilla aftertaste is the key.
Recently, I've been drinking Diet Coke, so a real sugar coke tastes quite sweet to me. I nursed the bottle all day long. I couldn't have stomached the entire bottle in one sitting.
In other news, I'm pondering another geocache tomorrow.
Due to failures of Mr. Coffee engineers and my own anal-retentiveness, I was forced to undertake the Coffee Mod.
Be warned, I break the warranty...
Yesterday evening I went Geocaching with the girls. It was a beautiful day and my eyes were tired of looking at computer screens. I had printed out the info to a cache near home in San Marino at Lacy Park. The difficulty level was low and looked like a simple start to our geocaching career.
I punched in the coordinates of the cache and got in the car to head off. I'm using a Magellan GPS Companion that snaps onto Michele's Palm V.
After futzing a round a bit with the GPS, I realized it would point me int he direction of the cache. My mistake was in not bringing a compass with me. Here we are around 400 feet from the cache.
The Cache!
We got within 20 feet of the cache when Zoe had to hit the potty. Did you know that the women's restroom in Lacy park is 436 feet from the cache? In any case, after a bit of wandering around we finally found the small, black cache in ivy.
The girls were quite excited about our 'treasure hunt' and were happy to grab a lobster bookmark and Play-Do squeezer and leave a bottle opener and Mickey Mouse doll.
Things I need to remember in the future:
1) Bring a compass
2) Make the girls pee before we go.
3) Keep the exchange gifts small.
4) Take a picture of the GPS at the exact cache location showing the position. The 'money shot' if you will.
5) Mkae sure everyone is wearing socks and good shoes.
We had a great time, and will be doing more...
I got this in my email this morning:
Dear Michael Pusateri,
We're pleased to announce that your recipe, Ten Minute
Szechuan Chicken, is now featured on Allrecipes.com. To view your recipe, please
click the following link:
http://chicken.allrecipes.com/az/TnMintSzchwnChickn.asp?tsrc=rpst
I rule!
Go read Wisdom and idiocy my dog taught me on Matt's site.
I went to my parents house for Mother's Day yesterday. Just as we walked in the door, Zoe saw a lizard run in and into a corner of the front room.
Suddenly, the house was jumping with the thought of a lizard inside. My father looked under the lightstand in the corner and saw the lizard. "It's a big one.", he said.
Thinking a member of Gen X, I immediately went to get my mother's digital camera. Pictures are a must. My father then took this photo.
Soon the lizard was bolting away and off behind the display case when my mom keeps her good crystal. After a bit of prodding with a yardstick, the lizard again ran, but this time toward Dad. He caught the lizard bare-handed, ala Crocodile Hunter. The lizard proceeded to poop and and then bite him.
We tossed the lizard into a large soup pot, much to the chagrin of my mother. "I cook in that!", she said.
Outside we went to release the lizard. I think it's a skink actually.
Excitement over, I wanted to make sure I could get these images. It was at this point I learned that my parents had never downloaded anything off the digital camera since Christmas. There were 58 images on the camera.
While I was in my mother's office, I noticed this drawer.
Why she has a drawer full of broken reading glasses, I cannot fathom. There must be more than 25 glasses in that drawer. It seems to make sense to my mother and that's what matters. Also notice the Mac mouse in the drawer. I can't make the connection between the reading glasses and the mouse either.
Egads, is this where my life is headed? Strange collections in drawers?
Back at Christmas (2001 that is) my father bought my mother a new computer and a new digital camera. It appears today (May 2002 mind you...) that they have never downloaded a picture yet.
The connection cable is still in the box.
I am sitting here now trying to pull up the pictures.
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers reading...
Pondering: Why aren't any of the women I live with able to put clothes properly into the hamper? I mena, is it so much trouble to turn shirts and socks right side out before I wash them. Slackers.
Dr. Pepper Jello Attempt #2
I'm trying again to get this right. Here's today's version:
Ingredients:
(2) cans Dr. Pepper
(1) 1/4 oz. envelopes of Knox gelatin
Pour 3/4 cups of Dr. Pepper into a glass measuring cup. The measuring cup should hold > 3 cups of fluid Empty gelatin into the cup and stir slighty. Set aside and let the gelatin 'bloom' for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour 1 & 3/4 cups of Dr. Pepper into a bowl and nuke in the microwave for 3 minutes until the Dr. Pepper is very hot but not boiling.
There should be about 1/2 a can of Dr. Pepper left in can. Begin drinking Dr. Pepper. It's refreshing after all this hard work.
Pour heated Dr. Pepper into 'blooming' mixture. Stir for about 5 minutes or until all gelatin is dissolved. Let mixture sit a few mintues while you get out 1/2 cup bowls. Pour mix into bowls. Place in fridge overnight.
Notice that I've increased the amount of soda pop and decreased the amount of gelatin.
In the honor of In Passing, I offer this tidbit.
Mira: So let's be black and white pandas named Mary Kate and Ashley.
Zoe: OK.
- Heard in the back seat as I drove them home.
Michele is off for the day to some kinda fabic thingee. I don't even ask anymore.
I've got to do just a little shopping for Mother's Day. Everything is chosen, I just need to pick it up. If I time this right the girls should be in a good mood for it.
Hopefully we'll be home just after lunch and I can tidy up the house so I can have a relaxing evening.
A few interesting sites:
Slyck - file sharing
Being Daddy - a dad's weblog
Guy in a Suit - he's not really in a suit
Google Holiday Logos
Iced coffee craving level: High
Here he is, taunting me. Mr. Brown is pure evil, but I love him...
Why can't there be more of this kinda thing in the middle east?
My craving for a can of iced coffee is unbearable.
I stopped at the supermarket on the way to work to pick up ice cream for the nursery school party this afternoon and saw cans of the stuff. Pavilions was charging $1.99 a can. WTF? Evil bastards...
Must... Resist...
The Dr. Pepper jello I attempted to make turned out a bit too firm. Here is the jello standing of its own accord on a cutting tray. Normal jello doesn't do this...
It tasted well, a bit too gelatiny. So, I chopped it up into cubes for the kids to munch on during the day.
I must find the correct recipe!
Eye news: Doctor says I'll be fine as long as I keep dropping the stingy drops into my eyes. I'm getting a second opinion this afternoon.
Dr. Pepper Jello: It turned into rubbery finger jello rather than smooth delicate jello. Less gelatin, more Dr. Pepper. More experimentation needed.
Coffee: I was at the pharmacy getting more anti-biotic eyedrops and killing time when I spied a can of Starbucks Doubleshot in the drinks fridge. I could not resist this tempting tiny can of iced coffee. I bought the can, sat down on the bench outside and cracked it open. The first gulp brought back back the familiar coffee bitter and sugar sweetness flavor I have craved for years. Two more gulps and my precious iced coffee was gone. Immediately I had pangs for more. I had to resist. Two cans of this coffee nectar and I would be buzzing like a bad flourescent tube.
I must resist the Doubleshot. Getting back into the iced coffee habit would be Bad with a capital B.
Yet another Klez virus hit my email this morning.
People, keep your virus defs up to date!
Encouraged by my hero, Alton Brown, host of Good Eats, I have made Dr. Pepper Jello.
Ingredients:
(2) cans Dr. Pepper
(2) 1/4 oz. envelopes of Knox gelatin
Pour 3/4 cups of Dr. Pepper into a glass measuring cup. The measuring cup should hold > 3 cups of fluid Empty gelatin into the cup and stir slighty. Set aside and let the gelatin 'bloom' for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour 1 & 1/4 cups of Dr. Pepper into a bowl and nuke in the microwave for 3 minutes until the Dr. Pepper is very hot but not boiling.
There should be about 1/2 a can of Dr. Pepper left in can. Begin drinking Dr. Pepper. It's refreshing after all this hard work.
Pour heated Dr. Pepper into 'blooming' mixture. Stir for about 5 minutes or until all gelatin is dissolved. Let mixture sit a few mintues while you get out 1/2 cup bowls. Pour mix into bowls. Place in fridge overnight.
How does it taste? I dunno. I'll find out at breakfast tommorrow.
So I get home from work and my new GPS is here.
I am currently located at 36 º 6.213' North, 118 º 8.779' West with an altitude of 547 feet.
After much pain and waiting for new contacts, I went to the eye doctor today. I was told I have a corneal ulcer in my left eye.
The doctor was pretty concerned. You know it's serious when they start talking about statistics for long term damage rather than saying, "You'll be fine."
I was even more dismayed when he offered me Vicodin because these ulcers tend to get painful. Vicodin? WTF? That's some serious stuff.
Yikes! I have to put anti-biotic drops in my eyes every half hour while I'm awake. Under no circumstances am I to put a contact back into my left eye until I get the go ahead from the doctor.
I'm gunna go home this afternoon and give my eyes a rest rather than sitting teary-eyed in meetings distracted from the topic at hand.
Where are my new genetically engineering eyes grown from stem cells when I need them?
I'm thinking I may have to take some time off on the 16th...
Here's the type of good email I get at work:
| In today's conference call. 1. We will be doing some testing. 2. We should collect the results. 3. Corporate Telecom is concerned we will blow out the network with our frivolous bandwidth hogging. 4. [name removed] likes to keep to his agenda, even if nobody else is paying any attention to it. 5. There are some guys at [name removed] that I will work with on this. 6. Fark has an item about Devo today, the comments thingee is considerably more interesting/funny than the actual item. |
Here's the type of bad email I get at work:
| I understand that you already spoke with [name removed] about this case. As you know, the court has recently ordered us to produce the documents described below. Would you please forward this email to all those in your company that might have responsive documents? Let me, or [name removed], know if you have any questions, or if you need help in gathering these documents. Thanks. |
I burned my self on the George Foreman grill today.
I was trying to put a second ham & provolone mini-burrito int he grill and the lid dropped down on my hand. It burned my thumb.
Ouch.
But the burritos were good.
MLP:
Geocaching - Looking forward to this...
Keaggy.com - Close to web site perfection.
Before I head to bed...
My father-in-law called tonight and asked about 'how to install linux' on his WinXp box. A chill ran through my spine.
A straight install on a clean box is cake, but repartioning an active WinXP drive to make room for linux and getting the boot partion right is no small task for someone whose never even used linux before.
I steered him toward finding an eager graduate student to help him with this.
*crosses fingers*
Rather than loading the dishwasher, I'll post something.
I got the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy DVD today. After dinner I plopped down on the couch with the girls and watched the first episode. They both seemed to enjoy it. Zoe said the Vogon poetry was funny.
Today was a meetingfest with five of them in total. During the last one I was poking myself with a pencil to stay alert. Lots to do. Too many meetings.
Spider-Man is already available on the internet for download. I can't fathom how the MPAA thinks they could every stop this...
Yesterday I cooked a pound of bacon on the George Foreman grill. I should have bought the family sized one, Martell was right. I had to cut the strips in half and cook 4 half strips at a time. It was good eats, but slow. I did begin collecting the bacon grease in a jar. Alton Brown of Good Eats would be proud.
Ok, I gotta go the dishes now. It's 10:21 and I want to sleep soon.
I finally finished the page about the Crawfish Boil we went to a few weeks ago.
Enjoy.
BTW, anyone have a cheap GPS unit they want to sell/trade me?
Here's my recent stat graph from the site. I started playing around with a web stat tracekr before I got hit with the Segway Story deluge.
Quite a spike I must say.
I stayed up too late last night on the frigging computer. Now I am making a CD for Mira. I'm waiting here while the CDs are ripped so I can reorganize them onto a disc for her. I need to sit outside in the sun.
It's past midnight and I just got back from seeing Spider-man.
It rocked. Get off your computer and go see it now.
I won't give anything away since I hate reviews that ruin the movie. Basically they did a great job of bring the comic to life. J.K. Simmons steals the movie as J. Jonah Jameson. He is so dead on to my mental image it's scary.
The special effects are great. Seeing Spidey fly from building to building looks smooth and natural. They replicate several classic comic images of Spider-man crouching and hanging perfectly.
The battle scenes are good and don't rely on Matrix style effects many directors are leaning on these days.
The Hero's Dilemma is well done and classic form. I see where they edited out the Twin Towers scene and replaced it with a post 9/11 scene as a nod to New Yorkers. In 10 years, the scene will stand out as strange, but for now it works.
The romantic angle is well done, but not to my taste. Saying more would give away too much. After seeing the movie, you'll know what I mean. The sequel is perfectly set-up and ready to rake in another few hundred million.
Lastly, Kirsten Dunst is hot in the movie. In the one scene she is dressed up and wearing make-up, she's supra-hot.
OK, I'm going to sleep now.
Self: Do not get divorced. It appears that shoving live snakes up my own ass would be preferable to going through a divorce.
Don't mind this, it's just a few Google Bombs
Verisign
Techno Party
Knightrider
George Bush
Get back to work you slackers!
My eyes still hurt. It's been weeks waiting for new contacts. I can't take much more of this. I feel like a vampire that can't go out int he sun. The daytime sun kills my eyes and gives me a splitting headache.
The damn doctors need to figure out something to fix my eyes. It's getting ridiculous.
The pain makes me grit my teeth all the time. Now my teeth hurt from the grinding and my jaw hurts as well. I'm fucking falling apart.
I'm going to sleep. Hopefully tommorrow I'll get the new contacts and ease out of this nightmare.
I got a check for $26.25 in the mail from Amazon. They paid me. All from the affiliates program. So, go to Amazon and buy some stuff. I want the cash to buy a DVD burner. So start spending. It's the patriotic thing to do.
Let me mention again that you should be visiting HomeStarRunner on a daily basis.
In fact there a few other sites you should visit daily:
Zombo.com
Google Answers
Cool stuff at eBay
Team Knightrider
WTF am I doing. Typing while I should be sleeping? Fucking internet.
My brother has suffered an Office Calamity.
Now I finally have a reason to visit Dodger Stadium.
Even my Mom is on my case. This email recieved today:
Hello Mike,
Regarding: Fuck. A bad hard drive? Fuck, fuck, fuck. (Three extra 'fucks' because my Mom is reading this and it makes her squirm...)
I think my next computer WILL be a Mac and I am glad I still have my old one!
Love, Mom
P.S. Feel better!
All my work to bring her to the dark side of Windows is for naught...