Thursday, July 31, 2008

July Blogs of the Month

Hey there friends. We have 3 new blogs in the line up this month. Two blogs are not up because I'm having some difficulty saving their image and have requested it from the blog owners. Once I get those, they'll be up right away. Feel free to check out my 5 top droppers of the month under "Blogs of the Month". For those of you that don't know, my top 5 droppers will get a month long link and image on my site. Last time I gave away 100 credits to the winners, but to be honest, 100 is really not much so I think I'm going to settle at 200 this month. Depending on how many credits I have next time around, that number may increase. Thanks for all of you that drop by and check out my blog. Maybe next time, we'll see your site on my page. Later!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

EaRtHqUaKe!!!


Hey there friends. Some where around 11:45 am, us in Southern California had ourselves an Earthquake. From what I hear from the news, it was a 5.8 magnitude quake. We haven't had one in awhile and I've been telling my wife that we're due for one and I guess today was it. We work in the second floor of the company building so you could really feel the building shake. I was just about to enter my office when it started so I stood there in the doorway and I see my babe running towards me. I grab her and we stay there holding each other and shortly after one of our coworkers runs towards us and we stood there, holding each other. Later on, my wife tells me that the coworker was laughing at herself because she just saw us holding each other so she joined in to feel safe. lol

Anywho, we started to evacuate the building, but I stayed behind, since another coworker was still in the bathroom. I since my boss was gone, I made sure that everyone got out safely. Once she stepped out, she noticed that everyone was gone and she was like, "What happened?" I told her that there was an earthquake and then joked if she got stuck? That's probably why you didn't feel it. Leave it up to me to joke around during the time of a natural disaster. She laughed and then we walked outside.

Eveyone was on their phone attempting to call family members, including my wife. All phone lines were dead. Even the cell phones. Scary thought. No way for us to reach our loved ones to assure that they're OK. My wife is trembling. She's scared shitless of earthquakes and well, disasters in general. She blames me for it. lol All I watch is the History channel and they have shows on there that are all apocolytic or showing how disasters happened. I love that stuff. So I run upstairs, to see if the phones there work. I get a dial tone, but can't dial out. Damn... so back outside I go and before long, it's lunch time.

We drive over to my Mother in Law's and out kids are fine. The girls are visibly shaken up. Our middle child won't let go of my wife when we arrive. We eat our lunch and watch the news, all the while, we make some calls to assure every one is cool. Turns out the epicenter was in Chino Hills and it was felt as far south as San Diego and far east as Las Vegas. There is a "5% chance of a stronger earthquake winthin the next 5 days."

They let us go early from work so that they can inspect the buildings, to make sure that they're safe. We grabbed the kids and headed home. No damage and nothing on the floor. We were worried that our Tarantula, Vixin, may be on the loose. Since it was a strong jolt, we thought that it may have been strong enough to knock over her habitat. Good thing it didn't cause I don't want to think what may have happened between our cat and spider.

We live in California, I'm used to earthquakes, so I'm not too rattled by it. We let our kids know what to do in case of another one, since we've been feeling aftershocks most of the afternoon. We're pretty confident that they know what to do next time.

Hopefully, this doesn't mean that the "big one" is coming... Until then, later.

Computer Knowledge is a Must

Hey there friends. In this day and age, everything is done electronically. Payments, banking, games, work, stock trading... you name it, and there is a website out there to get it done. Because of this, we rely heavily on computers that not only work, but work efficiently. But what if it doesn't work? What if the computer decides to act funny and you can't get anything done? Who do you call? Not ghostbusters, that's for sure, but if you're at work, it's most likely the IT (Information Technology) people. In today's business world, those guys are the people that make the world run. So you can only imagine the amount of money those guys make a year. That's why I'm thinking of getting myself certified. This is an absolute win win situation. Because I am in my initial phase of being my own boss in computer repair, it would be great to have a certificate to show my customers that I know what I am doing and after browsing around, I have decided that a Cisco certification is what I need.

Not only do they offer hundreds of classes, but they also offer web based training, virtual classrooms, and remote labs and simulation, on top of the traditional classrooms. This is perfect for those of us with hectic schedules or for those of us who just prefer to do online training. VPN, IP communications, Networking, or computer repair are just a few of the Cisco training courses that are provided.

I'm looking forward to this. It would be great to be a certified computer technician. This is exactly what I need to jump start my busniess. Good thing I haven't printed cards yet. Once I get this done, I can add a line on there that says "Certified by Cisco".

Sponsored by Cisco

Monday, July 28, 2008

The Return of the Killer Trees

Hey there friends. I live in Southern California and I regularly listen to a small radio station by the name of KROQ. I've been listening to that station since forever and after this weekend, I was brought back to a moment where Kevin and Bean could not stop talking about killer trees. I remember several years back, they were obsessed by the "killer trees" and "killer monkeys". There were many accidents around that time where people were smashed by trees or smashed into trees and them, being the dumb asses that they are, said that the trees were out to get us. Well... I'm beginning to think that Hollywood may have gone out and stole their concept.

*MOVIE SPOILERS FOR THE RUINS and THE HAPPENING*


A few weeks back when my compadre STRONGLY recommended that we watch The Happening. He didn't give anything away and he claimed that Shyamalan redeemed himself with this one. After the disaster that was Lady in the Water, I figured that maybe he righted his wrongs and it was worth a look, especially after he made a bad ass film like the Sixth Sense, I knew he had it in him to make a great film.

Well, it wasn't happening. My babe and I went to check it out and I was semi-disappointed while she was extremely disappointed. lol She straight out said, "That's it!" after the movie. The whole movie attempts to build suspense but fails to do so and when it "climaxes", it doesn't really feel like it cause, well... it's the fuckin' trees and plants that are causing the people to kill themselves. The movie pretty much tries to scare us stupid into believing that the plant life will kill us off unless we start taking care of Mother Earth. Point 1 for the killer trees.


This weekend, we rented out The Ruins. I'm not sure where we say the previews for this but it looked suspenseful and when it came out of DVD, we decided to check it out. The movie lags, big time. Felt like we were forced to watch the first 30 mins or so waiting for something to happen. Americans having a good time in a foreign land (*cough cough Touristas, Hostel, cough cough) and then some bad shit happen to them. In this case, it's the ruins of some city in the shape of pyramids. After the climb the pyramids, the locals will not let them leave, they surround the perimeter of the ruins and will kill anyone who tries to leave it.

Again, the movie lagged it. My wife tuned out about 40 mins into the movie and she started playing some "Pop-it" game on her phone. lol I continued to watch. lol At this moment she made this comment, "Damn, babe, you sure know how to pick em. First it was The Happening, and now this. This movie better not have some stupid ending like some killer trees or plants." Well, guess what... The movie had killer plants. LMAO I didn't tell her that since she was too busy playing the game, but I couldn't believe it and I started tuning out of the movie too and started playing Pop-it on my phone. This movie was a complete disappointment. I think I caught a glimpse of the ending and again, not satisfying. Nowhere near what I hoped for. Point 2, killer trees.

What triggered all of this? Some show my wife was watching on E!, her favorite channel by the way. I walked by and heard something along the lines of "...Ever since her husband, Sonny Bono, passed away..." I'm assuming it was Behind the Music: Cher, or that show True Hollywood Story. Somehow, I brought up the fact that he passed away due to a skiing accident. He swerved and smashed into a tree. That thought brought me think of the movies we saw, and ultimately, to Kevin and Bean.

It's funny how we associate things or make connections with things. I get that all the time. It's pretty common for someone to say to me, "Where did that come from?" lol Who would've thought that Cher would be bring me back to the days of Kevin and Bean where funny man, Jimmy Kimmel was doing sports. lol I still sing his intro song sometimes, "KROQ Sports with Jimmyyyyyy". lol Later!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Full Page Ads? Not Anymore!

Hey there. I received an Email last night from my friend James over at New Dilemma, and he basically told me that full page ads suck. lol Gotta love that straight forwardness. I was thinking of getting rid of them cause quite frankly, I was getting tired of them myself. On top of making my blog take forever to load, and then be redirected, I felt that they took away from my site and kinda made it second fiddle. Well, I got rid of them. Well, at least I hope I did. I went ahead and made the changes on my Adbrite account and we shouldn't see anymore full page ads. I've made more than a few bucks with Adrite and I don't think that removing the full page ads would hurt my earning potential. If by chance, they continue pop up, let me know and I'll see what's up. Feel free to hit me up, friends. That's why I got my Email on here. Many thanks James! Later.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The Unknown Solidier

The wind howls as it moves across the sky. The luminescence of the moon makes an appearance between the clouds, making the sakura twinkle and dance as they fall, rivaling the beauty of the stars. A serpent slithers its way across a branch, searching for dinner. It's scales grinds across the bark, as it approaches a sparrow. Suddenly, the moon disappears, the howling stops, and the grinding halts. Deafening silence.

In darkness, shadows fly without their makers, speeding across the land. Off in the distance, a small cube, no more than 100 sq feet, cries out to them. They dart in the cube's directing, paying to mind to the trees and they go through the wall and hover in the middle. They gather around a body, sprawled across the floor. No warmth, no breath, no life. In unison, the shadows breathe out. Their breath, reaching the reaching the lungs of the body, causes no change. A second breath cries out and chills the body to ice. Then there was movement. The shadows dissipate, accomplishing their task.

First, a twitch. Then, a shiver. Slowly, air begins to flow across the lungs. Oxygen. The river of life begins to flow. It's current, starting at a crawl, begins to pick up speed. The cells, in a frantic, begin their daunting task to revive and maintain. The temperature begins to rise. The body that was ice cold is now gaining color. A tremble here and a tremble there, it slowly gathers it's strength. A hand plants on the ground as it begins to pick itself up. A lifeless body no more. Now standing naked and gathering composure, it lifts it's arms. Staring at it's hands, full of cuts and bruises, similar to those found throughout the body, it stares and asks itself...

"Who am I?"

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Let's Walk, With a Purpose

Hey there friends. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease and we need to do our part top help prevent it. An Alzheimer's Memory Walk is no more than 3 miles and those 3 miles can be the most purposeful miles that you'll ever walk. Many of us, once we reach the age of 65, will show one of more symptoms or Alzheimer's disease and as of right now, there is no cure. But, we can make a difference. By teaming up with the Alzheimer's Association, we can help raise funds to find a cure. You can either find a team to walk with, or you can create your own team. To create a team, you will need to sign up and invite at least 3 members. www.Alz.org has useful information on how to start a team or join one. They also offer many guides for team leaders so that they can lead to the best of their abilities.

Alzheimer's is a horrible disease that many of us have experienced first hand and the it's something that we definitely want to prevent. The disease is a form of dementia that can affect everyone differently. Someone with Alzheimer's can show symptoms of short term memory loss, where in more severe cases, language is reduced to a word or two. No one wants to see their loves ones regress in health. Our golden years should be those of joy, spending time with our grandchildren. Those of us who are lucky enough, great-grandchildren. We don't want to spend our golden years regressing. In a society such as our own, where medical advances are happening on a constant basis, we should do our part to help those advances move on. So far, it's working. People are living longer, healthier lives compared to just 50 years ago. If we continue to do our part, we can extend our life expectancy some more.

There are many horrible diseases out there and we need to find a cure for. Alzheimer's is just one of them. But it is the one, that many of us will experience. Click on the button below, start a team, or join on, and let us walk together.





Sponsored by Alzheimer's Walk

Saturday Night Rock Out

Hey there friends. I was introduced to the game Rock Band this weekend. It's definitely a party game, especially after having a few drinks. lol It was pretty cool because it was basically everyone's first time playing it. Only my wife's cuz was experienced in the game (he's the one that brought it over). We hooked it up and after having a couple of brews we got to it. I started off on Guitar, I guess it's what I do best, my babe on the skins, her bro on the mic, and her cuz on bass. It was interesting to say the least. It took awhile for everyone to get the hang of it and after awhile, we were all into it, blaming each other for failed songs... Just like a real band. HA HA HA!!! After our initial singer left, I took over and that was pretty cool. I sing all the time. In the car, in the shower, in public (embarrassed my wife with that one a few times. lol) so it cool to actually be judged. I did alright, I guess. I didn't fail. lol I highly recommend getting it, but only if you always have people over. If you're going to play solo, I would recommend Guitar Hero since I think it's more of a solo game where as you won't get the full effect of Rock Band playing solo.

Once we started to get into the wee hours of the night, my babe's cuz (he's family so I'll start calling him my cuz) wanted me to try out some songs in solo mode that he couldn't handle. He was over at our place before and we were all buzzing playing Guitar Hero III. He claims I impressed him, since I was playing pretty well for being buzzed, and he wanted me to play this one song in Rock Band that he can't handle. I think it was called Green Grass and High Tides.

Stupid song... It's been in my head since. On my first try on Expert, I got through about 80% of the song. After many failed attempts, I was only able to get a best of 85%. I like those kinds of challenges. I challenged myself with Guitar Hero III and I was finally able to best the game on Expert after many, many frustrated nights (Damn you LOU!!!!). But now that I was exposed to a new challenge, I wanted/needed to beat it. We probably stayed up til like 1 am attempting that damn song to no avail. My cuz says that we'll get it next time. He's confident that I'll get it since it was my first time playing the game, I had difficulty identifying the hammer-on notes since I was used to the Guitar Hero hammer-ons. I'll get it.. I know I will.... eventually. Until then, check out some of the pics taht we took... and I'll just have the song playing in my head... over... and over... and over... Later!

Here is our initial line up


In true rock fashion, the singer gets the close up


My babe on the skins


Our little drummer girl didn't want to cough up the skins


Me attempting some song on GHII. Never played that game before


"Our" cuz asleep after having one too many beers


Green Grass and High Tides... Focus. Focus. Focus

A Little Humor to Start the Day

I received this Email this morning and I thought it was pretty funny. Check it out.

10 Truths

10 Truths Black and Hispanic people know, but White people won't admit

1. Elvis is dead.
2. Jesus was not white.
3. Rap music is here to stay.
4. Kissing your pet is not cute or clean.
5. Skinny does not equal sexy.
6. Thomas Jefferson had black children.
7. A 5 year old is too big for a stroller.
8. N'SYNC will never hold a candle to the Jackson 5.
9. An occasional BUTT whooping helps a child stay in line.
10. Having your children curse you out in public is not normal.

10 Truths White and Black People know, but Hispanic people won't admit

1. Hickeys are not attractive.
2. Chicken is food not a pet or a roommate.
3. Jesus is not a name for your son.
4. Your country flag is not a car decoration.
5. Maria is a name but not for every daughter.
6. 10 people to a car is considered too many.
7. 'Jump out and run' is not in any insurance policies.
8. Buttoning just the top button of your shirt is a bad fashion statement.
9. Mami & Papi cant possibly be the nickname of every person in your family.
10. Letting your children run wildly through the store is not normal.

10 Truths white and Hispanic people know, but Black people won't admit

1. O.J. did it.
2. Tupac is dead.
3. Teeth shouldn't be decorated.
4. Weddings should start on time.
5. Your pastor doesn't know everything.
6. Jesse Jackson will never be President.
7. Red is not a Kool Aid flavor, its a color.
8. Church does not require expensive clothes.
9. Crown Royal bags are meant to be thrown away.
10. Your rims and sound system should not be worth more than your car.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Special Delivery From Italy

Hey there friends. I few weeks ago, I was approached to provide an unbiased review of some pinhole eyeglasses. I gladly accepted it. I remember seeing advertisements for these glasses when I was a kid and a doc even recommended that I try em out to see if they'll improve my vision. Me being the stubborn guy that I am, never did... So I was excited and anxiously awaited the pinhole glasses so that I can try em out.


The packaged arrived and it was postmarked by Italy. Never received anything from there before so I thought that was kinda neat. As you can see from the picture, I tore that package up. lol I regret that I didn't have any self control since I tore the stamp right down the middle. Would of liked to keep it intact but too late for that now. As for my first impression of the glasses, they brought me back to my childhood. The frame is what I would call "old school" and they are made of plastic, very much like the glasses I used to wear in the 80's. The lens themselves seem to be made of plastic as well, but they seem to have some kind of coating on them. Maybe it's the "secret ingredient" to better my eyesight. =o)


We put them on, and it's true, you can see better with them on. It's a trip because you are looking through several holes and yet your eyesight does improve by wearing them. My wife tried them on while I was driving and she was having fun reading things off trucks and what not, things she would not be able to read without her glasses. I decided to wait until I got home to really put them to the test. I decided that I would wear them for at least half an hour while reading a book. For those of us that have tried to read a book with out our glasses, it sucks, and if I were to be able to read comfortably with the pinhole glasses then I would be amazed.


During my time wearing them and reading, I can honestly say that my eyes felt more relaxed. Maybe it is because I wear my glasses all the time. I'm practically blind as a bat and I need my glasses for everything so I just don't bother to take them off anymore. I can see how during the long run, this may help improve my sight. My eyes are being used without the help of a concave lens and I can actually see better. That's the key word. Better. When you put them on, you are not going to see 20/20 vision. They are not miracle workers. The website for the pinhole eyeglasses claim to help with your myopia and hyperopia and other common eye issues. I wouldn't know if that statement is true since I don't have those problems, at least I don't think I do.

All in all, not a bad product. Even though I do not notice any significant change in my eyesight, I can honestly say that my eyes feel more relaxed and have less strain on them. I think that's more than the worth of the price for a pair of these glasses. Whether or not they will improve my vision in the long run is yet to be determined. However, I'll continue to use them and if one day, I wake up with hawk eye vision, you'll be the first to know. Later.

P.S. Jenna, if by chance you read this, my wife loves you. lol

Thursday, July 17, 2008

What is Your Financial Score?


Hey there friends. I just checked out my financial IQ and I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by my B score. Especially during these hard times, with the economy in turmoil, we all need to take a look at our finances to see where we stand. Many of us are carefully watching our finances and are debating whether or not we need to reorganize our finances. From what I've seen on the test, I need to plan out my future now, even though I'm in my mid 20's. Am I saving enough for retirement? Am I contributing enough to my 401K plan? Is my family covered in case of an emergency? These are questions that we need to think about early in our lives to assure that we have a comfortable retirement. For those of us that need a little help to get back on track, www.bills.com also provides financial services using dedicated professionals as your guide to relieve some of the pressures of financial strain. They offer help in:

Debt consolidation : Cant's keep track of all those bills? Forgetting a few here and there causing you to be decked with late fees? This service will help you tackle all of those monthly headaches. The service will help you consolidate the bills so that you pay one amount a month instead of several amounts scattered throughout the month. This is perfect for those of us that lose track of bills.

Debt relief : Bit off more than you can chew? Maybe you need to refinance some of those high interest credit cards and lower those monthly payment. This would reduce your overall monthly bill saving you a couple of bucks a month in interest. You should also check out the credit counseling to assure that you understand the do's and don'ts of credit assure that you will not be in this jam again.

Debt help : Maybe you just don't know what's going on. Too many terms, too many options, too many bills. Period. Debt help will help you learn the terminology and help you establish a game plan to tackle that debt.

If you are one of the millions of Americans that need financial help, do yourselves a favor and check out the above links. The number one mistake that people make when trying to tackle the financial issues is not doing enough research. There are options out there that can help.


Sponsored by Bills.com

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

My Sword and a Lactating Bitch


Hey there. I need to get a wall mount for this. I took this pic with my phone when I got home with my shiny, new sword. I think it would look better hanging on my wall looking all bad ass. I think I want another one now. We were watching Kill Bill not too long ago and my wife was like, "You should get one of those for your swords". She was talking about the racks that Hanzo had. I quickly thought, alright she's cool with the idea of me having more. lol I'd feel pretty stupid getting a rack like that and only have one sword on display. Maybe when I get more, I'll look into getting one.


As for this pic, I was at PetCo the other day and I was browsing through the dog medicine (my dog has this rash on his back, but the PetCo employee told me that he has a "hot spot" and he's constantly scratching it so I should get something to make him stop). I picked up this box and thought it was hilarious. I could imagine the makers of this sitting around and discussing their image and description for the box and some guy out there just throwing out the, "lactating bitches" as a joke and it ended up on the box. lol Good stuffs. Later

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

How Mafioso Are You?

Hey there. Stupid Myspace and their stupid addicting games. lol I'm a man of numbers. I love stats. So naturally, once I was invited to try the game by a family member, I keep going back to it to build up my stats. Mafia Wars is a relatively new application to be used while on Myspace and it's a text based mobster game. You earn levels are you mob and steal your way to the top. You buy armor and weapons to build your attack and defense so that you can FIGHT with other mob members. It's unique, at least to me, in the way that you replenish HP and other vital stats in real time. So it may take 5 mins or so for you to recover 1 exp. point that was used to rob a bank or other criminal activity. I think that's great because that'll make people like me have to log off and do other things while the your character recovers. Good stuffs. If you're out there on Myspace and want to join my Mafia, shoot me an Email and we'll "take over Myspace", Mafia status. Later.

Monday, July 14, 2008

7 Facts About Me

Hey there. I have been tagged by my friend over at My Girl Quest. First one so I'm doing my "civic blogger duty" and responding to it. lol So here we go...

Here are the rules:

1. List these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Here you go... seven random things about me:

* I'm a Taurus. From what I hear, that makes me bad ass. =oD
* I am (or was) a "band geek" in high school. Played trumpet for the LAUSD All City Band and played flute and piccolo (yes, I said piccolo and and it takes guts to admit that in front of the world) for the high school marching band/concert band.
* On top of Rock/Metal music, I love me some classical music too.
* I have a "hot" body. Not in that sense, friends. As in, it can be cold as fuck outside and I'll be walking around shirtless and in boxers cause I'll feel hot.
* One day, I inspire to be on stage at The Whiskey playing music with my friends.
* Quote that means something to me: "Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to move forward."
* 1 more... let's see... I want a pet snake (even though my wife might not be for it). I've been fascinated my the creatures since I was like 5.


Here are my tags: Mariuca , Reena , Monaco , Angelika , Sabriena , Shainakins , and {girl} for all status.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Are You A Rockstar?

Hey there. We had a get together planned for today, but we're going to scratch it. Most of us work tomorrow and to top it off, it was pretty short notice so we want to make sure that all invited will be able to show up. My wife's cuz was going to bring the game Rockband so that we can all play. From what I read, you either love it or you hate it. I've never played so I don't know how I feel about it yet. I think it's a great idea though. You got yourself a group of buzzed friends and who wouldn't want to pretend they're in a band? lol So moved it into next week, or I should say Saturday. No one works the next day (at least we don't think) so if we wanted to chill and do shit the next day, we can.

It's mid afternoon and am a little upset that I wasn't able to get the timing belt changed today. I saw the belt that I need for $30 but they're out of stock. I had to order it and pick it up at a later time so that I can get it changed. We've been hearing this sqeaky sound (usually in the mornings) when we start up our car and it tends to go away after about 5 mins or so. From what I've been told, it's either the belt or auto transmission fluid. I checked the fluid so I know that's not it, so I'm changing the belt. It needs it anyways so I won't worry about it much if it didn't get rid of the noise.

Need to call a vet. My dog began getting this rash on his back and I've seen him rub himself all over the floor. I'm pretty sure it's just him scratching the hell out of himself but I'll take him to a vet just to make sure. There is one down the street so let me get that number and call em up. I'll catch you guys later.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Fox Loves Zenni

Hey there. Someone at Fox must have read my great post on ZenniOptical.com because they went ahead and featured it on MyFoxWGHP.com. Go to Zenni on Fox to read all about it. It doesn't get any better when great prescription eye wear can come as low at $8 a pair. Check out the website and browse through the many frames and lenses that are available. Below is just one of the many frames that you can find.



This is a sponsored post.

Troubles at Work? You're Not the Only One

Hey there friends. We've all had em, serious drag time at work. Below are a few chuckles to get us through the day. I sooooo need to get a collection going so that we can get that cooler!!!! Later!






Thursday, July 10, 2008

Cruising the Streets in a New Convertible

Hey there. Wouldn't it be great to be driving down the coast in a band new convertible? Wind blowing through your hair, soaking up the sun, taking in the scenery, all the while, knowing that you just saved some money on your car rental. That's right, our good friends over at Advantage.com have up to 50% discounts on all convertibles and luxury vehicles. Use the above link, and you'll be able to check out some of their other promotional offers so that you too can be cruising the streets in style. Go ahead and splurge a little and get yourself into the car of your dreams and take a road trip to where your heart desires.


A Switch From Blogger?

Hey there friends. I've been contemplating a move from Blogger to another blog platform. I believe that the only reason I'm staying is because it's my first blog and I've grown familiar with what I can and can't do on Blogger. And that's my problem... I know what I can't do and it would suck to have to leave because of some "imperfections".

First and foremost, I cannot upload Excel files. Maybe it's just me and you can't do this on any platform, but I have a few games that I would like to share with you all and I cannot get them to upload on Blogger. HUGE issue for me. Who wouldn't want to come here and then get themselves a free dose or Pac Man or whatever. lol I guess the fact that I'm restricted is what's bothering me. I figured, it's my page and I can do as I please, but the fact that I can't upload a file is taking that "power" of freedom away. Would I be able to upload files on other blogging platforms?

Also, more and more, that empty space on each side of my page is getting to me. I don't know why it didn't bother me before. I guess it was just the "newness" of blogging that I felt happy with it only because I now had a small space to call my own. I really want to expand it all the way as of right now, I have not figured it out. I'm pretty sure that a new template would fix this. Maybe I should look into that.

Maybe I should be looking into getting my own domain. Tranfer all my stuff over. I wouldn't know how it would work though, but I'm sure they would have a "help me" guide or what not. Maybe I should start looking into that.

Or maybe I'm just being a little bitch. lol I know that there are millions of people using blogger and if it was really bad, they would all ditch it for something else. Eh. Guess it's just something to think about. Later.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Great Glasses at an Affordable Price

Hey there friends. I, like many other people, need glasses and sometimes they are pretty pricey. I end up dishing well over $150 a pair sometimes. Well, not anymore! Our friends over at zennioptical.com have a great site where frames and lenses of all kinds are sold at very affordable prices. With the way the economy is, we can all save a few bucks and this is a great way to save without sacrificing quality. "But how can they do that?", you ask. Well, they eliminate the middle man and instead of pocketing the money they save, the savings goes out to the customers. Half rim frames, scratch resistant lenses, sun sensor lens, titanium frames... they have it all. Below is just one example of the kind of frames you'll find so do your wallet a favor and check out zennioptical.com today to save on some great eye wear.






This is a sponsored post

Histats Screw Up

Hey there. I having some issues with my histats counter... I don't see how Project wonderful can show me over 100 page views and my counter only shows 30+. I ever refreshed my page to see if the counter would move and it didn't. Very odd. Hopefully this brain fart will only last for a bit and all should be back to normal soon. Thanks.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

The Mystery of the Corona Bottle


Hey there. More weird things happening in our home. If Odin appearing in the house on his own wasn't enough, check out what happened last night. About a week or so ago, we had company over and we all chilled, had a few beers/drinks and capped the night off with some Guitar Hero. Because I'm not a solo drinker, I never have beer in the fridge unless it's some leftover beer from one our get togethers. Well, it turns out that we had a few Coronas left so I stashed them in the fridge. Last night, my wife decided that the fridge needed some cleaning so she was cleaning it out. She accidentally knocked over one of the Coronas and it toppled to the floor. She stared at it as it fell, lol Luckily, it didn't break so we didn't have shards of glass all over the place. My babe, picked it up and set it next the other bottle of Corona. Nothing weird about that, right?

WRONG! As my babe was about to place the bottles back in the fridge, one of the bottles was open and the bottle cap was missing! WTF!?!?!? We searched for the cap and we didn't find it, then it occurred to my wife that the cap was on the bottle when it fell because it was lying on the floor. If the cap was missing from the get go, it would've spilled when it landed on the floor. That was not the case. We looked at each other in disbelief. I dare not drink the beer of ghosts so I poured it down the drain. lol

Today, during lunch, we concluded that it was probably my pops. My dad passed away when I was 9 (over 17 years ago) and we figured that my pops was probably thirsty so he opened it and took the cap with him to let us know he was there. We usually take a beer can for him when we would go and visit him at the cemetery, but these last couple of times, I've forgotten it. He must've been pissed cause I didn't take it to him on Father's Day, so he needed to take action into his own hands and take it himself. lol Sorry pops, I promise to take you two next time we visit. Later!

The Truth About Beer!

Last month, scientists at the National University of Lesotho released the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. Men should take a concerned look at their beer consumption. The theory is that beer contains female hormones (hops contain phytoestrogens) and that by drinking enough beer, men turn into women. To test the theory, 100 men drank 8 pints of beer each within a 1 hour period. It was then observed that 100% of the test subjects:

Argued over nothing
Refused to apologize when obviously wrong
Gained weight
Talked excessively without making sense
Became overly emotional
Couldn't drive
Failed to think rationally
Had to sit down while urinating

No further testing was considered necessary. Send this to the men you know to warn them about drinking too much beer!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Snow White, Rockin' Out on the 4th

Hey there. Hope everyone had a safe 4th of July. We had ourselves an eventful day. Being our little one's B-day, we took her to Chuck E Cheese, she seems to love that place. So after we all scarfed down some pizza, we ventured off to play games. This is when we discovered that our little one is a skeeball whiz. Just check out that score!!!


You're seeing that right, friends. She scored 65,000 points and the jackpot score is 61,000 AND SHE DID NOT GET ANY HELP FROM US!!!! Amazing! lol She did receive some help from the skeeball machine, though. lol It must have been trippin' or something because each time she put in a coin, her score would rack up and she didn't even need to roll a ball to win the 100 ticket jackpot. lol It happened to her 3 times before the machine decided to behave and show the actual scores. Nevertheless, she had a blast being shot on that little screen as the jackpot winner.

From there, we ventured off to Kid's Heaven, or as it's better known as, Toys 'R Us. We usually know what to get the kids, but what we sometimes like to do is take them to the toy store and have them browse around. If there is something that grabs their attention, then I make note of it and when we're done "browsing", I'll go back and get the toys that were picked, pay for em, and take them to the car. I know it sounds a little mean, but the payoff is better since the kids are surprised when they get to open the gifts. So we busting this mission and our little one showed interest in a guitar, snow white outfit and a shopping cart. lol


From there, we went to my Mother in Law's place where we had a cake and she got to open her gifts. She was ecstatic with her gifts and she immediately wanted to play with all of them. Here is she is, singing "Slow Ride" for me. It's her favorite song from Guitar Hero III. Oh, and the guitar that she got? She claims it her "Guitar Hero Guitar" so that she can play guitar hero with her own guitar. lol Gotta love it. Check her out.

We capped the night with fireworks a-blazing. She loves her some Morning Glories (sparkle sticks, fire sticks, whatever you wanna call em) and she had a blast twirling and swinging them things around most of the night. As she heard, and saw, skyrockets burst in the air, she would say, "Daddy, fireworks for me?" I looked in her eyes and said, "Yup, baby. A lot of people are celebrating your birthday today too." lol It's a fib, I know, a little white lie that's not gonna harm her, but she sat in a chair in amazement of what was going on around her. All in all, a very pleasant 4th of July. Later

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy Birthday, Little One



Today is my little one's birthday. Turns 3 years old. It just so happens that today is America's birthday too. For all my American friends, light up the grills, slap on some meat, and do what us American's do best, eat up. lol

For my baby, here's a little something for you.

Daddy's little girl is one year older
One year wiser
Your striking smile
Gleaming pearly whites
Will always warm my heart
To hear you laugh and see you play
You invigorate my soul
Today, my baby is one year older
And one year closer to when...
You are daddy's little girl no more.

I know she's still small, but as a pops, you never want to face the fact that one day, there will be another man in her life. And just as a warning to that 3, 4, 5 year old out there... I'll have my eye on you... lol Later.

PS. I know that she'll be calling me a "dork" many, many, many moons from now when she sees the picture that I posted with this. lmao

I'm Wayne Brady Bitch!

Hey there. Oh man, this has to be one of the most funniest skits ever. Check it out, friends. It has explicit language, mainly the "b" word above.


Thursday, July 3, 2008

Authorized Luminox Dealer

Our good friends at L.A. Police Gear are at it again. On top of their top notch threads, they are now an authorized Luminox dealer as well. These are the perfect watches for no to low light situations and they have over 100 different models so I'm sure you'll find the watch that matches you style.

This is a sponsored post

Have You Seen Him?

A wife went to the police station with her next-door neighbor to report that her husband was missing. The policeman asked for a description.

She said, "He's 35 years old, 6 foot 4, has dark eyes, dark wavy hair, an athletic build, weighs 185 pounds, is soft-spoken, and is good to the children."

The next-door neighbor protested, "Your husband is 5 foot 4, chubby, bald, has a big mouth, and is mean to your children."

The wife replied, "Yes, but who wants HIM back?"

New Template...

Hey there friends. I think I need a new template. I'm tired of seeing a whole bunch of emptiness on the left side of my blog. Come to think of it, it's on the right side too... I have like an inch or so of empty space that can be utilized. I like the format that I have, but I just don't like that I'm not maximizing the space. If there was a way where I can expand the post space so that it covered that area, I would be happy. But if not, guess I'll be out template hunting real soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to find something that suits me well. Later.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Middle Child Syndrome?



Hey there. I'm a little more than steamed right now. As my wife was washing the dishes, she uncovered a whole bowl's worth of cereal hanging out in the sink. We called in the kids (our two oldest had cereal) and asked them who was the one that threw it in the sink. Must've been the ghost of the house because they said it wasn't them. If there is anything that really gets to us, it's liars. We've explained many times to our kids that we will not tolerate lying in the house. Even after we made it very clear that if no one fessed up, they would both get in trouble. Still no one confessed. It wasn't until I said that the person that confesses will NOT get in trouble. That's when our middle child confessed and said it was her.

Why does she continue to lie to us? We've already told her countless times that lying just makes things worse and she is making it very difficult for us to believe her anymore. She's been on this streak of lying that we're beginning to feel that no matter what the punishment is, it's just not sinking in. I threatened her with boot camp, she just turned 7, and I did it as a bluff, but now I feel like maybe that's the way to go. It's pretty damn obvious that we're not getting through to her and maybe some tough love will go a long ways. I just don't know where to turn right now. We instill good morals and ethics and for the most part, they listen and follow the rules, but I just don't know what her deal is lately that she's been the rule breaker of the house. She even went as far as STEALING gum from her grandpa's drawer and said it wasn't her... I'm not going to be raising a criminal and we need to find a solution to this "mean" streak now before it really gets out of hand...

My wife is online right now looking through articles to see what other parents are doing. She came in here and just told me that some articles mentioned that this seems to happen to kids in the first grade. Our boy, the oldest, had his incident with lying. I gave him the punishment of his life and that was the last of that. Come to think of it, I think that was about the same age that she's in now... I don't know, we're just hoping that's it's a phase and it will soon pass.

Until then, later.

A Time to Reflect



Hey there. Tomorrow is July the 3rd. Tomorrow is our anniversary. My wife and I will be celebrating our 4th year of marriage. She has been a godsend to me. In a time where my life was nothing but chaos, she came into my life and gave me a reason to fight on. Because of this, I'll always refer to her as my angel.

You know, she didn't have to do the things that she did for me. When we met, I had two small kids and I was kicking my ex-girlfriend out of my place, with more than enough resistance from the ex... and she didn't need to take on that burden. But she did, and because of it, I know that she loves me. At the tender age of 19, she took me in, along with all my "baggage". When all others would have ran at the thought of having to raise kids at that age, she stood by me. Even after all the shit that we went through, she was there, and became the loving mother and wife that our family needed. She stood by her man and there is nothing more that a man can ask for.

She just sent me an Email wanting to legally adopt the kids. Never occurred to us that it should be done. I'm telling you, this woman is the woman of my dreams.

Tomorrow is our anniversary... and I'm grateful that I'll be spending it with the one was meant for me. You are the world to me. Thank you, babe.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Welcome to SocialSpark

Hey there friends. I've recently joined a great, new online community. Not only can you meet fellow bloggers, but you can only register your blog so that you can accept opportunities to review and score some cash. SocialSpark has a marketplace where a member is free to browse hundreds of opportunities to make a few bucks. You do have to abide by the code of ethics, which shouldn't be a problem to all us honest bloggers. The 4 rules of ethics are:

-100% Audit-able In-Post Disclosure
-100% Transparency
-100% Real Opinions
-100% Search Engine Friendly

It also has the community section where you are free to roam and browse other blogs. After checking out the profile or blog, you can then give the member a "prop" or a "drop", the equivalent of a thumbs up or a thumbs down, to rate their blog. You can add several blogs, giving each one their own rating. I am also please with the tracking tools that are provided. Just install the ITK tool code on your site, and SocialSpark will keep track of your blog's daily and monthly average pageviews and visitors. It will also keep track of your RealRank and Alexa Rank, providing you with a visuals in the form of a graph for RealRank, Alexa Rank, Pageviews, and visitors for your site. Check it out below.



Also, check out my profile, Metallman, so that you can get a feel for the layout. As you can see, you can have a fav 9 friends list, recent activity in the community, as well as comments, feed back, and your latest blog post. The only thing tha is reqiured is a blog that has been active for at least 90 days. I don't have a problem with that since I see the reason behind that logic. You want to be able to accept only those people that are committed to their blogs and their communities and if they don't last 90 days, then they definitely don't belong.

SocialSpark See you there.

Sponsored by SocialSpark