We be jammin'.

I am still putting everything back where it goes, but I'm back online at least.

So I've been needing to clean my apartment rather desperately lately. I have decided that I'm going to do so right now, but I'm also going to re-arrange the bedroom while I do so. This means my computers will be offline for an hour or so. If anyone needs me and it's an emergency, call my cell phone. Otherwise, shoot me an e-mail and I'll read it when I'm back online.

I was just playing around in Photoshop and whipped this up. What do you think?

So I was going about my business this morning when Dad sent me this link to a video on Google video.

The video is a 15 minute trailer about how our country has turned from a body of people searching for religious, political, and financial freedom to the countries our ancestors left to search out this freedom.

Topics that are covered include taxes and RFID and national ID cards, so it's very interesting to me. However, the ploy is that we are to crowd the theaters to watch this movie and educate ourselves about the crimes our own government is committing.

It's an interesting video that I think should be watched, but I think crowding the theaters would kinda defeat what the film is trying to accomplish. I just thought I'd share it with anyone who reads this though.

It's been quite a while since I've blogged about music or lyrics. This song kinda applies to the previous blog entry, and it is just an amazing song anyhow.

So all surrounded By the things I thought I'd put away And all surrounded By the things I thought I'd put away And there's a pile in the closet That's where I threw some yesterday Maybe under the rug That's where I swept some the other day

So the mess is drawing forces Outside I hear them say (Just) come out with your hands up So we can blow you away And I walk out the door Get blown wide open By the things I'd put away And I wasn't even warned Just blown wide open By the mess is where I lay

So I'm all surrounded By the things I thought I'd put away So I'm all surrounded By the things I thought I'd put away And if I'm a slob I never looked at it that way Irresponsible When you're not the first to say

But I told her I'm sorry I never wanted it this way Yeah, I still need her But the mess won't go away And I walk out the door Get blown wide open By the things I'd put away And I'm out on the porch Just blown wide open By the mess is where I lay Yeah, blown wide open Blown wide open Blown wide open Blown wide open The gun's still smokin' Blood keeps flowin' Blown wide open Blown wide open [Why's she going] All surrounded

Yeah, it's a little word that packs a punch. Some of us (especially me) have a hard time using the word though.

I've run myself into a corner, and I'm starting to pay the price. I have 3 businesses I'm involved in, 2 of which I claim ownership of. Then I've got my day job that I'm starting to get quite saturated with, and I have a few business ideas that I would really enjoy getting off the ground sometime in the next millennium.

I need to cut back, though... A lot! I'm working about 45-50 hours a week at the office to get my bills paid and to help out with somewhat irrational deadlines and workloads due to the staffing being a little short. On top of that, I have somewhere between 5 and 15 projects going for my other business ventures. I quote such a wide range because I seriously have lost count, and one project seems to lead to another these days.

I am really feeling quite buried, and I think I'm going to start considering cutting my losses. I'm going to finish the pending projects, then I will evaluate which company has the most potential to provide me with a comfortable living and which will be more likely to reach that potential.

At this point, I think I'm just going to continue working the way I have, but I need to work in some more personal time. Sure, I go fishing or bowling a couple times a week, but that's usually just a couple of hours. I would write myself a schedule, but I don't want to do that. My day is long enough as it is, and that will just add to it, not to mention the whole "I feel like I'm running out of time" bit. There are a few things for certain though:

• Wednesday and/or Thursday are fishing
• Friday is bowling practice
• Saturday (weather permitting) I am going for a 10-20 mile bike ride
• Sunday night is bowling league

I just went for the first bike ride in over a month, and I'm quite pleased that I was able to ride 11 miles without stopping (aside from yielding to traffic). I guess I'm not as "out of shape" as I thought! :)

Here's the route that I did today.

So I just had the pleasure of seeing that my upper wisdom teeth are rotting and falling apart. This means I have to go see a dentist and get 'em yanked.

I've not seen a dentist in over 15 years, which is stupid, but I've not been able to afford it until now. Luckily, my health insurance will cover most, if not all of it. I have a serious disgust for doctors though, no matter what the area of practice.

RAWR!

That is all.

It's now 2:00AM and I'm just getting around to taking my shoes off and going to bed. Bah!

I'm going to bed before 1:00AM! WOOT! :)

Sorry I've not posted about this sooner...

There was a good sized storm that blew through northern Indiana this last Thursday night, which apparently knocked the power out for the Wildebeest server. My sister and her husband attended Gen Con, so they've not been around to kick it back online. Sorry if this caused any problems for anyone!

If you want more uptime, feel free to donate to the "Let's get a big freakin UPS" fund. You can contact me for details.

So I just woke up from this really vivid dream that I couldn't get back to sleep to finish...

The dream started out in this really vast, open stretch of road. The road was wide, and surrounded by trees at each side. About a mile apart, there were overpasses, or other bridges. A group of people congregated at the one bridge, but down the road, through the valley and back up, there were just a handful of people.

At the first bridge, 20 people or so had gathered with high-end racing go karts. A few of the people I had recognized, but most of them were just strangers to me.

The race started, and we all went down the road, to the other bridge, made a wide left turn, then back up to the starting point. We made laps like this, and it was fun. I don't remember the race ending, but it did at one point, and I moved on to the next part of the dream.

In the next part of the dream, a few close friends and one stranger joined me kayaking. We went on this strange man-made river. The river was like an elevated road bed that had been carved out for the flow of water through the mountains. At one point on the river, there was a large campground to the left, then a small town a little ways downstream on the right.

I love kayaking, and I love whitewater rafting, so this dream just was amazing.

We put in the water. My one friend was freaking out because he doesn't like boats or kayaks, but he agreed to go anyhow. We started out and met a small rapid on the river. The stranger went first right through the torrent, but I went to the left. When I did, this other man yelled and screamed at me because he said it was too dangerous. I made it through, but fell out of my boat when I hit the calm water again. The rest of the group followed me, but were able to remain in their boats.

When I tried to get back in my kayak, it was almost like an inflatable raft that had lost pressure; all soft and pliable, and difficult for me to get back in. Once I got back in though, it was just like the kayak I actually have.

We went on downstream, past the campground and town, curved to the right, but came to a really narrow part of the river. We went single-file through this high-speed section, and all came out on the other side with no problem. Although, my one friend that was nervous about the whole trip was nowhere to be found. We paddled up and down stream looking for him, but finally decided to continue on with our journey. Eventually, we found him. He had somehow made a lot of distance ahead of us, but decided to slow down and join back up with us.

I woke up at this point, so I couldn't finish the dream. I love my kayak, though it has been damaged for the last few years and I haven't had the time or ability to repair it. Even if it was in proper condition, I would have nowhere to store it down here though. I would need to rent a storage locker, but I would have to rent a big one, which would be very expensive. I'm sure I could leave it with friends down here, but I don't want to do that because I'd have to bug them to get in and get the boat before I go use it. When I do get a place with proper storage (like a garage), I'll be getting that bad boy fixed and take it out again.

I decided this last weekend to pick C++ up again. I haven't touched the stuff since I graduated from college, and things have vanished from my brain. However, I'm doing quite well at re-learning everything.

I just got the basis of a MySQL interface class to compile without error, and everything I did was pretty well straightforward. Overall, I'm very pleased with myself, and I hope that I'll do better with it all once I get my C++ book back from my parents' place.

Original Post - July 31, 2005

Oh man. My good buddy here at the office, Brent, was listening to an internet radio station, and this song happened to play. I FINALLY found out what it is! :)

Spacehog - In The Meantime

I can't believe it took so long for this question to get answered!