Dad and I grabbed some food from the $0.99 menu at McDonalds for lunch yesterday. At about 6:00, it hit me hard.

I felt pretty sick the rest of the night, but around 2:00am, I felt like it was just a matter of seconds before I'd be throwing up. I ended up staying awake until 3:00, when I had originally planned to hit the sack at 2:00.

This morning when I got up, I felt allright, but really drained of any energy. Now I'm starting to feel queesey again.

Dad said he felt pretty sick last night, too, but Mom was just fine. That narrows it down to yesterday's lunch:

Dad's

• Fillet-O'-Fish
• Hamburger

Mine

• McChicken
• Cheeseburger

Next time, I'm going to the store and getting REAL food. Screw that fast-food crap. It's unhealthy, expensive, and not really all that tasty.

According to a proposed bill...

(b) COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR- The National Weather Service shall not provide, or assist other entities in providing, a service or product (other than a service or product described in subsection (a)(1)(A)) that is or could be provided by the private sector unless-- (1) the Secretary determines that the private sector is unwilling or unable to provide such service or product; or (2) the United States Government is obligated to provide such service or product under international aviation agreements to provide meteorological services and exchange meteorological information.

Um.. (Insert rage-filled statement here)

Okay, don't get me wrong... I have no problem with people trying to make a living, but to FORBID WHAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE AVAILABLE TO US AS A RESULT OF US PAYING TAXES?!?!

(g) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- The Act of October 1, 1890 (26 Stat. 653) is amended as follows: (1) Section 3 (15 U.S.C. 313) is repealed. (2) Section 9 (15 U.S.C. 317) is amended by striking `, and it shall be' and all that follows and inserting a period.

Okay... You be the judge. For me, in the interest of public safety and the freedom of information that has been provided as a result of taxpayers' money, I'm going to have to completely disagree with this proposed bill. I highly encourage you, the person reading this, to call your senator and express your disgust for it.

How hard is it for someone to PROPERLY use the ISO-8601 long date format?

I've spent the entire afternoon trying to adjust for the offset specified in the >cap:sent< field of http://www.nws.noaa.gov/alerts/in.cap, and I just now figured out that a) they're not offsets from UTC, and b) the times aren't in the format I was told by the guy from the National Weather Service who is in charge of the CAP feeds.

Why is this a big deal? Let me explain...

Indiana is at the tip of "Tornado Alley", here in the USA. Usually, between about the middle of April and the beginning of October, we get some spectacular storms. Since I am not always watching TV, listening to the radio, or looking at the Storm Prediction Center website, I decided to come up with a way to get accurate weather alerts on my cell phone.

Initially, I was going to try to muddle through the IWIN reports, but a friend found the XML feeds that the NWS provides. Since PHP has some rather useful extensions to parse XML, this data format made the job quite a bit easier... Or so I thought.

Last year, I had a hacked-up version of my alerts system running. It worked but was prone to errors, so I decided back in January to rewrite it before the storm season hit.

I thought I had it all working, until today when I got one of the first alerts of the season. Everything was legible, I knew what the condition was, where it affected, but I didn't know when it was effective or when it expired. Even though it had timestamps to go by, the times related to the alert were a mystery.

I dug into the code to try and find a way to compensate for the difference in time zones, and I was greeted by the beginning of a very stressful road. Now, I think I've hit a dead end.

Earlier this month, I e-mailed Robert Bunge, the NWS employee I mentioned earlier, about the timestamps.

I said..

I have been working rather dilligently on updating my application with the information you have provided, however, there are a couple hurdles that I am having trouble getting over. The first and foremost issue is the timezone for each alert. I assume the alerts are stamped with UTC times, but since my system will be used by the general public, I can't work from that assumption. I need to know for certain, specifically in the us.cap file, what time zone the cap:effective and cap:expires are marked in. If this time is not in UTC, I would like to suggest that it be considered to either migrate to UTC, or provide a means of identifying the alert's time zone in relation to UTC.

Seems reasonable, I thought. Shortly after that, I got this response:

They are local time. There is long (about a hundred years, worth) of history behind why we do this and I actually don't pretend to understand it all! I do see us moving to UTC in the future, but I think it's a ways off (as in several years). Id'ing the actual time zone is a big problem, specially in places like Indiana.

Great... That's a pain to work with. Today, though, I saw that the very first timestamp in the CAP feeds has an offset from GMT/UTC... Or so I thought. After spending a couple of hours working with it, I found that that offset is something to do with the local time zone, which (as Bob said) is a problem. The majority of Indiana is in CST, but the few of us in about 10 counties get to deal with Daylight Savings Time, puting us another hour behind the rest of the state. This time of year, that isn't an issue. For any system that makes use of the CAP feeds to be effective, they need to be able to identify the PROPER local time zone in relation to the time zone of the feeds.

I've decided to just give up and forget about it until the National Weather Service gets something done with this issue. I highly encourage you to post a comment with your agreement to this issue, so I will have a little bit of leverage to get them to change the feeds to use UTC, rather than having to jump through hoops to figure out the time zone.

Dad and I just had to run to the store to get some of the essentials for here at home. When we walked in, I thought I saw my ex-girlfriend and her mom. Big deal, right?

As we walked on past them, I noticed that her dad was with them. He looked right at me, so I waved. He immidiately turned his back, as did his daughter.

It really sucks, having to deal with that crap. When I confronted her about it a while back, she told me that "people took what she[I] said the wrong way." Nice.. Why don't you go tell those people that and fix the mess you've caused.

I hate it when people spread rumors. It's not right, and it causes big problems like this.

Last night, Dad and I made a trip to town kinda late. When we got back, I put the keys for my truck (and various other things) on the cabinet by the back door. This morning, I went to go somewhere, and my keys were gone.

Nobody is owning up to taking them, and it's going to stop RIGHT NOW. I don't care if it's a practical joke, some sort of revenge, someone's absent-minded actions, or part of me being on "Overhaulin'", it's going to end right now.

If those keys don't turn up within the next 2 hours, I'm going ballistic.

I'm at the end of my rope.

Just last Saturday, I turned 23. Big deal, right? Wrong.

I'm still living at home with my parents, mainly because I've been trying to get my own business off the ground and rolling, just as I have been advised to do by friends and family, including my parents. But also, I've been living here because I'm supposed to be starting at Purdue University this fall to get by Bachelor's degree.

For the past 6 months, my mom has been on my case about being unemployed and living here for "free". I just took it with a grain of salt, because I knew that I was actually working and that I was building the groundwork for my future. Here lately, though, it's been getting to the point that I can't stand it anymore. What's it? The constant criticism.

Today, my dad and I were taking a break from the yard work, and he informed me that I need to get a job before June 1st, "or else". I don't know what this else clause is, but I don't really feel like finding out. At the same time, if I am to get a job with some other business, I'll have to let my business vanish into the shadows, thus, making it all a waste of time. I've gained no real-world experience as far as potential employers are concerned. I have no peers or co-workers for anyone to interview. All I have is 4 websites to show for my work, and they won't be around forever.

I think the decision I need to make is to go ahead and go work for someone else, but it's not exactly an easy decision to make. I have the last ~4 years to look back at. I have the customers I've worked so hard to obtain and please. If I go work for someone else, all that is washed down the drain.

There's also the bigger issue of the economy. I have a degree in the CIS field, as well as 4 years of "unofficial" experience in web development. I'm that guy that everyone, most likely including you, comes to with a computer-related question. I'm that guy that debugs the code for everyone. I'm that guy that people come to at the last minute asking for help with projects that are due for either work or school. What does that mean? NOT A DAMNED THING.

Just yesterday, I got a letter from a potential employer that received my resume for a "PC Tech" position. This position was nothing more than a helpdesk role. What'd the letter say?

"Thank you for your recent application for the PC Tech Position.

It was a difficult task sorting through the applications of so many qualified applicants and determining which were appropriate to interview. We regret that your qualifications did not appear to be a match with our needs at the present time."

Ooookay... I can't answer a phone and say, "You need to click Start, Settings, Control Panel, Double-click on Sounds and Multimedia..." Right. Chances are, I'm far more qualified for that position than the person that got the job. But can I prove that? NO! Why not? Because nobody wants to take the chance to see that I am.

Now, what does all this mean? Quite simple, actually. It means that I only have one choice: To go back to the blue-collar way of life, working in a factory, flipping hamburgers, or getting greasy in an auto shop of some sorts. No, there's nothing wrong with any of that, it's just that I've left that way of life to pursue a job that requires me to work smarter, not harder.

My biggest fear is this: I'll apply for a job, interview, get hired, inform them that I plan to attend college in the fall, and get told to leave and that I don't belong there. Or worse, I will get stuck in the job and never be able to go to school like I plan to.

I'm just at a point that I don't know what to do. Sure, it's not really fair that my parents have to pay for the roof over my head, the electricity that powers my computer, and the occasional food that fills my stomach. The thing is, though, that THEY are the #1 reason why I made an attempt at running my own business. It's not my fault that people don't want to pay the prices that I give them, even though they are already so low that I am slitting my own throat by quoting them those prices. And for the occasional ones that agree to the prices, well... I'm thankful for them, but 1 big job every 6 months just doesn't quite cut it.

In short, I'm damned either way. I've got 3 ropes tied around my torso, all pulling in opposing directions.

Today, Dad and I had to go down to the bank that Mom works at to work on their air conditioner. The tricky part of it was that we had to go through the bowling alley next door, up their attic access, across a maze I hereby officially name "Fire Hazard Alley", through a door, across a 2-foot span of nothing but insulation and the ceiling below, and into a room where the furnace/air conditioner was located.

While we were in there, at one point, someone felt the need to close the attic access without asking if there was anyone in there. Just as we were finishing up, it sounded like someone was again closing the access. Dad told me to quickly go yell at them that we weren't done up there, so I did. The problem was, I didn't remember about the void of insulation, and just as I was passing through the door, I placed my foot on what I expected to be a solid footing.

Down I went, my leg poking through the ceiling, knocking down 2 ceiling tiles with lights in them, and scattering insulation all over someone's desk and office. Luckily, they were gone for the day and didn't experience the joy of meeting a size 13 shoe coming through the ceiling, attached to a 34-inch long leg. I wasn't so fortunate.

As you can see in the picture, I ripped up my hand pretty good. That all happened about 2 hours ago, and the bleeding still hasn't stopped. In addition, my back got a pretty good shock from falling, and I scraped up my leg.

I've been in many attics, but this is the first time I have even come remotely close to falling through a ceiling. Aside from the physical pain, I'm really upset with myself for it all happening. I'm also upset with the total jackasses that built the place, and left that one crucial part of the floor unfinished, as well as the complete morons that left the crap strewn all over the place, making it both a fire waiting to happen and a frickin' obstacle course for anyone that needs to get to the furnace.

Dad just came to let me know that Mom's boss said not to worry about it, but I'm still quite upset over it.

Edit: Added a new picture -- For some reason, it's turning black.

Well seeing as I am about 5 hours (or more) ahead I thought I would post a small blog post to wish you many happy returns on your birthday.

I will be in bed all snug and warm when it turns midnight, so for then I wish you a good day.

Dad and I were standing on the front porch, watching the storms roll through just north of here. Just as it started raining here, we were looking off to the west, and BAM!!! I felt like someone threw a piece of plywood at me. What happened? Lightning hit less than a quarter of a mile away.

Of course, Mom freaked out and came running out to make sure we were okay. I told her that aside from my eyes burning like I caught welding flash and a massive headache that hit me all of a sudden, I was fine.

Just before that, I was making my usual attempt at getting pictures of lightning. I wasn't able to get anything other than the ambient flash in the sky, so don't be expecting anything any time soon.

First storm of the year! w00t!

From the SPC ...IA/MN/WI/IL/NRN IND... LATEST MODEL GUIDANCE IS IN GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CURRENTLY DEVELOPING WRN IA WILL INCREASE AND INTENSIFY INTO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AHEAD OF COLD FRONT WHICH EXTENDS FROM WRN IA INTO NWRN MO. STEEP LOW/MID LEVEL LAPSE RATES PREVAIL OVER THIS REGION...WITH SIGNIFICANT DAYTIME HEATING FURTHER DESTABILIZING THE AIR MASS. AFTERNOON SURFACE DEWPOINTS IN THE LOWER/MID 50S AND 500MB TEMPS AROUND -20C WILL COMBINE FOR MODERATE INSTABILITY /SBCAPE VALUES OF 1000-1500 J/KG/. IN ADDITION TO FAVORABLE THERMODYNAMIC PROFILES...VERY STRONG DEEP LAYER VERTICAL SHEAR IS EXPECTED OVER THIS REGION IN EXIT REGION OF 70-80 KNOT MID LEVEL JET. SUPERCELL STORMS CAPABLE OF LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING WINDS APPEAR LIKELY...ORGANIZING INTO BROKEN LINES OF SEVERE STORMS AS THEY SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN IL AND SOUTHERN WI. DURING AFTERNOON AS LOW LEVEL MOISTURE CONTINUES TO SURGE RAPIDLY NEWD INTO CENTRAL IL/WRN IN POTENTIAL FOR TORNADIC SUPERCELLS WILL BE ON THE INCREASE.

From the NWS .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A LINE OF STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST ACROSS THE AREA LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY TONIGHT. THE MAIN THREATS FROM THE STRONGER STORMS WILL BE LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING STRAIGHT LINE WINDS.

CRAP!!!

03/25/2005                    $24.38        *** DAILY BALANCE ***                
03/25/2005    $30.00                        OVERDRAFT FEE             
03/25/2005  $60.00                        OVERDRAFT/RETURN ITEM(S) FEE             
03/25/2005          $127.18                122   RETURN ITEM/OVERDRAFT             
03/25/2005          $18.00                126   RETURN ITEM/OVERDRAFT             
03/24/2005                     ($30.80)    *** DAILY BALANCE ***             
03/24/2005  $6.00                        DAILY OVERDRAFT FEE             
03/24/2005  $127.18                        122   CHECK
03/24/2005  $18.00                        126   CHECK

That's right.. I had 2 checks bounce. And on top of it, my bank charged me $90 because of it. In addition, I'll have to pay up to $50 per check at the place I wrote them for.

I seriously don't know how they can do this for a $30 overdraft. I've had a $40 overdraft at my other bank, and they just told me to pay it and gave me a slap on the wrist ($7 fee).

So yeah.. This was my fault, I'll accept that, but they didn't exactly try to call me before they took any actions this drastic. This is only the second time in 5 years of banking that I've had an overdraft, and this is the only time checks have bounced because of it.

Time for me to stop spending my money and get this crap taken care of. Now I probably won't be able to write any checks at Best Buy anymore. Dammit. I hate money.

Yeah, I know... It sucks...

The backup drive in the Wildebeest started acting up again tonight, so I've dubbed it as "dying".

The server was taken offline long enough to remove the drive, and everything was brought back up, with the exception of some services the general public had no use of.

Until a new drive is put in, in place of this one, nightly backups will NOT occur. You're on your own for backing up your data.

Edit: I'm having issues bringing the server back up, so just be patient.

No, not the "time of the month"...

Every so often, my wisdom teeth push their way through my gums a little more. When this happens, it makes all the rest of my teeth shift, causing them to rub and pinch places in my mouth that they never used to.

Usually, I end up with nasty cuts on the walls of my mouth, as well as headaches, sinus problems, and trouble sleeping.

This time, I have a really weird, almost metallic, taste in my mouth, in addition to the pain.

I've tried brushing my teeth, eating, and drinking, but I can't get rid of it.

A few years ago, I was checking the fluids in my parents' vehicle. At this point, it was still under the factory warranty. I noticed that it was leaking anti-freeze rather bad from the front of the intake manifold, as well as leaking oil from the rear main seal. I told Mom to have the dealer take care of it, and she said, "I can't afford to be without a vehicle right now, so it'll just have to wait."

Shortly after that, I noticed that the power steering pump was squealing. I told Mom and Dad both about it. Dad couldn't hear it because his hearing is bad, but Mom said the same thing, again.

This weekend, Mom and Dad went to Cincinatti to see some of Dad's family for the day today, then to stop and see Mom's brother on the way back, and from what I understand, my sister(MSL) and her husband.

Mom just called me from my uncle's phone to tell me that the Blazer was sitting somewhere near Indy with a blown intake gasket and that they were going to have to get a U-Haul and bring it home tomorrow, foregoing the rest of their plans.

Why am I pissed about it? Because nobody ever listens to the youngest kid. The youngest kid always blows things out of proportion. The youngest kid thinks he knows what he's talking about, when in reality he doesn't.

When the other 2 things give way, I'm just going to point and laugh, because I'm sick of this BS.

I smell tube!

Yeah, I finally got caught up on CAD again. :)