I Learned a New Word Today!

Solipsism:
1. The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.
2. The theory or view that the self is the only reality.

I'm sure I've said it before, but in case you didn't catch it: I'm a big fan of Penn & Teller. I've seen them live in Las Vegas, bought a few of their books and DVDs, and I read Penn Jillette's contributions to various magazines and websites whenever I come across them.

Recently I just installed Google Desktop on my computer at work, and I'm really liking it. One of the things it adds is a What's Hot panel that shows you things that are new and popular on the 'net. That's how I came across this article, and thus learned my new word. It's a great read, and the website itself is an interesting way to spend some time too.

Hope everyone had a Happy Turkey Day, and you're spending the day burning all the calories you racked up yesterday... We got some good pictures yesterday, including some shots or Ryan discovering that you can stick black olives on your fingers and sing and dance at the same time. I swear it's true... I've got the pics to prove it... I'll get them uploaded this weekend!

Brian wins...

With only a couple days left, it looks like Brian wins the "7 Day Posting Marathon"... We had company over last night, and by the time I got around to posting, it was already today, so I didn't see the point.

So congrats Brian; not there was ever any doubt who the more consistent poster was... I just like seeing you vent sometime.

We had a great weekend, got a lot of things done, and spent some fun time as a family. Got a short week coming up, and then begins the crazy holiday season. I have mixed feelings go into it. I'm really looking forward to spending my first Christmas with Ryan, but there's always the holiday "blahs" to deal with it... Oh well, it'll be worth it.

Now I just have 1 week to talk Shelley into getting a REAL tree.

The Internet is a scary place...

... mostly because it seems to cultivate individuals like this. I'm not kidding, this is a real person...

In other news; last week Jack Thompson claimed to be removing himself from the Alabama case because he was dismayed that it was focusing on him and not the "real issue"... Today the judge denied his petition to remove himself, then threw him off the case.

What a great way to end the week! Suck it Jack!

I'll try to post more later, but things are looking hectic for the next couple of days.

Love to all!

Only 37 shopping days left...?

Wow... it just dawned on me that next week is Thanksgiving, and that means it's just about 5 weeks left until Xmas... When did this happen? Wasn't it just Halloween a few weeks ago?

Ok, I admit it... it's only the third day into this "7 days of posting" thing, and I already have writers block. Fact of the matter is, I had forgotten all about it, and I'm sitting at work right now, at 10:30pm trying to come up with something interesting enough to warrant my faithful few readers visiting... Sadly, I'm coming up with nothing.

Why am I at work? Because this is the best time to get things done. The network is crucial to the daily operations, and I can't make any changes without effecting large numbers of people. So typically I come in a couple nights a week after hours, and can just play music and tackle projects. Currently I'm placing a new exchange server online, to replace the aging one that refuses cooperate with most reasonable network requests. The fact that it's still able to receive and process email amazes me on a daily basis.

I found this comic a few weeks ago, and I can't remember where I got it from... if you recognize, let me know:



That gives me a GREAT idea... I know how to fill up some space here! It's been a while since I posted some C&H. The scariest thing is how much I can see Ryan in each of these:









By the way, I've decided that when Ryan is around 6 years old, I'm finding a tiger costume for Halloween... we're going to get a picture like this:



... and I'm sure this in my future...



Ok, my server install is done, so I need to finish this up and get home. I'm having WoW withdrawal!!! hehe

Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to say tomorrow... no promises!

World of Warcrack

me: Hello, my name is Scott...

World of Warcraft Addicts: *HELLO SCOTT*

me: It's been 18 hours since I last logged in to World of Warcraft

WWA: Why so long?

Every free minute, and even a few that I've had to pay for, has been spent on this damn game for the past month. I haven't been this enthralled with a virtual world in a long time. I knew it was going to happen, which is why I resisted it for so long. A friend of mine kept pestering me to check it out, but I knew it was a bad idea. For as long as I'd known him he had scoffed at people that chose to PAY to play something online; outright laughing at their "dumbness" because there were so many FREE things to do online: Counterstrike, Battlefield, etc...

Now he gladly forks over the $12.99 a month to feed his addiction. A few weeks ago, I know he was even considering purchasing ANOTHER account from someone, to get some high level character... Now that he's near level 60 (the current max), I think he's more than content with his one account (and 4+ characters...).

I (mostly) play after Shelley and Ryan go to bed... so it hasn't REALLY intruded or impeded my normal life... though the new fireplace doors have been sitting there for 2 days now... just WAITING for me to choose them over hunting down Horde... Maybe tomorrow...

The best laid plans...

I made the mistake of "demanding" a friend of mine post something on his website every day for the 7 days to make up for his forced exile from the Internet... and he pointed out that it had been two weeks since I had posted something... so he's challenged me to do the same. Talk about backfiring... So check here and there to keep us honest...

My mom and dad were visiting over the past weekend, and they just barely made it out of here before a storm closed I-70 yesterday. My mom said they drove the last 80 miles of their drive to Denver in "blinding snow". Now, I'm not one to say, "I told you so..." Oh wait, yes I am... When they first told me they were going to fly to Denver, then drive over, I didn't think much of it. But slowly, it dawned on me... driving from Denver to GJ, in the middle of November = not a great idea. Regardless of weather forecasts, storms come out of nowhere, and shut down the mountain passes for hours. There was a very real possibility of them being delayed either coming or going, and they were lucky enough to be on the other side of the hill when they closed the pass.

Looks like that same storm hit the midwest today. Some of these areas had just been hit by severe storms last week, and are still digging out. One of the many reasons I'm glad I don't live in that area anymore...



So Nana and Papa got to spend some quality time with Ryan, but I don't think I got any pictures of them together. I know my mom got a few, but I must have missed them. We visited the Dinosaur Museum in Fruita on Saturday, so I got a few good pictures of Ryan there, but only the poorly posed picture of everyone (but me) on the earthquake floor.



For those of you interested in the whole Jack Thompson thing, there's a great article over at one of my new favorite websites. The Wikipedia on him continues to grow, and it's full of truths, half-truths, lies, and hyperbole; but all good info nonetheless. My disdain for this guy also grows, and one of these days I'm going to just unleash on him over at my other website. I'll let you know if that happens...

Well, other than to tell you I've uploaded several new pictures, that's all I've got. Guess I need to save up some stuff for the next 6 days too... hehe

Love to all!

Happy (Belated) Halloween

As you can see (probably in a different browser window), I got the pictures uploaded from Halloween. Now if I could JUST find the time to finish the pictures from Paris...



Hope your Halloween was Happy!