zee leetle thought-centre

[  Mood: Cool ]

So, apparently, I'm going to be a father. I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet. It hasn't fully sunk in yet that in a couple of months I'm going to have a little baby of my own to hold.

But, I am married, and from what I understand, these things can and often do happen. Go figure.

So for the curious ones, the baby is due November 25, and no, we don't know yet whether it's a boy or girl. But I do know it's cute as all get out.

[  Mood: In Love ]

So... I just got engaged yesterday to Ashley Nicole Elder. We are getting married October 3rd. I would say more, but I am, as you might imagine, insanely busy for the next six weeks.

I have not posted here in such a long time I feel like a stranger in my own blog.

I used to be online quite frequently, ( --meaning, of course, all the time) but I have "moved on", so to speak. Other obligations, life, as well as wanting to be a more in-person sort of person. Online stuff is all well and good, but I don't think it's good to be online rather than IRL. I also wanted to develop my social skilz.

I hope that explains to any of you who were wondering where I've been. So no, I didn't disappear because I had some secret girlfriend and was going to pop back up with an engagement announcement one of these days.

And no, it is unlikely that I shall be back online much more than I have over the past year. So if you wish to get a hold of me, you shall either have to msg, im (if you can catch me online), email, txt, or call me (looking at that list, i'm kinda wondering at how many ways there are to contact me... )

It's ironic that the last blog entry I made was when I was tired, for such is the state in which I find myself again. I just got back from a week-and-a-half long "vacation" in the Northwest, namely, Oregon and Washington--the sort of vacation that one must take another vacation to recover from. I suppose it didn't help that I missed my flight on Friday evening and had to reschedule it for 6:30am the next morning. And then there was the whole fire alarm going off at 3:45 in the morning. Not exactly the most condusive sort of rot for a restful night's sleep.

But I did have a good time and met a number of people in the NW that I hadn't met before (duh. ).

And that said, now I shall retire and take my sleep deprivation with me, hopefully to lose it, or if not to lose it, at least to mess up its sense of direction.

Did a 14 1/2 hour long ride along with the ambulance today... had five calls, all related to falls of some kind or another... and then I got to hang around and watch EMT students learning advanced airway, splinting, traction, and backboarding. Cool stuff, but I'm offically fagged. Unofficially, too. In fact, I'm just plain fagged, too. And fancy fagged. And--but you get the point.

And I have to pull an overnight tomorrow night at work, which I'm really really looking forward to. Overnight shifts are AWESOME. I'm telling you, it's the goods. But... it's going to be overtime, so I suppose I can't complain too much, since I was the sucker who said he'd do it.

And... sooo... I really need to go to bed, before I get me or someone else in trouble. Because I'm tired, I have a really smart mouth right now, and I have a headache... talk about a deadly combo. That'll be a number 3 with extra cheese and a Coke.

[  Mood: Shocked ]

I had so much fun last time I did this I decided to do it again.

Zack is too messy and doesn't clean his room.
Dude... that is TMI...

Zack is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oregon
Quite, quite. *nods*

Zack is determined to become the greatest pirate in the world by finding treasure.
I guess that's what comes of looking like Orlando Bloom.

Zack is a dullard
I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means, because if it does, uhh... I'll, uh, you know... like, something.

Zack is still alive
Really? I'm glad to hear it.

Zack is awesome <3
Now you're talking. *nods*

Zack is the author of Reversing Gum Disease Naturally
I hope I never have to read that book. Dental hygiene was disturbing enough.

Zack is a very enthusiastic guy
Yeah. Totally. Like, can't you see me jumping up and down for who knows what reason?

Zack is older
...than he was five minutes ago? Way to go, Einstein.

Zack is young
...I thought you said--nevermind.

Zack is lovin' it
...now all I want is to know what "it" is.

Zack is best described as a combination puzzle
That's a puzzling description.

Zack is our hospital cat
Okay... um... do they mean cat cat, or do they mean less literally a cat and more like a cuddly creature? Or maybe they just mean something that uses the litter box. I suppose we could possibly conclude that it has something to do with a hospital.

Zack is dead
Can I come to the funeral? It would really mean a lot if I could come.

Zack is out of the picture
That's a relief. My hair's a mess anyhow.

Zack is found
Was I lost?

Zack is spelled Z-A-C-K as per human linguistics
See? See?? Ha.

Zack is bummed about everyone forgetting his birthday and heads off by himself.
*sniff sniff*

So who watched the Superplate? I'm actually kind of glad the Midgets won against the Rebels... which I suppose is rather strange since I'm not a big fan of handball. Ah well.

So after two struts, two outer tierods, one clutch master cylinder, one clutch slave cylinder later, and many hours of labor, I'm hoping nothing else breaks on my car until I have the money to fix it...

Meanwhile I've discovered driving it in ice feels like I'm driving a disaster on wheels (and that would be a combination of street tires, rear-wheel drive, and a overactive accelerator pedal... ).

In other news (do i overuse that phrase?), I've been really busy recently, since I've been the interim manager while my manager has been on vacation. We've had one of the various clients go to the ER every Tuesday for the past three weeks. Today, however, was ER-free. (:whew:)

I had an interview today for "associate manager". I'm not really sure how it went. Okay, I guess, but I'm not sure beyond that. I should know by this weekend whether I got the position or not (getting the position would mean a pay increase plus nicer hours).

I've started going to a Bible study to meet some Christian guys around my age, and I've enjoyed it a lot. Acquiring some local Christian guy friends has been on my to-do list since I moved out here to Loveland, so this is really cool.

I've had a lot of things on my mind in the last few months... I've discovered (through the aid of dear friends) many faults in myself, some of which I was previously not aware, or not aware that it was "as bad" as it really was.

I think I'm gradually becoming more mature and serious about life through all of this. I say gradually because it feels like a really slow slope at the moment. I wish there was some sort of "maturity" pill that one could take to achieve instant maturity.

But I suppose the process of become mature is part of maturity itself, so maybe I shouldn't complain.

~Thought of the day;
Thinking is an essential and important part of life, so don't forget to slow down and take some time to think every day.

At last, I own my namesake car... a 1985 Nissan 300Zx.

For those of you who want to know, it's five speed, it has a fuel injected 3.0 liter V6 (no turbo) with dual overhead cams, t-tops, digital gauges, climate control system, power windows, power locks, and has 127,800 miles on it.

For those of you who didn't want to know, yes, I do realize the car needs a paint job. It also needs front struts (on order), the latch for the glovebox, and the carpet needs to be shampooed. The leather seats (yeah, i know, "ooohh!") are coming apart at the seams, so I'm thinking of getting sheepskin seat covers.

But enough said. All you probably wanted to know was that yes, this car has plenty of power, and yes, it's fun to drive, and yes, it's a pretty cool ride.

THE PICS:

For those of you who are not geeks, you might be surprised at the relative simplicity of technology.

Take my laptop for example. (oh irony of irony, as i typed this, i took off the keyboard and am currently typing on a partially-disassembled laptop (what ho to stray keyboards)--never fear, before going on i shall screw the keyboard back in. )

I just upgraded the memory in my laptop from 256mb to 2gb. However, when I installed the memory chip under the keyboard (thus the removal of the keyboard), the laptop didn't recognize the memory. Small wonder, perhaps, that when I got the laptop, it didn't have any memory in that slot, eh?

Anyhow, I chatted with a Dell tech about the problem, who kindly informed me that he really didn't give a hoot about whether my laptop worked or not, and that if I had any questions, I should go speak with Herod, since I was in his jurisdiction. Oh, I meant speak with the memory chip manufacturer. Of course. And through this sweet dismissal was I left at a loss as to what to do about me problem. Common sense advised dumping the laptop in the nearest dumpster, but due to the lack of various things (common cents, gray matter, et cetera), I got a grip on things (meaning, of course, the laptop). “So much for Dell techs,” said I with no little disgust.

The only dirt my research dug up was the sweet injunction to “make sure you really pushed the chip in good enough, you know, 20-30 pounds of pressure.” Since I work out every day, this dirt didn't seem quite relevant to my situation.

Until I wondered just what they meant about pressure. Which direction did they mean by pressure? Pressure can be applied in various directions. I figured they meant to make sure the chip was well-seated in the socket. I went back and read the “dirt” and wondered if perhaps they meant DOWN instead of IN. Or both, as the case may be. So, I took apart my laptop yet again (for those of you who would be interested in these sorts of things, I'm thinking about using my stopwatch next time I take my laptop apart because when it comes to taking my laptop apart, lightning just isn't fast enough of an adjective to describe it). With my laptop disassembled, I applied down-pressure to the chip and powered up the 'top.

Voila.

So. Now I knew my problem. My socket isn't quite in the most remarkable shape, and is, in fact, not working properly. What I needed to do was somehow rig my laptop so that down-pressure would be applied to the chip at all times.

Pizza is great, but when it comes to fixing laptops, pizza boxes just plain can't be beat. Yes, that's right, folks. I used a pizza box to fix my laptop. I used a piece of the box as a shim, and then screwed my laptop up—err, I mean together. And the question of the month is, of course, “did it work?”

Indeed so, sir. I am verily impressed with modern technology. It really is simple, really. I mean, sheesh, I fix laptops with pizza boxes.


MEET MR. CHEAPO
I work part-time at a thrift store. In the electronics department. Today, I sold a used desktop computer, and put together two more computers from spare parts. I find it amusing to compare the specs on these beasts to my laptop. One of the computers I put together today featured all of 32mb of ram, a 2gb hard-drive, running, of all things, on Windows 95. Compare that my laptop with 2gb of ram, a 40gb hard-drive (with another 40gbs in an external drive), and Windows XP Pro. Ah well.

I also test media players (aka dvd players, vhs players, and radio/cassette/cd players), and other various electronics such as a wireless router that we got in today.


IN OTHER NEWS
Uhhh... is there any other news? I'm working overtime at my job, working at the thrift store, trying to work on my motorcycle whenever I can (i've rebuilt all 4 carburetors and cleaned the grease and dirt off the carb assembly and the head), working out at the gym, reading, writing an article, and on occasion, I try to remember what exactly beds are used for. Most of the time, I can't remember.

[  Mood: Cool ]

The Bike as it looked when I first got it:

With the seat on:




In other news, I'm working part-time in the electronics section of a thrift store.