Coming soon...

...A new post of substance. Things have been stressful and hectic in the world of Techymike, and you'll hear all about it soon, I promise.

Goal #1: Drink Less Soda

Thanks to everyone for the words of encouragement. Losing weight is something I'm serious about, but I've never had much luck with it in the past. Like I said in my previous post, it all comes down to motivation, prioritization, and just plain not being so lazy.

I figure that maybe it's better for me to make lifestyle changes in individual goals, rather than just jumping straight into the rivers of change. And for no other reason than to be accountable, I'm posting my first goal here!

My first obstacle will be difficult...I've gone through periods where I've been able to give up soda for a couple of weeks at a time. Problem is, something ends up stressing me out, and Coke (the soda, not the powder) is a release for me. It's partly the taste, partly the bite. Once I get that taste, I've got to have more. It's a fix I've got to have on a daily basis.

This week, I've still had my Coke first thing in the morning, but after that, it's been all unsweetened iced tea. I bought an iced tea machine, and it's been great. I've always had a problem with drinking straight water...it's too bland. Tea is much more refreshing, and gets me my daily requirement of water and then some!

So that's my first goal...let's stick with it for awhile and see how it goes. Of course, heading into Thanksgiving isn't the best time to be making life changing goals, but here's hoping that I have the will power to stick with it :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Motivate me HNT

I stepped on the scale the other day and got a bit of a shock. 1 9 5. I weigh the most I've ever weighed in my life, and it just seems to keep creeping higher.

I want to lose weight, but I'm unmotivated. I like to eat. I like to sit on my ass and watch TV. I sometimes like to veg in front of my computer. I don't get enough any exercise.

I don't really want to hit that 200 mark, but at this point it doesn't seem like I'm motivated enough to keep from going there. Look at me now. I COULD be out doing some crunches or something, but instead, I've got my feet propped up on the desk and I'm writing on my blog. What is wrong with me?

So who (and by who, I'm looking to the two of you who read my blog) is going to be my big motivator? Who wants to encourage me to lose that weight? Who wants to share those great weightloss secrets? Because at this point, I'm totally open to suggestions...

(yeah, i'm sticking out the gut a little bit on the front shot, but it still looks gross...at times I even look pregnant. yikes!)

I'm freaking MacGuyver!

Duct tape and a paper clip. That's what it took to fix one of my backup drives today...well, at least to rig it good enough until Dell can replace it. I feel like a genius.

On a side note, my Huskers kicked butt this past weekend, winning of Kansas State 73-31. This came a week after having our butts handed to us 76-39 by Kansas. This was hopefully the spark that will help us beat Colorado the day after Thanksgiving and make it to a bowl game. I sure hope we are picked for the Insight Bowl...that's here in Phoenix and would be a great time!

Have a great day everyone!

Where does it go...?

Not sure where the time goes...it's already Thursday! I don't really have anything interesting to share, but here you go...

-My dad and stepmom were here over the weekend. It was nice to see them, but definitely nice to send them packing as well! They were a drain on my energy and my wallet! :) We went to a couple of places that I'd never been, so it wasn't all bad. My dad didn't want to eat anything t hat he could normally eat at home, so we spent the weekend eating out. While that's nice to do, our finances are stretched pretty thin right now, so it was a little stressful. It's nice to be back to lunchmeat sandwiches :|

-Since I was off of work for a couple days last week, it was all piled up for me on Monday. It's been crazy busy all week long, which makes the days go by so much faster, but I'm so tired at the end!

-My wife's parents are coming into town over Thanksgiving. I'm one of the few guys who loves his inlaws....again, in moderation :). Should be a nice Turkey-day weekend.

That's about all I can muster up for now. I'll be back with more sometime later :)

Have a great day!

It's a small, small world

So, have you heard about the wacko 25 year old teacher who fled to Mexico with her 13 year old student? Well, my wife knew her from high school. That makes me a celebrity by proxy. I'm so glad that my wife's home town has such wonderful national attention.

On a related note, I'm a year younger than my wife...it just goes to show that those Lexington chicks dig younger men.

Blogging break...

Have no fear, just for a few days :)

My parents are in town until Sunday, so you probably won't see anything of substance from me. We had planned some fun events...a little trip down to Tombstone...a journey to the state fair. And then we tallied up the cost of all of these fun events, and we decided that sitting around and doing things that didn't cost so much would be just as fun! Besides, we'll be busy inspecting candy for the next week anyway! Thank goodness we'll have a few extra hands!

Have a safe Halloween!

Halloween caution video

With Halloween only a few days away, it's important to be prepared:

MIA HNT

No HNT this week, sorry to disappoint those (one or two) of you who frequent this blog. I'm headed out for a one day road trip Thursday to visit one of my remote offices, and I've had my head wrapped up in work stuff this evening.

For any HNT'ers who might stop by, have a Happy HNT!

Expecto Patronum! Gay style.

Last week JK Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, revealed that Albus Dumbledore, one of the most beloved wizards of all time, was a gay man. I say was, because he died on page 596 in the Half Blood Prince (don't yell at me for that spoiler...if you haven't read the book by now, then you probably never will). Oh, and he's also a fictional character.

Here's my quandary...at no point during the course of the novels does it (now) add value or expand upon the character of Dumbledore to bring forth his sexual preference. What good does it do to add this tidbit well after the final book has been published, other than for a little bit of added press? Sure, I suppose it could be said that since Dumbledore was the most loving, good natured wizard of all time, it indicates that gay men can be good men, and that it's OK to be gay. And it is...I'm all for gay rights, and feel that if two men or two women want to be together, more power to them.

I don't understand our culture's need to be so open about one's sexual preference. I don't go around openly proclaiming my heterosexuality, so why do gays (or maybe it's the media) feel they need to openly proclaim their homosexuality? Did Rowling ever come out and state that Sirius Black was a straight man? No. Why not? Because it didn't add to the story line. Neither does Dumbledore being gay. Now if there had been some hot witch on witch action...that's another story!

Training

Been in training all week, so it's been tough to get anything posted this week. I'll be back next week :)

Cleaver HNT

Halloween, the scariest day of the year, is only 20 days away. Now, typically I wear a costume into work each year, but this year, my dad is coming to town that day, and I'll be damned if I am going to the airport to pick him up dressed as a two bit hooker again...

So I figure in honor of Halloween, I'd creep you all out just a little bit early. I find this area to be one of my better features, but I also find that most others don't! My ass cleavage!



So what do you say, fellow HNT'ers? Trick? or Treat? :)

Happy HNT everyone!

Captured!

I've seen a few of my other frequent Blog Haunts doing this, so I figured it must be the cool thing to do! So here's a shot of my desktop at the office. Pretty bland, yet I get a lot of crap for it. Those damn Phoenicians love to remind me of the 19-0 shutout handed to us by the ASU Sundevils back in 1996. Of course, I always reply by asking how many national championships ASU has....the answer is a big goose egg, for those wondering :)

I don't change my computer desktops very often. When I do, they are usually pretty tame. I've never been a big fan of having a lot of color and noise on my screen...for me, it detracts from the usefullness. The icons always end up getting lost on the screen and I can't find a damn thing! So whatever my desktop may look like, it's always going to be fairly bland.

I'm off to my softball game. Have a great Tuesday, what's left of it!

I want to be positive...I really do.

But it's just so hard to do so when my Huskers are playing like (expletive). We make any team we play look like a National Championship team. :(

These guys make me so sad.

P.S. See OGO, I'm still here!

Don't tase me, bro! Unless I deserve it.

These days, you can't go a week without hearing a story about somebody being tasered by the police. Whether it's the Rent-A-Cops tasing the jackass University of Florida student, or the tasing of a 56-yr old, wheelchair-bound schizophrenic, we just can't seem to escape these stories.

Now don't get me wrong...I hold no ill will toward the police. I've never had anything but good experiences when it has come to law enforcement. However, you can't assume that just because somebody is given a badge and a gun that they won't go overboard with their newfound authority.

I think that tasers are appropriate in certain situations, and not so appropriate in other situations, and we just need to educate our police force as to which situations are appropriate. Of course, I can't help but offer up some suggestions.

APPROPRIATE

1. A knife-wielding maniac is threatening to attack.

A knife is a deadly, short range weapon in most cases. If someone charges an officer with a short range weapon of any kind, it is appropriate to use a taser to keep the perpetrator at a distance. If a gun is pointed at you, slowly put down your taser, and draw your own firearm.

2. Resisting Arrest
If a suspect is violently resisting arrest, it is appropriate to use a taser to temporarily incapacitate the suspect. It is important to differentiate between violently resisting, and shock/confusion.

3. OJ Simpson
Everyone knows he is guilty. It's appropriate to tase "The Juice" under any circumstance. Even if he appears to be sitting peacefully, he is most likely concocting an vicious murder in his mind.

INNAPPROPRIATE

1. School Children
Children, especially young ones, are virtually harmless to a large police officer. Under no circumstances should a child be tased. It's important to note that some people, Gary Coleman for instance, could easily be confused for a school-aged child. Exercise caution.

2. The Elderly
The shock from a taser could stop an elderly person's heart, killing them instantly. Besides, if you feel the threat of being overtaken by the elderly in a short range tussle, it's probably best you stop what you are doing and turn in your badge.

3. Me
I pay my taxes. I've served on a jury. I vote. Plus, I'm deathly afraid of having 50,000 volts surging through my body. Please don't tase me.

A Princess HNT

Holy cow, where has this past week gone?

Well, it's been a looooooong day, and I didn't have the energy to come up with an idea for HNT, until I stumbled upon one....literally.

Like any little girl, my daughter has her share of Barbie toys. She's really into princesses, and her favorite one is Cinderella. What's funny is that Disney doesn't show Cinderella in the same light that I see her in. Disney portrays her as an innocent peasant girl who finds her way into a pair of glass slippers, and dances her way into the prince's heart.

The Cinderella that I see, however, is somewhat different. The Cinderella I know...well, just take a look below.



I don't know if she's caught one too many Britney concerts or what, but this poor girl can't seem to keep her clothes on. I'm contemplating an intervention.

Happy HNT everyone.

Piratey HNT

Arrrrrrrr, me fellow HNT mateys!

OK, it's 8:00PM and I'm tired of talking like a pirate, so that's quite enough of that. Since Wednesday was "Talk Like a Pirate" day, I figured it was fitting to do a related HNT picture. Unfortunately, I'm short on pirate gear, so dressing up for a quick photo op this evening is out of the question. Plus, it's been a long day and I don't really feel like taking a picture anyway.

Fortunately, I went into the office last Halloween dressed like a scurvy buccaneer. Here, you can see me during our office pot luck, eating a "special brownie" prepared by the neon hippie sitting beside me.



Happy Half Nekkid Thursday everyone. Arrrrrrrrr! (OK, I had enough for one more!)

Arrrrrrrrrr!

Ahoy, me hearty crew! Wednesday, September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Ye best be goin' through yer day usin' yer most Piratey voice! If ye don't, ye may just find yerself on the wrong end of a blunderbuss!

What's this? Ye be interested in becomin' a pirate yerself? Well, this job ain't for everyone, landlubber! But if ye want to give it a try, best be readin' up on the Laws o' the Pirate first!

Now, if ye be wonderin' how to talk like a pirate, see below for the "Five A's of Pirating", which I pirated from the Talk Like a Pirate website.

Ahoy! - "Hello!"

Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"

Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."

Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."

Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!

If ye be seekin' a piratey tune, there ain't no better theme than the original Pirates of the Caribbean theme. Just click that there link, and you'll be listenin' to it in no time!

ARRRRRRRRRR!

It's Softball season

The summer heat has subsided (in Phoenix, that means the temp has dipped below 110), which means that it's time to pull out the aluminum bats and oil up the gloves...it's softball season again!

Here in Phoenix, we play 3 seasons out of the year...Winter, Spring, and Fall. Unfortunately, due to a shoulder injury (resulting in some surgery) while remodeling our kitchen, I missed out on the last season so I'm really looking forward to this one! The doctor has given me the OK to play, so I'm very excited.

I thought about going to the cage to practice my batting, but being the worst batter on the team, I figured why ruin a good thing.

Emotional (Sporty) HNT

My apologies for the long post. However, if you're a football fan, I'm sure you can relate.

I don't get emotional about too many things. I'm a pretty laid back kind of guy, and won't cause too much of a stir when things don't go my way. However, there's one thing that will send me into a counch-punching, profanity-driven tirade...

...Football. The college type, that is. If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a huge Cornhusker fan. Like most football fans, I like to see my team win, and win big if possible. When we're not playing up to the level that I think they should be playing at, I let everyone within a three mile radius know about it.

For some bonus HNT coverage, I'd like to show you some of the emotions that I go through on any given Saturday (but more specifically, this past Saturday while playing Wake Forest.

First, there's the Preparation phase. This is right as the game is beginning. I have high hopes, and can't wait to see what we're going to do. My lucky 1989 autographed football is always there with me. I'm always wearing my #12 jersey (that's Bobby Newcombe from a few years back. He was a prick and left the team because he didn't get his way, but I've just been too lazy to go out and get a new jersey), and my favorite Husker cap.


Next, we have the Confusion stage. This is the point where I'm starting to question everything about the team. Who are these guys on the field, and what did they do with the guys that I thought we had playing for our team? I start to wonder what the hell Keller is doing forcing the ball between two defenders. Why does he have to stare down his receiver? Why in God's name does Callahan keep running Lucky up the middle when Castille is a better power back?

Next we have the Frustration stage. We aren't making any plays, and the lead is switching back and forth. The only thing keeping us in the game is the defense...and barely! By this time, the hat has come off, and there's a slight indentation in the couch. The neighbors start coming out of their homes to see what all the swearing and yelling is about. Fortunately, my wife isn't home or else she's probably be washing my mouth out with soap.


Lastly comes the End of the Game stage. This can go one of two ways. The first, and most preferable way for everyone in my path, is that we win. The second is that we lose. In this case, I go through a fit of depression for the next several hours, wondering about the what-if's and how-comes. My family knows to leave me to my sulking for the rest of the day. If it's a large upset, I might go until Sunday before I speak again.


As you can probably see in the last picture, we won this weekend (barely) against an unranked but decent Wake Forest team. Let's hope we can pull together a little more enthusiastic game this Saturday against the USC Trojans.

Happy Sporty HNT everyone!