Month: April 2008

A Very Productive Weekend

Rachel and I weren’t ourselves this weekend, we were productive!

Saturday, Taylor came over for a while and we had fun.  She was up with her mom, I think they’re trying to unpack their new home in Owensburg before they actually move up here.  As my big helper, she helped me with the yearly maintenance of my riding mower.  After Taylor left, dad and I loaded all of the concrete remnants I had removed from the ground into my truck.  I then took it off later that night.  I don’t think my truck has ever had that much weight in it, as it was lower in the rear than the front.

Sunday, Rachel and I re-arranged the garage.  It’s more organized now, and I must say easier to get things in and out of.  We got rid of a lot of trash we didn’t even realize we had, for that I took off another load of garbage.

While I finished painting our dining room area, Rachel worked on her final paper for her Master’s Degree.  There is still a little bit of touching up to do, but it looks fantastic!

Sorry about the picture quality, my lens needed cleaned!

We capped off the weekend by watching the last of the Star Wars Saga, Return of the Jedi.  I can’t believe how much of a Stars Wars freak my wife is.  I enjoy it, but she really gets into it!

100k is a Magic Number

My truck surpassed an automotive milestone on the way back from Muncie last Saturday night, the odometer turned over 100,000 miles.  Yes, I took this picture while driving.  Illegal perhaps, but it only happens once.

For some strange reason, I am taking pride in it.  This is the first vehicle I have purchased, and not wrecked beyond repair.  I did not buy it new, but this truck is me.  I plan on keeping it until the wheels fall off.  It’s paid for, why spend more money?

For those of you who don’t know the specifics, my truck is a 1997 Chevrolet S-10 Extended Cab 4X4 with a 4.3L V6.  I have tried to make it as fuel effecient as possible, and it does get better gas mileage (17/25) than the norm, 15/19.

We have taken it to Oklahoma, The Great Smoky Mountains, Niagara Falls and driven through Canada.  It’s been reliable and more importantly, comfortable for trips.

With the price of fuel these days, it’s becoming more and more expensive to feed it’s hunger.  When I filled her up last Saturday night it cost $42, for 12 and some odd gallons.  That’s only 3/4 of a tank!

So for the meantime, this truck is mainly driven when needed, or to lubricate the engine parts.  Rachels’ Kia is much more eco-friendly.  Yesterday the price of gas jumped 22 cents a gallon!  It went from $3.24 to $3.46, ouch!

There is No Justice Without the Law

Last Saturday my father and I travelled up to Muncie to see an old friend.  I hadn’t seen him in 12 years.  I’ve speratically chatted with him on myspace and yahoo messenger for about a year now, but didn’t have a chance to see him.

It was a short, but excellent meeting.  We chatted for a while, he is really good with model cars – something I never had the patience for.  We then went to Ruby Tuesday’s to get some grub, it was the worst service I’ve ever had.

Hopefully this can become a more than once a decade meeting.  I’ve missed you Justice.

Take a Listen, If You Can

There are many creative minds at work at the CSR.  Many of us enjoy the video production/editing fields.  There are 2 ladies with Ph.D.’s, a jewelry maker, and the list goes on from there.

For most of us, the CSR is just a stepping stone.  I hope it is for me, as I’m tired of assembling NSSE survey packets.  It’s mind numbing work, and when you’re scolded for speaking, it’s just that much worse.

A fellow co-worker makes his own music.  It’s electronic and kind of a mix between new age and techno.  It’s the best thing I’ve heard or seen in a while, so I thought I’d share.  I think with the right exposure, this kid and his music could really go places.

He’s a little leery of allowing it to be downloaded so I have a selection of his songs setup for streaming, but I have been made aware of some issues.  This will only work with IE, as it’s setup with Windows Media to stream.  I’ve personally tried Safari and Firefox with no luck.  So you are warned!  I am currently working on a way for all platforms to play, but I don’t have it in place yet.

Listen Here: Music by Luc

If anyone out there has any better ideas, please let me know!  I tried last.fm, but to add one of their “playlists” you have to have a minimum of 15 songs.

If anyone out there has any better ideas, please let me know!  I tried , but to add one of their “playlists” you have to have a minimum of 15 songs.
Or, if there’s enough support, he just might let the nice people who read my blog download it.  If he does, I will add links.

UPDATE:  I somewhat solved the problem.  If you cannot view or play the media player, click on the link directly below the song title, it will play the song on your systems native player.