Thursday, December 21, 2006

Business Trip #1 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Well just got back from Miramar, FL last night. I left a city/area that was sunny and about 80 degrees. Well today here in Minneapolis, it's about 31 degrees and snowing. Nothing like coming back to good ol Minnesota! Nothing fun to report back because I was there 4 days and worked 12 hour days. I was able to get to the beach for about an hour on the way back to the airport but that was about it. Hopefully my future trips allow more personal time to get out and site see.

New Music: Twisted Sister - "A Twisted Christmas"

Tis' the season for some rawk! Check out 'the last album' by 80's metal act, Twisted Sister called A Twisted Christmas. Kind of funny but actually pretty good! Check out track 10 called Heavy Metal Christmas (12 Days Of Christmas); it rocks!

I'll leave this link up here for a week or so for your enjoyment ;)

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Humor: Jib Jab - Year In Review

Here is some end of the year humor for ya; its the Jib Jab guys. The same people that brought you 2-0-5 and This Land are out with a new one: Nuckin' Futs! Check it out:

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Lost

I finally got caught up with the ABC hit, "Lost" the other day. It was a show I got into the 1st season but was not able to keep up with the episodes for Season 2 so I backed out of watching it. Well, thank goodness for BitTorrent because I was able to download all 3 seasons and get caught up! The show is very strange and there are alot of characters to follow so missing an episode was like missing 2-3 on a normal show.
So, come this Feb 7th, 2007, I'll be all caught up and ready to watch! If you'd like to check out this show, you too can watch episodes at http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/index

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Minnesota Wild vs. Chicago Blackhawks 12/05/06


Check out this video clip of the game winning shoot-out goal from the Wild vs. Blackhawks game I went to last night. Pierre-Marc Bouchard was absolutely briliiant!

Monday, December 4, 2006

Monster Jam 2006 - HHH Metrodome 12/3/06

I went and checked out the Monster Jam her in Minneapolis last Saturday night at the HHH Metrodome with my son. It's been awhile since I've been to one and I have to admit, they are cool. Grave Digger and Maximum Destruction were the 'headliners' of the night. Even though Grave Digger was out after about 30 seconds (the driver broke his arm or something) the show went on and was pretty cool. My sister had a suite with her company so we enjoyed the show from the a great view. Click on the pics above to see a bigger shot of monster truck "Blue Thunder" tear it up on the course.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Fun: virtual Nintendo!

Came across this site the other day; boy this brings me back. Only thing better than this is to get the real thing!

Play some old NES games on your computer by clicking here: http://vnes.thatsanderskid.com/

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Xmas wish-list 2006

Check out the new WantDemandNeedList tab (above or https://benducklow.blogspot.com/p/wantdemandneed-list.html) I created. Check this out for my Christmas wish-list for 2006!

You can't say I didn't give you any hints!

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Concert review: Alice In Chains

 
I finally got to check out one of my favorite bands a few days ago. Alice in Chains came to Minneapolis this past Monday and I was lucky enough to get a ticket! This concert sold out in about 20 minutes from what I heard. First Avenue is a small club, so to see a band like this on that stage was very cool. I met a few buddies across the street beforehand and had a few beers. The doors opened about 6pm so we headed over there shortly after that; glad we did because the line to get in was LONG!

After getting in and watching the opening band called Hurt (Yeah they 'hurt' my ears too), my buddy and I started to mingle to the front during the final songs of the opening band. Well by the time Alice took stage, we were about 2-3 people back and in front of Jerry Cantrell. Alice was one of the most influential bands I listened to while in high school. I still remember playing alot of those songs with a bands that me and some buddies had. Alice played a great set and the setlist was phenominal. The best thing to note is the singer who is steppping in on this tour (after the overdose of original singer, Layne Staley) absolutely nailed these songs. He (in my mind) fit in well with these guys; not the same kind of guy that Layne was but different enough that still completely rocked each and every song.

Truly one of the BEST shows I've seen in several years. I took the above pics on my treo; I also took a short movie clip but that didn't turn out so well seeing I was about 2ft from the speakers.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Website moved

Seeing I now was able to transfer ownership of my domain name (benducklow.com), I decided to move my blog to it. Seeing move of my post are not necessarily Ducklow related; they end up being more related to me personally. So update your bookmarks!

I am not sure what I plan on doing with ducklow.com at this point. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Software: Windows Media Player 11

I know, 2 software posts in a row...What can I say, Microsoft is starting to unload some pretty cool updates. First IE 7 and New WMP 11, Its about time the player got a facelift and some new features. Windows Media Player tends to be my main player for video (I still use iTunes for most of my audio listening).

Download the new Windows Media Player 11 via this page.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

Software: Internet Explorer 7

Well I'm not a big IE fan, but I have to admit that this new version is finally caught my eye as opposed to my fave, Firefox. Internet Explorer 7 has been loaded and used quite a bit on my system lately. I think it has a bit of a ways to go but a good release by Microsoft. If you have Windows XP Service Pack 2, download this latest Internet Explorer 7 HERE.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Band Alert: Amity Lane


Remember the band, Trust Company? Well, 2 of the members (Kevin and Josh) got a new thing going and it called Amity Lane. The band that brought you heavy yet melodic tunes such as Downfall and Stronger are releasing an album a week from today (Halloween). This is definetly one that I'll be getting the day of the release! For teasers, check out some of their clips online here.

Oh yeah, for some old school stuff, check out some early stuff by Kevin and Co. Check out Peach Fuzz (an early demo version of Downfall) along with a kick a** cover of The Clash tune, "Rock The Casbah"

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Free Pumpkin patterns

So I found a link with some cool free templates for carving halloween pumpkins:

http://www.pumpkinlady.com/pattern.htm

Which one do you think I should do?

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Classic gaming is back! My Atari 2600

OK, so I've had this old Atari 2600 game in my basement for about 5 years after scoring it in a local Goodwill. Unfortunetly it didn't work after I bought it, so I slowly started troubleshooting it (by slow I mean 5yrs worth of slow) and finally got it working just a few days ago!

Thanks for a few sites such as AtariAge.com and Atari-Garage.com, I was able to identify it as a possible power issue. So after testing the one that came with it with a multimeter, I identified that the AC adapter was bad. I bought a new adapter and walla!, the ol' 2600 woodie fired up!

Now all I have to do is start scoring some of the classics such as Pitfall, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-man, Joust, Dig Dug, Barnstormer and It will be all good.

Maybe even some day I'll sent it in somehere and get it modified with s-video and component audio/vidio out!!

Man I feel like its 1983.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Monday, October 9, 2006

Windows XP: Remote Desktop key commands

Came across this link off the tech-recipes.com website. Its some useful key command that allow you to do some things as if you were physically on the machine. I use the Windows Remote Desktop feature almost on a daily basis. One of the problems I have is if I need to reboot the machine or perhaps want to check on a process that is running, etc. Here are those key commands that you can use:

  • Ctrl+Alt+End: Task Manager (acts like Ctrl+Alt+Del).

  • Alt+Page Up or Alt+Page Down: Task Switching (like Alt+Tab and Alt+Shift+Tab).

  • Ctrl+Alt+Plus symbol: Puts a snapshot of remote session on clipboard (like PrtScn).

  • Ctrl+Alt+Minus symbol: Puts a snapshot of active window in remote session on clipboard (like Alt+PrtScn).

Thursday, October 5, 2006

Windows XP: Internet Explorer VML exploit

for those of you using Internet Explore on Windows XP, you might want to consider copying and pasting the following from the the START-RUN line:

regsvr32 -u "%ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VGX\vgx.dll"

This fixes a exploit in IE. Microsoft has not patched this yet. Check out an article on it here: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2020256,00.asp

Better yet switch to Firefox for your web browser; thats what I use!

Wednesday, October 4, 2006

New Music: Papa Roach "The Paramour Sessions"

Here's a score for ya. It's the new Papa Roach album, The Paramour Sessions in *.zip format. I personally haven't had a chance to listen to this much but dig tracks entitled "Forever" and "Time Is Running Out". It even has a live cut of "Scars"; their last big hit off the album, Getting Away With Murder. If this is like any of their previous albums, I'm sure it will be in my playlist for weeks...
I'll leave this download link up here for a week or so for your enjoyment ;)

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Humor: The Kid From Brooklyn

WARNING: This site is not for kids! and definetly NSFW (Not Safe For Work)!
Check out this site. Its some Jersey fella who rants via a video blog. He curses every other word but its pretty funny. He covers everything from the price of coffee at Starbucks to gay marriage. Take this link home with you:

http://www.thekidfrombrooklyn.com

Friday, September 22, 2006

iTunes 7.0

For those of you with an iPod, check out the new iTunes version 7.0. The coolest thing (besides an updated look) is a feature called Cover Flow wich allows you to view your collection as if it were a jukebox! Check out this screenshot off my iTunes collection!
I must warn you this new version does have some known issues. So if your the gambling kinda guy, download this baby otherwise wait for the next iTunes update which is sure to fix some of the known issues.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Rockstar: Supernova - the finale`

OK, so its been a few weeks since the finale`. I wasn't to sure of the selection but after hearing 2 of their tracks, Lukas rocks! Check out some sneak peek audio tracks from the Rockstar Supernova album due out in November:

Monday, September 18, 2006

Concert review: Nickelback, Hoobastank, Chevelle and Hinder


So I went and checked out a great concert last week with some buddies at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Overall, the best lineup of bands that I wanted to see in a long while. Opening the night was Hinder. A a great new band that is worth checking out; they already have a few radio hits but the album itself is very good overall I first heard of Hinder back before they made it big on a great podcast I listen to on a weekly basis called Joe's Podhole. From this interview, I knew Hinder was all about rock-n-roll. Check out Joe's Podole episode #18 here. Chevelle was up second who also put on a good show...sound-wise. Not much to their stage show but I dig almost all their tunes even live; not band for a 3 piece band. Hoobastank was next and also a band I've seen before; again not a great stage show but was good overall. For the headliner, I was truly impressed. Nickelback put on a great stage show consisting of pyro that I simply haven't seen in a long while. These guys sound exactly like what your hear on their albums or the radio; even the singer had different microphones for different parts of the songs! Overall a great lineup and a great show.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The PowerTrip morning show


Ok, so it's the beginning of the football season, so I thought I'd throw something up that was sports related. I'm not a HUGE sports fanatic but I enjoy listening to this guy and his sidekicks. I have been listening to Mike Morris and the PowerTrip morning show for some time now and it's...well pretty cool. I tune into the on KFAN 1130 AM almost on a daily basis; it's ususally this or the KQRS Morning show.
Why you ask? Well, Mike is a former NFL football player, he likes hard rock/metal music, he's got an attitude and he's got a morning show! Besides most commercial radio sucks around here so I listen to talk radio, yeah I don't listen to the likes of 93X up here because they play the same stuff over and over. The PowerTrip morning show plays some cool 'bumper' music and have been actually turned onto some bands like Eighteen Visions and Thousand Foot Krutch because of it. Every Wednesday they have a guy come in from Sanctuary Records to talk about rock/metals bands, new releases and the music charts. Very cool. If you're not from the cities, you can stream all the radio shows online at KFAN.com

Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Crowds flock to gawk and wonder

First of all check out this official radio advertisment clip of the official Minnesota State Fair. I hope they were'n't gawking and wondering at us! Well this years fair was...we...like most others. Usual crowds, usual foods, usual stenches. As you can see the boys enjoyed hitting the slide; I tried to get everyone fired up but I don't think they were into it like I was.

Overall, an OK time. We didn't get to hit the Midway or any other rides besides the slide. There's always next year I guess.

Friday, September 1, 2006

New Music: Audioslave - "Revelations"

Shhh! Here's the new Audioslave album that hasn't been released yet. The official street date is not until September 5th. Shhh! Audioslave rocks once agin with "Revelations". I've had a quick run through of the disc and its not bad! The first track definetly rocks! Click on this link or the image above to download the MP3's compressed in *.zip format. Shhh!
I'll leave this link up for a week or so.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

New Link: The 9

Looking for more fun things to see on the web? Well check out this site: http://9.yahoo.com

This site has the top 9 sites that is updated daily which includes everything from news, movies as well as just stupid stuff. There's some commentary for each link as well. Its kind of neat if you have time to kill and want to see the best of the web on a regular basis.

Monday, August 28, 2006

You Tube!

In case you haven't heard of you tube, you gotta check this site out. Its all videos submitted by people...with too much time on theirhands. Don't get me wrong, there are some GREAT videos out there; some funny, some stupid and some gross. Here's one I came across thats is simply awesome. This guy (Matt Weddler of a group called Obidiah Parker) does a KILLER, solo acoustic cover of "Hey Ya" originally done by Outkast:


Now go check out this and other clips at You Tube!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Twins Game 2006: Twins vs. White Sox


It was a special day this past Sunday. Special because it was Gavin and Ethans' 1st baseball game! We took the light rail into the Metrodome. The boys liked the train. There were alot of people so we had to stand; luckily it only took about 15 minutes to get there from Hwy 62 and Hiawatha.

We were able to access the Twins main office and look at the '87 and '91 World Seried trophies. Outside we scored some free ice cream for the boys, bought some fresh popped kettle corn for Shell and some cinnamon sugar toasted almonds for myself.

We had great seats behind home plate; just 2 rows down from the press box. We didn't catch any foul balls but Ethan enjoyed watching all the balls pop way into the stands for people to catch. As you can see from the pic above Ethan took a nap which was fine; me and Gavin had a chance to walk around and get a Dome Dog and some other treats. After the Twins won the game, the boys were also able to go on the field and run around the bases! Overall the boys made it through the game and had a great time.
Thanks to Shelly's Uncle Scott for hooking us up with some great seats and the boys up with some great Twins merchandise!

Got a Mac?

Here's some great free apps for you to check out (some are actually FREE): http://web.mac.com/willie.morris/iWeb/Willie./Blog/CEAA00CB-F8EC-45F8-8733-168A736FBFC5.html

Friday, August 18, 2006

'Best Pizza Chain in America'

Thought I'd post this in case anyone wants a deal on some pizza here today or tomorrow:

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Metallica on The Simpsons!

Set your DVR's and VCR's... on September 9th, metal legends Metallica will make their Simpsons debut on FOX!


"METALLICA joins a long list of artists who have been featured on the show, including BLINK-182, Mick Jagger, 'N SYNC, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, AEROSMITH, Elvis Costello, SONIC YOUTH, CYPRESS HILL, SMASHING PUMPKINS and Bette Midler." - source http://www..blabbermouth.net

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

Weekend in Brainerd, MN area


Quicktime (1Mb)

Quicktime (1Mb)

Here's a couple of videos taken with a Canon Powershot SD550 from our last weekend in Brainerd. We all had fun out on rope swing as well as some go-carting in town. Overall it was a gorgeous weekend to spend time up north with the family. Enjoy!

Monday, August 7, 2006

Fun: another game

Here's a little time waster: http://www.isoma.net/games/goggles.html

It's a cute little flight simulator that utilizes Google maps.

Thursday, August 3, 2006

New Link: Digg.com

"Digg is a news website with an emphasis on technology and science articles. It combines social bookmarking, blogging, and syndication with a form of non-hierarchical, democratic editorial control. News stories and websites are submitted by users, and then promoted to the front page through a user-based ranking system. This differs from the hierarchical editorial system that many other news sites employ."

I check this RSS feed from this page several times a day. The main emphasis of this site is Technology news, but they've recently expanded their Digg news to Entertainment, Sports, Science as well as a few others. Very cool site, check it out HERE. Digg is pretty popular for those of us that dig Tech stuff. Digg is also the first of its kind to evolve what is being deemed at social bookmarking/networking. If you like Digg and have iTunes, subscribe to Diggnation (a video podcast) via an iTunes subscription. Diggnation talks about the most popular and/or oddest stories from Digg. The hosts are a couple of young guys who swear and drink beer during the video; great stuff.

Monday, July 31, 2006

New Music: Thousand Foot Krutch

Here's a 'new' band I've been turned onto. Although this is their Junior release I've only heard one song off their last album titled "Rawkfist". This is their latest album in *.zip format (approx 60Mb download). You can download it for a week or so. Click on this link or the image above to download the MP3's. Check out track titled "Absolute"; absolutely killer.

I've leave this link up for a week or so.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Virtualize software applications with Altiris SVS!


Get SVS

Looking for a FREE little app that allows you to install and run and application without it really installing? Check out the Altiris SVS application. This FREE little app allows you to create application layers on your Windows machine that run specific applications. Worried about some program you downloaded? Afraid it will 'mess up your machine"? Well, just install it as a SVS layer/app and no need to worry! Just Deactivate the application and its like it was never installed. I just went to a Altiris User group that had a guest speaker on this very app. The best part is there is a FREE version for home users!. Click on the icon above or HERE to learn more.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Ubuntu: a free alternative to Windows XP


OK, so you think Linux is for geeks who drink Jolt cola and game and hack until the wee hours in the morning? Well guess again. If you haven't heard of Linux or Ubuntu, you will. Ubuntu is a FREE desktop operating system based on Linux. Ubuntu is gaining popularity because it is free and it is easy to use. I have been experimenting with Ubuntu on a spare machine of mine for the past year or so...it's pretty cool!

Yeah, it is different than Windows XP, and alot of your commerical products (such as Microsoft Office) will not run on Ubuntu but the good this is the Linux/Ubuntu world has FREE alternatives to programs such as Microsoft Office...and it comes bundled in with the Operating System! There is no Internet Explorer but there is Firefox, which again is bundled with the OS! If Windows has it, Ubuntu has some version of it as well. The interface/desktop is very nice looking and easy to use.

I must admit Ubuntu isn't for the newbie computer user. Even I am learning more and more about how to do things in Linux. The great thing about Ubuntu is it works out of the box and their is a great online community for support issues. So if you have a spare computer sitting around and your up for learning something new, give it a try!

To download Ubuntu, click here. To read a article on the growing popularity of Ubuntu Linux, click here.

Friday, July 21, 2006

Rockstar: Supernova


What do you get if you mix 3 members of 3 of the worlds biggest rock bands, a big-time record producer and a reality TV show? Something big. Its called Rockstar: Supernova.

Supernova, a newly formed "supergroup" featuring Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Jason Newsted (formely of Metallica) and Gilby Clark (formerly with the Guns N' Roses fame) are looking for a fontman/woman. After a worldwide search the show brought them together to live in one house to compete against each other for the gig. Each week a contestant is eliminated; part due to online voting and the other decision by the band. The contestants each week have to battle over a limited song list. The first 3 shows have proven that song choice is a big factor on how you come off with your performance. The group mainly has a mix of classics mixed in with a few more 'modern' hits as part of the song selection mix; everything from Rolling Stones to Stone Temple Pilots.
Once the lead vocalist is chosen the group will record an album followed by a tour in 2007. My pics as of right now are narrowed down to 3: Lukas, Dilana and Magni. Check out http://rockstar.msn.com for more on the show and performances. The show airs Tuesdays at 8PM and Wednesdays at 7PM on channel 4 locally here in the Twin Cities. CHECK THIS SHOW OUT!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Tick bite = mid-Summer illness


Well, most of you know I came down with something on Friday July 7th. First symptom was the chills. I left work and headed for home. After rotating spells of chills, the sweats tagged with high fever (105.7 was the highest I had) I finally went into Urgent Care in Shakopee the following Saturday night. Right away I was admitted to the ER and immediately injected with IV fluids as I was dehydrated. I was there for about 3 hours and was released with a subscription of Vicodin for any pain and said it should pass it 12 hours.

Long story short, I was still out of it come Monday morning and therefore went back to the ER. After 8 hours in there and several drugs, x-rays, MRI, CAT scans, I was finally admitted to the Hospital that was on-site. I was treated with various pain meds as well as Doxycycline, a med to cover a few tick-born diseases. After a few days I did get better and was finally released on the evening of July 12th. I have to take the Doxycycline for a total of 14 days then go back for a checkup. Even though my test came back negative, the Doctor deemed me with having Ehrlichiosis. All my symptoms are in-line with this tick-born illness.
To find out more on what I had, click on these links:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ehrlichiosis/DS00702/DSECTION=1
http://www.google.com/search?=Ehrlichiosis

Thursday, June 29, 2006

A Windows XP MUST-HAVE

Thought I'd share this little secret for all of you Windows XP users. We all know Windows XP has a built in CD-burning tool right? Well, take things a step further by adding the capability of creating and burning ISO files with Alex Feinman's ISO Recorder.

What is an ISO file? Basically it is a 'wrapped' file of a CD or DVD. With this tool you can insert your favorite CD or DVD and save it as an *.iso file. You can then copy that file to a jump drive, external hard drive (or some other medium) and use it later. With other utilities, you can "mount" ISO files as another drive letter or with this tool, simply burn a copy of the CD/DVD.

Note there are 2 versions to download and install; one for people running Windows XP Service Pack 1 and another for people running Windows XP Service Pack 2. This is not junkware or spyware, but rather a great tool to have! Download it here: http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

Monday, June 26, 2006

Windows Vista - Beta 2



Well, for those of you whom are anxiously awaiting a new upgrade to the Windows XP operating system, your time is coming. Windows Vista, the next version of the Windows operating system, is in limited beta and I've been lucky enough to get a copy of it. The download from Microsoft was short lived as the word spread about this highly anticipated beta release.

I loaded this up on a Dell Latitude C640 laptop (P4 1.8Ghz with 512Mb of RAM) a few weeks ago. The install is lengthy (took maybe an hour using the DVD) but worth it. The Dell laptop didn't have too many issues. I did have to manually insall the network card driver as well as the video driver; once that was done, I was able to get an even newer driver for them through Windows Update.

This laptop is a decent machine for Windows XP but unfortunetly this is not a prime candidate for Vista. Rating a "1" on a built in performance rating application natively built into Windows Vista, It lacks the advanced video card capability to run the Aero feature of Vista. (Aero is a nice GUI that makes Windows more exciting to look at).

Overall, Vista is pretty dang cool. I would say it a cross between Windows XP, Mac OS X and a linux flaor, such as Ubuntu; right up my alley. I am sure that most of use will need to purchase a new machine to fully take advantage of using this OS to its potential, but I think it will be worth it. Vista will be made available to regular consumers in 2007.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Fun: Play some games!

Are you bored? If so here's a time waster. Check out this site:



I like the game called TG Motorcross one....It's totally RAD dude.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

T-Ball season


Gavin had his first t-ball 'game' last weekend. He is on the Orange Otters and did great his first time out. He's the only lefty on the team, so he threw off the others players! ;) The only downside to it was the fact that I lost my baseball glove! After having the same glove since junior high...of all times and places, I lft it at Gavin's first t-ball game. Oh well. Gavin has several other games throughout the summer.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Humor: The International Rules of Manhood

Here's a nice little bit of humor for ya. This one was forwarded to me by Doug Faffler.

The International Rules of Manhood

  1. Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella.
  2. It is ok for a man to cry under the following circumstances:
    1. When a heroic dog dies to save its master.
    2. The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her blouse.
    3. After wrecking your boss' car.
    4. One hour, 12 minutes, 37 seconds into "The Crying Game".
    5. When she is using her teeth.
  3. Any Man who brings a camera to a bachelor party may be legally killed and eaten by his buddies.
  4. Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend out of jail within 12 hours.
  5. If you've known a guy for more than 24 hours, his sister is off limits forever, unless you actually marry her.
  6. Moaning about the brand of free beer in a buddy's fridge is forbidden. However, complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable.
  7. No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another man. In fact, even remembering your buddy's birthday is strictly optional.
  8. On a road trip, the strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the weakest.
  9. When stumbling upon other guys watching a sporting event, you may ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask who is playing.
  10. You may flagellate in front of a woman only after you have brought her to climax. If you trap her head under the covers for the purpose of flatulent entertainment, she's officially your girlfriend.
  11. It is permissible to drink a fruity alcohol drink only when you're sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless supermodel... and it's free.
  12. Only in situations of moral and/or physical peril are you allowed to kick another guy in the nuts.
  13. Unless you're in prison, never fight naked.
  14. Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed.
  15. If a man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything.
  16. Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as spies until they demonstrate knowledge of the game and the ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers.
  17. A man in the company of a hot, suggestively dressed woman must remain sober enough to fight.
  18. Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of pizza, but not both, that's just greedy.
  19. If you compliment a guy on his six-pack, you'd better be talking about his choice of beer.
  20. Never join your girlfriend or wife in discussing a friend of yours, except if she's withholding sex pending your response.
  21. Phrases that may NOT be uttered to another man while lifting weights:
    1. Yeah, Baby, Push it!
    2. C'mon, give me one more! Harder!
    3. Another set and we can hit the showers!
  22. Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal footing; i.e. Both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other situations, an almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you need.
  23. Never allow a telephone conversation with a woman to go on longer than you are able to have sex with her. Keep a stopwatch by the phone. Hang up if necessary.
  24. The morning after you and a girl who was formerly "just a friend" have carnal, drunken, monkey sex, the fact that you're feeling weird and guilty is no reason for you not to nail each other again before the discussion about what a big mistake it was occurs.
  25. It is acceptable for you to drive her car. It is not acceptable for her to drive yours.
  26. Thou shall not buy a car in the colors of brown, pink, lime green, orange or sky blue.
  27. The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets an Xbox. End of story.
  28. There is no reason for guys to watch Ice Skating or Men's Gymnastics. Ever.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Ethan is riding bike!

Yep, Ethan has passed Ethan up on learning how to bike. Ethan, the little man with no fear is on his way to becoming the next BMX superstar! Check out this movie clip made from Apple's iMovie HD:




Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Deck is near completion!

Started in early summer of 2005, the stairs for the lower landing pad have been complete. I do want to go and tweak them a bit; need more gap between boards but overall done! Only time will tell on how this EON decking will hold up.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Shelly's new ride.

Here's Shelly's new ride! Its a 2005 VW Jetta TDI. It gets 42mpg and uses diesel instead of regular gasoline. It's an automatic w/ leather, dual climate control, MP3 capable CD changer. We traded in the '04 Jetta TDI with a manual transmission for this one this past weekend.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Book Review: Tommyland

So another book review eh? Yep. I like these tales of rock n' roll. These people live quite the lives, let me tell you. My latest read was a suggestion by my bud, Dave Gronquist. Dave and I used to play together in Attict back in college. Dave was is a huge Motley Crue fan. Well after my review of The Dirt, Dave told me I should check out Tommy Lee's book, Tommyland.

Tommyland is an 'unconventional' book . At first it was hard to read. There are alot of footnotes as well as commentary by his 3rd leg if you know what I mean. Again, he has some great tales as well as he stink in jail which really changed his outlook on life. It brushes up on his relationship with Pamela Anderson, other partners as well as some of the other tragedies of his life. After reading this I have a new respect for him. Although he's a pampered rock star, he stresses that fact that he is a normal human being.

If your looking for another great rock n' roll read, here you go, this ones for you. And make sure to check out Tommyland: The Ride, his latest CD, it's very good.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Goodbye American Idol, Hello record deal!

So my man got voted off. It's a big conspiracy anyway, right? Besides, we are talking about the music business...

Like I suspected the minute he got eliminated last night, it looks like he's has at least a couple of offers on the table for a record deal and/or to join well established bands. Make sure to check out the Extra entertainment show tonight for an official offer from a band that wants Chris to join. Hey, I can't make this stuff up, check out the audio of Chris on the Ryan Seacrest show this morning stating the news:


Click HERE for the Chris Daughtry interview.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Pandora.com

I thought I'd share this link with ya'll. A site I was turned on to a while back from Ted Peterson. Check out www.pandora.com to access some great music you may have never heard before. Basically you go there sign up (No, there is not spam or junk mail sent from this place) and creat "stations". You can lookup and creat a station per artist or song name. It will create a continous stream of your artist or song and various similiar artists or songs! Very cool and the sound quality is great! If a song or band comes on that you don't care for, you click a link from the player to provide instant feedback so that song or band will never get played through your station again.

There is a limit to the number of stations you can have but hey it's free! Check it out!

Tuesday, May 2, 2006

New Music: Tool 10,000 Days

For those of you who got it, I hope you enjoy. As with most Tool albums, this CD has some great tunes and some boring ones. Tracks 1,2 and 4 simply rock. Make sure to and purchase this disc and support your musicians!

Monday, April 17, 2006

Work setup

Hey check this out. It's my new setup at work. I just got hooked up with a new Dell Precision 380 desktop PC with dual 17" flat panel monitors!


Tuesday, April 11, 2006

While You (Shelly) Were Out!

Well, Shelly is back in the country so I can officially put this out for everybody to see. While Shelly was in Manila, I decided to do a little 'Extreme Makeover/ While You Were Out' on the office (which was pretty much 'my office'). Shelly has put her time in working at home lately so I thought it would be nice to get her a desk and a place to work as well.

About 75% of the items in this room were purchased from Ikea. I held on the the lights and one floor shelf but the rest was from Ikea. I think we can offically call it our Ikea room. The monitors were purchased through Dell (yep, they are 19" flat LCD panels!!) I re-used some leftover paint that Shell had used in our bedroom and think it worked out great. We lost a bit of storage space but most of it was junk anyways; it went off to the basement.

I did go over my budget but felt I got this far, I might as well get it done the way I wanted it. Special thanks to Shelly's sister Tami for helping me out with the shelf hanging and the placement and decor. Thanks to Shelly's parents for taking the boys off my hands for a few days!!

To see a few more pics of this makeover project, click here.