Yet another new hobby

We just bought a SCAMP Travel Trailer!

I love it. It is a 1990 sixteen foot camper. It's retro, it roomy, it has AC, a microwave, a fridge, new wiring, new custom counters and lots more. It is very light! Easy to tow!

This is going to be a new hobby. Fixing it up, painting, solar power, comm gear, home theater...

--Ok, ok, ok stop smacking me!!

Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

It's good to see the media taking this issue seriously! We all need to be prepared for the population correction the planet will activate soon! Now it's time for the ultimate challenge. How you should arm yourself to survive a zombie apocalypse?

WIRED HOW-TO: Survive a Zombie Apocalypse

--The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. It's classified as a comedy but in the end can save your life.

Did you know?

I love the new music web site at www.lala.com. It's a music download site with added value. You can listen to entire songs or CD's for free the first time, see what your friends are listening to, see what is popular in the world and even by genre.

Check it out!

Here is a section from their FAQ!

How do I create a collection on Lala?

There are two simple ways to add music into your Lala collection:

Find new music on Lala and then add it to your web collection for unlimited listening. Adding a web song to your collection is only 10 cents. And your first 50 web songs are free!

Take the music you already have and make it playable anywhere on the web. Music Mover instantly adds the music you own to your Lala collection for free.

What is a web song?

A web song is a song that lives on the internet. Each web song is only 10 cents, and your first 50 web songs are free!
When you buy a web song it is added to your Lala collection. You can then listen to it as many times as you like, from any web browser. You can also add it to playlists. If you later decide to also buy the MP3, the 10 cents you paid for the web song is credited towards the MP3.

How much do MP3s cost?

The majority of the MP3s on Lala are available for only 89 cents. If you've already purchased the web song, that 10 cents is applied toward the final MP3 purchase (so the MP3 is an additional 79 cents).

Will MP3 files that I download work with any music player?

All of the MP3s on Lala are DRM-free music downloads, and are compatible with iTunes and Windows Media Player.

What is the bitrate of Lala's MP3 downloads?

The vast majority of our MP3 files are encoded using variable bit rates (VBR), aiming at an average of 256 kilobits per second (kbps). Lala will notify you of the bitrate for the specific track you are purchasing before you confirm an MP3 purchase.

How do I add the music I already own to my collection?

To listen to the music you already own from your Lala collection, install the Music Mover

Music Mover will then find all of the songs on your computer. If a song on your computer matches Lala’s licensed catalog, it will instantly be added to your online collection. The remaining songs that were not matched will then begin uploading to your collection behind the scenes. software.

What does it mean to "follow" another person on Lala?

If you click "Follow" on any profile page, you will begin seeing that person's music activity delivered daily to the feed on your Lala home page. Following friends and experts can give you a continuous stream of great music to explore! To find new people to follow, click the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner of your feed.

You are notified any time someone follows you and may choose to disallow or "Block" them at any time. Visit the people page to view who you are following and who is following you.

To quickly find people you know that are already on Lala, go to the people page and select the “Find friends on lala” tab. This tab helps you find people on Lala you may know by matching existing members to your email contact list.

You could have heard a pin drop.

When in England , at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break, one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?'

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A U..S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'

The American said, ''The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.

'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !'

The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, ''Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find a single Frenchmen to show a passport to.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

I Want This! NOW!

Oh the Humanity!!

BRISTOW, Va. - The Washington region is filled with commuter horror stories, but a new list names the commute from Bristow, Virginia, to Washington as the longest in the nation.

Forbes magazine's analysis found four of the 12 longest average commutes in the nation come from this region, including Dale City, Virginia, at #12; Clinton, Maryland, at #11; Fort Washington, Maryland, at #8; and Linton Hills, Virginia, just outside of Bristow, as #1. The commute averages 46.3 minutes.

The national average for a commute is 25 minutes.

--Wow. Ouch. Need more books on CD...

Level Up: Martys Home Theater

So we made the leap to Blu-Ray last night. I Found the exact player I wanted, on sale for $199, at BestBuy.

It's all Joe's fault.

Two weekends ago, Gray and I went over to Joe's house and watched a couple movies on his new Blu-Ray player. It was like the difference between VHS and DVD all over again.

It also plays DVDs in the Up-Convert mode mode to 1080p.

I can't believe that my 120 inch screen can have such great high definition.

--Damn HDMI cable are expensive though!

This weeks weigh-in: 281

So my official weigh-in this week is 281 pounds. Down from 294.

That was 3.2 pounds this week!

--Yay.

This weeks weigh-in: 284

So my official weigh-in this week is 284 pounds. Down from 294.

The first weight loss week is easy for me. Week 26 is when it will be hard!

--Wish me luck!

2009 is my year to get fit.

I will be turning 50 years old late this year.

By the time my birthday rolls around, my goal is to be about lighter and in much better shape physically.

My first weigh-in of the year was 294 pounds.

--Wish me luck!

Goodbye 2008

In no priority order, in 2008 the following crap happened:

It was an expensive year. Our cash reserves took huge hits:

The value of our house fell $100,000.
My retirement investments crashed big time.
I had to write a check for $37,000 to pay our taxes. Cleaning us out.
Fuel prices spiraled to over $4 a gallon.
I was in 2 car accidents.
Vehicles were in the shop like 9 times, and not cheap.

Health was not so good this year either:

I stubbed my toe so bad on July 25 my toenail still has not grown back.
I gained 60 pounds (again).
My knee is acting up again.

There was too much cancer in 2008:

Too many friends and family discovered they had cancer this year.
Even Brenda had a HUGE cancer scare and operation.
The worst of it is Brenda's mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer (less than a year to live).

Lastly there was too much death in 2008:

I managed to attend too many funerals this year.
Including my favorite cat Jasmine.
And worst of all, my dear friend Kelly Kirk died for no good reason.

-- Goodbye 2008.

Facebook

In recent weeks I have come to seriously enjoy the connections and interactions I am having on Facebook.

It has me sorting through old photos and chatting with old friends I have not seen in years, even decades.

It has games too. Scrabble is fun. Mob wars is a total addiction.

If you are in Facebook, find me. Odds are I miss you. If you are not on Facebook, sign up damn you!

--And we have Firefly there...

Christmas Traditions

There are lots of Christmas traditions out there. Some are common like presents, Christmas trees, stockings hung from the mantle, baking cookies, feasting and many others. Some people open presents on Christmas Eve, some christmas morning.

Families develop their own traditions too. We have developed wonderful traditions. I seem to reload my PC OS every Christmas!

Brenda and I open presents with the kids at our house on the morning of Christmas Eve. We have a big Christmas breakfast together after the presents. Later we attend Christmas services and sing Silent Night softly in the candle light. After huggage the kids go home with Becky for Christmas morning, Part 2.

At our house we sleep in on Christmas morning. Well, Brenda sleeps in. I get up around 7am and make coffee and the Marty, Movie, Madness begins (60-something new movies this Christmas). When BR gets up she bakes. Something easy like muffins or Pop-n-Fresh cinnamon rolls.

We usually have a food theme for the day. Something to eat as we watch movies. Massive party platters of shrimp, just for the two of us has been popular. This year it was desserts all day. I'm still full from all the cookies. It must have been a hundred cookies, and fifty of those gold ball Rochelle chocolate things. Plus, I learned the joy of Ready Whip in a can!

--Total movie madness, all day. ALL WEEKEND!

Merry Christmas!!

The best explanation I ever heard was the one Linus gave to Charlie Brown...

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

--LUKE 2:8-14

[RIP] Majel Barrett

Majel Barrett died this week.

For the two people out there that do not know who she was, she was Nurse Chapel on the original Star Trek TV series. More than that, if you close your eyes and imagine what a computer would sound like if it could talk it would be her voice you would hear.

I met Ms. Barrett at my first SciFi convention at the University of South Alabama in 1982.

She was talking about the pilot episode called "The Cage" where she was the first officer Number 1. It was later that she was re-cast as the ships nurse.

--Rest in Peace Majel. Say hi to Gene for us.

Local sheriff’s deputy arrested on child porn charges

A 65-year-old Prince William County sheriff’s deputy is under arrest on charges of possession of child pornography.

Investigators say they found more than 900 such images on the computer of Deputy Arthur Staples.

Last week authorities in St. Lucie County, Fla., contacted the Manassas City Police Department about a child pornography suspect in Manassas City. Manassas police searched Staples’ home Friday. Police said they were seeking evidence that he was distributing child porn.

Staples was being held Tuesday without bail and will be extradited to Florida, where he will face charges of using the Internet to trade pornographic pictures of children.

--Bastard

Rule Number One: Don't Panic

I almost died today.

Seriously. I choked on my lunch today. I know now, that in my entire life, I never have really choked before. Today, like many other days, I was working through lunch. I often do this to make sure I don't have to work late. Some days I don't even bother warming up my lunch and just wolf it down. Like today...

A piece of pork loin firmly lodged in my throat. I was helpless. I could not swallow it, couldn't breath, couldn't cough or gag or do anything.

20 seconds of abject Fear. Fear for Brenda and the kids and never seeing The Hobbit filmed with real people.

I actually thought to myself, "If you don't act now you are dead." Rule Number One was invoked. I didn't panic.

I wasn't going to be one of those people who are too embarrassed to ask for help. I figured coworkers were a 10 second walk away. 15 seconds to communicate the point. Then say hello for Mr. Heimlich.

As I moved to get up the piece of meat shifted. My epiglottis was freed and air moved. I stifled a cough and gag and worked on swallowing that cinder block. It went down eventually. Once water seemed like a good idea I drank a quart quickly.

Mom was right. "Marty! Chew your food!"

--Rule Number One: Don't Panic

Still Keeping it Real...

Repo Man Sequel Starts Filming Next Month

Posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 at 12:12 am by: Peter Sciretta

Alex Cox’s Repo Man sequel Repo Chick is finally going into production next month (January 2009). Production Weekly reports that David Lynch is producing the project.

The original 1984 film told the story of Otto, a newly hired repossession man who goes in search for a mysterious Malibu carrying a high value package which was taken from a government lab and has strange effects on anyone who views it.

Cox has previously said that the follow-up will “unfold against the background of the credit crunch and the subprime mortgage crisis in the US, where repossessions of homes, cars and other forms of property is at a new high. ‘The repo business has expanded to everything from boats, houses, aeroplanes, small nations…children”.

-- Please don't make this Suck!!

A Man With Bread