We're Fine

Just in case any of the out of state readers of this blog are wondering about the welfare of your favorite bloggers in the wake of the current hurricane mania, Sue and I are fine. We were ready to hunker down on Monday night with new surge protectors, batteries, radios, blankets, candles, and a bunch of interior walls to entertain us, but in the end nothing much happened and we slept in our beds all through the night. For those folks who's Alabama geography is a little rusty, Huntsville is roughly as far north in Alabama as you can get and still legally sleep with your sister;) So all we had to contend with was some wind and some rain. We didn't even lose power in the end (which is incredible because I swear we lose power in my neighborhood every time a cow pees in the wrong direction).

And I thought I was Geeky

I thought I knew the definition of geeky, but I had no idea until I saw this video today that a couple of Microsoft interns made:

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2677918 (It's even safe for viewing at work)

I bow to the superior geek-ness of these folks.

Irony in Best Buy

Sue and I were perusing the computer game selves of the local Best But today, when I notice the box for the new NHL 2005. Yeah... How do you have a new game when there wasn't a season? I didn't read the back of the box, but I imagine the text was something like the follow:

Enter the exciting world of pro sport contact negotiations. Play as either the greedy team owners, or the greedy NHL players in a exciting, high stake game of chicken. Can you save the 2005 hockey season from being cancelled? Can you understand the complexities of salary caps, revenue sharing, and the economics of a sport with too many teams and not enough money?

Features include:

* Listen in to AM sport programs blather on for hours about why each side's demands are insane

* Visit the mansions of both players or owners to try and understand why each side demands so much of the pie.

* Sit through 100% realistic all night negotiations where both sides will agree to everything except the things they disagreed about in the last meeting.

NHL 2005: not letting a hockey strike ruin our chance to sell basically the same game we released last year.

Now these are cars!

I saw this article and had to put up my two sense. Call me what you want, but I must say that I do not get the choices the youth of today pick for "cool"cars. To me they are ugly. When people pimp out the Ford Focus, Neon, some hatchback (basically any car on the game Need for Speed) or just buy a Mazda, Mitsibushi or Toyota sports car I don't get it. I really do not get the new convertible version of the PT Cruiser. We saw one the other day and they suck. I also do not get the color choices. Cars should come in only red, black, or blue. I don't get why a hetero man would get a purple or yellow car. That is just not right.

I love going to the car shows and seeing all of the old muscle cars. Now I have always been a lover of cars and when I see the brand new Mustang, I just want to run up to it and roll all over it... I druel just thinking about it. I love the look, the horsepower and the history behind it. Just thinking about 300 horsepower makes me hot. It is the king of cool cars and has been for a long time. The model just before the most recent upgrade of the mustang was pretty ugly so I am glad they went back to the basic look of the old car! I also love the older versions of the cars. I had an ex that I stayed with a little longer because he and his dad were rebuilding old GTO's. They were hot! The guy became annoying but I sure loved his car ;) What can I say, I was only 16? He also liked my car. My first car was an '83 Ford Thunderbird. It had 3.8L V6 engine (druel) and I loved it. I lived out on country roads so at 2 in the morning I would get that baby up to 120 or 130. What can I say, I was a wild child ;) All the guys would fix it for free because they just loved the car. I did not mind. It gave me a reason to talk to the hottest guy in school who had the same car. That car lasted me a long time. Ahh the memories. My best friend and I would kidnap her boyfriend, drive to Canada at midnight, get drunk (drinking age is 19 in Canada), sober up in Tim Horton's and come back the next morning. We went to Canada a lot along with other road trips.

Where did that tradition go? The hot looking muscle cars are a great american custom that the Asian market really has not grasped. Those ugly handle looking spoilers they put on their sports cars. Ugh!

I also do not get how a person can buy a new mustang, corvette, or GTO and drive it like a pussy. I will go on the freeway and they are going 5-15 under the speed limit. WTF? I do not like slow drivers to begin with but if you own a muscle car and you are driving slow, then you need to buy a new car...

Caffeine Overdose is the same as Sex

So I was reading a FAQ on Caffeine this morning when I came across this description for the effects of Caffeine overdose.

Caffeine-Induced Organic Mental Disorder (Caffeine Intoxication or Overdose)

1) Recent consumption of caffeine, usually in excess of 250 mg.
2) At least five of the following signs:

• restlessness


• nervousness


• excitement


• insomnia


• flushed face


• diuresis


• gastrointestinal disturbance


• muscle twitching


• rambling flow of thought and speech


• tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia


• periods of inexhaustibility


• psychomotor agitation
  

3) Not due to any physical or other mental disorder, such as an Anxiety Disorder.

My very first thought is that Sex and a Caffeine overdose are basically the same. Let run the list:

• restlessness - Clearly I don't want to sleep during sex.


• nervousness - early on, sure. I'm nervous I am going to fuck it up and not get sex.


• excitement - Hells ya!


• insomnia - See restlessness


• flushed face - If we are doing it right:)


• diuresis - well, ok, maybe not this one. Although don't you find you always have to pee at the worst possible moments?


• gastrointestinal disturbance - all that shaking CAN make you feel a little car sick at times.


• muscle twitching - Do I even need to say anything here?


• rambling flow of thought and speech - Pretty much all I am capable of is grunting and the occasional epitaph spoken in happiness.


• tachycardia or cardiac arrhythmia - All that pumping is hard!:)


• periods of inexhaustibility - F#$k ya. Just ask Sue.


• psychomotor agitation - Everyone know that I shake when I am happy:)
  

Guess you know what this means. Time to get an espresso machine!

Look, it's a BatHook!

New machine allows soldiers to hurdle buildings.

At long last, my dream of owning some of the coolest equipment that Batman had can finally be lived out. According to this article, the Pentagon has procurded a new handheld system that can "raise or lower a load of up to 145 kg (320 lb) at the rate of one meter (yard) per second...the operator would shoot a rope attached to a grappling hook to the top of the building and then attach the rope to a harness-like device which hauls them up."

And they have a civilian version in the works.

America: Fuck Ya.

Talk Nerdy to Me

This blog is a co-production of Eric and Sue.

Since being geek has become so cool (metrosexuals are SOOOO 2004), Sue and I have created a list of 0x10 things for you non-techie women to say to your geek in bed:

1) These 6" heels add +15 to my stamina
2) Would you like to touch my software?
3) Can I play with your hard drive?
4) Two words: golden bikini
5) Is that a light saber in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
6) I dance naked in the auction house of WoW.
7) Put Yoda back in my hut.
8) Boldly go where no man has gone before.
9) DING! (This one is for R)
A) If you want me, come a claim me!
B) <as she gazes at your penis> my precious...
C) I love to role play.
D) Be gentle. I'm a n00b.
E) PWN ME! OH GOD PWN ME!

Puppies rule!

Just to put up a new blog, here are some new pics of Bob and Bella. Eric and I just have not come up with anything interesting to say lately ;)

Bella loves to play ball. She goes nuts for the ball she is holding. How cute...

And beware of Darth Bob...Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun!

The words are like poetry...

I am a fan of poetry, ecspecially musical poetry. I just love when songs have lyrics that are poetic and actually have meaning. I love music because of the words and the spirit and the soul that the music can pass onto the listener. This is why I love DMB and Evanescence. One of my current faves is Kelly Clarkston. Her first cds were whatever the idol people made her do and this current one just seems like the music she wants to do. I love the mix of pop and punk, but more importantly the words in some of her songs. In her words: "I've had some pretty crappy people and things happen to me, but I've learned something from each one of those crappy things." One song in particular really spoke to me and I can relate to it's words:

Because Of You

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I will not break, the way you did, you fell so hard
I’ve learned the hard way to never let it get that far

(chorus)
Because of you
I never strayed to far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt
Because of you I find it hard to find it hard to trust, not only me,
but everyone around me, Because of you, I am afraid

I lose my way, and its not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry, because I know that’s weakness in your eyes
I’m forced to fake a smile, a laugh, every day of my life
My heart can’t possibly break, when it wasn’t even whole to start with

(chorus)

I watched you die, I heard you cry, every night in your sleep.
I was so young, you should have known better than to lean on me.
You never thought of anyone else you just saw your pain.
And now I cry in the middle of the night, doin the same damn thing

(chorus, but slightly different)
Because of you I never strayed to far from the sidewalk
Because of you I learned to play on the safe side so I don’t get hurt
Because of you I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you I don’t know how to let anyone else in

Because of you I’m ashamed of my life, because its empty
Because of you, I am afraid

Because of you…

Because of you…

In her words on her website: "I've had some pretty crappy people and things happen to me, but I've learned something from each one of those crappy things."

Hey, these are Southwestern Toppings!!!

I'm in Tucson on TDY for the next couple of days working on yet another helicopter loader. I give Tucson credit: this place is really beautiful. It's one of the few times I wish I had a small camera phone or something like that to take pictures with. Even the view out of my room is nice. Mountains and scrub and empty land as far as the eye can see. It's even better than Phoenix, at least the parts of Phoenix I am used to (too much smog there hides some of the really great views).

It is so empty that the Pentagon parks all the moth balled aircraft of the Air Force and Navy at an air base here. I actually went and visited it today for kicks. It's surreal. You almost get that weird feeling you get whenever you enter a graveyard. Here's a picture I found that does it pretty good justice:

Must be a Slow news day

You know it is a slow news day when Bushes hire first woman as White House head chef is a AP headline... Sigh...

I don't care. I DON'T CARE! Seriously, this is the sort of headline I would expect the Onion to post. What's next? "President names first gay hispanic as the janitor of the White House"?

Ramblings of Eric: Part 7 - Current Beliefs

Now that I have waited long enough to ensure that you have all forgotten the contents of my last rambling post, it's time to delve into some REALLY personal stuff. First up: disclaimers.

- The views in this blog are mine. They don't necessarily reflect what Sue or anyone else for that matter believes. They are mine and mine alone.

- I'm not trying to convince anyone that my beliefs are right. That would be a ridiculous waste of all our times.

- If you are just going to post some sort of comment about how my beliefs are wrong because such and such book says so, save us all some time, go away, and get a life while you are at it.

OK, lets start with the big thing right up front: I do think there is some higher power. Some thing beyond just you and me. Don't ask me who or what or where. Just...some thing. But that is about as far as I am willing to commit to right now. I often wonder what it must be like to be so FUCKING sure that your religion is right. My brother (and my parents and grandparents ) would tell you that they are Missouri Synod Lutheran (what I grew up with). Not just Christian. Not even just "Lutheran". I can't figure out whether the Hindus or Buddhists or the whatever have it right, and yet my family members are 100% sure that their particular little sect has it 100% correct. It just pisses me off. I WANT to be that sure. It would so much easier to not question it. Just go with the flow.

But I can't. I just can't anymore. I've learned too much. I've seen too much history of people doing horrible, unspeakable things in the name of religion to be able to just blindly say that the Bible (or whatever spiritual text you are interested in) is 100% accurate. Even my brother would admit that the earliest copy we have is at least 200 AD or so.

How ARE they so sure? What I hate even more than the fact that they (not just my family. I mean the conservative right in general) are so sure is that they confuse my unwillingness to commit to their particular belief to be the equivalent of me saying that they are wrong. I'm not saying they are wrong. If you believe in the Christian God, I 100% support your right and your desire to do so. Just don't make me commit to it. I'm not there. I'm not ready. I've been there, seen it, and said to myself that I'm not sure. There it is again. That FUCKING confusion that permeates everything about this topic.

I've rambled enough for now. I actually feel worse after spilling this one out. Less sure of myself. Fuck it. I'm going to bed.

I want to blog...

Sue has been mad crazy with posting, and I am feeling left out. So I thought I would write about...some thing. Sadly, I got nothing today. No news to mock. No movies that I have seen that I would recommend. Nothing.

Anyone have any ideas for posts? I've got 42 cents that I will share with someone who comes up with something for me to blog about (why 42? Because I thought, (1) no one would help me for a measly 41 cents, and (2) its the secret to the life, the universe, and everything).

Eric's sugar daddy days are numbered...

I am employed!! I start at the end of August! I accepted a position at the big hospital down here (Huntsville people know what I mean) in the Respiratory unit. It is a good place to get my start and I know that the doctors are nice and laid back. It makes me less nervous! Just wanted to let everyone know!

Another couple off the market

Congratulations Paul and Sue!!

Eric and I are home again after flying off to NY last Wednesday for the SuePaul wedding extravaganza! We had tons of fun and we are so glad that we were able to share that special day with two of our greatest friends. Their ceremony was unique and very special and I enjoyed it immensely. It is nice to see a wedding that is different from all of the usual boring stuff. Their ceremony really showed the love they shared ;)

Eric and I are very tired since our flights were severely screwed up (damn Atlanta airport!) and we did not get back to our house until 1:30 am this morning. Eric had work and I had an interview so we had to wake up early this morning. After already being sleep deprived due to tons of partying this weekend, this morning was rough. I hate Delta airlines since they use Atlanta airport as their hub and I am going to try really hard to avoid them from now on. Every flight I have gone on or that my family has gone on has been delayed in Atlanta airport. They suck at it! UGH! Anywho, I think a nap is calling and my brain is not ready to think and write any more!

As a side note, I finished the 6th Harry Potter book during our flights this weekend and if any of you out there have done the same email or call me since I need to discuss the end of this book with someone!!! What a suprise and emotional ending!! I will not spoil the end to anyone so call me if you finished it!!

Love and Marriage

In honor of two of our good friends upcoming marriage this Friday, we will post some song lyrics, poems and what not, related to love. The first is Bryan Adams, "Have you ever really loved a woman?" I love the words to this song. I just got his best of cd and I am not afraid to say that I love Bryan Adams! I just wish that love songs were not "out" in this day and age...

Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? Bryan Adams

To really love a womanTo understand her - you gotta know her deep inside
Hear every thought - see every dream
N' give her wings - when she wants to fly
Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms
Ya know ya really love a woman
When you love a woman you tell her
that she's really wanted
When you love a woman you tell her that she's the one
Cuz she needs somebody to tell her that it's gonna last forever
So tell me have you ever really - really really ever loved a woman?
To really love a woman
Let her hold you -
til ya know how she needs to be touched
You've gotta breathe her - really taste her
Til you can feel her in your blood
N' when you can see your unborn children in her eyes
Ya know ya really love a woman
When you love a woman you tell her
that she's really wanted
When you love a woman you tell her that she's the one
Cuz she needs somebody to tell her
that you'll always be together
So tell me have you ever really -
really really ever loved a woman?
You got to give her some faith - hold her tight
A little tenderness - gotta treat her right
She will be there for you, takin' good care of you
Ya really gotta love your woman...
Then when you find yourself lyin' helpless in her arms
Ya know ya really love a woman
When you love a woman you tell her
that she's really wanted
When you love a woman you tell her that she's the one
Cuz she needs somebody to tell herthat it's gonna last forever
So tell me have you ever really -
really really ever loved a woman?
Just tell me have you ever really,
really, really, ever loved a woman?
Just tell me have you ever really,
really, really, ever loved a woman?

Great movie

I had to blog about the movie "Must love dogs". Eric and I went to see it this past weekend and it was great. It has Diane Lane and John Cusak as the lead characters. It was a very funny movie that makes fun of the current fad of online dating. John Cusak is funny as always in this movie and so is Diane Lane. Diane Lane plays a divorced women who is trying to get into the dating game again and John Cusak plays a divorced man that answers her online ad. I do not think Diane Lane would really have any trouble finding a date since she is gorgeous.


I was sad to see that the reviewers did not give it a good movie review, but I never listen to them anyway. This really was a great movie and I hope you get a chance to see it.

Congratulations Are In Order

Susanne Marie Wilson is now offically licenced to practice nursing in the state of Alabama:) She finally got the results of her licencing exam today, and although I know she would be too modest to post on the blog about how very proud she is of herself, I wanted to go on public record and tell everyone that I am VERY VERY proud of her. Way to go Sue! It's time to celebrate!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to Sue.

Let the spankings commence! (27 this year)

Ramblings of Eric: Part 6 - Early Teachings

So it's not late at night and I haven't had a blowjob today (damn it), but I'm still going to pour some ramblings out of my head. Just as fair warning: There is nothing humorous in this post. I'm not kidding. If you are in a particularly good mood, wander away and read it later. It's actually just boring (but important) memories from my childhood. It will (hopefully) lead into another post I am writing about my current beliefs in a higher being(s). You have been warned.

You would not know it today, but I was raised in a fairly conservative and religious household. My mother and my brother regularly attended church. I went to Sunday School from the age of 5 until 6^th grade, got confirmed (which was a very big deal for my family. At least as big as when I graduated high school), then continued going to church pretty religiously (pun intended) until I went off to college. I attended Church lock-ins and went to church camp (which I can attest is nothing like band camp) twice as a kid. My middle brother Steve went to college at a private Lutheran college and studied to be a pastor for quite a while (he now works as the youth leader for a larger church in Ohio).

The funny thing about Sunday school is that I still remember some very odd things about the people and events that surrounded that part of my life. I remember memorizing the ten commandments around 2^nd or 3^rd grade. There is no way I understood what adultery was at the age of 9, but I could recite the 7^th commandment then without real thought. I noticed this latter on in life when I went to church also. Most of time, I was repeating things like the Lord's Prayer without even thinking about the words that I was reciting.

My point is that I was taught this stuff pretty early on and that I more or less accepted it until around my freshman year in college. I say more or less because I had a year or so in sophomore year of high school where I was really not so sure anymore. I just started delving into my ideas about free will, and I was having real trouble combining the Christian message that God is omnipotent with the idea that I have real choices. What really set me off on this little rebellion was oddly enough a trip with my church group to work with Habitat for Humanity.

The group we worked with had two type of volunteers. Temporary volunteers like me and my group came up for a week of work. We were lead by longer term volunteers that worked for an entire summer. Anyways, one of these longer term volunteers turned out to be gay (dun dun dun!) Not flaming homosexual; it's not like he told anyone explicitly, but somehow my youth leader guessed at it. I came upon them having a somewhat heated but muted argument. I remember asking her what that was about. I've never forgotten my youth leader telling me that despite his obvious acceptance of God and all the good work he was doing, he was not going to heaven because of his "decision" to be gay.

That has always stuck with me. Even at 15, I knew that something about that statement did not gel with my idea of what it took to get into heaven. But after a few months of thinking about all of these issues, I just sort of fell back into the fold (although even here I was defending evolution and questioning the whole God knows everything tenets).

That's just one of my more pronouced memories. Another one I remember quite vividly was at a local camp doing our annual youth planning retreat with my then soon to be girlfriend Melony. She had just started coming to our church and I had met her through a mutual friend. I was up one night very late with her and my youth leader and we were talking about her conversion. I remember her crying because she had just realized that the fact her conversion saving her and allowing her into heaven meant that her grandmother, who was not a Christian, would not be there when she eventually died. This is the part I will never forget: My youth leader telling her that that was correct without any real compassion. Me, I was really torn up for this girl and I remember being really angry with God for putting her through this sort of thing. It was an issue that I had never considered because both my grandparents and family were religious as far back as I can remember.

Then of course there was the fact that the pastor who confirmed me was thrown out shortly after I left for college. Apparently he had been giving comfort to some of the ladies of the congregation in the biblical sense of that term. If that wasn't bad enough, he was also married at the time...whoops.

There are probably 100 other memories I could delve into, but these are the ones that really stick to me. This post is already way to long. If you even made it this far, you are probably angry about the fact that you drove all this way for absolutely no point. But I promise I have another post coming about what I believe now about all this reglious stuff. This one is mostly back story.