One thing that surprised me somewhat when I moved out here was that there are several, what I would call creeks or streams, all over the place. They call them runs. I guess that is short for run off?
They also had streets like Holmes Run Road which went parallel to Holmes Run.
Yesterday, I finally understood why they called the Civil War battle, the Battle of Bull Run. What was there a bunch of cattle in the way?
We went to the Manassas battlefield. It was a very nice day out and got some good historical references.
After touring the grounds of "StoneWall" Jackson's stand, we went to Logan's Roadhouse. A favorite of my sisters. I thought it was South of Woodbridge. Well, there is one way down in Fredericksburg.
I have been trying to go to the Cheesecake factory for months. OK, I could have taken the metro to one, but why go by myself if I don't have to?
Tried asking out a bunch of people, I even started to pressure some chick to do a group thing. It was her idea. When she did not want to go with just me, she suggested she would get a group thing....
I hate group things. Well, mostly organizing them. Just like firm commitments.
Anyway the group that actually showed up was great.
This commercial asked the question if the viewer remembered the Milk Man. We had this little silver box out front of the house. I forget what day they came by, but there was a few times I had to rush home to grab it just in case the neighbor took it? I actually do not remember why. Probably before too long being out in the warm weather.
There was this ice cresm truck too. I think that was for our neighbor. This big yellow Swchan truck would always come by the neighborhood.
During the really hot summer days, this ice cream truck would drive around. I think a few times I got money to buy something.
For many years growing up, there was this Chicken man who would take our pictures. Family pictures, school pictures, etc.
He had this chicken toy or stuffed animal, and he would hit himself with it... to get laughs. He had a funny high pitched voice.
"Don't hit me chicken."
That was kind of weird. I just had another weird coincidence things.
I was going over my Netflix queue when I noticed a movie I bought. I should remove that from the queue, I thought. It was a pretty strange film. I let a friend borrow it when she was sick. When I got it back, I almost got sick, it was a dumb movie.
About an hour later, the Internet Explorer window to my queue was closed. I noticed my cell phone light up. I thought it was restarting again, but it was a voice message indication. I started to wonder if it was this same friend... it was! And she sounded sick again.
The CEO or whatever he is, dropped off a couple Nationals tickets in the developers lounge as it is called. The tickets were for this afternoon's game.
I took them, because no one else could go. I thought I could find others to go, but I did not. I did not sit in my assigned spot and I actually liked the game when I sat really close.
Anyway, this guy was handing out books as people filed into the stadium. Most people would not take them, but I figured it was alright. I think some thought it was some religious thing because some wacko was handing out this "Jews for Jesus" pamphlet...
Well, I did not find the book on Amazon -- which was not a surprise. It looked like it was published fairly cheaply. I Googled it up and eventually found this historical site for Maryland.
The book?
NEW!!!
Winner: Baseball Returns to Washington by Bill Offutt. Dedicated to the memory of the late John R. Tunis author of teen sports novels (The Kid from Tompkinsville), this work by local historian Bill Offutt is the "story of one man's attempt to redeem himself of the first season of a struggling baseball team in our Nation's Capital." $5.95, 2005, softcover.
Cool. I might read it. I have so much I want to read already. Too bad there is no fast forward? Chapter skipping works!
When I was at the U, I liked to go into the computer lab in the Physics building. Not that those computers were all that great, but they were always available. The computers in the CS department were always full. (Of course!)
But the really cool thing with Unix was that I could telnet over to the CS lab, reroute the display to my screen in the building across campus, and use the power of the servers without having to fight for a spot in the crowded labs... there are stories about that too.
I was not the only one who did this I am sure. If you typed who, if I remember correctly, it would display all the users "on that machine". There were almost always three or four people logged onto one machine.
I used to work with some die hard Linux guy. I knew enough to shut down his computer one night. He was running some long calculation, I "hacked' into his unoccupied computer and killed all the processes with one command! Then I blamed it on a power failure.
Anyway, he argued more than once that Microsoft Operating Systems stank because you could not remote login to another machine without some third party tool. Well, that tool now ships with Windows and honestly, I think it is very awesome. Yeah, it has been years since I learned to use Remote Desktop, but it never ceases to amaze me.
This site is like Swiss cheese. So are my thoughts. If you think it is hard to follow what I write, try stepping in to my head. OK, don't. I'm not ready for that.
I thought I did a post on some computer thing. I did a quick search, I found nothing. Well, I found something without a link that I would have liked to click on. I did not find the post I thought was there. And the closest match was very weak, it was in a comment.
So, I shall post it again. I swear I already did.
In the moive SpaceBalls, John Candy plays this half man, half dog creature called a Maog. He says he is his own best friend. A joke on the phrase "a dog is a man's best friend".
I was asked (again) if I was an Extrovert or an Introvert? Again I had to look up what that meant. I found this quiz. These were my results:
You Are 20% Extrovert, 80% IntrovertYou are quite reserved
You aren't afraid of social situations...
But you very much prefer to go it alone
And why not? You're your own best friend!
My own best friend? That kind of bothers me. I don't prefer to go anywhere alone (with exceptions of course). I guess most of the time. I only go into the District when I can go with someone else or when I get tired of doing nothing. To get to things not accessible by public transportation, I have to deal with others.... I spend too much time waiting!
What is the deal with DEA? They employ idiots who shoot themselves in the foot. See video. Then he sues the agency, well no further comments on that guy.
I was walking around the other night and found the DEA museum. There was some security guy hanging outside the building so I asked him about the place. He told me it was open on Saturday among other things.
This lousy rain caused all my plans to be cancelled yesterday. Why can't it rain on a week day? Anyway, I decided to go to the museum. I even dragged a friend along... It is closed on Saturday! Should have looked up the info, I mean the DEA employs all kinds?
Who ever goes to that museum anyway? It's not in the District, it has short week day hours. It's like they don't want visitors. I'll have to sneak up during the week and see if this guy who shot himself is supposed to be the poster child for the Agency. No wonder this so called war on drugs will never end. (Or was it premeditated? It's job security to keep the war going? It is easier just to sue though.)
Well, at least he didn't shoot a kid.
It was a very busy day. Around noon for some reason I was thinking it was later and that I had just come back from lunch. Why am I so hungry? I thought. Then I looked at the clock.
I had plans to go out tommorrow, but looks like that will be rained out. Was going to go North just for fun, but I think it will be better to relax somewhere else. Just wish I knew where that was.
I texted my sister if the girls (my neices) could come over and play. Too bad they live so far away now. Oh well.
There are a bunch of voting signs out right now. I thought they usually came out around Halloween. I remember going around with this punk neighbor kid and knocking some of them down. We also snagged a bowl of candy from a house when no one came to the door when we rang. Another house had a bowl outside with a sign, "Please take one."
One what? One bowl? OK. (We took that bowl too.)
Anyway, one of these signs had the name of an old co-worker. This guy would write my up all the time. I'm not sure he knew I could read his report on the intranet. Each time, I would go into his office and he would be really nice to me.. I'm sure each time I asked him what I could do better. I was an intern and did not really like Netware anyway.
I recently changed all my online passwords. I used this code to randomly create new passwords. I put the new passwords in a text file (I know very secure). I copied the file from my phone to my toy... Good thing too, my phone locked up and I can't get to the file!
I need something like this PasswordMinder. I've tried to install it twice... with no success. Lousy Kieth, the security guru. (kidding)
I should write my own. I'll have some online repository that I can download my decryption application, enter my password, point to the repository, and get my passwords! Or I could use one of the many I found on CodeProject.com but writing my own would be fun.
I thought the conversation was rather funny that I had the other day. Only developers would talk like the following, and understand it too.
In VB.Net there is a new namespace called My. It is a high level shortcut to the .Net framework. See the MSDN article for more information.
"Is there an equivalent to My in C#?" I was asked.
"Not that I know of." I responded.
"Isn't this like My?"
"No, this is like Me."
The this keyword refers to the current instance of the class. If you want to use My in C#, read the article.
There is someone I know who seems to always want to catch up with old friends. Not sure if she ever really gets around to doing so. I have pretty much learned to ignore her seemingly empty promises.
When I come across and old acquaintance, usually a good "What's up?" or "Hey" or even a simple nod is good enough. If they really care about me, they'd call or email me or read my blog to get some idea of what is going on.
In school I think there were about 2 or 3 people I was friends with after the semester ended. I'm sure I made little effort at times to keep in touch. So, it was mutual?
I noticed my RSS feed would not update. This is just a test to see if it will delete the last two posts.
Believe it or not, I have watched some UFC pay-per-view shows in the past few months. It was strictly for social reasons.
A couple days ago I went somewhere to be educated on some Uganda thing. I got ridiculed about not knowing Rosa Parks so I figured it would not hurt. I kind of like the lady who advertised the documentary although I don't get the time of day from here either.
Well, as with almost everything she passionately gets involved with, I almost wish I did not know about it.... I just want to live my "happy" little life and not get depressed that there is all this bad stuff going on.
It is getting hot here, but I saw Ice Age 2. I was expecting dumb, and I got it. By that criteria, it was good?
I remember some strange guy was telling me the first movie was about gays. I thought the guy was pretty queer himself, but I'm sure he is straight.
I was thinking about that while watching the second one. I don't know, I think people can "read" things in to any show. Like some Disney cartoons.
I have four -- well three at the moment -- male roommates. We hang out some times. Does that make us gay?
I would trade any or all of them for a wife!
Sweet!!! It is about time! The site has been there for months, but of course it just reflected the main Google page.
Not yet supported on IE 7 beta 2, but I can get most of the functionality. Oh well, one day it will work without bugs.
Am I just gullible or what? Up until yesterday, I honestly thought S. Morgenstern really existed and wrote the book from which the story The Princess Bride was taken from. It didn't help to have some girl in Junior High tell me she had the S. Morgenstern book.
Well, S. Morgenstern or should I say William Goldman, did publish a book called The Silent Gondoliers (about why the gondoliers of Venice no longer sing to their passengers).
During my turn at being the judge in Apples to Apples, the word was "visionary". My first reaction was to pick the Bill Gates card and throw the rest out without looking at them. But to be fair, I sorted through them.
I got ridiculed when I threw out the Rosa Parks card. Worse I admitted I did not know who she was. Even worse was when I said I did not really care.
If I got off work because of a Rosa Parks holiday then maybe I might have known of her almost haphazard bus stand. Didn't sound premeditated. Sounded as if she was just at the "right" place at the right time. If it wasn't her, it might have easily been someone else.
But in her defence, she was very active in Civil Rights prior to the bus incident I am told. And wikipedia confirms it.
I'd still pick the Gates card.
I recently picked up this 10+ pound book my Mother compiled about my grandparents. It is pretty neat.
This book is 400+ pages long. Mostly containing letters my grandpa wrote to his family while he did government plumbing work in Guam after WWII. Grandma and the kids finally caught up to him after the youngest was born...
There are some neat pictures and what not. A great keep sake. I had to add my Mom's last name and date (year) so that anyone who reads it years from now can look up who compiled the book.
I take credit in helping my Mom setup her scanner, file naming conventions, and folders on her computer. It took her a couple years to compile it.
I wonder who bound the book. Kind of looks like the same people who my sister uses to create her yearly books of pictures.
I was asked why I was not getting involved with all this Immigration stuff going on. I barely know it is being talked about.
There was once a need for immigration. I'm really not sure there is now.
My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. and they learned English dang it! They did not give up their Norwegian heritage.
Maybe I should look up what is going on. I was also asked why I wasn't out there protesting... My voice needs to be heard? I think some people who want to get the attention of the government should be shot. Like the guy who jumped the fence to the White house.
I was asked who reads my dribble. I pity the man who tries to understand. Most of the time I leave cryptic notes for my own future reference. Sometimes even I can't remember the meaning, but maybe I will understand it when I need to. That is the hope anyway, and for the most part it works very well.
Thanks for reading!
In some countries, Easter lasts two days, with the second called "Easter Monday". The week beginning with Easter Sunday is called Easter Week or the Octave of Easter, and each day is prefaced with 'Easter', e.g. Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. Easter Saturday is therefore the Saturday after Easter Sunday. The day before Easter is properly called Holy Saturday.
Last night I was invited to a game night. It seemed rather cliquish and I would not have caved in to extending the invite to the "pretty boy" had I known they knew each other. Oh well, it was good information.
The whole day was very odd. I wasn't thinking that morning and managed ti get to Church late among other things.
I guess I was 6 for 8 on the planned events for the weekend. (Including Friday.) What to do this weekend? I hope to go to the Mannassas batlefield.
Of course it rained yesterday and today it looks nice out. Anyway, I went to the Eastern Market with a bunch of great women. Travis was supposed to join us, but?
Almost got in a fight with some old lady. I ignored her comments that I almost knocked her over... I said excuse me like a hundred times!
Then i sat around after going to the store in the rain. I was so ready to get out of the house. My boat trip was canceled.
In the evening I donned on my PJ's and went to a party. There was more than plenty breakfast dishes. I kind of wanted to leave earlier and go to this other party... just to make an appearance, but I stayed and was able to talk to the host.
I went with a nice lady to this play. We arrived late, but just barely. I thought I had seen it before at Hale theatre... I have seen a lot of great plays there. Too bad I can't remember them by name.
The one actor said his line about what he should have said to his wife before she left him. "Don't go!" That jogged my memory and I could recall mostly how the show ended.
Another phrase that struck me and have thought of it many times since I first saw the play, was Lizzy's comment on her desire just to say the word husband. Strange how phrases stick with you over the years.
The final phrase was "You're pretty." I remember that became some sort of family joke. Well, I can recall my Dad saying it to my sister. She would play along, close her eyes and say "I'm pretty."
I'm glad I got free tickets. It is usually around $50 a ticket! I think that is why I went to the theatre so often... it was very inexpensive. The stage at Hale wasn't as nice as the Arena Stage.
I hope not. I doubt it.
I got all dressed up nice because I was teased with the idea about talking to some customers. Well, it did not happen. Nor was I informed of a change.
Complaining about the little things doesn't accomplish much. Nor does it matter I think I did something cool. Working for the man stinks. I need to be the man...
Once out of here, I got Pizza coming thanks to a roommate. I got free tickets to a play tonight at the Arena Stage in DC. I also "lucked out" by getting someone to go with. After asking a billion people, it is not really luck.
Tomorrow the breakfast at Eastern Market, the river boat tour thing, and the whole afternoon might get rained out. Well, that is what the weather report says. Then that night I got a pajama party! I'm actually excited to go this... I was tempted to go buff with just a sheet. Agh!!!
Sunday is always Church. I got an invite to a game night. I tried to crash in on the last one. I heard about it and thought I'd stop in but could not get in the building... when I called they did not know I was right outside. Nor did i tell them.
Then, I'll be back here. It's been a productive week! Time to relax though!
Cheers!
I'll have to get over the fact that everyone is canceling on the Disney Cruise.
I walked in on a Mummy movie. I didn't know it was the second one which I knew I did not like already. I started to go off on what I heard from the History Channel. Egyptian history can be very interesting. I'd like to go to Egypt.
It looked too much like Star Wars episode II. I mean with all the CG work, it just made it too unrealistic. That was probably the point. I just don't feel for the cast when the scene is too fake. They are obviously not in any real danager.
I was also disappointed that the movie was only loosely based on the real Imhotep and the Scorpion King.
I did not find that much info on Wikipedia. Google searches found a bunch more stuff. Just not the same as the History Channel special. Oh well.
I'm not sure why I never went to Jones Point before tonight. I got a brief private tour until the rain came out of nowhere and forced us to run for shelter.
Got stuff to do during the day tomorrow and for some time. Should be really good.
Got the cold shoulder, but it was really not unexpected. It was more of a shock she was so nice last week...
I added Jaelen to wikipedia. See link.
See also the search results on my site.
Friday I helped label some cans. I think I have done most of everything at the cannery.
Saturday I called for a ride. My roommates are out of town.... Almost all of them. The one still here is with his girl... I have to call for rides or be stuck here!
I'm probably going to call someone this morning just so I get out do something. It is a nice day out, should go and play. Everyone I know is probably watching conference.