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And another year rolls past …

Well, the year of the Mayan apocalypse is upon us. No, I don’t actually believe that human civilization will cease a year from now, though societal collapse is an interesting thing to horrify oneself with.

No, for me, it’s just another year really. Brittany’s scholastic en devours toward veterinary medicine continue, and I’m still plodding along in the land of UNIX engineers. SSDD, as they say. This year is going to be different though, because it has to be.

My cliche New Years resolution is this – to stop working 24 hours/day and actually enjoy the living that I spend so much of my life working for. This will not be easy for me to do as I’m a pretty classic work-a-holic, and have been for as long as I can remember, but this has to stop.

I’m hoping that posting this openly in the tiny bit of the internet space that I command will help hold me to the commitment, and help me reach the goal.

The goal – before you ask – is to have an 8 hour work day with a real, scheduled break for lunch and semi-rigid hours that end early enough to enjoy dinner with the family like a normal person. Time before work for routine exercise of any sort is a requirement as well. I’ve been pondering this for some time now, and I think that getting my workday under control I will be able to facilitate the other changes in my daily routine that I so desperately need.

Working at home sounds great if you’ve never done it before, but it’s really easy to lose all structure to the day and really mess yourself up.

So – time for change! I’m going to start taking better care of myself and you should all do the same. I know I have a lot of years left in me (random accidents permitting), but 2011 went by so fast… You have to slow down and notice life as often as you can.

Oh – And Ron Paul 2012!

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http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=7848683

Man boards plane at IAH with loaded gun in carry-on
Friday, December 17, 2010
Kevin Quinn

HOUSTON (KTRK) — TSA checkpoints at airports are at the front lines of preventing terrorism. When you go through security, you expect to be scanned and searched. And you expect TSA to prevent contraband from getting on planes, but as we’ve learned, that doesn’t always happen.

Houston businessman Farid Seif says it was a startling discovery. He didn’t intend to bring a loaded gun on a flight out of Houston and can’t understand how TSA screeners didn’t catch it.

Nearing the height of last year’s Christmas travel season, TSA screeners at Bush Intercontinental Airport somehow missed a loaded pistol, one that was tucked away inside a carry-on computer bag.

“I mean, this is not a small gun,” Seif said. “It’s a .40 caliber gun.”

Seif says it was an accident which he didn’t realize until he arrived at his destination. He says he carries the glock for protection but forgot to remove it from his bag. He reported the incident as soon as he landed, shocked at the security lapse.

“There’s nothing else in there. How can you miss it? You cannot miss it,” Seif said.

Authorities tell ABC News the incident is not uncommon, but how often it occurs is a closely guarded government secret. Experts say every year since the September 11 attacks, federal agencies have conducted random, covert tests of airport security.

A person briefed on the latest tests tells ABC News the failure rate approaches 70 percent at some major airports. Two weeks ago, TSA’s new director said every test gun, bomb part or knife got past screeners at some airports.

“It’s very concerning. I’m very scared. First of al, I can’t even believe it could happen,” traveler Joy Mansfield said.

“It makes you wonder what exactly all the security hoopla is all about if a loaded gun can go through,” traveler Leeza Erfesoglou said.

KTRK’s Aviation Security Expert Jim Conway says screeners have a demanding job and are susceptible to fatigue, staring for hours at monitors while looking for prohibited items.

“Look, this is simply human error,” Conway said. “When something like this happens, it’s human error. I mean, these folks are doing the best job they can.”

Seif and others say that’s not good enough, not when lives are on the line.

A representative for the Houston Airport System would not comment on the security breach at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

A TSA spokesperson says the agency has conducted an investigation, saying remedial training was provided to the security officers involved in the incident. Advanced imaging technology and more stringent pat downs have also since been implemented.

(Copyright ©2010 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Full body scanners that destroy DNA, pat-down searches that border on groping and restrictions on opened bottles of water, but a .40S&W Glock breezes right through? And a 70% failure rate with guns, knives and bomb parts?

Gosh … I sure feel safer because TSA is on the job.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
~ Benjamin Franklin

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I just wanted to say that if you didn’t get a gift from me, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like you.

I am not one of those people that have to buy something for everyone whether they want it or not. The few gifts that I did give were things that people had specifically said they wanted, but where unable to acquire on their own.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Hug your loved ones. That’s all that really matters anyway.

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Ingredients:

2 cups of water – 110F
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups white flour

Instructions:

1. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water in a large mixing bowl. The water temperature is important – hot enough to dissolve the sugar, but not so hot that it kills the yeast.
2. Add yeast to sugar water and allow to proof. The yeast should turn the sugar water foamy. 10 minutes is usually sufficient.
3. Add salt and oil to the mixture
4. Stir in flour one cup at a time to make dough. This step is much easier if you use a mixing machine with bread hooks.
5. After all of the flour is mixed in, remove the dough from the bowl and lightly grease the bowl with a thin film of crisco or vegetable oil, replace the dough ball and turn it one to coat the entire surface.
6. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.
7. Punch the dough down and knead for a few minutes.
8. Divide the dough into two loaves and place in greased 9″x5″ loaf pans.
9. Allow the loaves to rise for 30 minutes.
10. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
11. Allow to cool a bit, slice and enjoy.

If you don’t like whole wheat you can white flour for all 6 cups of flour, but whole wheat is better for you. I haven’t tried this with 6 cups of whole wheat, but I suspect that that would be a bit heavy.

Bread made with all white flour. Sorry - no pic of the wheat version.

Yum!

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… something happens that defies ALL logic.

I have absolutely NO IDEA how to respond to what I found in my inbox today.

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Today sucked like a day hasn’t sucked in a LONG time, and the best part is, it’s not over yet. Hooray for late night work after a total debacle at the datacenter that everyone loves to hate.

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http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2010/08/all-survival-information-youll-ever.html

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I’ve been shopping for a diesel powered pickup for a couple of months now and have come to the conclusion that people that buy new trucks are retards.

What do I mean? Well, two things.

1) A new 4×4 diesel pickup will run into the $50,000 range. That’s half a house.
2) It seems from the used truck market that 95% of people that buy new 4×4 super duty trucks buy them to compensate for a small penis.

Allow me to elaborate …

The overwhelming majority of pickup trucks that I have found on the used market are 4×4, diesel powered, crew cab (that means they have a useful back seat) and … a SHORT BED!?!?!??

There are two types of pickup beds – long and short. Long beds are built to accommodate 4×8 sheets of plywood, sheetrock, and virtually EVERYTHING ELSE in the construction world, while still being able to close the bed.

Short beds are less than 7 feet long and aren’t good for much of anything other than driving around and hauling small things. They’re not suitable for pulling a fifth wheel trailer (one of the reasons I’m shopping for one), hauling building materials, or really anything else. I did see a commercial for GMC that showed a SWB pickup with a round bail of hay in the bed. Yay. I guess they can do that.

So, in short, who orders a $50,000+ pickup truck and neuters it before they even get it by putting a toy bed on it? That’s rhetorical of course, but the answer is stupid people.

*&@!#$%*

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I found this site this morning by accident. Good reading.

http://www.dailyprepper.com/

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