1 year, 8 months

So the wall of boxes have disappeared...more to come of it on Monday.

Wall of boxes

Some of you know what I'm referring to, and others will learn of the whole deal...in due time.

PS. the picture has nothing to do with it.

Water-Front property

So the rains were predicted to fall yesterday and pretty much this entire weekend...due to that tropical storm that decided to come onto land. Over at Brent's house last night, it wasn't bad getting there, only a little water on the road. After a few more people showed up, the rain came down a little harder, and then the floods came. Abilene, not known for its underground drainage system(lacking one altogether), become the essence of chaos from water.

Brent now had riverfront property. A nice 10 mph current of water passed in front of his house now and things were pretty funny. Mind you this wasn't the normal draining of water. It was a few feet deep. I really wanted to float down the road too. And, the dare to try and cross the street on a bicycle was a little extreme considering the fast moving water. You guys just wanted to watch me drown, maybe!

Corporate blah blah

The picture to the right explains this week...so yea...

So over the past couple of days I've been working on something(solution forum for imaging engineers) for the company I work for to use and to make things more efficient. The company has apparently promised this to its engineers in the past but has never "got around" to it. The "thing" they have set up now works, but is very outdated, ugly, very cluttered with other department's problems, and most importantly...is extremely unorganized. Over the years, I've been told by every employer at every job to think creatively and bring ideas up to the company to try out. So what did I do, I created the forum(online discussion board usually for specific subjects that has secure login, especially for sensitive or private postings) in a matter of an hour or so. I tested it out with various dummy accounts, and made it to where only company employees can access. It is organized, each person's account has contact information, an area that they can post their specific equipment strengths in, and most importantly, everything is categorized by equipment and OEM. WOW...but...

...It wasn't even 3 hours after the project was online and working that I received a two "bashing" emails from two people(non engineers) about how what I was doing was bad or wrong...mind you they had no clue what was going on and had not even checked out the forum themselves. I think they felt a little threatened because I do not work in the information systems department and am not supposed to create stuff like this, even though it is that simple using the internet. If that wasn't enough, I was suspended from future postings about the new promised "idea," even though they promised this forum years ago. Will it work better than what they now? Yes. Do they know that? Apparently that doesn't matter to them. Creative thinking is looked on as good from what they say, but acting on those thoughts is bad. An even bigger slap to the face was the phone call from a person(who I know personally from school) back at the Charlotte office who thought the project was a "personal advertisement" thing(again, he was clueless of what was going on). Is this a personal thing? NO! It's work. Creating this was not fun. Overall, it shows me how bad the system works. People being in an industry for years and years doesn't prove they know the most efficient way to handle problem solving.

...and counting

So, this entire weekend was pretty relaxing. I did a little more research on the "housing" situation around here which led up 'til Saturday...which was a waste to begin with. I should've just slept in, but the day progressed, got to hang out with good friends, take in Rush Hour 3(which was just alright), and go for a long ride in a convertible on an extremely clear night.

Plus, playing the bass at church has been great, something I've missed since going to Gospel Light back home. Anyway, got a lot going on this week as far as planning goes, so...night!

Drivers are bad as it is!

from The Register(UK):

Nine out of ten Americans think that texting while driving is dangerous and should be banned, but over half admitted to indulging in the act behind the wheel. A survey carried out by Harris Interactive found that while 91 per cent of people surveyed said it was as dangerous as getting behind the wheel after a couple of drinks, 57 per cent said they had sent a message while driving. Despite 89 per cent of the respondents saying they would like to see the practice banned, more than 65 per cent said they had read texts or emails while on the move. The younger age group are more frequent offenders, with 64 per cent of those who text and drive in the 18 to 34 age group. Only six per cent were aged 55 and older. The survey, which was commissioned by mobile messaging service Pinger, came after the first ban on texting while driving was introduced in Washington state in May. New York, California, and Florida are said to be currently considering similar legislation. In Ireland, it has been an offense to use a mobile phone - whether it is texting or talking - behind the wheel since September last year. Offenders may find themselves slapped with two penalty points on their driving licence and a fine of €60. If the matter is brought to the courts, drivers run the risk of four penalty points and a maximum fine of €2,000.

I believe it's bad enough seeing someone swerve all over the road while driving just because they are so involved in their conversation, but actually seeing someone taking the time to tap-type or send out text messages is scary. People have died due to accidents caused by text-messaging...terrible!

Gallons & a puppy!

I believe I'll catch up on some Conan O'Brien today. It's been awhile. So over the next 7 days it's supposed to be 99 or higher...which is ridiculous. Meanwhile back in the homeland of North Carolina it's been over 100 for a couple days already, plus the humidity. I feel sorry for you guys.

On Monday, one of my friends, Brad, attempted the Gallon Challenge. The challenge is to drink an entire gallon of milk in one hour. The difference on Monday was that Brad claimed he could complete the gallon in half the time. I happened to get it all on video cause Brad wanted to be famous on YouTube(or JumpCut)...until he started drinking the entire gallon. So, here below you can watch what brad completed.

On top of that, here is another video I uploaded today of Abby attempting to catch her little pup, Tucker. He is quite fast despite the tiny legs. Check him out below and let me know what you think.

What flavors are missing?

In today's food world there are tons of new things coming out as "flavors," but aren't they missing some good ones or not combining some better ones? I'm suggesting a donut flavored ice cream, or jello. A fresh Krispy Kreme donut is hard to pass up, or a dozen of them. Brent & Mark, you guys were making it entirely too hard to not go out and find the "Fish Food" ice cream by Ben & Jerry's...after our long discussion about your Blue Bell obsession. It's either the Fish Food flavor(which has nothing to do with fish at all actually) or the one I can't think of with the fudge core down the middle of the carton. mmm!

So tonight after going to an outdoor wedding(there were chocolate covered strawberries there), I got to see The Bourne Ultimatum...awesome dang movie! It definitely finishes out the story nicely. Even though I haven't read all four books to compare between the two, it's a no-brainer to watch it.