All right boys and girls. The trip to Salt Lake is drawing closer by the day. I'm looking for your input for some entertainment while I'm in town. I'm planning to ensure that we have configured and tested servers for both UT2004 and ET:QW. DVDs with the required maps, patches, etc will be made available. I will also be bringing a few of my favorite MtG decks. I know that someone locally has quite a few Munchkin cards.

Dates and times are still open, the more the merrier. Let's start getting some plans ironed out.

Games so far:

PC Gaming
- UT2004 (patch 3369)
- ET:QW (v1.5)
Magic: The Gathering
Munchkin

Move 'em on, head 'em up,
Head 'em up, move 'em out,
Move 'em on, head 'em out!

As some of you already know. My house is going on the market next week. I've spoken with my boss about working remotely and he's open to the idea. So, once the house sells, I'll be packing everything I own up and moving back to Utah. Specific location is still undetermined. I'm currently considering most areas between Logan and Provo.

No idea yet on how quickly the house will sell. I'll keep everyone posted.

Alright boys and girls, I'm coming home for a while. I'll be in the SLC area from 11/22 - 12/7. But, I'm going to need a bit of help from all you SLC folks. I'll be up for pretty much anything except on a 29th. A friend of mine is getting married, so that day is already spoken for. Lodging arrangements have not yet been made.

If you're on my friends list, I want to know 36 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine... you're on my list, so I want to know you better!

Comment here and repost a blank one on your own journal.

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) What was your dream growing up?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) If I bought you a drink what would it be?
05) Favorite vegetable?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) What zodiac sign are you?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
11) What is your favorite sport?
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
14) Worst thing to ever happen to you?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you.
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Bottle or can soda?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
27) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
28) Do you believe in ghosts?
29) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
30) Do you swear a lot?
31) Biggest pet peeve?
32) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
33) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
34) Favourite and least favourite food?
35) Do you believe in God?
36) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?

Looking for one or more inexpensive 802.11g PCMCIA NICs. Decent Linux support is highly preferred...

Anyone else have a problem with the way the medical sector bills? Here we are in September of 2008. Yet what do I get in the mail yesterday? A bill for my wife who passed in April. The only dates on the bill are from August. So, I call their billing department and leave a message indicating the problem. This morning I get a call back and they explain that the bill I received yesterday was for appointments in March of '08 and November of '07. Mind you, this is a first bill, not some past due notice or previous balance. So, here we are at best 6 months out from the actual service, and at worst 10 months out. Short of having written each appointment down and keeping records for a year or longer who knows of the bill is even remotely correct.

I'm sorry, but if your billing is so screwed up that you can't go from service to putting an invoice in the customer's hands within 90 days, you've got serious problems.

Broke the news to the family today that I'm once again looking at selling the house. I've frankly over-extended myself quite a bit with this place. Monthly mortgage payments don't leave really anything for savings or emergency planning. As a result we live only day to day, paycheck to paycheck, with no end in sight for the foreseeable future. As I see it there are only two solutions. I can either dramatically increase my income, which is highly unlikely. Or, I can try to unload the house without losing everything in the process, this is much more likely. Worst case scenario, I file bankruptcy and it should eliminate the house (and the associated debt). At which point I'll probably need to look for a rental instead of purchasing, but would be in a much better financial position.

The family did not take the news well. Mom spent the morning crying, and I can tell that my sister is rather upset. I'm not sure the current living arrangements are viable long term. On one level I really don't mind my mother and sister living with me. However on the other, it's really a non-starting position to be dating from. How many women would truly be open to dating a guy that has both his mother and sister living with him, and has a kid on top of everything? Perhaps I'm being pessimistic about this, but I don't foresee there being many women lining up for that ordeal.

Yet, when I discuss the possibility that my mother and sister may need to find separate housing (which I'm fully willing to fund/subsidize) they seem to take this as a personal affront of some kind. At this point I really don't know what to do. I would just like to be truly happy again, but it seems this is a little too much to ask.

Edit: attempted to fix some piss poor grammar and typos.

Your Issue Profile: 56% Obama, 44% McCain

Truth be told, you're not really satisfied with either of the candidates. You could vote for either of them. You are the typical coveted swing voter. You may want to narrow yourself down to a particular set of issues in order to pick your president. Or start looking at third party candidates. One of them might suit you better.

Today was a little exhausting... keep in mind that I'm more of a mental worker and don't normally do much real physical exertion.

Helped a local friend unload and stack a truck bed and trailer full of wood. Then followed on my motorcycle some 35 miles or so to where he got the load and proceeded to reload the pickup and gather up the splitter they were using. Just as we were strapping down the splitter in the trailer, what do we hear? Yes boys and girls, thunder.

I'm so glad I splurged on my motorcycle gear and got the three-in-one jacket with removable insulator and waterproof liners. I'm also exceptionally glad that I put said removable portions in my motorcycle's side bag. I put the waterproof liner back in the coat before we left, very glad I did. About half way back, it did indeed start raining. This time, really wouldn't have noticed if not for the rain drops on the bike's windscreen. The jacket rocks.

But, that's not the best part. What did I find when I got home? At the house, it had hailed. I wasn't caught in the hail, thankfully. The stuff I found on the ground when we got home was the size of a nickel or larger. That would have seriously sucked on a bike.

So, all in all a good day. And I'm starting to acquire wood for the winter. Perhaps I can get half of what I need for the winter or more. That would be very nice.

As most of you know, we've been working on our basement. We recently gutted it and have been making preparations to get it ready for Owens Corning to work their magic on it.

One of the items we need to rectify is the fact that every time it rains significantly we take on some water in the basement. It's not a lot of water, it's more of a steady drip. Shortly after we moved in, I rigged up a bucket and float activated pump solution where the water was coming in. This appears to have largely worked. However, now with the basement refinishing approaching something more permanent is needed. So we've begun work on fixing it the "right way"™. This has involved packing the various conduit pipes coming through our basement walls with a water proof putty.

Everything seemed to be going fine, until this morning. Upon checking the progress I found there was water on the floor outside the bucket I'd rigged up. Further investigation revealed that the putty had done at least one of its jobs. That is, it was blocking the water. However, the water is now backing up the vertical pipe and into the bottom of the electrical box. Yay.

Pictures are up on flickr.

What is this need I feel? Why can't I stop thinking about a relationship? Someone to hold, someone to care about, someone to care about me. I need to let go of this need, stifle this desire.

It is time I got back to other things I've neglected in the past month or so. Hard to believe it's really been that long, but it has. One month of pouring everything I had into trying to get out and socialize, trying to make new contacts on Match.

From this, I seem to have made one new friend. I say seem, because I don't really know if I've hurt her, or not, by being completely honest with her. Only time will tell, but I certainly hope I have not.

A friend suggested that I start taking my camera around with me and simply snap photos of anything and everything that strikes my fancy. I like that idea. I'll have to give it a go. Hopefully the perpetual rain here will let up for a few days and let me get out on the bike. Then I'll take my camera with and see what happens.

I've only two weeks before classes start again. Work has begun to pick up as well. I really need to get my head together and get back into the swing of things. Perhaps an overload of work, school, and personal learning will shut out the rest. We shall see.

According to the pathology, they found nothing wrong with the mole they removed. So, all is fine.

Yesterday was my first outing/meeting/date with someone since katryel passed.

I've been chatting with her for some time on via Match's e-mail system and we've had a few fairly good (IMO) phone calls. It's hard for me to get to know someone that I may be romantically interested in via communication of a non-physically present nature. Sadly, my head tends to focus on the silences and churns about over all their possible negative meanings. It never focuses on the potential good or neutral causes, but instead looks for the negative causes. After all you don't need to concern yourself with silences from neutral or good causes as they are in fact non-issues. Thankfully, I've got wonderful friends that keep pointing out that I'm likely fretting over nothing.

So, back to last night. We agreed to meet for dinner at a local restaurant (Longhorn Steakhouse). I made sure to arrive a little early in case they had a wait time for seating. A short while later, she arrived. As I recall, she wore a very nice blue and white dress with a silver necklace and matching hoop earrings. In retrospect I probably should have complimented her on the outfit, but I was more than a bit nervous at the beginning. However, I think we fairly easily fell into back and forth conversation learning more and more about each other.

In order to adequately answer some of the questions she asked it became necessary to tell her about Rachel (katryel), and her passing. Not exactly wonderful conversation on my behalf for a first meeting/date. However, I really must say that she took the topic in stride, or seemed to.

Dinner was followed by an invite (from her) to go out for coffee at a local Starbucks. We continued to talk about various topics over our lattes. I really liked the conversation and time with her. I found it very easy to talk to her and spend time with her. I can't say there were any real "uncomfortable silences" after the first 5-10 minutes at the restaurant.

However, she did point out that due to our different religious belief stances, there would likely be relationship issues. Specifically in relation to the use of contraception. This will likely be an issue for me. While I'm not completely against having another child I don't know that I can really accept leaving the number and timing simply up to nature.

So, I'm drawn. I like her. I think we both had a good night, I know I did. I do find her attractive. But I don't want to lead her on. I don't know that the relationship could really move into the romantic realm with our different views on contraception.

When it rains it pours, yay! Got the basement gutted for the upcoming remodel. However, in checking on the progress of the cleanup this morning, I noticed we appear to have a small fuel oil leak from our oil tank.

Update: Oil company called back, and have come out to work on it, going to run a new overhead fuel line, looks like it'll be about $400 or so for the work and materials today.

Well, saw the dermatologist yesterday. She had no problem at all with my desire to remove the mole and have it checked. Downside is that it will take about 2 weeks to get the results back from the lab. So, for now, I have a small hole in my chest that's healing rather nicely and we wait.

Well, made it back home without much issue. Though after the flight and three movies (didn't sleep coming this way) I was rather dazed on got on the wrong shuttle bus. So, one round-trip later, I got my car and made my way home. Going to disconnect from the Net for a bit now. It was some what liberating in England. Doubt it will last, but for now, don't expect to see me online as often.

Well, made it to England. Sorry for not posting earlier, but Internet access has been a bit less frequent than I'm used to.

After getting into Heathrow around noon, I managed to locate a rental car (Fiat 500, which is apparently a very nice and respected car by the locals), and set off on my way to Birmingham. All in all not a bad experiencing driving over here. However, I do have to say something about these roudabouts. I can respect the idea and design, and they work well for the locals. But, they don't play well with outsiders. It's rather difficult to read all the different exits in such a short period of time while making sure not to collide with other motorists.

Training went well, in fact it's already finished. I believe I've got a fair understanding of the product, how to install it, and how to configure it. So, when I get back, that's exactly what I'll be doing, I'm sure.

Tomorrow, on the way back to Heathrow, I think I'll be stopping by Warwick castle to check it out and hopefully snap a few pictures (haven't taken any yet). Then I get to rush back to the rental agency and off to the airport.

I should be back in New Hampshire by around 5pm. Wish I could bring this car.

So, got my passport in record time today. Appointment was at 10am, left early to allow for traffic. What traffic? I found myself in Boston at the passport office in record time. In fact I was in the building waiting in line prior to them opening their doors at 8:30am. So, I managed to be in the first group in to apply shortly after 8:30am and was out of the building passport in hand by around 10:30am.

So, off to the airport I go, arriving there around 11:30am. What do I find, the Virgin Atlantic counter isn't open and probably won't open until 3pm or so. So, I make myself comfy and wait on the street side of the security check point until it does open.

They finally open for business around 3pm and I whisk through check-in and security in near record time for an airport this size (~30 minutes). So, since around 3:30pm I've been waiting at my gate for my plane that was supposed to leave at 7:45pm. Note I said supposed to. That's right, it's delayed. The plane was diverted to Hartford, CT due to local weather. There is no current estimate on how delayed the flight will be.

Now, remember I'm heading to England for a two day training class. The original flight time was supposed to get me into London at 7:15am with a 2 hour drive to Birmingham ahead of me. Which would put me there around 9-10am for class. Not too bad, if the flight was on time. But, delay that flight by a few hours and the trip is no longer very viable. So, I'm currently waiting to find out just how delayed the plane will actually be. I'll keep you posted.

Update: Plane has finally arrived (~10:10pm local time), and I'm still heading to England, late or no. I'm going.

Alright boys and girls, wish me a little luck. Short notice business trip has me traveling to England tomorrow. The catch? Little ole me doesn't have a passport yet. So, I got my passport photos last night, made an appointment with the regional passport office in Boston, and purchased my round trip tickets. First available appointment is 10am on Wednesday. Yes, the very same day my flight leaves, also from Boston. So, I get to pack tonight, rush to Boston in the morning, get my passport (hopefully), then go on over to the airport and catch my flight.

I have no idea how much (if any) Internet connectivity I'll have while on the trip, but I should be back by Saturday evening.

I'll try to take some photos while I'm there. Don't know how much non-work time there will be.

As many of you probably know, I've been trying to find something to do to get me out of the house on a fairly regular basis. So far, my plans haven't really worked all that well.

First there was the possibility of a regular(ish) Tuesday night billiards group. Turns out they decided they don't need anyone.

Then there's my somewhat renewed interest in the SCA, but trying to find out when the local group hold their fighter practices was somewhat akin to pulling teeth. I started making inquiries back around the first of the month. I only just got confirmation that their practices have become quite fractured this year (presumably due to gas prices) and that there really isn't an official practice date and time. So I manage to find a somewhat local group with a fair turn out. They had one more practice scheduled before taking several weeks off due to the massive multi-week event that is Pensic War. The practice was supposed to be today. Note I said supposed to be. It was cancelled due to weather.

Which brings me to the another avenue I was exploring for getting out of the house. Simply getting on my motorcycle and riding somewhere. No plan, just get on and go. Figured I might do it Friday night, Saturday, or possibly sometime today. Each and every day it has rained. Not extremely conducive to an enjoyable motorcycle ride. Though after talking a bit with my stylist I do have a new area to look at for a enjoyable senic ride. It's a section of East-West highway here known as the Kancamangus Highway that cuts right through the mountains.

Next week is the monthly European dance class for the SCA. Hopefully, that will not fall through as well. However, for today, it looks like it's just me and a movie, guess I'll see Hancock.

The mole ( Read more... )

So far, I've managed to get an appoint on July 28th. They've also put me on a cancellation list. So, we'll see.

Tried to make an appointment with a dermatologist for the mole. Soonest they can get me in is October. Yes, October. Only way I can get in sooner is with a referral from another doctor. Since I don't have a primary care physician, that left the area Urgent Care facility. So, stopped by after work today for a walk-in. Waited about an hour, to be told what I already know, the mole meets several of the Melanoma signs and the only way to know more is with a biopsy that will need to be done by a dermatologist. Gee, isn't that where I started? So, a $50 co-pay later (yes $50 co-pay) I've got my referral. They are going to call the dermatologists in the morning to hopefully expedite getting me in before October.

Having some trouble sleeping tonight. It's a feeling I've begun to grow accustom to. I know the solution to it, but it's unlikely to happen with my daily, weekly, monthly routine. Though I am trying to find new avenues of social exposure that will work for me. Having stopped smoking (long ago) and drinking (more recently) I'm finding that's not very easy to do.

In other news, I've noticed a mole on my chest has changed a bit. Will be contacting the doctors in the AM looking for an appointment to have it check. However, I'm fairly certain I know what they'll find. Will update you all on that as I get the information.