Wow - How the Time Flies

 (on how I am both old and predictable)

I never would have thought I'd suddenly find my old blog that I last used 14 years ago. Even more surprising... I could still log into it!

Well, that's not really that surprising, I still maintain the Google account that is linked to it.

I'm actually more surprised that Alphabet hasn't killed it off, like they did a lot of other services I used back in the day.

I know that my kids have found this in the past, they've told me stories they've read from it.

It's funny reading my stuff from back then, and realizing now why I was all over the place and wasn't able to remember to actually update it on a regular basis. Just like my paper journal from when I was a pre-teen... that I'd go months completely forgetting the existence of... and then suddenly I'd see it and say, "Oh, yeah. That's a thing I tried to do. Maybe I should write something in it. Update on everything I did in the months since the last time I wrote."

That is not going to happen here. I'm not going to be updating this with everything that has happened to me and changed in my life in the last 14 years. Let's just say basically everything in this blog is no longer applicable, and call it done.

What I can say is that I will most likely forget this exists for the next several months, perhaps even years. If I suddenly remember will I come back and actually post something? Who knows?

I am starting to think that these writings will outlive me, however.

Converting to Tumblr

I am moving this blog over to Tumblr for the time being. I like the options there better than what I have here. It would be different if I updated regularly, but I often post to Buzz/Twitter/Facebook instead, and I think Tumblr will give me a better way to work off of those posts. We shall see!

Walgreen's Android Tablet

Walgreen's has an android tablet on sale online for $99.99. I put in my order today. I'll do a review once I've recieved it.

SELECT * FROM TexasHighwayPatrol WHERE CommonSense IS NOT NULL

Thursday night on my way home from my SQL class I was pulled over for failure to signal my intent to turn... in a right-turn only lane. Only got a warning. I actually signaled to turn into the lane, as I always do, but let it drop while I was there. I figured no one needs to know I'm turning right, as it's a given. There wasn't anywhere else for me to go. He insisted that there is nothing that says I don't have to signal there, and he's right. No where in Texas Department of Public Safety codes does is say you don't have to signal your intent to turn in a turn-only lane. I'm also pretty sure it doesn't say to not drive down the highway completely in reverse, or that your passengers aren't allowed to play two rounds of tennis in the backseat. Those are involving common sense. Anyone with that (actually very uncommon) attribute should know instinctively that those are a bad idea. Just like they should know that if they are in a right-turn only lane, all of the people ahead of them are going to be going right. They don't need a signal to tell them this. The worse thing about me getting pulled over that night? Directly after making the turn at that spot there is a traffic light. Whilst I and the squad car were driving up to the light, the car in front of me ran the red light. I feel very protected as a member of the community knowing that our police force is making those difficult judgement calls as to the most dangerous traffic infractions.

Mazda, Out

We had an unexpected cost this past Labor Day weekend. We took my Mazda to the shop in order to get it inspected, as it was due. Unfortunately, there were some issues they were going to have to fix before issuing us the sticker. But, unlike last time they fixed it, when we got the whole transmission rebuilt and the head replaced to a tune of 4K, this time they weren't comping us the labor. They were going to charge us 1200 just to look at the part they thought needed to be fixed.

So, we did what anyone in our situation would do...

We went to a new car dealership. Yep, that's right.

I am now the proud owner of a red 2010 Toyota Corolla, and the Mazda is probably sitting in the dealership's used car lot right now.

Would you like a picture of my new car? Go here and take your pick.

Sorry, it's been raining for days and it's sitting in a very dark parking garage right now.

An Experiment

Instead of sharing to Buzz or posting on Facebook,  I'll put everything here. I'll then put a link to the blog post on those other networks. Then maybe I won't neglect this blog as much. The experiment will be to see if anyone comes here to view my stuff. Of course, some personal pictures will probably have to stay in Facebook, as much as I hate that.

What To Say

I really like the idea of blogging, and I'd really like to get started again. There's only one problem: my life is pretty darn boring. So, I'm open for suggestions. What would you like to see on my blog?

Remembering September 11th, 2001

On Twitter today, someone asked:

"Remembering 9/11 today. Do you remember where you were?"

I responded back:

"Guam, Late. ODO for duty sect. Had 2 call whole dept back 2 ship"

The memories of that day just can't be described in 140 characters or less.

On September 11th, 2001, I was standing duty on the USS Frank Cable in Guam. We were in, I believe, twelve section duty at the time. That meant that everyone on the ship was broken into twelve sections, each section having to take their turn staying on the ship overnight (basically, had to be there for 24 hours). Twelve sections were nice, because that meant you only had duty once every twelve days. But, that also meant fewer people per duty section, and fewer people to stand watches. I was part of the Operations department. My job was actually taking care of the servers, and during duty days that meant running all of the backups. I, as an E5, was also the highest ranking enlisted member in Operations during my duty section, so I was the Operations Duty Officer. In addition to my normal duties I was in charge over everything in Operations at night after everyone had left for home, including running colors. Basically that meant I had make sure all of the flags were put up throughout the day, including playing the national anthem at dusk. If the Captain came on board, I'd have to run up and put his flag up, too. If he left, run up and take it down.

At 10:46 p.m. Guam time, I received a phone call from Radio asking me to come up right away. They had just gotten some alarming message traffic. I went up and we huddled over the terminal to read the messages that were coming in. We watched, horrified, as the messages changed from one plane hitting the World Trade center accidentally, to another plane hitting and it being quite obvious that this was no accident. My first thought was, "Someone just declared war on us."

I immediately called the Operations Officer at home and explained the situation. He directed me to begin recalling our entire department. He would be calling the Captain. Right after I got off the phone with him, Radio called me back to let me know that the television news (that we got piped in from California) was showing it at that very moment. I turned on the television in my office, but didn't get more than a 5 second look at it, as I had a job to do.

I have to admit that the next person I called wasn't even in my department. It was my then-boyfriend (now-husband). He was at home, asleep. I woke him and said simply, "You have two choices. You can go back to sleep and wait for another phone call later on from someone in your department, or you can turn on your television." I then hung up and began making my phone calls. I wasn't surprised to discover that several people weren't home, as they were already on their way back to the ship, having seen the news.

We moved to 3 section duty after that, and stayed that way until I left the Navy in May of 2002.

Shoes for Sara

I finally found a crochet shoe pattern that was close to Sara's size, and I finished making them the other day. I made some changes to the pattern, such as less stitches and felting, but I think they came out pretty great. I'm thinking about felting them a bit more in the sole, just so they'll hold up a bit better when she walks around outside.

Pattern on Crochetville Forums

Nose Bleed

Soli got a nose bleed last night. Apparently she had one the night before, but it wasn't very bad. This one was bad enough that it caused blood to go down the back of her throat. She was so scared, and started to panic a little. I calmed her down pretty well, while trying not to panic myself! It's always hard to see any of your children suffer, I can't imagine the pain a parent of a terminally ill child goes through.

Where have I been?

You may have noticed that aside from that one post where I was trying to win some diapers, I haven't been around in a while. I'm still posting interesting news articles I've read, but I've been doing it through Twitter instead of here. I really want to start posting here again, but bring it back to a "my thoughts, for what they are worth" blog instead of a "regergitation of what others think" blog. The problem is, I don't really have anything interesting to say, at least not at convenient times. I think of plenty while I'm driving my car for instance, but due to my complete lack of wanting to die in a horrible car accident, I don't write anything down then. Also, since my memory is pretty lacking right now, I forget anything witty I had to say as soon as I get where I was going. So, if you really miss me, feel free to follow me on Twitter, otherwise, I promise I'll think really hard about ways to post more to this blog... in my car.

AppleCheeks diapers and Giveaway

Here's a giveaway for some AppleCheeks diapers. They are so cute, don't you think?

*just a couple of my favorite colors out of the many they offer!

Alarm Clock by Tarry91 Manages Multiple Timers

Windows only: Alarm Clock by Tarry91 is a compact (if lengthily named) portable alarm manager and timer. Packed with features, it can help you with everything from tea brewing to early rising.

Alarms and timers can be extremely useful, in more ways than one might expect. We've encouraged you to use a timer for everything from getting stuff done to avoiding repetitive stress injuries and brewing perfect tea. Alarm Clock by Tarry91 supports an unlimited number of events, and allows for every-x-minutes, daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly alarms to be set. Various actions can be set up to occur upon the alarm event, including MP3 or video playback, opening a specified file, and system shutdown, hibernation, or logging off the current user. The application resides in the system tray and has a quick event menu, accessible by right clicking on the tray icon, to add countdowns in commonly used blocks of time like fifteen and thirty minutes.

Alarm Clock by Tarry91 is freeware, Windows only.

http://lifehacker.com/5153602/alarm-clock-by-tarry91-manages-multiple-timers
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VideoCacheView Finds Flash Videos in Your Browser Cache

Browser cache locating utility VideoCacheView searches through your browser cache for already-watched videos--so you can copy them to your videos folder.

Using the utility is simple--just launch the application and wait while it searches through the cache for each of your browsers (even Chrome!), and then either play the file or save it for later. Using the play function requires a media player that can play Flash files like the previously mentioned Gom Player--or you can convert the file to a more compatible format using any number of tools.

VideoCacheView is a free download from NirSoft, works on Windows only. While there are any number of ways to download a YouTube video (like Lifehacker's own Better YouTube extension), this utility could come in handy for saving videos from other sites.

http://lifehacker.com/5153265/videocacheview-finds-flash-videos-in-your-browser-cache
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WinBubble Customizes Vista Icons and Context Menus With Ease

Windows Vista only: System tweaking application WinBubble is one of those gems with a killer feature you wouldn't expect--you can add items to context menus and customize certain system icons.

WinBubble is very similar to most tweaking applications--including previously mentioned Ultimate Windows Tweaker--but the best features can be found on the Icons and Miscellaneous tabs, where you can customize certain system icons and add your own custom menu entries to the system context menus. Ever wanted to quickly add a new tool to the desktop context menu? No problem! This feature alone makes this no-installation-required software a great addition to your flash drive toolkit, and worth a look for anybody looking to customize their desktop.

WinBubble is a free download for Windows Vista. For more desktop customizing goodness, check out any one of our featured desktops. Thanks, austin316gb!

http://lifehacker.com/5152407/winbubble-customizes-vista-icons-and-context-menus-with-ease
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Moonlight 1.0 Gives Linux Users Silverlight 1.0 Compatability

Linux users running into the web's brick walls of "This site requires Microsoft Silverlight," rejoice. The Moonlight team has brought Silverlight compatibility to Firefox browsers on Linux systems.

Moonlight installs like any other Firefox extension. Once it's installed, you should be ready to use any site or webapp that requires Silverlight 1.0; 2.0 access is, hopefully, coming up soon. You should also be able to work inside Silverlight apps with traditionally Windows-based media codecs, another compatibility bonus.

http://lifehacker.com/5152266/moonlight-10-gives-linux-users-silverlight-10-compatability
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Wallpaper Juggler Downloads, Rotates High-Quality Wallpaper

Windows only: Desktop wallpaper switching application Wallpaper Juggler not only chooses between random images--it also downloads beautiful desktop wallpaper for you.

Using the application--which lives in your system tray--is simple, requiring first a quick trip to the preferences panel to add your local wallpaper folders, after which you can switch between wallpaper images using the Juggle Now option on the system tray menu, or use the automatic option to rotate to a new wallpaper on a set interval. The best feature of the application, though, is found in the Download Wallpapers option, which will automatically download high quality images from the previously mentioned InterfaceLIFT and WallpaperStock web sites--and it will even grab the images that correctly fit your display resolution, making this a great tool worth a look for anybody looking to customize their desktop.

Wallpaper Juggler is free and open source, requires no installation. For more high-quality images for your wallpaper needs, check out the best places to find multi-monitor wallpaper.

http://lifehacker.com/5151890/wallpaper-juggler-downloads-rotates-high+quality-wallpaper
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MediaPlayerConnectivity Opens Media Directly in VLC (and Other Players Too)

Firefox only (Windows): Firefox extension MediaPlayerConnectivity opens media files in an external application of your choice--saving you from the extra step of downloading and opening in your preferred media player.

Once installed, the extension will take you through a wizard that finds your installed media players and sets each file type to your preferred player. The options panel is chock full of configuration settings to customize playback choices, from adding launcher items to your context menu to automatically replacing the inline player with an icon to launch your external player--very useful so you can restart Firefox without affecting media playback.

MediaPlayerConnectivity is a free download for Firefox, but the current versions only work for Windows users--readers using Mac OS X can still download the older versions, but will probably need the Nightly Tester Tools to make them compatible. Update: Looks like it works in Ubuntu as well.

http://lifehacker.com/5149992/mediaplayerconnectivity-opens-media-directly-in-vlc-and-other-players-too
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Ultimate Windows Tweaker Updates, Adds 20 New Tweaks

Windows Vista only: Similar-to-TweakUI application Ultimate Windows Tweaker adds more tweaks, bugfixes, and better 64-bit support to an already ridiculously useful tool for making configuration changes the easy way.

We've featured this application here before, but the initial release had some stability problems (especially for 64-bit users). The latest version fixes those issues and adds a bunch of new tweaks to make your tweaking tasks just a little bit easier, including more personalization, UAC, performance, and network tweaks. The already-tech-savvy might notice that most of these tweaks are available through registry hacks or complicated dialogs, but this application is designed to put every setting into one easily accessible location--and since the utility doesn't require installation it makes for a handy addition to your flash drive toolkit.

Ultimate Windows Tweaker is a free download for Windows Vista users only. Most Lifehacker readers using XP are probably already using Microsoft's TweakUI utility to customize their system.

http://lifehacker.com/5149831/ultimate-windows-tweaker-updates-adds-20-new-tweaks
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Get HP's Dark-Themed Mini Look on Your Ubuntu Desktop

HP has an Ubuntu-based netbook, the Mini 1000 Mi Edition, that brings a whole new look to Linux laptops. Luckily, regular ol' Ubuntu users can put some of the Mini's black-and-blue looks on their desktop.

Unless you're rocking a netbook compiled for LPIA (Low Power on Intel Architecture), you can't get the slick looks of HP's custom launcher or other hardware-specific tools. But since everything's based on Ubuntu 8.04, any updated Ubuntu user can grab the basic theme, colors, and backgrounds from HP's remix.

As described by an Ubuntu Forums poster, those keen on a dark theme can head to the universe section of the Hardy-HPMini site, and grab three pre-compiled packages: glassy-bleu-browser-skin_0.5_all.deb, glassy-bleu-theme_21_all.deb, and gnome-backgrounds-hp_0.4_all.deb (or the updated versions of those packages). Download, double-click to run the package manager on them, and open the Appearance tool to change your theme and background. Your next launch of Firefox will bring up a new theme installed, which you can select to mesh with your new black and blue theme.

http://lifehacker.com/5147379/get-hps-dark+themed-mini-look-on-your-ubuntu-desktop
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