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Jun 29, 2004
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by Unknown @ 3:18:00 PM he's back, shady's back I think this is the longest I've gone without blogging since I've had it up and running full force (technichally, I started it in the Fall of 2002, but only posted 2 times or something like that and then went a year and 1/2 without touching it, but I digress). Anyway, the reasons are 1. Laziness. Hey, it's who I am. 2. Writers block. It happens. 3. Business at work. As I've said before, last week was NUTS!!! And number 4 . . . I got my home computer working again, at least kind of. Back in the fall, the power supply burned out. At the time I didn't really know that, I just kinda thought it died. But, at that time, I was unemployed, so I couldn't really get anyone to look at it. After I started working, I kinda forgot about it for a while. But, then in December, I started thinking, what could the problem be. I concluded that it was the power supply. But at the time, I didn't do much about it (see reason 1 above). So in January, I open it it up, and then take the casing off the power supply. The thing is filled with dust. So, I go to Office Depot and get one of those cans of air. I clean it out and try and start it, but still no luck. So, I take a look, and sure enough, it's shot. So . . . I go and try and find a replacement, but I'm not real sure what I need. So, after looking for a day or two, I forget about it again. So, anyway . . . . I resumed my search last week. I consulted with one of my co-workers, and we figured out what I needed (at least as far as output is concerned). And, it just happens that he had an extra power supply lying around and brought it too me. So I hooked it up and viola, the machine starts running again. BUT, there is a problem. It doesn't fit in my tower. So, I have it sitting on a box next to my computer. So, how is this number 4? Well, I've had some stuff I've been wanting to write about over the last few weeks, but as I've said, work is not really a good place to write something fairly deep and coherent. So, when my computer fired up, I thought that I would be able to start writing more from home. Well, how wrong was I? It's running, but not running well. Since I've had the computer, Windows 98 has been horrible about crashing. And, back it 2002, It crashed really bad and I had to bust out the startup disk. And it's never been the same since, and has consistently gotten worse. Well, I think the latest ordeal has really damaged it. It's gotten really slow, programs consitently freeze, and it takes me two or three tries to open up my internet program. Explorer keeps crashing, so I've downloaded Mozilla (took 3 tries, but I got it) and it works much better. So, much of the time I was going to spend writing has been spent troubleshooting. Anyway, that was a lot longer than I intened. So, what I think I may try and do is install a second hard drive and take Linux out for a test drive. If that works, then who knows. Other stuff: 1. Saturday . . . Chris and Sabrina got married. That was cool. That whole thing got started cause I quit a job. So, I guess that means good things happen when I quit jobs. Maybe I should quit my current job. 2. Saw the latest Harry Potter flick. I was disappointed. It just kinda rushed through everything. If you haven't read the book, then I think it would be hard to follow what's going on. If you have read it, well, like I said, the story seems rushed. There is no way they will be able to fit book 4 and 5 into a film. 3. Last night I got to hang out with Brack, Fred, and RB, 3 friends from WKU. Good times. I miss WKU people. I might get to hang out with more this weekend. Cool! 4. I actually have a web design gig . . . for a guy who sells crickets. Should be interesting. I might actually make a few bucks off of this. Or not. Now, if I could only get my computer to work. posted
by Unknown @ 11:09:00 AM Jun 23, 2004 arrrrrrr Today was nuts. Really busy again. And no simple calls. Dang it. So, I didn't get my post finished, as promised. I'm gonna end up losing readers like this. HA HA. I only have about 4. And you 4 won't bail on me. Will you????? posted
by Unknown @ 5:57:00 PM Jun 22, 2004 time to go home yet????????? Dang it's been a crazy week (and it's only Tuesday). I keep getting stuck with calls that a. are kinda complicated and require a great deal of research or b. I have no idea what the heck is going on or c. all of the above. It's pretty amazing to go through a call, have no idea what's going on, and then the problem ends up being fixed somehow. Then, there are those that don't go so well. There is one person that keeps calling and asking for me despite the fact that I have not at any time during our conversations even given the illusion that I know whats going on (the problem is something with Internet Explorer, which we don't do support for.) I was too busy yesterday to even blog. I'm tired now. I have about one more problem to figure out (at least until explorer lady calls). Anyway, I'm underpaid for this. I heard today that this company I am working for is ranked number 79th nationaly on the list of the top 100 places to work in IT. I don't know what to think about that. This weekend was really cool . . . camping with the family. There is a lot to complain about when you go camping . . . mostly sleeping on the ground. I'm still stiff. But other than that, it was excellent. Boats, lakes, swimming, butt whales, camp stove food, and all sorts of fun. Plus, I got to hang out with my brother and sister-in-law, 2 of the coolest people ever. Good stuff. Other than that. . . .hmmmmmmmmmmm. Oh, keep my friend Deyu in your prayers. He's had a rough stretch over the last few days. Check back tomorrow . . . I'm gonna post some thoughts on how quiet times and superstitions are related (and the whole notion of figuing out what God's will is.) posted
by Unknown @ 4:06:00 PM Jun 18, 2004 best service $5.25 can buy Well, I ended up taking a 70 minute lunch instead of a the standard 60 minute lunch. I had a few errands to run today at lunch time. Going camping this weekend. Anyway, since it's father's day this weekend, I gotta get to wal-mart and get some stuff. I pick out a gift, and I head to the card aisle. Now, on mother's day, the cards are pretty good. But as I was reminded today, father's day cards are just HORRIBLE!!!! So, it takes me a while to find a card, but I finally find a decent one, make my purchases, ect. Well, I have about 15 mins to get back to work after that ordeal. BUT, I still haven't had lunch. There is a nice selection of the best fast food money can by between Wal-mart and work, but it's about a 10-15 minute drive. So, it's gonna be cutting it close. So, I decide on Burger King. I pull in with 10 mins to spare, and place my order, a value meal number 7 and a coke. The cashier relpies, "Did you say coke?" "Yes" I replied. "That'll be *** 37, pull up to the first window." So, I can't make out the total. Pretty typical with that high tech equiptment they use. So I pull up to the window, hand him a 10, and get back 8.63 in change. Now, I eat enough fast food to know that a value meal doesn't cost 1.37. So, this leads to the following exhange . .. "I think you gave me too much change." "You gave me a 10.00, right" "Right." "That's correct then." "That doesn't seem right." "Your order comes out to 1.37" "What do you have me down for?" "1.37" "No, I mean for the order." "A coke." "No, I ordered a value meal number 7 with a coke." So, as he stares at the cash register for a few minutes, I look down and see that I only have 5 minutes left. So, finally he comes back to the window and tells me that I owe 2.12 more. So, I pull to the next window, and the guy hands me a coke and tells me to have a nice day and walks off before I can say anything. Now, there are about 5 people standing next to this window, including the guy who took my order. Finally, someone notices me trying to get thier attention, and comes and asks me whats up. I explain I'm waiting on my meal, so he kinda wanders around for a few minutes, and finally I get my meal. And, it's time to be back at work. And I'm on the other side of town. So yeah, I'm late. This, just 6 hours after a co-worker had commented on how punctual I am. posted
by Unknown @ 3:32:00 PM Jun 17, 2004 got what i need 1. Everytime I come to my blog and hear "Just a Friend" playing, well, it cracks me up. It probablly gets on everyone elses nerves, but thats too bad. 2. This job is so boring. And I work in the loudest office ever. 3. Saw Fox's new show, Method and Red. I thought it was going to be hillarious. And oh how wrong I was. It's one of those shows that managed to fit every funny line into the previews. And worst of all, they used a laugh track. And they mistimed its use horribly. The verdict: good idea, lots of potential, bad execution. Stay away from it. 4. Everyone else is posting really good topics, generating discussion, and all that. I'm thinking my blog is kinda boring. posted
by Unknown @ 3:07:00 PM Jun 16, 2004 Various Stuff 1. I've been meaning to write my thoughts on the passing of Ronald Regan. Regan will always be an important president to me, not because I identified with him politicaly or anything like that (though I do on certain issues). Regan is important because he is the first president that I remember. I can remember the first time I asked that question, "Who is the president" and being answered with "Ronald Regan". It was a time, at least for me when the office of the presidency was taken seriously. I remember that I looked up to him, and really there was no reason other than the fact that he was president. As far as his legacy and all that goes, I have to leave that to historians much as the way I would for a president like Truman or Lincoln or whoever. But I do know that much of my current interest in politics is because of him. And, I remember, growing up, I always said that when I got to voting age, I would be a Republican. To this point, that hasn't happened yet. But I think that Reagan had a far greater impact on me that I even realize. 2. This week, Ralph Wiley died. Probably none of you know who he is. He was a sports writer, many years for Sports Illustrated and recently for ESPN.com's Page 2. I'm a regular Page 2 reader, so I have read a lot of what he wrote. Sometimes his prose is kinda weird and hard to follow, but his insights were great. The way he used sports to write about life was cool. If you get a free afternoon sometime, go read through his archives. 3. Pistons WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think I'm officialy on the bandwagon. 4. If I can't be a campus minister, I think I want to be an errand boy. I actually like running errands. I know, I'm weird. 5. Blog entries are like cowbell . . . I need MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! posted
by Unknown @ 11:49:00 AM Jun 15, 2004 Movie Soundtack Below is the soundtrack to the movie, "The Eric Bryant Story," starring Drew Carey.
Your Life: The Soundtrack brought to you by BZOINK! posted
by Unknown @ 5:16:00 PM lazy I've been complaining to people about not blogging (or journaling) enough. See, this is what I do all day long. In a given hour, I spend about 15 minutes on the phone (if that much). Sometimes I have to do research on a problem. So internet is all I got during the remaining 45 minutes of the 8 hours each day. Anyway, yesterday, I didn't post, and it was totally due to laziness. So, I am a hypocrite. No point really. 1. Check this site out. The top 50 moments in music history (meaning the rock and roll era). Pretty cool stuff. And number 22 is my fav by far. Hence the "greeting" when you got to this page. 2.  Pistons!!!!! I haven't been this excited by the NBA in a long long time. First, it's nice to have a Kentucky alum starting for the team that is about to win the NBA title. Still, the Pistons are a team that I can get behind. It's nice seeing the Lakers go down in flames. At the beginning of the year, I never EVER would have bet that the Lakers would go down like this. I was sure they would win 70 regular season games and roll through the playoffs. Un-be-leivable!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. Got a library card this weekend. The Frankfort Public Library is HORRIBLE!!!!!!! Bad selection of books. But, they have DVD's. And I scored the third season of "The Sopranos". posted
by Unknown @ 1:17:00 PM Jun 11, 2004 Head is spinning Man it's been a crazy week. I've actually had too much to write about. First of all, Sun/Monday at camp were awesome, and I still haven't written that up. I've been wanting to write about the death of Ronald Regan, and haven't gotten to that. Now a bunch of friends are posting deep discussion threads on their blogs. I can't get to it all. It's cause I can't write at work. So yeah, enough excuses. I'm gonna try and do camp and Regan today, and maybe a trip to the library tomorrow to addressJuliet's post on single women. camp Children. Not my strong point at all. About 3 years ago, I had never worked with kids under Jr. High age. To that point, I had taught VBS to Jr. Highers twice, and had logged two weeks of Jr. High church camp. It was hard, but it was good. But, in 2002, I volunteered to help out with VBS at UCC. But, most of my time was spent in the balcony or on cream of tarter runs, so no big deal. The following winter, I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and got drafted to help out with Frizdaze, which was a monthly outreach to elementary school kids. I really enjoyed it, and ended up happily volunteering for future Fridaze's. So yeah, it was good. So I have camp expirence. And I have expirence with elementary kids. So, when Shannon asks me (if not for Shannon Wentz, I don't think I would ever have gotten involved with children's ministry) if I would help out with Starter camp, I was glad to do so. And the point of all that was . . . in spite of my previous expirence, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. Playing with kids for 2 hours on a Friday night is easy. Supervising them for an entire 24 hour period is very difficult. It's really one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I really have new respect for teachers, daycare workers, and others who work with children on a daily basis. I can also see why they really enjoy it. I never realized how tiring answering questions and giving permission was. With Jr. Highers, you kinda know when they are messing with you. For example, bathroom runs. You kinda know when a someone in Jr High really needs to go or if they are trying to get out of a session or trying to stay up a little later. With first and second graders, I really wasn't sure. And I didn't want to take a chance because you hear of all of those horror stories where a teach won't let them go and they really have to so they end up wetting themselves and are emotionaly scarred for the rest of their lives. Transitions are really hard with this group too. I found with this group that the hard part isn't so much keeping attention, like it is with older people, but with getting thier attention. Even harder was lights out and wakeup time. Getting them to go to sleep was hard. Getting them up was easy, but getting them ready for breakfast was CHAOS!!!!! I was pretty tired after that. But the hardest, most stressful point of the weekend came after breakfast. For the entire weekend, I was responsible for a group of 5 boys. After breakfast, we took a nature walk with out groups. Simple, right. HA! I remember back in college I when I was directing a drama team I directed a monologue called "The Substitute Sunday School Teacher." It was just one person on stage, acting like they are subbing for sunday school for a really young group. She's in over her head, and most of the skit is lines right on top of each other, such as "Johnny, get off of that chair, Timmy stop pulling Jenny's hair, no Bobby, those cookies are for later." Anyway, that's kinda how I felt during the walk. My transcript would go something like, "No, we aren't going swimming till after lunch. You don't have to worry about bees unless you scare them. Guys, we need to stay together. No, it's not lunch time yet, we just had breakfast. I promise you we will let you know when it's time to go swimming. C'mon guys, lets stay together. Don't throw rocks towards each other. Maybe we can go on the playground later on . . . " and so on. Just constant. Then, one kid was scared to go into the woods, so we had to go somewhere else, but the other 4 didn't understand why. Eventually, we ended up at the pond and just threw rocks in the water. After we went back in, I was so tired. From wakeup to that point, I just felt like I was in over my head. After that point though, things kinda calmed down for me. As clueless as I felt, they kids were very encouraging. Throughout the day they would say some very nice things, would give me hugs and that kinda stuff. If there is one thing that I learned, or I guess more accurately relearned, is that you don't really have to have a clue as to whats going on for God to use you. Even as I knew nothing about working with kids, I was able to have an impact on them. Really, I guess I had no impact on them, but God was working on them. I was more of a prop than anything. As much as I learned, I still know nothing about kids. It's good though. I hope I can go back. posted
by Unknown @ 12:39:00 PM New Link My friend Stephanie Siria has a live journal. I've known it for a while, but kept forgetting to add her. Notice she is at the top of the list. That's cause I've known her the longest. We went to highschool together. And college. Then she moved to Cincinnati right after I did. Really she's the closest thing I've ever had to a stalker. And yes, I'm just kidding. posted
by Unknown @ 10:48:00 AM Jun 10, 2004 Theories and Ideas Over the weekend, hanging out with the cinci crowd, I re-examined some of my old theories and come up with a few new ones (and some other ideas). Much of it came from discussions with Juliet on the way to and from camp, since she is as warped as I am. 1. Gnomes are the source of all that goes wrong. I think I came up with that one while talking to some of the guys in my small group last year (Tommy, Glen, Taylor, Paul). Seriously, we have got to get rid of the gnomes. They consistantly sabatoge everything. And they steal your underpants. Well, a certain type do anyway. And I fear with that "travel gnome" on the TV now, their efforts are going to escalate. We can NOT let this go on. I think I need to devote a webpage to this. 2. Every college has a Chestnut Street nearby. Well, not quite every college. But, I do know that : Western Kentucky University, University of Kentucky, Murray State University, Vincennes University, Berea College, and Lincoln Christian College all have a Chestnut Street nearby. Kentucky State University has one in fairly close proximity, but it may be far enough away that including it may be a stretch. Cincinnati colleges seem to be immune. However, I think the evidence is pretty compelling to support my theory. I just want to know why. College Street makes sense. University Street makes sense. But Chestnut St????? 3. Catholics make the best roommates. Brack and I came up with this theory back in the WKU days. And Juliet confirmed it. 4. You know the "President of Beers" thing had gone too far when they start running negative ads. 5. As we drove by a church marquee with a cheesy slogan, Juliet and I decided that a major research project needs to be started in order to determine the effecitveness of church marquees. Does anyone ever read the slogan and think, "Hey, maybe I should go by there this Sunday!" Does anyone ever quit going because of them. Regardless of the effectiveness, I think there needs to be a law against using a "clever" pun involving the word Son. 6. Finally, I came up with a plan to start my own internet church. This will look good on my resume. I get the "church" started, and I am the senior minister. Then I appoint a few elders that I can use later on as references. I can even hire staff members. Juliet is the Outreach Minister. I'm looking for the following : Youth Minister, Small Groups Minister, Worship Minister, Children's Minister, Administration Minister, and Puppet Minister. If you want to apply, or would like to be an elder or a minister, well, you can email me. And that's all the ideas. What can I say, I'm a genius!!!!!!!! posted
by Unknown @ 9:59:00 AM Jun 9, 2004 sailing the brown waters Ever been listening to a weatherman talking about a flash flood watch? Then he gives the warning "Do not drive into flood waters," and you wend up thinking, "What kind of idiot would drive into flood water?" Well, today I learned that it is in some cases an honest mistake. I ended up leaving for lunch a half an hour late today because I was doing some research on a file, and when I left there was a really bad storm. Now, it was storming bad enough that I really had no buisness driving in the first place. But, I have a rule that states that I do NOT spend breaks at work, so, off I went. Well, when I turned out of the parking lot onto the main road, I kinda noticed that there was some water on the road. But, it didn't look too high, so I didn't think much of it. And at first, it was like going through a giant puddle. But, as I got a litte further in, it got higher and higher. And then, my engine stalled. So I tried to start again, but no luck. So, I figure that maybe I'll have to push it out and restart. So, I open the door, and the water is all the way up to my door. So, I close it. At that point, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. So, I try and franticly restart. And, it starts. So, I drive a few more feet, and it stalls again. But, I'm able to start again, but I hit the gas and nothing. Then, I notice that I'm in park, so I shift to drive, but by that time it stalled again. So, I get it to restart and am finally able to make it out of the high water. The rest of my trip home was uphill, so I knew I would make it. An hour later, the storm is over, the roads are dry. But, there were two cars near that intersection that were abandoned with thier flashers on. So maybe I got lucky. Or maybe they weren't persisant enough. Anyway, when I got back to my office building, the lights were off. Sweet, power outage, right?? Nope. Generators. All of the computers are hooked up. And since I'm in the operations room, we have lights and everthing. That was mean. The moral to my story . . . I'm an idiot. And don't try to drive through flood waters. posted
by Unknown @ 3:41:00 PM Jun 8, 2004 Here at Eric's Blog, we aim to be fair So I'm looking down my friends list, and I notice something is not right. All the males are listed at the top, and all of the females are listed at the bottom. It wasn't intentional, but it just didn't seem right to me. So, I try and figure out a new system. So, I decided that I would go in order of when I met everyone. So yeah, that's more fair, right. Like anyone even cared. posted
by Unknown @ 4:57:00 PM Whirlwind Weekend Normally, when I have trouble writing on my blog, it's due to nothing to write about. My life is well, boring right now. But this weekend was well out of the norm. It was a throwback to the good ole days. Action packed and adventure filled. Ahhhh the good ole days, when cokes cost a quarter. Well, Friday was typical . . . I didn't do anything but watch Star Trek: The Next Generation and CSI on Spike TV. The fun began on Saturday Evening, going up to Cinci. I started off at the Alpha Delta Chi annual end of the year cookout (For all of you semester-minded people, UC is on quarters, so they get out later and also don't start till late Sept.) Anyway, that was a bunch of fun, hanging out with old friends. Me and Justin Sanford were dominant at cornhole (it's a cincinnati thing, and nothing nearly as weird as the name might indicate.) Tommy showed up and we reminiced about the good ole days. Plus, I got to get to know Christina a bit better, and found her to be quite cool. After the cookout, Justin, Tommy, and I went to Sudsy Malones. For you non-cliftonites out there, Sudsy Malones is a bar/laundromat. Yes, you read that correctly. It is a bar, and it's a laundromat. Anyway, we went to hear a band that some guy Justin knows is in. They were pretty good, but we only got to hear 2 songs. Which isn't that big of a deal, except the cover charge was 5 bucks. Anyway, we left there and headed to Rohs Street Cafe to hear another band. Because of my former days at UCC, I know how to get into Rohs Street without paying the cover. So, that made up for Sudsy's. The band was excellent . . . surf rockers. It was a lot of fun. After that, I turned in for the night. All in all, a fun night. Sunday, after church I headed out for church camp. That was quite an expirence. I don't think I've ever been more tired than at the end of camp. More on that later. posted
by Unknown @ 12:25:00 PM Jun 4, 2004 The Trible Dubya 1. As I have been looking over my site logs and statistics, I'm just blown away by a. how many people check my site and 2. Where all the hits come from. Yes, that's right, this is now an internationaly read site, with hits in Brazil and England. Okay, so maybe international hits doesn't make this an international site. But still, I'm just shocked. It makes me feel like I should be writing more profound stuff. It's hard though, since most of my internet access is at work. It's hard to write here. True, my job is kinda slow, but work interspersed throughout the day. So, its hard to be writing, being deep in thought, then all of the sudden *bing bing* I get a call. When I get a call, I have a headset on, and it comes through automaticaly, so when it rings it's on!!!!! So, it really stiffles any type of creative process. Hence all the one line posts. But, that's akin to my writing style. Maybe someday I'll be able to write cooler posts. But, if you look at the comments on the last post, I do have the Tommy Stewart mark of approval, so I must have some sort of coolness going on here. 2. Weekend . . . going to cincy . . .hanging out with Justin Sanford Sat. night (just got a call) . . . then Sunday church at UCC, then I'm off to camp. I'm helping out with an overnight church camp for 1-2 graders. Not my strongest area. But, it should all be okay. Shannon Wentz is the camp dean, and she is excellent at all things children's ministry. As for me, my function at kids events is somewhat like a jungle gym . . .the kids just kinda climb on me and I give sweet back rides. That, and I'll be playing some campfire guitar. It should be fun. AND, it gives me an excuse to skip work (phone call) on Monday. 2 4-day work weeks. Nice!!! 3. Here are some very good Tornado Safety Tips. It's the one's they don't teach you at school. posted
by Unknown @ 11:50:00 AM Jun 2, 2004 Lots o'Readers 1. I was looking at my website statistics, and I have a lot more people reading this blog than I originaly thought. I guess y'all just don't feel like commenting. Anyway, I guess I need to start writing better. My readers deserve EXCELLENCE!!!!! 2. My friend John Wentz posted something interesting on his blog the other day. You can read that here. And my response can be read here. For my more conservative friends, seriously consider what John has to say before flying off the handle. He's a man of deep conviction, and someone I respect a lot. Give him that same respect, even if you don't agree. 3. My friend Juliet has a blog now. That warrants mentioning. Juliet is way cool. You should read her blog, cause she is cool!!!!! 4. Go Pistons. 5. Shrek 2 was great. Not as good as the original, but well worth your while. See it. posted
by Unknown @ 11:58:00 AM Jun 1, 2004 The 4 day work week The less I do, the less I have to blog about. And this weekend I did nothing. Which was nice and relaxing. But, not much to write about . . . 1. I did read a book about CSS scripting. So hopefully I can do some cool stuff with the site. 2. We need to stamp out the gnomes. I feel very strongly about this. Some of you know my theory about gnomes. And this travel gnome from that one comercial (expedia.com maybe?) gets me angry every time I see it. We have to put a stop to this!!! 3. I know some areas were hit hard, but in my neighborhood, the storms over-promised and underdelivered. I love storms. But, given the potential destruction, I guess I can't be too disapointed. 4. I keep trying to quit on Chef Boyardee, but he keeps drawing me back. MMMMMM ravioli. 5. Politicaly, I think you would have to call me a moderate. The myth is that moderates get along with everyone. But, recently, I've just been mad at everyone (politically speaking, anyway). Maybe more later, but right now, I just don't want to talk about it. posted
by Unknown @ 4:50:00 PM |
