The Archive - Heather

I’m going to try to give you a summary of how I met various people that will pop up on this Blog. This is basically the back story for the show, maybe a flashback episode or something of the sort. The first person I will start with will be my good friend Heather.

We’ll go way back to February 9, 1992. I played disc golf in Baltimore (the weather wasn’t too bad for February) and I wasn’t happy with the living arrangements at home, so I went to Chesapeake Bay Seafood House. It was Sunday evening and it was kind of crowded. I got my usual meal (the All-You-Can-Eat Whitefish), and shortly there after, I am approached by a lovely young lady and asks if I went to Severna Park High School. I said I did and we proceeded to talk about High School and the like. I finally get up the nerve to ask for her phone number.

A couple of days later I called and we decided to go to a movie. I was trying to impress her. So I actually went to see Wayne’s World the week before we were suppose to see it. I thought it was pretty funny, so we saw it the following week (February 21, 1992). To try to impress her, I actually dressed up a bit (tie and jacket). We walked around the Annapolis Mall for a little while, then I hit on the idea to show her where I worked (as you can see, I’m not great at these original ideas). Heather did seem impressed. Heather was finishing college and about to enter the professional world of work. She found the office environment interesting enough. She impressed me by sending me a post card from her vacation to the Outer Banks that she took with her family. We dated a couple more times in March.

I asked if she wanted to go with me to my Grandmothers 75^th Birthday party. I don’t think she was expecting the type of parties that my family has. We had a great time and all was good. She was kind of busy with college graduation, and I don’t think we spoke much in April. I did help her move back from college, and she told me she was starting to work in Annapolis, not far from where I worked. We agreed to carpool together. This is where the trouble started.

Carpooling isn’t always the most pleasant thing in the world. You see each other everyday, and we stopped dating for the most part. We went to a couple of concerts (Grateful Dead, U2, and Springsteen) but I think we got sick of each other. And things weren’t too great on my home front at that time anyway. So we kind of grew apart. She wanted to date people out of the college scene, and I was looking for a relationship. We still talked occasionally, but didn’t date each other.

Over the course of 1993-1994 we still remained friends, but the carpool ended and I moved out of my Mothers house. In 1995 Teri and I moved in together and eventually bought our first place, a townhouse in Millersville. Heather helped me move into the townhouse. The condominium that Teri and I moved from was owned by my friends Dave and Cindy. Heather wanted to move out of her parents’ house, and a deal was brokered where Heather moved in. I helped her to do so.

Heather was working a Baltimore at this time, and I got a job at the District Court in Baltimore, a couple blocks from Heather’s office. We went to lunch a couple times a week, and we actually became closer friends. I meet her future husband Jim on a lunch outing (and he still married her). I left the Court and we didn’t see each other much soon after as I started a new job with Computer Curriculum Corp and this had me all over the state. Also I was busy getting married, which I think may have pushed her in that direction, which pushed some of her friends to get married, and so on.

After we both married, we all went out ‘double date style’ a bunch of times and started celebrating New Years together. We became pretty good buddies to talk about life and all the stuff marriage brings and changes. It’s good to have someone who you can ‘compare notes’ with on being married. We also continued to take in a couple of concerts each year together (Def Leppard, Boston, etc.) that our spouses had no interest in attending. We also found we each liked to fish, and started going on a couple of fishing trips each summer.

In 2002, Springsteen came out with The Rising CD and tour that followed. After watching a couple of the fan based videos that were made, I complained on some of the Springsteen message boards. I was told in so many words “…if you don’t like it, film it yourself…” In July 1, 2003, I was laid off from Cambridge Positioning Systems with a nice severance package (basically, 3 months pay). This gave me time to find a job, and new hobbies. Springsteen was going to start the stadium portion of The Rising Tour at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. This was my time to document the event. But I needed an accomplice. Heather was up to the challenge!

With video camera in hand, it was off to New Jersey. We filmed the 7/15/2003 show and it turned out well. I filmed the 7/17/2003 show as well (solo), but that story is for another archive. It’s kind of addictive once you start. We also filmed the 12/8/2003 show in Asbury Park. At this point, this is a joint hobby. The Rising tour ended in the fall of 2003. In 2004, Springsteen joined with this group called Voters for Change. This is the tour that needs proper documentation.

We began at the opening show in Philadelphia. After arriving a little late, we got seated and filmed REM (who was on the bill). At this point, we actually are using two video cameras. Things were going well with shooting Springsteen and John Fogerty when, disaster. We are busted! We had to go to the security office and give them our equipment. All in all it wasn’t a big deal. We could have gone back into the show, but we think the people behind us turned us in and we were kind of pissed. We just left the show.

Heather and I shared a joke: A good friend will bail you out of jail. A great friend will be sitting in jail with you saying, “…man that was fun!” On the way out we turned to each other and said, “Man, that was fun!” The next day we followed the tour to Cleveland, then Orlando the following weekend. Both Cleveland and Orlando turned out pretty decent. The VFC tour wrapped up 10/11/2004 at the MCI Center in DC. No sense shooting this one as it was broadcast the Sundance channel.

In 2005 Heather became interested in the Middle East culture. Her interest took her on a couple of trips the Morocco and some other areas of Africa. She continued to visit these areas and became involved with people in that culture. We’ve exchanged many text messages while she has been overseas, but we don’t spend as much time together as we had in the past. But life happens that way.

Most recently Heather is trying to figure out what life is all about and what she wants to do. I’m here to support her in which ever endeavor that she chooses, and we’ll just take it a day at a time.

Another interview

Today I had another job interview with another company, Knight Point Systems. This position is as a Project Manager for a Data Center move that is located in Hyattsville. The commute wouldn't be too bad, and I think it would be a good step in my career. But at the end of the day, I don't think I'll get it. I can't put my finger on it, but I don't think they will hire me for the job. :(
After that I had lunch with Tim Fang. We had a good conversation and all went well. He has been wanting to work on a Pix firewall. I had one that I wouldn't be using for a while, and sold it to him. Everyone was happy.
Later in the day I got a call from one of the people that I will be training Wednesday at BAE. Basically, the hotel room he was suppose to stay in wasn't paid for. This was a problem. I called the project director who got things straightened out (sort of).
Also tonight I finally took back the sweater that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas. I got a polo shirt and some cargo pants a JC Penny. That was my exciting day.

Recent Movies

Recently I've been catching up on movies. This started back in mid-February and I'll try to put my updates in chronological order as I've seen them.

Little Miss Sunshine - This is not a movie for kids. This is an adult type movie, not necessarily for the language, but just that anyone younger than 20 won't understand the nuance of the content. I saw this in the theater and actually own the DVD. Watch it when you get chance, a solid A.

Ghost Rider - This is based on the comic book of the same name. Overall it was pretty good. Defiantly rental worthy for a good action adventure type. I give it a B.

Borat - I wish someone would have just taken me to the movie when it came out and not told me anything about it. I've heard a lot about the movie, and saw a bunch of previews. It had some funny parts, but its over hyped. This one gets a B-.

The Departed - A star studded cast for this movie, and it lives up to the Oscar that it received. The acting is great and the story moves along well. The direction is also done very well. Defiantly rent this one, A.

V for Vendetta - I finally watched this on Showtime. Pretty good for the anarchist in me. Basically England turns into an Orwellian state. V (the main character) is out to change all of this and does. Good action adventure, B-.

I'll post an update from time to time.

Baseball Tix

For those who don't know, I still like to go to baseball games. Above is a scan of the 2007 season tickets. Let me tell you, it's not easy being on Orioles fan now a day. In the off season, the biggest thing they did was add bullpen depth. The bullpen can't help when you are down 8-3 in the 7th inning! It doesn't look good, this will possibly be the worst year they have had since 1988.
My prediction: 61-101, last place (below Tampa) in the AL East. But I will still go to the games, its what I do.

Another poker night

We had another poker game Saturday. This week there was a crowded field, 7 players in all. My friend from Roto-ball, Steve Schmits was the special guest tonight. And Steve cleaned up!
Steve was passing through on his way to a Fantasy Baseball draft today in Laural. This year, with all that has been going on, I decided to drop out of playing Fantasy Baseball for the season. I will probably pick it up again next season, but I needed a break. I've been playing since the 1990 season, and just a little burned out.
Steve is always an interesting person to speak to, and it's good to get a different perspective on things.

LG CU500 update

The accessories began arriving for the new phone, an LG CU500. The first two things to arrive were the belt pouch for the phone, can't go wrong there, and the 2GB micro SD memory card. The memory card is necessary to store pictures for this blog and some MP3 tunes. As it turns out, the CU500 doesn't recognize the memory card. I called Cingular (the new AT&T...sic). After about 15 minutes, they decided that the phone doesn't recognize a 2GB card (it's suppose to). I demanded a software update!
The software update won't happen. But they did give me a $120 credit to buy 2 over priced, 512MB, memory cards. They credited my account for the money. While looking at my account I noticed another $35 charge that I wasn't use I called back about this. They credited this to my account also. So I am actually in the black with Cingular this month.
I found a 1GB SanDisk card on eBay for $21 delivered. I still have the 2 GB which works fine. All in all, a decent day.

Bagpipe Jokes

Top 42 Bagpipe Jokes - Funny!

Top 42 Bagpipe Jokes (ed. note: most seem to be recycled lawyer jokes with a bagpipe filter)

• Q. What's one thing you never hear people say?
  A. Oh, that's the bagpipe player's Porsche.
  
• Q: What's the difference between a Scotsman and a Rolling Stone?
  A: A Rolling Stone says "hey you, get off of my cloud!", while a Scotsman says "Hey McLeod, get off of my ewe!"
  
• Q. How do you get two bagpipes to play a perfect unison?
  A. Shoot one.
  
• Q. What's the definition of a minor second?
  A. Two bagpipes playing in unison.
  
• Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and an onion?
  A. No one cries when you chop up an bagpipe.
  
• Q. What's the difference between a bagpipe and a trampoline?
  A. You take off your shoes when you jump on a trampoline.
  
• Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?
  A. To get away from the bagpipe recital.
  
• Q. Why do bagpipers leave their cases on their dashboards?
  A. So they can park in handicapped zones.
  
• Q. How can you tell a bagpiper with perfect pitch?
  A. He can throw a set into the middle of a pond and not hit any of the ducks.
  
• Q. How is playing a bagpipe like throwing a javelin blindfolded?
  A. You don't have to be very good to get people's attention.
  
• Q. What's the difference between the Great Highland and Northumbrian bagpipes?
  A. The GHB burns longer [but the Northumbrian burns hotter]
  
• Q. What do you call bagpiper with half a brain?
  A. Gifted.
  
• Q. What's the difference between a lawnmower and a bagpipe?
  A. You can tune the lawnmower, and the owner's neighbors are upset if you borrow the lawnmower and don't return it.
  
• Q. How many bagpipers does it take to change a light bulb?
  A. Five, one to handle the bulb and the other four to contemplate how Bill Livingston would have done it.
  
• Q. How many bagpipers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
  A. 5-one to do it, and four to criticise his fingering style.
  
• Q. If you were lost in the woods, who would you trust for directions, an in-tune bagpipe player, an out of tune bagpipe player, or Santa Claus?
  A. The out of tune bagpipe player. The other two indicate you have been hallucinating.
  
• Q. How do you make a chain saw sound like a bagpipe?
  A. Add vibrato.
  
• Q. How many bagpipers does it take to change a light bulb?
  A. Five. One to handle the bulb, the other four to tell him how much better they could have done it.
  
• Q. What's the definition of a gentleman?
  A. Someone who knows how to play the bagpipe and doesn't.
  
• Q. What's the difference between a dead snake in the road and a dead bagpiper in the road?
  A. Skid marks in front of the snake.
  
• Q. What's the difference between a dead bagpiper in the road and a dead country singer in the road?
  A. The country singer may have been on the way to a recording session.
  
• Q. What's the range of a bagpipe?
  A. Twenty yards if you have a good arm.
  
• Q. What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?
  A. A bagpiper.
  
• Q. What did the bagpiper get on his I.Q. test?
  A. Drool.
  
• Q. What's the definition of a quarter tone?
  A. A bagpiper tuning his drones.
  
• Q. Why are bagpipers fingers like lightning?
  A. They rarely strike the same spot twice.
  
• Q. How can you tell if a bagpipe is out of tune?
  A. Someone is blowing into it.
  
• Q. Why is a bagpipe like a Scud missile?
  A. Both are offensive and inaccurate.
  
• Q. What do bagpipers use for birth control?
  A. Their personalities.
  
• Q. How do you know if a bagpipe band is at your front door?
  A. No one knows when to come in.
  
• Q. Why did the bagpiper get mad at the drummer?
  A. He moved a drone and wouldn't tell him which one.
  
• Q. If you took all the bagpipers in the world and laid them end to end-- it would be a good idea.
  
• Q. What do you call ten bagpipes at the bottom of the ocean?
  A. A start.
  
• Q. If you drop a bagpipe and a watermelon off a tall building, which will hit the ground first?
  A. Who cares?
  
• Q. Why do bagpipers walk when they play?
  A. To get away from the sound.
  
• Q. How late does the bagpipe band play?
  A.Oh, about a half beat behind the drummer.
  
• Q. Why do bagpipers always walk when they play?
  A. Moving targets are harder to hit.
  
• Q. What does a bagpiper wear under his kilt?
  A. Shoes and socks.
  
• Q. Why do they call it a "kilt"?
  A. Because a lot of people got kilt when they called it a skirt.
  
• BAND STRUCTURE OF THE ARGYLL & SUTHERLAND HIGHLANDERS
  
  Drum Major:
  Leaps tall buildings in a single bound
  Faster than a speeding bullet
  More powerful than a locomotive
  Walks on Water
  Talks to God
  
  Pipers:
  Leaps small buildings with a run-up
  Is a crack shot
  Pulls railway carriages
  Fords rivers
  Listens to god
  
  Side Drummers:
  Vaults over fences
  Is allowed his own sidearm
  Can read a railway timetable
  Knows how to put on fishing gollashes
  Believes in God
  
  Tenor Drummers:
  Can open and walk through a door
  Knows which is the dangerous end of a gun
  Has his own train set
  Wears Wellington boots
  Talks to himself
  
  Bass Drummers:
  Trips over matchsticks
  Is NEVER allowed near firearms
  Says "Look at CHOO-CHOO"
  Plays in puddles
  Nobody listens to him
  
  and finally.
  
  THE PIPE MAJOR:
  Lifts tall buildings and walks underneath them
  Catches bullets in his teeth and chews them
  Kicks locomotives off their tracks
  Drinks entire oceans
  He IS GOD!!!!
  
• Q. What's the definition of "optimism"
  A. A bagpiper with a beeper.
  
• Q. What's the difference between a bagpiper and a frog?
  A. The frog might be getting a gig.

September to Remember

On September 2, 2006, Teri and I set off to go back to Myrtle Beach for our 10th anniversary vacation. It started off okay, even though it was raining in MD. But after about 2 hours of driving, we got a call from our house alarm company. Gram triggered the alarm because she knocked the phone off the hook. My brother Chuck arrived soon after and all was fine. Then the adventure began...

On the ride down, we stopped and I reach into the back of our van to pull something from the luggage. I had a back spasm. No big deal, I would take it easy the next day. I did, but on Monday, we hit the driving range. This did my back in. We went to find a chiropractor on Tuesday. This was a Chinese chiropractor and in addition to the normal chiropractic adjustments, she did a Chinese technique called cupping to relieve the inflammation. This seemed to work ok, but left circles all along my back side. It looks bad, but it didn’t hurt or anything, and did seem to relive the inflammation. The picture with the glass jars is the cupping procedure.

The next day Teri and I had a golf lesson and went out on the Dolphin Adventure, which we went about a mile out in the ocean, followed shrimp boats and watch the dolphins come up to feed. All went well.

Thursday we went Gulf Stream fishing. This was a 3 hour ride out the Gulf Stream, 5 hours of fishing, and 3 hours back to port. On the way out, I got sea sick BIG TIME! And stayed that way the entire trip. Teri did okay, and I managed to get about 90 minutes of fishing in. We ended up catching about 30 pounds of fish. Once on shore, I was okay, just know to take caution (and Dramamine) next time.

Things were fine for the next week and a half. Doing the work thing, and getting into golf a little more. On Monday, September 18 I watched the football game. They discussed the appendectomy that the Pittsburgh Quarterback underwent (with computer animation). It was informative; file it for long term info. Went to bed and had some stomach pains. I thought it was something I eat earlier, but it didn’t settle down with Tums or Pepto. Uh, oh, feels like it could be another kidney stone. Took kidney stone pain pill, no use; off to hospital.

They got the pain under control and I received a CAT scan. Around 5:00am I’m informed that it’s my appendix. My first thought, “I’ve got a busy week coming up, can we schedule this for next Monday?” I’m informed that I’ll be the first surgery of the morning at 7:30am. That really messed up the week.

It took a little longer then they thought, but got it out via Laparoscopic surgery. I woke up in my hospital room Tuesday morning around 9:30am. I recovered in the hospital until Thursday afternoon, and was discharged. Everything went fine Thursday, I eat normally. No BM yet, but that was normal for this operation.

Friday, I wasn’t able to keep any food on my stomach. This was cause for concern, and back to the hospital Friday evening. They ran a bunch of tests, but found nothing wrong. All is well on Saturday. Everything is functioning properly.

With this surgery, I did miss a big concert Saturday, the Virgin Festival. These things happen. I’ll probably be out of work another couple weeks.

Newspaper articles

Back in February, 2007, Microsoft released their latest operating system, Vista. I was contacted by The Capital newspaper and was quoted on my opinion of the O/S. Here is a link to the article: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/cgi-bin/read/2007/02_05-16/TOP

I also gave a demonstration at our Easton branch of the Chesapeake PC Users group and was quoted in their newspaper, the Star-Democrat. Here is a link to that article: http://www.stardem.com/article.asp?article=24181&paper=1&cat=140

I don't mean to toot my own horn, but this is an archive of what is going on and what has happen to me.

New phone

I didn't go crazy and buy a PDA phone. I was going to until Cingular informed me that they would charge $40/month for e-mail/internet access. I don't use the features that much.
So I found a best bang for the buck phone. It's the LG CU500. Has a lot of features, bluetooth, decent camera, some of the latest bells and whistles. Now I need to repopulate the phone book with everyones info.
One good thing is that it uses the same charger as my old phone. I don't need to buy a new charger for travel or for the car. I did find a bluetooth headset and data cable on ebay for a lot less then the Cingular donkey wanted to charge.

New Rush CD!

Rush (the band) has a new CD coming out! Check out the website, http://www.rush.com/
The new song, Far Cry, sounds decent. But maybe they shouldn't choose a song title that has the name of a popular game that many of their fans may have played.
This is the CD cover. I'll probably see them this summer when I can. Go to their website to hear the single.

First joke...

Roseanne was on Real Time with Bill Maher's show last Friday night and told this joke.
A little context, have you noticed that a lot of conservatives are kind of homosexual? I know that many have sexual identity problems, thus the reason they think they are conservative in the first place. Anyway, the joke:

Why were Republicans so upset about the Monica Lewinsky blow job?

Because she was a GIRL!


I thought it was pretty funny and hit the nail on the head...so to speak.

Leaving on a jet plane...

This is the view from my window as I left Portland. All and all the trip was fine.

The only incident was when I got home. I left my cell phone on the cab that brought me home! I am kind of pissed. And I'm not sure of which company the cab was from. I hope the charge shows up on my statement soon.

If I can't find it, I'll get another phone Tuesday or Wednesday.

Bangor

This is the hotel that I stayed while in Bangor, ME (3/7-9/2007) Nothing fancy, but it worked for 2 nights. A couple of the guys didn't like it because it was next to a truck stop.

And I hate to go on about it, but I thought Portland was cold. We went to dinner, the temp was 0 degrees. The overnight low was -12 degrees. When I took these pictures it was a balmy 15 degrees!








I discovered that actually we were next to a landfill. I would think this would have been the bigger problem.










This is the front view of the place. It looks nice from the outside.











On the way home, this is a sight you don't see many places, Moose Crossing. I didn't actually see any moose.

Fort in Portland Harbor

This is a Fort Preble (out in Portland Harbor). It was built during the Civil War, but never used. Frankly, I don't know why they would bother to build a fort here, if someone wants this that bad, its all theirs!
On Tuesday, 3/6/2007, the temperature only rose to 9 degrees F! And Wednesday morning it fell to -7 degrees! More about the weather in the next posting...

First trip for US Attorney Office, Portland, ME

These are pictures from Portland, Maine. The first couple are from my room, the others are from the US Attorney offices.

Update from Russ Doyen

My long time friend Russ Doyen, is an interesting character. Below is an e-mail thread recently between us. I'll tell other stories as time goes by.


Gratz on the new job! I hope it's not a relocate.

I am in Bulgaria until the 8th. If I was there, I would love to meet you guys for lunch.

Let me know when your back in town. I am also starting an auction business. I went to auctioneering school and should have my license soon.

Take care, have a great trip!

Russ

"Michael R. Young" wrote:

Hey Russ,
Sorry to take forever to get back with you. Anyway, how is the business going? Sounds good about the business. Which is a reason I am writing. I started a new job an am flying out of Reagan Sunday afternoon. Want to have lunch with Teri and I? I love Legal Seafood that is there in the airport.
Let me know.

-Mike


Russell Doyen wrote:

Lets see... I closed the bar because I am getting ready to sell it. The property values in the area have gone up about 300%. Not doing the P&G thing anymore (although they said I was welcome to come back anytime). I opened a business at the DCA (Reagan National Airport) where I supply workers and couriers to the airlines (Northwest, Spirit, Air Tran, ATA, Midwest, and Continental). I am getting ready to launch the website for the business as soon as the broadband connection is installed at the airport office. Lisa (the exwife got remarried to they guy she shacked up with), Ilka and I are planning to get married in Feb. in Bulgaria (probably). I have moved to a penthouse apartment in Alexandria, VA (stop by anytime, it's 50 meters from the Braddock Metro Station). I am online all the time. What IM are you using? I have Yahoo and MSM up most of the time. What's your screen name if your using one?

How are things going for you and Terri? I hope everything is going great for you. Any kids in the picture? Sorry I missed the Birthday Bash. Any concerts comming up soon?

Russ

Chesapekae PC Users Group

One of the things that I am involved with is the Chesapeake PC Users Group. I am President of the group, and have been since 1998. It's one of the ways that I try to stay in the public eye. Another reason for my involvement is that I give my time back to the community. I'll probably comment on some of the things that take place from time to time.
The next big thing that will be coming up is that we will be building PCs with various other members. These are realtively powerful PCs. The date to do this is the weekend of April 21-22. I hope I will be in town to be able to participate. Below is the PC specs that we will be building:

Project: Build the best bang for the buck Vista Ultimate capable PC

As promised I have updated some parts and prices below. All of these prices were quoted on NewEgg.com which I would recommend. I was hoping for some lower prices at this point. Basically I think some of the higher end products have come down. This means you get a better system for the same money. With that, remember build weekend is April 21-22. You will need to bring your own tools, #0, #1 Phillips screwdrivers, medium and small flathead screwdrivers, needle nose pliers, and any other small hand tools that you think you may need.

With the release of Windows Vista, it’s time to consider an upgrade. With this iteration of Windows, more attention should be paid to the amount of RAM and your video card. Recently there have been a lot of news about new hardware, and quite frankly, it can be confusing to get the most out of your dollar.

I am proposing that in the early spring (after Vista has been out for a little while) that we take a weekend and build Vista capable PCs. I brought this up at the last meeting and there seemed to be a fair number of members interested in the project. Before you commit to participate in this project, I want to clarify some of the details.

First off, this is not a ‘cheap’ PC. For the hardware alone it will cost about $1500. The goal is to give you the most bang for the buck, but this is not a ‘bleeding edge’ system. The PC will have a solid operation and should last you for 3-4 years (with regular maintenance). Regular maintenance may mean adding some more RAM or upgrading the video card. So with all of that said, if you are still interested, let’s jump into what you will get out of the project.

You will gain valuable experience and insight to the assembly of a modern PC. This includes learning some of the latest PC technology and trends when working with these systems. This experience will last you well into the future for your next system or an additional PC that you may want to build.

You will also gain the camaraderie of the other members that build a PC in the same workshop. If you have problems down the road, or would like to make modifications to your system, some of the other attendees of the workshop can assist or may want to make similar modifications to their own PC.

So what will $1500 buy you? Below is a list of the hardware and some comments.

CPU: Intel E6600 @ 2.4 GHz Core 2 CPU $315

This CPU offers the most bang for the buck of the newer Intel processors, do the research online and you will see what I mean.

Motherboard: ASUS P5B-E $157

I think this MoBo offers the most bang for the buck. It can be setup with a RAID array and comes from a reputable manufacture.

Video card: EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB $310

NVIDIA has released the 320MB version of their 8800 series card. This isn’t much more then the card that was previously recommended and is the only video chipset that is DX 10 compatible.

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $207

As with the motherboard, the exact memory will need to be decided upon when the time gets closer. Right now there are several decent 2 GB memory solutions. The current cost with shipping and before rebates is about $220. Hopefully this price will fall.

Hard drive(s): Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (320 GB) $95

The full name of this on NewEgg is: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive. This sums it up. I will recommend the at least two of the drives be purchased for building your RAID array.

Case: Rosewill R6AU6-BK ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $50

This seemed to have a lot of nice features and should last you a while. A case is a personal choice, but I didn’t see any issues with this one.

Powersupply: ePOWER ZU-550W ATX12V Version 2.0 550W $55

This seemed like a nice middle of the road powersupply. The important thing is the current available on the 12V supply line (rails). This powersupply has 18A and 16A on two separate rails. This is a great way to distribute the power to your components.

CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 $65

I am currently using this CPU cooler and can recommend it. It’s quiet and really helps to keep the CPU cool. The one issue to keep in mind with this cooler, its HUGE! It stands about 8 inches high and just clears the case that I am using. But once it’s in your system, you probably won’t overheat the CPU any time soon.

DVD Drive: ASUS Black 18X DVD+R SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe $45

It’s important to get a SATA DVD writer. There is only one PATA port on the MoBo so save it until you really need it. Besides, you have 6 SATA ports.

Miscellaneous: Add about $100

With any project, there are always overages.

At this point the total is $1494. Some things may be able to be reduced here or there, but this is a firm number.

Made it to Maine

Today Teri took me to Regan airport (DCA) for my flight to Maine. This is my first assignment on this BEA contract. We arrived early and had lunch at Legal Seafood restaurant at the airport. This went fine and I left for my trip. I was scheduled to leave at about 3:00pm. Unfortunately, there was a delay, and the flight didn't leave until 4:40pm! All in all, I made it here and all is fine. I actually met some of the team members on the flight generally it all turned out fine.
I'll take some pictures of Portland,ME over the next couple of days and add them to the Blog.

Poker Night

Each Saturday night I host a poker game with the family and friends. Usually it is Teri and I, my mother, sister Cindy and her son Kurt, and my neighbor jay. Occasionally others will play, but this is generally the core group.
Its usually interesting and it's a good time for those of us who don't go out much. This weekend, Jay didn't make it, but Big Kurt (my brother in law) did. My mother brought my Great Nephew Tyler (this usually happens). He plays video games while we play cards. This week Cindy also brought my great niece Tabatha. Tyler and Tabatha kept each other entertained. I lost $8, Teri won $18, Little Kurt busted (lost everything) and Big Kurt won. Mom and Cindy finished somewhere in between.
So that is what I usually do on Saturday nights. It's not super exciting, but Gram gets to see everyone each week and its a good time to get caught up with what is going on with everyone else.

First trip to Alaska, November, 2003

These are some picture that I took on my first trip to Alaska. The date on the pictures are correct. Flip through the link below for more pictures.

2003-11-17

Strange Evening

Tonight, Teri picked me up at the train station and we decided to eat dinner at Remomos resturant. On the way in, I ran into an old coworker, Willie Hicks. We chatted a little bit and he mentioned that another former coworker was inside, Jackie Andres. She use to be pretty hot (and still ain't too bad), Areobics instructor and all.

Anyway, on the way out, who should we run into, my friend Heather and her husband Jim. Kind of odd seeing all of those different people in one evening.

New Job

I started a new job February 27, 2007. This time it's a Dept. of Justice contract. The primary contract is held by BEA Systems and I am working for a sub-contractor, USresources (yes, that is how they spell it). The work is at the US Attorney offices replacing their existing desktop and laptop computers.
It's a job. This doesn't do much for my career. The pay is better then unemployment. And I get to travel. This week I trained in DC and used the train to get to DC. This was so much easier then driving! Especially today when it was raining. It would have taken 2 hours to get in. I caught the 7:35am train, and was at the office at 8:25! This is still an hour (more or less) to get to work, the stress of not fighting traffic is HUGE! So the MARC, so far, is a good thing.
My first assignment will be with the entire team in Maine. I'll be in Portland for a few days, and Bangor after that. I'll try to take more pictures and post them as this, and other trips take place.
Normally the team will consist of myself as team-lead, and 3 other installation technicians. Maine is the pilot state. Teri is taking me to DCA Sunday afternoon and we'll have lunch there before I go.
I'll be back Friday, 3/9/07. And I'll post with what is happening from there.