Fore ...

I went golfing yesterday. Colby invited me to play with him along with his father-in-law, Rick, and his friend, Brian. We played in a tournament hosted by Thunderbird High School Parents Association. I guess it is good to go to a school in a rich neighborhood. I wondered what they would do with the money. I digress. It has been a long time since I played last. I was hoping weed whacking improved my game, but it proved to otherwise.

Colby is the ace and can count on him consistently when we needed a bailout. I was hacking all day, but I managed to make few puts. I was happy to contribute. In fact, everyone contributed to a fine score of 65, which included 2 eagles, 2 birdies, and 14 pars. We even enjoyed few beers while playing. GOOD TIMES!

Fraudulent Charges ...

I receive a call from an automated and pre-recorded message from Chase today. Chase wanted me to call back ASAP to confirm a suspicious charge. I knew right away that it was a fraudulent charge, because I have not use Chase card in long time. I have been using my Citi card, because of its better cash rebate program.

I called back as soon as I was finished with the message. I went through the usual verbal body cavity check. You know, like your name, your social, your mother maiden name, your birthmark, your firstborn's social, etc. Mary is the name of the helpful Chase employee on the other side of phone. It was pretty painless. They are canceling the account and opening another for moi as I write this.

I should be getting a little paranoid, but I am not. I guess I feel like banks are doing their job aside from charging obnoxious amount of fees. Good job, Chase!!

Haven't Got Time For ...

I think that is how the Carly Simon song goes. Well, it has been hectic. Grading tests, putting in grades, tutoring, going to workshops, etc. What I would like is to shoot some video footages and photos, but time is quite a constraint. Here are tidbits.

More Football Highs and Lows
My Vikings are still on top of their division after a kicker trickery. Instead of a field goal, the kicker, Ryan Longwell, bootlegged to his right and passed for a touch down. How cool! They rock. I am still perplexed. Ryan Longwell used to be with the Packers. How did he end up with the Vikings?

My hometown team, Cardinals, regressed back to their old form. Although, they did not look as bad as last year, but still lost to the Seahawks. Hopefully, they will rebound this weekend.

Octoberfest
I am going to have an Octoberfest party. I think I will work on sending e-vites to people after posting this. I have already stockpiled 2 cases of helles, 2 cases of Marzen/Octoberfest, and 2 cases of Vienna lager. Mm, sausages and beer!

Insomnia
I need to go to sleep later and wake up on time. Currently, I fall asleep too early and get up at random hours. I guess I am too tired to stay up, but really, it is becoming a bad habit.

Groovy ...

Apple Grooviness
Apple had a special press event. They finally announced a product I've been patiently waiting. It is called iTV currently and will be $299 1Q next year. It is a wireless set top box between a computer and a TV. YES! Finally, I can stream music, photos, and video to TV. I need to start saving for a new TV to go with iTV next year.

Vikings Grooviness
My favorite team is off to a great start. Vikings won over Redskins last night. This win puts them on top of their division. YES! YES! YES! YES!

Cardinals Grooviness
After much controversies over building the most modern stadium for a perennial loser, Cardinals showed their hometown fans they have more motivations in their first regular home game. I am relieved to see my hometown team starting off well. Good luck. You need it. I am predicting 8-8 and missing the playoff.

Dancing Grooviness
My guilty pleasure, Dancing with Stars, is back on. Today was the first show. Boy, that Carl Tucker has got to go. If you looked under white man cannot dance, then you will find a picture of him dancing tonight. Mm, quality TV!

A Fat Chance ...

I have been buying one ticket for every drawing of Powerball this year. I mean I have same chance to win as the next person for this multi-state lottery. Of course, I have not had any luck. I look at all the tickets and I wonder if I am wasting my money and energy. I do like to imagine winning the big jackpot! Mm, millions. I was going to keep track of expense to win ratio, but I gave it up.

A Vanity Purchase ...

I went over to What Ale's Ya yesterday in order to register my Vinenna Lager into a local homebrew contest. I was concerned Chuck, the shop owner, would not be there. Last time I saw him, he was considering a move to Durango, CO. I mean who would not want to move to a cool locale. Chuck was still there with a smile. It really was good to see him again. We briefly exchanged greetings and I caught up with his life. I looked around for another purchase while he chatted with another customer.

I saw the next purchase! A glass airlock. It is the prettiest glassware I have ever seen. I decided that it is a must. $9 is much money for such a little object, but money is no object for a beautiful and functional ware.

Do You Like Pandas?

There is a brand new panda cub in the Atlanta Zoo. Do you want to watch its every move? Even if it is sleeping most of the time. If you do, then you should check out this internet watchable panda cam.

What? Five More Dollars!

I recently receive a freaking letter from my ISP, Cox Communications, which stated that they are upping my monthly fee by five dollars. It went on to say how they are giving me more bandwidth for downloading. I don't know about you, but I like to pay for the service I want, and not the service I should have. I am ticked. I checked into their competition, QWest, but it does not offer broadband in my area. That makes Cox a monopoly, at least in my neighborhood. Maybe government agencies should STEP IN!

Gross ...

I hate public restrooms. I really hate the ones in the high schools. They are always clogged with enough toilet papers to mummify a person, or even worse with #2. People cannot seem to aim when using public johns. Gross. Last week, I had to visit three different restrooms before finding a suitable one for me to use. While walking around looking for a decent toilet, I had a flashback to high school and remembered how I would come home to use toilet. I guess things don't change much!

Different type of gross
If you want to see some really gruesome cartoon, then you should see Happy Tree Friends. Don't let the title fool you. It is very cruel a la Itchy and Scratchy of the Simpsons. Be ready to vomit with the cute cuddly forest friends!

I Am So Excited ...

Apple is having a special press release next Tuesday. What could it be? Everyone is speculating it will be about download-able movies. I think that is pretty nice, but I want something more exciting. I am in the market for a fast wifi router as I am still stuck with a 802.11b router, Airport Snow. I really think $200 is too much for a router. Maybe Apple will lower or come out with a much faster media center like device. What ever it is, I am pretty stoked! I mean it cannot be any worse than iPod Hifi introduction.

Daddy Bought A New Pair Of Shoes ...

I went to REI today because they were supposedly having a big sale a la Labor Day. Well, I only bought one thing on sale, which was compression sack for sleeping bag and not close to being a bargain. I also purchase a pair of shoes at regular price. Yes. REGULAR PRICE. I don't believe in paying regular prices, but sometimes my impulse gets the best of me.

I purchased a pair of sandals that I been told is the greatest. It is comfortable, anti-microbial, odor resistant, and light weight. I tried it on once and I was willing to pay $30. I think it is worth it. You should check out Crocs.

How Can I See My Friends All At Once?

Well, I would say go to their kids birthday parties if you are hitting middle age. I have not seen Gina in sometime. Getting a sitter is apparently a hard thing. I have no idea how hard this is.

I had a good time at Emily's 2nd birthday party. The ole gang was there. It is hard to find time to catch up with everyone, but just being together is good for the soul. I think.

Anyway, enough nonsense. Here are some photos and video of the party.

My Precious ...

I don't want to sound like Gollum, but I think my latest hard drive enclosure looks Marvelous! It is from Galaxy and called Metal Gear Box. It comes equipped with an ethernet and an USB port. It is capable of being a network drive. Yes!

Of course, everything did not go smooth. It came with virtually no directions. It definitely did not have any Mac instructions. Boo. I wrote the manufacturer's support an e-mail, which has not been acknowledged or replied back. I googled to no avail and looked at Apple support site. I got a reply back from my posting to Apple's site. I had to tinker with ip addresses and such! Well, it is working now after a couple days of frustrations.

I now have 650 gigabytes storage space after putting my precious on the network. It sounds more impressive as 0.65 terabyte of storage. I am afraid I am already using about a half of that. I got photos, music, and movies all stored away.

I might need some more storage! Am I addicted to storage?