On Father’s Day. This is a new “day” for me, and I must say, I like it. I got some cools gifts and Joey, Whitney, and I really liked it. Whitney got me some neat cologne + aftershave (“Truth” from Calvin Klein), which I’ve been wearing for the past week, and Joey got me a baseball glove. Joe-man and I played catch for the first time, and it was AWESOME! :-) ...

Bob Roberts is a favorite of mine. It ranks right … Bryan - Jun 5, 2006 Bob Roberts is a favorite of mine. It ranks right up there with Bulworth and Wag the Dog, as far as political satires go.

Bud The third stage is when things get a little difficult. There are too many new cars out, too many magazine covers taunting you with “NEW!” and “BEST EVER!” and “THE NEW BENCHMARK!” Too many cool cars coming out and showing up in your town, on your streets, and all of a sudden, you’re drivin’ yesterday’s news. At this point, you either stay the course and don’t waver from your original plan, or you start to get edgy and you start distancing yourself from your choice. You like it okay and all, but you’re looking around and starting to spend far too much time reading car reviews again. You don’t quite have The Fever, but you can feel it coming in about six months or so. ...

My old “private” blog is no more. It went to the scary delete button purgatory of Blogger, complete with its so-not-me-anymore sentiments. In its place, I have a new public blog: Bimmer Whoa’s, to document my time with my 1990 325iS. Should be interesting.

TCL thread Okay, I take several things from this thread: Just as cars used to be designed to rust/break, they’re now designed to run forever, but require dealer visits for all maintenance. Old cars rock. Engineered by rules-of-thumb and experience, not by CAD tolerances down to 1 mm / part. Understressed, overbuilt engines that were evolutionary. Wow, I don’t want to own a new VW. Oh yeah, I knew that already. ...

Haven’t been under 200lbs since I was in like 6th-7th grade. But that’s where I need to be, BMI-wise.

Car lounge link Coupla thoughts here: Since cars have more computers, does this imply they’ll have bugs, by definition? Will any inside engineer even admit to “defective” products, especially given the legal ramifications? Interested to see where my CL thread goes, if it goes anywhere.

One ride. Yep, one trip from the park entrance directly to The Beast killed our day. Me with a bruised ribcage, Whitney with debilitating feminine issues. Tip for those headed to PKI: Put your arms DOWN if you’re a big guy through the turns, I got racked back-and-forth between the 1st hill & the helix (after the braking run) and seriously couldn’t breathe for the rest of the ride. They’ve built the seat bolsters up so much that it’s just PAINFUL. ...

_I been up, I been down. Take my word, my way around. I ain’t askin’ for much. I said, lord, take me downtown, I’m just lookin’ for some tush._ * * * Yike, it’s been an uneven few days. I’m totally pumped today, and I was a wreck yesterday. I’m having some integrity questions, and I don’t think this next management cycle’s going to be very good for me or my team. ...

I recommend some amusement park therapy! Jeff Roberts - Jun 5, 2006 I recommend some amusement park therapy! Hey, Ray. I finally found your blog! Hope all is well in G-town. Amusement parks…PAH! :-)

Beat all 8 levels on Tower blaster, with a score of 40523. fun times!

link You can go far just by being nice. Not at this company, bub. But then again, reading through the top section, looks like we’re on our way out, anyway. Great article by a great engineer. If his code’s half as good as his insightful blogs, he’s awesome.

Ars Technica Article Still, as occasional hobby photographer myself, I find myself wistful in saying goodbye to the film era. I won’t miss the lousy enlargements I get when I break down and go to the drug store for processing, but film has a feel, or maybe a look, that I still can’t quite capture with a digital camera. There’s also something to be said for the beginner who learns to carefully compose a quality shot, knowing he can’t just take a dozen photos, throw ten away, and fix the remaining two in Photoshop. ...

article My fav quote in the trackback: I read an article before about a guy who worked when he felt like it, e.g. if its raining outside then he’d stay at work longer and get some more stuff done, but if the next afternoon as sunny, he’d take off knowing that it would be a waste trying to write code when his head wasn’t in it. Hmm…Microsoft is in Washington…it rains ALOT in Washington. M$ churns-out lots of code…connection? :-)

Q: What’s the shortest distance between two jokes? A: A straight line. * * * Signs that you’ve been programming too long… Jamie walks in and remarks that one of our compadres just got promoted, saying “What’d Tom do, port the ‘C’” Me: “Yeah, I think he’s done alot of stuff with 64-bit drivers and stuff like that. He’s an awesome coder.” Jamie: “No, man, I said, ‘Did he part the sea?’ You know, like Moses.”

Now that I’m a whole month removed from having one of the coolest cars of the last decade, I have some downsides for all those of you considering a MINI purchase. The 02-04’s are garbage. BMW came to Oxford, England and converted a plant with…ahem…“sufficient” build quality to build a 21st century automobile. They simplified the mechanicals and did constant improvements, even amid model years. Get an 05 or 06, especially if you’re getting an ‘S’. ...

Herald-Leader Harvey Jason Richardson stunned Breathitt County political observers by beating veteran incumbent Judge-Executive Lewis Warrix by 666 votes in the Democratic primary. Richardson has no fall opponent, so at age 27 will become what is thought to be the youngest judge-executive in Kentucky, though not the youngest ever elected. So, the punk defeated the decent, honest fellow by 666 votes? Coincidence? And it gets BETTER! But in Breathitt County, former Sheriff Ray Clemons, removed from office in 1997 after being convicted of failing to report drug activity within his family, defeated incumbent Sheriff John L. Turner in the Democratic primary. ...

I cannot believe that they elected Harvy Richardso… Elesha - May 0, 2006 I cannot believe that they elected Harvy Richardson to hold any sort of office in Jackson–makes me glad that I don’t live there anymore.

Article Interesting statistic: Georgetown has grown 20% since 2000. Other interesting thought: No new homes for awhile == “WOOHOO! Property values skyrocket”

I have too many friends in the new home industry t… Jeff Roberts - May 4, 2006 I have too many friends in the new home industry to wish for that, but I do wonder how long before Newtown gets its first strip mall.