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Thoughts on just about everything from rock-n-roll, sports, kids, to geek speak -- by John Bullock About John Subscribe to this blog  |
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February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 September 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 |
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Thursday, April 28, 2005 |
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Latest New Home Photo | |
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More walls and the beginnings of the top floor.
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Virtual Tour | |
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The virutal tour of our current house is done and is online now. | |
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Wednesday, April 27, 2005 |
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More Wood | |
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The house has the beginnings of some walls now. This photo was taken from the back of the house.
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Where the Buffalo Roam | |
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In case you don't know where the buffalo roam, it is right by my work. I stopped yesterday AM on my way to work and snapped a couple of photos.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2005 |
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IBT | |
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Are you still using tape backup? If so, you may be in need of services from the Institute for Backup Trauma (hilarious video!). | |
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Too True | |
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Friday, April 22, 2005 |
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Pictures of my Wood | |
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Damn, there goes the 'G' family rating for my blog. Actually, I'm hoping to see how many people that are looking for porn end up at my blog only to find pictures of my new house. I had posted earlier in the week that the cement truck came and poured the cement for the garage, porch and basement floor. In addition to the cement they started to install the big steel support beams that will support the main floor. The next day they delivered the wood for the house and today they actually started putting up wood as well as the posts to support the steel beams under the floor. This first picture shows the garage floor, the start of the frame of the garage, and the main floor that was installed.  This next picture shows the newly laid front porch as well as the garage frame and main floor that was installed.  This last picture was taken through one of the window wells and shows the basement floor they poured along with the steel beams and support posts. 
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Perspective | |
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Here is a story that helps put all of my trivial problems in perspective. This poor lady has offered to sell one of her eyes to try to get some money for her and her child. It is good to have reminders about how lucky most of us really are. | |
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005 |
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Free Stuff | |
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Click here to get your free dehydrated water. Be sure to check out the FAQ. | |
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Fetid Smurf | |
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If you want to find out your Smurf Name check out this link. I always thought the stinky blue thing was what you found in public restrooms, apparently it has been me all along as my smurf name is Fetid Smurf. On the flip side my daughter's Smurf name is Lemon-Fresh Smurf so we should negate each other... | |
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Crazy Fans, MLB Standings, Houses and Shopping | |
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I haven't posted anything in about a week. It has been a combination of being busy and thinking that I didn't have much to post. However, once I started thinking about it, a lot has happened over the past several days that I want to update people on. I'll start with the Gary Sheffield incident that happened last Friday when the Yankees were playing the Red Sox. A ball was hit in the corner by Jason Veritek that Sheffield was trying to play when a fan hit Sheffield in the face. Sheffield shoved the fan, threw the ball back in and then came back to give the guy a piece of his mind. I was watching the game on ESPN at the time and had to agree with comments made by both the game announcers, Chris Berman and Rick Sutcliff, as well as Harold Reynolds back in the studio. They all said the fan's behavior was totally inexcusable and that Sheffield showed great restraint to make sure the incident did not escalate any further. The shoving that did occur from Sheffield was purely an instinctive reaction and once he thought about it more, did not physically approach the fan or try to go into the stands. This is yet another example of a person (the fan) not respecting another person (Sheffield). It is getting really ridiculous with fan behavior in all sports across the world. It used to just be a couple of soccer hooligans but more and more things are getting out of hand. Just last week, a soccer goalie was hit by a lit flare during a soccer game. I'm all for supporting your team and teasing the other guys, but when your behavior affects the outcome of the game and injures the players, you should know that you have gone too far. I could get up on my soap box on this one but I think I've said enough. So, not only have the Yankee players been attacked, they are also sitting in dead last. I'm not overly concerned yet as they had an awful April last year, but something is a little different this year so that I'm not quite as comfortable. On the flip side, the Nationals are in second place (were in first until losing the last two) and going strong. My boy Vinny is tearing up the league again. The Rockies could learn a thing or two from the Nats. While we are on the topic of sports, I've pulled the old GT Zaskar off the garage wall and have done a little spinning. A couple times at work and a couple of times at Waterton Canyon. One of the rides at Waterton was last Friday when the kids were off from school I loaded up all three bikes. They were very (pleasantly) surprised that I was riding with them because previously I had just walked or observed (so that I could help and monitor them). However, they are to the point where they are comfortable on their bikes (still with training wheels) and are going fast enough that walking is not longer required or desired. We went about 4.5 miles in just over an hour averaging 4.3 MPH. These times do not include the two snack breaks we had where we threw rocks, mud, and sticks in the river or all the water breaks. Now, I just have to get the wife to start going with us! Moving off of sports, I've been spending any time that I'm not working or playing focusing on trying to get the current house sold and move into a new one. Last weekend we bought a new kitchen table and chairs for the new house from Moosely Seconds. This is a consignment store that gets gently used furniture items as well as model home stuff and overstocked items. The item that we bought is actually a brand new one that was overstocked. We will use our current table and chairs in our new dining room. So far, we've made three major purchases for the new home, including this one. The other two purchases were a sofa and love seat for the living room and some art work for the family room. All at discounted prices. Not too bad if I can say so myself. There are many other items we have started shopping for as well for the new home including new furniture for the master bedroom (as all of our is very old hand me down stuff that doesn't match), new furniture for Lindsay's room (see the comment about the current master bedroom furniture), a new couch, loveseat, and chair for the family room, end tables, lamps, barstools, kitchen desk chair, a new TV for the family room (the current one will go to the loft for the kids and we will get a nice new big HDTV), and office furniture. We have also been starting to get some ideas for how we want to landscape the back yard. At this point we are thinking of putting in a flagstone patio in the back as opposed to a deck but who knows. From a visible perspective, not much has happened at the new house. They installed the water meter and it appears they ran the power up to the house. Yesterday they got everything ready so they could pour the concrete for the garage, porch, and basement floor. Suzanne said she saw the cement truck at our house when she was leaving for work today so I will probably have some new photos in the next couple of days. The other thing that I realized recently is that the base price of our model has gone up $15,000 since we locked in our price. I guess these house are selling very well. So we've made money on the deal already ;) Since we've listed our current house, we have not done much to it. I think we've had 9 showings since we listed at the beginning of the month (If you don't count the days before our first showing we are average one every other day). We are trying to patient about selling it (I believe the typical listing time is 30-60 days) but it is hard. We've done a great job of keeping it spotless so we are ready for showings any day. I won't start getting too nervous until the June time frame. Don't ask the wife as I think she might already be getting concerned. |
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Wednesday, April 13, 2005 |
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Quality Control | |
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I've been working on creating a Software Test Plan template for use at the company I work for. During this work I've been researching a lot of stuff on the internet and stumbled across this: When you have an "I hate my job" day try this: On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section. You will need to purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson and Johnson. Be very sure you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the drapes, and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed during your therapy. Change to very comfortable clothing, such as a sweat suit and lie down on your bed. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Carefully place it on the bedside table so that it will not become chipped or broken. Take out the material that comes with the thermometer and read it. You will notice that in small print there is a statement: "Every rectal thermometer made by Johnson and Johnson is personally tested. " Now close your eyes and repeat out loud five times: "I am so glad I do not work for quality control at the Johnson and Johnson Company." |
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Monday, April 11, 2005 |
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House Update | |
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Here are a couple of photos of the new house taken on Saturday before we got over 2 feet of snow down in Roxborough. The two photos are taken from opposite corners of the house. 
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Thursday, April 07, 2005 |
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Listing | |
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They finally got the photos and the listing correct on realtor.com. | |
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Dirt | |
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Hey, who put all the dirt in my garage???
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Sunday, April 03, 2005 |
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Bargain | |
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I have to admit that I am a pretty good shopper and find some excellent bargains especially when I set my mind to it. I just recently told my wife that I really was set on bike stuff but I guess I could use replacements for a couple of items that I already had that were getting a little old and moldy. Sunglasses and a bike helmet. I already had both of these items but they were both at least three years old and were starting to show their age and over-use. Previously I had Smith Moab glasses. I liked them but they were starting to show their age. I was on my third set of (replaceable) lenses and the screws in the hinges were no longer tightening so it was time for replacements. Anyone that knows me knows that I don't buy a brand just because of their name, they have to have a proven reputation of solid performance. Sunglasses are one area where brand names cost you more although you don't get much more for your money. This time I purchased the Performance Tempest glasses. A middle of the road priced product with just about most of the features I would want. They were flexible, had a nice case and had three sets of lenses (one of normal riding (grey), one for overcast riding (orange), and one for darker riding conditions (clear)). This weekend Performance was having a sale on sunglasses, plus all members received a 20% refund, and I had a $10 off coupon from previous member purchases. A pretty good buy if I can so so. The other item that I needed to replace was my biking helmet. The past two or three times I have purchased Bell brand helmets and have been very happy with them. The fit has been good and the quality has been excellent. The only reason I replace my helmets, as I have not crashed on my helmet yet, is because they say you should replace them every 3 years or so if you are an active rider. Well, I had received my members refund from REI and also had 20% off coupon. I saw a helmet a while back and noticed that REI had it so I told Suzanne that we needed to go there before the 20% off coupon expired on April 3rd. The helmet that I have been looking at is the Bell Influx in silver. Bike helmet pricing ranges quite a bit for what is perceived as very little difference. Even as an avid bike rider that studies these things, I don't know the major price differences between the $30 helmet and the $130 helmet. I know that a couple of the reasons are the number of vents as well as the fit of the helmet. However, once you get just a little bit up into the price range you can't see much of a difference. This helmet had many vents (18) that are very large as well as a custom fit system (GPS) that helps it fit better. I have to say although I have not ridden with this helmet yet that it seems to fit much better than any helmet I've ever had! Well, as the helmet was priced at $60, and I had a my $16.00 members discount (based upon the previous years expenses), and the 20% discount it would appear that this helmet was going to be very cheap. However, as the wife didn't want to hang around and watch me try on helmets and see if they fit, she headed over to shoes to see if she could find some new comfortable slip-ons to replace her old ones. You have to understand that Suzanne is not the the stereotypical woman when it comes to shoes. She has a few basic pairs and that is about it. So if she says that she needs new shoes, then you know that she really needs them. She also has horrible luck finding anything that she likes that fits her (having narrow feet like me!). So it was very amazing that she found something that looked nice that she also liked. She ended up choosing the Merrel Jungle Primo Slides. So, although my helmet may have been cheap, add the shoes and it ended up bringing the bill back up but it was worth it. |
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Pig in Shit | |
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Well, it may be Sunday night but I'm as happy as a pig in shit! The Yankees are clobbering the Dead Sux 9-1 after 8. I can't imagine a finer way to kick off the 2005 Baseball season than Yankees vs. Dead Sux with a Yankees victory, a fine beer in hand, and no work tomorrow! The beer I have is made by the Kona Brewing Company and is called Fire Rock Pale Ale. This beer is one that I found on Suzanne's and my first trip to Kona, Hawaii. All of their beers are good but this one appeals to my taste more than the others as it is an IPA which means it is a bitter and hoppy beer. However, for the longest time, this beer was not available on the mainland. It was a few months back when I finally found it on the mainland at my favorite liquor store, Union Liquors. If you are beer lover in the Denver metro area, this is the place you need to be. They claim to have over 600 different kinds of beer. I don't know if they have that many but they have more than any other in the metro area that I have been in. Back to the game, there are a couple of stand out players. The first has to be their newest acquisition, Randy Johnson. He just got the job done. Enough said. The other player would be Hideki Matsui. He made an amazing catch in the top of the second to rob the Dead Sux hitter (Ortiz?) of a homerun. Later in the game he blasted a two-run homerun and went 3-3. It's a beautiful thing!!! |
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Friday, April 01, 2005 |
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House for Sale | |
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We have finally listed our current house. | |
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