Vicissitudes » Junk

Encounters with H1N1

Todd Paterek — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 06:25:33 +0000

Today I was working away in my relatively sterile office (yes I alcohol regularly) and someone comes walking in. I can feel the germs fleeing his body and jumping onto my shoulders, neck and head as he stands above me.

I cringe deep into my seat assessing my options of the door or the window to escape.

He starts to talk about the issue he is having pronounced with a cough here and there. I can hardly focus on what he is asking with the thought of this mass of germs and viral bacteria building on my skin.

Deeper I sink, trying to ignore the virus now spreading through my sanctuary.

Then! The worst happens! I feel a small, cold spot gently moisten my right ear which can only be the teaming Germ & Virus soup splash from his mouth. Without hesitation I reach for my beloved Purell and rub down the dripping and infected area. Then from deep within the hell’s keep of his lungs he trumpeted a resounding, unobstructed cough summoning the armies of germs and viruses to attack.

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Brand New Look

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:25:37 +0000

I was bored with the static layout, old content, dull colors and over all lousy blog I once had. I found some great themes for WordPress at web2feel.com and decided to give this one a try. Or maybe another one. There are elements of several I like however, there are elements of each I do not like. So I will experiment until I find the right mix of theme and modification.

I archived off the entire site and started from scratch. While there was a ton of good stuff there there was also even more junk. Once I get moving I will even delete this post as it is only serving as a test and an introtuction to the new look and features.

New Look!

Leasing a car

admin — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:46:46 +0000

My lease is due on my ’05 Pontiac Grand Prix (check out the new G8′s that took over for that model). Reluctantly I set out to look for a new car. I love this car, nice and big, but not too big. I is sporty yet doesn’t come across as a muscle car. Ride is smooth and overall an outstanding car. I had to make a decision on a car. I read reviews at www.edmunds.com searched google for reviews on cars I might like. I limited my search to US made cars, I shouldn’t get into it but mostly because I know a good 15-20 people who work for GM.

One car I liked was the new Dodge Avenger. Nice solid looking car, manly! Don’t be fooled, it’s the Sebring with some boxy modifications. I liked it because it has the “myGig” option. A stereo that has a 20GB hard drive for your MP3′s and photos. Check it out on the Dodge sight. I had a salesman work up a deal. I told him I want to pay less that $300 / month with no more than $1000 down (on a lease). He came back with $345 on his second attempt. So I told him “well, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be”.

Another car I liked was the Chevy Malabu. I hate the name but the car is nice and it won North American Car of the Year. The story here isn’t the dealer or the car but the salesman. I went to a specific Chevy dealer in the area because I knew a salesman there. He is family removed, flipped over and turned around, but part of the family non-the-less. At very least we know each other more than Joe Schmo on the street. He was aware of my credit issues last year with resulted from the issues my son had at birth. So we agreed that it would be better for him to run the check before we went further. When he came back he said “Well, I cannot tell you your score but I can say that those who come in with a score under 500 get a very high interest rate. Also, if you are going to get a car anywhere it will have to be here because I can talk to the owner an he can talk to GMAC to “push” the deal through”. I’m smarter than the average bear at very least. I got my score it’s well, well over 500. Out with that dealer!

So long story short – I am picking up my brand new 2008 Pontiac G6 tonight! Okay, it’s a step down from the Grand Prix but I really do not need such a large car and I am sure I will get a little better gas mileage. Plus, I got all the fixin’s, remote start, chrome accents, etc. Get this, $500 down I’ll be paying $250 / month. Believe it or not I am paying $215 / month on the Gran Prix. Times were different back then in 2005 I guess. I’ll post a photo when I get it.

Windows XP!

admin — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:51:04 +0000

Okay, not officially back on XP but I am running full screen Windows XP through a virtual machine. My Vista has been randomly rebooting after the nVidia driver update MS suggested. Not to bash MS too much I went to the nVidia site and downloaded the latest driver and still getting reboots. I have to admit Vista does get everything running again.

I’ve been reading more about Macs and am convincing myself that MAC’s are the way to go. Their simplicity, the limited amount of needed wires in the iMac. Now the new Mac book Air (WoW!). I just realize I never installed firefox on this XP Machine so I now have to spell check this post…

Anyway, I guess just file this under junk or on my mind but I’m done for now. bah! forget the spell check!

New Look!

admin — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 20:16:40 +0000

I installed a new theme. I really wish I could find the author again because I would like to give credit. Unfortunately, I closed the window to the download that had several thousand different links. I was happy when I found this one (Blueline-10). I wanted two sidebars because of all the junk I want on the sides. Just toys really but they are fun. Now I have to customize a bit…

I’m also working on installing Gallery 2. Unfortunately, I’m having a heck of a time uploading all the files. I think I have them all now so it won’t be long, if you care to check it out.

Interview Puzzle

admin — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 18:08:05 +0000

I went on an interview last night and was asked a planning / think on your feet question. I did not get it right there but was thinking about it all evening. Upset I could not figure it out I set off to bed – turned off the light and finally knew the answer. For those who might want to think about it and did not already hear it, here is the question.

You have one light bulb wired to three switches. The bulb is under a box so you cannot see it or the light it produces. You can move the switches anyway you want but you can only open the box once. At that point you should know what switch controls the light. How do you know? I’ll answer in a comment.

Interview today

Taxes, taxes, taxes

admin — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:15:10 +0000

I am doing my taxes for the first time on my own. The tax preparer I used for the past 20 some years just did not ask the correct questions to maximize my return (or minimize what I owed last year). I cannot help but feel ripped off. Either way, I am a bit nervous so it is taking me days to complete but I am getting a nice return this year – God knows I need it. I’m using Intuit TurboTax Deluxe – Tax Year 2006

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New Post Coming

admin — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:47:06 +0000

Okay, I’m about to post something soon. Stay tuned!

Few Changes

admin — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:01:50 +0000

I made a few changes to the blog. I am using a template I found on? I forgot where I found it but if you scroll all the way to the bottom you will find a link. I made a few minor modifications the links at the top I removed and changed the graphic at the top. Other than that not too much else. I like the feel, it is much more comfortable to read.

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New server?

admin — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 19:38:01 +0000

Just needed to jump into the story to say I now have my own blog (not hosted on another free site). This plus my forum means I am getting into PHP which is pretty scarry for me as the Microsoft guy I am.