How's that for a slice of fried gold?*

So, my latest thing is this:

Inspired by my son, I'm converting/transfering my movie collection for play on my iPod. What makes this even more fun is this: Not only is all the software I found free, but I'm doing a two-stage process.

First, I put a DVD in the 'puter, and I rip it down from a 4 gig movie file to about a 1 gig mp4 file, which will play on my 'Pod. Now, while I get to wear my iPod at work and listen while I do my duties, I certainly wouldn't be allowed to sit and watch it. Also, running video absolutely kills the battery.

Thus (also inspired by michael) I then process the mp4 with a second piece of software that rips out the audio track and converts it to an mp3. Thus, I get all the goodness of the movie at a staggeringly small 150+ megs.

Not gigs, mind you, but megs. So far, I've got like 15 movies and all five seasons of Futurama on there, and it's just over two and a half gigs.

I'm in movie heaven.

Buenos con queso,

T.

*Obscure movie quote alert. If you can name the movie, I'll....well, I'll do whatever you want. Answer by email (kvenya at gmail dot com) so as not to spoil the fun.....

Why the long face?

Again, nothing to do with the post.

It's Sunday, and I'm sitting here drining coffee, and preparing to get in the shower. I woke up way before my alarm again, and I'm not all that happy about it.

At least today is my short day at work. Well, in all acuality, I've been taking a working lunch and leaving at 5 everyday, so I don't leave any earlier today, but I don't have to be in until 10.

I've been talking to L a bit, and it looks like next weekend (well my weekend anyway) I'ma go up to Reno and spend a couple days. There's prolly going to be some sushi involved too.

God I love sushi.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Evan Almighty.....

Well, it's time for another Saturday movie review.....

My Netflix brought me the above mentioned title, and I have to say I've been very excited to see this one since it came out. I mean let's face it, Steve Carrel is one funny mafuh.

Sadly, however, this movie was not the laugh riot I expected it to be. In fact, it was only marginally humorous. I mean, it wasn't bad or anything, it just wasn't all that funny.

There were a couple of grin-worthy moments, but I don't think I actually laughed once during the course of the movie.

I think that's about all I have to say about it. If you like Steve it's prolly worth a look, but don't expect to cry laughing.

It's just not that funny.

In other news, I only got one day off this week. Friday was my only day off, as we have a couple employees out on vacation. That means that I spent today at work. About the only good thing I can say about it is I'll get a day's worth of overtime this week.

That's sweet in it's own way.

Ok, time to cuddle up with a movie I know is funny. Money Talks. Chris Tucker is a funny motherfucker, I don't care who you are.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Yeah, that's right. Two fuckin' days without a post.....

Any of you here have a problem with that?

He looked around the room at the faces of those assembled there.

'Yeah, I didn't think so. Besides, some of y'all go even longer. Hell, you're lucky you're getting all the posts you do get. I'm very busy and important, and I haven't got all day to fill you in on the trivia of my life.'

With that, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

He left the building and got into his car. His mission of the day was to go to his sister's house and teach her the finer points of ebay listing. Like he fucking knows anything about it.

You'd think he did it for a living or something.

Buenos con queso,

T.

You get to make the first selection in the Double Jeopardy round.....

Which is just Alex Thedick's polite way of saying 'yoooooou suuu uuuuuck.' As you may (or may not) know, the person with the lowest score always goes first in Double Jeopardy.

Ok, so continuing the trend of the post having little or nothing to do with the title, I'm going to do a meme that PSP tagged me with.

This could very well be the first time I've ever been tagged, tho I do seem to remember (vaguely) that Sandra may have sent me a music related one at some time in the dim past.....

So, without futher ado, I present to you:

Four Things

4 Films I'd watch again (in no particular order)

Only 4? Really? Hell, I'll prolly watch 4 films 'again' this week, but here goes:

1. The Princess Bride. This one is a classic. One of my ATF's. I've seen this one so many times, I can do almost all the dialogue. Now, to learn swordplay.

2. Pulp Fiction. One of Quentin's best, IMHO. Sure, it jumps around. Sure it's violent. It also has: drug use, violence, crime and rape. Despite all that, it also has complex characters, an intricately strutured plot and a phenomenal cast. Another ATF.

3. Dogma. This one's got it all: Heaven vs. Hell, angels, demons, prophets, an epic pilgrimage, death, ressurection, God, skeeball, and platypus jokes. Like Pulp Fiction, it's got a great cast, and a great story. It's also contains a fair amount of surprisingly accurate biblical history. Oh, and Salma Hayek dressed (or undressed if you like) as a stripper. Yum. It's also the most stand alone of Kevin Smith's movies, with the possible exception of Clerks, his 1st one. But if you see that you're almost required to see the rest. If you haven't, you should see them all.

4. This is Spinal Tap. This one truly is a classic, and not just by my reckoning. It's Rob Reiner's directorial debut, and chronicles the escapades of the wholly fictional rock band Spinal Tap. The three core members, David St. Hubbins--Michael McKean, Nigel Tufnel--Christopher Guest, and Derek Smalls--Harry Shearer play their roles to perfection. This 'mocumentary' is shot as if it was a serious film, but in fact, it is made up from whole cloth. Look for a host of cameos (including billy crystal and bruno kirby) and rock out to such 'Tap classics as Big Bottoms and Sex Farm. This one is a must see!!


4 Places I've lived:

1. Altamonte Springs, FL. For about a year, after High School.

2. Morro Bay, CA. For a couple years while I was getting my A.A. from Cuesta College.

3. Carson City NV. (duh)

4. Walnut Creek CA.

4 T.V. shows I watch:

1. Dirt. It's sexy & scandalous, and I can't get enough of it.

2. Two and a Half Men. This one is pee your pants funny.

3. The Simpsons. I'm well started with my 'seasons on DVD collection.'

4. L.A. Ink. Kat VonD is fuckin' hawt, and I want her to ink me. Well, I'll prolly actually get mine from Hannah, as I want a pin-up girl, and she's rock solid with that type of tat.

4 Things to eat:

1. Also Cadbury Creme Eggs. Gonna have to go with PSP on this one. Yummm!!

2. Pringles Cheesums. These are, and will always be, the shit.

3. Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey. If ice cream were sex, this would be all over it, and I would have it every day.

4. Pizza. Thick crust, thin crust, combo, cheese, hot or cold. You name it, I'll eat it. As long as there are NO ANCHOVIES on it.

4 Places I'd rather be:

1. Tokyo, Japan.

2. Pipeline beach, north shore Oahu HI.

3. Disneyland.

4. Almost anywhere, if I were being paid to take pix and write about it.

4 People to tag:

1. Kelwhy, cause she's hot.

2. Kat, cause she's my internet 'hump buddy.'

3. Sandra, cause she's the only blogger/reader I've met in person.

4. Sue, cause she's a MMORPG'er.

That's all '4' now.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I read it on the internet, so it must be true.....

I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but I'm where internet chain letters come to die.

All those 'you've got a friend,' 'around the world,' or 'get money from Bill Gates' letters hit my inbox, and that's where they stop.

Hell, even those 'support our troops' ones don't get forwarded. It's not because I don't support our troops (i wholeheartedly do) or that I don't love and value my friends (ditto), it's just that these things are all fucking scams.

At least in my mind they are. Think about it. What these things really do is compile a list of valid email addresses. If everyone forwards it to everyone they know, in very short order, the original mailer can get a list of 10's of thousands of emails which is then sold and/or used for spam.

That's not something I read on the internet, nor has anyone else ever forwarded that idea in my presence. I came up with it all on my own.

That doesn't make it any less true though.

At least in my mind.

So, if you ever forward one of those 'send this to 10 people including the person who sent it to you' things, don't expect to hear from me. Just remember tho, it's not because I don't love you, but rather because I do.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Happy egg-laying Christian rabbit day.....

I want to start this post by saying this:

I was raised in a Catholic household (tho not a very strict one), so I have a lot of Catholic/Christian beliefs.

I believe that God created the Heavens and the Earth, and that he sent his only beggoten Son to Earth to save us.

I believe that Jesus died for my sins, and was ressurected 3 days later, that he could go prepare a place for me in his Father's house.

Where I get a bit hazy is how a 6-foot tall rabbit (mammal = live birth) handing out eggs (dont even get me started on the fact that theyre chicken eggs) is supposed to honor the persecution, death, and rebirth of my Lord and Saviour.

Ok, enough religion.....

I've got a movie review, if you care.

I finally got around to watching Carrie yesterday, and by finally, I mean a couple things.


First and foremost, it came out in 1976, so it's been around some 30 yrs now. Not that I would have gone to see it at the tender age of 10, but you get the picture.

Secondly, it is the first movie made from a Stephen King book, and in fact from his first published novel.

I don't know if I've mentioned what a big fan I am of Mr. King's writing, but I am. I've read most everything he's ever written.

Ok, so it's been years since I've read Carrie, so I can't do a very good movie-to-book comparision. A lot of what I remember from the book is in the movie, it's just been so long since I read it that I don't know how accurate it all is. I did notice that one line I remember from the book 'pigs blood for a pig' was not in the movie.

It was pretty good overall, and seemed to follow the story as I remember it (need to read the book again now), and even better, it had boobies in it.

Bare boobies, even. Sissy Spacek, Nancy Allen, and various others parade through a shower scene at the beginning of the movie with their goodies on display.

Oh, and the very end did give me an 'oh shit' moment, which is rare, even for scary movies. I'll need to watch it again, perhaps with the book at my side to make a final determination, but if you like Stephen King (and boobies) I'd recommend it.

Buenos con queso,

T.

The post that would have been.....

Yesterday, I was going to document 'egg coloring night.'

It was going to include many photos of eggs, and the whole process. Sadly, as I pulled up to sis's house, I realized I'd left my camera at home. Now, it's not a long drive from my house to sis's, not by any stretch of the imagination, but I just didn't have it in me.

It was fun, and everyone got a bit creative with the white crayon...

Sis made one that said 'Eat Me.'

Cause she's cool like that.

Then, last night, I thought about posting, but I was already laying in bed watching a movie and again, I just didn't have it in me.

Besides, I have to get the 'I don't want to post bug' out of my system. You see, I'm going to give the NaBloPoMo a run again.

They're doing monthly runs now, not just November. April's theme is letters.

Ok, time to go find a ham for dinner tomorrow.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.....

Greetings, my excellent friends.

I'm not going to post the links today, but I'm sure you've heard the stories of the 'miracle rescues' from the water ravaged flood zones.

Ok, great. These dumbasses are alive.

My ire lies in the fact that they are also clearly idiots. Now, living in a desert as I do, it's not always a factor. We don't get lots of rain all the time. I mean, it is a desert after all. Sometimes though, it seems we get all of our seasonal rainfall from 3 or 4 storms during the summer.

I mean, I've seen it raining so hard here it's hard to see across the driveway outside. Whenever severe storms are predicted, they trot out all the warnings. Stay away from small streams, they may flood.

Don't stand under tall trees, lightning may strike.

And perhaps the most important one: DON'T DRIVE ACROSS WATER COVERING THE ROADWAY!!!!

That's the one the pisses me off about these stupid fuckers. They only need to be rescued because they were out when they shouldn't have been, and didn't turn around when the should have.

As I said, I'm not posting the link, I am going to quote the Fox news dot com story, becuse it pretty much says it all:

"The biggest problem has been people driving into floodwater," said Frank Young, emergency management director in Warren County. "There are a lot of stupid people. When that sign says 'Road closed, high water,' that's what it means."

The defense rests.

Buenos con queso,

T.

When it the course of Human events.....

Again, a title that has nothing to do with the post.....

Today, we look at the news.

First up, surgeries gone wrong.....

What the fuck? I'd be pissed.....

Or what a pain in the ass...

This is just gross.

How about this?

It sucks that it took so long, but fuckin' a right.

And lastly, this is just ridiculous. Don't forget to check out their ebay auction page.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Today was a very interesting day.....

A couple of the things that happened were Call of Duty related, and won't mean much to y'all, but I'ma tell ya anyhow.....

First, the 'fix a lot of stuff that's been wrong' patch (that weve been waiting for for months) was released. That's a pretty big deal, even if you don't think so.

Secondly, I achieved level 55, which is the highest rank you can get (unless you do prestige but thats another story)

Thirdly, I got an email today. See, I sold abass on ebay the other day. It's a very sweet guitar, and as you can see, it went for a fair amount of money. The gentleman that purchased it paid by phone rather than Paypal. That's not unheard of, but for high ticket items, it's definitely not the norm.

There were no hiccups, and everything went just peachy. Now, to the email.

It went something like this:

TJ ... received the Vox bass this afternoon, thank you so much for packing the bass so well ... it is a treasure. You might be interested to know that I am the original bass player in my brother Steve Miller's band ... The Steve Miller band ... my original bass is now in the Fender Museum in Compton, California. I collect vintage instruments and I want to thank you for taking such care in protecting this one. I've left a kind word for you on your feedback site (you deserve it). If in the future you come across something that you think I might be interested in ... please contact me at xxxxxxxxxxx@xxx.xxx. Thank you very much, George "Buddy" Miller

As you can see, I've edited his email, but other than that, it's spot on.

I of course responded in kind, and left him glowing feedback on ebay as well. I just think it's cool as hell that he's the one that bought the bass.

Just so you know, I'm a big fan of The Steve Miller Band.....and have been for years now.

Well, I'll leave you with that.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Top o' the fuckin marnin' t' ya.....

That's right me lads and lassies, it's fookin' Saint Patrick's Day.

In case ye aren't aware of it, Oim just over 1/4 Irish. Have been all me life, in fact. I'll be wearin' green t'day, and we're havin' the traditional feast at moy sis's house t'night (corned beef and cabbage).

Methinks I'll also be speakin' (much as im writing) with me Irish accent t'day. It's entirely put on and made up from one word t' the next, but I'm so fookin' good at it that nobody ever knows Oim not Irish.

Just ask Sandra. We met up and drank a bit during one of my yearlies t' Dland, and I put a couple voices on fer her.

She'll tell ye.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Empty by design.....

Yeah, I truly had nothing yesterday.

I didn't watch a movie.

I didn't go out and do anything.

I stayed in and lamented the fact that it was fucking snowing.

Yeah, that's right, snowing.

The storm hasn't blown itself out yet, and I'm not sure how long it's going to take, but I figure at least a few days. We're getting close to the end of winter though, I can feel it.

I just hope it happens soon.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Su su Sushi....

YUMMERS!!!!!

I finally got to go out to sushi. It's been forever since the last time. L just happened to be coming into town (her mom was watching her son) and I got to give her her birthday present a couple (well four) days earlier.

There's this place on the main drag through town called National's Cafe and their all you can eat dinner costs $19.50. Between us, we ate most of 6 long rolls, and I've got a container in the fridge with what we didn't eat.

I'm absolutely fucking stuffed.

In fact, I'm going to go pass out now.

Buenos con queso,

T.

A deep breath, and....Friday

Well, my Friday at any rate.

I had a pretty good day at work, got a fair amount done, and I'm helping my boss (the owner) figure out how to configure the security cameras he bought for his house.

In Mexico.

Yeah, he's got one in Thailand too.....

Needless to say, my boss has a couple bucks.

We've got a storm blowing in as I type this. I think there' supposed to be snow. It's still a little early according to my prediction, but we'll see what happens. Perhaps another storm will roll in behind this one.

Ok, I'm kinda wiped out as it's been a loooong week, and I'm going to take my leave of you all now.

Oh, and what's up with tne 'no comments' thing?

Sigh, I guess y'all don't love me any more.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Naughty New York.....

What is it with political figures?

I mean really.

Don't they know that their lives (public and private) are under a microscope and that any indescretions will be found out and broadcast around the world?

I'm talking about Gov. Eliot Spitzer of course.

I don't know, I guess I just don't get it.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Yeah...not a fucking thing....

I got no title
I got no post
My life is boring,
That's no boast.

Rhymes are silly
Rhymes are fun
Rhymes are easy
And this one's done.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Home, home on the range.....

Or not.

But I did get to go test another gun today.

This time it was a pistol, and I confirmed that it was a piece of crap.

It jams and misfires.

What a gem, huh?

Still, I did get to leave work and spend time outside in the sun. We've had a string of nice days, and I'm just waiting for winter to come back.

You see, it does this every year. We have cold temps, snow, and all manner of foul weather. Then, come March/April, everyting gets nice....

The sun comes back and the clouds go away. Flowers start to bloom, and on at least 2 occasions, we've planted tomato plants in anticipation of spring. It lasts just long enough for you to start thinking that winter is finally over, then it happens.

Ol' Man Winter shows back up and craps right in your hat. Everything dies, and then it just gets hot. I mean desert hot.

I'm predicting March 19th for the shitstorm to return.

We'll see.

Buenos con queso,

T.

For about 2

Nobody knows anything.....

Well, that may not be entirely true, but it sounded good.

It's also the name of one of the episodes in the 1st season of The Sopranos.

It was a fairly uneventful day, but I'm posting anyhow. I don't know if y'all read every day, but I'm doing my best to post every day.

I don't really have any great insights today, or any controversial matters to discuss.

In fact, the highlight of my day will be in approximately 36 minutes when Dirt comes on. I thought I'd killed that one too, but much to my surprise, it came back last week.

Sure, it's a show about tabloids, but so was The Naked Truth, and I liked that show too.

In all honesty though, it could have just been my crush on Tea Leoni.....and I guess since she married David Duchovny, you could say 'The Naked Truth' is out there......

Well, you could say that if you were/are an X Files fan.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I was too busy to watch a movie today.....

So you don't get a movie review today.

I can tell that you're all sorely depressed by this.

Well, get over it.

Stop whining right now, or I'll turn this blog around and go right home.

And stop touching your sister.

I'm trying out the whole 'tough love' thing.

Can you tell?

Ok, I'm deep in the midst of laundry and room-cleaning, so I'm going to leave you with this thought:

No matter where you go, there you are.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Today was boring.....

I wish it hadn't been, and that I had tales of wild adventure to regale you with.

Sadly, that is not the case.

Days off are like that sometimes.

I may go up to Reno tomorrow to see L, but I haven't made up my mind up for sure.

Ok, lameness over.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I wonder if the other fruits make fun of the Avocado.....

Do they laugh and point and call it 'fatty'?

Lets look at the facts. Do you see the fat content there

27 grams of fat!?!


It's a fucking fruit for crying out loud. Why does it have any fat at all?

My mom says it's because none of the other fruits have any fat, so the avocado has it all....

Either way, I want to know if the fruit stand is full of jeering citrus and others crying out in the 'lingua fruita' 'Fatty fatty 2 by four, can't fit through the kitchen door.'

Fruit can be so cruel.

Buenos con queso,

T.

I don't know what's a harder concept to wrap my head around.....

The fact that Patrick Swayze is 55, or the fact that he has pancreatic cancer.

The above article says he's responding well to treatment, but I've seen a couple others that say he's been given 5 weeks to live.

Either way, it pretty much sucks.

I'm not his biggest fan, but I did like him in Road House and Point Break.

Oh, and Red Dawn. That's a blast from the past. That one came out the year I graduated.

So, I guess we'll have to see what the news holds in the next few weeks.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Doin' it early.....

The blog thing that is.

I decided to do this now, so I don't have to later.

Funny how that works, huh?

Not much has happened since we last spoke, and most of it relatively routine.

I ate dinner, Domino's since you asked.

I slept. How exciting is that?

And I just got out of the shower, and am drinking my 1st cuppa of the day. Will the excitment never cease?

Now, I'm going to watch the last episode of the first season of The Sopranos before I go to work.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Season (series?) Finale.....

It's like this:

I'll be typing bits of this while I watch the season finale of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I have mixed emotions about this.

You see, the last time I watched a season finale of a show I liked, it was I'm With Her.

Wait, I take that back.....like's not the right word.....

I fucking loved that show.

There was a nice cliffhanger episode, setting up the next season.

And then.....

NOTHING!!!

Not a hint, not a vapor....I had to go online to find the words 'no new episodes scheduled.'

What!?!

What the fuck does that mean?

I was beyond livid.

And now, a new show I love.

With one of my 'list girls' (summer glau if you must know) is having a 'season finale.' What can I say, I'm nervous.

In other news, I got to take another field trip today.

I went to the library to research some stamps that we have at work. It was kind of a bust, and I ended up just scanning the stamps so that I can send images of them to people that might want to buy them.

But at least I got out of the office for a bit.

Ok, we're just about an hour into the show, and the pizza is here, so I'm out.

Buenos con queso,

T.

Even more like a Postal Worker.....

Today, I'm happy to say that instead of cleaning guns, I actually got to shoot one.

No, I didn't cap a robber or anything like that, but I did get to take a $4000 rifle out to the firing range (about a mile from work) and pump a few rounds through it to test it.

Seems the people that bought it can't get it to fire properly.

I, of course, had no problems at all, which leads me to believe that the people that bought it are idiots.

Actually, though, there did seem to be a problem with the magazine (clip) that may have been causing their grief. I told my boss the results of my test, and we're buying them a new magazine to see if it solves their problem.

Of course, if they are, in fact, idiots, buying the new magazine will not solve their problem.

So, yeah, I got to run away from work, get some fresh air, and fire a semi-automatic rifle today, and the best part is, I got paid for it.

Cause I'm just that cool. Oh, and my boss said that I'm his 'official weapon tester' now. I hope he has lots of guns he needs tested, cause I'm all about that.....

Buenos con queso,

T.

Another Saturday, another movie.....

First off, let me start by saying that I was going to take yesterday off anyway.

Even if I hadn't fucked up the 'post everyday thing' a couple weeks back, Feb 29th was a designated 'day off' from the project.

That being said, on to the review.

In my newly-formed (and rather tenous) tradition of reviewing movies based on video games I've never played, I chose Silent Hill.

Was this movie anything like the video game? I have no idea. Unlike Resident Evil (which as i mentioned i played a bit of a couple of them) I've never even played Silent Hill once.

The movie started out fast. So fast in fact, I was fully prepared to have it be a dream sequence. A screaming mother running through the woods searching for her young daughter as the opening scene just screams this isn't really happening.

Imagine my surprise when it was actually the start of the movie. I like some action at the start of a movie (although i think they overdid it with indiana jones and the temple of doom), and once I realized that it was really the way it started, I began to have some hope.

Sadly, the movie was just ok. Sure, there's plenty of blood and gore (it is a horror movie after all) and some pretty freaky monsters, but it just seems to fall a bit short. The story (again i have no idea how much or how little of it is from the game) is a rather trite take on the whole 'good v. evil' thing, specifically the witch hunts of the early century.

There are some pretty cool special effects, and some interesting cinematics, but the sole highlight of the movie for me was one of the (currently) 3 best horror movie deaths ever.

They are, in no particular order:

Paris Hilton in House of Wax. It's worth watching just to watch her die.

One of the deputies in Slither, which is a surprisingly good horror flick. You should watch it.

Anna in the movie currently under review.

All 3 of them are gory, and all 3 of them leave no question as to wether or not they're actually dead. I can say without reservation that when you see these 3 die, you just know that there's no fucking way in they're going to show up at the end all 'alive by some miracle' shit.

Their tickets get punched, and stay punched.

Ok, so I guess overall, I'd give Silent Hill a 2 out of 5. Two out of five what, you ask? Hell, I don't fuckin' know. 5 anythings. Imagine 5 as the best, and 0 as the worst, and Silent Hill is a 2.

So there you have it, another review done and done.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to take a call. A Call of Duty.

Buenos con queso,

T.