Jul 18, 2008 - A year later...

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So, it's been more than a year (even though it was only three posts ago) that I joked about getting an iPhone, and now I really do have one! It's very nice, and does everything I want it to, with one tiny exception that isn't really worth going into yet. So far, I've been loving it. Much easier to use than my old Treo 650. One of the primary uses I have for it is as an e-book reader. I was very happy when they announced that the eReader software had been ported to it. The screen is much higher quality than my Treo, and roughly twice as big, which means more text per page turn, which means faster reading. I always have my cell phone on me (except at work, in a secure facility) and it's much more convienent than hardcover, or even paperback books. I don't use my phone much for actual calling, but I use it for everything else that the iPhone excels at. Playing games while waiting for planes, doctors, etc; browsing the web to look up stuff, listening to music while working out, messaging Tanya to say I'm on my way home, and even the new GPS capabilities once or twice. So other than that, what's new? Well, I've re-enlisted for 4 years. There are LOTS of pictures up from it at Flickr.com along with LOTS and LOTS of pictures from my sister's wedding a week later. Tanya and I were regular shutterbugs. (: It was really nice seeing so many family members at the wedding and stuff. Was almost like a family reunion! We should do that again some time, except we'd have to find someone else to get married, since now both Jen and I are taken. Any suggestions? Oh, right. If you want my new phone number (the old number was stupidly innundated by people looking for "Boo" who didn't know his number started with 210 and not 310) drop me a line at kredal @ gmail.com and let me know who you are, and I'll give it to you. Especially of you also give me your phone number in exchange. That's only fair, right? The one exception to "everything I want it to do", it doesn't allow for custom ringtones when I get SMS's. There is a short list of sounds and beeps and things I can use, but that's it. Until it's hacked like the old version, at least. Yay hackers!

May 27, 2008 - Still Alive

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That was a triumph So it's been nine months since I've posted anything here. Wow. And nobody has said anything in the comments here or anything. So unloved! *sniffle* We do what we must because we can Since August, I've been moved to another workcenter here, where I'm basically a helpdesk monkey. I manage a network of roughly 40 Solaris boxes, 30 Windows boxes, and a bunch of servers that do all kinds of fun stuff. It's a good job, and I'm learning a lot about different operating systems. Whee. Now these points of data make a beautiful line I just passed my PT test! Woo! Two years in a row! Woo hoo! Yes, I know, it's the "Chair Force" PT test, but it's still a challenge for me, mostly cause I have a big gut. Thanks, Chair Force! (: Anyway this cake is great My sister is getting married next month. Since I most likely won't post again here before then, I thought I'd mention it. Tanya and I are driving to Ohio for the wedding. "Isn't gas too expensive," you say... But it's cheaper than flying. With the MINI, we're looking at about $150 in gas to get there and back, at $4.00 per gallon. Flying Airtran, it would cost $600 for both of us, and would take almost as long to get there, what with airport security, a layover in Atlanta, and then a drive from Akron to Willoughby... oh, and we'd need a rental car too, which would cost even more. So ya, driving my own car. Look at me still talking when there's science to do Well, not science, but work. Which I have to get back to. Just thought I'd give a shout out... Oh, and if you know what all the italicized lines are from, you probably have a song stuck in your head now. If not, look up "Still Alive" on YouTube. Anything with Portal or John Coulton in the description will do. And prepare to have a song stuck in your head. Muahahaha

Aug 25, 2007 - I am so smart! S-M-R-T!

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(Title from The Simpsons of course.) Anyways, recently someone at work made the suggestion that everyone on the shift should go take the Mensa qualification exam. So I did the legwork, found a contact address, got the test date information, made sure everyone knew when and where it was, and I was the only one who showed up. I took the test (which seemed easy to me...) and I guess I scored in the top 2 percent, cause they want me to join! Actually joining Mensa doesn't get you much that I'm interested in, with the exception of 10% of at Office Depot, and $10 off any order of $40 or more at Thinkgeek which works for me... it's where I get most of my funny t-shirts. It also gives me bragging rights, and a card that says I'm officially smrt. (: In other news, I was one of the first people in my squadron to pick up a set of the new ABU uniforms the Air Force is going to. It's very heavy compared to the summer-weight uniforms I've been wearing. I think it'd be too hot for the desert, but for the nice cold server room I work in, it's not bad. I like the fact that it's wash and wear... never have to take it to the dry cleaners! Yay! I have a picture of me wearing it somewhere... I'll get it uploaded here today or something. In other other news, Metroid comes out for the Wii on Tuesday! I can't wait! Well, I guess I can. And have to. Bummer. So that's what's new with me. What's new with you?

Jul 1, 2007 - I got my iPhone!

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Tanya let me get an iPhone this weekend. Check out the picture of me holding my brand new "convergance" device here. OK, so, not really. Oh well. (: Maybe when the second gen comes around, I'll be able to get one. So, news in my life.. (Why you're here, right?) Well, I'm working on a website for the guy who did my car's graphics, Steve Puckett. Basically just showing off what kinds of stuff he can do... some of the bikes are really impressive. Vinyl isn't meant to bend around corners like that! I just started back on mid-shifts tonight, so that's fun... at least I'll be able to spend more time with Tanya now.. I'll actually be home when she gets off work. (: Horray! I didn't make tech sergeant this year. Missed it by 7.34 points... even though I tested REALLY well (top 2 percent of my career field!), I just don't have the time in grade/service to make it. Maybe next year! *Crosses fingers* Anyways, that's the major new stuff with me. What's up with you? Leave a comment, drop me a line, whatever. (: Oh ya, and sign up to get notification in email, if you haven't already. It's really easy, and it gives me more excuses to write!

Apr 21, 2007 - These eyes... these eyes have seen a lot of things but they're never gonna see as bad as they did before...

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Now that the title is stuck in everyone's head (thanks dad!) I'd like to announce that I went under the (laser) scalpel two days ago, and now I don't need glasses anymore! Woo hoo! The procedure itself went really fast... maybe 10 minutes once I was in the laser room, and now I can see at 20/20 with my right eye, and 20/15 with my left. (: So cool! (: I have some minor halos at night, but nothing that keeps me from driving or anything. It makes trafic lights look cool. (: If I get around to it, I'll give a full blow by blow on the surgery in the coming days. For now though, suffice it to say... I can see! In other news, Tanya and I finished our first batch of wine (near-wine, actually.. only about 7% alcohol, but close enough)... anyone who wants a bottle, just stop by and say hi. (: We have, I think, 22 bottles left at this point. We started with 27. We're working on a batch of cherry wine now... it'll only make about 3 gallons, and take much longer... so you'll have to do more than just say hi for one of those when they're done... hehehe So, those are the major things that have happened in the last month or so... Oh, and Guitar Hero is cool. Especially for someone who has never played a guitar ever in his life. Like me. (:

Mar 17, 2007 - March Update

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Hi all! A few things going on that ya'll might or might not be interested in. Well, you're here so I assume you're at least sorta interested. (: Tanya and I are working on making our first batch of wine... It's sitting in a carboy in our pantry, putting out sulphur dioxide, and making plenty of alcohol. (: Hopefully next weekend it'll be ready to bottle! I'm about to have LASIK surgery! I have an appointment for April 19th to get my eyes zapped, and won't need glasses anymore (except maybe for reading, as I get older and stuff...) But still, better than all the time! I've wanted it done for years... finally getting my chance! Woo hoo! Robin just got new stripes... I bought a roll of "Shade Shifter" vinyl, and had a guy locally here install it... I think it looks really sharp, and other people agree! Here is a picture of the front... side, and back. For reference, here's what the old stripes looked like... I think the new set looks classier. (:

Jan 31, 2007 - Remember me?

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OK, so I've been back in the States for two months, and I haven't written a thing here since I got back from Korea. Sorry! Here's to hoping people still come here. What have I been up to? Glad you asked! (: Tanya and I are buying a house, we close on it later today (I'm writing this at 2:30 in the morning at work)... There are pictures of it here. We don't move in until the 10th of Feb, so we'll be spending our spare time until then (ha!) painting and stuff. A bunch of the pictures show how icky the paint and carpet is. So ya, that's later today. Woo hoo! I'm on the night shift at work... Obviously. (: So my schedule has been really screwy... Been going to sleep in the morning, spending the evening with Tanya, and then working overnight. Of course, it's been heck on my internal clock. I'm still adjusting to it, though. Hopefully I'll be completely adjusted by the time I go back to day shift, and then I'll have to readjust again! Heh. In WoW news, my little warlock is level 68. Two levels to go until I'm maxed again (and then I get to do it again with my mage). It's nice being back in the States, and actually *gasp* living with my wife! (: There's not much I really miss about Korea... because of the HUGE military presence here, there's a few really good Korean resturants around. I've eaten at a couple of them, and I haven't been disappointed yet. (: So, that's what's mostly new with me. I'll try to be better about writing here, but I won't make it a New Years resolution. hehehe...

Nov 27, 2006 - Three days and counting...

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Well, this is it... I have three days left in the lovely Republic of Korea. It's been quite a year, that's for sure. The movers are coming later today, then I'm moving into the Turumi lodge for my last few days here. Because of that, I won't have reliable access to the internet or anything. I can check email at the library and stuff, but that's about it. No WoW! Gasp! How will I ever survive? I dunno, but I expect I'll manage. (: It's just.. *twitch* a few days. Special thanks go out to everyone who helped make this year managable by calling me up on Skype, asking computer questions, sending me joke emails, birthday cards, food related items, and everything else ya'll have done. (: I'll be back online probably on December 2nd... I get in to the airport late on the first, and then I'm heading straight to bed. So, if I don't talk to you before then, I'll try to get something written up for Kredal.com after that. Hopefully SOON after that. (: See you all in a bit!

Oct 23, 2006 - Yes, I'm still alive!

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Wow, it's been a long time since I've written anything here. When two long-lost friends write something in a comment, I know people are worrying about me. (: Thanks! First off... My hotmail account has been deactivated. Don't try to use it anymore. I hardly ever checked it anyways (that's why it was deactivated... after 30 days, they closed it and deleted all of my email... I mean spam.) So, use @kredal.com or @gmail.com. Those are much friendlier. Trust me on this. (: Anyways, I'm pretty much just counting down the days now.. 37, if you're interested. Soon I'll be back in the states, back with my wife, back on the right time zone to get stuff done! Horray! Not much has been happening on this side of the world. North Korea has been stupid, but it's been pretty much Business As Usual for me. Come to work, fix computers, fix fiber optic connections, yell at people for kicking fiber out of their computers, go to PT, go back to the dorm. Same as always. Whee. Don't really have much more than that to say this morning. I'll try to update more frequently as I get closer to leaving here.. I could hardly update less frequently, huh? (:

Jul 17, 2006 - And now for something completely different...

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I can't believe I haven't used that title yet. And I know I haven't, because I checked before writing this. I've had some pretty funny topics over the years... feel free to check out the archives to see for yourself. Anyways, yesterday's post was just an "awww" catcher, and it worked. (: So, now for something completely different. Wait, I've said that before. Somewhere. Hmm. Anyways, I'd like to fill in some of what's been going on lately. I got a nice email from Judy M from that last post, so I figure it's only polite to share what's been going on with me! First up, the weather. Ugh. When they talk about monsoon season, you think rain. Now that I know firsthand what monsoon season is all about, I think about 187% humidity, with downpours that last days at a time.... not to mention the 625 degree temps. I bought an umbrella downtown for seven dollars. It has been the most useful thing I've bought over here, hands down. Second up, work. last month and this month, we're losing all of the "old guard" maintainers. Only two people that will be left have been here longer than me. Does that make me the old guard now? It was a revelation to me, that I was teaching people about the systems we maintain, and the "way things work" around here, like I've been here for years and years, and know everything about it all... which is almost the case, other than the years and years part. I'm now one of the most experienced people in the shop. Scary. Have a new troop coming in on Wednesday too, that I'm sponsoring. I'll get to show him around and stuff. Whee, free time off work! (: Third up, movies. Saw Superman Returns in the theater last night. I thought it was pretty good. The new guy does an excellent job as Clark Kent, and is muscular enough to be a good Superman too. (Oh no, I hope I didn't just give something away!) Anyways, the Lois-Lane-has-a-kid storyline was interesting, but it brings to mind an article by Larry Niven, and a scene from Mallrats, both wondering the same thing... After you see the movie, and you want a link to the article, let me know, and I'll provide. (: I was happy they got John Williams' permission to use the Superman March theme, but I was kinda bummed he didn't get to do the whole score... It could have added a lot. Ah well. Overall, I'd give it 4/5 stars, and it's definitely worth seeing in a theater with a bunch of other people. Then, when Lois Lane complains that she's already done [a story on] Superman, and there's a stunned silence followed by huge laughter, you won't think you're the only one who got the joke. Forth up, site security. If you're a regular visitor, you might have noticed a little addition over on the left side of the screen, where you can sign up to get on my mailing list. Here's why: Over the past several months, spam bots have been trolling the site, and adding nonsense words and phrases to my email list. There are 25 "real" people on the list, but when I cleaned it out last night, there were nearly 400 entries in the database. Adding this really really basic captcha should cut down on bot spam... unless they put in the right phrase (really original, I know), they won't be added to the database. So, spammers will manually have to type in the word every time, and then I'll have to make it something they can't possibly spell, like Viagra, without the | or the . or the @ in the middle of the word. Let's see them get past that! Muahaha! Anyways, it adds about 16k to the page source... and 16k ought to be enough for anyone... no wait, that's not quite right. Anyways.... Well, I suppose that's about it for me tonight. All the news that's fit to print, or something like that. Please, feel free to leave comments. I like comments. And if you're not a bot, feel free to add your name and email address to my mailing list. Ask anyone, I don't spam it... usually it goes about 2 months at a time without being used at all. (: Oh, and Tanya.... I'm still madly in love with you... you know, just in case you were wondering. (:

To read the rest of Kredal.kom from the beginning, click here.