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March 23 Codename: PanzersFiction reveals truth that reality obscures. - Ralph Waldo Emerson Check out my new band "Codename: Panzers" and our debut album "The Road to Achievement"
1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random” 6- View other fictional bands on this group site: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgroup.php%3Fgid%3D68703079337&h=6db04b00f8a49753b6f0f52f97000d52
February 17 I was ready...Digital for storage and quickness. Analog for fatness and warmth. - Adrian Belew
Are you DTV Ready? Today was the big cut over but I guess the government lost "hope" and was not really ready for "change"...
The world is already digital right? Last month I had an analog antenna on the roof of my shed and was completely happy with my 5 channels. Now I have to deal with a digital world. Lets see... my tuners in my XP Media Center are analog. My Xbox 1.0 does not stream HD, and my 27inch tube TV... well it is not really ready either. So I guess I better get up on the roof. The question is, am I taking down or putting up? What are my options? Dish? Cable? IPTV?
After it is all said and done I don't want another a monthly payment and I hear that open air digital gives you a pretty good set of channels. I had an antenna before so I will have an antenna still. Ebay.com was my friend. Almost everything you see below I got for way under cost and because of http://cashback.live.com I actually got 30% back on several of the already low "Buy It" now prices I found! Upgrade complete! Vista Media Center was something I had put off for too long. Since I had to do it for the HD stream I am much better off. Network tuners also made the wiring easy from my new antenna to the garage and onto my network. The recent upgrade to the Windows Home Server also is a great addition to Media Center. You can read more about that feature if you search for PP2 and WHS. Since I am cheap and since I really did not want a bunch of components in my family room I opted for the Xbox 360 "paired" surround system by Pioneer. The system has an integrated Media Center / 360 remote control and compliments the room nicely. Rock Band sounds pretty good as well! Now I have all my original channels in HD and I also get some new ones like the Retro TV Network - That is right - Air Wolf, A-Team, and the Hulk daily! JCTV is a great channel. If you have not seen The Logan Show what are you waiting for! And of course with the Vista Media Center I can now enjoy The Guild on demand through my Media Center Extenders. Life is pretty good! (Maybe I will use some of the money I am saving on cable to finally go gold - Xbox gold that is!)
January 01 Greetings Warlords!A classic is a book that doesn't have to be written again. - W. E. B. Du Bois
Sometimes a true classic does not have to be re-written in the sense that the features and content change but sometimes a true classic does need to be updated to run on newer hardware and refreshed operating systems.
A true classic that I recently re-discovered is the multi-player game called Warlords.
I first got a copy of Warlords II over 15 years ago. I was instantly addicted. It could be compared to Risk as it has a turn by turn approach ad you gain new armies at the beginning of each round. It has a fantasy / role-playing feel which is very appealing to those of us who played a bit of D&D in our youth. My brother in law and I spent many long nights playing Warlords II and then Warlords II deluxe. To this day I am not sure what deluxe brought to the table…
Last week I discovered on my shelf Warlords III which I had not played before. I found it in a bin at some electronic store and had not even installed it. Getting it to run on XP and Vista took a while as I had to download a patch and then discover a command line switch to make it use more generic icons (otherwise it froze).
Once again my brother in law and I were enchanted and were soon battling the 6 other computer players and then each other until only one Hero was standing. I have not played a game until 6:30am for quite some time. I was glad to see that I still could keep up with the best of them. I am not so sure I will share the details of the next day however. Let's just say that I required several cups of coffee to keep moving.
Since playing Warlords again I did some research on the web and see that V4 and V5 are in the mix. There is a Nintendo DS version that came out last year and looks fully featured. I found a hybrid version of the game for XBox Live called Puzzle Quest that is roughly based in the same world as Warlords and you have quests and a map to play on but the battle sequences and the way to progress through the game are more like playing bejeweled. It was only 800 points so I downloaded it.
Choosing weapons and deciding which potions to buy and which villages to raze has me thinking that it is time I seek out Fable II and play a real game. Classic games are okay, but I may need something a bit more modern now that I have the bug again. Resources:
November 02 SignsSearch for beauty without features, something deeper than any signs. Francesca da Rimini
Although not the focal for today's topic, when I am asked which movie freaked me out the most I often end up in the same place. For some reason Signs impacted me in a way that most alien related shows do not. I am not sure if it was the way it was filmed or just the way the space creatures looked but something about it messed with my head. I still don't like looking out my window at the shed in my backyard at night for fear I may see a creature standing on the roof.
Having bared my soul I will get onto my main topic. My latest discovery was found when an email contained a story about 2 churches debating whether or not dogs have souls. I thought the debate was funny and expected that it was not real. To see the dialog and whether or not dogs do go to heaven you can view the snopes article on it.
Signs are everyplace and it turns out you can create them yourself via a few simple online tools. Since discovering these websites I have been known to add a sign to the bottom of mail messages at work that have drawn a lot of positive feedback and laughs. Most people think I recently learned how to use Photoshop but the fact is I still do not now much beyond cropping and making a gif transparent.
A few of my example works of art just for this blog...
(This one I really should do)
Pretty fun stuff isn't it? I am confident that you will be able to create just the right sign now whenever you need it.
Resources:
July 02 It's not easy being green...You have to fight the green monster with your mind, not your fists. - Matthew Broderick
True Story
We are in a world where companies are trying to save money on one hand or go green on the other hand and sometimes these conflict. It seems to me that going green also can cause more waste and use more energy than what people were doing before they were green.
A buddy of mine works for a company who recently removed all garbage can's from their offices. This was a money saving tactic. Employees now need to carry trash to a central location to discard it. I made fun of him because I work for a company where for 15 years I have had a black "garbage" can in my office sitting next to a grey "can" can, and a cardboard box for recycled paper. These take up a lot of room in each of the 100k offices around the world.
A few days I came into the office to find that "we" made a new smarter move to reconfigure our garbage cans. Now each employee has the same black garbage can for garbage and the grey can and cardboard box have been replaced with a new blue garbage can for recyclable items. This includes aluminum cans and paper. My first instinct was why not email us and say to throw more stuff in the grey can...
But wait it gets better. At the same time we switched all of our kitchenette products to be "green" and so they are now compostable. All of these items now must go in the new compost bins and should not go in the black garbage can or the blue garbage can. Most of what I see in people's offices are either plates, cups, and silverware, aluminum pop cans or paper. So now 80% of the waste we create must be taken to the compost bin because it is not eligible for the new office configuration.
Using compostable plates, cups, and silverware may be smart but what happened to the million utensils that were in the kitchens on Friday? What happened to the 100k grey garbage cans?
Signs
On the Monday that the compostable showed up we were also hit with a barrage of new signs. These signs were placed in every kitchenette and along some strategic locations in the halls. The signs taken individually are meant to help people adapt to the new compostable technology. When looked at as a group they become a SNL skit waiting to happen.
The signs... (my reaction in parenthesis)
Do Your Part - It takes you to be a success! (Thank you. I needed a sign to tell me it is up to me to reduce the impacts of Al Gore)
Please Remember - Coffee Cup Lids = Trash, Coffee Cups = Compost, Coffee Sleeves = Recycle, Stir sticks = Recycle. Please separate these before disposing of them as to not contaminate the waste streams. (What about the impact to my work streams? and since when do we need stir sticks and sleeves?)
Warning! Spoon may warp if left in hot fluids such as coffee. Pleas use a stir stick. (Ah - now I understand the need for stir sticks. I can't wait to try my cup of soup today)
Do your part, please take only one plate. (Before we had compostable plates I would take 7 or 8 just for the fun of it. Does going green mean I lose my lunchtime joy?)
Warning: HOT! - New compostable cups conduct heat - please use a sleeve! (No lie on this one. Dang they are hot. I am glad I can now wrap my compostable cup in a recyclable layer and then later separate them and sort trash as part of my day.)
Did you Know? Your kitchenette has gone green! (No I did not...)
Summary
So now when I walk into the kitchen it is covered in little "green" signs that appear to be made out of some hazardous shiny paper. I used to use a single polystyrene cup to drink my coffee and now I must use a cup that makes my coffee taste like old potato water and use a cardboard sleeve as to not burn myself. When I forget about the new wooden stir sticks I end up with a melted spoon that adds to the new found flavor of the cup.
When I am done with the coffee I have a choice to make. Get up and walk past rows and rows of black and blue garbage can's to throw it in the new central compost bin or just drop it in the wrong can in my office so I can get some work done.
Did I mention that while the new cups are conducting heat into the palm of my hand my coffee is actually getting cold quicker? So now I must get up twice as often dumping a third of my coffee down the drain.
I work in an awesome place and I am very grateful to have a garbage can in my office. Sometimes however the change that happens around us does not always seem to make sense. Is it really good for the environment? Is it good for my EPS?
June 08 Remembering my mom...Mothers are the most instinctive philosophers. - Harriet Beecher Stowe
I wanted to share my day today. It is June 8th. 3 years ago today I lost my mom. It is not an easy day but with God's help and a great family we get through it. It is also one of those days where you can really see God in the details.
It started at church today when half way through worship we sang Blessed Be Your Name. This was my song while my mom was battling cancer. I heard it on the first day of her ordeal and almost anytime I was driving to the hospital I would turn on my radio and there it was again. The song made me tear up but the words also kept me focused on how great God is regardless of what may be happening to us while we are here on earth. Needless to say it brought a lot of emotion to me this morning in church.
Of course we made a special stop to get ice cream on the way home from church. Right before the first year anniversary of losing my mom, her sister (my aunt) sent me ten dollars and said to make sure I stop what I am doing and eat ice cream on June 8th. I am not sure I would have thought about it but now every year it is a tradition. My mom loved ice cream. The last thing we had together was a drum stick. As long as it was not chocolate chip mint then it was good ice-cream.
Almost home I saw a garage sale sign and made a hard right. Another thing mom loved was garage sales. We hopped out and looked around. There was nothing really of interest there. Some picture frames, a couple plates. I know dad would have liked the ham radio antennas. Right before leaving Abbe got all excited as she saw a big box of beads. Right on top of the box was a bead counter. One of those molded plastic things you lay out your design out in and get organized with. That was the only thing that was left in Arizona when mom brought all of her beads up and gave them to Abbe. That was the best 50 cents I had spent all week. I did not even try to get it cheaper. I should have offered a nickel because I know mom would have. We got in the car and Trish noted that it was pretty interesting how we stopped at a single garage sale and Abbe got the one bead thing she had been wanting from her Grandma Weezy.
I will finish this message with a prayer my mom asked me to post on her website on May 11th 2005.
I would like to share this prayer with all the friends and family who look at this site:
May 25 Twisted TreesBeing a barber is about taking care of the people. - Anthony Hamilton
The category "Tales from the Barber Chair" is where I can share wisdom of the ages handed down through Blank history. Primarily from Melvin A. Blank Jr. (a.k.a JB - my dad).
Alex Wright first coined the term "Tales from the Barber Chair" as I would often tell stories of my Dad at work.
Stay tuned for the complete history and knowledge of "The Blank's" as told by my dad, JB.
For today enjoy a song that is about Dads and Grandpas and sounds like something you may hear my dad sing... (for better or worse...) :)
May 03 Failure x 2 - You be the judge...If you would not be forgotten,
As soon as you are dead & rotten,
Either write things worth reading,
Or do things worth the writing.
- Benjammin Franklin
Ben may say I have failed at both options... but based on his poetic talent I would say he should stick with flying kites!
Addiction Reference
April 14 Livin' on the EdgeI'm off to sit on a cliff. - Nik Kershaw
I don't normally grab an internet story and post it but this is definately worth sharing...
Look at the picture above and you can see where this guy broke through the guardrail
On the right side where the people are standing on the road (pointing). The pick-up was traveling from right to left when it crashed through the guardrail. It flipped end-over-end, across the culvert outlet, and landed right side up on the left side of the culvert, facing the opposite direction from which he was traveling. Now look at the 2nd picture below...
That is insane! Snopes validates it and has a couple other pictures. April 06 If binary nats were treated like fliesI'm like a Dilbert cartoon. - David Spade
David and I have a lot in common I guess... See TeamBlank's creations. Terminology - A bit is a binary digit, taking a value of either 0 or 1. For example, the number 10010111 is 8 bits long, or in most cases, one modern PC byte. Binary digits are a basic unit of information storage and communication in digital computing and digital information theory. Information theory also often uses the natural digit, called either a nit or a nat. Quantum computing also uses qubits, a single piece of information with a probability of being true. The bit is also a unit of measurement, the information capacity of one binary digit. It has the symbol bit, or b (see discussion below). The unit is also known as the shannon, with symbol Sh. Enter BitStrips -
Once again I have found a site on the web that will probably consume more of my time than it should. A comic strip creation site that lets you create characters, emotion, stories, and just about anything you need to express yourself. Fun stuff! April 01 The 1st Wind WarningAnd finally Winter, with its bitin', whinin' wind, and all the land will be mantled with snow. - Roy Bean
The weather these last few days have been crazy. End of March with 3 days of snow sticking around. Last night I had a bolt of thunder go off right above my head on the drive home. It was earth shattering. 24 hours later my ears still feel like they are full of water. WHAT?
Today the ground reacted to all that crazy weather. Northwest trees do not like unplanned wind and saturated ground.
What started off as a decent day ended flat...
Joy!
Find GeoBlank on BitStrips.com!
March 30 Dragons 2.0I coach my daughter's softball and basketball team. We go to all the school functions. We go out to eat at night and take the kids to the movies. We try to be as normal as we can. - Tim McGraw
The new season is upon us!
Under the watchful eye of coach Dave...
...we enter our third year of softball, the second as "The Dragons". Like all packaged products, the second major release has promise of having the kinks worked out, new features added, and a few buggy ones removed. (Dohhhh)
The team is looking pretty good this year. As a father of number 10 of course I am biased but as part of the coaching staff I can say that the Dragons are looking good and it is going to be a very good season.
Yesterday we played at the Jamboree. Final score 5-8. The Tornadoes came back at the bottom of the last inning. For the first official game on the field I think we played pretty good.
Play Ball!
March 27 Crossing the LineHe will hew to the line of right, let the chips fly where they may. - Roscoe Conkling
This is just cool...
Line Rider is a Flash game/thing where you can draw lines and the sled boy will ride the lines. The laws of nature are fully engaged.
To see the potential check out these videos...
A couple other fun and education sites to check out:
March 23 Lessons LearnedFor me art and chess are closely related, both are forms in which the self finds beauty and expression. - Vladimir Kramnik
First things First - Happy Easter!
A week of no media. A not so in depth recap:
Monday night we were busy at friends and so the idea of no media did not seem very real. Tuesday however I got home from work and a nice sit on the couch with the news on would have been a great way to deflate. Instead the TV was grey and I missed the normal "noise" that came from it. I actually found it a bit unnerving that I could not unwind while zoning out on the TV.
The neighbor kids came over and had less options. It was Lego, cars, or crafts instead of the normal DS, DVDs, or Xbox.
Abbe took me into the "Upper Deck" (that is the officially name for my office and our home school room) and showed me the creations she had been working on. Sewing... that is odd I thought. Very "Little House" like. Having no DS or TV brought out a new side of Abbe that I had not seen for a while.
Wednesday I saw something else new. Gabe and Abbe were trying to play chess. They did not really have all the rules down but they were still looking for new things to do that were not on their normal list. Later that night Gabe actually beat me at a game. I of course was not being 100% aggressive but I did end up getting cornered and I had no place to go. The next day Gabe and Zack (a neighbor) actually played chess for a couple hours.
Thursday night we had a great evening with board games on the carpet.
Trish's mom came up Friday with 2 of her grandbabies. They are almost 2 years and the other 6 months. We spent a lot of time "watching" them as well as chasing after them.
This morning (Easter Sunday) we woke up and both my kids had low grade fevers. I guess having a media fast end on the same day that my kids have been on the couch all day not moving a muscle shows how great God's timing is.
The bottom line message of the week for me is that we have a lot of other things to do besides TV and Computers. I don't think I will be trading my Rock Band drum sticks in for knitting needles any time soon but I do think shutting down the systems now and then is a good idea.
I am off to watch my recorded LOST episode...
The great gift of Easter is hope - Christian hope which makes us have that confidence in God, in his ultimate triumph, and in his goodness and love, which nothing can shake. - Basil C. Hume March 16 I Give Up!I get a little behind during Lent, but it comes out even at Christmas. - Frank Butler
Today is Palm Sunday. We were challenged this morning at church to give up a couple specific things next week (starting in an hour and a half).
In the past Trish and I have given up coffee and pop and other things we enjoy and are used to partaking in too much. 40 days caffeine free was not as hard as I thought it would be. I did it for several years. This year I did not even think about lent until we got to church this morning.
The challenge - No TV or video games for one week. Hmmm, I like my TV and my recent addiction to Rock Band is part of my nightly routine...
We discussed it and TeamBlank decided that we are all in. To make it clear we listed the things that we consider TV or video games.
The List
Specific things that are digital or media I will be keeping
The Grey Area
That is about it I guess. My last blog and my last tweet for a week. I got my fill of Rock Band earlier today and I am going to head upstairs now and watch TV until 11:59. If you are looking for a service this Sunday please feel free to join us.
http://www.canyonhillscommunitychurch.com/
March 09 Spanaway MoonshinersThe propensity to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another is common to all men, and to be found in no other race of animals. - Adam Smith
I woke up at 6:30 this morning to head to a "High Performance Swapmeet" in Puyallup. We rode in style... Branden drove. Since my TJ cut off the back half of his rig in the picture above I also added his mod blue prints to this post. The swapmeet cost ten dollars to get into (when did that start happening?) We saw a lot of new and used parts, some rigs that were fixed up pretty nice, and a few rigs that looked like relatives of my first jeep...
I found a few things I need (2 D rings and a new tow rope) and a few things I would like to have... but mostly I had a good time walking around the fairgrounds with a couple buddies and a lot of Jeeps. When I saw the older rigs it made me think that having a project car would be fun. Of course my old Willys sat for 20 years and I never touched it, so I doubt a project car is in my near future. We tried for 2 caches on the way home, found one and got skunked on the other. Another highlight was the biscuits and gravy. I also found out that Tony is not fond of Tabasco sauce. (I still used it but in moderation). If an early morning drive to a swapmeet doesn't sound like fun to you don't worry...
It's a Jeep thing... You wouldn't understand!
March 06 Run to the Hills!An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less. - Nicholas M. Butler
Recently you heard me mention Guitar Hero as well as Rock Band on the XBox 360.
Today I really want to just share a song from my childhood, a song that has new meaning now that I can see it played by a 5 star expert on Rock Band.
Please prepare to be amazed!
Rock Band Drums...
Rock Band Guitar...
One day you may see a post where I have the skills, talent, and rockin excellence to be this good.
Your Welcome,
Gamertag: GeoBlank
February 29 Christian or Golfer?Golf... is the infallible test. The man who can go into a patch of rough alone, with the knowledge that only God is watching him, and play his ball where it lies, is the man who will serve you faithfully and well. - P. G. Wodehouse It never fails that during an election year many people are talking about the liberals and conservatives and what they "believe". Everyone wants to get votes so they all are religious but not "too" religious. At present we have a Methodist and a United Church of Christ person on the left and 2 Baptists on the right. For a while there was a Mormon, and a couple Roman Catholics in the running.
I was thinking about a simple question and what each of them would have said as their answer. A dialog may have gone something like this...
Me - Are you Saved?
Them - Saved?
Me - Are you a Christian?
Them - I am Catholic. (Using Rudy as my example...)
Me - I did not ask what church you attend. Are you a believer?
Them - I believe in God.
Me - Is Christ your Lord and Savior?
Them ... I go to church every Sunday and do a lot of things my church.
Me - Do you Golf?
Them - What?
Me - ...
Well, golf is like a lot of religions out there. People spend a great deal of time on the course, I have an uncle who I think would play every day if he could and probably twice on Sundays. There is a specific set of routines you do every time you go. Everyone kind of does the same thing and some people probably do not even know why they are doing it. Some people get so good at golfing that they really don't even have to think about it. It feels like a nice club to be in (like the Elks, or Moose I imagine). Some people even say they feel close to God when playing (and I know that some times his name is used....).
Me - Yes I have a point and it should be as clear as that sand trap your balls are in.
There are many different golf courses you can play and even different variations of golf, take crochet for example. Not all courses lead to the same pin. Not all pins should be your target. There is only one Pin worth aiming for.
My prayer -
February 20 Total EclipseThe Sun, Moon and Stars are there to guide us. - Dennis Banks The power of the sun, earth, and the moon being aligned tonight is the only thing that can explain why I now can play Rock Band on my Xbox 360 any time I want to...
So for 20 minutes last night I played Guitar Hero on the Wii after dinner at a friends house and today I can do it in style on a 360. That kind of explosive purchase is not typical for me.
I can say this about the 360 however...
I think that this was probably the second easiest hardware/software integration experience i have ever had. The HP MediaSmart Windows Home Server was pretty easy but the XBox 360 was more fun. I was a bit saddened to see all the cables in the Rock Band box. I guess not everything can be wireless. The 10 foot experience cable free with the 360 controller however is sure nice. So that is it. I won't be paying bills online tonight as I need to figure out how to unlock the Metallica songs. Rock On! February 19 I lived alone...Heroes can be sweet. - Oriana Fallaci
...my mind was blank
I needed time to think to get the memories from my mind
What did I see? Could I believe? That what I saw
that night was real and not just fantasy... That was cool! When I first saw the other people doing it it actually looked a lot less exciting than I had imagined. The whole idea was built up from people who had done it before and talked about it. I went into it thinking "this will be awesome..." only to have never participated before it did not really look that exciting.
I decided to give it a try. It felt pretty cool from the very beginning. I think that choices from the 80's made it even better. Every second that passed, the excitement grew in me little by little and I knew that this was definitely something I would have to try again.
I wasn't that good at first so I tried it 3 times. I got a little better each time. I definitely liked it. After taking a break and watching the others do it a few more times, I definitley would have to say that watching now was a new experience. After having my own experience I could relate and enjoy it as a spectator (don't get me wrong, being the one being watched is much better.)
I will definitely be getting Guitar Hero!
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