You’ve got to love spam… some of it

balbert Computers Now that i’ve been relying on my home email, I’ve been forced to take a closer look at my spam. You never know if someone from that cryptic secret craigslist email is writing you back. Of course in looking at my spam more closely, I’ve realized that there appears to be something wrong with my penis. It is either not “hard” enough or big enough to satisfy my woman. The best part of these emails are the subjects. Some are quite funny. Here are some that struck me in one way or another and my comments:

• “Wanna get a larger boner?” hey who doesn’t, I just don’t want to have to pay for it
• “Your male friend will never turn you down” not sure about that…
• “Make sure she gets maximum pleasure” of course… always
• “Your male tool will be as strong and rigid as a brick” does she really want it that “hard”. A brick can be abrasive.
• “Your length and girth will grow fast” lets hope so…
• “Grow a big one today” big what?
• “Gain the full control over your drilling machine” I already have control over my drill press in my shop… what are you talking about?
• “If there will be only girls around, will you be ready?” most guys are never ready
• “Please their partner, increasing your size!” who’s partner? your financial partner?
• “Hey, are you the guy who cannot make love?” um… you talking to me… no i’m good…
• “You will feel your manhood in the air.” that might be to high for me
• “No more penis enlarge ripoffs!” finally the truth and something I can really feel good about purchasing

I think the best part of this type of spam is that my wife gets alot of the same ones. At least they are equal opportunity spam and the glass spam ceiling has finally been broken.

Anathallo – new band I discovered

balbert Music Today I got an update notice on Facebook regarding kexp.org. They had just uploaded a new photo album of shots from some recent in-studio performances. I don’t know if it is me or Facebook or both, but I couldn’t figure out for the life of me how to view this new photo album. There was no link on the post on the kexp Facebook page, just the info. So I went to the kexp.org web site and again couldn’t really figure out were the photos were. I suspect that this was a blog post that was automatically pulled into the Facebook page. Well it doesn’t really matter cuz I quickly got distracted by something else on the site. First I thought maybe I could volunteer since I have some time on my hands. Turns out they really don’t have anyting on that front that I was interested in. So after posting a note about some bad text on a page, I noticed the list of podcasts and that is were I discovered Anathallo. The clip for today was the track Cafetorium from their latest album Canopy Glow. After hearing about 30 seconds of that track, I immediately went to Rhapsody.com, looked them up and popped on my headphones so as not to disturb Robin. I listened to the first couple of tracks and was hooked. Not only were they good, but the band is categorized as just “Alt/Punk” to my relief. So often when I discover a band on kexp or even Rhapsody, they are filed under “Adult Alternative”. Now there isn’t anything inherently wrong with that classification or genre, but it just makes me feel old. There is something about listening to “Adult Alternative” that makes me feel un-cool and in an elevator. I also understand this is a Rhapsody only category and that the rest of the world might consider this genre as just “alternative” or some cool category like college rock or something like that. Maybe my tastes are more “sophisticated” these days, but I think Anathallo deserves a listen. Check them out on Rhapsody at http://www.rhapsody.com/anathallo.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

balbert General The week started out bad with the news that I was not being considered for a job I applied for before xmas. It was a front end web developer job with 3Tier and I was really excited about the job and the company. I was pretty optimistic last month when I got a phone screen the afternoon that I sent in my resume. I thought it went well, but I guess not as after calling the recruiter several times last week and on Monday, I received an email response Tuesday saying thanks but no thanks. Not really sure why I was rejected, but rejected was what I was… two steps back. Everyone wants to be liked and after what felt like a “Dear John” email, I was kind of depressed. It didn’t help that the news on the economy is not great right now with more layoffs in the Seattle area. This first rejection brought up some feels from the lay off… Turn to the mirror… “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.” Wednesday morning I had a call/webinar with the transition company DBM. This was the introduction to the program webinar were i learned about the company and what they offer. My former employer is paying for 30 days worth of their services. It was an interesting call with people from all over the country in job transition. It also was a little encouraging since they seem like they have some good programs I can take advantage of. The main thing I learned is that finding a new job is a markting process and I’m the product being marketed. Also learned that 70% of jobs come from people you know and that networking is a big part of it. Also this week I made more progress on my CakePHP book and started one on Ruby on Rails that looks really good. I’m starting to understand the MVC program/platform model and hope to convert one of my simple DB sites into a CakePHP site. I also plan to use CakePHP to build out an events section for Robin’s site. The week ended on a step forward. I kicked ass, at least it felt like kicking ass, on a section of the upstairs project. I got all the rigid insulation up in the office area in two days. I also was able to get some of the west wall insulated as well. The last part that needs to be done is about the same size as the office, so I think I might be able to finish that this weekend depending on how much football I watch.

Ready for international travel

balbert General Since I’ve had some extra time on my hands, I have been trying to get some of those things done that i just never seemed to have the time for before. One of those things has been renew my passport. The last time I needed a passport was when the family visited my brother in Brasil during his study abroad program. I was still in high school and we visited for Christmas. Being south of the equator when winter is summer was a very odd experience… Christmas on the beach just didn’t really feel right. Looking back on it now, it was a fun experience, but it didn’t seem like it at the time. Being a grumpy teenager in a foreign land, didn’t really appreciate the experience fully. I also didn’t take advantage of some opportunites like when my brother and friends offered me beers. Oh well… live and learn. So almost a year ago I thought it would be a good idea to have a passport. Can’t really remember why I started thinking about it, but I did some research on the net to see what was involved. Since I had my old expired passort it turned out all i had to do was download and fill out the forms, get a passport photo and then show up at my local neighborhood service center with some money. I think the hardest part of the form was figuring out my parent’s birthdates. I knew their birthdays, but not the years. I just never really payed attention to that kind of thing. After a call to my Dad I got the right dates and places and the form was done. It then sat on my computer’s desktop for months. Well today I finally got it all completed. Printed out the forms, grabed my old passport out of the safe and headed down to Ballard Camera for my photos. Figured out later that I probably could have saved the $13 for the photos by doing it myself on my Mac but oh well not worth complaining over spilt milk. With my photos in hand, I headed over to the Neighborhood Service Center attached to the Ballard Library branch. Walked in and up to the counter. Handed over my form, photos and old passport along with my two checks… one for the city of seattle and one for the state department and I was renewed. I should get my new passport in 4 to 6 weeks… maybe sooner.

How to make a worm bin

balbert woodworking This is a very simple and easy worm bin to build. All you need is 1 sheet of 1/2 inch exterior plywood, two 2x4s, two 2x2s, wood screws, two 3×2 hings and about 4 feet of 1/4 inch rope. It took me about 1/2 a day to get the supplies, cut all the pieces and then assemble it.
I start by cutting the plywood in half so you end up with two sections that are about 48″ x 48″. When you cut the sheet in half you want to center the saw blade down the middle of your line. This way you end up with two even pieces. They will each be a little shorter then 48″ by about 1/8″.
Then I take one of the halves and cut it into 3 equal pieces. These will form the front, back and two sides of the bin.
From one of the three section, I then cut one in half to form the two sides.
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And it begins…

balbert General So I’m finally starting a “Blog”. I’ve seen lots of lists of things you need to do before you die and many have in there, start a blog… so I’m starting one. I guess this is a good time to do it. I’ve been thinking about it for some time and since I’m in a transition period in my life (just got laid off) and it is a new year, it just seems like a good time to take the plunge. Who knows, I’ll probably do a couple of posts and then stop, but I’m going to try to keep up on it. I have lots of ideas on what I want to write about.

• First, I’ve always wanted to document my experiences with technology especially the times when I couldn’t find the answer to a question on the net or only partial answer and had to figure it out myself.
• I’m also planing a lot of projects this year and this will good place to document them. On the agenda as of today: one maybe two custom built greenhouses, a cold frame, the upstairs remodel (the biggie), couple of weather projects, and a few more top secret ones.
• I love music so i’ll pass along my ideas on that and favorite bands
• TV and Movies… so look for some reviews
• Finally, happenings in my lift as i transition and get older.

I also think, writing on regular basis, will help me become a better writer and overall communicator. I’m sure this first post could use some work and I’ll probably look back one day and laugh at how poorly it is written. I think that is it… A good start I think… I’ve been laboring over making this frist post since I decided to start a blog and set it up on my server. So i got it out… whew… only  up from here.

And it begins…

balbert General So I’m finally starting a “Blog”. I’ve seen lots of lists of things you need to do before you die and many have in there, start a blog… so I’m starting one. I guess this is a good time to do it. I’ve been thinking about it for some time and since I’m in a transition period in my life (just got laid off) and it is a new year, it just seems like a good time to take the plunge. Who knows, I’ll probably do a couple of posts and then stop, but I’m going to try to keep up on it. I have lots of ideas on what I want to write about.

• First, I’ve always wanted to document my experiences with technology especially the times when I couldn’t find the answer to a question on the net or only partial answer and had to figure it out myself.
• I’m also planing a lot of projects this year and this will good place to document them. On the agenda as of today: one maybe two custom built greenhouses, a cold frame, the upstairs remodel (the biggie), couple of weather projects, and a few more top secret ones.
• I love music so i’ll pass along my ideas on that and favorite bands
• TV and Movies… so look for some reviews
• Finally, happenings in my lift as i transition and get older.

I also think, writing on regular basis, will help me become a better writer and overall communicator. I’m sure this first post could use some work and I’ll probably look back one day and laugh at how poorly it is written. I think that is it… A good start I think… I’ve been laboring over making this frist post since I decided to start a blog and set it up on my server. So i got it out… whew… only  up from here.