fFinsgib’s Blog

I have waited long enough to write this post to have the initial shock wear off, yet my continuous reaction towards it is still, “This is flippin’ AWESOME!!” I have been using OS X for a total of 48 hours now, and I still can’t believe how impressive it is. I have seen screenshots of Microsoft Vista, and in my opinion, OS X is what they are trying to duplicate. It is not surprising though that Microsoft is attempting to mimic Apple’s operating system, because not long ago they launched the Zune, which is so far a complete failed attempt to replicate iPod.

This is my first use of a Mac product so there will be a large learning curve and some time before I can completely conceptualize and put into words how much better it is than Windows, so stay tuned to updates to this thread. But for now, the project I will be working on is converting my old PC into my new Linux box. It is only a matter of time before I am Microsoft free.
Specs for the box:

Processor: 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo Memory: 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2×1GB Hard Drive: 80GB Serial ATA drive Optical Drive: SuperDrive 8x MAC OS LANGUAGE: Mac OS X

It is a sad day here at Cole central, for today we found out that our favorite television show is not being renewed for another season. Stargate SG1 holds a Guinness world record for the longest consecutive running sci-fi television show with 10 years in production and 203 episodes. It was a close race, only beating The X-Files by 1 episode, but there are a few episodes still left to be seen airing spring of 2007, closing off season 10 and the final season for SG1. The spin off show, Stargate Atlantis, has been renewed for a 4^th year and may continue on in the legacy of SG1. For now we can take comfort in the fact that we had 10 awesome years of this fantastic show and only hope that with fan support, it may return again some day, if not as a TV show then as a box-office hit.

Goodbye SG1, you will be missed.

Full article at: http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6364450.html?display=Breaking+News

I finally made the decision today, after months of being on the fence, to give up the addicting game that has encompassed my life for the last 6 months (World of Warcraft). I was warned before starting the game that it could be very addictive, but I failed to heed the warning. I actually became quite good at it, and was able to master a character and obtain the highest rank and abilities offered in the class of character that I chose, as well as much of the gear available. I became an important member of the group of friends that I chose to band together with [Guild] and even hosted a web forum for them for several months.

But the game has changed. A new expansion is being released mid January and in preparation for the expansion a patch was just released into the system this week which changed much of the way that the game is tracked and played. The economy system in the game became skewed and the differing character classes became unevenly matched. My group of friends decided to disband and reform under a different regime also in preparation for the new game play that is to come with the expansion. WoW as a whole is not as it used to be.

I’m sure that had I continued playing, all of the changes would soon enough become normal to me and I would settle back into my old home in-game, but looking back at how much time I have wasted on the “game” thus far, I fear that the new system would require just as much, and that is not needed in this season of my life.

So it is goodbye to WoW for now. My account has been suspended (my character saved eternally awaiting my return, if ever). The game pad that helped me become such a great gamer is now unneeded and available for anyone who wants it. I would EBay it, but there are dozens available on EBay already at next to nothing prices.

Be warned of MMORPGs. Yes they are safer than cocaine and heroine, but they are just as addictive.

After eyeing my neighbor’s phone for months, we finally broke down and bought one of our own. We couldn’t justify the purchase for me to use, seeing as I spend most of my day at home in front of a computer hooked to the internet already, so this nifty gismo is owned by Laurie. This was supposed to be a Christmas present, but seeing as her cellular phone line was switched from her old phone to this one, it made it quite impossible to keep the secret for very long.

After playing with it for an hour or so I found several things lacking, which made me feel less jealous that I did not get one as well. Yes, it does receive internet from anywhere that I am able to also get cellular reception, but it seems that the entire world has yet to embrace the mobile computing environment. It is quite difficult to browse the internet when the content is three times wider and six times longer than the screen that you are viewing it on. Also, I have yet to figure out its Wireless LAN capabilities. I have set it up and been able to connect to my home wireless connection, yet I am unable to see the network from the phone. It obtains an internal IP from the router, but I cannot connect to any of the other computers on the network, nor can they see the mobile device remotely. Further investigation into this will come.

For now, it has been very useful in keeping Laurie from ever missing an appointment (or at least removing all excuses as to why she did). She does have fun instant messaging me while bored at work and she tells me that keeping notes during meetings is fun.

You my have noticed that I have a renewed interest in updating my website. Aside from needing to keep all of you up to date about us, we bought new cameras. This will inevitably lead us to update the website more regularly so that you can have the new images we record of our family.

Inspired by Mr. Trey Cranson, I went with the Canon Digital Rebel XT. We have owned the Canon (non-digital) Rebel for many years, but have failed to use it because of the reoccurring costs of film and developing. Most of the images you can see on this website that are dated before Feb. 06 have been taken by Ty`s digital camera.

The new digital rebel features an 8.0 megapixel CMOS Sensor with fast 3 frames-per-second shooting, with a sleet SLR design compatible with over 50 detachable canon lenses. You can read the entire spec sheet here at the Canon website.

In addition to the Still photo camera, we purchased a new camcorder, the Canon DC20. Our old camcorder was a Sony 8mm cassette-tape recorder. Over the last few weeks Shaun has been transferring the recordings onto the computer for conversion into DVDs. We plan on constructing a thumbnail gallery of the recorded scenes for anyone interested in a DVD compilation. We will have the ability to create a custom DVD with whatever content you would like to have of us.

The new DC20 features direct to DVD recording in a small compact design. It is also capable of capturing 2.2 megapixel photographs by use of a mini-SD memory card. You can read the entire spec sheet here at the Canon website.

We finally have orders:

Departure location: Ft. Lewis, Washington
Departure date: 18 March 2006

Arrival location: Lt. Huachuca, Arizona
Arrival date: 27 March 2006

During our trip we will be traveling through LA, CA, and will be visiting Disney Land for several days. The boys are anxious to leave and are asking daily how long until we move.

We had some issues with the moving company last time we moved, so please pray that everything goes smoothly for us this time. Please also pray for our safe travel and for Mr. as he will be flying down to meet us.

We celebrated out 9th anniversary early this year. Because of our impending move to Arizona we decided, well I decided to celebrate early this year. Under the pretense of a birthday weekend, Laurie, I, and the boys traveled down to Portland to visit Laurie’s family. I made her aware prior to our departure that we would be going to a fancy dinner in Portland for her “birthday” so I would have an excuse for her to pack a set of dressy clothes. I called ahead and made further plans for an awesome anniversary weekend.

Reservations were made at the Holiday in on Jantzen Beach. I checked in early to set things up. A replica of the top tier of our wedding cake was placed on the table in the hotel room. Along side of it was placed a bouquet of a half-dozen red roses and two brand new Mikasa champagne flutes (we did not have a set of toasting glasses from our original wedding) to be filled with mimosas. Red and white rose petals were spread on the bed, bathroom area, sink area, and around the items on the table. A new terrycloth robe was placed on the desk chair next to the table arrangement, and the anniversary rings were placed on top of the cake in their boxes.

I am sad to say that I forgot to take a camera to capture the above described images, but I doubt she will ever forget.

We had dinner at the Portland City Grill. This is a very nice date location on the 30th floor of the tallest building downtown. The view was awesome. As an appetizer we shared lobster pot-stickers and a plate of sushi. For the entree Laurie had parmesan crusted prawns and I had Salmon. Dessert would come later.

When we arrived at the hotel she was surprised and worried about the boys. I made her aware that everyone was in on the plans and everything was being taken care of. When she walked into the room she was shocked by how well I had prepared the room. As she approached the table she began to examine the contents of the table, then immediately began jumping up-and-down screaming for joy at the sight of her new ring.

I poured our drinks and cut the cake, then we exchanged rings. The night ended with us changing hotel rooms; we broke the bed frame in the original room.

Well, after many years of debate we finnaly carried through with the plan; we got our first tattoos. Laurie made it look easy, as she did with childbirth, but I had a rough time.

It was Friday evening 4/29/05. Laurie met me at Adrenaline, a tattoo shop on Austin highway, but she had to go home to change out of her BDUs. While she was at home showering and changing I underwent the procedure. I finally decided on a Japanese Kanji symbol which stands for Faith, Truth or Trust. There is a second symbol that I will eventually add below the first which will change the meaning to Devotion, Faith, Godliness and Belief. The artist said that getting a tattoo on the wrist should not hurt any more than a different part of your body but i think he was biased seeing that he was covered from head to toe in ink. It hurt like Hell. I had to have him stop at one point because i was about to pass out. I had some water and a couple of tootsie rolls then suffered through the last of the tattoing.

Like I said earlier Laurie had no problems. She got the trinity rings in the small of her back. It only took her 15 min and made a hurt face once or twice. She didnt even need to hold my hand.