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I woke early one morning
The earth lay cool and still
When suddenly a tiny bird
Perched on my window sill
He sang a song so lovely
So carefree and so gay
That slowly all my troubles
Began to slip away
He sang of far off places
Of laughter and of fun
It seemed his very trilling
Brought up the morning sun
I stirred beneath the covers
Crept slowly out of bed
Then gently shut the window
And crushed his fucking head.

I'm not a morning person...

I'm up and down with sports. Anyone that knows me knows that I am only a sports enthusiast in the 3D world. I could give two squirts of piss about anything on television. I have a buddy that's a closet sports freak... f-r-e-a-k. Take the person in your life that is the most into sports and mathematically square their enthusiasm... then give them crack cocaine and season tickets to every event in the United States. Kurt is what being a sports fan is all about. He used to announce. I think he ate lead paint chips or something the predicated his decision to move into technology because he is denying his talent for the sake of moving packets around for people in white shirts and ties. Every time there is some impressive sporting moment he writes his thoughts down and SPAM's all his buds with them... I'd like to share some of his commentary with you over last nights game:

"Last night, America was blessed with a bit of sports history. For those of you who witnessed it, you'll probably never forget it. The Houston Astros went into Yankee Stadium this week for their first ever series against the pinstripes in the Bronx. They won last night. They won their first regular season game against the historic franchise that has seen the likes of Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and other greats that are immortalized forever into baseball history as some of the greatest that have ever played the game. It was a surreal moment for some of the Houston players, who come from the region as young players to visit this ballyard for their first time as professionals, and walk along the same chalk lines in the footsteps of their childhood heroes. For them, it was a culmination of endless dreams. To actually win their first game in Yankee stadium in this fashion couldn't have been expected in anyone's wildest dreams.

The win wasn't just any ordinary win. The Astros won the game 8-0 and pitched a no-hitter one day after losing the night before in a contest frought with unlucky bounces that ended up a Yankee victory. The no-hitter wasn't just any other no-hitter, either. The starting pitcher left the game early in the 2nd inning from a recurring injury. Houston Astros manager Jimy Williams then sent 5 other pitchers over the remaining 8 innings of the game to keep the Yankees hitless and secure the most improbable pitching performance Major League Baseball has ever seen in over 100 years of it's existence. Six pitchers. Nine innings. No runs. No hits. History.

Roy Oswalt. Pere Munro. Kirk Sarloos. Brad Lidge. Octavio Dotel. And closer Billy Wagner. The previous record for a no-hitter shared by multiple pitchers was four hurlers achieving the feat in a game on two occasions. The last time the Yankees were no-hit ? Try September 20, 1958 pitched by Hall of Fame knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm of the Baltimore Orioles. The last time they were left hitless in Yankee Stadium was on August 25, 1952, by Detroit's Virgil Tucks.

What was truly amazing was watching the Yankee fans stand and cheer for Astros closer Billy Wagner in the 9th inning try to close it out. Afterwards, someone from the Yankee's organization placed a bottle of champagne outside each of the lockers of the six Astros pitchers in the visitor's clubhouse. That was truly a class act.

Now it's no secret about the feelings I have for the Yankee team, and it's management's incessant drive to win championships by gobbling up all the high-priced talent they can, given the unbalanced monetary rules of the game today. I've blasted about them many a time, mostly in jest, but have always hoped for a more equitable system to save baseball from itself - a financial disaster in the making. But I have to give credit where credit is due. The Yankees, in this horrible loss, showed to me why they are held as the class act of their respective sport last night, and why so many people like myself stay driven to see them fall. They are great, and they recognize greatness when they see it. Success comes in many forms, and even during last night's loss the Yankees won in the hearts of true baseball fans, without even scoring a run on the field."

If I don't see his ass behind a desk with ESPN in the corner of his paycheck soon, I'll be gravely disappointed. He is in denial.

Happy Birthday to You, the four-line ditty was written as a classroom greeting in 1893 by two Louisville teachers, Mildred J. Hill, an authority on Negro spirituals, and Dr. Patty Smith Hill, professor emeritus of education at Columbia University. The melody of the song Happy Birthday to You was composed by Mildred J. Hill, a schoolteacher born in Louisville, KY, on June 27, 1859. The song was first published in 1893, with the lyrics written by her sister, Patty Smith Hill, as "Good Morning To All." Happy Birthday to You was copyrighted in 1935 and renewed in 1963. The song was apparently written in 1893, but first copyrighted in 1935 after a lawsuit. In 1988, Birch Tree Group, Ltd. sold the rights of the song to Warner Communications for an estimated $25 million. In the 80s, the song Happy Birthday to You was believed to generate about $1 million in royalties annually. With Auld Lang Syne and For He's a Jolly Good Fellow, it is among the three most popular songs in the English language. Happy Birthday to You continues to bring in approximately 2 million dollars in licensing revenue each year, at least as of 1996 accounting, according to Warner Chappell and a Forbes magazine article.

I think we should all learn something new every day.

Happy Birthday EL... I love you! Veels geluk met jou verjaarsdag! Urime ditelindjen! Gueter geburtsdaa! Melkam lidet! Eid milaad saeed! or Kul sana wa inta/i tayeb/a! Taredartzet shnorhavor! or Tsenund shnorhavor! Eida 'moladukh Hawee Brikha! Ois guade winsch i dia zum Gbuadsdog! Suma Urupnaya Cchuru Uromankja! Ad gununuz mubarek! Ad gunun mubarek! Zorionak! Ungil el cherellem! Shuvo Jonmodin! Maogmang Pagkamundag! Hapi betde! or Yumi celebretem de blong bon blong yu! Parabens a voce! or Parabens e muitas Deiz-ha-bloaz laouen deoc'h! Chestit Rojden Den! Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu! Per molts anys! or Bon aniversari! or Moltes Felicitats! Biba Kumplianos! Sun Yat Fai Lok! San Ni Kuai Lo! Sang Ngit Fai Lok! qu ni sheng er kuai le San ruit kua lok! Se Jit khuai lak! NA ZHSHS Sretan Rodendan! Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam!! Tillykke med fodselsdagen! Ne gelukkege verjoardach! Ne geleukkege verjoardoag! Fellisiteert! Gelukkige verjaardag! or Prettige verjaardag! Fan herte lokwinske! Proficiat! or Perfisia! Ne geleukkege verjeurdoag! Gefeliciteard met oen'n verjoardag! Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! or Van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag! Happy Birthday! Felichan Naskightagon! Palju onne sunnipaevaks! Zorionak zure urtebetetze egunean! Tillukku vid fodingardegnum! Tavalodet Mobarak! Hyvaa syntymapaivaa! Bonne Fete! Joyeux Anniversaire! Lokkiche jierdei! Lá breithe mhaith agat! Co` latha breith sona dhuibh! Ledicia no teu cumpreanos! Gilotcav dabadebis dges! Allis Guedi zu dim Fescht! Ois Guade zu Deim Geburdstog! Allet Jute ooch zum Jeburtstach! or Ick wuensch da allet Jute zum Jeburtstach! Es Muentschi zum Geburri! Ewllews Gewtew zewm Gewbewrtstewg. Mew! Allmecht! Iich wuensch Dir aan guuadn Gebuardsdooch! Haerzliche Glueckwuensche zum Geburtstag! Haezzlische Glickwunsch zem Gebordsdach! Ick wuensch Di allns Gode ton Geburtsdach! Ich gratelier Dir aach zum Geburtstag! Allet Gute zum Gebuatstach! Alles Gudde for dei Gebordsdaach! Herzlischen Gliggwunsch zum Geburdsdaach! Aelles Guade zom Gebordzdag! Ois Guade zum Geburdsdog! Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! Eytyxismena Genethlia! or Chronia Pola! Inuuinni pilluarit! Fielsteerd mit joen verjoardag! Janma Divas Mubarak! Saal Mubarak! Vy-Apave Nde Arambotyre! Hau`oli la hanau! Yom Huledet Same'ach! Masadya gid nga adlaw sa imo pagkatawo! Janam Din ki badhai! or Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein! Boldog szuletesnapot! or Isten eltessen! Til hamingju med afmaelisdaginn! Selamat Ulang Tahun! La-breithe mhaith agat! or Co` latha breith sona dhut! Or Breithla Shona Dhuit! Buon Compleanno! Bun Cumpleani! At faz tent avguri ad bon cumplean! Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu! Slamet Ulang Taunmoe! Bouon Anniversaithe! Huttida Habba Subashayagalu! Mayap a Kebaitan Voharvod Mubarak Chuy! Tughan kuninmen! Quchjaj qoSlIj! Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da! Rojbun a te piroz be! Tulgan kunum menen! Fortuna dies natalis! Daudz laimes dzimsanas diena! Sveikinu su gimtadieniu! or Geriausi linkejimaigimtadienio progal Nkwagaliza amazalibwa go amalungi! Vill Gleck fir daei Geburtsdaag! Sreken roden den! Pirannal Aasamsakal! or Janmadinasamsakal! Selamat Hari Jadi! Nifrahlek ghal gheluq sninek! Kia huritau ki a koe! Wadhdiwasachya Shubhechha! mo swet u en bonlaniverser! Leleng ambai pa mbeng ku taipet i! Torson odriin mend hurgee! bil hoozho bi'dizhchi-neeji' 'aneilkaah! Ick gratuleer di scheun! Janma dhin ko Subha kamana! Gratulerer med dagen! Janmadina Abhinandan! Masha Pabien I hopi aña mas! Padayish rawaz day unbaraksha! Tavalodet Mobarak! Maligayang kaarawan sa iyo! Wszystkiego Najlepszego! or Wszystkiego najlepszego zokazji urodzin! wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji urodzin Parabens pelo seu aniversario! or Parabenspara voce! or Parabens e muitas felicidades! Feliz Aniversario! or Parabens! Janam din diyan wadhayian! Janam ghaanth ri badhai, khoob jeeyo! La Multi Ani! Feneligiz Cunumplegeanagonos! S dniom razhdjenia! or Pazdravliayu s dniom razhdjenia! Lihkos Riegadanbeaivvis! Manuia lou aso fanau! Ravihi janmadinam aacharati! Achent'annos! Achent'annos! Vill Glück zum Geburri! Srecan Rodjendan! Vsetko najlepsie k narodeninam! Vse najboljse za rojstni dan! Masego motsatsing la psalo! Feliz Cumpleaños! Suba Upan dinayak vewa! Wilujeng Tepang Taun! Mi fresteri ju! Hongera! or Heri ya Siku kuu! Grattis pa fodelsedagen! Tahnyotho or brigo! Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan! San leaz quiet lo! Piranda naal vaazhthukkal! Janmadina subha kankshalu! Puttina Roju Shubakanksalu! Suk San Wan Keut! Droonkher Tashi Delek! Putudina dina saukhya! Dogum gunun kutlu olsun! Mnohiya lita! or Z dnem narodjennia! Janam Din Mubarak Saalgirah Mubarak! Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat! Malipayong adlaw nga natawhan! Penblwydd Hapus i Chi! Imini emandi kuwe! A Freilekhn Gebortstog! Eku Ojobi! Ilanga elimndandi kuwe!

She didn't know... riiiiight.

I received my Tiffen diopters in the mail today. I just wish my CKC Power adapter would come in... I hate backorders!

Tonight was pretty cool. I left work with semi-good news and had a few beers ith friends. EL and I met Joe's sisters. I'm taking tomorrow off for my baby's b-day. She's crafty. She spent the day making some cool stuff to give away at the wedding.

I'm tired...

I'm definitely sleeping in tomorrow.

I work hard for my job. I'm a hard worker. It doesn't matter how you want to describe it, I take pride in what I do. It's disheartening to discover that your employer has little care in the well being of it's employees. Anyhoo, I worked late, stopped for (much needed) groceries on the home, and left abruptly for some time in the park. I needed to decompress. When I arrived, there was this older couple shooting a portfolio for their barbie-doll-look-alike daughter who couldn't have been a day over 17 but was tanned like a well done brisket and had a smile that would stand out in a Brite Smile commercial. I politely interrupted their photo shoot to tell them that I was only there to take pictures of insects and would gladly move out of their way should they need it. I continued with my random stalking of tiny creatures. I eventually ended up in front of this little spider that was, in fact, so tiny that I will have to wait until my diopters and couplers arrive to reverse lens macro this guy to get any detail... however, in front of this little spider, I found myself a mere 6 or so feet from the photo shoot in progress. Mom (the coach) and Dad (the photographer) were busy telling daughter (the visual slut) to pose in all sorts of awkward fashion when I hear something crazy: "pose for me like you do in the mirror when momma isn't around... pose for me like you do when no one is looking... make yourself all sexy... give me sexy like you don't want to show momma..."

Holy shit.

This was a dad talking to his daughter... in front of her mother... I felt instantly and completely out of place. It was like I walked into a movie set and they were about to rush me out of the scene. I pretended not to notice and waited for the guy to run out of film. I could have left, but I wanted to watch the little spider and these people were in the way... sorta... anyhoo, the snaps turned out bad, but I had a relaxing few moments of solitude sans the Beverly Hillbillies eavesdropping. EL made a fucktabulous meal and we spent the rest of the evening together at home. Life is good despite all the bad that can be found when you look for it.

When the lens is focused on the hyperfocal distance, the depth of field extends from half the hyperfocal distance to infinity.

-or-

The hyperfocal distance is the point of focus where everything from half that distance to infinity falls within the depth of field.

Check this tool out.

Take 2,3,5-trimethylphenol, 2-ethylphenol, 2-methoxy-4-ethylphenol, 2,4-methylenephenol, dicaffeoyl-quinic acid, 4-ethylphenol, 4-methoxy-4-vinylphenol, acetaldehyde, caffeine, caffeol, caffeoyl-3-quinic acid, caffetannic acid, chlorogenic acid, citric acid, daturic acid, guaiacol, hypoxanthine, isochlorogenic acid, putrescine, scopoletin, spermidine, spermine, sugars, tannic acid, tannin, theobromine, theophylline, thiamin, trigonelline, and xanthine.

Roast.

Add water.

Add heat.

Drink.

Is this fuckin' day over yet?

Yesterday was a series of ups and downs that didn't amount to much. I was intermittently busy through the morning with fires at work that needed to be put out, but by the afternoon things had slowed to a crawl. Somewhere in the day, a rumor was passed around that there would be 1000 layoffs corporate-wide this Friday. That's enough to put anyone in a good mood, so there was this weird, eerie quiet around the office all afternoon. EL was re-purple-izing her hair when I got off, so I stopped at Blanco's with Joe, Dirk, and Vance. Someone had left a bunch of pool balls on one of the table's, so I took a picture. Why not? Anyhoo, there was a big private party going on in one half of the joint and they had hired a professional photographer. As it turns out, the guy had gone to high school with Dirk and that was enough to get he and I talking about photography. The guy, no offense, was an idiot. Well, on the surface anyway. I tried for several minutes of patiently listening to him talk to hear anything that would give me the impression he knew anything about photography that would substantiate the credentials of a professional. Nothing. He was a really nice guy... just didn't seem to technical or passionate about what he did for a living. I guess that's going around these days. One thing of note: that bitch had a Nikon 1Dx and it was all kinds of sweet. It's not quite my dream camera, buy pretty damn close. As soon as EL finished her stuff at home, she met me and we went to dinner at The Red Onion on Kirby. They have that cool pineapple salsa stuff. I didn't really like the food at dinner, but I loved the fact that we were having it together. I work way to much. I wish there was a way I could work less without my pay suffering substantially. The riddle of life these days... how do I not work and still get paid? Heh. Anyhoo, I slept like ass last night. I had a few really bad dreams... weird stuff. The last of which was disturbed by the alarm clock going off. I was so unsettled that decided to go ahead and get my tired ass out of bed... and, consequently, so begins another day in paradise.

It happens.

I went dragon hunting this afternoon and discovered my best subject in a while... just as my battery was dying on the digicam. I snapped a few (in the expanded section of this post) before the inevitable darkness. I'm not as happy about those as I am this little weed of a flower... or flower of a weed... whatever you want to call it. I have been watching it over the last couple of weeks. The three shots below are of the same plant... first, all closed up and waiting... next, the first flower says hello... and finally, it's a party. These were taken over a period of about 10 days. This afternoon, when I snapped the final shot in the series, I found a hideaway. Since the crop of pic 3 was no good for a close-up, I took a separate shot of this fella at the bottom.




















EL and I had a busy afternoon before my hunting adventure. We went through all the crap I had been pack-ratting away for the last decade in the garage. Heavy trash day is going to suck for those guys this month. I'm terrible about keeping things. I had boxes of old magazines... years of CGW, NPJ, and AOPA... clothes I would never wear again and just never through away... books, office supplies, various items of no value and little sentiment... it was amazing. It was a mountain, but we planted flag on the summit. Please don't tell me tomorrow is Monday already.

Today is my cat's birthday.





She turns eight today. Birthday festivites to follow, but first I must find coffee. I'm a bit worn out from getting my ass kicked yesterday. About 12 hours of Battlefield 1942 (well, we had to do some RA3 in there for a bit... you know, out of respect) and untold amounts of Guinness consumption... it was by far the best LAN party I'd been to in years. Unlike my hosted LAN's, Wideout had a phat ass pool table, foosball, darts, and various other distractions for when you need to give your ass a break. EL made some kick ass spicy tortilla snacks with a few different blended salsas and cheese (you can never have enough cheese)... and some really good blue cheese and hazelnut with honey things on toasted bagette slices. There was BBQ and pizza and all the good stuff in between. I'd say everyone spent about 90% of the entire time in the server though... unreal gameplay. I will say that I can walk away having learned some valuable lessons in Battlefield. If you have a really good chopper pilot on your team, you will most likely win. Heh. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention (duh!), we didn't actually play any native Battlefield 1942, we play the Desert Combat mod all day... that mod will simply waste you away. Anyhoo, I'm off to get my vitamin D production on since I didn't see sunlight yesterday at all. ;-)

June 6, 1944 - A bunch of guys found out that the beach isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Still funny.

Last night was my Thursday. You know how people tend to go out on a Thursday because "fuckittomorrow'sFriday"? Well, I took tomorrow off because we close on the house, so last night was kinda like my Thursday. I picked up EL right after work and we went down by the Alley to Birraporetti's for an early dinner. We met up with Joe, Dirk, and Vance at Blanco's on the way home. It was open mic and there were a few amateur talents in there, but it was mostly noise. EL annihilated everyone at the pool table. We were all set to head home relatively early after a fun evening with friends. My new cell phone plan with Sprint (coincidentally another word besides Suck that starts with an S) has this ever-growing-less-amusing way of sending my calls to voicemail without ringing my phone. It doesn't happen all the time, just regularly enough to piss me off. Anyhoo, some old hair-band days friends of Harry's were playing at The Tavern (West Gray) and he wanted us to meet up with him. Had I received the call when it was placed and not some hours later, I would not have hesitated, but now the option meant staying out late on a work night... yadda yadda yadda... I suddenly felt old. Really old. I used to stay out late all the time. I used to sleep 3 or 4 hours a night and function the next day without any problem. I'm not that man anymore. However, I did have that "fuckittomorrow'sFriday" card in my back pocket (even though it wasn't technically, but we've covered that) that was heating up. So off we went to The Tavern. We had an excellent time and it was great to see Harry again. Despite all the unplanned drinking and loss of sleep, I feel great this morning and am soooooo ready for the weekend. I hope everything goes smooth tomorrow at closing and we can sail through the weekend as new home owners. It's much easier to motivate to pack when you know you have a place to live when the move begins.