moh-HAH'-vee

From some random site:

Gunman killed after firing shots in Mojave Desert medical building

Associated Press - July 30, 2007 6:13 PM ET

RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) - A 75-year-old man who fired a shotgun on hospital grounds is dead after being shot by a California Highway Patrol officer.

Police in the Mojave (moh-HAH'-vee) Desert community of Ridgecrest say the man fired one shot on the grounds of the regional hospital and entered a medical office building, where he fired several more shots. Police say the man pointed a shotgun at officers after they had warned him to drop the weapon.

Ridgecrest is about 110 miles north of Los Angeles.

I want to see someone do San Diego phonetically damn it! It's not like we're THAT middle-of-no-where. Just cause people call this place the "Gateway to Hell" when it's supposed to be "Gateway to Death Valley" don't mean nothin'!

OMG, I've been talking to my mom to much! The cowboy talk is coming out!

2 Completely Unrelated Points

I am completely shocked by my adult found respect for much of what is often called "The Man". No, I'm not talking about the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America).

I am talking about law enforcement in general, laws, rules, etc,. Considering I spent more then half of my childhood doing whatever I could to irritate and disobey my parents simply because they thought they could tell me what to do, I find it rather odd that my adult life is being spent rigidly obeying most laws.

I speed, up the speed limit and then cruise there. Sometimes 2-3 MPH more. But that's it! I stop completely at stop signs. I don't even rip tags off of pillowcases and blankets (yes, I know it's not a law, but it's my blog damn it!).

Pat, however, is completely blatant in his non-obeying of every law including mine! It's rather irritating! Cause you know he spent his childhood rarely daring to disobey his parents. He's gonna be mad at me for typing that, but he'll live.

Anyway. Just a thought I had.

Another thought was how truly unfair some business practices can be. Take for example, commissions in the travel industry.

We get paid by the cruise lines and hotels for booking clients. If those clients book themselves they are often charged more then the price I could get (in the case of cruises) and they NEVER receive a press less-commission. The supplier simply pockets that amount as true and total profit.

To make matters worse, when the cruise lines, hotels, and car companies go to pay the agency the commission that we are owed, we (travel agency) are charged a processing fee for it! Because the cruise lines use a third party check writer. Doing an EBT (electronic bank transfer) does not negate this fee. How fucked up crazy is that?! Seriously! I have to PAY you to sell your product? And if YOU sell it you get to keep what would otherwise be my livelihood rather then giving the consumer a break? Freakin' bite me!

Oh well. I guess it's either live with it or stop being a travel agent.

I'm having to much fun to stop now, but it's still irritating!

Sad, but not all that sad

A 75 year old man walked into a hospital today here in Ridgecrest and fired shots before being shot down by a CHP Officer. The man is now dead, and there is lots of speculation. None of which I particularly care about. There are rumors that someone was shot by him before he died. I have to live off rumors because it's not like we have local tv, and the paper will run the story wrong at least 3 times. Which is neither here or there.

Some in my office have expressed great concern that the man was shot. My feelings towards the situation are rather ambivalent. I couldn't really care less.

You carry a shotgun into a hospital and start shooting......what do you expect? To be pushed to the front of the line to see the Dr? I'd laugh, but it's really not funny.

Now I don't know what his motive was. Not sure if he or someone he loves was diagnosed with something horrible, or if he just went crazy. Or maybe, he wasn't in control of himself somehow.

No matter the reason, my salute to the men and women of our CHP and surrounding area local police department and sheriff's who responded to this situation and responded quickly in such a way as to minimize threat to innocents.

It's a sad day for both the CHP officer who was forced to take action, and for the friends and family of the man who died. The man himself? He's dead, and regardless of the reason behind it, it was his actions that precipitated the event. I don't really mourn him all that much.

You can call me Iceheart all you want, but my eyes are the same color baby! (If you get that reference, you are a true geek and I love you like a Jedi!)

I can only hope that this doesn't stop anyone from being hired at our already beleaguered hospital, and that those who work tremendously hard for little appreciation and sporadic pay (our hospital is having financial problems as it is) won't be frightened off by crazy people who are trying to kill them and their patients.

And I hope that this is a lesson to all of you crazies. When faced with a situation where you can pick up a gun and shoot something in anger, how about not aiming at innocent people, eh? If you do, I truly hope law enforcement acts quickly and without hesitation to bring your crazy ass down.

T

Linkage Love

It's been a long time since I've given any linkage heavy posts so here goes!

Elvish Name Translator - Pretty self explanitory

Tinkerbell Talks - The original Tink!

Neopets goes to hell - Pat and I used to love Neopets. But Pat can be what I can only call slightly obsessivly addicted to anything he even remotely likes. We left. I got an email the other day telling me about this change. We won't be going back.

Word/Sentance Game

Cool Pages to Keep An Eye On

A random page on Disney stuffs! WOO!

The sunlight diet - No other words can describe stupidity.

Yet another clue that WoW is ruining the MMO world that I love? Pat's game experience:

Some dude complains in world chat that he gave money to people and they wouldn't give it back. He keeps complaining. On, and on, and on, and on.......and finally Pat gives in and asks what's going on!

......
It goes something like this:

Stupid dude: They asked for money so I gave it them.
Pat: Did they say they were going to give you something in return for the money?
Stupid dude: No, but they said they spent it all and they want more. What morons.
Pat: uh yeah......*they're* the morons.
Stupid dude: Yeah! I want my money back! They scammed me!

Pat and I : HA HA HA HA HA 'tard!

Annnnnnnnnd, have a good night! And play EQ2. Or Maple Story (if you prefer Mario to anything else). NOT WOW!

This Weekend!

We went to go see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I think it was the best individual movie of the series thus far. There were, obviously, some gaping holes in the storyline compared to the books. But with the other movies there was stop-gap coverage of the storyline and confusion ensued on my part, when they didn't cover each story arc in detail. Perhaps that was only me. Regardless of what's happened in other movies however, I thought they did well!

In case you hadn't heard (living in caves, attention span of a moth, etc,.) the last Harry Potter book was released last Saturday. Pat and I got home from Jeremy's wedding (pictures are coming....Pat is being lazy!) last Sunday. We grabbed the book after being in town less then 10 minutes. I started the book around 5:30, maybe 6pm and finished somewhere around midnight, or somewhere close.

Excellent book, but again, storyline closure is lacking. I was wrong on one of my beliefs of the book that I expressed to Pat, but the other one (R.A.B.) I was correct! GO ME!

We quickly tried the Asian MMO Maple Story and found it interesting. It's a side-scrolling freebie. I can't get it to run on my comp. I have a 64bit version of Windows XP and there's some stuff that just will not work. I have complained to Pat. His answer is "Next time I won't buy you a new computer". So I've stopped complaining, especially since stuff I really *need* like my work programs, he's allowed me to install on his computer. He's a sweety!

Pat has also become quite a chef! He makes the yummiest low carb chicken parmesan, and very yummy low carb cinnamon rolls. Every weekend he makes me pancakes, and he seems to enjoy looking up new things to cook.

Now I'm not sure if the reason he enjoys cooking is because he has two choices: Cook or help clean. It's his responsibility to clean the kitchen and he does a damn good job of it, maybe cooking just becamse an easy way to keep me from dirtying every pan in the kitchen while making dinner.

It helps that I don't often come home from a day at work and feel like cooking I'm sure.

Since I asked him to help my dieting by eating out less, he has really, really, been awesome about making dinner, and making something yummy, and including veggies with each meal.

I married the most amazing man. No, not just because he cooks!

Pat is my best friend, my confidant, my shoulder to cry on! He gets stuck with making the hard decisions. I put my faith in him that he will make decisions for our family that are best for us as a couple. What pressure. And he does awesome. He always looks out for me. He always makes the right decision. And if he doesn't, then by me putting my faith in him and in his decisions I have no right to critisize. It would be unfair to put everyone on his shoulders and then wait for circumstances, a mistake, a bad judgement to rip on him. We're in the rest of our lives as a team.

I look out for him because I love him. With all of my heart. With all of my hapiness. I am just so very happy always because of him, and I want you ALL to know!

It's wonderful!

Hopefully everyone will have a really great weekend!

The weird world of travel

The one thing that I have found is that it's really, really hard to sell what you don't know. The gals in the office can go on and on about Italy, France, the UK, Germany, Croatia, Albania, Hawaii, Montana, Seattle, Vancouver, Alaska, Yosemite, Brice, Zion, Washington DC, New York, Canada, Denver, LA, Portland (both Maine and Oregon), Caribbean destinations........you get the point.

I only know a few things really well! I can sell anything Disney! I can sell San Diego, and most of the So Cal theme parks. I can sell any aquarium on the west coast (a passion of mine for many years), the Grand Canyon Railway (having been on a "Fam" last year), and that's about it. The problem is, being a mostly military/base access town, anyone can walk into MWR and beat my prices on hotels and tickets. So, my knowledge there is pretty much worthless.

So, back to "Fam's". Fams are Familiarization trips offered to travel agents to assist with getting to know the destinations. Once you've been there and can describe it, give tips on where to eat, walk, swim, shop, relax, stay, etc., it assists greatly in closing sales. Otherwise, you look like a muck that just read it out of a book (which is normally how I get my info on these destinations.

A fam was just offered to our office! $450 to Hawaii. Round trip air, 5 nights stay on the Big Island of Hawaii, most meals, transportation, excursions, training on the destination and on the programs offered by the supplier so that we can better sell. $450 is a steal. But right now, it's just not really do-able. First, one agent is gone the entire time the fam is being offered, with another gone the last 2 days. Leaving my office with the new person, who hasn't even started yet. Not a wise choice.

Also, it's just too close to some major purchases for Pat and I, and I have to think about our financial situation first. There's more to be spent then just $450! Gas to LAX and back, meals that aren't provided, any shopping, I would DEFINITELY need new clothes. Because I have discovered that of the clothes I normally wear to work, almost none are really professional and almost all are stained or ripped in some manner.

I'm hard on my clothes, and I buy the bare minimum needed so I have money to spend on other stuff. It's going to be hard to break down and buy $150-$200 bucks in new stuff.Even then, it'll be from Wal-Mart and be destroyed in a year or so. But I digress.

If we're offered rental cars to explore on our own that will cost gas and possible taxes, any snorkeling/swimming/fishing gear required for any of the excursions or on my own will be extra, and of course, at least SOMETHING for family for souvies, since I'll probably never go back to Hawaii.

So.....I'm disappointed I can't go. It would be good for the office, but I'm not stupid enough to even ask my boss to pay for it. But it would also leave the office in a position of complete helplessness while I was gone. Not good!

But I'm also glad, in a way. Pat and I have plans in August, September, and we have to do something in October with Tawnia, though her birthday trip has had to be postponed because of a lack of funds on both our parts.

Then in November/December our car insurances, home taxes/mortgage stuffs is due, along with our home warranty and various other yearly bills. Plus holiday and Christmas stuff, it's just not a good time.

So, until the next fam becomes available, I bid you all, ALOHA!

You know you live in the desert when :

It hits 18% humidity and people act like life is over!

10:30pm and it's 92°F out there!

Good night everybody!

Target Sucks!

Because of this, I sent this :

Due to Target's recent announcement regarding only selling Blue-Ray players, I will no longer be shopping at your stores. When HD is being sold alongside Sony's horribly supported, badly designed and overly expensive piece of equipment, I will return.

Thank you.

Rebecca Simpson

Your turn!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stupid Dog

Forget the last post about the dog. He got out again today. He broke the fence Pat spent a lot of time and effort fixing....for the 4th time.

Tawnia might have a new playmate soon.

*sighs*

Stereo MC and Porn!

I love this new show on USA!! For a network that cuts movies horribly, bleeps out any kind of cussing at all, and hasn't done anything original in my lifetime, I'm suddenly a fan. Granted, I still think trying to censor Dogma is ridiculous but I digress!

The new show I really adore is called Burn Notice. The main dude is HOT. And I don't use that term lightly. He really is. Anyway! Really....really....hot.

Other good shows on the network are Monk and Psyche. Both of which Pat and I found late. But thank goodness for networks who don't have anything else to air, they routinely show entire seasons at a sit down. Good watching for Pat and I, as most of our weekend, week nights, lunch hours, etc., are spent in front of the computer, and like all good, lazy gamers, we have a satellite box under our router.

Anyway! The porn part! The theme song is "Connected" by Stereo MC. You know the song! It's the "I'm gonna get myself connected" song. It's awesome! Best song ever! Anyway, so Pat downloads it for me, and I want to check the lyrics online.

Nothing sucks more then singing a song out loud wrong. Yes, I still sing very loud, and very out of tune. Deal with it.

So, the site I'm checking the lyrics on pops up this porn ad, and these really huge boobs are right in my face. I don't really care, to be honest. I have nothing against porn. And Pat and I laugh cause he says "It could be worse, it could be gold selling ads". HA HA HA

I don't think any of you are gonna get that....but it's funny damn it. Laugh!

So that brings me to a final point (I really don't HAVE points when I start typing by the way, hence the rambling crazy posts that never really say anything).

SOE just hired an IGE dude for their Real Money Transaction stuff.

Losers. Guess they figured if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Kinda like the FBI and Homeland Security hiring hackers to break into government systems to find their weak points.

OH! And the last point. (I'm making this as I go along people! I ain't gonna re-type the whole blog for ya!!)

DVD Jon broke the encryption on the Iphone that required a contract with Cingular (who sucks) for certain features to work!

GO JON GO!!!

Damn Apple not allowing third party developers. WE HATE YOU APPLE. No matter how cool your stupid phones are!

Yeah!

Oki, bed time....right after South Park!

It's PUPPY!!!!!!

Isn't he just the most wonderful dog you've EVER seen?!

I'm off!

You can tell when I'm off work, or bored. I post random ramblings that aren't thought out well (see two posts ago.......wtf was I trying to say??!). Even I can't decipher it sometimes.

Today I've done loads of laundry, dishes, washed the shower curtain liner, played with Puppy, watched TV, got my EQ2 crafting to 15 (to match my adventuring level), went to work for a few minutes, played dice wars, read Harry Potter cause I have to re-read before I see the movie so I can tell Pat how horrible the movie portrayed important plot lines, and generally was a lazy little chick on a much needed day off!

GO ME!

Now I'm off to vaccuum the front room, clean the clutter off our walk-in hutch thingie, clean my bathroom counter and clean the coffee table all while watching an hour of friends and an hour of raymond. ahhhh, the good life!

Love ya'll!

*dance*

B

Really cool and VERY funny!

Hovercrafts don't like steel grates!

And in case you're a gamer living in a cave, the artistry of Tim Buckly can only be described in two words : Incredibly Awesome.

Pat and I have a signed poster, the DVD collection, the comic books, the screenies, you name it, we got it baby! CTRL-ALT-DEL fans from the beginning. In today's lesson for ya'll we learn something fun!



Never again can we trust George Lucas. Though the last one WAS a reedeming grace for most of the screw ups, midichlorians included....nothing will ever heal the wounds that Jar Jar inflicted upon us all.

But Pat and I are planning a Star Wars weekend here soon! Untold hours in Star Wars watching, with books to assist with the timeline and character discussion.

I LOVE being a geek!!!!

Why Do You Play Games?

I play games cause they're fun, social, and can challenge you. I love playing games where you know the answers are in front of you, rather then having to guess at the next step.

It's the difference between books such as Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew compared to Trixie Beldon and Harry Potter.

You're given the hints in the latter, all the way through the books. The former skip that clue or two that would let you, the reader, solve it yourself and then pull it out at the end! "Well my dear Watson, you missed the slime of mud at the scene which could only come from the alligators of Sudan" and so forth.

So, back to games!!

I am a social butterfly. If I wanted to play a solo game, I'd be playing Legend of Zelda or Earthbound (COME ON ENIX GAMES ON WII VIRTUAL CONSOLE BABY!).

I want to at least have my actions possibly affect someone. I could help by throwing a heal at a lower character (if anyone says 'toon I become violent btw....no, I'm not kidding. I WILL hit you!), assisting with a tough kill, information for a newbie, or just generally being friendly and giving out stuff.

I am what is often called a "perpetual newb". But not due to lack of in game time usually. I don't level cause it's not as fun as some of the other parts of the game. I love crafting!!!!!!!! I love creating things that people need and having that create a chance to talk or chat about something.

It could be role played! Try having a conversation with a Kerra in EQ2 about how their mom reverted to her pre-intelligent form and left her to fend for herself with 3 kitten siblings.

Or it could be informational. Swapping info on where to harvest, best things to make to level crafting, or why one recipe is better then another for any reason at all.

Either way, it amounts to one thing! TALKING! Anyone that knows me, knows I LOVE to talk. I could talk all day long, I could talk to strangers....I regularly carry on conversations with books, my dog, the oven and the TV. Oh, and the radio. Mostly when Pat is listening to the most horrible woman alive, Dr. Laura.

Hence, why I don't do consoles. I don't know what O, X, Sqaure?!!?? WHO THE HELL THOUGHT A SQUARE WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA? That's right! Stupid Sony!!!!!! *rants*

A square, I ask you!!!! WHY! Anyway.

I'm not good at the controls (in cause you didn't get that). Which is why I love the Wii. It's much more intuitive. And there's no damn squares! Just the A and B button! Annnnnnnnnd, here we go!

Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right-A-B-A-B-Start

Thank you.

Day off at last!!

Well, I had a chance to talk to Nath last night. It's the first time in quite a while that I've actually talked to him. I miss him lots and lots! It's nice to talk to him for a long time!

Anyway....yeah!

Today lots going on!

The new Harry Potter movie came out, and I want to see it SOOOOO bad! We'll probably wait until we go to State Line next weekend for Jeremy and Jojo's wedding.

OH!

Good news for everyone! Pat's article! and part 2 includes a picture!! This was printed in a local paper that covers military goings on! WOO HONEY! *dances*

I am so very, very proud of him and the work that he's doing. He is truly a talented, oh so smart, dedicated worker. My heart just beams with gladness for this recognition of his group and their work in warfighter support.

GO HONEY!

---

In other stuffs, I can't figure out which angle this article is taking. To be honest many of the Daily Independent articles are often hard to read. I "read the paper" on google news anyway.

Also a few charities I'm fond of I thought I should mention. I adore Kiva.org. You *LOAN* money to entrepreneur's in 3rd world countries so that they may better their life, their communities, and the lives of others around them, and then it's repaid. It's not tax deductible, but would not getting 4% back for 6 months really kill you?

Heifer.org is another good one, not sure if I've mentioned it before. They donate livestock not for eating but for the use of byproducts. They teach families how to care for them, breed them, and make money off of them. It's amazing what a chicken and a rooster can do for someone in a 3rd world country. Truly shocking that for the price of a McDonalds milkshake you can change someones life, forever. Think about it.

GamersInfo Coverage of E3

We've got some folks from GamersInfo.net covering the currently going on E3 Media & Business Summit!

Remember, this year's event is not open to the public, and even media coverage is by invite only. The second version of this conference, which is open to the public, does not begin until October, and you can find that info right here.

Our site coverage is in the form of blogs thus far. You can link directly there, or set up a feed reader for it by using this link.

Enjoy! I know I won't. :)

I hate this new format, I hate the new idea of allowing consumers in, and I think this format won't last. So this is pretty much the last year of this crap, imo.

I guess we'll have to wait and see!

E3 Craziness

The anticipated unannouncement!

Microsoft did not drop the price of the Xbox 360 as expected by some on Tuesday, but the company did unveil a special edition Halo 3 model and showed several, albeit, expected games during the company's E3 press conference.

Halo 3 campaign, Rock Band, a new Resident Evil 5 trailer, Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto IV, Guitar Hero III, and a very Jet Set Radio-looking Naruto game were all shown. Call of Duty 4 was also profiled to good applause in addition to Viva Pinata Party Animals which is a collection of more than 30 mini-games.


"Xbox 360 has sold more games at retail than both Wii and PS3 combined this generation," said Xbox boss Peter Moore while reading from a teleprompter. "The Xbox 360 is the console driving the industry. Half of all consumer spending this generation is on 360," he added while wearing his typical dark grey suit with lime green shirt.

The Title and The Walk

Since May of 2006 the sub-title of the blog has been "The wedding is over, normal life resumes! Well, as normal as two psychos get."

We are truly crazy people, Pat and I. Not insane crazy usually. Just a little nutso. Which is a good thing. You should try it sometime!

Anyway, I want to change this line. But I'm not sure what to change it to!! I'm taking submissions :p


In other news check this out!

The $30 million all-glass Skywalk will hover 3,800 feet above the Colorado River over a rim of the Grand Canyon, allowing tourists to stroll on an 80-yard walk around a semicircular platform jutting beyond the canyon rim, surrounded by Plexiglas that will provide a spectacular view of the canyon floor directly below. (The statement that the structure is designed to hold "72 million pounds" appears to be a copywriter's misparsing of a 72-ton figure.) The Skywalk (initially projected to open in early 2006, before construction delays pushed back the completion date) will be part of a new Grand Canyon West resort on the Hualapai reservation at the western edge of the park, about 120 miles from Las Vegas.

No thank you!

Ownership

I suffer, sometimes, from being to involved in the client side of things at work. It's a hard line to toe.

We are short agents, and so we get very busy with getting corporate clients out the door, especially since they tend to book so very last second! (Do you hear me DCS engineers?! BOOK EARLY DAMN IT!!!!!!!!!)

Anyway. The problem!

I have to many clients and problems to solve to be doing office manager type work.

The issues this causes include having to put everything off until it becomes so critical I can not ignore it and it must be done right now! This leaves our clients feeling that I (and the office, by extension) do not value their business. In a world where what I do is often just a few clicks away for people who do not need or want specialized advice and information this is disastrous!

The solution? Hire someone full time, and someone part time and train them as much as possible before throwing them into the front office to learn as they go. The problem here is that we pay minimum wage, no medical/dental/vision benefits, and very little chance of a raise in say, 4-5 years. This severely limits the people who want to work with me.

Of course, of the people who do want to work with me they are either so young that they can not afford to travel (which, as I have learned, makes selling it VERY difficult!), or so set in their ways to want to truly learn that the computer is your friend and that there are new ways of doing things then the book/paper tickets that were so common even 10 years ago.

So my desk gets crazier every day. My client list falls more and more behind. Things slip. I've already let some very important clients and business paperwork (debit memos from the airlines and such) go so far past date there's no hope of salvaging though I must try.

But where does that leave customers? Unappreciated, uncared for, not special. If someone treated me that way, you can bet that I would be either doing it on my own or finding other help. There is no excuse for treating your customers poorly. For not putting them on a pedestal and truly going the extra mile, for each and every one.

Which leads me to yet another issue. I've been in this office almost 13 months. My formal training is 3 web training classes which are about 20 minutes each, in the use of the Sabre booking engine. GO ME! For some reason, everyone I work with no thinks that I'm somehow qualified to handle exchanges that our office manager for 20 years has trouble with! WTF! Are you kidding me?

I work hard, I try to pick things up quickly, but you can only throw so much at me so fast before I just crumble. I am reaching that crumble point today. My brain is tired, my mind is weak from the constant rush of ticketing/booking/rebooking/finding another hotel cause they don't like the first one/rebooking cause they didn't turn in their paperwork and apparently they think I enjoy working 4 hours on a reservation for which the office will bring in $20, cause they made their own hotel and car reservations!

And in all of this, I don't feel that our office is acting in such a way as to promote teamwork. Which isn't really their fault! I'm not there to be a leader, a cheerleader, an encourager, teacher, and vent for those horrible clients that just make you want to kill something. Usually that something is the client.

So I sit here, on hold with British Airways and when they say "Enews" I swear it sounds like they're saying emu's. It threw me off guard the first 12 times I heard it....

And I wait for 5:30.

Because tomorrow all of these people for whom I am waiting for authorization to ticket will call and say they need me to rebook their itineraries because they didn't turn in the paperwork on time and the prices have changed and I will re-do all this work because someone feels my time is inconsequential and that I have nothing better to do, and I will sit here and take it. Because my customers deserve to have nothing less then the best that I, and my office, can provide.

Come on 5:30.

The Wonders of Ratatouille

Pat and I went to go see the Pixar (I refuse to call them Disney damn it!) movie Ratatouille!!

It was awesome! If you haven't seen it yet, go see it! If you have...well...Dead Men Tell No Tales! MWA HA HA! That made the movie for me! Seriously. It was the most awesome thing ever!


I found an article today about the New 7 Wonders of the World vote. Apparently I missed this one.....But it looks like they've got most of them right.

Anyone who knows me, knows I hate Wikipedia. But I thought this article was the best condensed version of something everyone should know.

The 'Seven Wonders of the World' (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) is a widely-known list of seven remarkable manmade constructions of classical antiquity. It was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. Later lists include those for the Medieval World and the Modern World.

The original list of the Ancient Wonders of the World are :

• Pyramids of Egypt
• Pharos of Alexandria
• Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Temple of Artemis
• Statue of Zeus
• Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
• The Colossus of Rhodes

So! There ya go!

Thank you to my honey!

I'd like to thank Pat for his hard coding work in getting my blog to actually work in Firefox! WOO!! Thank you honey!

Also, an update on Pat's grandmother! She was having serious issues, but after a few surgeries, and some attentive doctors, she's doing much better!

And an update on Uncle Bob. (I first spelled BoB, a corporation in the game EVE Online)
Uncle Bob had some pancreatic issues, and from what I understand is doing much, much better!

It's been tough dealing with people in both our families being ill. I've never really lost anyone very close to me in my adult life. I don't handle stuff like that well. I emotionally break down on behalf of everyone around me. It's horrible.

Anyway. Pat is off today. Meanie! I am working mostly corporate travel customers, getting them set before the weekend!

Everyone have a great Friday, and an even more wonderful weekend!

B

Linkedin

TA DA!

My brother is a member and didn't invite me.

What a 'tard! INVITE ME SUCKAFISH.

That is all.

More Randomness

I don't want to work on my Cunard Academy stuff (see my post from this morning) so I've been spending the time I've been on hold with clients/suppliers and Disney (I just call to hear their hold music), I've been blogging!

In the last entry of the day I have a few things for you!!

Mingle Weirdness

And on a more serious note: If you're pro terrorism and for the decay of the American way of life, and you spew trash that all you're concerned about are our troops and want this war over with, then put your wallet where your liberal bleeding heart is and give something to our soldiers! The rest of us are already doing it. We just don't tell Pat. He gets mad when I spend money! =)

The Dilbert Blog!

mmmmmmmmm MMMMMMMMMMMMM!

Dilbert! The Dilbert Blog!

The Sunshine post:

One of the most popular arguments for the existence of God is that the universe has the precise balance of forces for sustaining life. This seems like a miracle to me, at least until I go outside in July without sunscreen, and burn like the last French fry in Hell.

At this point I must pause to acknowledge that there is no good reason the LAST French fry in Hell would burn faster than all the other French fries, or even that Hell would run low on fried food. But today is a holiday in the States, and if I put any more effort into that analogy it will seem like a job.

Back to my point, I’m just saying the natural balance of the world could use some work. There’s something wrong with the picture. It’s like God getting a B+ on a spelling test. You’d expect Him to ace the simple subjects, such as sunshine. I’m not asking a lot from the omnipotent creator of the universe. I just want to walk to the mailbox without getting cancer.

hee hee I need to go find my Scott Adams books and start reading!

Science Sucks Baby! Literature is forever!

Jeremy can just bite me! When he gets a blog of his own, he can spew whatever lies he chooses to =) Only Pat will get that...and that's okay!

Free Online Dating

I got 50% right. For someone who may or may not have graduated from high school, that's pretty damn good! Watch Pat ace it and dance around like he's so supah cool. HE'S A DROP OUT! MWA HA HA

In the news today!

I'm both incredibly busy at work, and kinda bored. I've been spending SO much time just glued to my monitor trying to get these corporate people set up that I spent a bit of time surfing and reading news!

Now I get to share that with you guys! You guys meaning Tawnia, and maybe Pat in 3 months, when he finally reads this. *kicks Pat*

GameSpot has this really great article about my much hated nemisis, EA.

Upcoming titles Madden NFL 08, NBA Live 08, and FIFA 08 will allow players entering a contest to choose between two play modes in the Wii versions: Advanced or Family. Advanced will give gamers complete control over all aspects of play, whereas the Family mode will just allow the gamer to control key actions, such as shooting, passing, snapping, and throwing.

Advanced Play will utilise both the Wii Remote and the Nunchuk controllers, and Family Play uses just the Wii Remote. In a statement, EA said, "It's like having an invisible helper on your team. Plus, as novice players gain confidence in their ability, they can gradually begin to use Advanced controls simply by plugging in the Nunchuk."

WOO HOO! Gaming for the perpetually stupid fingered, like me! I might actually enjoy playing a sports game now!!! Only took 'em 12 years to get this one right!

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced customer service unlike anything console gaming has ever had! read here and here!

The company said it will repair or replace devices that experience the three red light error message within three years of their purchase. It also said it will retroactively reimburse customers who have paid for repairs related to the three red light message.
Hardware issues with the Xbox have been widely reported lately, and the red light error message has been dubbed "the red ring of death" by gamers and bloggers.
The online publication DailyTech reported July 2 that an anonymous employee of retailer EB Games placed the failure rate of Xbox consoles at between 30% and 33%.
DailyTech reported the following day that a British game console repair company has withdrawn its service for the three red light error, citing the high volume of requests for such repairs.

Imagine if Sony had done that with the PS1, and PS2! They'd certainly be out of business by now, rather then just bleeding slowly to death by putting out crap that no one but the most hardcore of stupids would actually buy. Unless Nathan has a PS3, and then.......well you suck monkey tails! =)

Anyway! Some good news for gamers! Now go play something! QUICK! Before the twitch comes back!

OH! And a quick plug! Gods and Heroes Online: Hero Camp I WANNA PLAY!!!

We're getting close to the Christmas Season

So keep an eye on Child's Play!

I may deeply despise Penny Arcade because I think they are actually unfunny.

But who can turn down such a really awesome charity with a really awesome community that helps prove we're not all about to get really, really violent!!

So anyway. Keep checking back!

Princess Commodore

At first I couldn't easily find a way to convert this .tif to a .jpg or .png, but I finally found an Online Converter! WOO!!

First I tried .png but that didn't work. Which made me sad. So I tried converting it to .jpg, but again, that didn't work, so now I'm kinda ticked.

So instead I'll just give you guys the URL. *sighs* I want more pics in my blog!

My Commodore Status.

Commodore Certified Travel Agency

This is a Travel Agency location that has encouraged its staff to excel to the highest standards of Princess Cruises product knowledge. This represents many hours of dedicated education; taking courses that range from Fleet Overview, Technology and Onboard Experience to Domestic and International Destinations. Commodore agency locations have successfully progressed through four achievement levels to reach the Commodore status and then maintain this level through continued education. A Commodore certified Travel Agent is highly qualified to assist you with your cruise plans to exciting destinations all over the world!

I worked really hard on this. I spent a lot of time to learn the brand, the ships, the itineraries, and our rep for Princess didn't even know, didn't put me (the office manager) on his email list and calls Wednesday to tell me I have to be First Officer that day on their sister brand, Cunard.

Not interested, thanks. We've sold 1 in 7 years. I'm not going to waste my time. I know where my clients interests are, and that ain't it!

But then he asks for my login/pass for the site so that he can bump me to First Officer without me doing the classes or tests. Hot dog! What ethics!

I'm unimpressed, frustrated, and now, not interested in selling either brand!!! What a 'tard!

B

Bee's Internet Wanderings

Got up just after 7am today. Someone called Pat and he jumped outta bed and started looking for his phone but found it to late. Now he won't tell me who it was and he doesn't seem to concerned, but I can't get back to sleep, and the stupid dog next door isn't even barking today! *sighs softly* Who calls at 7AM!?

So! Here's a list of my internet ramblings today!

Checked out Southwest. They aren't flying to Knoxville yet, with no word on when they will except that they're going to announce new routes in 2008! I hope one of them is either Ontario, Vegas, San Diego, or LAX to Knoxville! In the meantime they're also going to announce new seating arrangements! BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! =)

Onto the The Daedalus Project. This dude graduated from Stanford with his PhD last month. Which means, I don't know what's going to happen to this info. But I like to keep an eye on it!

I read my Gamersinfo.net email and see quite a few press releases I'll need to deal with sometime today. Maybe tomorrow. I am feeling lazy!

I read the newsletter from John Ascuaga's Nugget in Reno. They always have interesting stuff! The Indigo Girls are playing there July 7th. I kinda like them! In general, lots of casino-ey stuff goings on! We won't be there 'til September though, so no use really getting to excited, eh?

I checked out this month's Disney Insider and decide people who know the answers to those trivia questions are CRAZY! I may be a Disney freak, but at least I'm a sane one! Usually!

After reading some news, and writing out some emails, it's time to get ready for work, get Pat up and grill him about who called, and get the day started! 2 more days til the weekend! I can't wait for a break!

B

4th of July

There's really only one thing I'm willing to end a friendship over without truly considering that maybe I'm being to harsh. It would make me hate a family member, rant forever against someone who would otherwise be golden forever regardless of what they did to me.

But it has nothing to do with doing anything to me!

Don't drink and drive. Period.

=)

Everyone have a safe holiday and try, just for a moment, to remember what you're celebrating for.

B

Eve is the coolest

Cause someone else said so!

Pics from Grand Canyon

Pics! These are from the Grand Canyon in February

Straight From Feeley!

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Took me a moment to get it....hee hee!

Started a new EQ2 Char

This site is very awesome! Took me 3 hours to finish character creation, but should be fun!

Started on the roleplay server! Looking forward to it.