A Patriotic Music Collection For $1.99

Hey there friends. July 4th is coming up and aside from it being my little one's birthday, it is also America's Independence Day. The day that America declared their independence. Grills will be burning, fireworks will be blazing and music will be blasting from millions of homes come July 4th. To honor the great American holiday, Amazon.com is offering the album, A Salute To America , by the 101 String Orchestra, for only $1.99 on July 3rd during Amazon's Deal of Day special. A collection of over 30 songs, that is bought individually, would total close to $30. This true blood American collection includes classics such as God Bless America, Stars and Stripes Forever, Battle Hymn of the Republic, America the Beautiful, The Star Spangled Banner, and many more. The album went on sale today and it retails for approx. $10 so if you get the album during Amazon's Deal of the Day, you'll be getting the album for at least 80% off.

On a personal note, history teachers should pick this album up as a means to display some music, dedicated to America, to their students . Especially during the week or so leading up to Independence Day. I remember as a child how my teacher would play the music during our history lesson as a way to make the lesson more interactive. I must say that it was fairly effective since I remember walking home humming some of the songs or remembering a certain lesson each time the song was played. For $2, you really can't go wrong with A Salute To America, a collection of 30 of America's greatest hits. Later.

3 Extremes Film and Asian Horror

Hey there. We tried to take it easy this weekend. Didn't go to many places and didn't over exert ourselves at home. We put up the swimming pool this weekend for the kids to jump and we did some house cleaning while they were in there. We also caught many movies this weekend.

First off, I finally made the jump from Direct TV. I know... I know... blasphemy. But you know what, it was the better. Verizon was offering us this bundle package that included FiOS TV so we took it. So now we have FiOS TV, FiOS Internet, and FiOS phone line. I can't complain with the services. Haven't screwed up on me once so I'm fairly happy with it. We still need some time to get used to the TV though. The remote is kinda weird and the channels have not yet been programmed into our brains. I don't know where half the channels are but I know where they may be. lol Like Cartoon Network is somewhere in the 250s area and movies start at 340 or so. lol

Anyways, we spent a fair amount of time watching movies. Anything from WALL-E, to Dark Knight, to 27 Dresses, to Wanted. I also caught this Asian horror film called 3 Extremes.

I'm a horror fan. I try to catch the latest in fright but quite frankly, they go for cheap scares like something jumping out of a dark corner or something like that. I tend to enjoy the foreign films a lot more since they go for that "mindfuck" route to not only get you trippin' out over the film, but have you thinking about it afterward. 3 Extremes is one such film.

The film is a collection of 3 short stories, each filmed by a famed horror director from the East (Korean, Chinese, and Japanese). Each has their style and each one was beautifully done. The first short was called "The Dumplings". It's basically a "how far would you go to stay young" story. A woman offers her special dumplings as a means of getting younger. As the story unfolds, you see how the dumplings are manufactured and to what lengths are taken to secure the ingredients. Definitely a chilling tale.

The second short is called "Cut". I enjoyed this short mainly because it was written in "Saw-esque" mode, where as a person is pitted against himself, and the outcome of his predicament depend on his actions. It did half some low points such as trying to force some comedy in unnecessary places, which irked me some, but otherwise, enjoyable.

The last short is called "Box" which tells the tale of sisters. I really can't say much without killing the story but I can say that this one was beautifully done. I loved the camera work and the way the story is told flows gracefully.

I loved it. Not a gruesome film, but definitely gets you wondering as to how you would react in the characters situations. I've a got a few more that I have lined up under movies I need to see. I can't wait to catch Battle Royal. From my understanding, a film of teens that are stranded on some island in a no holds barred kinda of death match. I don't know if they were forced or they being there by choice. I'll find out when I see it. Another one I want to see is Tale of Two Sisters. I'll confess, the movie poster intrigued me enough to look into this film and I've found out that the film "The Uninvited" is a remake of this film. I haven't seen The Uninvited, but that may be on my list next, only to compare to the original. Until then, later.

The King of Informercials,Billy Mays,is dead.Celebs are dropping like flies this week.Like a good friend of mine pointed out,celebs may have pissed off death...

Its going to be pizza and movie night tonight. Kids spashed thepo mstar of the day so now its time to sit back and catch a few good movies.

Is Banking Your Baby's Cord Blood Right For You

Hey there friends. My wife and I are now well into our second half of our pregnancy. We are in what I like to call, full baby mode. We've gone out to buy some clothes, check out some strollers, look into cribs and fancied a few bassinets. We've also received a few pamphlets and coupons in the mail. It's almost as if the world knows we're expecting since we're receiving all sorts of baby stuff in the mail. One particular pamphlet got us talking. It was concerning the baby's cord blood.

I know that it's a touchy subject to some and I don't know the full details of what or how banking your baby's cord blood can help, but it is something that we decided to look into and inform ourselves on. One such company that offers banking is Cryo-Cell .

Cryo-Cell offers a very user friendly interface and we were able to get all the information that we need to better inform ourselves. Cord blood is proven to help aid in over 70 diseases, that's good. But it's only been performed about 12,000 times, that's not too good. Could it be because it's still a relatively new process? I can't say. It's also a little pricey, but what price can be put on your child's health? They also have financing which is as low as $57 a month. Not too bad, I think. The cord blood collected is 100% effective on the donor and 25% chance that it will be effective on a sibling. It's proven to be helpful against Leukemia, Hodgkin's Disease, Hunter's Syndrome, among many others. That list itself is pretty impressive.

This is something that is not for everyone, but it is something that surely deserves some consideration. Especially since Cryo-Cell is offering $750 discount if you sign up by 06.28.09 and using the promo code HOT during check out. This is definitely a life changing decision for our family and is something that should be discussed in detail. Check it out. It may be something that you are definitely interested in. Later.

The End of an Era

Hey there. Earlier today, Farrah Fawcett passed away. Many articles across the web deemed it the end of an era with such an iconic woman passing away. Word on the street is that now, Michael Jackson has just passed from cardiac arrest (heart attack). If the reports on Michael are true, then today, June 25th 2009, is the day an era came to an end.

Update: 3.26 PM MSN.com has confirmed Michael's death. RIP Farrah & Michael.

A Buffet Fit for a King

Hey there. Last night, we treated my father in law to dinner at a buffet restaurant that he loves. The place is pretty good. They specialize in oriental food but they have their fair share of seafood as well. We were a little hesitant on going there only because the kids have never really ate stuff like that and we were not sure that they would enjoy it. And to top it off, our middle child was not well (threw up the night before) and having her eat something that she's not familiar with could end up with disastrous results.

In the end, we ended up going and I walked with our middle child asking her what she felt like eating. She basically asked for pizza and fries. She didn't even eat the pizza but she did fill up on all sorts of fruit later on. Our son had himself a field day. He stocked up on ribs and he tried something different each time he "refilled" his plate. Good to know the boy enjoys seafood. He had some fish and liked the crab legs and he also had this red kabob looking meat that we had no idea what it was. All that matters is that he said it was good. lol Our little one wanted ice cream so she chowed down her food and went straight for it. lol It was funny because she was always munching on something and when anyone offered her anything, she said she wanted it. I know she got stuffed. My wife enjoyed her orange chicken. Her personal favorite. She "only" had 1 plate. We all had refills except for her. She's not a big fan of the place and usually gets a plate of white rice, pizza, and orange chicken. As for me, I had an adventure. lol

First off, earlier in the day, knowing that we were heading towards the buffet, I sent a Twitter message asking if I should be bold and try the sushi. I've never had it before and I knew that it was going to be there so I started asking myself if today was going to be the day I finally took the plunge and try it. My friends and family said to do it, with my brother proclaiming to "Eat the head!", a la Yao Ming in that T Mobile commercial. lmao

While I was filling up my plate, I saw a large shrimp looking thing that reminded me of that.

It wasn't moving so it's not entirely like the ones Dwayne Wade and Chuck B. encountered, but still... I had a chuckle over it. I ended up serving myself a plate of white rice, spicy shrimp, salmon, fish fillet, and octopus. Mmmmm... octopus. Don't tell me this doesn't look good!

Soon after I gobbled that down, I enjoyed some crab legs, beef & broccoli, more shrimp, and then it happened... I walked by the sushi. I grabbed a third plate and walked over to the sushi section. Now, I know that buffet sushi is no where the quality that sushi should be. But I figured, I might as well start somewhere and really, sushi is raw... How much more fresh can it be? As long as it's not squirming off my plate, I'm good. So I decided on the four below.

I have no idea what each one is. I pretty much just picked some at random. What I can say is that I liked 2 and not the other 2. If anyone knows the name of them, please let me know. I'm sure that if I ordered it at a restaurant, it would taste many times better so it's something that I am willing to try. The others, not so much. I'd like the names of those two and put them in my black list (which includes bacon and cooked onions). I ended my feast with a plate of pineapple slices and mango. I missed out on the ice cream. I wanted some but seeing that everyone else was stuffed, I didn't want to be only one still eating. lol Next time. Later.

Old Age - What's Your Slogan?

Hey there. Old age... The Golden Years. It's gonna happen, people. There's no running from it, there's no hiding from it, and no amount of plastic surgery is going to reduce your age (You hear that Janice Dickenson!!!). So why not embrace it? Live your life and enjoy that journey through the latter half of your life. But you know what? We need a slogan. Yup, I said it. A slogan. Check out the one's below and let me know what you think.






And my personal favorite...

LMAO! I say we go with that one! Later.

Happy Father's Day to Me

Hey there. This Sunday, many American's celebrated Father's Day. We were no exception. Sunday morning, I got up, expecting to be showered with hugs and kisses from my family. What did I get? None of that. lmao We were baby sitting so my wife asks me to go and get breakfast for the kids. Hmmm... No problem, maybe she's trying to get me out of the house to surprise me with something. So I go and at the parking lot of the market, I get a text message from a cousin wishing me happy Father's Day. I wrote back telling him the same and threw in the "you're the first to tell me that today." lol He laughed and he said he didn't get a Happy Father's Day from his kids until AFTER he got whacked with a baby bottle. lol I got home and nothing. I finally told my wife, "What gives?" and she said she was sorry. Since we were baby sitting, she didn't want to make it a spectacle since the little one wasn't around her dad. I said fair enough and let it slide.

Well, my wife had plans for breakfast, but those were quickly scratched since we were still baby sitting for my mother. We agreed to take care of her since my mother said she would pick her up "early". Well, early for my mother is around 12 PM so we lost our morning waiting for her. Once we done with our baby sitting duties, my wife gave me my gift, well, not literally, since she wanted me to pick it out. We sped off to the mall and she treated me to a watch of my choice.

Now, a watch is a watch but let me tell you something. I've never really owned a watch before. My wrists are so small, that I've never really wanted one because it would ride half way up my forearm. It looked ridiculous so I figured I would never really wear one. Complete ignorance on my part. My wife told me that you can get them adjusted to fit and again, I thought about it and figured, damn, so even after you buy a watch, you need to go somewhere else and get it resized.

Well, at the register to pay for my watch, I told the sales person that the watch is too big and she told me not to worry about it, that it will have a perfect fit before we leave. My eyes lit up. Again, ignorance on my end, but she was going to make it fit before we left. I am extremely happy with it. It's looks good, and classy and I found myself staring at it for min or two throughout the day. lol Check it out.

Afterwards, my wife treated me to lunch at a restaurant of my choosing. I must admit,I was thinking about the kids more than myself since I didn't want go somewhere where I know the kids won't eat the specialty. I figured, no point in going to a place like Red Lobster and then the kids order Mac n Cheese. lol We ended up going to Outback's Steak House. For the past couple of years, I've been hearing the Outback jingle on the radio and will sing it out loud every now and then to get the kids to laugh. I know that I drove my wife crazy with "He's the greatest Dynamo!" lol She pointed it out that we didn't hear the song this year and yet we went to Outback and other times when we do hear it, we didn't go. lol Looks like those subliminal messages work. lol

It was our first time there so we were not familiar with the menu. We ordered our drinks and I sent a few Twitter messages and got back some recommendations (which included bacon!!! YUCK!). Then the waiter stopped by and dropped off a wooden board with a knife stabbed into these 2 brown things that looked like potatoes. We all looked at it and wondered if it was for us since the waiter was talking to the next table when he dropped them off. I was planning on poking it but was stopped by my wife, since we weren't sure it was for us. So the next time he passed by, I said, "Guy, is this for us?" He responded with, "Yeah, is there something wrong with the bread?" I laughed. I told him it's OK that we just weren't sure it was meant for us. We ate it up, which was pretty damn good and then we scarfed down our meals. Pretty good and I recommend checking it out.

As we were leaving, we decided to skip my uncle's BBQ at his place. I figured, the kids are going to want to be in the pool and ignore us the rest of the day and it should be about me! Yeah, I got selfish like that. lmao My wife was feeling pretty tired too so ended up going home. My wife and I relaxed in bed and held each other for a bit. We watched the Dark Knight and my wife slowly drifted to sleep. Our little one soon after got up from her nap and proclaimed that I promised to play Rock Band with her and we haven't played. lol So I set it up and we played some Rock Band. I love hearing the little one sing. lol We soon after caught WALL-E and before I knew it, the day was coming to an end.

Just the way I like it, a day well spent with my family. So what's up with you guys? How did you spend your day?

Enter Into the World of Blu

Hey there friends. Blu World, the creators of the BluFrog energy drink, is sponsoring a great contest to help spread the word out for their healthy energy drink. The contest is being held now and entries can still be counted up until July 17th. The prizes that will be given away include:

Blugamer: Ultimate Gaming Package
* Xbox 360 Elite System (includes 1 controller & Xbox LIVE Headset)
* Rock Band 2 Bundle
* Call of Duty: World at War Complete Package
* Xbox Wireless Networking Adapter
* Complimentary X-Shot
* 2 Cases of Blu Frog Energy

Happy Blu-Year: New York
* Round Trip Air Fare for 2 from Major Gateway Airport
* Ground Transport to and from the Hotel
* Luxurious Hotel for 3 nights
* Helicopter Ride for 2 over New York
* Complimentary X-Shot
* Food and Beverages NOT included

Blulapalooza: Chicago
* Round Trip Air Fare for 2 from Major Gateway Airport
* Ground Transport to and from the Hotel
* Luxurious hotel for 2 nights
* 2 Tickets to Lollapalooza
* Complimentary X-Shot & iPod loaded with music
* Food and Beverages NOT included

Blu Streak: Orlando
* Round Trip Air Fare for 2 from Major Gateway Airport
* Ground Transport to and from the Hotel
* Luxurious hotel for 2 nights
* 2 Tickets for Rookie Driving Experience
* Complimentary X-Shot
* Food and Beverages NOT included

Xtreme Blu: Aspen
* Round Trip Air Fare for 2 from Major Gateway Airport
* Ground Transport to and from the Hotel
* Luxurious hotel for 3 nights
* 2 Tickets to Winter X Games
* Complimentary X-Shot
* Food and Beverages NOT included

Those are some pretty awesome prizes! With the exception of the Blugamer package, these prizes include a trip for 2 to some pretty awesome places and tickets to even better events! Entering the sweepstakes is pretty easy and there are 3 ways to go about it. You can twitter about the contest using the hash #bluworld and http://bit.ly/UiiJy url, you can blog about the contest (which I am doing right now) and leaving a comment on their contest page with the url of the post, or simply leave a comment on the contest page stating which prize you would like to win. You can only register 3 times and since I've already done 2 of those, I might as well do that extra one to get the max number of entries.

I'm hoping that I would be lucky enough to score the trip to New York. I've been there a few times, for work related purposes, and I've promised my wife a trip there. What better way to show her New York than during New Year's Eve. It's always a spectacle on TV and I'm sure it's an even better experience live. I'm even looking forward to the helicopter ride that the prize includes. I'm hoping that it would fly by the Statue of Liberty since, believe it not, I have not seen it during my trips to NY.

Check out the BluFrog site to enter for a chance to win 1 of those 5 prizes. I'm already in! Who knows, come January 1st, I'll be posting some pics of me and my wife, hanging out in Time's Square! Later.

Happy Father's Day! Having luch with my family right now so I'll do an in depth post on what we did and didnt do and everything else that went down today.

The Freakin' Sweet Collection of Family Guy is pretty damn funny. Too bad I have it for PSP and it's not for kids. Looks like Im going to sell it. Is $10 too much to ask?

Get a Life PETA

Hey there. I try not to post about the news much, since I have readers across the world and I'm sure we're not all watching the same news, but I have to throw in my two cents in this PETA v. President Obama fiasco. For those of you in the dark, US President Obama had a sit down interview in which a fly decided to swarm around his face and land on his hand. Obama, displaying his awesome ninja skills, swatted the fly with his bare hands, killing it. The camera guy went as far as zooming in on the dead fly.

To me, that's pretty damn cool. A president that's just like everybody else. If a fly is bugging you, don't tell me that you just sit or stand there and let it throw up all over your skin. Hell nah, if you're normal, you swat it away, or get a fly swatter and show it who's boss. The president brushed it off his hand and carried on with his conversation like it was just an everyday occurrence. No biggie, right? WRONG!(Depeche Mode status)

PETA had a huge problem with it. It's a freaking fly, PETA! I like your cause; it's righteous, it's noble, but there is nothing noble about complaining over the death of a freaking fly. Like Jimmy Kimmel said in his show, PETA swears the fly was a gift from Ethiopia. C'mon, really PETA. Are there not enough REAL issues involving whales, rhinos, and all kinds of furry friends that you need to make a statement condemning the president over a stupid fly. I mean, what's next? You're going to come barging through every American door to assure that we have garbage lying around to properly feed the flies? Will there be a bon fire out in New York fueled by fly swatters and fly traps? Choose and pick your fights wisely, PETA. If you continue with these BS battles, you're going to lose a lot of credibility and quite frankly, I think your reputation just took a huge blow over this nonsense. Later.

Dinovite - The One Spot Stop for Dog Nutrition

Hey there friends. As many of you, I have quite a few pets at home. We have a rabbit (Shadow), tarantula (Vixin), cat (Jack), and two dogs (Odin and Lucy) and we try our best to have them well nourished and healthy. Well, recently I've noticed that Odin has what many call a hot spot. He's gotten in the habit of scratching it all the time, not giving it the chance to heal up. After going to my local pet store and asking for advice, I was told that a "hot spot" spray would help him from scratching. It worked at first, but now, it came back. After looking around, for a solution, I came across Dinovite.

I was first drawn to the site because it asked the question, "Does your dog itch, scratch, and shed like crazy?" I wouldn't say Odin does it like crazy, but if he's scratching, he has to be itching and I have noticed less hair in that general vicinity so to answer that question, yes, yes, and yes. lol I clicked the solution button and was taken to the solutions center where I was asked a few questions about Odin. Before I knew it, I was looking at a vitamin supplement to help my dog. I was little iffy on it at first, but after reading the ingredients and the description on what each one does, it started to sound pretty good. And the best part is that it's 100% guaranteed to help your pet, so there really isn't anything that you could lose for not trying this out. Another thing that I learned is that a healthy dog does not shed hair, regardless of the breed. Maybe I thought I was giving the best to my dog, but if he's shedding hair, he may be malnourished.

Hmmm... I really need to check this out. If all Dinovite promises is true, they have the best product that you can give to your dog. Odin's about a year and half now while Lucy is still month's away from her first birthday. I need to make sure that they grow up to be healthy dogs and I think that Dinovite is going to make it that much easier to assure that I can. Later.

I'm Not A Famous Blogger Interview

Hey there. I was recently contacted by the crew chief of the I'm Not A Famous Blogger Crew (which I am a member of) and was asked if I was interested in an interview. I jumped on the opportunity for an interview. I don't think I've ever been interviewed before, well, besides for job interviews, but those don't count. lol

Anyways, I thought it would be a great way to provide a little more insight on who is me. For those that are interested to learn a little more about me, the interview is up at the Im Not A Famous Blogger site. The site is set up as a gate way for the members of the crew to get to know each other and the crew chief, BenSpark, is doing an awesome job of putting it all together. I'm only the second to be interviewed so there isn't much in the form of substance at the site, but I'm sure that the content will be increasing once we get more members to play an active role. So check it out, friends, me being interviewed by the crew chief here. Later!

Our Baby's First Gift

Hey there. My wife and I have been doing some baby shopping recently. We've picked out some pretty cool clothes here and there. But today, we received our first gift for the baby. Check it out!
How bad ass are these? We love them. We can't wait to put these on our little one! Many thanks! Later.

Lakers are the NBA Champs

Hey there. The Lakers are the NBA champs! Hell yeah, baby!!! What a great way to end the season! After an extremely entertaining playoff run (playoffs in general were great this year), it all culminated with a Lakers' victory over the Orlando Magic. Kobe finally got that 4th ring and his 1st ever finals MVP and can finally put to rest the "Kobe without Shaq" talk.

While watching the game, you had the sense that the Magic were planning on making this a fight, but after the first half, their faces were dejected and you just knew that they were just playing the game to get it over with. It's a shame too. The Magic are an up and coming team and despite what Magic coach Van Gundy says, their lack of experience did them in. An experienced team would have the sense that the game is only half over and they have another 24 minutes to chip away at the Lakers' deficit during the 3rd qtr to give themselves a chance in the 4th. That never happened. They came out flat and without the flare that made the Magic formidable. Could it be because their leader, Dwight Howard, was plagued by foul trouble? Who knows, but that fire was not there. This series had the potential to go to 7 games. Games 2, 3, and 4 were extremely entertaining going down to the wire in each and 2 of them went into overtime. Though the world wanted to see a "Kobe Vs LeBron" match up, the Magic earned the right to represent the East in the finals and gave the Lakers a good fight. Congrats to them and their accomplishments this season. I'm sure that the Magic will take this experience and fuel that fire for next season.

As for the Lakers, this is the team's 15th championship. The team knows nothing but success. The fans of Los Angeles expect nothing less of them. During our rebuilding years, the fans tore into the Lakers for being mediocre. A 40+ win season is not good enough and the Laker fans were letting them know that. This championship makes it all that more sweeter. For a team that rides the wave of success, a wipeout completely threw this team off track. In the '02-'03 season, I believe that the team panicked went with all star players instead of team chemistry. Kobe, Shaq, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton could bring home the gold. As great individual players that they are, they did not have the team chemistry that today's team has. This proves to me that talent is not everything in the world of basketball, but managing that talent to play collectively for a common goal. For all the grief that Kobe has gotten over the years, I think he finally understood what a team is.

This is a great championship for the Lakers and the fans. One that I will surely remember for the rest of my life. I was drawn to the TV more so than before. I, too, was nibbling at my nails in the 4th qtr waiting for it end. I didn't jump as high as Kobe did, but I was up, raising my hands in victory, as if I was part of the team. I listened in on the press conferences, watching my team speak of their journey, with a smile on my face.

Los Angeles is not Green Bay, where a team means everything to the city. But this is a city where sports pride and loyalty is abundant. If you travel to Los Angeles, you are sure to find Clippers, Dodgers, Kings, Angels, Ducks, Raiders, and Laker jerseys abound. And each respective fan will loyally defend that club for life. A city divided amongst many teams, but never divided by their love of the sports. The people of Los Angeles are rejoicing. Now... I need to come up with an excuse to miss work and attend the Laker parade on Wednesday! Later!

I need to find a way to post longer mobile posts. Damn this 160 character limitation! Last thing I need is people thinking Im a bot.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction really makes you wonder about the paranormal and what we consider reality. What a shame that they havent brought this show back.

The Miracle Cure

Hey there. I'm on a mission to browse the web in search of "The Miracle Cure" that will heal all ailments. Little did I know, there is actually a product called Miracle Cure, and guess what? It cures everything. lmao Here are some of the ailments that this thing claims to get rid of:

Anger
Bad Breath
Constipation
Dandruff
Eye Problems
Falling Hair
Hopelessness
Hiccups
Obesity
Restlessness
Stinky Feet
Tooth Decay

What are they offering? The sweat of god? What pill, lotion, ointment, paste, or whatever the hell it is, is going to ease my anger, cure my hiccups, improve my vision, and solve my foot "stinkyness"? I call BS on this product but check it out for yourselves. You can obtain "The Miracle Cure" via download for only $14.99! HA! HA! HA! Dont' believe me? This is taken directly from the site,

SO HOW MUCH DOES THE MIRACLE CURE COST?

All we ask in return for this life-giving product is a small, one time donation of $14.99. This can be send to you immediately via download link, or you can choose to have it mailed to you for an additional $2.99.

So there you have it friends. Cure all ailments via download for only $14.99 and if by chance you want the cure mailed to you, it'll cost you an additional $2.99. Oh man, that's hilarious. I guess you need to stick your finger in a USB port or something to get the cure to run through your body. Other than that, I don't see how it's going to work... Unless you need to eat your hard drive or something. lmao Later.

Notice to Employees in Regards to Cash Crunch Management

Hey there. Just a little office humor. Enjoy!

Dear Employees,

Due to the current financial situation caused by the slowdown of economy, Management has decided to implement a scheme to put workers of 40 years of age and above on early retirement. This scheme will be known as RAPE (Retire-Aged People Early). Persons selected to be RAPEd can apply to management to be eligible for the SHAFT scheme (Special Help After Forced Termination). Persons who have been RAPED and SHAFTed will be reviewed under the SCREW program (Scheme Covering Retired Early Workers). A person may be RAPED once, SHAFTED twice and SCREWed as many times as Management deems appropriate. Persons who have been RAPEd can only get AIDS (Additional Income for Dependants & Spouses) or HERPES (Half Earnings for Retired Personnel Early Severance). Obviously persons who have gone through AIDS or HERPES will not be SHAFTED or SCREWED any further by Management. Persons who are not RAPEd and are staying on will receive as much SHIT (Special High Intensity Training) as possible.

Management has always prided itself on the amount of SHIT it gives employees. Should you feel that you do not receive enough SHIT, please bring to the attention of your Supervisor. They have been trained to give you all the SHIT you can handle.

Sincerely,
Management

Happy Birthday Young One

Hey there. Today is our young one's birthday. We've decided that for her 8th birthday we would get her a set diamond studded earrings. We're getting a little bit of a backlash in regards to that gift. Some say that she's too young for that as a gift, considering that she turns 8 today, but we feel as if she's a big girl and can take care of them. But as an insurance policy, we're getting the screw back earring so there's no way that they will fall off or whatever. We've noticed that she doesn't play with "little girl" stuff such as dolls and what not, even though she has a pretty big collection of them. She prefers to read a book (Judy Bloom or the Junie B Jones series seem to be her favorites) or what music specials on Fuse. lol

Went haven't decided on where we are going to take her for dinner. We gave her the choice of selecting the spot. As I walked the kids to the school this morning, I told her to think about it and let us know. The birthday talk also brought up "party" talk. We're not against parties, or anything of that nature, but we believe that the kids are getting used to the idea that "parties = presents". I briefly explained that a party is not necessary to celebrate a birthday. We celebrated our son's birthday this year at the Rain Forest Cafe and had us some cake. I used that as an example of us having a special outing as a family and celebrated a birthday together. They seemed to understand and after discussing my talk with them to my wife, she really wants to make sure that they understand that. Mainly because we were at a birthday party this weekend where the "birthdayee" was practically kicking everyone out after presents were received because the birthdayee wanted to celebrate in their own way. Seemed extremely ungrateful to me and this person is not considered a young one...

Anyways, I wanted to write a little something something to her so here goes.

June Gloom Nevermore

They say that April showers bring May flowers
and that June is full of gloom
Today is a day that we celebrate
Another year that we've watch you bloom
No blackened clouds or darken skies
Can deter your sunny smile
You brighten a room with such grace
And always in your style
Your song and dance makes us grin
Full of adulation
A voice full of angel's choir
Always bringing admiration
So, to our young one we dedicate
On this blissful day in June
All our love and so much more
As you emerge from your cocoon
Gloomy days are done and done
As we watch you, our butterfly
We love you lots and always will
Even after you take off into the sky.

-Metallman

Is Metallman Breaking Down?

Hey there. I feel like crap today. Actually, I've been feeling like crap for about a week. I've had this headache that come and goes. It's odd because I've never really been one to experience headaches but recently they've come on.

I'm also experiencing some aches and pains on my body that I don't ever remember feeling before. Stupid body seems to pop and crack every time I turn or bend. lol My knees have always "popped". That's a cool little trick to show people. I do a squat and POP! Crazy. But recently, I've felt and hear this "tearing" sound in my left elbow when I extend it all the way. I wonder if maybe it's a tendon in my elbow or something. Doesn't hurt, but feels weird. I've been reluctant to start with my weight exercises because of it. The popping never stopped me from doing leg work outs but my elbow feels a little different.

I'm also having some lower back pains. Mainly in the kidney area. Stupid kidneys... Not filtering the crap out of my system fast enough or something... Maybe... I think. I drink my fair share of water at work, but I also offset that water intake with my coffee intake. Just as an insight, my coffee mug is almost twice the size of my water mug. lol

Then there's my breathing. Shallow at times. Metallman has done no cardio in since like forever. The last time I actually did some running so happened to be the last time I went to go play basketball about 2 weeks ago. I was short of breath and so not in basketball shape. I did manage to grind out 2 hours worth of basketball but I was definitely winded and stood around for a min or two to catch my breath here and there. I swear, I struggle to get up the stairs at work sometimes.

Old age? Nah, I doubt it. Like I said before, I don't plan on dying. If it happens, hey, what are you going to do? But to expect it? It's like expecting for an accident to smash your new car or that killer quake happening to split your house in two. Maybe my metabolism is finally slowing down. I've always had high metabolism and maybe, just maybe, it's slowed down enough where it's beginning to affect my body. Stupid metabolism. Stupid body. If only there was some kind of miracle drink that can cure all.

Now before I get Emails and comments saying that "Noni" works, let me set you straight. IT DOESN'T. lol I used to laugh at the infomercials and chuckled at this miracle drink. Basically, it cured everything under the sun but death. lol I don't see it around anymore so maybe people caught on to their BS and quit buying it. But if you're still a paying customer, I'd love to hear from you and it's "miraculous" healing powers.

Now for the rest of us, I'm going to look for other "cure all" stuffs out on the web and see what I find. I'm pretty sure the stuff will be interesting. Later.

A Busted Laptop Cord

Hey there. Saturday night, I discovered that the AC adapter for the laptop has finally given up. We've noticed that it had bite marks (I'm looking at you, JACK!) and it has been faulty these past couple of weeks. You had to bend and twist the cord in weird ways to get it to work. Well, all the bending and twisting couldn't fix it anymore. What a bummer too. I tend to do my "online work" after dark. I'll get through the dropping and adgitize browsing during that time so that I can spend the day doing what I want and not be bogged down to doing that kinda work through the day. I know that it used to get on my wife's nerves that when I would do it during the day. It would be Saturday morning and there I am, in front of the comp, doing work. I might as well get it out of the way and once my wife hits the sack, I'll log on and get some work done.

I checked out Ebay this morning to see if I can find a replacement and I'm glad that I was able to find one for $2. I bought it and it's going to ship from CA so I should be getting it fairly quickly. Until then, I'll probably go back to doing work on the desktop. Which is not bad, but I've gotten spoiled by the laptop. I can lie in bed, next to wife, watch TV, and get work done all at once. Ugh... Later.

Laptop charger is busted. No dropping, no page views, no online work. Resorting to mobile posts. Damn, this sucks...

If the economy is in such a crapper, why the hell is the mall jam packed!?!

Metal Crow Productions: Week 1

Hey there. Most of you know that I ventured off and have put some time in a side project known as Metal Crow Productions (MCP). I'm please to say that it's going fairly well for a week old site. We have a small following, which is better than no following. We also have a few posts up, some are updates to give our peoples a heads up on what's to come and others have been pieces of work that we've had on the back burner for some time. One such piece has been our song, Basilica. That has been in the works since forever... So I dug it up and figured that we need to finish it up. The clip that I inserted was recorded well over 2 years ago. It features myself, since we never got around to record it the way it should have been, playing an intro and what could be a transition riff into a verse. It's very crude and needs a lot of polishing up. Now that we have a place to provide updates, we are compelled to finish it. Since we're just 2 guitar players, the drum track and bass will be inserted digitally. We'll see how that goes. lol We also have another song that we wrote, lyric wise, at least. I'll be recording a clip of that one sometime in the near future so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, take a listen to the very crude sounds of Metallman's guitar. If curiosity gets the best of you, check out the MCP site for the lyrics. Later.

The Break Up

A little humor to spice up your day. Enjoy.

Do Not Eat At Dominos Pizza!!!

Hey there. You know, there has been some negative publicity on Dominos Pizza. Mostly, because of those two dumb asses that defiled food in ways that I care not see. But you figure, it's an isolated incident and it's probably not going to happen again since those employees were fired. WRONG!!! A coworker ordered herself some Dominos stuffs and what do you know... They fed her neglected food that was moldy. MOLDY!!! You know that can make you extremely sick! Them bastards. I say, that unless they shape up, we not buy from them any longer. If moldy dough is hanging out in California, what makes me believe that it's not moldy over in New York? Or Georgia? Or Washington? Hell with that! I want to feel comfortable when I eat out and right now, Dominos does not make me comfortable...

Be SOGO Active and Win a Chance to be an Olympic Torchbearer

Hey there friends. I love the Olympics. I may not always agree with the games, but I love the fact that there is world wide stage where the best athletes of every country gather and compete against one another. The Olympics is where race does not matter and nationality and pride reign supreme. The majority of us were not blessed with top notch athletic ability and we may never get a chance to experience the Olympics as an athlete. But all is not lost!

Coca Cola's SOGO Active program is offering the chance to be one of 1000 torchbearers for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Canada. Imagine being rewarded for playing football, hockey, running, soccer, and other great sports? Not only that, but cardio and weight training as well? So, how do you enter for your chance to be a part of history? You simply sign up at SOGO Active and commit to a healthy and active lifestyle. It's that simple.

So even though you may not be the most athletic person in your community, take pride in the fact that you have committed to a healthy lifestyle. Who knows, you may be the one that is selected to proudly represent your country as a torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. Live healthy, be active, and good luck!

XBOX: Project Natal

Hey there. Motion sensor controllers the thing of the past? It may be so if Microsoft has anything to say about it. They are breaking barriers with Project Natal. A hands free controller. Let it set in for a while. HANDS FREE CONTROLLER! After watching this, all I can say is WOW!



Can you imagine the possibilities with something like this? My problem with this would be something that may irk many RPG lovers. How will we be able to toggle through items and such? Something like Final Fantasy would not work considering how complicated the game play can be. If they can manage to figure it out and not make it awkward, they may be on to something earth shattering. This is definitely something that will turn heads and open eyes. Later.

Supplement Your Baby's Nutrition with Parent's Choice Infant Formula

Hey there friends. I'm sure that the majority of us with children will agree that a mother's breast milk is the best source of vitamins and minerals for your baby. Breast milk is jam packed with everything that your baby needs. But what if the baby refuses to take breast milk or mommy needs a little break from feeding? There are a number of brands of infant formula for new parents to choose from and during these times, it's tough to pay up to $30 for a single can of infant formula.

Parent's Choice Infant Formula is a great alternative to the brand name infant formula. With a price that is almost half of the leading name brands, this is a great supplement to you baby's health. And since all infant formula must adhere to the FDA's standards, you know that you are getting a quality product for your baby.

Now, before you go on and say that cheaper must be lower quality, let me fill you in as to why those name brand formula's cost more. It's called marketing. Those brands are trying to make a profit and the cost of the free samples and advertising that we see inflates the price for those brands. Parent's Choice Infant Formula will not push those costs to the consumer and rely on the word of mouth of loyal customers to stand behind their product.

Check out their online calculator so that you can compare the prices of infant formula and see how much you could save switching over to Parent's Choice Infant Formula. Parents need many products to tend to their baby. Using Parent's Choice Infant Formula will scratch one item off that list.

One Long Weekend

Hey there. I feel tired as hell. We've been at get togethers all weekend long. We were at my aunt's house on Friday for a b day party but really, it turned into a "watch the Lakers kick some Denver ass" party. lol

On Saturday, we attended my father in law's birthday party. Which was pretty cool since it was a surprise party and it's difficult to get him out of the house. I pretended to go to work so that my wife would have an excuse to call him up and get him to pick her up from our place. The problem was that he was in such a hurry that he allowed absolutely no delay time. He basically went in the house, said let's go, and off they went. When my wife tried to stall by saying that she needed to go to the store for ice, he ran inside the store, grabbed the ice and ran back. All the while, I'm at my father in law's place and there is NO ONE TO SURPRISE HIM!!! Not even my mother in law was there. My brother in law and I were sweating it, since we were the only ones there. No bullshit, in matter of 3 minutes, my mother in law, my wife's aunts and uncles, and my father in law arrived. It was a close call. As soon as guests arrived we hurried them in since my wife was sending me messages that read, "got off the freeway", "just passed meat store", "one block away". lol He was surprised though. Shed a few tears and considering that it was his 50th birthday, he was very pleased that we went all out for him. One thing that didn't happen, though, was that we booked a "banda" to perform for him. Not really my type of music, but he loves it. Well, 7 PM rolls around no band. Upset, my mother in law, brother in law, and some uncles and cousins were all on the phone trying to find out the what hell happened. They even called other bands to see if they'll show up and none did. A huge disappointment since it would have been something for him to enjoy. He did have a blast though. He was dancing the night away having a blast. We left the party at about 10:30, since my wife was falling asleep.

On Sunday, we were off to my mother's kid's (long, long story) birthday party. She had the usual fixin's such as a jumper, hot dogs, burgers, and kid games. I grilled the burgers and meat while chatting it up with my bro about the Lakers and Magic. Soon after, guests arrive and word quickly spread that there was a fight at my cousin's b day party the night before. We didn't attend since we were at my father in law's. Good thing we didn't go too. It was an all out brawl with bottles flying and people getting the stuffing beaten out of. My uncle showed up with this huge ass gash above his eye. You swore he was some MMA fighter that forgot to get his eye stitched up. It was that bad. My grandma wasn't having that so he made him get a band aid to at least cover the wound. He's supposed to go get it stitched up today, but who knows if he'll go. Turns out that cops had to break up the party and fight. We chuckle at the people that were there because it seemed like those that attended my cousin's party were wearing sunglasses. lol

Anyways, the party went along without a hitch. The pinata was shredded and then candy bags were passed out. Me, getting my share in the form of "Daddy tax" shifted through the candy to see what my mother put in. Oh man... First I pulled out a slot machine. That's right, a slot machine. I laughed. I looked at my mother and told her if she was planning on hooking the kids early. I dug deeper in the bag and, what's this? Candy cigarettes. Are you kidding me? I kinda snapped at her a bit. You don't pass out candy cigs to kids anymore. Yeah, they sold em back in the day, when I was kid, but I haven't seen those things since forever. I continued to dig through the candy and I let out this monster laugh. My mother stuff the bags of "candy" with cough drops and Calcium chews. LMAO Oh man, I let out a good laugh with that. I could not believe she put those in there. I saw a few kids chucking them at each other while the adults stuffed them in their pockets. lol That's my mother for you.
We got home pretty beat that night. I did a bit of online work but then couldn't sleep. I must've gone to bed close to 12:30 or so. Ugh... I'm feeling the affects of that right now. Least I got my cup of joe sitting right next to me. Later!