Broken Water Heater

Hey there. My water heater is busted. No hot water at home. The week off is not going as smoothly as I would like. I went ahead and replaced the thermalcouple which is the most likely culprit but still, no dice...  My cuz is a jack of all trades when it comes to home and appliance repair so I gave him a call to get his opinion.  After letting him know what was up, he thought the thermalcouple would be the issue as well but after changing it, the pilot continues to go out.  It's frustrating me that we do not have hot water.  I have no idea how people back in the day survived without a water heater.  lol  I have my cuz coming to check it tomorrow. Hopefully, he'll be able to catch something that I didn't and get it fixed.  Ugh!  Later!

A Week Off from Work

Hey there.   I have the whole week off from work!  It's kinda a double edged sword though.  I don't have to work, but it's not a paid week off, so the company is going to take 40 hours of my vacation time to offset that week so that I can get paid.  It kind of sucks.  It's more like a forced vacation than a week off from work.  Either way, I have more than 40 hours vacation time accrued so I'm going to enjoy the time off with my family.  So far, we've been lounging it.  We have to recharge our batteries after all the holiday madness that went on the week before, you need the time off to just relax.  Now, with the New Year just around the corner, we need all the rest we can get now so that we're ready to be alive when the New Year's Eve rolls around.  Take it easy friends and rest up cause 2009 is almost over.  Later.

Motivational Sunday - Dear Children

Hey there.  Staying in Christmas mode, today's poster contains a special message from Santa. Many of us parents ponder as to when would be the ideal time to let the kids know the truth about Santa.  I thought that below was a pretty cool perspective on Santa's existence.  Later!

Merry Christmas Friends

Hey there.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!  I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas.  Enjoy your time spent with your family and cherish these moments that will eventually be memories.  I took a few days off from the online world to focus on family and friends.  This year, we plan on passing down some pretty important items to our kids. Well, to our two oldest at least.  We feel that they are old enough to be able to know the value of an item that has been in the family for years.  With that in mind, we passed down my first guitar to our son.  I have this junior sized Peavy that I received around my 14th birthday.  It was my first guitar and the reason I really took on music and inspired me to become the music lover that I am today.  When presented to my son, the first words spoken were, "You have got to be kidding me!"  lol  He's not one to get overly excited, but that's about as good as gold when it comes to him.  I also got him a small amp so that he can practice on.  Nothing too elaborate, but nice enough to have overdrive and clean sounds.  He being a fan of Metallica, will want to be able to have that heavy sound.  Even though it won't be anywhere near high quality.

To our daughter, my wife decided to hand down some Hello Kitty items.  For those of you not in the know, my wife loves Hello Kitty.  Dolls, jewelery, clothes, and all sorts of other Hello Kitty items can be found in our house.  lol  Well, my wife decided that she would like to hand down a bracelet and necklace to our older daughter.  My wife literally shed a tear when wrapping it up.   Our daughter quickly exclaimed, "That's what I wanted!", which leads us to believe that she may have had her eye on it before.  lol

All in all, it was a good Christmas.  We spent time with both of our families and had us some pretty damn good food.  I hope that all of you had a wonderful evening.  Later!

Holiday Shopping

Hey there. Holiday shopping is getting tougher! I cant find a Pop the Pig game that our young one wants! Find at a Store feature... Dont fail me now! Later.

John C. Fremont High School Being Shut Down

Hey there.  A few weeks back, I received word that my high school in Los Angeles is being taken over by the state.  Yeah, it's that bad friends.  It's right in the middle of South Central Los Angeles and it's in a pretty bad neighborhood.  That's my school, folks.  lol  Well, it turns out that the city got tired of the low test scores and high drop out rate so they've decided to start from scratch.  They are firing the whole staff and new hires will be brought in.  From what I hear, teachers working there now will have to re-apply.  It kinda sucks, since a class mate of mine is a part of the music staff at Fremont. 

Fremont has always been bad.  I remember that when I first started going there, an older cousin of mine would tell me to not linger around the school and to hurry home to avoid any gang violence or thug altercations.   From the picture that he was painting in my head, this was the school from hell.  Stabbings, shootings, theft... it was all there, according to him.  And I must say, it wasn't always the case.

I was a band geek, so I was part of the marching band.  The band had long rehearsals that usually ended well after school was over and on Wednesday, we would be at school until 8 PM.  Now, I don't remember experiencing MUCH of the violence and what not.  I used to stay after school and what not and I can honestly say that I've run into trouble of that nature once or twice but nothing in the scale of what was said.  We did have lock downs from time to time.  Which occurred during school, and usually during class.  For those of you not familiar with the term, it's when NO ONE is allowed to leave their classroom until the "disturbance" has been taken care of.  Usually, police would be involved.  It wasn't uncommon to go through an armed policeman before entering the school. 

I remember, after graduation, hearing the news that Fremont was deteriorating.  More armed policeman were patrolling the quad, a fence was built around the school to keep students inside (or the "bad" people out), and the student body just didn't seem to care about their academics.  So now, the Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD, has stepped in to take control of the school.  It's tough to say what's going to happen to the school.  What I do know is that this year will play out and then once the year is over, who knows.  Just my luck too.  2010 would be my 10 year high school reunion.  lol  For all the negativity that can be said about Fremont, I think it sucks that it's fallen so low.  I can never wash away the memories and friendships that came with my high school experience.  So here's to you, friends.  Whether our school is still "functioning" or not, I say we take care of business and do our reunion anyways.  Just gonna be a lot harder to get everyone together.  We'll see what transpires, but all I got to say is, "Find a Path, or Make One."  Later!

Motivational Sunday - Overconfidence

Hey there. You know, growing up as a child, you 're told that you should reach for the stars. That you can accomplish what you put your mind to and be successful if you work hard. Well, guess what... We were lied to. We can't accomplish everything we want. We cannot rely on our confidence to achieve and be set up to fail.  Sometimes, there are tasks that are just impossible for us to reach. As an adult, I know now that if I stand outside and reach for stars, I'll look like an idiot with my hands stretched way above my head.  Just like the cat in the picture below.  Yeah, you may be good at catching birds, but trust me, my friend, that eagle is going to kick your butt.  Later!

My Wife is on a Bad Wheel

Hey there. My wife has been on a mission to lose all the baby weight from the pregnancy. She's made it a habit to go walk and run along the river bed and ease her way into a daily workout. Yesterday, she went off to do her thing. Well, she must have stepped on something or stepped on kind of slant in the road because before long, she sent me a text saying that she couldn't walk. I was worried. I responded and asked if she was ok, she said yeah but that she was having trouble walking. She made it to her mom's place and continued to talk to me there. Turns out that she may have sprained her ankle.

She was able to walk gingerly at first but as the night progressed, she had trouble getting around. Once we got home, she lied down in bed and I wrapped up her ankle in hopes that it will be feel better later on. She soon after fell asleep.

This morning, I let her sleep in while the kids and I are taking care of business. I made french toast for breakfast and we have decorated our Christmas tree. We've also swept and mopped the floors. Im waiting on my wife to get up so that I can go and get an amp that is a part of our son's gift. We decided that it would be cool to hand down my first guitar to our son as his first guitar. I cleaned it up some, changed the strings, but need a beginner's amp for him.

Hopefully, when my wife gets up, she'll be ok. I looked at her facebook page not that long ago and see that her concern was not being able to play drums for our Rockband night. What a trooper. lol Until then. Later!

Term Life Insurance

Hey there.  I'm a little on the fritz when it comes to life insurance.  I am currently under the plan at work, but am not sure if that is enough in case something were to happen to me.  I'm going to see where else I can be a term life insurance quote for free and check out my options. This whole getting older thing makes you think, you know. I got to make sure my family is well taken care of. Later!

Has Christmas Lost it's Meaning?

Hey there.  You know, earlier today, I got to thinking about what my young one wants for Christmas.  She said she wanted this Strawberry Shortcake Cafe set type thing.  I've never heard of it, but I figured, with the power of Google, I'd be able to figure it out and BAM!  There it is, in all it's glory.  The problem?  It's sold out at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us... So I decided that I'll look for it later and see if I get lucky and find it somewhere.  That lead me to think of that movie, Jingle All the Way with Sinbad and California's very own, "Ahnold".  Has Christmas really gone so far down hill that most parents will go out and about, go through hell in a mall, trying to find a great gift for their young ones?  I know that the movie exaggerated the hell out of this idea since the two characters practically killed each other for the much wanted Turbo Man, but that general idea seems to be well and good.

Every year, I hear someone or another say that they don't have money to go and get gifts, which is absolutely fine, but the problem I have is that much emphasis is placed on gift giving.  Really?  Isn't Christmas supposed to be about spending time with your loved ones?  A time to reflect on the past year (or is that New Year's?).  Where gifts don't make the holiday but simply serve as a side dish to the main course of love, togetherness, and happiness?  Yesterday, I went and got gifts for the little one's in my family.  My wife and I told ourselves that we'd cut our list short to only include young ones under 7.  With the exception of being a parental unit, sibling, or grand parent, don't expect a gift from us.  lol  But the point being, we took the time to go out and get gifts knowing that we're not going to get some back.  And we didn't worry about it.  There was no, oh man, we spent too much, no worrying about forgetting this person or that person, or any of that.  It felt good to go out and get gifts with out all added pressure and that's how it should be.  Us going through a "recession" and all, we're at a point where we are able to give.  Whether we receive or not, doesn't matter.  At least not to us, the parents (the kids may be a different story).

I'm beginning to feel as if Christmas is becoming more of a "need to get a gift for someone" instead of it being a holiday filled with cheer.  Christmas shouldn't feel like a chore, yet for some reason or another, it does this year.  We haven't had a chance to put the tree up, we're not done getting gifts, let alone wrap them, and quite frankly, I'm tired of all the "gloom and doom" that seem to emanate from every TV or radio.  I say, screw all that.  Sit down with your family, bake some cookies, share some stories, and enjoy yourselves.  That, right there, sounds like a pretty bad ass Christmas to me.  Gifts are a bonus.  I don't remember seeing a Terms and Conditions sheet on celebrating Christmas.  I don't remember baby Jesus breaking into song and dance saying that the Wise Men must give gifts or they'll be hell to pay.  Just like every other holiday out there, I say we celebrate the way we see fit and be happy.  Get rid of the pressures that come with holiday shopping.  Go ahead and grab gifts.  I'm not saying you shouldn't, but what I am saying is take it easy when you do.  It's not worth the stress and killing your holiday because you were stressed out 23 days out of 25 because you were getting gifts, sending cakes, decorating the house, etc.etc.  You're only adding to the bah humbug that seems to plague this year's Christmas season if you're all moody and cranky.

Now...  I'mma go see Elf.  That elf sure knows how to do Christmas right.  I mean C' mon people.  He's parading around in an elf suit singing his little heart out without a care in the world.  I think I need to do that.  Yeah, I need to walk in a store and be like, "I'm in a store.  I'm in a store and I'm singing!"  Yeah, that'll spread some holiday cheer alright.  lmao  Later!

Top Commentator Contest is Here to Stay

Hey there. So I've decided, the top commentator contest will run on this site until I no longer breathe (or get shut down, whichever one comes first) lol I've gotten many comments from many readers that I've decided that we'll keep it going. The race has been tight with over 26 participants so far. Many of whom have made multiple comments. So... what are standings? Here they are so far:

$5 1st Place: Ann
$2.50 2nd Place: Silvergirl
$2.50 3rd Place: Underfloor Heating

Just outside the winner's circle: Buggys, Susie (Comadre), and Ally

If the contest ended today, those would be our winners. I won't disclose how many comments but trust me, the participants leading up to third place are many and are only separated by a few comments. The contest is not over so you still have time to put in your comments for a chance to knock the above readers out of the top 3 spots. Handle your business friends and comment away. Later!

10 Days Til Christmas

Hey there. Today, I took a day off from work. Mainly because my wife had a doctor's appointment and I wanted to take her, since it's in Downtown Los Angeles and it can be hell to drive there. We also decided that it would be wise to start tackling some of our Christmas shopping, since we have done absolutely none of it. Our tree is not even up! Yeah, it's kinda sad, but we've just haven't had any time to do ANYTHING. Something always seems to come up and we've been getting home later and later. We really don't want to set up any Christmas stuff without the kids and we send them off to bed at 9 PM. It's already close to 9 and they are rushing to take their showers, all the while my wife and I are sorting the gifts (while I sneak in a sentence or two) so that we can tackle the wrapping. I think we'll end up setting up the tree without the kids this year. We're going to have all sorts of wrapped gifts and no tree to place them under if we continue to wait.

So our day started off with some breakfast at Dennys and after spending a good hour and half chatting and eating, we went on to our shopping. We went off to the mall and I was expecting some holiday hell, even though it was a weekday, and we experienced none. We ventured int Victoria Secret, but came out with nothing. We then figured that we need to get the kids in our family first and foremost so we ventured into The Disney Store. We ended up with a bunch of gifts, a bill close to $150, and about half the kids knocked off the list. Whoo hoo!

After killing a few hours at my mother in law's, we took off to my wife's doctor's appointment. The camera crew for Deliver Me was there and we saw them shooting an interview with one of the doctor's patients. That, coupled with the fact that Dr. Bohn was just getting back from a delivery, she was backed up 4 patients so we had to wait longer than usual. All checked out well and off we went to get our kids.

Then... off to Target for more holiday shopping. Since I worked at a Target many, many moons ago, I know how the holidays look and I was expecting some holiday hell. Especially since it was close to 7, I was expecting it to be bad. None of that. I was surprised. We gathered another 9 or so gifts and another $130+ bill. Score!!!

Not bad, my friends. We tackled 19 or so kids out of 30. Not too bad. All in one day too. And the best part? None of it came out of pocket. I recently received my business debit card from Paypal (I'm still trying to grasp my head around that Metallman's Reverie is a business) so all the gifts purchased was paid by online income. SCORE! SCORE! SCORE! I was hoping to save it up for a family vacation, but hey... this is just as good, right? I know that many family members are tightening their belts this Christmas so I know that not many gifts will be given out. If our family is able to provide gifts for the kids, why not? I'm sure that they will be more than appreciated this year.

Well, it's time to start wrapping these up. 10 more days, friends. We're almost there! Later!

Back Up Your Blu-ray Movies with 123 Media Max

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 123 Media Max. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. Ever since movie recording was invented, consumers have bought products to back up their precious movies. Whether it be a VCR to make a back up of your old VHS to the more modern DVD burner to back up your DVDs. Now, with the invention of crystal clear, picture perfect Blu-ray discs, consumers have been left wondering how to make a copy of their beloved movies. If you are one of the lucky few that have extra cash to burn for a Blu-ray burner, great! But what about the rest of us that more than likely have a DVD burner that came as standard equipment on our desktop and laptop computers? Well, we can turn to 123 Media Max.

It's a Blu-Ray Copy Breakthrough in the world of technology. With 123 Media Max, it is not necessary to have a coveted Blu-ray burner. You can still make blu-ray quality backups using a standard DVD. It's unheard of, yet, 123 Media Max is the software that makes it all happen. And that's not all it can do.

Not only will it convert Blu-ray to DVD, but you can convert DVD to practically anything else! Copy ANY DVD movie or movie/video from the internet to your smart phone, Apple TV, iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, PSP, PS3, XBOX 360, Zune, Gigabeat, Creative Zen, Blackberry, to name just a few. And it works the other way as well. Convert those awesome Youtube or Metacafe videos into DVDs so that you can easily convert and share. And since it comes with it's own video editor, you'll have all the tools at your disposal to create, re-create, convert practically any video that you shoot or any video that you may stumble across on the web.

Even though the near perfect Blu-ray conversion to DVD is 123 Media Max's bread and butter, the slew of features that comes with the software make it more than just the average conversion tool. For all my video loving friends out there, you need to check out the 123 Media Max website here to read up on all the specs and requirements. Later!

Motivational Sunday - Relax

Hey there. I work too hard. Well, I like to think that I do. So I kind of figured that I would take it easy this weekend. No online work, no posts, no Myspace, no Facebook, no Entrecard, no nothing but hanging out with my wife and kids and spend some time at home. I must say, it feels good to relax. Considering that we live in a hectic world where anything and everything can be done via a computer, it's nice to just forget about that and just breathe. Take it easy, my friends. Later.

Metallica in Anaheim, CA

Hey there.  The show was awesome!  For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you received plenty of updates while I was at the show.  I'm going to make this a quick post, for now, but I plan on putting on some pictures that I took of the event.  Opening acts VolBeat and Machine Head were pretty damn good and I especially loved the Dimebag Darrell tribute that Machine Head displayed, but nothing came close to the electrifying display of power that Metallica imposed on the crowd.  I'll get back with more details, friends.  Until then, later!

We're Going to go See Metallica!

Hey there.  I'm off to see Metallica!  After patiently waiting 7 long, grueling months, the day has come to go and enjoy a night of live music from none other than the metal gods themselves.  I received the tix for my B day forever ago and now the time has come to see them live and in person.  I'm giddy.  I can't wait!  UGH!  Still 5 hours away from showtime!!!!  I'm counting down the minutes!  Rock on, friends.  I know I will.  Later!

25% off and Free Shipping at CoolCrappyStuff.com

Hey there.  I started an ad block where advertisers can purchase a 125 x 125 ad space.  Initially, I was expecting to get offers from other blog writers, such as myself, but I was surprised to see that I received a few offers for online stores.  Well, I was contacted by the owner of CoolCrappyStuff.com and advised that any one that uses the ad above to reach the store will receive a 25% discount and free shipping ($10 min purchase).  How cool is that?!  I know that many of us are still trying to get that last minute shopping done and if we can get it online and avoid the malls, we might as well get it online at a discount.  So what kind of goods does CoolCrappyStuff sell?  Well, let's see....  blankets, backpacks, stickers, purses, totes, lunch boxes, hats, to name a few items, and the majority of them feature some of today's most popular cartoon characters.  Looking for Hello Kitty tote bag? A Tinkerbell backpack?  Or a Jack Skellington messenger bag?  You can find it at CoolCrappyStuff.com.  Check it out friends and before I forget...  Use the discount code CRAPPYDISCOUNT to get your 25% off and free shipping.  Later!

I Love The Office

Hey there. What is it about The Office that I find intoxicating? I cant seem to get enough of Dwight, Jim, Michael and the rest of the crew. I've found myself watching nothing but The Office and sports. lol I have been recording the episodes on DVR since they started showing them on TBS and UPN. My Comadre let us borrow seasons 1 - 4 and we went through those right away. The jokes are hilarious, the facial expressions are indescribable, and the opening sequences are some of the most funniest clips of TV that I have ever seen. Whether it be Dwight starting a fire to "simulate" a fire drill, or when Dwight demonstrates how to defend against the throat punch. I just can't seem to get enough of this show! I'm now looking for the DVDs so that I can watch them with the commentary. I started to watch them with commentary on the DVDs but quickly stopped since I wanted to get through the season since I had to return the discs. Now, I'm on a mission to find the first 5 seasons and submerge myself in The Office. Later!

Love the Symphony of the Rain

Hey there.  Today it rained in Los Angeles.  May not be a big deal to a lot of people but we don't get much rain here.  It's funny because most of the world experiences 4 seasons, we only experience 2.  And even then, I wouldn't call them seasons, I'd say it's more like 2 climates.  Here in Los Angeles, we only experience hot or kind of cold.  That's it.  Temperatures range from about 60 degrees to over 90 here when across the country, there are cities that are experiencing temps in the low 20's.  So a little rain is always welcomed.

I sat in my office listening to the sound of the rain drops hitting the roof.  There is something about this kind of weather that brings out my creative side.  I started thinking of music, of what I want to play, of what I can create.  As listened to the concerto that the heavens rained down on us, inspiration showered over me.

As I drove home, music played in my head.  When I got home, I pulled out my guitar and rocked on some songs.  I still feel as if I haven't made my contribution to music.  I haven't left my mark.  Maybe I need God's Opus to rain down on me before I do.  Later.

Motivational Sunday - Procrastination

Hey there.  We've all done it at point or another.  We put off that school report til the last day, we returned that book or movie minutes before the library or store closed, or we've put off mundane tasks that we say will be done but continue to be put off.  This my friends, is procrastination and I swear to you that I can be a huge culprit.  I've put off many small projects that I regularly said I'd do but would continue to be put off (to the dismay of my wife).  I know that one day I'll conquer this demon, but I don't feel like taking care of it now, so I'll just do it later.  Later!

The Artistic Side of Metallman

Hey there.  Last night, I heard from a good friend of mine that I have not heard from since forever.  As we chatted about how life's been treating us, she asked whether or not I continued my drawing.  Now, this was back in elementary and JR high school where I would draw all the time.  Well, I would draw during my down time from video games.  lmao  And even then, a good chunk of my drawing were of video game characters.  Whether it be Mega Man or Ridley from Super Metroid, I would draw away on those 3 X 5 index cards that we always seem to have in abundance at home. 

Anyways, I told my friend that I haven't really drawn anything since JR high.  I picked up guitar in my first year of high school and that was pretty much that for my drawing career.  I spent too much time trying to learn Metallica songs than to focus on my drawing.  Well, she then mentioned that she has stuff from high school in a special box at home and said that she has a drawing of mine in there somewhere.  I was like, no way!  I asked that she send to me.  I must see what I drew back then.  This morning, I received the drawing.  Check it out.

So what do you guys think?  Yes, it's the Lion King, as my wife pointed out.  lol  If I remember correctly, it had just come out that year, or maybe it was when the VHS movie came out.  I don't remember.  Honestly, I don't even remember drawing this.  lmao  But the writing near the top resembles my writing.  It looks like my writing stayed the same throughout the years. 

I'm looking at it and I'm thinking to myself, "not bad".  lol  Maybe I should have kept it up.  But if I did, would I be the bad ass guitar player that I am today?  lol  Yeah, I like to toot my own horn sometimes.  lol  Later!

The Kids and My Father's Presence

Hey there. My pops passed away when I was 9 years old. I grew up without really having a father figure in my life and it was pretty tough. My mother was rarely home so my brother and I practically raised ourselves. I guess that's why my brother and I have a pretty close relationship. Anyways, I always told myself that I would try to be the best dad I could. I am now the dad of 4 and I do my best to provide the best I can. But sometimes... I feel like I'm getting a little help from my pops.

There have been some pretty strange occurrences involving my brother and my kids. First off, when my dad first passed away, my brother would say that he would see him in his dreams. Mind you, my brother was 4 years old when my dad passed, so it's not like he would be making stuff up like that. I'm sure that he was too young to really know what was going on. Then, when our oldest son was born, more weird occurrences started happening. My son would be in his swing, and the swing would inexplicably move on it's own, the TV would turn on and off on it's own, and we would hear some pretty weird noises coming out of a radio that wasn't even plugged in. When our oldest daughter was born, more of the same went on. The same with the swing and I started to hear voices. It never really freaked me out, but it did raise my curiosity.

With our youngest daughter, we didn't have much in that kind of activity, but we did have one huge one. My wife set our daughter down on the couch and she went off to the kitchen. My brother in law was in his room, my wife in the kitchen, and our daughter in the living. Then, my wife hears the sound of someone giving someone a huge kiss. You know, that puckering sound. So she goes over to the living room, thinking that it was my brother in law kissing our daughter. Nope, he was in his room, semi-asleep. My wife freaked. She's never really dealt with anything of that sort so to hear "someone" kiss our baby frightened her. The other night, as we were having dinner, my daughter says to me that she remembers seeing "little daddy" when she was born. I asked her who that was and she said that it was my dad, that she likes calling him "little daddy." It threw me in for a loop but I continued along with her to see what else she would say. She says she remembers seeing him when she was born and that now she misses him. My wife and weren't sure what to make of it. We were not talking about my father so it was extremely odd that she would just throw that idea out there. Now, things are happening with our youngest son.

We find that our son loves to stare at my pop's picture. I have a picture (drawing) of my father in the living room. When we sit on the couch holding our son, we see him stare at the picture and then laugh and coo. Another instance involved footsteps. I was at the store and my wife was sitting with my baby son on the couch. Again, he looked at my father's picture and laughed and cooed and smiled. Then, my wife heard footsteps in the hallway. She freaked. She called me to ask me to hurry home. I check it out and the kids were asleep and I as I stand in the living room, talking to her, we both hear the footsteps again. Pretty intense stuff. And that leads me to the bouncer. Our son loves his bouncer and we believe to have found out why. When we place our son it, we snuggles with his blanket and then drifts asleep. Nothing weird, right? WRONG! That is until you see that the bouncer is rocking itself, even though it's off! It's happened on more than one occasion and I point it out to my wife each time I see it happening. So what are we make out of this?

I say, it's my pops helping me out. It's always happening around our kids, and it's usually when we're trying to rock them or soothe them. I joke around with my wife and tell her that it's my pops doing all the crazy things around the house. The corona bottle, Odin, and since the kids' birth, them. Just the other night, I placed our son in his bouncer and as I was walking away, my wife noticed that the swing was pushed by no one. Yup, it was swinging on it's own. We both just looked at it and said, "Dad, he's in the bouncer." I smiled at wife and she still looked a little freaked out by it. Well, at least we know that my pops is still around, helping out. And if one of the kids start to complain that their head hurts, I'll know it's him... giving them a noogie. lol Later!

The All in One LG Chocolate Touch

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of LG Chocolate Touch. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. As many of you know, I've been having some major issues issues with my phone. It's just not happening anymore. I cannot open my web browser without it overloading the phone, causing it to crash. Even receiving picture mail is beginning to be a hassle. When I'm receiving the picture, if I have not cleared up enough memory for it, the phone will crash and when I restart it, it shows that I never received the picture. And you can forget about playing videos. It's simply a nightmare to view a video. It's a constant struggle just to do mundane operations on my phone now. What I need a great all in one phone, such as the new LG Chocolate Touch.

The LG Chocolate Touch is more than able to handle the tasks of a person such as myself. No more will I not be able to post a tweet because my phone is freezing up. Since I just joined Facebook, the LG Touch's One-touch Social Network Message Key would be welcomed so that I can further familiarize myself with facebook and other social media sites with a touch of a button. It's also a great mobile media center, offering top of the line picture, video messaging, and Dolby mobile tech for a high quality sound. Another great quality is the 3.2 MP digital camera. Why bother with a $150 digital camera when you can take great shots with your phone? It happened on more that one occasion where I forget our digital camera at home so I don't get to take pictures while we are at events. But you know what, we never forget our phones. I don't dare take photos with the crappy 1 MP camera phone that I have now. The quality is just poor. If I had a LG Chocolate Touch, my only problem would be making sure that I have enough memory for all the pictures I plan on taking!

And the absolute best part? Ciara herself will fall out of the sky to play her songs whenever I listen to her music on my phone! Oh wait... that was just the commercial. lol But because the phone has such high quality sound, it will be AS IF Ciara herself is singing right there and you won't miss a beat, once you activate the rhythmical beat option, causing you phone to dance, I mean, vibrate with the music.

I wonder if I can trade my old phone and get a LG Chocolate Touch. Considering that I need to check Email to get updates on all my social media sites, it would be great to have a phone that can do it all. And do it, without crashing. Later!

A Little of This and A Little of That

Hey there. I've been tinkering with the site a little bit. I've removed some buttons and added 6 ad slots. I was recently upgraded to a Premium account in Paypal, which is great since I'll be receiving a PayPal debit card to use where ever I want AND receive cashback. I took advantage of this and added a "buy me button" for the ads that I am offering. 1 week, 2 weeks, or a full month are being offered at $1.75, $3.00 and $5.00 respectively. I removed the Mybloglog button. I figured it took a lot of space. I want to be able to condense my affiliates. I still need to mess with that.

The comment contest is going well. I've already seen a nice jump in comments and that's what I was shooting for. A site where my readers a little more engaged and I'm sure that a little cash incentive doesn't hurt. I think I'll let this be a monthly thing going forward from now on so here's the break down that I am going to give out.

Top commentator - $5
2nd and 3rd - $2.50 each

Not bad, right? So I'm devoting $10 a month on my readers and I don't think that's bad at all. If I can increase Metallman's Reverie's revenue (crazy alliteration!) then I'll increase the monthly prize. I'll definitely be mentioning the amount up for grabs once I announce the winners so make sure you check out the 1st of the month post since I'm not going to have that sticky post declaring the contest up forever.

So here's where I would like your opinion. Nothing is in stone just yet. I'm moving the buttons, pictures, changing prices, and anything else around. What would you like to see removed? Added? Or switched around? A quick comment with your thoughts and I'll take them all into consideration. I know my site looks messy and I want it to look it's best so I'm reaching our to you, friends, for some help. Many thanks! Later!

Earn Your Master of Arts in Teaching Degree with the USC Rossier School of Education Program

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of USC. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. The University of Southern California, it's name is synonymous with prestigious education, a top of line medical program, and of course the outstanding football program. A school of education which has been ranked #22 in the United States, and #9 among all private universities by US News and World Report, USC now introduces a ground breaking online institution. The USC Rossier School of Education’s MAT@USC program offers aspiring teachers and current teachers to not only join the Trojan family from their home states, but garner an opportunity to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching degree through a prestigious and well renown university. Learn in a virtual classroom from some of the best in the education field. And to make it a sweeter deal, it's an accelerated program so you can earn your degree in as little as a year. This is a no nonsense course, my friends. If you are serious in obtaining you Master of Arts in Teaching degree, then you need to get the program information and seriously consider enrolling in class.

Whether you're on campus or the virtual campus, once you are part of the USC family, you gain full USC student status & benefits. As a child, I was a part of USC's Med-Core program. I'd go to USC on a Saturday to learn math and medicine from some of the distinguished professors. I know that many of you are not in Southern California so this is a great opportunity to experience the essence that is USC. Later!

Metallman's Reverie is Taking a Hit in the Rankings

Hey there. Ever since I changed the domain to Metallman.com, I have been tanking in the rankings. My Alexa rank is now in the millions (from 75K) with only 1 site linking in, I have no IZEA rank (from a respectable 750), google rank is 0 with little to no pages indexed, and I only have about 90 links to my site on Yahoo (compared to over 7,000). The plus side? I have my own domain AND MSN (Bing) finally indexed my site. It looks like Metallman's Reverie is starting from scratch. Ranking wise at least. I hope that it won't hinder my ability to take opportunities from the IZEA programs for the time being. I figured that the site may suffer at first, but will be beneficial in the long run. I've also had to resubmit my site to other services such as Blogexplosion. I'm still waiting for an approval there and I just got my blog url updated in SocialSpark. It's all good though. The only place to go from here is up! Later!

Experience True Sound from your iPod with the Yamaha PDX-60 Speaker Dock

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Yamaha. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. Are you still listening to your Ipod using the standard, white headphones? I'm pretty sure that everyone has seen the commercials that bring those headphones to icon status, but you know what? They are still standard headphones. Considering that the iPod is a multimedia machine, you owe it to yourself to experience it in true high quality sound.

Enter the Yamaha PDX-60, a power speaker system that will not only enhance your listening experience but change the way you see you Ipod. Music and movies will resonate across the room since the PDX-60 has some Bass-reflex speakers and since it's compatible with all things Ipod, your iPhone will definitely get a boost in sound while you're surfing Youtube videos.

Did I mention that the whole thing can be wireless? The Yamaha PDX-60 runs on Yamaha's original wireless technology, yAired, which is way more user friendly than Bluetooth.

Here at work, many of us gather around lunch room to catch The Office on my coworkers iPhone. It's tough for a group of 4 to really listen in on the iPhone's speaker system. If we were to have a PDX-60 in our office, we'd be able to listen with crystal clear sound all the jokes and comments that Jim throws at Dwight! Maybe the 4 of us can pitch in to get one, since this has become a ritual at work. AND... if more people start clamoring in to catch The Office on the iPhone, it would make perfect sense to get a high quality device to accommodate our office.

Check it out , friends. Get high quality sound for your iPhone or iPod. It's the only way to go if you are looking for the best in sound quality. Later!

Top Blogs of the Month of November

Hey there.  It's that time of the month again.  It's time to give my top 5 droppers the recognition that they deserve.  The following blogs have received a month long spot on my blogroll and have also earned themselves 500 ECs:

http://annssnapeditscrap.blogspot.com/
http://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/
http://www.laaneworld.com/
http://vanillaseven.com/
http://www.buckrobin.com/

Thanks to all of you that have dropped on my blog this month.  I greatly appreciate all your support.

Now, on to some important news.  I've been rewarding my top droppers for several months now and have been contemplating on how I can reward my commentators as well.  This is what I have come up with...  Starting Dec. 1st, I will keep tabs on all comments made for the month.  At the end of the month, I will award the top commentator a cash prize, to be delivered via PayPal (Must have a valid PayPal account).  This will allow ALL readers to participate and not feel slighted if they are not part of the Entrecard family.  I have yet to decide what the cash prize will be, but I am leaning towards starting small (anywhere from $2.50 to $5.00 to start) and if this catches on, the cash prize will continue to be awarded monthly and may be increased and expanded to reward not only the top commentator but maybe the top 5 as well.  Comments must be revelant and I will delete spam comments.  I will also post a screen shot of my excel sheet since my widget goes back to the top 500 comments and I do not know how to reset it every month.  The first winner will be announced next month along side my top 5 droppers of the month.  Good luck friends... And don't forget to comment!  Later!