Computer Knowledge is a Must

Hey there friends. In this day and age, everything is done electronically. Payments, banking, games, work, stock trading... you name it, and there is a website out there to get it done. Because of this, we rely heavily on computers that not only work, but work efficiently. But what if it doesn't work? What if the computer decides to act funny and you can't get anything done? Who do you call? Not ghostbusters, that's for sure, but if you're at work, it's most likely the IT (Information Technology) people. In today's business world, those guys are the people that make the world run. So you can only imagine the amount of money those guys make a year. That's why I'm thinking of getting myself certified. This is an absolute win win situation. Because I am in my initial phase of being my own boss in computer repair, it would be great to have a certificate to show my customers that I know what I am doing and after browsing around, I have decided that a Cisco certification is what I need.

Not only do they offer hundreds of classes, but they also offer web based training, virtual classrooms, and remote labs and simulation, on top of the traditional classrooms. This is perfect for those of us with hectic schedules or for those of us who just prefer to do online training. VPN, IP communications, Networking, or computer repair are just a few of the Cisco training courses that are provided.

I'm looking forward to this. It would be great to be a certified computer technician. This is exactly what I need to jump start my busniess. Good thing I haven't printed cards yet. Once I get this done, I can add a line on there that says "Certified by Cisco".

The Return of the Killer Trees

Hey there friends. I live in Southern California and I regularly listen to a small radio station by the name of KROQ. I've been listening to that station since forever and after this weekend, I was brought back to a moment where Kevin and Bean could not stop talking about killer trees. I remember several years back, they were obsessed by the "killer trees" and "killer monkeys". There were many accidents around that time where people were smashed by trees or smashed into trees and them, being the dumb asses that they are, said that the trees were out to get us. Well... I'm beginning to think that Hollywood may have gone out and stole their concept.

*MOVIE SPOILERS FOR THE RUINS and THE HAPPENING*


A few weeks back when my compadre STRONGLY recommended that we watch The Happening. He didn't give anything away and he claimed that Shyamalan redeemed himself with this one. After the disaster that was Lady in the Water, I figured that maybe he righted his wrongs and it was worth a look, especially after he made a bad ass film like the Sixth Sense, I knew he had it in him to make a great film.

Well, it wasn't happening. My babe and I went to check it out and I was semi-disappointed while she was extremely disappointed. lol She straight out said, "That's it!" after the movie. The whole movie attempts to build suspense but fails to do so and when it "climaxes", it doesn't really feel like it cause, well... it's the fuckin' trees and plants that are causing the people to kill themselves. The movie pretty much tries to scare us stupid into believing that the plant life will kill us off unless we start taking care of Mother Earth. Point 1 for the killer trees.


This weekend, we rented out The Ruins. I'm not sure where we say the previews for this but it looked suspenseful and when it came out of DVD, we decided to check it out. The movie lags, big time. Felt like we were forced to watch the first 30 mins or so waiting for something to happen. Americans having a good time in a foreign land (*cough cough Touristas, Hostel, cough cough) and then some bad shit happen to them. In this case, it's the ruins of some city in the shape of pyramids. After the climb the pyramids, the locals will not let them leave, they surround the perimeter of the ruins and will kill anyone who tries to leave it.

Again, the movie lagged it. My wife tuned out about 40 mins into the movie and she started playing some "Pop-it" game on her phone. lol I continued to watch. lol At this moment she made this comment, "Damn, babe, you sure know how to pick em. First it was The Happening, and now this. This movie better not have some stupid ending like some killer trees or plants." Well, guess what... The movie had killer plants. LMAO I didn't tell her that since she was too busy playing the game, but I couldn't believe it and I started tuning out of the movie too and started playing Pop-it on my phone. This movie was a complete disappointment. I think I caught a glimpse of the ending and again, not satisfying. Nowhere near what I hoped for. Point 2, killer trees.

What triggered all of this? Some show my wife was watching on E!, her favorite channel by the way. I walked by and heard something along the lines of "...Ever since her husband, Sonny Bono, passed away..." I'm assuming it was Behind the Music: Cher, or that show True Hollywood Story. Somehow, I brought up the fact that he passed away due to a skiing accident. He swerved and smashed into a tree. That thought brought me think of the movies we saw, and ultimately, to Kevin and Bean.

It's funny how we associate things or make connections with things. I get that all the time. It's pretty common for someone to say to me, "Where did that come from?" lol Who would've thought that Cher would be bring me back to the days of Kevin and Bean where funny man, Jimmy Kimmel was doing sports. lol I still sing his intro song sometimes, "KROQ Sports with Jimmyyyyyy". lol Later!

Full Page Ads? Not Anymore!

Hey there. I received an Email last night from my friend James over at New Dilemma, and he basically told me that full page ads suck. lol Gotta love that straight forwardness. I was thinking of getting rid of them cause quite frankly, I was getting tired of them myself. On top of making my blog take forever to load, and then be redirected, I felt that they took away from my site and kinda made it second fiddle. Well, I got rid of them. Well, at least I hope I did. I went ahead and made the changes on my Adbrite account and we shouldn't see anymore full page ads. I've made more than a few bucks with Adrite and I don't think that removing the full page ads would hurt my earning potential. If by chance, they continue pop up, let me know and I'll see what's up. Feel free to hit me up, friends. That's why I got my Email on here. Many thanks James! Later.

The Unknown Solidier

The wind howls as it moves across the sky. The luminescence of the moon makes an appearance between the clouds, making the sakura twinkle and dance as they fall, rivaling the beauty of the stars. A serpent slithers its way across a branch, searching for dinner. It's scales grinds across the bark, as it approaches a sparrow. Suddenly, the moon disappears, the howling stops, and the grinding halts. Deafening silence.

In darkness, shadows fly without their makers, speeding across the land. Off in the distance, a small cube, no more than 100 sq feet, cries out to them. They dart in the cube's directing, paying to mind to the trees and they go through the wall and hover in the middle. They gather around a body, sprawled across the floor. No warmth, no breath, no life. In unison, the shadows breathe out. Their breath, reaching the reaching the lungs of the body, causes no change. A second breath cries out and chills the body to ice. Then there was movement. The shadows dissipate, accomplishing their task.

First, a twitch. Then, a shiver. Slowly, air begins to flow across the lungs. Oxygen. The river of life begins to flow. It's current, starting at a crawl, begins to pick up speed. The cells, in a frantic, begin their daunting task to revive and maintain. The temperature begins to rise. The body that was ice cold is now gaining color. A tremble here and a tremble there, it slowly gathers it's strength. A hand plants on the ground as it begins to pick itself up. A lifeless body no more. Now standing naked and gathering composure, it lifts it's arms. Staring at it's hands, full of cuts and bruises, similar to those found throughout the body, it stares and asks itself...

"Who am I?"

Let's Walk, With a Purpose

Hey there friends. Alzheimer's is a terrible disease and we need to do our part top help prevent it. An Alzheimer's Memory Walk is no more than 3 miles and those 3 miles can be the most purposeful miles that you'll ever walk. Many of us, once we reach the age of 65, will show one of more symptoms or Alzheimer's disease and as of right now, there is no cure. But, we can make a difference. By teaming up with the Alzheimer's Association, we can help raise funds to find a cure. You can either find a team to walk with, or you can create your own team. To create a team, you will need to sign up and invite at least 3 members. www.Alz.org has useful information on how to start a team or join one. They also offer many guides for team leaders so that they can lead to the best of their abilities.

Alzheimer's is a horrible disease that many of us have experienced first hand and the it's something that we definitely want to prevent. The disease is a form of dementia that can affect everyone differently. Someone with Alzheimer's can show symptoms of short term memory loss, where in more severe cases, language is reduced to a word or two. No one wants to see their loves ones regress in health. Our golden years should be those of joy, spending time with our grandchildren. Those of us who are lucky enough, great-grandchildren. We don't want to spend our golden years regressing. In a society such as our own, where medical advances are happening on a constant basis, we should do our part to help those advances move on. So far, it's working. People are living longer, healthier lives compared to just 50 years ago. If we continue to do our part, we can extend our life expectancy some more.

There are many horrible diseases out there and we need to find a cure for. Alzheimer's is just one of them. But it is the one, that many of us will experience. Click on the button below, start a team, or join on, and let us walk together.

Saturday Night Rock Out

Hey there friends. I was introduced to the game Rock Band this weekend. It's definitely a party game, especially after having a few drinks. lol It was pretty cool because it was basically everyone's first time playing it. Only my wife's cuz was experienced in the game (he's the one that brought it over). We hooked it up and after having a couple of brews we got to it. I started off on Guitar, I guess it's what I do best, my babe on the skins, her bro on the mic, and her cuz on bass. It was interesting to say the least. It took awhile for everyone to get the hang of it and after awhile, we were all into it, blaming each other for failed songs... Just like a real band. HA HA HA!!! After our initial singer left, I took over and that was pretty cool. I sing all the time. In the car, in the shower, in public (embarrassed my wife with that one a few times. lol) so it cool to actually be judged. I did alright, I guess. I didn't fail. lol I highly recommend getting it, but only if you always have people over. If you're going to play solo, I would recommend Guitar Hero since I think it's more of a solo game where as you won't get the full effect of Rock Band playing solo.

Once we started to get into the wee hours of the night, my babe's cuz (he's family so I'll start calling him my cuz) wanted me to try out some songs in solo mode that he couldn't handle. He was over at our place before and we were all buzzing playing Guitar Hero III. He claims I impressed him, since I was playing pretty well for being buzzed, and he wanted me to play this one song in Rock Band that he can't handle. I think it was called Green Grass and High Tides.

Stupid song... It's been in my head since. On my first try on Expert, I got through about 80% of the song. After many failed attempts, I was only able to get a best of 85%. I like those kinds of challenges. I challenged myself with Guitar Hero III and I was finally able to best the game on Expert after many, many frustrated nights (Damn you LOU!!!!). But now that I was exposed to a new challenge, I wanted/needed to beat it. We probably stayed up til like 1 am attempting that damn song to no avail. My cuz says that we'll get it next time. He's confident that I'll get it since it was my first time playing the game, I had difficulty identifying the hammer-on notes since I was used to the Guitar Hero hammer-ons. I'll get it.. I know I will.... eventually. Until then, check out some of the pics taht we took... and I'll just have the song playing in my head... over... and over... and over... Later!

Here is our initial line up


In true rock fashion, the singer gets the close up


My babe on the skins


Our little drummer girl didn't want to cough up the skins


Me attempting some song on GHII. Never played that game before


"Our" cuz asleep after having one too many beers


Green Grass and High Tides... Focus. Focus. Focus