Blandishment Blog

A Memorable Moment

2011-10-09T16:59:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my daughter Danielle and I were riding in the car. The area we were in was in the woods and the trees have started changing colors heralding in the fall season. It was quite beautiful to behold.

Looking at the trees I was reminded of how when I was much younger, probably around 10 or, of the love my mother had for the fall colors. Every year she and my father would drive from New Jersey into upstate New York just to see the splendor of the many colors the leaves were sporting at this time of year.

I remember most often, until we were older, my brother and I being 'dragged along' for the trip, yet here I was many years later totally enjoying the painting of colors that adorned the trees.

Danielle said she was enjoying the colors too when I asked her, so I shared this story about my mom with my daughter and concluded with how happy I was to share a story with her about the grandmother she had never met, who would have most certainly found such joy and pride in her granddaughter, and most likely would have spoiled her rotten over the years!

Such moments, that capture love, life, and memories across multiple generations, are extremely rare these days and I will cherish it, as I cherish her and my mom.

Picture Of The Day 09/12/11

2011-09-12T08:13:00.000-04:00

Could the sunrise be any more beautiful?

Picture Of The Day 06/30/11

2011-06-30T08:43:00.000-04:00

Reflections on the conference room windows showing I'd rather be
outside in a gorgeous day!

Happy Father's Day Dad!

2011-06-19T10:28:00.000-04:00

I'm really missing my dad a lot today. Next month will be three years since he passed away. For all of you with your dads (and moms for that matter) still with you don't make the mistakes I made. Always thought there would be more time to talk, to ask questions, and learn more about him, and have him learn more about me. Don't take your dad for granted, he won't be around forever!

For my dad, I'll just say thanks for being there, in good times, and in bad, and dad, I miss you so much, and I love you with all my heart!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Dad and I the last time I saw him in July 2007

Sometimes Life Hands You a Shi* Sandwich

2011-06-17T10:07:00.000-04:00

I just feel bad for my daughter. Last month she was in a motorcycle accident and spent weeks, scabbed, sore, bruised and black and blue. She gets past that and this month has another accident. She was at the pool Wednesday and twisted her leg pretty bad. A trip to the ER with her boyfriend and her mom and they suspect cartilage damage, they want to immobile the leg to prevent further damage but it is too swollen, so they send her home on crutches and Vicodin for the extreme pain, and of course that makes her so nauseous she's vomiting. Watching her hobble back and forth with her crutches to the bathroom was really tugging at my heart strings. She goes and sees a specialist next week.

Because she has to keep the leg elevated the only way she is comfortable is in one of my recliners so she's been camped out in it since Wednesday night. I working from home this morning and she's fast asleep over on the other recliner, and I hope when she awakens today her stomach will have settled down and she will feel a little better. When I hear her cry it just cuts through me like a knife, all I want is for my three kids to be healthy and happy. They are good kids after all!

As to me, I'd probably sell my soul to the devil fora good nights sleep. :)

Picture Of The Day 06/15/05

2011-06-15T10:54:00.000-04:00

AWESOME picture of the sun rising this morning! Click for a higher res version.

Picture Of The Day 04/15/11

2011-04-15T09:53:00.000-04:00

Awesome sunrise this AM!

Picture Of The Day 04/14/11

2011-04-14T22:20:00.001-04:00

Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads!

Picture Of The Day 04/13/11

2011-04-13T07:25:00.000-04:00

Sunrise by the office this morning on my way in. Love the reflection
off the hood of the Mustang!

Picture Of The Day 04/12/11

2011-04-12T15:40:00.001-04:00

Gas prices are getting too damn high!

I Sponsored A Child

2011-04-12T09:58:00.005-04:00

One of my Pet Peeves on Facebook is people that post about bad/sad things like cancer, homeless people, kids without food, and then they ask others to post it on their status too. And it's always prefixed by something like "Only my real friends will post this...". It just bugs me.

Why? It does no good as far as I can see, 100 of your friends seeing the same sad message will really do nothing. So, instead of that type of status message do something that can make a difference. Write to your congressman, donate to the American Cancer Society, sponsor a needy child. Post about that and then invite others to do the same. I think at the very least suffix such a message with an applicable place to do something to help, such as link to the donations page for the American Cancer Society.

Today, for about $1 a day, I sponsored a needy child. That dollar a day will help feed and clothe her, provide medicine, education, and more.

I sponsored through ChildFund International. You can visit their web site here. Consider doing doing some real good with that pocket change you've got lying about. Sponsor a child, and then post about that on your Facebook status or blog, inviting your friends and visitors to do the same thing.

OK, I am now climbing down off of my soapbox!

Still Lazy After All These Years

2011-04-12T09:43:00.003-04:00

For those wondering if I am still around, I am. Just not really been anything unique enough for me to post about. I often post small snippets of life here in the Midwest on my Facebook page, so, feel free to visit here and see, and feel free to friend me on Facebook.

Here on my blog I'll still be posting pictures and the occasional recipe, plus any earth shattering items, and I also do this on my Facebook page too, usually with a bit more frequency.

Facebook often gets a bad rep; people concerned with privacy and the like. If you only friend people you really know and set your privacy settings to only share with your direct friends, there's nothing to worry about. Feel free to visit my Facebook page and browse; I do have some public pictures and notes that you can view without joining Facebook.

Picture Of The Day 03/16/11

2011-03-16T23:52:00.000-04:00

This morning's sunrise.

Picture Of The Day 02/26/11

2011-02-26T12:00:00.001-05:00

Nicicle!

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

2011-02-09T18:16:00.002-05:00

My easy to make Baked Macaroni & Cheese with sausage, three cheeses, and a spicy crunchy topping featuring cheddar Goldfish crackers.

If you want the recipe let me me know.

Microsoft .vs. GM

2011-02-07T12:07:00.002-05:00

Thought thus was hilarious and had to share it:

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated:

'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.'

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash.........Twice a day.

2.. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3.... Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.

Picture Of The Day 02/02/11

2011-02-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

My bedroom window this morning after last night's blizzard.

Picture Of The Day 01/10/10

2011-01-10T10:13:00.002-05:00

The parking lot at the office this morning. Surreal looking due to all the moisture in the air.

Happy New Year & El Dios Blanco

2011-01-01T11:36:00.004-05:00

First off, Happy New Year to everyone! I hope 2011 will be an excellent year for you and yours! So, I arose this morning knowing full well what my mission was; to clean the kitchen which over the past week sine my children Scott and Danielle arrived to spend a week with me after Christmas, has deteriorated into a 'No Fry' zone. It was a mess with virtually no counter space available! Last night making hot snacks 7 for New Year's Eve did not help this situation either. I summoned El Dios Blanco, and swept through the area. See below for the before picture, followed by the after an hour later. You can click either for a much larger image in a new browser window. Note El Dios Blanco now has his feet up and is relaxing a bit.

The Kitchen This Morning

The Kitchen This Morning After Cleaning.

Note: In the interests of not permanently scaring small children for life, I opted NOT to do before and after pictures of the top of the stove........ so gross!

Picture Of The Day 12/25/10

2010-12-25T17:57:00.001-05:00

My Christmas tree minutes before the kids attacked it! Happy Holidays to you and yours from me and mine!

Where Are You Christmas

2010-12-23T12:49:00.005-05:00

My Kids on Christmas Morning in 20o1

Having just found my Christmas Spirit after having it absent these past years, I can really identify with this song I just head playing....for me it was just so true to life I had to share it. I feel that the love and joy that Christmas brings can be found in your own heart, and it's something we should try and have every day of the year. It really is better to give than to receive!

"Where Are You Christmas"

Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too

Where are you Christmas
Do you remember
The one you used to know
I'm not the same one
See what the time's done
Is that why you have let me go

Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Christmas is here
If you care, oh

If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time

I feel you Christmas
I know I've found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love

Where are you Christmas
Fill your heart with love

Picture Of The Day 12/20/10

2010-12-20T08:13:00.001-05:00

I love the reflections of the Christmas tree in my bedroom window off the window and TV.

Enrico M. Falco 1923-2008

2010-12-16T08:40:00.005-05:00

Last time I saw my dad in 2007

Today would have been my Dad's 87th birthday. He passed away a few months shy of 85. He was not famous, so you'll never have heard of him, though had he been you'd know the following and probably every negative thing he ever did in his life that the press could dig up...but I digress.

At the bottom of my post is his obituary, and it's amazing how they can so easily reduce a mans entire life down to nothing but a few lines of text.

My Dad was so much more. Born of immigrant Italian parents with a dad who truly lived by the philosophy of "Spare the Rod, spoil the Child!" Sadly, I don't know too many details of his early life, other than some excellent war stories he told me from WWII. My mom would have been shocked to learn he 'adopted a couple of families overseas and lived with them, but according to him there was a lot of that in war torn Europe at the time. He flew in bomber aircraft a few times, but I don't recall which ones, he might have shot and killed an enemy soldier; he was one of a few that show at one by their camp and killed him. I have many pictures I got from his last apartment that show him on assorted army bases and places with people I don't know, only a precious few have any writing on the back to lend a clue.

As a father he too was tough but fair, and when my mom, who was schizophrenic, was in her good frame of mind I know she reined him in a lot of times and over the years taught him to be more open with his feelings.

I remember as a young boy going down to the freight yards in Newark with my Dad and his dad, and my uncle where we would by crates of grapes as they came off of the train. These would be packed in our station wagons and we would head by to grandfather's house where we would make wine. And no, we did not dance on it with our feet, they had an electric grinder and a press. I remember the occasional glass of wine but it was not until many years later that I developed a taste for the homemade version they made, which was far stronger than the wines you would buy on the shelf.

I remember going down to Ting-a-Ling's in Newark for Italian Ice, and I remember trips to Jimmy Buff's for Italian Hotdogs in Newark as well. I also remember the Short Stop diner by the Parkway overpass in Bloomfield. My dad would often bring home burgers and fries or their awesome bacon and egg sandwiches.

I remember something that appears to be totally alien to my kids, and that's doing REAL chores, particularly on weekends. There was no "Well I'm off to hang out with friends" Saturday morning. There was grass to be moved (with an old style push mower"), leaves to rakes, projects to be done, painting in the house, etc. on most weekends. plus, Dad's car needed to be washed. Sunday's there was church followed by classes. One memory of doing the chores comes to mind was my older brother was picking on me and I said "You'd never do that is Dad was looking!". he called over "Hey Dad!", my dad turned around and he slammed me! Ah! brotherly love!

I remember at Christmas time decorating the second floor front porch which has windows around the front and sides, where would would make holiday pictures on the glass using stencils and Glass Wax, and then put up lights around each window. We also decorated a little artificial tree and put it on a table int he center of the front window. The house looked pretty cool those years from the outside, plus you could the the full sized tree from one of the side windows if you walked a bit further down the street.

There are so many memories I have of my dad, and so much I just do not know about him. One of the most profound ones, which also shows his level of caring, was around the holidays. There were some years where he worked two jobs just so he could get us Christmas presents.

My parents had a very rocky marriage because of my mom problems, and let's just say mental health care 40 years or so ago was nightmarish compared to today. They finally got to a point where my dad was going to divorce her, and I only mention this to show his character. Those who know me my mom turned ill and wrestled with multiple sclerosis for over 10 years, and she had a very rare variant where she experienced constant pain which ranged from bad to very, very bad. She also had lung cancer her final years due no doubt to many years of smoking.

My dad, who was well along with his plans to divorce my mom, dropped those plans and for the next 10 years took care of my mom to the point of having to sell our big house in Glen Ridge because of the costs associated with her care ran down his insurance and caused her to spend a lot of time at home. My poor mom who was so bad we had a lift device to get her in and out of her bed and into her chair by the bedroom window where she spent so many days looking outside.

But my dad stayed, and took care of her. Down the road I moved back into his house and helped as well, and there was a period there where my brother was living there. I was so impressed how he never abandoned her, and I'll never forget the night she died, on my first wedding anniversary, how he cried. His raking sobs at her passing will be forever in my memory. There is no doubt in my mind that in spite of their problems he loved my mother deeply.

When I got married, we moved from his house in Glen Ridge to a mother/daughter house in the country, and he took the smaller side. I remember my son Chris and he were very close, with Chris often running over there to pop-pop's side every morning when he got up. Those were some good years with many memories such as Chris and Scott riding on the tractor with him when he cut the grass. No hand mower for the country place!

Then my dad hit a period that I call his third childhood, he asked my X and I to move out because he was going to sell his house, and get a small apartment as he needed more money, and it was going to sell fast. We sold so many of our possessions, including my truck, to do that and ended up in a small house behind Budd Lake where our daughter Danielle was born. It took me a few years to get over the hurt from that time, but, family is family!

Then I relocated for my job, and I saw my dad an average of once a year. His health had started declining somewhat before we moved but he was always as active as he could be. He never did make it out to visit us in the 8 years we were here before he passed. I know he would have loved the Kalamzoo Air Zoo and I had planned to take him there.

I could go on and on, I started this last night in fact....but suffice it to say there was so much more of my dad than what is said below:

Published: Friday, August 15, 2008, 8:35 AM Updated: Friday, August 15, 2008, 8:42 AM

Enrico M. Falco, 84, of Mansfield Township died July 27, 2008 at his home after a long illness. Born Dec. 16, 1923 in Belleville, he was a son of the late Joseph and Angelina Falco.

Mr. Falco lived in Glen Ridge before moving to Mansfield Township 29 years ago. He was retired after many years as a tool and die maker, most recently with Chatham Precision Tools.

He was a member of the Great Meadows Busy Seniors, the Sunshine Club of Blairstown and the seniors club at Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Church in Great Meadows. Mr. Falco was an Army veteran of World War II.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline.

Surviving are his companion of many years, Julia Pirrello; two sons, Rick of Millington and Christopher of Grand Rapids, Mich.; a sister, Kay Testa of Parsippany; and three grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was held Aug. 1 at Ss. Peter & Paul Church. Entombment was at Hollywood Memorial Park, Union.

Picture Of The Day 12/13/10

2010-12-13T08:03:00.000-05:00

The local grocery store, Forest Hills Foods, by my house the other morning.

Picture Of The Day 12/03/10

2010-12-03T08:01:00.000-05:00

Outside the main entrance of the office this morning.

Picture Of The Day 12/01/10

2010-12-01T14:50:00.001-05:00

Mr. Mustang looks quite chilly before leaving for lunch today!

Picture Of The Day 11/29/10

2010-11-29T08:19:00.001-05:00

Here comes the sun!

Picture Of The Day 11/26/10

2010-11-26T12:39:00.001-05:00

My kitchen and dining room remarkably clean after thanksgiving dinner.

Picture Of The Day 11/25/10

2010-11-25T12:45:00.000-05:00

I love the drops of water all over the branches!

Picture Of The Day 11/17/10

2010-11-17T20:13:00.000-05:00

A few minutes before sunrise this morning.

Another Computer Tale Of Terror!

2010-11-14T12:48:00.018-05:00

I can't remember the last time I posted anything of substance on the blog here. Basically my life is work, eat, sleep, and enjoy the alternate weeks I have with my daughter, and let's face it no one wants to read about that,....so, not a lot of material there for blogging. However, I do love computers and technology so here is another Computer Tale of Terror! Click on any picture below to open a larger version in a new window.

Front view of my Home Theater PC

For those who follow me on Facebook, you know for the past several weeks I've been having problems with my Home Theater PC (HTPC). It had been freezing up, hanging, and finally experiencing the dreaded Blue Screen Of Death. Running the event log on the system showed a non-descriptive atapi error, with the only info being that the system had detected an error on the controller. Running this through Microsoft's automated Event Log Online Help returned what it does for so many Windows errors. A generic statement to the effect of "Beats the hell out of me!" was the only thing the service provided.

The Cramped Confines of my HTPC

Once researching this further online I discovered there were so many reasons this could occur, and I won't bore you with them here. The main one of course would be a bad hard disk. Seeing as I had just replaced a bad hard disk with a brand new one, the odds for that were slim, but I did a thorough test of the hard disk, power supply, I added extra cooling in the form of the fan I usually use for extra cooling int he summer blowing right on the PC. That method helped alleviate the issue, but after a week or so it got worse and would often show the symptoms after a cold start.

I changed the drive cables and I put the drive on a different controller on the motherboard. I also removed the other SATA device, a DVD burner, just in case it was throwing the errors. No luck.

By a long process of elimination this appeared to be a bad SATA controller on the system motherboard. A two-fold sense of dread filled me. First is the cost, about $225 to replace the motherboard, and with money being tight after a year of unexpected expenses around my sons and some other areas, I really did not have the green for the replacement. Second, the inside of the HTPC case is so tight and cramped. Because the DVD drive and the power supply share the same bay, and because the many cables from the power supply go through a cutup in the wall between that part of the case and where the motherboard goes, it is virtually impossible to get the DVD and Power supply seated in their part of the case as the DVD drive goes in a cage that fits into rails on the case and you have to insert it at a 45 degree angle. If you could just drop that straight down, or drop the power supply straight down after the DVD drive is in it would be fine. But because the power supply cables go through that cutout you can't, because the cables are int he way. It was a nightmare last time getting them in, and I used enough force that could have conceivable damaged the DVD drive.

The cramped and cluttered cable hole by the Power Supply

So, what to do, what to do, what to do? I had often thought that instead of a hole to the left of the power supply for cables to go through, they should have just notched a cutout on top of that wall that the cables could lust be laid down on. With that thought in mind I figured I would get a dremel tool and modify the case to that effect!

Now I have to back up a bit.....this was Friday night. The weekend before I had come to the conclusion that I had to replace the motherboard, and because I really liked this board's features, and because Windows can be very unforgiving of motherboard changes without a reinstall, I wanted to get the same board.

SURPRISE! As it's over a year old it is not in production. I Googled the part number and fund three places that had it, two of which wanted about $80 more than I paid for the board 18 months ago. The third, and outfit called On The Fly Computer Guy, had it for about what I had paid for it. So, Saturday I ordered one, and paid via PayPal along with an extra $10 for airmail because I wanted it by Thursday since I had Veterans Day off.. When I had not gotten a conformation of my order pack from On The Fly Computer Guy by Tuesday I contacted them. They had not received the payment from PayPal so they canceled my order? Did they contact me and tell me this or contact me right after the order was placed to get payment info? No! I felt this was very poor customer service. So, I put the order in again and this time someone named Mike at On The Fly Computer Guy saw it go through, and he said he would send it out the next morning.

I was hopeful I might still see it by Friday since I had paid for airmail, but when I'd not seen a tracking number by Thursday I contacted Mike again, only to be told they did not have it in stock and it was a discontinued item. I told him that I knew it was discontinued, but why I wanted that particular number. He had provided three links (though they were sent as clear text) for three other boards on his site, but as their site only had the board model number and NO technical details I would have to Google the part number to get the particulars. I left Mike with the statement stating that it would have been nice to have better communications from them. I wonder what would have happened if I had not contacted him Thursday when he had said he was processing my order first thing Wednesday morning! DOUBLE SURPRISE! I just checked my bank account and PayPal and I have not yet received the credit back, so I just dropped Mike another email. I sense a very negative review for the place on Google shopping, perhaps with a copy to the folks at PayPal.

A Golden Memory!

Phew! This is a lot of typing! I took a break, had a light lunch, watched an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and I'm back. (Note I took a second break halfway through rescaling the pictures to use for this post and watched an episode of Food Wars).

So, since I was not willing to pony up another $80 on top of the base cost of my old motherboard I entered into research mode to find a suitable new motherboard. As the form factor for this is Micro-ATX, my choices were more limited (MicroATX is a smaller form factor designed to fix into things like Home Theater PCs. One thing I like about my HTPC is it looks like a stereo receiver, not a PC.

I found an excellent motherboard for about the same cost as the one I was replacing; an ASUS Rampage III Gene. It had all the features the board had and more, such as USB 3.0 and 6 GB SATA. It also has the advantage of being able to run my memory faster than the old board. I was going to order from newegg.com (often my first choice for new technology purchases) but to get expedited shipping to have the board out early the next week (this was Thursday night remember) was more than the airmail fee the first place wanted. As I have Amazon Prime which gives me free two days shipping and overnight shipping for $3.99, I decided to check there though Amazon often charges a bit more than newegg. I was pleasantly surprised to find the board was in stock and a few dollars cheaper. The system said if I ordered within the NEXT MINUTE I could have overnight delivery! I blazed through checkout and mistyped my password and missed the overnight deadline! I was most ticked at myself! I would have to settle for Saturday delivery, now considered overnight because we were into Friday's delivery window. So, at least I could get the PC back up on Saturday, plus I figured I could do the tear down after work Friday.

ASUS Rampage III Gene

Note Friday afternoon at work I checked the tracking status and noted with delight that it was already out for delivery! I would be able to begin after work.

Friday evening I arrived home, and managed to coax a boot out of the dying system. I went into device manager and deleted all devices except the video card and hard disk. This would make Windows more accepting of the motherboard model swap. That done I removed the HTPC from the entertainment system cabinet where it usually resides and was just starting the tear down when my son Chris called, asking if I wanted him to come over and visit. Since I've not had the pleasure of his company for many weeks, I said sure, and I feverishly worked to at least get the majority of the tear down done. Chris arrived and we spent several hours watching TV (multiple episodes of Man Vs. Food, and an episode of Food Wars wile enjoying sandwiches from Jimmy Johns) and then he departed.

I finished the tear down and then HTPC case in hand I headed to the garage to make the case modification shown in the two pictures below. The sparks were literally flying as I used my handy Dremel tool to cut out the wall where supply cables go and turn it into a notch out. It took longer than I thought because once I started cutting and got through the first layer of metal, I discovered they had double-rolled it underneath to give the top edge more support. The stench of tortured hot metal filled the garage while I worked and I had to open both bay doors. I also went through 5 cheap grinding disks because of the angle I had to hold the tool in the cramped confines of the HTPC case's interior.

I then blew the case out, vacuumed the case out, and damp widened the case out several times to remove all the metal and grit particles from within the case's interior. Note the picture below shows the case before the mod on the left, and after the mod on the right. All the cut edges have been sanded to make sure they are smooth and can't cut into the cables that will go there.

Before and after the case wall modification

I then started the reassembly of the system, first installing the motherboard. the hard drive cage, and the CPU and memory. Then I installed the DVD drive and power supply which went together so easily thanks to my case modification. I installed the video card and then connected a monitor and very briefly powered the system to see if it would POST (Power On Self Test). It POSTed fine, so I then added the CPU fan and screwed everything into place.

Oh No! The system would turn on using the front panel power button! I had used the power switch on the motherboard (Yes, this motherboard has a power switch and a reset switch right on the motherboard) to test the system earlier.

I soon realized that there were two leads coming from the case marked Power Switch, one was not used in my current configuration, so I just had to swap them. Unfortunately to get at this jumper block on the motherboard I had to take the video card out. Once that was done and the correct Power On lead used, I finished the assembly, put the cover on, and pressed the power button on the case's front. The system booted right into windows, and several reboots got it through discovering the majority of the motherboard devices. Others would have to be loaded later once I had the system back on the internet.

New Mobo powered up with CPU FAN spinning

I reinstalled the HTPC back into the cabinet, and at 2 AM called it a day, feeding Tails who had been at my side for the majority of the time I was working, and then heading off to bed.

Saturday I reactivated windows which worked on-line without the dreaded phone call to Microsoft since I had only changed one component, and I loaded the missing drivers via downloads from ASUS. It was nice to be able to play games and have the system back!

Tails staring at me around 1:30 AM; nice!

I also noted via monitoring of the systems internals, that with the better cable placement I was able to do thanks to the case mod that the system is running cooler and quieter. I surmise the motherboard might have started degrading over the long hot summer. I feel confident now that even when warm weather returns that the system will run cooler! I'm also thinking that the hard drive that I replaced in October could have failed because of the degraded motherboard.

Picture Of The Day 11/13/10

2010-11-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

From the local Meijer earlier this week. Halloween barely over and the
freaking Christmas decorations are out already.

Picture Of The Day 11/07/10

2010-11-07T11:27:00.001-05:00

Five years of my kids done with my first attempt using a scrapbook application on my iPad. 1999 is a shot I used for making a Father's Day card for my dad. 2000 was a halloween hayride while picking up a pumpkin our first fall in Michigan. 2001 is Chris opening birthday presents while 2002 is Chris before we went flying with his Uncle Kevin on a trip back to New Jersey. You should see the after shot! 2003 is Scott eating ice cream downtown in Grand Rapids during festival, and 2004 is danielle on our last vacation as a family up in Canada. She drew mommy and daddy on her placemat.

Picture Of The Day 11/04/10

2010-11-04T21:53:00.000-04:00

Picture I took with my iPhone. But, what is it?

Picture Of The Day 10/28/10

2010-10-28T08:38:00.000-04:00

More strange goings-on in the work parking lot!

Picture Of The Day 10/27/10

2010-10-27T07:21:00.000-04:00

Could a Dad be any more bursting with pride? My son Scott, the
artist, had one of his designs be accepted by Ript Apparel. So, get
over there NOW and order one. Make that two!!!

http://riptapparel.com

Picture Of The Day 10/11/10

2010-10-11T21:45:00.000-04:00

Strange going's on at the workplace!

Picture Of The Day 09/17/10

2010-09-17T13:17:00.000-04:00

A colorful sunrise here in West Michigan

911 - Let Us Never Forget

2010-09-11T10:31:00.003-04:00

In the weeks after the tragedy of 911 I created a 911 Memorial Screen Saver. It should run on any version of Windows from 2000 through W7. As it did then, my heart goes out to those brave and heroic souls who gave their lives, and their families!

Let us never forget!

Download 911 Memorial Screen Saver

Visit the 911 Digital Archive

Picture Of The Day 09/10/10

2010-09-11T00:14:00.001-04:00

Me and my Mustang

Reflections on Turning 54

2010-09-08T08:24:00.003-04:00

So, yesterday was my birthday and I turned 54. Yesterday morning I did not really think this was noteworthy to post about. Those who I matter to sent me birthday greetings, etc. and to those I send my sincere thanks! But it turned out there was something that did make the day memorable for me after all and worthy of posting about!

I took the day off from work and was having a quiet but enjoyable day playing video games, watching TV, etc. I took a trip out to Costco with my oldest boy Chris who had lost his job, and I bought him a few weeks staple food to get him through the end of the month when his term is over and he comes home from college. I thought it ironic that I be buying for others on my birthday in fact! Chris came back to my house with me and played some video games and we were soon joined by Mike, a friend of the family.

We had plans to get out to dinner together that evening with my ex-wife, but all in all I figured it would be a quiet, uneventful birthday with nothing to distinguish it from any others I have had in the past. How wrong I was!

My 15 year old daughter Danielle came home from school around four in terrible shape! She had a fever of 103 degrees, a bad pain in her left side, and was throwing up, plus she was so upset that she felt she would be spoiling my birthday! She was in tears! It turns out she felt sick that morning and went off to school without waking me up or saying anything for the same reason! While a small part of me was annoyed that she did not say anything, and thus put herself through such an ordeal going to school, the rest of me was touched that she would do such a thing for me. Of course I would have preferred she stayed home from school yesterday so we could have gotten in touch with the doctor sooner and saved her such an ordeal, but this was certainly an expression of love for her father that made me feel very loved.

Another thing that impressed me was out of all three of my kids, she was the only one who gave me a card, and one she drew herself in fact while feeling so sick. I will treasure that card!

So, in more ways than one she really made this a birthday I will not soon forget! Hopefully she'll be fully recovered for her 16th birthday next week!

My ex also added to this day by running out and bringing in dinner for us all,, which I thought was very sweet of her though I felt bad that Danielle could not eat, as the doctor has her on fluids only until they determine what is causing her fever and pain. Plus, she had no desire for food the way she was feeling.

Picture Of The Day 08/27/10

2010-08-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

Sunrise this morning

Picture Of The Day 08/25/10

2010-08-25T16:54:00.000-04:00

Fog glimpsed through the trees across the street at work this morning.

Picture Of The Day 08/17/10

2010-08-17T23:37:00.000-04:00

Sunrise by the office this morning.

Tails Tales - Up to 30 strips

2010-08-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

Hey, Tails Tales is up to 30 strips now, so give a look, and share the link with others.

Picture Of The Day 08/14/10

2010-08-14T15:16:00.003-04:00

One of the few, the proud, the chosen who has joined the ranks of the privileged cadre that have driven my Mustang! As she got her permit yesterday I took her out this afternoon for her first behind the wheel driving session outside of her driving class.

Not only do her and the Mustang look awesome together, they were awesome on the road.

Picture Of The Day 08/11/10

2010-08-11T23:11:00.000-04:00

A lovely sunrise this morning.

Picture Of The Day 08/10/10

2010-08-10T08:35:00.000-04:00

A very foggy ride into work this morning!

Picture Of The Day 08/08/10

2010-08-08T13:36:00.002-04:00

Missing my dad today! The picture below was taken the last time I saw him back in New Jersey back in 2007. He passed away a few weeks before we were going to see him in 2008. Hard to believe last month marked the two year mark since he he boarded that last train west...

A word of advice for those of you with you parents still out there, if there's anything you wanted to ask them or tell them, do it NOW before it's too late. Two of the biggest regrets in my life was that there were so many things I wanted to talk to my folks about and say to them that I always thought there'd be time for that later. How wrong I was!

There's not always a tomorrow! Tell them now!

Tales Of Tails Comic Strips

2010-08-07T00:45:00.003-04:00

I did not realize how much I was going to enjoy making the photo comic strips featuring my cat Tails as the main character! I had posted the first few here on my regular blog but decided today at lunchtime to create a separate "Tales Of Tails" blog that would be used solely for these strips.

You can find that blog here!

Please let me know what you think of the strips.

Tales Of Tails 08/05/10

2010-08-05T21:34:00.000-04:00

Picture Of The Day 08/05/10

2010-08-05T07:31:00.000-04:00

Sunrise this AM.

Tales Of Tails 08/04/10

2010-08-04T21:32:00.000-04:00

Tails of Tails 08/04/10

2010-08-04T14:12:00.002-04:00

Post No Bills

2010-08-04T14:02:00.004-04:00

This is for all you advertisers of fitness centers, offshore casino's, health tonics, vitamins, improve your systems, and every other advertisement you try to sneak past my MODERATED comments.

Don't waste your time or mine, or at least try to be creative, like the only advertiser who phrased his advertisement in such a manner I felt I had to post it unedited. Now, if you can post your add like that, I'll let it go through.

In fact, in the spirit of fair play, I may let any advertisement reply posted to THIS post go through!

Have at me!

Tails of Tails 08/03/10

2010-08-03T13:01:00.001-04:00

Created this strip completely on my iPad in about 5 minutes.

Picture Of The Day 08/01/10

2010-08-01T08:27:00.000-04:00

Death Spank in the early morning sun! That's the way to start your day!!

Picture Of The Day 07/29/10

2010-07-30T07:20:00.001-04:00

A glorious sunrise on a wonderful Friday morning.

Picture Of The Day 07/27/10

2010-07-27T18:23:00.000-04:00

Shadows on the wall of my living room.

Picture Of The Day 07/26/18

2010-07-27T09:45:00.001-04:00

Tails languishing on my bedroom dresser enjoying her view of the outside world.

Picture Of The Day 07/26/10

2010-07-26T17:53:00.001-04:00

Escaping The Sunset

Picture Of The Day 07/23/10

2010-07-24T20:56:00.000-04:00

My girls

Picture Of The Day

2010-07-19T07:17:00.000-04:00

Gorgeous sunrise this morning!

Picture Of The Day 07/18/10

2010-07-18T21:18:00.001-04:00

A picture of Tails relaxing.

Picture Of The Day 07/16/10

2010-07-16T08:22:00.000-04:00

Here comes the sun!

Picture Of The Day 07/15/10

2010-07-15T20:17:00.000-04:00

Tails and my daughter Danielle

Picture Of The Day 07/14/10

2010-07-14T20:10:00.000-04:00

Picture Of The Day 07/09/10

2010-07-09T17:26:00.000-04:00

Beware! Evil kitty IS watching you intently!!

Picture Of The Day 07/08/2010

2010-07-08T07:30:00.001-04:00

A lovely sunrise this most humid morning!

Farewell To My Son Scott

2010-07-07T00:20:00.004-04:00

Scott 11 years ago

Other than pictures, I've not posted on my blog in quite some time as I really haven't had anything much to say. These past couple of months I've been thinking a lot about my son Scott heading off to college. Midnight approaches and there's no way I'll be able to get to sleep as my mind is racing a mile a minute because my son Scott heads off to college tomorrow. So, I figured I'd write a little about it.

This evening his mom, his brother and sister, and I took him to the Golden Corral for a farewell dinner. We've never been there and we were all surprised how good the food was; much better than Fire Mountain up the street. We had a very nice time together and then they dropped me off here and headed over to his moms house. I wish I could have spent a little more time with him but he had friends coming over to his mom's.

It's been a busy few weeks getting everything ready for him to go but he's all packed up and will be departing tomorrow morning around nine o'clock. I procured several weeks of staple foods and bought him some new clothes, plus I gave him and his brother Chris, who is returning for his senior year, some extra money for expenses.

This will be the start of a new chapter in Scott's life and I wish him all the best. I'm very proud of him for being accepted to the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago. I'll miss him more than I can possibly relate using mere words on a page.

I remember many years ago coming across my mother one evening sitting in her chair by the window crying silently. I sat down by her and asked her what was the matter. She mentioned she was missing my brother Rick who moved out of the house several weeks earlier quite a bit and it was making her very sad. Being in my teens and thinking I knew everything I mentioned I could not understand why that would make her so sad. With tears running down her cheeks she gave me a big hug and said you'll never be able to understand it unless you have children of your own one day; when they leave home for the first time you'll know exactly what I'm feeling.

I patted her hand, gave her another hug, and went off to watch TV. How many years later do I again recall this conversation with her as I did when my son Chris went off to college. And once again I am reminded of the words she spoke, and how true they were.

In closing, To my son Scott, know that your dad loves you with all his heart, cherishes the times he had with you, and wishes all the best for you. Your mom and I and will always be here if you need us. Part of me wishes you and your siblings could always stay with us, yet it's your time to go out into the world. I know this can be scary, but I have no doubts whatsoever that you'll do well! Fare thee well, my son!

Picture Og The Day 07/05/10

2010-07-05T15:31:00.001-04:00

Scott and I at his graduation May 17th.

Picture Of The Day 07/03/10

2010-07-03T15:14:00.002-04:00

Scott making his sister Danielle laugh at lunch yesterday.

Picture Of The Day 07/01/10

2010-07-01T20:13:00.001-04:00

I call this shot "Sunset at Sixty"

Picture Of The Day 07/01/10

2010-07-01T19:54:00.001-04:00

My son Scott shows his superior dexterity by eating a breadstick with one hand while texting with the other!

Picture Of The Day 06/29/10

2010-06-29T20:15:00.002-04:00

A gorgeous sunrise on the way to work.

Picture Of The Day 06/28/10

2010-06-28T21:32:00.001-04:00

A picture of Scott from 2000.

Picture Of The Day 06/27/10

2010-06-27T15:32:00.002-04:00

Scott & Danielle, September 1999. This was at Danielle's and my combined birthday party. She would have just turned 5, and Scott would have been seven. And me you ask? Well, I would have been

E** A)):@

[No carrier]

Picture Of The Day 06/26/10

2010-06-26T15:16:00.001-04:00

Scott and one of his projects back in 1999.

Picture Of The Day 06/26/10

2010-06-26T00:07:00.001-04:00

Scott, age 7, Christmas 1999

My son Scott will be leaving home on July 7th to go off to college. Each day I will try and post one of him until he leaves.

Picture Of The Day 06/24/10

2010-06-24T14:49:00.001-04:00

Picture of my Mustang outside my house taken with my new iPhone 4.

Picture Of The Day 06/22/10

2010-06-22T13:26:00.001-04:00

The weather early this morning, right down the road from where I work, and about 2 miles from my house! Guess the kids will start taking the tornado warnings more seriously!

Picture Of The Day 06/08/10

2010-06-08T07:04:00.001-04:00

Sunrise this AM on the way to the office

Picture Of The Day 06/06/10

2010-06-06T17:51:00.002-04:00

My son Chris, age 11, in 2000

Picture Of The Day 06/06/10

2010-06-06T10:39:00.003-04:00

Christmas 2000 - Danielle, Age 5, Scott Age 8, and Chris Age 11.
This was the last Christmas in New Jersey before moving to Michigan.

Picture Of The Day 05/27/10

2010-05-27T21:55:00.002-04:00

Do do do lookin' out my back door......

Picture Of The Day 05/26/10

2010-05-26T23:07:00.001-04:00

A picture I took of the clientele at a local place here in Grand Rapids

Picture Of The Day 05/21/10

2010-05-21T19:40:00.002-04:00

My brother Rick who was visiting from New Jersey, and Scott at Max &
Irma's on Wednesday.

Picture Of The Day 05/18/10

2010-05-18T07:50:00.001-04:00

Scott and a very disheveled looking Danielle early one morning in 2000. Danielle would have been 5 and Scott 8. This is one of those rare shots where Danielle was not earing her glasses.

Picture Of The Day 05/05/10

2010-05-05T15:37:00.002-04:00

Sunrise Part II

Picture Of The Day 05/05/10

2010-05-05T15:34:00.002-04:00

Sunrise!

Picture Of The Day 04/27/10

2010-04-27T23:15:00.002-04:00

From holidays past in 2001. Just a cool looking picture I thought when I found it this evening.

Picture Of The Day 04/25/10

2010-04-25T00:16:00.001-04:00

My son Scott looking quite resplendent in one of the many outfits he wore in his high school musical "Zombie Prom". He was most impressive playing the part of Eddie the reporter. I was really impressed by his performance!

Picture Of The Day 04/23/10

2010-04-23T19:26:00.002-04:00

Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads!

Picture Of The Day 04/23/10

2010-04-23T16:57:00.003-04:00

Captain! There be Tails here!

Picture Of The Day 04/21/10

2010-04-21T21:27:00.002-04:00

Sunrise this morning

On the way home from Ada this evening

Picture Of The Day 04/16/10

2010-04-16T19:44:00.002-04:00

Sunset Approaches!

Picture Of The Day 04/16/10

2010-04-16T16:22:00.002-04:00

While this looks retouched it is not! But Tails sure looks like has elongated front paws here! Reminds of the the first Nightmare on Elm Street movie where Freddy's arms were doing that!

Picture Of The Day 04/13/10

2010-04-13T22:48:00.002-04:00

An early evening shot looking west by my house.

Picture Of The Day 04/10/10

2010-04-10T23:13:00.002-04:00

A beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds.

Picture Of The Day 03/07/10

2010-04-07T17:29:00.001-04:00

Tails and I were feeling a little warped today.