New Home
Originally uploaded by Childe

Nikki tries to take a nap in our new living room. Aidan misses the
point and mistakes her for playground equipment.

Home Base Update:

Apartment is entirely cleaned out. Nothing left. Only casualty so far – my right ankle. Twisted it coming down the stairs, holding the most awkward poster frames ever. I’m so done buying the cheap ones. It hasn’t swelled, but it’s a few hours later, and it feels warmer than it should. So I’m doing my best to keep it as elevated as possible. It’s on the same leg that’s having the arthritis flare-up in the knee, so I’m sure my left leg will hate me soon enough for favoring it.

Anyway, keys are turned in, forwarding address has been left, and they better not try to charge me for stuff (like holes in the carpet they didn’t replace before I got there) that was present upon move-in. They’ve been pretty upstanding so far, so I don’t think they’ll try anything wonky.

So, except for a load of stuff in the car – the Sunfire is FULL – everything has been moved into the new house. has a talent for turning a living space into a home, and I’m lucky and thankful that she’s so passionate about making our house a home.

Backpack lust: http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/notebook_products/cases/devices/3133&cl=us,en#

Proto-Baby Update:

Yesterday was ‘s first OB/GYN appointment. Our first appointment? Is it okay for me to make this about us? Am I appropriating something that’s not mine?

Everything seems to be in good order. We’ve got an early March due date at this point. They tried to find the heartbeat without success, so we’re having an early ultrasound on Tuesday. I’m wondering if they’re going to use the traditional kind, or one of the 3-D imagers. Also, I really dig the nurse/midwife (certified in both!). She told to relax. Hee! So, of course, I’m all giddy about Tuesday. I wonder if ultrasound pics will scan…

What was I doing up at 7:30 AM?

Poopy diaper. Off of the baby. Holy gods what a smell.

“Hi! Hi! I poopy! Hi! Poopy poopy poop poop poopy! I ucky! Hi! Mommy! Skippy! Hi! I poopy!”

He wasn’t kidding.

All of the parents on my list, feel free to either a) point and laugh and/or b) express sympathy. ;)

So, I contacted my apartment complex about when my lease was up, and they gave me the solid date of November 10th. That was cool and all, gave us a while to shop around and look, and take our time. And then I get this email saying that they’ve got a deluge of apartment requests from new Cooley students. So, I can get out of my lease by August 15th. *blink* So, after a bit of searching and links from , we seem to have found a house. We negotiated the rent down, and they’ll be putting in all new windows, and removing anything that might be lead-based, through a program with the State. The kids will be able to have their own rooms, -and- there will be room for an office. After working out our budget, it’s definitely doable.

If you like guitar geekery, I highly recommend reading . Not only does he knowledgeably review guitars, rant about metal (all forms from heavy to death ;) ), but he paints miniatures like nobody’s business. Definitely worth the read.

From :

Jury Duty Scam

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below). Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.

The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out here: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm

And here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
RCM is currently recruiting for a Dell warranty field technician in your area.

This is an open-ended contract opportunity to work as a consultant to repair desktops, laptops, and printers. The Candidate will perform desktop computer “Break/Fix” support and Simple to Complex Installation, Add, or Change requirements of peripherals & Device Drivers. This is a great opportunity for the right individual.

The troubleshooting has already occurred through the Dell help desk support line. That support line has determined the problem is hardware related and ordered the components for replacement.

Your job will be to pick up the hardware and take it to the client site (home, home-based business or small business), swap the part(s) out and return the warranty part(s) to Dell.

This contract pays $27.00 per ticket within 50 miles and $35.00 per ticket from 51-75 miles, and you will be assigned an average of 4-8 tickets a day. The mileage is included in the price per ticket.

Position Overview:

Duties and Responsibilities:
· Provides quality customer service and support for designated equipment.
· Escalates problems to appropriate next level of support when necessary.
· Monitors assigned service calls to ensure timely completion.
· Ensures all time reporting, expense reporting, and other required reports are accurate and submitted on time.
· Completes all administrative duties correctly and promptly
· Meets or exceeds various service levels as established by assignment (calls per day, ETA’s, on-time response, administrative call closure, customer satisfaction.)
· Responsible for ensuring on-going maintenance and development of positive customer relationships with all business partners and customers.
· Ensures that quality and service level goals are achieved in a timely manner.

Requirements:
· At least 2/3 years hands on experience working on hardware repairs and/or upgrades on pc’s, laptops and printers.
· A+ certification, Associate’s Degree in Electronics, formal PC hardware service courses, or similar military related training can replace a year of hands on experience.
· Must be comfortable swapping out motherboards (Desktop experience necessary, laptop experience desired)
· Must have experience diagnosing/troubleshooting hardware issues on pc, laptops, and printers.
· Proficiency in desktop support of Clients’ individual PCs. Minimum operating system knowledge includes: Microsoft Windows 9x, 2000 and XP
· Basic understanding of TCP/IP networking, hubs and switches
· Support of computer networks, as directed by a Level II or III Engineer/Technician
· A+ certification is preferred
· Dell Certification is a plus ( If you do not have one we will pay for you to get dell certified)
· Must enjoy driving, you will be driving from location to location
· Must have your own tools for repairing computers that include anti-static protection and DC volt-meter
· Must have your own reliable transportation and valid driver’s license
· Ability to locate addresses in your immediate area
· Must dress business casual for the position. No jeans or tennis shoes.
· Must be well organized

If you are qualified, available, interested, planning to make a change please forward a recent copy of your resume to:dallas.temp@rcmt.com, even if we have spoken recently about a different position. If you do respond via e-mail please include your resume and a daytime phone number so I can reach you. In considering candidates, time is of the essence, so please respond ASAP.

Thank you,
RCM Technologies

Also from :

Navy Petty Officer Mike Monsoor

PO2 (EOD2) Mike Monsoor, a Navy EOD Technician, was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for jumping on a grenade in Iraq , giving his life to save his fellow SEALs.

During Mike Monsoor’s funeral in San Diego , as his coffin was being moved from the hearse to the grave site at Ft. Rose crans National Cemetery , SEALs were lined up on both sides of the pallbearers route forming a column of twos, with the coffin moving up the center. As Mike’s coffin passed, each SEAL, having removed his gold Trident from his uniform, slapped it down embedding the Trident in the wooden coffin.

The slaps were audible from across the cemetery; by the time the coffin arrived grave side, it looked as though it had a gold inlay from all the Tridents pinned to it. This was a fitting send-off for a warrior hero.

This should be front-page news instead of the crap we see every day.

Since the media won’t make this news, I choose to make it news by forwarding it onto you guys. I am proud of our military and the men and women who serve in it. They represent the highest and finest values of this country.

As most of you know, I’ve been dating for quite a while now. Just over eight months, to be precise. We’ve had our ups and downs, and we’ve helped each other progress through a lot of our emotional baggage, and I’ve explored this whole new dimension of emotion – the Fatherhood Zone. Her two kids, Hunter and Aidan, are pretty much awesomesauce, except, of course, when they’re not. Heh.

Okay, yes, I lifted that word from Wil Wheaton. *sigh*

I am in love with this woman, and I love her kids. They have made me a part of their family, fully and truly. Hell, I’m carrying around pictures of children in my wallet. Something changed for me on Father’s Day. Rather, something changed -in- me. Something clicked. And I’m glad that it did.

What the crap am I rambling about? Okay, fine, I’ll try to be succinct. (FAIL!)

If we can find a place in time, she and I and her children will be moving in together next month. My apartment complex apparently has a deluge of requests for apartments, and they’re practically booting me out the door. If not, it’ll be early November.

Secondly, and more importantly, when it comes to the 24/7 glowing and smiling that I’ve been doing, I’m going to be a father. She is in the family way, as they used to say (probably in the times of the Scarlet Letter, but I always liked that phrase). As far as we can tell, in about eight months from now, I’ll be distributing George Burns sticks of doom to many people. :)!

‘s son, Hunter, won’t be spending Father’s Day with his Dad, because of where he’s stationed.

He wants to spend it with me.

I can’t express how honored and amazing this makes me feel. My eyes threaten to leak every time I think about it.