Summer of Dan

Goodbye 2007

Peace out 2007!!!!!

Here comes 2008!!!

Holy crap I feel old...

Here is to an even better year, and some resolutions we actually follow through on!

Wow. So much going on

Wow. So much going on and not enough time to write! I will catch up on stuff thats happened sometime this weekend. Big updates!

Vote in 2008

I can't wait to vote. I voted against Bush twice, I think America messed up not once but twice, and I cannot wait to vote.

I'm not a Democrat, I'm not a Republican. I am an Independent and proudly vote for who I think is the best person for the job, as far as values and character wise, but also who I think is the whole package: honest, caring, committed to the country and not "their legacy" and someone that is going to make a difference for the better.

Because of that, I'm voting for Barack Obama. He just seems like everything I want in a President. I am not here to convince anyone to vote for him. Just do your homework on who you vote for: watch some of the debates on YouTube, check out their websites to see where they stand on certain things, and just ask yourself if you trust the person and not just their words.

I want someone that can answer questions when they aren't expecting them, and not canned answers that ten advisers wrote and rewrote. I want someone that knows the answers in their heart and not someone that tries to BS their way through it all. I always felt that way with Bush. ALWAYS. And I was right. I didn't feel that way for McCain and I voted for him to take Bush out, but it didn't happen.

And I don't feel that way with Obama.

I was on his New Hampshire site and saw that a paper in NH endorsed him. A little paragraph summed him up much better than I probably ever could:

...Obama's personality comes across as calm, intellectual and diplomatic, yet firm, decisive and valued. These are all important qualities for our next president. The Illinois senator, at times, seems to project the image of an outsider seeking to reform foreign policy, health care and the economy.

Obama comes across as a man willing to listen to the ideas of others, but unwilling to compromise America's values to appease enemy leaders or achieve a false peace....

Although it is an overused phrase, America has reached a critical point. Threats from within, as well as without, threaten our values; and it will take an educated, steadfast and reasonable personality to overcome these obstacles. Barack Obama should be the Democratic nomination for president.

http://nh.barackobama.com/page/content/nhhome

He seems like an honest guy to me, someone who I would not have a problem with leading this country. I'll vote for him, and you can vote for who you think will do the best job. Just do yourself and the country a favor and do your homework.

Moving on out?

Contingent upon getting the new job (which I technically have already gotten, I just haven’t accepted the current offer just yet), the Niff and I will most likely continue our gypsy-esque ways and move out…again.

We don’t like staying in one place for long it seems. Maybe that’s just the way we are, I don’t know really.

In any case, we’re looking at moving to Manchester or Concord again, as it’s close to where we both work. The commute in the winter sucks, and even in the summer it sucks. Add up the mileage, the gas, and the tolls, and it makes sense to journey back north.

I see the good of this easily, and can’t see any bad at this moment. We’re looking to move in the summer, preferably when its nice out and not showering icicles down upon us or when it’s 200% humidity.

We’ll see, nothing is set in stone, and the place we’re looking at right now might not be around for us to move into in 6 months, so other plans may need to be made. We’ll take it as it comes.

New Times

It's tough thinking about taking a new job. I've been where I am now for the last 6 years. I'm set in my ways, I've gotten into a 6 year groove, and its like turning my world upside down.

But that can be a good thing…right?

The fact of the matter is, I'm not happy where I am. I'm not happy with what I am doing, who I am doing it under, having a million bosses, using old technology, never getting training, being expected to come in on the weekend but not get paid for it, and never catching a break with some people that although they don't matter in the big scheme of things they really do matter.

It's tough. I love my supervisor, I love working with Kraig, I love working with Steve, and the handful of people I trust and respect and call friends there will be missed but not forgotten. Sounds so sad, so final, but it's true.

I'm excited about the opportunity and being able to finally do again what I loved doing before. I love being trusted. I love the fresh start. I love having a place where I can grow.

But I'm still scared.

I guess if I wasn't, something would be wrong with me.

He Is Legend

Friday a small army commanded by yours truly will descend upon The Backroom for some dinner, followed by enjoying a new cinematic adventure in I Am Legend at the Hooksett IMAX. Should be a great time.

Hopefully we can get everyone to the restaurant on time so we can get in there as the blue hairs are mass exiting. Great food, huge menu, wildly popular restaurant known for their famous chicken fingers and duck sauce.

The movie should be even better than dinner. I love doomsday movie types, and this is the ultimate. I just hope his dog doesn't die. I can't handle it when the dogs die in movies. Sucks ass. Just about any time they show an animal in a movie, something bad will happen to it. ALMOST guaranteed.

Examples: Signs, Old Yeller, Secret Window, Pet Semetary, and actually just about any Stephen King book-turned-movie.

Most of the time I think people care more about the animals in movies than the main characters themselves, because there is almost no character development needed for us to love and admire the little guy.

Like I said, I’ll be pissed if he dies. He better not.

It's already getting awesome reviews, which is no surprise. Can't wait.

Drink motor oil!!!

Question asked in an interview to Dane Cook:

Q: Do you drink or do drugs?

A: No. I've never even tried them. Not a sip of alcohol in my life. Why? I just know it's not my thing. The same way you wouldn't want to drink motor oil is how I feel about drugs and alcohol. Zero desire to put that stuff in my body. But at the peak of my success when everything is perfect in the world I've been thinking of celebrating with a blast of heroin. Just one time though. I know I can stop.

Wow, it seems me and the BK Lounge King have more in common than the first 3 letters of our name ;)

Its too bright. I hate

Its too bright. I hate fluro lights. One of the places I work decided to install some over my desk where I used to have none. Ugh.

When 0 equals 2

I've had Comcast for a few years now. When I returned my last DVR, I forgot to return the remote and when it came time to unpack everything I found that I had an old one. When I got the new DVR, the remote was awesome...except if you tried to use the number zero. For some odd reason, zero was mapped to be the same as the 2 button. The 2 was still the 2, but the 0 was also the 2.

Trust me, I know.

So I shelved the clicker (thats what I call the remote) for over a year, opting to use the older one, but lately the older one sucks ass. Randomly it will highlight the CABLE or TV or AUX buttons and freeze, even if you are mid-channel change. It has gotten to the point where it would do that maybe a few times a day, and then graduated to the point where it does it every few times, and now every single time.

Annoying.As.Hell.

If I spent about 20 seconds on Google back then I wouldn't have had all this frustration. I found an article that basically tells me how to reset in back to factory settings in all of 10 seconds or less. I figured I would repost it to maybe help anyone that has this issue in the future:

From http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use … the_Remote

Restore a Remapped Key

The following technique can be used to restore the original function to a key that has been remapped. You are essentially mapping the key onto itself.

   1. Press the device key ("Cable", "TV", or "AUX") for the device you want.
   2. Press and hold the "Setup" key until the selected device button blinks twice.
   3. Type in the code 994. The selected device key will blink twice.
   4. Press the key you are restoring twice. The device key will blink twice if successful.

Holy sushi!

Food excites me. A lot. Knowing this little piece of information is to know me almost completely. That said, a lot of food excites me even more.

The Niff and I were watching the Phantom Gourmet the other day and I don't think I've even seen her that excited for a review. They were showcasing a giant Sushi/Chinese/Japanese buffet down in Mass. called Minado. Apparently they have a few of them around, including Manhattan. When you see pictures of it, you cease to wonder why anyone would be so damn excited:

 

 

Just look at that. Yes, it is that big. Yes, it has that many choices. Yes, it is glorious.

And yes, we shall go there. Oh yes, we shall. So far we're pseudo-planning a group venture of our friends to head down to Mass to take part in this wonderfulness. I don't know if I can wait until the end of January for her birthday…