The Blogging community at large, is a vast world of diversity. When I started with LiveJournal and then Xanga I was amazed at the amount of people that are out there sharing their cyberego. I didn't think that "off and on" I would continue to write and maintain the log - but here we are. Well, its been about two years, although it seems that it has really taken on a life of its own with suclla.com.

I have my favorite sites and while I don't share these links I'm beginning to think that there might be room for links to some very talented and quirky writers here. For now I will be taking a break because I finally am happy with the way things are coded. With the exception of migrating all my HTML and trying to make it XHTML compliant, things will be on a "code freeze". Version 3.4 will stand for now. One final note, I will make mention of a new member of this community - my friend Joey Stanford. I look forward to future content and his witty writing style, you can peek here.

The last component has been added to my site and I would like to mention eNetation for helping to deliver it - commenting. Yes sir, ladies and gentlemen, this is now a two-way street. If you have a comment - post it. Barring any malicious content I won't censor anything, after all this site is not intended for young children anyway. Parents take note. Hasta Luego...

Its late and I'm moonlighting with OS X. I'm getting more comfortable with it but I still prefer OS 9. Maybe its the daunting prospect of having to learn about Unix or maybe its just that all my apps are on OS 9. I'm sure in a year it will be a moot point, especially considering Steve Jobs' outlook of OS 9's demise. For now, I'm classic like my soft drink. We'll just have to see if my part time mistress will woo me away from stock pile of software and increased productivity - its been known to happen.

On a personal note, I finished Halo. I guess now I can move on to another game while keeping it in the back burner for my multiplayer skills. I'm still looking forward to other versions (Hint, Hint Bungie), just so I can play with my input sources of choice (keys and mouse).

Training was fun tonight and again I learned something new. I'm really enjoying class now that my friends are sharing it with me. I look on in amazement at the quick progress that my friends Josh and Susie are making, but I know they have a great teacher. In the end I shouldn't expect any less from them.

I recently bought some bargain books at Barnes and Noble. A book on practical Zen (is there such a thing?), a book that deals with modern magic and the last book deals with the Kabbalah. Should be interesting, I'm starting with the smaller book and working my way to the bigger ones. Time will tell which book I enjoy more.

Random Link . The Dog Park

Staying afloat, at least that's what it feels like. Work is a bit rough this week, mostly because there is a lot of work to be done. I think we're doing pretty well considering we're short handed. Of course, this means that I'm now in the spotlight more often than not. When it comes to work I always prefer the backstage area better. There's safety in anonymity.

On a personal note, my friend Lesley is now officially - one year older (you didn't think I would tell you how old, did you?). I mean, I don't mind, but that's a funny place for women. Anyway, we had dinner out and Karen and I had a lot of fun. Plus, the added ego boost of being the only male at a table of 7 women didn't hurt either...

The food was good so I'll have to add it to my EatingBuddies voting list. Karen liked it but her favorite place is still Memphis, I would have to agree. Nevertheless it was a good time and if I'd had my digital camera with me you'd see for yourself (that purchase is still on hold but its due to research).

On the movie front, I can recommend "The Bourne Identity". With the exception of one scene it is probably the most believable spy movie I've seen in a long while. The action sequences were believable and the martial arts scenes were choreographed very well. This is a DVD I'm looking foward to buying.

Last but not least I got "The Peaceful Tour Live" CD in the mail yesterday. Considering there's only 1000 of these CDs, I'm pretty happy that I managed to get number 837.

The weekend was nice and relaxing. Although local (due to being on-call), we made the best of it by staying home, watching movies and playing Halo. Yes, it seems that I have passed on my disease to my wife and now Karen wanders the electronic realm at my side. It is yet another reminder of why I love her.

Karen and I watched "Monster's Ball" (didn't quite get it) and "I am Sam" (mostly, because my niece and nephew were in the film). Neither movie satisfied me but seeing as how I was only renting, it wound up breaking even in the end. I think the biggest distractions were the story (Ball) and I just couldn't suspend belief as much as they asked (Sam). In either case the movies were "better than nothing" but I'm looking forward to "Time Machine" more.

Kelvin came by to visit on Sunday - an unexpected pleasure. We had a chance to catch up on current events and try and locate a Z3 for him via the web. As his car is now older than the last two presidencies, we both agree it is a good time to get something newer and classier. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have a certain amount of sex appeal for the ladies... While Kelvin was over on Sunday we watched "The Majestic" and I liked it more than Kelvin and Karen did. It was an outrageous plot but Hollywood seems to have more and more of those films nowadays - the last one that comes to mind was "Return to me". I had to try and stay away during the flick because my two cohorts felt that I needed a handicap while we played deathmatch earlier in the afternoon. Kelvin and Karen teamed up against me and when that didn't work they resorted to Margaritas. BTW - our new blender is the "bomb". Half computer, half blender, it is the best of both worlds... Needless to say I was sleepy and I couldn't hit anything worth a damn with the sniper rifle. I still managed to win but it took longer than ususal.

So... here we are about to dive into Tuesday. Staff meeting looms in the distance and a birthday dinner for a very good friend of ours after work, we'll see how things turn out. Dinner is being served at "Havana's" (a Cuban restaurant - sans the cigars) and I'm looking forward to a good meal and some good laughs. I'll post some thoughts tommorow night when I get back home.

One final note - Josh and I are finally getting serious about our new endeavor - so you read it here first. An idea I had is taking shape and form. Be on the lookout for the "Eating Buddies", you've been forewarned.

Spammers suck, and that's all I have to say about that...

Two hours to go, DBA playing in the background, and to boot - its payday. Life is good. No solid plans but I'm looking forward to some movies (either Minority Report or The Bourne Identiy), some Quake, dinner with friends and some Halo. In any order, give or take. I also need to finish up some touches on a web site for a friend of mine. I'm hoping to get him into e-commerce hell by the middle of next week...

Still no luck finding a photography clinic but I'm sure we'll find something soon. With any luck we'll be the new owners of a digital camera this weekend... the choice is still up between the Nikon 885 and the Sony DSC-S75. Once I get the camera I'm looking forward to taking the class, doing some experimentation and taking some black and white pictures. We'll see how it turns out.

Last but not least - if you know of a good beginning photography course in the Orange County area let me know - I'd appreciate it.

Useless Fact . The average women's handbag weighs 3 to 5 pounds.

Random Link . Lindows

Hello, is this thing on? After spending a lot of time researching Cascading Style Sheets, I decide to take the plunge. Okay, is it just me, or is it not working? I'm finally beginning to see the frustration that designers have with "real" content. Unlike my personal hobby, I'd hate to have to fight these issues under deadline pressure. This whole "standards for the internet" might just be a good thing. Its bad enough that coding the page is a bitch, but getting different results on every single browser? - #*@&! Dreamweaver seems to have coded my site pages with the proper stuff, but I'll be damned if these things work... Sigh.

If it weren't for the time spent I'd totally give up on the whole thing, but since I'm tenacious in this types of situations I guess I'll muddle through till it works.

Just having a moment, excuse the mess...

I've been in contact with the creator of iBlog. After recovering from a data failure he has blessed us all with a new version of iBlog. Now, don't get me wrong. I like wBloggar a lot but I also spend a lot of time on my Macintosh while at home. This just makes things easier on my preferred platform. Mad Props Andre...

iPod, schmiPod. I just found the portable MP3 player for me - Gigabeat. To bad the spec sheet is in Japanese... For those of us that crave English, you can read about it here.

Random Link . Pugs 'N Pals

Its been a long day and I can already tell that the next two weeks will bring more of the same. I'm in bed now trying to unwind, as usual I am online... sigh. I'm beginning to think the rumors of a nerdy obsession might just be true. In spite of that I'm on my trusty Tecra 8200 surfing the web and obviously, posting this entry.

Work is going to be a little more unbearable than usual. One of our triumvurate will be on vacation for the next two weeks. That means that Mish and I will have to hold down the fort while Dave is gone. I can only pray that nothing goes wrong, at least, nothing that we can't handle.

On the home front, I'm in bed being serenaded by Daisy's snoring and the noise from the traffic outside our bedroom window. I'm tired (mostly due to tonight's training) but I can't sleep. So here I am... counting virtual sheep.

In my pursuit of content I have started to post some photography that I've come across on the internet. I'm partial to the medium because I'm a amateur photographer with the aspirations of improving my craft. Karen and I are currrently trying to find a photography course that we can take together and I'm researching digital cameras to try and cut down the cost of developing film plus it will make adding my own photos to this site much easier. Time will tell if our pictures will be on par with the ones that I post. In any case I hope that you all enjoy some of the cyber scenery I'm sharing.

As far as the site goes, I'm just about done with the wedding page. I just need to write some things down about the reception and add the content for the honeymoon. For those of you who have already visited, you're getting a sneak peek as we will be including the URL for the wedding page on our thank-you cards. It will be a way to share some of the memories with those who were there and those that couldn't attend. Also, it will serve as a place for family both on the East Coast and Europe to get a glimpse of the various activities.

I guess that's all for now. I better try and get some sleep or tommorow will live somewhere between failing lucidity and lapses in judgement.

Random Link . Walkabout Travel Gear

This is a tip I got from a friend... EBGames has a good selection of pre-owned X-Box games. I still suggest renting first, but if you're ready to buy, this is a great alternative to paying full price. All game titles and hardware come with a limited warranty and can be returned at your local store.

Do you want the ultimate driving racing controls for your console race sims? Take a look at this and drool...

Playing Halo on the net is the latest trick available for X-Box owners. Here is an article that outlines the whole process and filled in some blanks on something I thought was easier. Easy anyway, because I wasn't hosting the sessions. At the time of this writing I use the GameSpy Tunnel software on my PC and the multiplayer menu for picking the session.

Note: Slower X-Box games (Tony Hawk, Amped, etc.) run faster than Halo and are somewhat easier to setup.

Random Link . Philly's Best

What do I know? Weekend was mellow. Friday night consisted of dinner at a friend's house and some complimentary PC work. I was providing the technical assistance, which wasn't so bad because the pizza was good and the company, even better. I'd stay away from it more often but I can't let friends get ripped off by their friendly neighborhood computer super store. I wouldn't trust some of those "technicians" with my etch-a-sketch.

So Friday blends into Saturday and Karen's off with my new mom and sister (Hmm, I like the new status) to do some "house hunting". With a job that's based here and rumors of Karen and I having children in the near future Lois wants to be closer to both. I almost went with, but I did it the previous weekend and thought I'd skip it. Instead Daisy and I stayed home with Cap'n Crunch and a bevy of movies that don't interest Karen; "The Mothman prophecies" and "Donnie Darko". Once that was done I also drank my fill from the X-Box well.

Saturday night looms in the horizon and after some changes in our calendar we're off for sushi with Dennis and Shari. The London's have got a new dog (Honey) and Daisy wants to be introduced, so we oblige her. We have fun, the dogs have fun, and we get sushi-fied. Oh, it hurts so good...

Sunday - what a drag, up at 6:30 and off to training. I feel uncharacteristically awake and arrive for a great workout. Ahh, the magic of snake style. I join Dennis who has some really good shiners now and get 3 bruises of my own. Of course mine aren't as fascinating as his energy bruise. Sensei wows us with some Chi work and application. Dennis take the hit and we learn a valuable lesson. Never underestimate anyone.

The rest of Father's day is spent with both sets of our parents and family. We enjoy the close of another weekend with family, pick up Karen's car from repair shop (won't bore you with details) and finally... after 4 days of trying, we watch "Black Hawk Down" together.

Whew, ever get the feeling that you need another weekend to recover from the one you just had?

Why is it always a Ninja? Sigh...

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there. I hope you're getting more than just a new tie...

When I look through the listings at eBay, I'm always amazed at people who are willing to pay more money than what they could get the item for, brand new. I think that sometimes these same people just get "wrapped up" in the whole process - Hello, reality check! Just a tip - Find the lowest price you can first, then bail out when it goes over. Of course, that's if your goal is getting the best possible price.

Random Link . Silk

Random Link . Digital Dance (Requires Winamp)

Find Your Spot. According to this test you may be living in the wrong place. Do you want to know where you belong? Follow me.

Still no air, but I have noticed that our executives are nice and cool - bother. Its after lunch now and I'm feeling sleepy... or am I lapsing into a coma? The same thoughts over and over... SomHw mst fnd wa to gtsome oxn.. . ... scrns , ptttty lggg ts ;ljwodfffk jk s 2 ddeepp

Random Link . YesterdayLand

Off to a great start... Alarm doesn't work until ten minutes after I need to be at work. Car needs gas. Preschool decides to cross street in front of me while on field trip. Get caught in front of Metro Rail due to slow driver. Last but not least, when I get to work the A/C isn't working with no ETA for a repair. My current temperature is 92 and rising. I can already tell its going to be a "banner day". Happy-happy, Joy-Joy anyone?

Random Link . Kazaa

I found out two interesting things tonight... our friend Allen Sovory co-wrote "I must go" with Howard Jones (this song is available on Pefawm), and our friends Dan and Kristal know one of the members of Save Ferris. What a small world...

Last night's Howard Jones concert was the best Howard concert that I've been to in a long time. It's also the type of concert that I wanted to hear him put on during the 80s. It was Howard's music interpreted through the talents of Robbie Bronnimann from DBA. Matter of fact, DBA was Howard's accompanying backup band. Great talents in their own right, Robbie and Shaz are very creative and their new CD "Spectrum" is a great buy. Howard went through an old set reaching as far back as "Human's Lib". It was a solid set of his "best of", but he neglected to perform any of his new stuff, which is what I was hoping to hear. Of course, it would probably be wasted on the average american fan because most of Howard's new material doesn't come over from Europe. I was hoping that maybe we'd get a live taste of "Angels and Lovers" or maybe "Collective Heartbeat"... Anyway, we had a lot of fun and since I'm a keyboard buff and gravitate more towards the electronic sound I really enjoyed the concert.

Random Link . Can the net be safe for kids?

Thank God its Friday, its hard to believe that its the end of the week, but I'm noticing that as I get older the time does go by faster... Not much going around here but I do have some work on some project deadlines that I'll have to get to this afternoon. After a week back I'm finally getting back into the ebb and flow of work.

I'm remembering why I don't like off-season television - There's nothing on! Good time for satellite you say? Well, I don't have any more room for another console, I say. Between the 2 DVD players, the MiniDisc Recorder, VCR, Tuner and Digital CD player and X-Box I can't attach another cable to save my life. I guess I'll have to start renting more stuff. Or maybe I could go outside... Hey, what a concept. Well, its just another indicator that I have some free time for "higher pursuits". Maybe some more reading is in order, after all, I have finished my Stephen King book. The only good thing about that is that he clearly states that the next Gunslinger book is done and will be published soon. All I can say is: Finally! He better not get hit by another car before he finishes. He can die after the last book is done...

I'm just a little tired but I'm glad we're headed out tonight. I could use a good drink and a good laugh.

Speaking of funny... This is a clip that my friend Angel passed on. For all of you that enjoy poking fun at Star Wars fans click here and enjoy the show. You'll need Windows Media Player, broadband is preferred and finally, this is definitely PG-13.

Unsatisfied by the latest installment of the Star Wars saga. Most of it due to the ceaseless nay sayers who intend on never liking another George Lucas film again. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a bad movie but after analyzing it last night with Karen, Josh and Susie I agree that George can't afford to neglect his lead's lack of acting talent. As an audience we need a litle more meat on the plate. Of course some might argue that watching Yoda dance around with his midget sabre was worth the $9. I would tell you that if you liked it that much, I'll send you my address and you can forward me the money.

Empowered by the vastness of the internet. It never ceases to amaze me that I still continue to find interesting content (sometimes, even useful) on the web. No matter what I think wouldn't be worth spending time coding for publishing, someone else has already placed it in cyberspace. Trust me, like the stars in the sky, its out there...

Ecstatic over the fact that my car is now running better than she has in months. Other M owners would be upset at some of the shoddy care I've given her over the years but I assure you, its like most things in life, her care has its highs and lows. For as much as I've thought about getting a new car (believe me, I'm really tempted) I always come back to my 2nd love (my first was the Toyota MR-2). Its been a 7 year relationship and despite what my ex-wife said, I have paid her off and I still own and love her.

Random Link . Movie Mistakes

Random Link . DeskMod

Random Link . CHP Traffic Information

Okay - I'm happy now. The new spark plug wire set works like a champ and I'm finally going to block out some time and waste it watching "Attack of the Clones". Inspite of being at work the day just got better.

Its currently 80 degrees outside with a high today, of almost 95... I can tell its going to be a warm summer (to say the least). Does this mean we're going to have snow this year? Who knows, but in spite of the impending summer activities I can't help but look longingly at my snowboard as it hangs in the garage. If you listen closely you can almost hear "the sound of the cricket"...

Tonight I'll be doing some goofing off and trying desperately not to feel guilty. I've still got some web site work to get finished and then I want to spend some serious time with my martial arts training. Yes, ladies and gentlemen - time to pay the fiddler. Tai Kai is looming in the near future and I gotta make some serious strides this year to be presentable.

Random Link . DVD Review

Random Link . BeoPlayer

I'm so tired... Of course I think I do it to myself. Too many late nights and early mornings. I'd try to go to bed early tonight but I still have some things to do. Some of these things include a trip to Westchester to get an Ignition Cable set for the M. This is now the second set that I've replaced over the past year. Apparently, the company that I got it from doesn't have any type of Q&A. With some blind luck I've managed to locate a set from Gustave Stroes (He runs e30m3performance.com). I'm looking forward to getting it because it will mean that I'll have my car back. Not that I mind borrowing my parent's ES300 but the car is too mushy for my tastes.

In any case the week is passing me by without much fanfare. At some point I hope to be able to get to the theater to watch "Attack of the Clones" but we'll have to see. This time around I'm not in such a hurry. I'm actually looking forward more to seeing Howard Jones at the House of Blues on Sunday. Yes, I'm still fawning over the music of the '80s. So sue me.

I'm still munching through the pictures and video and now I'm going to start scanning our proofs so I can archive them on DVD. We'll see if its as easy as Apple would lead you to believe...

Well, all good things must come to an end. Our Wedding, the Honeymoon, The X-Files... sigh. I'm back at work today trying to catch up on two weeks worth of e-mail and voice messages, I'll probably have them handled by noon.

On the Honeymoon front, the first week of our two week adventure was an Alaskan cruise aboard the MS Veendam. Karen and I have had a wonderful week aboard ship and have managed to kill 16 rolls of film and 3 MiniDV tapes. Our trip has took us along the coast of Alaska (Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka and finally Seward), with highlights that included Glacier Bay, Prince William Sound, Mendenhall Glacier and various other excursions. We saw bears, whales, sea otters, sea lions, bald eagles, deer and a moose. We also managed to make some new friends along the way and enjoy some down time for ourselves.

The second week found us at home taking day trips (Disneyland, shopping, etc), getting organized and doing some much needed cleaning around the house. We've had our fun so I guess its time to get back to reality - work anyone?

Is it different being married? I can honestly say that yes, it feels different, most definitely. I've always felt that when you've found that special person marriage is the best thing going. So far, I haven't been disappointed. The change we're experiencing is sublte, but we can feel it just below the surface of our relationship. We still laugh when we refer to each other as husband and wife... Personally, I love the way it feels and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's comfortable and new all at the same time and I can only see it getting better as time goes on.

Finally, on a less personal note - I didn't take the laptop with me on the cruise because I wanted to be totally disconnected. In retrospect, it would have been nice to have had it with us. Updating the site would have been easier and I could have started on our wedding page. I'll be posting most of our pictures and movies on the wedding page (for the curious at heart) as well as updating content here. Now that we're officially married, I've decided to include Karen in my on-line adventure and maybe now she'll learn a little Dreamweaver and have some HTML fun.

Finally, for those of you who couldn't make it to the wedding because of distance or prior engagement we hope to share some of the more memorable moments with you. It'll be a little bit of work but I promise to have the content up as soon as possible... Thanks for stopping by.