Gettin My Geek On

I haven't been posting alot lately. Work has been a pill, and whatever free time I've had at home has been spent dorking with my new toy.

I finally have an iPhone. So I'm a late bloomer. So what.

For the last eight years, I've had a company-issued phone. For the last five, it's been the same number (though the phone has changed three times now). I've never really worried about having a cool phone. My phones have usually been of a more durable type, since I used to work solely in the field. Since I'm in the office most of the time now, I don't need such a workhorse, and with all the crap I've got to keep up with, my boss tossed me the iPhone.

It's an 8Gb iPhone 3G. It's used; it belonged to a former employee for about a year and a half. It works fine, with the only exception being that I think the accelerometer is dorked up. Other than that, I'm really happy with it. Like, geek time.

I've pulled down a half-dozen or so free apps. One of which is the Pandora Radio app. Using the iPhone's internal speakers, I dialed up my Chris Cornell Radio station, turned the volume down from all the way up (I was shocked that it was too loud!), and ran that while The Wifey and I cleaned the kitchen and I cooked breakfast.

I was listening to streaming internet radio over the loudspeakers in my touchpanel mobile phone.

Yeah. THAT.

Technology rawks.



tweaker

Bringing Teh Funnyz

I saw this and just couldn't resist:


I just love it. Marines? Feel free to chime in:)



tweaker

Quotes

Usually you have to find stuff like this in Revolutionary War-era history, or books with powerful quotes. Fortunately, we don't have to go far to find a patriot, or a standard by which to measure one:

"The true measure of the patriot is steadfastness. We all have small moments of wanderlust in us, tearing off on solitary paths that others may not follow, testing limits, testing ourselves. That is the nature of man. Yet when we strive to hold true, to stand firm to our beliefs as free men, together, to carry our weapons and defend our land, the weak become strong, and the wandering hold together as one. For then we are united in something much greater than the elemental whims of man. Together as patriots, we are much more of the courageous and less of the selfish, we are brothers in arms."

Yeah, we loves us some Brigid.



tweaker

Happiness Is...

...USDA Prime Top Sirloin on sale for $3.99/lb. accompanied by a lovely Full Sale IPA.

Honestly, do I need to post anything else?



tweaker

Surprise Medical Procedures

Surprise Medical Procedures. That seems to happen to me pretty often, actually. Not emergency medical procedures. I've never had an emergency surgery, for instance. I've spent a great deal of time in emergency rooms, though. I get hurt a lot.

No, Surprise Medical Procedures is something that happens to me. Take today, for instance. I had a dentist appointment to look at a problem wisdom tooth. I booked next Tuesday for an extraction, thinking that next Tuesday the good doctor would extract the tooth. Nope. Surprise! We can slide it out right now!

I was not prepared to have a tooth extracted today. So that was my Surprise Medical Procedure. I've had them before.

Well, the good news is that my doctor should change his name to Doctor Awesome. I could only barely feel the Novocaine injection. The actual extraction (of the upper right wisdom tooth) was %100 Pain Free. No pain whatsoever. None. Sure, I could feel the pressure of him pulling and prying, but there was no jerking or anything; just slow, steady pressure until the tooth just slid out. But no pain.

Well, that is until the Novocaine wore off. Then there was pain. But - no bullshit here, honest - most of the headaches I've had were far worse. There was no shortage of swelling, but the pain was dull and completely local. No throbbing through the entire right side of my head - thanks, no doubt to Dr. Awesome's magnificent technique.

So, here I am, one fewer tooth and absent all the awful pain and extreme (read: debilitating) sensitivity to cold that accompanied having that busted-ass tooth in my head.

I'm feeling much better now, thanks.



tweaker

Mo Tired

No bloggy tonight. Or last night. Sorry. Work's got me beat. Stay tuned. More bloggy later.



tweaker

Infamy. This Date Lives In It.

To all those who lost their lives this day, 68 years ago, we remember.



tweaker

New Hotness

Back in February of this year, The Wifey was driving a 2004 Chevrolet Impala and I was in a 2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The Monte Carlo was traded in on her new car since the Impala had gap insurance, so that left me with the Impala. Not too terrible, I thought, since the Impala and Monte Carlo were more or less the same car. Well, with the trouble with my knees, having a car at all became more and more of a chore since getting in and out meant doing so much closer to the ground than my knees would tolerate. I needed something bigger. Something taller. And I needed it now.

Well, a couple months ago, the vehicle situation here at Casa de Tweaker received a long overdue upggrade. I originally set out for a Toyota FJ Cruiser. I really love those things. They're made of awesome, they're fun to drive, and they fit me like a glove. I could see me getting in one of those every morning, I really could. Well, it just wasn't in the cards.

(You see, back in 2005, I had to give up my most favoritist vehicle evar, my 2004 Chevrolet Silverado LS. It was a thing of beauty, that truck, and I have longed for a truck since then. With Chevy being partially entitled to having a .gov website, though, none of my money was going there, and Toyota was the obvious choice. Nothing lasts like a Toyota, and I know tons of Toyota owners who can prove it. And I thought the new Tundras were really nice, but I knew they were too expensive for me. Well, I thought they were anyway.)

We must have searched online for every used FJ Cruiser from Austin to Brownsville, when The Wifey suggested a Tundra. "No way," I thought, "Too expensive." Well, being near San Antonio, we have an advantage over the rest of the country:

It should have another line under it that says "Not By Unions."









The Tundra plant (now the Tundra/Tacoma plant, thanks to California running them off with their astronomical taxes) is located in beautiful San Antonio, Texas, so Tundras are in abundance here. Supply being high, and demand being not as high means prices are lower. That reeeeaaaally drives the prices down on the used market. Good for me.

So, it didn't take me long to find some unbelievable prices on gently used Tundras. In fact, it wouldn't be long before I found the truck that would eventually be mine. One test drive is all it took, and the FJ Cruiser, or any other vehicle for that matter, became a distant memory. Behold, in all its glory, The New Hotness:

*click to biggie-fy*

That is my 2007 Toyota Tundra SR5. There are others like it, but that one is mine. I have not been in love with a vehicle since my beloved Silverado disappeared in the rear view mirror of the Monte Carlo (I cried. Don't judge me.) This thing is the textbook definition of Made Of Win And Covered With Awesomesauce. It's big. It's beautiful. It's roomy. And it's got enough power to challenge all the gods. (385 hp and 401 ft/lbs torque, to be exact. I'm currently researching how to squeeze 15 more hp out of the motor. I just need that number to be 400. I said don't judge me.)

It's also roomy. Check out the interior:


That thing is comfortable, and it's just made for tall men. You'll notice my iPod sitting there next to the shifter. It has nearly become the sole source of audio in that truck. Occasionally I'll use the in-dash 6-disc CD changer, but only on the rare occasion I don't have the iPod with me.

Bonus points: it's got an 8,900-lb towing capacity, that's dealer-upgradable to 10,300 lbs. I have a 3,000-lb 1968 Pontiac Firebird that I left in Memphis when I became a Texan in 1999. I have a garage now. And a mighty powerful truck. And access to a trailer. Guess what the next vehicle pictures are going to be of, shortly after Christmas vacation?

Right now, life is good.



tweaker

Sposta Be Cold

Tonight - and into tomorrow - marks the first real cold snap of the season here in lovely South Texas. We've been building up (down?) to it the past few days, with temps falling from the mid-70's down to the mid-40's, which is more than enough to get this Texan whining about it. Tonight, the low's supposed to be around 31F, and the bloody high tomorrow will peak at 34F. And then there will be winds up to 35 m.p.friggin.h. And, allegedly, snow. I'll believe that when I see it, but it's still gonna be bloody cold.

Mr. Gore, I would like my share of the global warming now.



tweaker

WTF Blogger?

Anyone notice that Blogger's acting wierd?

I'll sign in, write a post, and when I'm done and look at my blog, I'm not signed in anymore. I can't edit my posts without going to the blogger dashboard, and tonight I noticed that the comment counter after each post is wrong. Last night's post has two comments, but the counter only shows one.

As little as I've been posting lately, I need all the comments I can get!

*sigh*

In other news, I'm approaching the start of what's gonna be the coolest residential installation the company has ever embarked on. This house is beyond belief. And I am so stressed at work right now I'm never going to be able to enjoy it.

I need a break.



tweaker

Guns and Reasons to Use Them

Well, it looks like we're officially in the market for a Marlin 981T. Look like dis:

*click to biggify*

Cool, huh? It's a tube-fed bolt-action rifle chambered in .22LR. It'll hold 17 rounds of .22LR, 19 rounds of Long, or 25 rounds of Short. It's got a 22" blued barrel (though Google tells me that there's a stainless version for an extra C-note) and a thumb safety. The Wifey is excited. So is me.

She really digs on working the bolt. I don't know what it is about it, but I like it, too; I'm just surprised she does. So she said she wanted something for her us that was similar to the Crickett but for grown-ups. My only requirement was that it be a tube magazine. Don't want another gun that has unubtainium magazines after some years go by (like this one).

Looks like the market puts them generally between $160-200 new. I'll run the Pawn Shop Circuit (h/t Xavier) to see if there's any used, but from the way owners talk about them, I'd be surprised to see any used models out there. Even Gunbroker.com only has one listing, and it's for a new one.

Funny; the number two hit on teh Googulz for 'Marlin 981T' is friggin Walley World. I wouldn't buy one there if they were giving them away with every gallon of milk. Fuck Wal-Mart.

******************************

In other news, the tech came out today and replaced the motherboard in my company laptop. I couldn't get video worked out; it finally refused to boot up, giving me the BSOD after BIOS every time. Dammit.



tweaker