Well I am currently wearing my rock'n roll shirt as today I am a rock
star. I got this shirt about 3 years ago for one of Corporate Red's
first shows. I decided to go all out and went to Versace and bought a
silver threaded shirt. I can't really describe it for you but it is very
flashy, $250 worth of flashy. I even saw a real rock star wear this
shirt at the grammy's that year. I then realized that they are all just
normal people; they just have money to buy stuff to make them cool. So I
walk in to work today and people are like,"What in the world?" And I
proceed to tell them I am a rock star. It was an easy costume. All I did
was put on the shirt and spike my hair up. It is a little sad that a
rock star outfit is now demoted to a halloween costume. Word is now
getting out about this shirt. I was in an elevator and someone said,
"Yeah, I heard about your shirt." Talk about weird. This shirt is more
popular than I am. But that's not hard to do. Rock on!

Thought of the Day
"Rock on!"
- Kramer, in "The Glasses"

And now for the weekend update. On Friday I went bowling with Mr.T's
Sunday school class. I got a 67 and 77, a far cry from the 7 over 200
games I got at Texas Tech. I suppose if I had a really good ball, yeah
that's the ticket. Then I actually did get up early on Saturday morning
and went to the Elvis Run. There were some Elvis impersonators and some
runners had painted sideburns on. There was even a contest for people
who dressed their dogs up like Elvis. After the race I went to a Comicon
festival. Basically that is a geekfest. Captain Lou Albano was there and
the captain from Lost in Space was there. Also Jake Loyd, the kid who
played Anakin Skywalker, was there. I got a poster of R2D2. Later that
evening I went to Holly's house and we carved pumpkins. Then we went to
"Screams". It is 4 haunted houses in one and includes a trailwalk where
ghouls jump out at you. One house had everything in 3D and gave you
glasses as you walk through it. That was freaky. Sunday I did the usual
and ended up watching the Cowboys blow away the competition. At first I
didn't like their new QB, but when Madden started comparing him to Joe
Montana I decided to like him. How was your weekend?

Thought of the Day
"At the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around and tell them all
the ways they have disappointed you over the past year."
"And is there a tree?"
"No. Instead, there's a pole. Requires no decoration. I find tinsel
distracting."
"Frank, this new holiday of yours is scratching me right where I itch."
- Frank and Kramer, in "The Strike"

Well this Saturday I am getting up around 7AM and going to the "Elvis
Run" and am running 1 mile. What? Did I just say that? Well, I figure
since I got running shoes and running clothes I need to complete the
ensemble. This is my first race. I told Holly it is not the running part
that is hard, it is the getting up early. Apparently the "Morning
People" have taken over this sport. I hate to say it, but Holly is part
of the "Morning People". They are a different breed of human. They get
up way before the sun comes up and then proceed to actually do stuff. It
is in this time period when us in the "Late People" have gotten taken
advantage of. Apparently they decided to start events in the time period
when we are sleeping. They make it to where you can go to work in this
time period and as a result they convert more and more people over to
their side. They have infiltrated our children and make them get up and
go to school in this time period. I for one say we need a "Late People"
revolution. We can do our work around midnight when they are all
sleeping and then when they wake up it will all be done. Then we will
start "Midnight Races" and other such events likes football games and
make them start at 10PM. If we all work together we can defeat the
oppressive "Morning People". Freeedoom!!! Victory or Sleep!

Thought of the Day
"Do you have any conceivable reason for even getting up in the morning?"

"I like to get the Daily News."
- Kramer and George, in "The Keys"

Since Halloween is upon I shall now tell a real life account I had with
the supernatural, or in my mind the supernatural. I have never told
anyone this story. The other day in the morning as I was getting ready
for work I splashed water on my face and thought of an incident that
happened in my childhood that I hadn't thought of in years. I suppose I
was thinking about this because recently I had given someone bad advise
and I was really hard on myself for doing so. I then realized that I
shouldn't be so strict and this is why...

When I was 7 I lived in Alaska. I usually played in the park across the
street. Back in those days, especially on base, our parents would let us
go play without supervision. My sister had a friend named Jennifer. She
was very rambunctious and like to irritate me. Well one day she started
kicking me and I got mad, real mad. I wanted revenge. So I picked up a
rock and was going to throw it at her. She started running around real
fast when she noticed I had the rock. She then ran behind the merry go
round and was actually standing in front of a small toddler. Well she
then stopped in her tracks. I threw that rock as hard as I could. She
then got out of the way and bam, the rock hit the kid right in the
forehead. For a whole second we all just stood there as the kid did
absolutely nothing. Then he opened his mouth and started bawling. She
looked at me and sneered and I was completely terrified. My first
instinct was to run so I did.

I ran into the woods. I was crying all the while. I thought things like
"I just kild a kid","I'm going to jail", "I hate myself", "What will my
mom say and do?" and various other things you say when you feel so
guilty. After about an hour I kept on thinking I was going to just keep
on running and live in the forest. Keep in mind this is the Alaska
forest. It could go on for hundreds of miles with no human in sight. I
was already the farthest I had ever traveled in the forest. Thankfully I
was smart enough to keep going the same direction and never turning. So
after about an hour I was still crying and I saw someone. A kid.

He was about my age and I had ran into him deep in the forest of Alaska.
It was a surreal moment, but it wasn't scared or anything. All he said
that I remember was,"It's ok, God will forgive you." That really
comforted me and I then decided to turn around. It must've taken me 2
hours to get back cause I wasn't running anymore, plus it was starting
to get dark. All the while I was still scared because of the
consequences of my actions. I wondered how much in trouble I was in.
When I got back no one was in the park. I felt a little better. When I
got home mom yelled at me for being late to dinner but that was it. The
next day I asked Jennifer what happened to kid and she said he ran home
to his mom. I never saw that kid again. I also never sought revenge on
another person for doing me harm again. I learned my lesson the hard
way.

So what is supernatural about this story? Well the kid in the forest. It
is possible that he was some Baptist kid living in a nearby house, but
is it? If he wouldn't have been there I was sure that I would have kept
going. Sure I would've probably wanted to come back. But being deep in
the forest of Alaska at night is almost a death sentence. I tend to
think that this was an angel or a ghost or something that comforted me.
What do you think?

Thought of the Day
"You see? Never be late for a plane with a girl. 'Cuz a girl runs like a
girl-- with the little steps and the arms flailing out... You wanna make
this plane, you've gotta run like a man! Get your knees up!"
- Jerry, to Elaine, in "The Airport"

And now for the weekend update. On Friday I went with a group of people from my Sunday school to see Flags of our Fathers, a movie about Iwa Jima in WWII. It was pretty good. Although it was a little hard to tell what old person was what young person in the flashbacks. It makes you think about all the sacrifices that our troops make defending our freedoms. Also on Sunday night I watched Jarhead, a movie about the first Iraq war which gave me a better perspective on the wars that are fought today. I am very thankful for our technology. I couldn't even imagine what would've happened had we not had the jets and smart weapons we do now. Many soldiers lives are saved by not having to be there in the conventional sense. I also thought about my grandfather and what he did in WWII. He never really talked about it, so that tells me he saw what they all saw. In other news, on Saturday I went to the State Fair with Holly and some people from our class and had the following: A famous fletchers corndog(didn't like it), a BBQ Bologna sandwich(my stomach is still confused) and some fried Oreos(yummy). For adults, the best thing to do is to eat. We also perused the car shows. Then Holly and I left to go to a costume party. I had the full Darth Vader costume with light saber. People at the party all got around me to take their picture with me. That was fun. Mr.T was the spittin image of Spock, complete with pointy ears and phaser. Holly was a space alien who wore a full US space suit. People were taking cellphone video of me dancing. I am sure there is new fanfilm of Darth Vader attempting to do the Electric Slide (I have never figure out exactly how it works). It was rather funny.

Thought of the Day
"I really cannot comprehend how stupid people can be sometimes. Can you comprehend it?"
"No, I can't comprehend it."
"I mean, we can put a man on the moon but we're still basically very stupid. The guy who's car this is, he could be one of the guys that built the rocket. You see what I'm saying?"
"Well, yeah, he can build the rocket, but he's still stupid for double-parking and blocking somebody in."
"So you really understand my point about building the rocket and double-parking?"
"On the one hand he's smart with rockets and on the other hand he's dumb with parking."
- George and Kramer in "The Dinner Party"

My feet are now squishy comfortable. Let me take you back. The year is
1995, I am playing Frisbee golf with my friends at Texas Tech. I then
realized that I needed some other tennis shoe as my Nike Airs( which I
bought in 1992 and still own) were not suited for the wilds of the
Frisbee golf course. So went out and got some Black Reebok gel shoes.
They were nice and got muddied many many times. They had a thick coat of
mud on them for over a year. Yet I still kept them. Every year I would
get one of those Dr.Scholls insole things and put them in the shoe, thus
giving them new life. Well, 12 years later from whence I bought them
they finally gave out. Yesterday a big hole developed between the sole
and my foot and my feet really started hurting. So I had to bury them in
the backyard. I then got cool Asics running shoes at a sporting goods
store and will probably keep these for another 12 years. These shoes
actually make me faster. They are my special shoes. I told Holly to
watch out, I might run past her. I am not on a health kick though, don't
get me wrong. My current kick is to stay the same weight throughout the
Fat Season as I call it. I always gain about 5 pounds during this
season, so if I can stay the same that will be an accomplishment. Woot.

Thought of the Day
"I'm against all 'It's me's'. It's so self-absorbed and egotistical,
like those hip musicians with their complicated shoes."
- George, in "The Burning"

One of the goals in software architecture is something called "code
reuse". In some circles project managers laugh at the idea, simply
because most projects never achieve that. Code reuse is when your code
can be used in other projects thus making life easier. Mostly the
problem arises when you have to make objects specific to your tasks thus
making code reuse impossible. It has gotten to the point where it is
called a "myth". Well, I can say that the myth has been dispelled. My
background architecture on my current project is now being implemented
on two other teams. It is a good feeling when your stuff is being used
by others. I still know that the wireless language that I created at
Realpage, BBML, is also still being used. That is what I love about
software architecture. If you design so that your code can be used over
and over again, it will. The only problem is that now I have 2 other
teams needing advice, which sometimes takes away from my current work. I
suppose that is what headphones were invented for. In other news come
February my project is going to be the first to be put on a new HP
Supercomputer that contains 32 dual core processors. This thing is going
to scream.

Thought of the Day
"You know, a muffin can be very filling!"
- Jerry, in "The Ticket"

Had a meeting last night with my financial advisor. He has been with me
for 3 years now and has done a good job teaching me about markets and
the like. He has been managing my retirement and so far this year has
gotten me 17% return. I recommend an advisor to everyone. They can even
help people manage debts and the like. My philosophy is to pay off debts
in big chunks and put what you would pay extra monthly in a savings or
something, that way you always have more cash on hand. Did you know you
shouldn't base your retirement on just one vehicle like a 401K. How
about adding an IRA or a post tax life policy that will give you the
ability to borrow against it while you are alive. Or did you know that
money market accounts can be almost just like a savings account except
you earn a higher rate of interest and the money is not locked like a CD
but you have to watch the fees. That is the kind of stuff we all can
use. He also talks about getting a will in place just in case something
happens. He always brings up the story of Joe Robby vs. Sam Walton. How
Joe Robbie's kids had to mortgage the Dolphins to pay his estate fees
and how Sam Walton made his kids rich because he planned for it. Granted
I kind of zone out when he talks about wills just because I have no
kids, wife etc.. I also wonder at the timing of our meetings. The market
is near 12000 right now so of course all my investments are doing well.
Anyways, it is good to get your house in order every now and then just
be a "good steward". Just some advise from someone who was advised. By
the way, who came up with the word moolah?

Thought of the Day

"It's not good for friends to talk about money, it can affect the
friendship."
"I tell you how much I make."
"And I'm always impressed."
- Jerry and Kramer, in "The Cadillac"

Honestly, I have no idea what to talk about. My mind is a blank.
Cabbages? Yarblockers? Hmm, what do you want to hear about? My present,
past or future? My girlfriend, job, news or funny stories?

Thought of the Day
"Yes, I admit I was speeding, but it was to save a man's life. A close
friend. An innocent person who wanted nothing more out of life than to
love, to be loved, and to be a banker."
- Newman, in "The Ticket"

And now for the weekend update. On Friday I went to a party for a friend
who was on leave from the army where he spent his time in Iraq. It was
good to see him back and he is now going to a base in Germany. We had
hamburgers and hotdogs and the like. On Saturday I slept in and then
jammed on my keyboard, making my first classical tune. Then Saturday
night Holly and I went to the scuba store and they played a video of a
scuba trip to the Galapagos islands. It looked really cool. The divers
were swimming next to 40 foot long whale sharks. These things were huge.
Then they swam next to hundreds of hammerhead sharks, but they had to
hold their breathe because the bubbles frighten them off. On Sunday we
did the usual. I came home and watched the Cowboys stomp all over
Houston. That was cool. How was your weekend?

Thought of the Day
"You know why fish are so thin?"
"Why?"
"They eat fish."
- Jerry and Naomi, in "The Watch"

People at work are talking about how today's date adds up to 13 as well
as is Friday the 13th. 10/13/2006 = 1+1+1+3+2+6 = 13. The last time this
occurred was in 1520. I then determined that it was either 1/13/1520 or
10/13/1520, but knew it had to also take place on a Friday. Therefore
1/13/1520 was the last date like this. The real question is, what does
it mean in binary digits? 13 is actually 1101 in binary, which is
actually 11/01 which is November 1st. The last time November 1st
occurred was almost a year ago, which means that November 1st is the
Friday the 13th for computers. I highly advise people not turn on their
computers November 1st. You never know.

Thought of the Day
Dark Helmet: Before you die there is something you should know about us,
Lone Star.
Lone Starr: What?
Dark Helmet: I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former
roommate.
Lone Starr: What's that make us?
Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become.
Spaceballs

Last night I kinda took it easy and watched "Clicked" with Adam Sandler.
It was ok. It kinda had a "Scrooge" quality to it without the Christmas
aspect. Really Adam Sandler is no Alastair Sim. Matter of fact his
character was hard to like because as he was learning his lessons he
never acted like he learned anything. Then I decided to watch a real
ending to a movie and watched the ending of Scrooge, Mary Poppins,
Pete's Dragon and the Neverending story. Basically the criteria for
watching a perfect happy ending is to not have any bad guys at all and
the character make a transformation to where they become a better
person. What other movies can you think of where the ending was perfect
and didn't even have bad guys getting it in the end? The main character
has to be filled with joy at the end. Those movies are hard to find.

Thought of the Day
Ebenezer: You see that toothpick?
Jacob Marley: I do.
Ebenezer: You're not even looking at it!
Jacob Marley: Yet I see it, notwithstanding.
Ebenezer: Well, then, I'll just swallow this and be tortured by a legion
of hobgoblins, all of my own creation! It's all HUMBUG, I tell you!
Scrooge

It look like I am going to be very busy until March 1st. I suppose it is
good cause time sure does fly. Yesterday I helped out another team with
a problem and found out this morning I had solved it. I got a funny
certificate on my desk with a "Motivium Consulting" award that had to:
Brian Jenuis Bass on it. That was funny. I think it was a shot at my
silver mouse that Holly gave me that says "Brian Bass, Architectural
Genuis: on it." I have it on top of my monitor and use it as a mirror to
see behind me.

Thought of the Day
"I love these people. You can't ask them questions. They're so mentally
gifted that we mustn't disturb the delicate genius unless it's in the
confines of an office. When huge sums of money are involved then the
delicate genius can be disturbed!"
- George, in "The Kiss Hello"

Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 on the Nina, Pinta, and Santa
Maria something something America. I would like to thank Columbus for
giving me Monday off as it is a federal holiday. I always wondered how
he discovered Ohio though. He must've went up the Mississippi or
something like that. Now Drake, that what a cool explorer cause he went
around the world. Desoto, I am not sure. I think he invented the car or
something. I was never good at history and those other subjects that
included just wrote memorization. If I ever wondered who discovered
something I would just look it up. It's like social studies was a class
that prepared you for Jeopardy and other game shows. I guess I am just
still bitter at getting a C on a Karankowa Indian clay memorial. They
were the cannibal Indians that lived in Texas. For Texas History I made
people out of clay eating other people. I thought it was creative. Then
Benz's mom made him a clay map of Texas and he got an A on it. Yes, I
should let it go. But, as I pointed out at guys night if you give me a
ruby I still could possibly make a laser. All in all the point is, I
have Monday off and that is worth more than any clay man eating another
clay man any day.

Thought of the Day
"Oh like they wouldn't have discovered the Mississippi anyways."
Jerry

Here in Texas it has been in 90's for a while now. We don't even think
it is hot anymore. I guess you just get used to it, you just take off
more clothes and wear shorts longer. I saw the guy who sings into his
flashlight on the street corner the other day. This time he had his
shirt off as he was wailing. It must be a hard job. I always wonder
about the flashlight though. Would he sing if he didn't have it? Topic
Change 1. I had a dream last night that I was helping the boss's boss
encode a web page. It turned out that the person who wrote it originally
used a different format and they wouldn't let me upgrade their computer
to Windows Service Pack 2 to fix it. So I had to basically develop it on
my own. This was all happening inside the Rec center at Texas Tech. I
was doing all this while a game was going on and I was missing it. Then
I went to the bathroom and some guy was there who represented a prison
ministry. I was about to ask him for a pamphlet and then woke up. I now
remember mom's stories about teaching in prison and how the prisoner's
would do crazy stuff like open the doors by programming their
calculators. She had one guy who wrote Eskimo poetry that was pretty
good. Topic Change 2. Holly got teacher of the month at her school! She
is exceptional! I am proud of her again! Topic Change 3. Gas prices are
going lower, but I still believe in Ridesearch, so I am going to
continue development, I just don't have to push myself as much. Topic
Change 4. TV doesn't seem to be going that well these days, which is
good cause it gives me more time to learn the keyboard and all its
features. Topic Change 5. I am ready for a vacation. Maybe take a day
off in a couple of weeks and do something fun. Anyone got any ideas? Oh,
and don't say the state fair. Everyone goes to it, but it really isn't
that fun. I guess cause I went twice in one year. Topic Change 6. I am
celebrating 9 months of being with Holly on Saturday. I am happy and am
totally smitten with her. Ahh. And that's about it for the topic
changes. I hope you are dizzy, cause I am.

Thought of the Day
"Why are my shoes a topic of conversation?"
- Elaine, in "The Shoes"

Last night I spent some time jamming on my new keyboard, the Roland
Fantom 6. It has all of the sounds you've ever heard, even the guitar
sounds like a guitar. I then realized that a majority of songs out
nowadays were made using this keyboard. What it does is remove the
talent from the actual musicianship, for instance I could sound like Van
Halen just by hitting some keys. On some real songs drums and rhythms
are taken directly from this keyboard. It is cool though, anyone can
make a song that sounds like it is on the radio with this thing. Last
week I went out an got it when a local music store was closing. Got it
for 60% off, a steal. I even bought a trumpet cause it was 60% off.
Right away I was able to play the major scale. Unfortunately that is as
far as my music prowess goes since it has been 15 years since I played
the trumpet. I guess since I am no longer in a band this device will
become my band. Stay tuned for some originals.

Thought of the Day
"I don't judge a man by the length of his hair or the kind of music he
listens to. Rock was never my bag. But you put on a pair of shoes when
you walk into the New York Public Library, fella."
- Lt. Bookman, in "The Library"

Well, I am finally slowing down a little bit. I think my hair might have
turned a little gray. Last week we started to feel the heat as our
9-month long project is nearing its first completion date. I was pushing
myself a little too hard as the exact finishing date seemed to be the
most important, when in reality it wasn't. This weekend was ok. I spent
Friday night at a Sunday School event without Holly and Saturday we went
to the Arboretum and then to a couples only dinner. There must be
something in the water cause everyone seems to be getting married.
Sunday we did the usual. I am glad that it is all over and the trials I
have been going through are finished. Woot. Yes, I said woot. I am hip.
I should be able to post more now. How was your weekend?

Thought of the Day
"What is this obsession people have with books? They put them in their
houses like they're trophies. What do you need it for after you read
it?"
- Jerry, in "The Ex-Girlfriend"