So I got this Bass fishing game for the Nintendo. You basically sit on your couch and swing the Wii controller like a fishing rod and when a fish takes the bait the Wii control vibrates like crazy. My only problem is I have no idea how to get the fish in the boat. It is pretty cool and you almost always get a fish. It reminds me of college, in the summers when I would go cat fishing after working late at Taco Bell. I would usually get home by 5:30AM from going to the lake to go fishing. I would always give the fish I caught to others on the dock, as I hate fish. That was fun. I think I am getting a hankering to go fishing again. Last night I had a dream I was fishing near a power plant and I caught this fish that was really hard to get in. When I finally looked at it was a poodle fish. The bottom half was a fish and the top half was a poodle. I think I had too much chocolate yesterday...

Thought
"Um, it’s a fish, that's got a poodle head? What did you eat for dinner?" - A coworker

Labels: fish, poodle, Wii

Well, I finally got a Nintendo Wii, the latest in gaming crazes. The cool thing about the Wii is the remote controller. You can stand in the middle of your living room and move it around and the game will detect all of your movements. I started getting good at playing tennis. You move the stick just like a tennis racket. The one problem I had when I first got the Wii was that I was supposed to position this "sensor strip" above or below my television so that it can triangulate my position. The problem is because I have a projector the Wii is in the back of the room and screen is in the front of the room and the cord is not long enough to place their sensor strip in front of it. Now comes the weird solution from the internet. Apparently the only thing that the sensor strip does is emit 2 Infrared light beams, so that the remote can get its location by reading these light sources. The only thing the wire does is send in power to the strip. Well, someone had the bright idea of replacing the strip with 2 candles. Apparently candles give off infrared light. So as I was installing it I figured I would give it a shot and put 2 candles underneath my projection screen. When I turned it on it detected it! Yea for the internet. Another person was telling me of this other science experiment with two candles. You take 2 nails and rub a magnet on each of them and place them in the candles. Then you take 2 wires and run them to a light bulb thing. Then you light the candles and the light bulb lights up. If you blow out a candle the light bulb goes off. Weird. Kind of reminds me of the other science experiment I learned when I was a kid about making a clock that runs off of potatoes. I think I just invented a new generator. We'll call it the Potato Candle Generator. It will be a bucket of potatoes with candles placed in them. Then a bunch of magnetized nails in them. Then the wires will go to a power outlet, thus saving the world. Nah, it won't work cause potatoes aren't in season, but at least it will run my Wii!

Thought
"What if I forget to blow out the candles??"

Well, this weekend was good. I went with Holly on Friday to get our engagement photos done:

http://www.brianaldenbass.com/engagement/Starred%20Photos/index.html

It was cool. We both felt like movie stars as he was asking us to pose in various positions. On Saturday I jammed in the afternoon with some coworkers and later that evening Holly and I went to do Sunday School stuff. On Sunday I was feeling very sleepy so I chilled out most of the time. I guess I need more than 6 hours sleep every night. Everything else is good. We are in the midst of planning our wedding. We are thinking about getting clones so we don't have to do anything. How was your weekend?

Never let it be said that I am not a patient man. Case in point, at the dentist yesterday I had to get there by 8:30 in order to get my tooth pulled or root canal done. Well, I actually did make it there in time, thanks to calls from Peetey and Holly. Then the waiting began. When I first walked in they asked for my insurance. So I gave it to them and they said they spent a half hour trying to get the information and gave up. As 9:30 arrived I saw people coming and going into the office. I sat there waiting. As 10:30 arrived I was like, ok I am going to say something. So I went up and said "I have been here to for 2 hours" they said, "oh I'll see what's happening" and was told to wait some more. By 11:30 I had reached the point of no turning back. I was either going to get totally mad or to change my attitude. That is something about me, if things get real bad I always change my attitude so I can go through life happy, despite the circumstances. By 12:00 I was finally called back to the office, at which point they asked if I had insurance. Finally the actual dentist was like," I'll take care of this." and they went through the process of adding my insurance carrier to their database. Then I told the dentist I didn't want a root canal and wanted to get it pulled. At which point she said," I'll see if the oral surgeon is available, you might have to reschedule". I happily reminded her that I had been there for 4 hours and was willing to go to the emergency room to get my tooth pulled. Then all of a sudden the insurance went through and she said I should get a root canal and "save the tooth". So I gave in, and for the next 2 hours went through the grueling process of getting the roots scraped out of the farthest back tooth on the top left. I heard my dentist say every 5 minutes," this is a real small mouth." I was told by one other dentist to use a baby toothbrush because the width of a normal toothbrush couldn't reach back there. My jaw is still hurting and I am thankful for the vicodin prescribed. I am just glad it is over, until I get the crown put in in three weeks. I now know why my grandparents were so adamant about my teeth. If you don't take care of them it could cost you, in money and in time...

Thought of the Day
"My face is all craggly, it's crinkly!"
"It's from all that smoke. You've experienced a lifetime of smoking in seventy-two hours. What did you expect?"
"Emphysema, birth defects, cancer. But not this. Jerry, my face is my livelihood. Everything I have I owe to this face."
"And your teeth, your teeth are all brown."
"Look away, I'm hideous."
- Kramer and Jerry, in "The Abstinence"

Well this weekend was good. I took off Friday and went in search of a place to have the wedding reception. Things are coming together. I spent some time with Holly. We went bowling and minigolfing on Friday. And we went to a barbecue place on Saturday. Sunday we did the usual, with me giving the message at the homeless, and ended up going to another couples engagement party in the evening. The classic line is "there must be something in the water." Within this year 5 couples are tying the knot. I used to think that in today's day and time marriage is highly unlikely - more women put career first and more men would rather play video games. We have to go through a class at the church called "before you say I do". There are rumors that things get heated in these classes. Wish us luck ;-) I had Monday off and I worked out halfway, relaxed and watched Star Wars IV and Star Wars II and worked on my website. I hadn't worked on that site in 3 weeks. I think I am back to getting it finished. Right now I have set a date as March 21 of getting finished. I am getting a tooth pulled tomorrow - that should be fun. Last time that happened I heard bone snapping... How was ya'lls weekend?

Thought of the Day
"You have no idea what my people have been through."
"The Jews?"
"No, the dentists. Did you know we have the highest suicide rate of any profession?"
"Is that why it's so hard to get an appointment?"
- Tim Whatley and Jerry, in "The Yada Yada"

This message was my 3rd ever message to the homeless. I tried something different this time. The first time I spoke I wrote every thing down that I was going to say and gave me some leeway to improvise. The second time I spoke I wrote word for word what I would say. At some points it was a little stale. This third time I had general points to speak about. We usually do a message at the mission and feed there and then do a message at the resource center and feed there. This recorded message is the second one of the day. The first one was way different. I figured since I am a good improvisor at guitar that I would be a good improviser here. Unfortunately now I remember that the reason why I am a good improviser on guitar is that I practiced every lick for years so that I can make anything sound good. Now, sermonizing, I did not have the luxury of having years to practice. However, as I listened there were moments when the Spirit was speaking through me. As I looked into the audience at their faces I knew that it was when I was real and speaking from my heart that they were really paying attention. I think that is the way to get through to people, speak from your heart. People seem to pull something different from every message I gave, which is pretty cool. Next time I will be more prepared as I think the first one I did was way more practiced. Enjoy! This lesson is on fear, something we all know well.

Click here to read what I wrote:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhqsrhj7_23gs272s

Click here to listen to the full message:
http://www.brianaldenbass.com/MESSAGE02172007.wma

Valentines Day was good. I gave my Valentine a nice heart necklace with
flowers and a card. I surprised her by showing up at her school with the
items. It was pretty cool. I think I am a romantic. I tell you though,
the night before Valentines day every red-blooded male was out at the
stores by candy and flowers. Later that night I met Holly and we went to
a Valentines dance for a Christian group called Dallas One. They do
mission work in south Dallas. Mr. T can tell you about that. They had a
silent auction and I got some gift certificates to Chilis and Macaroni
Grill and Corner Bakery. They had a caricicature guy there so Holly and
I got our picture drawn. It is pretty cool. I look like Doogie Howser
and Holly looks like Darlene from Roseanne. It felt like a weekend, but
I had to come into work today. Luckily I have a 4 day weekend, so I
should get some rest. How was your Valentines day?

Thought of the Day
"I'm really enjoying this marriage thing. You think about each other,
you care about each other. It's wonderful. Plus, I love saying 'my
wife'. Once I started saying it, I couldn't stop. 'My wife' this, 'My
wife' that. It's an amazing way to begin a sentence."
- Jerry, in "The Wife"

You ever wonder if a brain can be full like a stomach can? We just got
back from Fogo De Chao for a celebration lunch(another Brazilian
restaurant) and I have to say I am full. I also think my brain is full.
I should ask my neurologist sister. I did hear that the old "we only use
10% of our brain" saying is an old wives tale. Apparently we use every
part of our brain. Evidence for my brain being full happened on Friday
when Holly and I were driving to Wichita Falls, my hometown of 10 years,
to see my mom. I apparently forgot to make the turn and ended up in
Oklahoma, 40 miles off course. I just have to laugh about it. I woke
Holly up and said "um, we're in Oklahoma." As I was driving I kept on
saying to myself,"what is going on? Everything looks different. Maybe
because it is night" Finally when we hit the Indian reservation casino I
knew we were in Oklahoma. Luckily I went back through Nocona so not all
was lost. I think I got distracted and was looking at a new fairgrounds
and missed my turn. I think my brain needs a toothpick and an after
dinner mint.

Thought of the Day
"What street are you on?"
"I'm on First and First. How can the same street intersect with itself?
I must be at the nexus of the universe!"
- Jerry and a lost Kramer, in "The Maid"

Things are calming down a bit. One of the questions I get asked often
is: What exactly do you do? And my 5000 ft answer is "I work with
computers." So I shall now drill it down a bit. First of all generically
I can be called a "government sub-contractor". Now the specifics. I am
CEO of my own corporation, Motivium Consulting Incorporated. I have a
contract with MSD Inc, which was recently bought out by Lockheed Martin,
so now I have a contract with Lockheed Martin. This contract is to do
work for the Department of Treasury, specifically the IRS. The work I
contracted out to do is generically classified as a "Computer
Programmer". So that is my title. However, I am not an employee of any
organization except my own, so I am not bound by any employee
obligations like hours and company policies. I also do not have any
benefits through these companies. I get paid by the hour before taxes
and I submit invoices the way most companies do. It could be said that
Lockheed Martin and the IRS are both my clients. Now, what is it I
actually do? Even though I am a CEO I like to call myself what I do - a
software architect. As a software architect I am responsible for taking
the software requirements and designing and coding a new system. It is
comparable to a building architect who designs buildings, except part of
my duties is also building the building. I also have a team of people
that take my designs and add code as well. Code is the actual
programming lines that get created. A Software Architect has to know all
of the ins and out of programming and system design. They have to be
able to take a vision and put it into reality. For instance I could
design and code the next Microsoft Word. I love my job. I have a chance
to be creative and to make a difference, especially here at the IRS. To
think that next week real tax returns will get sent through my system is
pretty cool. And that we will be helping the government find bad guys is
awesome as well. I am proud of the system that was created. We have
worked for over a year developing a true enterprise wide system that can
work on supercomputers. That is cool. Anyways, so that is what I do.
Confused?

Thought of the Day
"It's Fusilli Jerry! It's made from fusilli pasta. See the microphone?"
"When did you do this?"
"In my spare time. You know, I'm working on one of you George. I'm using
ravioli. See, the hard part is to find a pasta that captures the
individual."
"Why fusilli?"
"Because you're silly. Get it?"
- Kramer and Jerry, in "The Fusilli Jerry"

Well I am finally feeling good. That took a while. It is amazing what
happens when you become consumed by something. The sun is shining. For
some reason there was a microcosm/macrocosm thing going on with the
weather during that stormy time. Ah, my 10th grade english teacher would
be proud.

Gotta go again and put out some minor fires...

Well, life is finally back to normal, for now. I was on a stretch of 3 weeks work with only 2 days off. My stress level hit a high point and I got a cold, fatigue and had pink eye, twice. It is so true what they say about the immune system shutting down. Anyway after sleeping for 12 hours straight on Sunday I feel much better. I won’t know if my new system is successful until Friday so wish me luck. So for now please update me on what is happening in the world. Who won American Idol? Is the Apprentice still on? Are bellbottoms still in style? Gotta go, I need a haircut and my car registered and inspected for January. Wow, it's February? When did that happen?

Well, my life has been a whirlwind of activity. I often wonder what retirement is going to be like. Right now if I so wanted I could spend every waking hour doing something. Of course then I would be crazy… I think it is great though to have all of the opportunities and capabilities to have such a life. I am so thankful for all of it. Especially for Holly, my lovely fiancé. I know she supports me in whatever I do. That is awesome. Anyways, first I have gotten over a big hurdle at work and am now confident that I will make it in time, albeit a little late. But that is dates for you. They are usually set arbitrarily just to spur higher productivity. If memory serves me correctly in business enterprise class that was referred to as Theory X (I knew there was a reason I took that class twice). Anyways as the weeks continue I will be focusing more energy on helping plan the wedding, working on Ridesearch and even teaching a new Bible Study class at church. Also, remember the homeless ministry I am part of and how in February I stood before the Dallas City Council and told them what they were doing was wrong? Well, the leader of the ministry got a pro-bono lawyer and had to go through months and months of legal processing and it looks like there is going to be a lawsuit. Now, I feel rather ok about all of this because there is a principle involved. My point to the council was that if they make it illegal to give food to someone without having a handler's license real people could actually die. There are many other points involved but needless to say this lawsuit will help the city of Dallas do the right thing. This is mostly a principle thing, but it is my hope that this will benefit the homeless in many ways. Anyways, everyone have a good weekend. I hear it may snow again, one millimeter, everyone panic….

It even made the Dallas Morning News:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-homeless_01met.ART0.West.Edition1.2962476.html

// posted by Brian @ 2/02/2007 01:18:00 AM 0 Comments

So I haven't been posting. My life has gone hectic with the immenent
release of my project to production with real taxpayer data. I have been
working for 3 weeks straight, even on weekends to get this ready. No
weekend update, cause there was no weekend. I can't wait till the end of
next week when things get back to normal.

Thought
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I'll love you tommorrow. It's only a day away...