Charlie n Me

He can crawl.
He can walk if holding on to my hands.
He can climb the stairs with a little assistance from me.
He can say a few words.
He waves bye-bye, and waves for more food.

It's so damn cool.






(Charlie is my son, born 12/2010)

I'm so bad at this

I promised myself to keep blogging...and I haven't been.

Blog more, stupid!

Free Computer Tip #1

Do you ever have a ton of computer work to do, but MS Windows decides to do some self-updating and immediately tell you it need to reboot?

For one reason or another you don't want to reboot yet, so you cancel the message only to have it pop back up in 10 minutes or so...

Here's how to stop that message from popping up:

click Start
click Run (for Windows XP)
Type in 'services.msc' [without the single-quotes] and hit enter.
Look for Automatic Updates on the right pane, and left-click on it once.
On the right-hand pane, click Stop the service.

Now, it won't bug you! Don't worry, your computer will go back to normal after the next reboot.

Wedding time reflection

I'm excited. A very good friend of mine (since High School) is getting married this weekend. He asked me to be in the wedding, and I am honored to do so of course. Since I've known him for the past 15 years or so, it gave me pause.

Looking back, things do certainly change. Remember hearing that in Cosmo or other related publications say 'Love him for how he is, because he won't change' ? I don't believe that. I believe we have changed. We have had more experience. More of life's little bumps-in-the-road and a few more joys to go around.

Life becomes work, however. More responsibilities, even just the financial ones, put a big toll on what we do/who we are/how we act. I used to be the go-out-late and socialize everyday kind of person. Now, I'm the work-late, never call my friends guy.

Where did the old me go?

Why can't the new me be a part of the old me?

(holds his hand out)

If we're giving another $20 billion to Bank of America, does that mean that I get $1 million if I open a new savings account with them?

General Motors and General Disarray

I received a plea from a friend who works for GM to call the local congressman in support of assistance for GM.

I agree.

While banks were taking bad loans, amassed unbearable amount of debt, fired their CEO's (but not before offering them tens-of-MILLIONS in a golden-parachute) which drove the stock market into the ground, GM had a weak sales year.

Now, though the banks caused the market to crash, they are being bailed-out while the "Big 3" are suffering...to the point where they might fail. General Motors is one of only 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. As one of the largest companies in the world, supporting millions of jobs at their plants, offices, dealer network, supplier network, and 49% of GMAC financing, there is a HUGE affect on the unemployment rate! We already have over 10 million unemployed Americans ... losing GM could easily double that number!

I implore you to support the government-lended assistance for GM and the automakers, which are innocent by-standers of this whole fiasco.

Here's what a college of mine had to say:

The truth of the matter is that this doesn't just affect GM and its employees and retirees, this will be felt by everyone. Statistics vary, but between 1 in 10 and 1 in 14 American jobs are either directly or indirectly linked to the domestic auto industry. From the suppliers that make the parts to the dealers that sell the cars, to the doctors, lawyers, shops and restaurants that are supported by those employees - everyone will be impacted if one of the Detroit 3 go under. Scarier than that is the thought that if one goes, it will probably bring down the other 2. If one entered bankruptcy, that company would stop paying suppliers. Supplier profit margins are razor-thin, and those suppliers would probably enter bankruptcy and stop supplying parts to the other manufacturers. If they stop building cars, money stops coming in the door, and you get the idea. This will be one big snowball-effect, and the end result won't be pretty. The domestic auto industry would be mortally wounded, and the foreign competition would be temporarily hurt because we all have the same suppliers.

Most every small town in America has a GM, Ford, or Chrysler dealership (sometimes all 3). And we've all seen them driving around central Illinois or Indiana - the town where the only business still open downtown is the car dealership. Besides the big box stores that have moved in and forced the old Main St. shops out of business, the dealers are probably the biggest businesses there. Each dealership supports service technicians and sales people, and they make a good living. If they go down, those small towns will lose what's left of their economies. I think you understand how big a deal this is.


Please take the time to call 1-866-927-2233 and let your Senators and Congressional Representatives know that you support the Federal loan packages for the domestic auto industry. It's that important.

Scooter Wrap-Up

I had the intention of going step-by-step with the Chinese scooter purchase, but things happened, and I was unable to blog as much as I wanted. I will give an overview of how it went, however:

The scooter arrived on a semi-truck, framed with metal bars, encased in cardboard, and sitting on two pallets. The truck-driver had a pallet-jack and though he could not drive the semi down my driveway, he did use the jack to bring the scooter into my garage. It was fairly easy to get out of the packaging. (I have pics of it if anyone is really interested).

To get it ready to ride, I had to:
-Bolt-on the front windscreen
-Bolt-on the side mirrors
-Put the (included) acid in the battery and charge it overnight
-Install the battery
-Pump up the tires to the correct pressure
-On recommendation from several websites, change out all the fluids for quality stuff (engine oil, coolant, gear oil)
-Check that all screws/bolts were on tight.

It took a little time to start-up the first time, and then I had to tune up the carburetor and the idle speed (really easy to do).

Now, I found the things that Don't Work:
-Engine Temperature gauge
-Fuel gauge!

The scooter rides great, is very fun to operate, and the trunk space makes it very use-able for everyday. It costs little to insure and even less to operate (It only takes 2.5 gallons of fuel and gets about 65MPG). I only wish the gas gauge worked but I can fix that in the Spring.

Getting the title was easy, I only had to take in the invoice and the MCO (supplied by the seller) to the DMV and fill out 1 form. Cost: $85 and I was able to get plates for it the same day.

All in all, I would recommend getting a Chinese scooter, but only for those with some automotive knowledge.