Gas crazy

I do know that gas stations are about out of gas. I just paid $3.20 for premium...all that was left. Diesel was $3.50. I thought maybe it was a local thing, but I just talked to David and the same thing is happening in Birmingham. This is wierd stuff isn't it?

Vini Vidi Vici

David is remodeling his house. I drove out there and gave him a hand, and all I got was this lousy tee-shirt. ....err...photo. Just kidding.

He is pretty much replacing everything in the house...the flooring (carpet to pergo type wood), doors, door frames, baseboards, wallpaper, paint, shutters, the whole nine yards. So I was there for the demolition phase.....seeing as how I'm not as gifted with the "construction" phase. ....But I can tear things up real good.

So this picture is us standing in front off all that junk that we piled up in his driveway. His neighbors love him more and more each day. At one point, we weren't even carrying out the front door anymore, but if you had seen his house from across the street, you would have randomly seen doors flying out an upstairs window. But it was fun, and we were around so many nails and tack strips laying around, I think I might ought to get a tetnis shot just for the heck of it. There was tons of dust and mystery particles underneath that old carpet and padding. It got real stirred up and I had to go outside a few times just to remind my lungs what good air was like.

So that was all good fun, but now to the cat story. (See pictures below after the story.) After working late at the house Friday night, we headed to Joanna's parents house where we were staying. Before going to bed I noticed a giant, fuzzy, 25 lb cat. I tried to pick it up, but was unprepared for the weight of it. David picked it up. I stuck my face right in it's gi-normous tiger sized face. It was huge. With my face about 3 inches from it, I petted it and looked it in the eyes.

I go to sleep. The next morning I wake up. Take my time getting ready. Head into the livingroom. I see David crunching on some cereal in the kitchen. As I'm walking towards the kitchen, he tells me to bring the cat in there. He says the cat should be laying around in the livingroom or sunroom. I had noticed the cat sleeping in the livingroom, so I walked over to it. I start picking it up.........obviously David had fooled me with the old fake cat trick, because it was stiff as a board. I drop it, walk into the kitchen, embarrassed that he fooled with me with that one. Thats when David busted a gut laughing. That was no fake cat. Sucker was dead. Dead and stiff as a board. He had me picking up a dead cat. As you can see in the pictures below, the cat died in its sleep and was still in the sleeping position when I went to pick it up.

We buried it in the back yard in a hole that was only about 4" deep, so it was probably a short stay.

...........freaky.....

spooky

Dead cat. .....no lie...this is a dead cat.

Introducing....

Meet the newest member of our family. A 4-door, 2001 Mazda MPV ES. We were going to get a new one, but decided because of some circumstances ;-), to get one we could just pay for. So this is for all intents and purposes paid for, and that is nice. Not that we weren't ready to have a car payment for a very short period of time, but it worked out this way instead. So.....here it is....the Micah-mobile.

Ah sookie....

Something new is about to go down over in Charlie-town. I can't say quite yet what it is.... but it is a very big deal.....to Tori and I anyway. I see it as a great thing..... so great, I feel like doing cartwheels in the backyard. It's late....but I may just go do some.

Been busy

I am just posting to let everyone know that I am still alive, I have just been very busy lately. Nothing too much new going on.

I did get to go hear Ken Hamm from "Answers in Genesis" at a conference yesterday. If you would like to get some science questions that you might have answered, I recommend his site greatly. It is http://www.answersingenesis.org

Thank you, drive through.

For us gamers....

I'm not sure how much of the following is true. I found it on a forum. But it has the ring of truth to it. Hopefully, the gold service will cost the same as the Live Subscription we already have. I hope it transfers too.

Multiple Levels of Service
On Xbox 360, you'll have a choice of service level. The Xbox Live Silver service means you can connect your Xbox 360 console to a broadband Internet connection and get functionality right out of the box. The premium Xbox Live Gold service delivers the complete online connection package. The breakdown is as follows:

Xbox Live Silver level


Create an online Gamer Profile
Access the Xbox Live Marketplace
Engage in voice and text messaging
Talk to a single friend at a time using voice chat
Receive video messages from Gold level members
Access massively multiplayer online games (additional fees may apply)

Xbox Live Gold level

Paid level of service
All the features of Silver level, and additionally:
o Play multiplayer games online
o Video chat
o Multiplayer online tournaments
o Participate in Xbox Live online programming, such as Game with Fame, Play and Win, and Prime Time activities

More pictures

More pictures have been posted at Micah's blog. http://www.micahkelly.blogspot.com

iRiver and Yahoo! Music

Ok. Here's the situation. I don't steal music. Downloading free songs without paying for it is as much stealing as pocketing a CD at a local store. Unfortunately, many people do not agree with this. I've had this conversation with more than one youth at my church and plenty of times with students. But anyway....this post isn't about that. (It's just a pet peeve of mine.)

I would like to have access to music, the right way. Now, some companies are starting to make that possible. I was looking around, and Napster now has a legal company where you can download anything you want and move it to a MP3 player for about (I think) $15 a/mo. This is way too much for me.

Now, I've seen Yahoo! Music. I can get access to over a million songs for just $4.99 a/mo. And that includes moving it to an MP3 player (which I do not own).

Now, I'm somewhat picky about music I listen to. I try to screen the lyrics before I buy songs. So of course, alot, if not most of those million songs I have no interest in. But there are plenty of secular songs which are just fine.

So, I've found a music service I might be interested in. Then there comes the problem of the MP3 player. I've just recently found out just how expensive those suckers are. Man...it blows me away to put hundreds of dollars into something so small and (for me) lose-able. But, the new stuff can do cool things, like hold a bazillion pictures, record your show that comes on the radio, even if you don't listen to it at the time, be a voice recorder, etc. So anyway. I'm interested in finding out more.

iPods are out of the question because they are not compatible with Yahoo! Music. Of course, Apple allows them to be solely compatible with iTunes. But iTunes (although I have it because I have bought music from it in the past) does not have an inexpensive music service like Yahoo! So I was looking on Yahoo! Music's website and saw a list of compatible devices. They are the ones that have "Playsforsure" capability.

The MP3 player pictured above is the iRiver H10. The one I saw on eBay has 20 GB, and has all those many features mentioned above. It connects to the computer using a USB 2 connection and comes out of the box "PlaysforSure" compatible. The one on eBay (after shipping) comes in about $210 (but the bid isn't over). So anyway, I've got some money saved up in PayPal from some eBay work Tori and I did this summer. But it falls way short of that. So I think I'll start looking for stuff to sell (starting with the SNES).

One thing for sure, I must now allow this to impede my plans for getting the XBOX 360 at Christmas time. I am going to have to put a hundred or so towards thats present though because it is so pricey. But anyway, I will (I think) be able to sell my XBOX to get some money for the 360. I just have to make sure I can play Splinter Cell online on the 360 before I do. I saw the graphics for the Madden 2006 football game on that system and it is awesome.

But I digress....

If you know anything about these type of MP3 players, please inform me. Do any of you know anything about these things. I know some general information just from being around kids...but maybe someone knows a good type, or a type to watch out for, or something that could be useful information.

Or maybe all you are old fogies too and don't know either.

That will be all. Respond immediately.

2 Funny signs (see last two posts)

This is an actual sign in my town. We are trying to reduce the risk of having drunk blacks.

While unpacking books in the book room at school the other day, I noticed a box of books with this label on it that reads "LLynn Homo Gal". Students get to read about the adventures of LLyn. Just kidding...I checked the books and they were regular textbooks. I don't know who designed this label, but either they are really dumb, or really hilarious.

AS-IS

I want to put up this little addendum to my truck selling post.

I sold the truck the other day; or should I say night. The original guy that was going to buy it didn't, and so this black guy (I only say that so you can get a mental picture going) from New Jersey, who lives in Stone Mountain (not actually inside of it) calls me and sets up a time to come buy it. He basically says over the phone he is going to buy it. I had it listed for more than the bluebook on purpose, and so of course he wanted me to come down some, and I did, but still ended up selling it for $400 more than bluebook.

Anyway, the guy decides to wait until dark (9:30 PM) to get to my house. Why someone wants to buy a used vehicle in the dark I don't know. But he gets here with his wife. I give him a worklight to look at it, we drive to town, he looks at it under the WalMart and RaceTrac lights.

The truck is a 4 cylinder, and has a ticking and sometimes low knocking sound. Its been that way since I bought it. When I bought it I made them give me a 48 k warranty just in case. It still has 20k left on it. I explained to him what noises coming from the engine were; according to what the mechanic told me when I bought it. (Pistons slapping the sides of the cylinder). At any rate, he bought it and drove it home.

Next day, he calls, says he hears the low knocking, when before he heard only the ticking, and that now that it's day, he sees a noticable scratch. He said he wanted to take it to a mechanic and if it didn't check out, he would like his money back. He talked to Tori first, Tori called and told me. I told her to go to the bank immediately (it was about to open) and cash the check. She did, and it cleared. Then I call the guy back, he says the same thing to me, and then says he "felt vunerable" last night, because it was so late, he had driven so far, and his neighbors were keeping his kids.

Okay. I told the guy that I had been honest and fair with him, I had explained to him what the sounds were, and that was what a mechanic told me, he got to come up and drive the truck, I gave him a light to look at it, and bottom line, I wasn't going to give him his money back. I didn't say this part, but, you can't buy a vehicle, and then wake up the next morning and decide you don't want it anymore. If I had mislead him, that would be one thing, but I was fully honest in explaining the noises and scratches, and I DID tell him, he had to accept responsibility when buying a used vehicle to check it out.

He started to raise his voice, and thats when I had to tell him to talk to the hand. Ok, not really, but thats when I told him the "take responsibility" thing, and when he saw I wouldn't back down, the conversation ended and I went back to my teaching.

He ended up calling me later, and saying he had taken it to a mechanic, and it all checked out. He said he would not contact me anymore, and that he was just distraught and had thought about putting a stop payment on the check. I thought about mentioning, (but didn't) that he would have had a hard time doing that because I had my wife at the bank when the doors opened, but I decided that would serve no purpose to tell him that. So I just reiterated to him that I had been honest with him and I hope the truck serves him well.

So that was that. This is the end of my story. Mother, if you are reading this, please know that I am aware of my many run-on sentences but, it is a blog and I don't care.

THE END

Sold!

It has been done. The Dakota has been sold. I missed it.....for about 5 minutes. I sure will miss that 4-cylinder "Magnum Power". I guess I will have to settle for an 8-cylinder now. Shucks.

NEW YORK -- A fan reacts after falling from the upper deck onto the netting behind home plate during the eighth inning at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2005. The game was delayed for four minutes while he climbed back up to the loge level before being led away by security. (08/10/05 AP photo)

ATL

Let all that is football season begin. Highschool....College.....NFL.....midget..... it's all good.

Ok. After picking my jaw up off the floor. I begin pondering the inevitable question. What would it be like to be married to her? I am 5'11. My wife would be 7'2. She is taller than Shaq. She could dunk on me. That would be good for my ego. NEW YORK -- The New York Liberty's Becky Hammon, in front, guards the Connecticut Sun's 7-foot-two-inch center Margo Dydek, of Poland, during the second half of their WNBA game at Madison Square Garden. (08/02/05 AP photo)

Will Give Blood For Cookies

Well, I thought I had better post while I had the chance. The work-week is about to start up again and I know I'll be busy. I tried sending this picture on my phone earlier, but it wouldn't let me. Jared suggested turning my phone off and back on, and wouldn't you know it, wa-la, it worked.

This picture was from Saturday at The Mall of Georgia. Goes to show you, I'd rather have a needle stuck into my flesh, than to stand around in JC Pennys. Actually that needle was more like a very small pipe. The hole in that needle was gigantic. I always like to watch them stick it in. It's so cool. Doesn't really hurt, thats part of what's so amazing about it. Anyway, funny thing was, before I got to "the chair", I had to answer questions and get my finger pricked. While I was waiting for a booth to open up so I could do that, I noticed a sign on every booth that said something like "Hazard: Potential Blood Spray Area". I thought that was interesting. I was thinking "What kind of freak accident would have to happen back there for blood to be 'spraying' everywhere?"

Anyway, I get back there....the guy pricks my finger, and then, (how, I don't know, I wasn't really paying attention), from the little bitty pricked hole in my finger, blood sprays all up this guy's white lab coat. You should have seen the look on his face.

Turns out it wasn't the first time it happened to him. He had it one time, and he was talking at the time, and blood got in his mouth. ...you know that has to make you think about wonderful life-ending scenarios.

But anyway, I used my "Be nice to me, I gave blood today." sticker for all it was worth for the rest of the day. And I got peanut butter cookies and a fruit drink. Didn't they used to give cash for giving blood? Ah, the good ole days.

I really wanted to answer yes to some of those funny questions they ask you when you give blood. When we were flying through them, it did throw her off when I had to answer yes to questions about traveling to Africa, Mexico, El Salvador,etc. But it would be so hilarious to answering yes to the "Have you ever accepted liquid cocaine for sexual contact with South African prostitues while shooting up with dirty needles?" questions. I almost considered doing it, just to see the nurse's reaction. ...but then, after further thought, I realized she might not find it as amuzing as me.

Update on my absence and more

I have been really busy with all kinds of stuff, mainly school stuff. School starts tomorrow (Friday), and for kids the first day can be exciting and new, but for teachers it's enough to make you want to pull your hair out. Schedules, handouts, new curriculum, new personalities, new coworkers, etc., it's been a whirlwind fo shizzle.

PLUS, there is activity on the vehicle selling front. There's a guy who has pretty much told me he IS going to buy my truck. He was going to come up from Kennesaw today, but his girlfriend has to come to drive a vehicle back, but she has to get up at 4 for work (nurse) so they aren't going to come today, but I'm going to meet them in Buford on Saturday. He's paying in cash, which is nice.

So I have been on the phone with him today inbetween meetings. So yeah, alot going on. Jared came by and helped me put up some bulletin board paper. When he first got here, an old lady came us to us and started telling us that a dog was stuck in her gate. We went and looked and sure enough a dog was half in and half hanging out. We "squished" him out. He started following us around. I was worried that I was going to go home later, and somehow finding him standing there. But maybe I got lucky and he got hit by a car. ...just kidding.

Tomorrow. I will put some smack down on some chitlins. Thank you.