Thunder of Wade

Category: Uncategorized Page 83 of 157

Binary number

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On November 18, 2010

In Uncategorized


Yesterday, on the drive home, my car’s odometer reached 111,111. When I started to get close, I got my phone ready to take a picture.

It was stupid, I know. Raining, wet pavement, heavy highway traffic – and my phone kept trying to go into power save mode. At 111,110 I got ready and just after it ticked over I got the shot, saved it, and set my phone down.
I got away with it – no incidents on the road. Silly, I guess, but I’m a big fan of binary numbers and the almost zen-like quality those 1’s and 0’s have.

chocolate, smell, lemonade

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On November 11, 2010

In Uncategorized

I headed across campus to a meeting in one of the classroom buildings and as I entered I saw a table for the Liberation in Progress group. They were doing a bake sale/chocolate fundraiser and as I passed, one of the women there asked if I wanted a “chocolate vagina”.

I politely replied, “No thank you,”
Now, I’m a fan of feminism and I think it’s great that these women are working towards this cause, but… really? A chocolate vagina? Even if I wasn’t running late to a meeting, was that the phrase that would make me rush right over? It was damn odd.
After work, I headed to the pool to get in my laps. The locker room, when I entered, was pretty much like a locker room -though a bit messier with the presence of the high school swim team practicing. When I got out of the pool and went back in to get changed – there was an unholy funk in the air. The worst concentrated body oder that a human being could produce. I nearly threw up – it was that bad. Now, I understand as males, we sweat more than women. And the sweat is funky. And it makes the clothes funky. And if I was in the air instead of the water, I wouldn’t be 100% fresh either after my workout. But then I take a shower and take my clothes home and wash them. It’s not rocket science, guys.
Finally, I went to TGI Friday’s this evening and tried to order the made-fresh lemonade to drink. The server said that most people didn’t like it. I pretty much had to insist that I get a chance to try it. And, though it was strong, I liked it. When I finished my first glass, she asked if I wanted water – apparently amazed that I finished the glass and assuming that I couldn’t handle a second glass. I asked instead for a refill and finished that as well – mostly to prove a point.
I think this marks the only time when a server has actually tried to talk me out of an order.
And now it’s late and I though I’m off work tomorrow, I need to take a shower and get to sleep. I hope that I don’t dream about anything in this entry.

job

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On November 11, 2010

In Uncategorized

My room-mate got fired from his job yesterday. His boss had “cause”, but not really. A mistake was made and instead of working around it and dealing with it, his boss decided to escalate the situation and made things worse to the point of the firing. Everyone, however, gets screwed since his boss has now gotten demoted to cover what my room-mate was doing and pretty much everyone else wants to quit now. Not to mention the customers that will suffer because don’t have someone who cares.

So, he’s pretty down at the moment, but it may be an opportunity for him to do something new and expand his horizons. I’m trying to be supportive as he figures out his next step.

baby in a box

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On November 11, 2010

In Uncategorized

Last weekend, I went to visit my parents to celebrate my Mom’s birthday. My sister and her family came over as well and we got to spend some quality time with my niece. She’s crawling like crazy now and can easily stand on her own with some support. She’s also got a sort of walking toy that she likes to push. It won’t be long before she’s walking on her own.

I got my Mom a bracelet and made her some earrings. We all went together and got her a waffle maker – which she used for Sunday morning breakfast.
I also go my niece a toy ball that plays music and rolls around on its own. She seemed to enjoy it a lot. We also got a big cardboard box out for her to explore. She was hesitant on that a bit, but got to enjoy it as well. Eventually, we put her in the box so she could stand up and hold onto the side and she really liked that.
We didn’t really do much, but it was nice hanging out with the crew.

with great power

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On November 2, 2010

In Uncategorized

I found out today that one of my colleagues had her baby this past Saturday. Her actual due date and doctor’s appointment was this week so she was a little early. I had seen her on Friday while I was dressed up as the quite scary Count Orlok – and startled her. Hours later, her baby is born early. Coincidence? Or did I scare her into labor? 🙂

First the car accident and now this – just how influential was my costume? I need to be more careful and clearly less awesome.

Pumpkin 2010

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On October 31, 2010

In Uncategorized


I can’t really call it a jack-o-lantern – but it’s still a pumpkin. Not my idea – I saw it on the net – but it’s still pretty clever and it turned out well. I think Dad will appreciate the humor as well.

Halloween walk around 2010 – Count Orlok

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On October 31, 2010

In Uncategorized

This year I went for scary – all the way scary. The party last week didn’t really capture what I was going for – and my fangs fell out – but for the big day, Count Orlok was ready to scare the crap out of people.

I got up early – and got my room-mate up early as well to help me out. Shaved head, whiteout contacts, fangs, white make over the whole thing. Black pants, black shoes, black umbrella – claws on my fingers.
I made my rounds in the computer center to start, then out on campus for the day. I covered a lot of ground and visited a lot of people. My friends took some amazing photos:
I snuck up on a few people and got some good scares – and I may or may not have caused a traffic accident. I was walking down a street and several cars past me – and then one rear-ended another at a traffic light. No one was hurt – but I had a moment where I thought I might have distracted a driver. I considered approaching and trying to help, but thought that a vampire might not be welcome. I came back through later when the police were there and no one gave me a second glance. So, it wasn’t me.
I was wiped out by the end of the day – when I got home, I took a long shower and almost napped. (I’m not very good at napping).
I bounced back pretty quickly and I’m already planning for next year. 🙂 But no hints.

Trunk or treat

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On October 31, 2010

In Uncategorized

Last Thursday, I got invited to go to and help out at a local Trunk or Treat – a community/university based trick or treat at a school’s parking lot. I found out about the event from a former supervisor who called me and told me the coordinator asked her if she knew who “that guy was that dressed up in the great costumes every year”. Her response was “know him? I hired him!”

So, I went with a couple of her colleagues and dressed up as Zombie Hello Kitty from last year – I didn’t want to scare the kids. We handed out a ton of candy and I did end up scared a few kids – but hey, so did Zippy. On one side were some folks from the rec center dressed as cheesy aerobics instructors – I joined them for a few jumping jacks. On the other side, the UAPD were giving out candy and stickers. I went over and helped them with some gang signs – with my giant 4 fingered cartoon gloves.
When the event was over, I headed back to my car and then went to get my hair cut. The hairstylist was amused by my huge shoes – but then made short work of my hair to get me ready for my annual walk around on campus.

party and hiccups

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On October 26, 2010

In Uncategorized

I went to a Halloween party over the weekend with some friends. I won a prize for my costume and had a nice time – though I ended up staying far later than I had anticipated. Didn’t get to bed until almost 3:30 in the morning. I slept in the next day, but it was still rough to get back on track.

On Sunday, my room-mate got the hiccups and it lasted pretty much all day. One of his methods to try and get rid of them was to gulp air and then belch. Now, I’m a guy and – like babies – I appreciate the value of a good belch. But, I have to say, I actually started to get grossed out by the belching. It was impressive.
He tried peanut butter, drinking water, gasping, and several other methods before temporarily getting rid of them by holding his breath. They came back later and lasted into the night. I tried to get him to relax and eventually ignore them, but it didn’t help. They finally went away yesterday – though he did throw up blood at one point.
I guess he’s okay now, but it was pretty rough. And it didn’t help that there was a story on the news about a girl that hiccups for 5 days, went crazy, and killed someone. Luckily, if it came down to that, I’m better armed.
Work has been very stressful these past couple days and again the biggest problem is people getting in the way of their own success. I had to take myself for a walk this afternoon to calm down a bit before I dove back into my email. Fortunately, the day is almost done and I’ll be headed out of here soon. There are pumpkins to be carved at home and video games to be played.

Huffing paint and passing counterfeit bills

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On October 19, 2010

In Uncategorized

I was in Home Depot over the weekend- part of wild errands-running event – and I needed to buy a utility knife, some electrical tape, and a can of spray paint. I went to the self checkout since I only had three items and there was no line there. Utility knife, no problem. Electrical tape, also no problem. Spray paint – problem.

The self-checkout stopped and flashed a message that a cashier would need to over-ride. I turned and the cashier for the area said/asked – with a chuckle – “You’re over 18, right?”
I’m guessing he was commenting on my gray hair and bald spot.
I told him I was and apparently I had enough venom in my voice that he quickly followed up with “As of last week, right?”
Another chuckle. I shared this one with him while I completed my transaction and planned his death. I also got $20 cash back which will be significant later on.
As I understand it, the check he did was to prevent some kid from buying spray paint and then huffing it. Questions:
1. Are 18 year olds suddenly smart enough to not huff paint?
2. Are they responsible enough to keep the paint away from kids who might huff it?
3. I may have watched too much CSINCISSUV, but isn’t the electrical tape and utility knife more suspicious?
I headed on my way and at my next stop, I paid cash – using the $20 I had just gotten from Home Depot. The clerk behind the counter used a highlighter to test the bill and make sure it wasn’t counterfeit. More questions.
1. Are the staff at Walmart trained by the Secret Service or the Treasury Department to detect fake bills with the magic highlighter?
2. What, exactly, would have happened if the bill had been fake?
3. Granted, this is the kind of place where someone would try to pass fake bills made on a black and white copy machine – but seriously, a $20? I could see if someone threw out a $100 to buy a pack of gum, but what’s next? A set of scales to measure coins to make sure they aren’t fake?
Makes me glad I wasn’t trying to buy cold medicine or board a plane as the pilot.
Whatever happened to the “innocent until proven guilty”? Two cases – in less than an hour – where it was assumed that an everyday process was a criminal act.
(insert head shaking here)
Same reason the terror alert is always orange – fear and control.
Okay, down off my soap box before I get myself worked up into a lather. I gotta get back to work anyway.

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