Nine years of what, you might ask? Nine years of working at a company that started out very small, which I have had the honor of watching grow into a mature and ethical company that employs an amazing group of people. June 1st was my 9 year anniversary at Stardock.  A lot has changed in that time, and my job at Stardock has changed drastically over the years, but one thing stays the same- it's still a great place to work. So, thank you, Stardock!  And, here's to a lo...

Now, I am going to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit freaked out about this.  Driving an SUV?  How could this happen? Well, it's a long story.  My Mom has always driven Jeep Cherokees.  The one that she had was 10 years old and falling apart.  My parents drive 4 wheel drives so that they can get up their insanely steep driveway.  Since my parents are retired and watch my daughter while I'm at work, we bought my Mom a Jeep Liberty to replace her rusting car. So, h...

I went insane the last couple of days.  I decided I hated my front door, so I painted a faux wood finish on it and put a faux stained glass film on the window (which I wanted for privacy....put that is a different topic).   The picture doesn't do it justice (and the picture is also crooked, but oh well).  The paint is actually about 5 layers of different colors of paint following how a wood door would be constructed.  You also can't see the other side light because the...

I went insane the last couple of days.  I decided I hated my front door, so I painted a faux wood finish on it and put a faux stained glass film on the window (which I wanted for privacy....put that is a different topic).   The picture doesn't do it justice (and the picture is also crooked, but oh well).  The paint is actually about 5 layers of different colors of paint following how a wood door would be constructed.  You also can't see the other side light because the...

I am sure that many will disagree, but it appears to me that it is an easier stance to be on the political left than on the right.  It seems like you hear more people on the left calling people on the right "fascist" and other terms, or tend to think that the right is stifling the "free speech" of the left.  People also equate the liberal left as the "humanitarians" of the world, while the right is only out to protect themselves.  Draginol has pointed out the many things...

My Mom is having surgery today.  I know I should be more freaked out by it than I am, but I am sure that if I hadn't been through so many surgeries myself, I would be a bit freaked out.  But, I also know that there is no reason to worry, because worrying won't do anyone any good since everything is totally out of your control once "Dr. Feelgood" (the name I call anesthesiologists ever since I had my daughter) gets ahold of you, you are pretty much at the Dr.'s mercy until they get you ...

I went to our local Memorial Day parade today.  Nothing big or fancy considering that I live in a small town.  However, it did remind me of when my Grandpa was alive.  He was a WWII vet.  I think he would rip somebody's arm off if he saw them burning a flag.  I listened to the speech that was given by a vet that had to be at least 80 years old.  He spoke of truths that we no longer think of.  He spoke of the hundreds of thousands people who died i...

I shoot digital wedding photography.  I like it because it allows me a bit of creativity after the original shot.  Don't something a photographic "purist" would so, but I am more interested in the end result than the means of that result.  This is a picture of one of my co-workers and his new bride.  Though the background looks added, it was actually there.  It is a big glass screen.  Obviously I did some color work, but that is all that was done to it. I...

On WinCustomize.com, there is a thread "thanking" the President for our gas prices. A lot of non-US people were commenting on how the US actually has cheap gas compared to most everywhere else.  (Which is mainly because we produce over 50% of our own gas and can refine the rest ourselves).  Gas prices seem absolutely crazy, but here is my response to their post:  The gas problem is going to be a long term problem. First, you can not blame Bush or the US government for gas price...

[rant] After reading all these articles about the government needs to do this or that.  The government isn't representing "me".  The government is evil, etc.  I just can't believe that everyone expects the government to be everything.  This country must be the most unfair, awful place to live in. Of course, people rather just whine about things being "unfair" than actually *do* something to help themselves.  Instead, they want the government to solve all their prob...

My daughter reminded me of this yesterday, so I thought I would write it down. My Birthday was at the beginning of the month.  My sister had a party for me at her house.  She got a cake for me, and the kids wanted to eat it.  I told them that they had to sing "Happy Birthday" to me before they got to eat the cake. So, they started singing, and it was evident that my oldest nephew really didn't want to.  So, the song went like this: Happy Birthday to you...Happy Birth...

I have a collection of stuff on my desk at work.  The typical stuff: a rubber Iguana wearing a pink necklace and eating an Elk (the cleaning staff always remove the elk from the Iguana's mouth for some reason, though), a dreidel, some bobbing head Lilo and Stitch characters, a stuffed Gecko doll named "Owen" from a Hawaiian friend, a plastic molded Weiner Mobile....the typical stuff. Yesterday was my Birthday.  My sister took me out to lunch and gave me another addition for...

I have been trying to give polite suggestions to people to point out things that they say or do that could be seen as breaking JU's rules.  It's funny, some are quite nice and say "I didn't know I did that" while others fight it tooth and nail. If your boss came up to you and said: "The 3rd graph in this report is done wrong.  Please make sure that next weeks report is done correctly."  How would you react?  Would you say: "Wow, I'm sorry.  I will work on that." ...

I am typically very well grounded.  I have come to terms with a lot of things in my life, and have learned how to live with it, forget it, or just accept it.  But, every now and then, I lose it.  When that happens, I have to set myself down and get my center back. Why did I lose it this time?  I'm not sure if it was just one thing.  At least I can't find the one thing that did it to me.  As I wrote before, I have Systemic Lupus.  For the longest time I tr...

On a previous blog, it was mentioned that our system of "featured" articles was not fair (along with other "unfair" things about the site). When I said that nothing keeps you here if you don't like it here, I was told I was "beating a dead horse." However, why I said that was because it appears that it isn't understood.  This site is run how the admins want it to run.  Don't expect that to change.  As with any site, logical suggestions will be considered, but don't expect an...