Wetwired salutes our troops and our prayers go out to the soldiers and families effected by the recent events.   These type of tragedies should never happen.  But because of recent events I’d like to not focus on what the 24 hour news cycle is focusing on.  I’d like to discuss how this day came about.

We celebrate today as Veterans Day but years back it was known as Armistice day and still is in other countries. Many of today’s youth don’t even study this information in history class as their history lessons have been changed over the years where world war one and world war two are summed up in one page briefs as they spend a chapter on the 60’s and the anti-war movement. From Wikipedia:

In 1953, an Emporia, Kansas shoe store owner named Al King had the idea to expand Armistice Day to celebrate all veterans, not just those who served in World War I. King had been actively involved with the American War Dads during World War II. He began a campaign to turn Armistice Day into “All” Veterans Day. The Emporia Chamber of Commerce took up the cause after determining that 90% of Emporia merchants as well as the Board of Education supported closing their doors on November 11, 1953, to honor veterans. With the help of then-U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also from Emporia, a bill for the holiday was pushed through Congress. President Dwight Eisenhower signed it into law on May 26, 1954.

While this is Veterans day, it is also  the 91st anniversary of the armistice signed between Germany and the Allies on November 11, 1918. It was signed because they wanted to end the stalemate battle.  The Germans, when signing it ended up giving up much of the land they had conquered and then some.

Notably, all German-occupied territories elsewhere were to be abandoned; and the treaties already negotiated with Russia and Romania were officially annulled (the Russian peace treaty in particular had been denounced by Trotsky as annexationist in character).

The terms of the armistice were inevitably seen as punitive within Germany. The country however was in no condition to resume hostilities and so reluctantly accepted the conditions. The French nevertheless viewed the terms of the armistice – and the Versailles peace treaty that followed in 1919 – as overly lenient, indicating the widely contrasting views of both the armistice and the subsequent treaty.

For many in the trenches, the common soldiers, they were unaware of what was happening and were caught off guard when it ended and when they had to give up ground.  So when the actual news hit:

The news was quickly given to the armies during the morning of 11 November, but even after hearing that the armistice was due to start at 11:00, intense warfare continued right until the last minute. Many artillery units continued to fire on German targets to avoid having to haul away their spare ammunition. The Allies also wished to ensure that should fighting re-start, they would be in the most favourable position. Consequently there were 10,944 casualties of which 2,738 men died on the last day of the war.

Interesting no?  To avoid having to haul away ammunition they just kept firing on them….well that’s not the whole story but that’s how Wikipedia interpreted it.

Keep in mind that the “reparations” that Germany was demanded to pay put the country into a downward spiral, caused hyper-inflation (one of the causes) throughout the depression and allowed a lunatic to come to power because he was in the right place at the right time.  The situation – the German people were looking for someone to make them feel like a country again, someone would would give them someone else to blame.  The sanctions that other countries put on Germany caused World War II to come about.  While the US was fine with just peace, France wanted more.

While both American and British leaders wanted to come to a fair and reasonable deal, France’s interests were much more aggressive and demanding as many of the battles had been fought on French soil. Although they had agreed after the treaty was signed many world leaders agreed that some of France’s demands were far too harsh and unsympathetic.

This is a very good history lesson to keep in mind.

“I think I need a vacation.”

“Okay, just let me know when you want to schedule it.”

Thus began the preparation for this week. It almost didn’t happen as a cracked tooth led to antibiotics and pain meds that knocked me for a loop, but by Wednesday morning I was sitting in my father’s living room. That night, we were sitting around and eating good food when I suggested we watch a DVD I’d brought as part of a set.

By the end of the night, Dad had gotten hooked on the new Battlestar Galactica and has watched several more episodes since then. He was watching several episodes and asking me questions along the way, and the entire time I was sitting there in his living room, a large smile on my face- it was another thing we now have in common and can enjoy together.

After a couple of days, I had met up with Beerslinger and we’d spent an evening together watching The Hangover. I was overseas when the movie came out, and it was fun during the times I wasn’t almost dozing off.

It was a REALLY late night for me at that point, you see.

I’m now at my sister’s home with her family, and we’re spending some time together as a family along with one of my brothers. CN (my sister) is playing solitaire with her daughters and neice, while BP (my younger brother) is outside with CN’s husband cooking kabobs.

It’s a nice, quiet Friday Night in Baton Rouge.

…………………………

Speaking with Beerslinger last night, we discussed my taking time to look at things and figure out what in my life has frustrated me. During the last few weeks, I’ve identified several spots that I want to work on. This isn’t unusual for people to do at times in their life, and I’ve done it before as have Beerslinger and Pylorns. The main thing I had to figure out was whether or not I was unhappy overall. I’m not unhappy- at least, that’s not the word I would use for it. I think the better word is “unsatisfied.” I’m not content with the status quo, and while it does allow me to have a good life it doesn’t bring me the sense of fulfillment that people long for in life.

That’s where the decision to finish school comes in.

It won’t be easy, and I’ll rack up debt paying for it. However, I’m seriously looking at finishing my degree and getting a chapter of my life closed after ten years of delays. It’s just time.

There’s also the personal stuff, things I’m not entirely comfortable getting into on the site just yet but that I’m taking very seriously as areas of growth and opportunity. Those haven’t been ignored.

I’m not back, not completely. However, for those that have been concerned- I’m not great, but I’m okay.

Out.

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

“Again, I didn’t cross the sex line. I went past the line… I’m quite certain that there were a handful of instances wherein I crossed lines I shouldn’t have crossed as a married man but never crossed the ultimate line.”

The above quote is from Gov. Mark Sanford, speaking candidly about his extramarital affair. But, in the style of most Americans, not quite candidly enough. So, what, they went to dinner and a movie? Cuddled on the couch? In his own words, Sanford described the tryst as, “a whole lot more than a simple affair… it’s a love story.” Did they dance by moonlight and look knowingly into each other’s eyes, kissing for only the briefest of moments before turning away. Were they, like Francesca and Paolo, seduced by reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, damning themselves forever to the second ring of Dante’s Hell? Inquiring minds, people!

The new angle, of course, is that Gov. Sanford may have been unfaithful, but he didn’t really cheat. Much like when Former Pres. Clinton claimed that oral sex wasn’t really “sex,” there seems to be some crucial barrier in the American psyche between intercourse, and every other possible thing. I refuse to allow my general distaste for Sanford to cloud my belief that a politician’s personal life is none of my business. I will criticize him for abandoning his post and coercing his assistants to lie for him, but I know just as well as everyone else that one can truly believe in family values and good Christian ethics and still screw up in a massive and very public way. My biggest worry is that these figure heads of abstinence-only education are really kind of missing the point.

Abstinence, as it was taught in my Catholic school by Sister Mary Trisha, does not mean just abstaining from penetrating heterosexual intercourse. It means choosing to avoid all temptations, even kissing with an open mouth. Everything that gave you any kind of erotic pleasure was sex, and experiencing that feeling with anyone other than your spouse (even if you were alone) was a sin. The only birth control we needed was a buttoned up sweater, as nothing should be progressing so far as to require crossing our legs. There was no fuzzy line at Our Lady of Mercy, where holding hands in the hallway could get you detention.

What is the great difference between flying halfway around the globe to meet a woman for coffee, a woman you admit to having great feelings for and whom your wife has expressly told you not to visit, and going to have sex with the same woman? Is one a greater betrayal than the other? Say you did go there to have sex, you were both naked, but it never progressed to intercourse. Does that make any real difference? For Sanford, the “ultimate line” is her bikini line, not the ticket line at the airport. A study from The Kinsey Institute, “based on a 1991 survey of 599 college students, found that women in general were less likely than men to consider oral sex or mutual masturbation as having ‘had sex.’ Of the women, 37 percent considered oral sex as, well, sex. Forty-four percent of men did. A second survey in 1996 asked ‘Is oral sex “real” sex?’ About 52 percent of the men said yes, but only 46 percent of women did.” (AP) There has got to be some connection between this cult of virginity (hey, if oral sex isn’t sex you can blow every guy in the state and still be pure) and the rise of a mutant strain of drug resistant gonorrhea (for real). It is, really and truly, none of my business what Gov. Sanford did or did not do in Argentina, but since he chose to volunteer this information to us, I’ve just got to say I’m disappointed. He may have done everything else buy have sex with this woman, but for all the trouble it’s caused him, he might as well have.

This morning when turning on to the street that my work place is on I heard a “pop”.  When I pulled into the parking lot, I heard the hissing sound.  Yep, a fairly fast leak.  I quickly hopped back into my 4runner and drove right up the road to the Discount Tire only to find this:

In my tire.  And of course no road hazard on the used 4runner I just bought plus the fact that its past 30 days since I bought the 4runner so the dealer washes its hands clean…

So my younger sister got married. I was MOH,
and at the reception, my cousin told me that her husband (whom I had
just met that night) said about me, “Now THAT girl. She knows how to
party and have a good time”

So, apparently, I have the Party Girl appearance. Even at a wedding
reception, in a floor length gown. At first, I was like, “Yeah I rock”
but then I was all

0.0 waitaminute!

Is being The Good Time Girl keeping the boys away? Is it a long-term
turnoff? So I start thinking about it, and yeah, actually, that’s a lot
of people’s first impression of me: She Brings the Fun.

The funny thing is, I’m not actually The Party Girl. I’d rather cozy
up with someone and chill. But being single, I do have to make an
effort to get social so I don’t fall into “crazy cat lady who is alone”
syndrome.

So, I wonder, is a Party Girl persona actually a turnoff to the kind of guy who would want to actually date me?

…ponder.

it’s 2am.
I leave for NYC in a few hours.
I have not packed.
I have not gotten down my suitcase from my storage closet.
I had a major crisis 2 days ago. I think I have lost my video editor to personal dramahs, and full on girl panicked. (you’d think I was a theatre major, b/c I’m in so many dramas) and I HAD to get a good video up of my LG Versa phone unboxing for my tech podcast.

Why? Because I’m going to be live on cnet.com’s super ultra hilarious podcast The 404. Yeah. The real cnet.com.

So I had to have a great video up. And in my mind, I was out my editor who made me look gorgeous on screen. I e-panicked to a few peeps, and I must be one lucky biatch, b/c in addition to my great friends, my mentor, peer, and favorite internet boy talked me off the ledge. And in the end, my editor came by and helped me out in the end. I’ll miss him and the great things he’s done for me, but I guess we all have to move on.

So I this leaves me still unpacked, and I think I’ll just catch some badly needed z’s, pack some jeanses and buy teeshirts while i’m up there.

or just wear my bridesmaid dresses all week.

I’ve had a strange day. Strange even for me. Today on  facebook, I see all these R.I.P posts on a friend’s page, and I am very very confused, and I track down some friends to get the news, and I find out that one of my childhood friend’s had died. By his own hand. And I found this out on Facebook. I had reconnected with him a couple of years ago, walking around my ‘hood and it was great. We talked and caught up and found out that we both have the same favorite coffeeshop to go to where we can actually get work done.

I grew up with this guy, we were in the same community where all the parents were friends and so all the “Kids” as we called ourselves hung out whenever there were events and socials, etc. Since I wasn’t allowed to have outside friends from school and stuff, these people were my social life. I was of the younger set, and got to party with the older kids and he was definitely a big part of my growing up.

Facebook is great for reconnecting with people from my past, and I suppose the best thing I can say in this situation is that I’m glad that I got to see him in person and talk with him on Facebook before this happened.

Also, it’s really really strange to see someone’s profile and all the posts being RIP and “you will be missed” etc. It’s weird to know that he’ll never update his page again. And what will become of it? Who has access to his login information? If no one does, will it just stay up until they delete it out of inactivity?

Strange affairs to be included in tying up the loose ends of someone’s life. If something were to happen to me, honestly, the internet would be the first to notice. It’s happened before. When I was offline for days after the big online dumping from Iraq, it was the internets that kept checking up on me, tweets wondering where I was, emails and IM’s checking to see if I was ok.

Strange days indeed.

I have a plan to help get NASA more funding. It makes basically no sense, but bear with me.

Okay, so, first you need to start a cult. This part is easier than you might think. You need to instill the idea in people’s heads that there IS life on other planets, and that this life DOES include sentient beings capable of emotions and language and… souls. Yes. Okay, still with me?

So then, if God created all ensouled beings, and loves them, then that means he needs to give them an opportunity to be Saved. So he must have sent a Messiah to all planets with “people” so that they can be forgiven of their own version of Original Sin. And that means that we can go out, and find life on other planets, and could find one where Jesus is RIGHT NOW! Then we can bring Him back here. Bam, instant Second Coming.

In February President Obama approved the NASA budget to return humans to the moon by 2020, but the plan didn’t have any specifics, nor did it explain how we were going to retire the space shuttle by in 2010 and perfect the Orion capsule and start mining asteroids. With the economy in its current shit state, I don’t expect lots of government money to get pumped into building rockets (even though that is way cooler than social security) so it’s our job to help out the Space program. Also, lots of people are under the assumption that capitalism just crumpled and might be very susceptible to a charismatic leader preaching cool things like Armageddon and little green men. I’m thinking “The Church of Stellar Salvation.” We’d all wear black robes and play drums and dance around in the New York subway pasting glow in the dark stars everywhere.

Coincidentally, I’ll be needing a real job in a few months, so I call Supreme Leader.

“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.”  Ayn Rand

Some of you may know that I have a 2006 VW Passat.  These come with a standard 50,000 mile factory warranty.   VW is a pretty good brand, the cars usually last a while but when the warranty runs out you have to be prepared for potential larger costs.   Like many cars that are mid range and have all of the gadgets included in them, there is plenty of likely hood for things to fail.  So far my entire A/C has been replaced as well as my throttle body and a few other components for two unrelated issues.  So with its current track record I’m fairly certain something else will go wrong between now and 100,000 miles.  At purchase I did not buy the extended warranty; I elected to review if it was going to be needed based on how it  performed.   Now as I’m entering my 3rd year of ownership of this vehicle I’m seriously thinking about extending that warranty to 100,000 miles.

The one thing I’m trying desperately to do is to put off having to shell out that extra couple grand for that extended warranty.   So how do you do that?  You keep the miles off.   You work from home a couple days a week, you try not to take it for long road trips etc.  It’s not out of the ordinary and in fact years previously when I was not as concerned about my cars mileage, my friends had asked me to drive so they could keep the miles off their vehicles when they were faced with the longevity or useful lifespan of their cars.

My Subaru WRX I put 40,000 miles on in two years.  I was out of warranty before that 2nd year was up because it only had a 3 year 36,000 mile one.  I didn’t bother with the extended warranty after the fact and actually when the car really needed a lot of work I just traded it in as is and got the Passat.   Prior to that I had a used Mitsubishi Mirage.  I bought it with 15,000 miles on it and quickly put an additional 45,000 miles on it in a year and a half.   It met its end at 97,000 miles after 4 years of ownership.  Again I really didn’t mind too much about the miles, the car was a daily driver type of car; the maintenance was inexpensive on it and it was my first car.

Mimzy on the other hand, has a vehicle that is 8 years old and has only 93,000 miles on it.  That means that she only put about 11,000 miles on it a year.   To top it off she lives less than a mile from her work place so she’s not putting much on it still.  In comparison, even for the first time in my life when I’m trying to keep the miles down on my car, I’ve still managed to put on 18,000 per year for the first two years.  Which means that I’ll have 54,000 miles on my car by October 2009.  3 years and 54,000 miles.  I really would like to get to that 4th year of ownership before I have to shell out more for peace of mind.   The only thing I can do to keep the miles down is to be very sparing on my driving and not take any long trips.

The rub is that people still have this expectation that I’m always willing to donate my car for the cause. They expect that because my car is “new” and only has 36,000 miles it would be great to take the vehicle on a long road trip for Christmas.   I’m sorry but I’ve been the one that has donated my car continually in the past for others interests.  Now is the time for my interests when I am faced with the longevity and lifespan of my car.

Let’s just say they are more than helpful useless.  With today’s technologies and methods of being efficient.  AT&T is succeeding in throwing up more red tape and paper pushing in an otherwise normal business transaction. (Names changed or blotted out to protect the wicked)

Thank you for your patience! An AT&T sales representative will be with you shortly.
You are now chatting with SXXXX, an AT&T sales representative.
SXXXX: Welcome to AT&T online Sales support.  How may I assist you with placing your order today?
Pylorns: I would like to know if I could do the credit check for the iphone online instead of going into a store.
SXXXX: No I am sorry Pylorns that is not available online. You would have to order a phone and plan to see if you are eligible.
Pylorns: SO, going into a store would be doing the same thing then right?
SXXXX: Yes, that is correct.
Pylorns: Ok, if that is the case then would I actually be buying the iphone and not receiving it until Friday?
SXXXX: No, you would have to order another phone to see if you are eligible.
Pylorns: Why would I want to order another phone when I want to buy an iphone. Your website says to do a pre-qualifying credit check
Pylorns: Reduce your wait time on launch day, July 11. Visit the AT&T store where you will purchase iPhone 3G today for a pre-qualifying credit check.
SXXXX: Yes, you would have to do the credit check at an AT&T store.
Pylorns: And by doing that am I buying a phone prior?
SXXXX: No, you would just be checking to see if you are approved.
Pylorns: So you can’t do that online though?
SXXXX: No, I am sorry the only way to do it online is through an order process.
Pylorns: ok thank you for your time.

A friend of the family related a story to us about what happened to him yesturday. Here is the account of what happened as my mom tells it:

He was in the Albertson’s parking lot when a young woman with a young child approached him asking for $10 to get her son’s medication. She said she was just $10 short of being able to fill the prescription. Our friend told her to come with him and he would pay for the entire cost. She, of course, hemmed and hawwed. He insisted that it was no problem, that he would be glad to cover the entire amount. She hurriedly moved on and he watched her hit on (and score!) $10 each from two other shoppers. So he went in the store and found the manager and they watched her prowl the parking lot a few more minutes before calling the police. When our friend came out from shopping, she was being handcuffed and the child was in a Social Services car. Sad for the child!!! But the mother deserved to be held accountable for using a minor in a scam operation.

So what would you have done? It actually bothers me quite a bit that she would involve a child in this.

I’m in Atlanta, GA. for a quick mini-vacation for the weekend.  We hit up the Georgia Aquarium and a Braves game last night, today we’re heading out for Stoney Mountain.  

We’ll I’ve received my professional grade amateur microphone today via amazon. Bundled it comes with a pop filter but apparently those are on back order. Reason behind picking this up is that I needed a better quality microphone from what I had, and who knows, I might do some more phone voice over stuff like I have done before for other companies.  You know the voice behind the “press one for english” type stuff.  

I now understand why there are so many books and gotcha’s out there about podcasting.  Sure if you’re just doing a single podcast for yourself its not that hard.  But if you want music, jingles, to use skype for a dual podcast – then enter the technical learning curve of quantum physics.  Ok maybe not that bad, but yeah, not easy.  Actually certain things are easier to do on a PC than a Mac when it comes to the podcasting, but the better software in terms of quality/editing seems to be for Mac.  I did come across some stuff made for PC that had additional items – i.e. ability to drop small sound effects and wav files into – I have not found that easy function on a mac yet. 

I’m sure after some more time I’ll know everything there is to know about professional pod casting.  You see, when we do something, we want to make sure we do it well, not half assed.  I’ve listened to a couple other podcasts out there and some are good, but a lot lack that professional radio quality – excluding the ones that actually come from a professional source. 

Here is a picture of the setup, microphone hooked up to the macbook.

I don’t have much time this morning but here are some pictures of the hotel room they stuck us in at the last minute.  Lets just say yesturday was not exactly the best of travel days, but, the hotel was nice.