No wonder this circuit failed. It says "Made in Japan".

[ehowton]

My alarm went off. As my head was on the pillow, I saw my alarm clock sideways, and as my glasses were sitting on the end table, I squinted. I couldn't make out the time. Something was blocking the display. I reach my hand out to move the obstruction. There wasn't one. I've only had five hours of sleep. Trying...to...think. I sit up, put on my glasses and stare at the clock. Sure enough, "J:20" Crap alarm clock. Cost me $50 and took me half an hour to pick out a year ago. Poor Tony, suffering next to me while I sweated over the features. Once, we went to Fry's to pick out cases for our computers. He chose his in 14-seconds. I took nearly a full hour.

What do you mean, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan.

Stayed up late working on my new avatar last night. It's some of my best work to date, if for no other reason than the lack of good source material, and what I was actually able to accomplish with what I had. The subject was similar in color to the background making for a near impossible extraction, so I had to roll with it. First off I had to rotate the image 45-degrees just to get it visible enough at the size limitations. Then, using the color scheme, rendered some clouds, clone-stamped the other areas by hand, brought out the foreground with a spotlight effect and added a lens flare. Fantastic!

Unbelievable.

Reprising my role as Grill Master this evening, my first act will be to grill salmon for dinner! I can't wait to light that cigar, stroll out on my deck, and fire up that grill. Of course they're now linking grilling to cancer. Carcinogens from dripping fat hitting the flash plates and the char produced from ultra-seared meat. Nice. That's one tip I didn't need to hear about SomeBritInMass!

Marty, you're not thinking fourth dimensionally!

So yesterday, even though the IS department is not responsible for meeting setup, I get a call from one our Directors. It was her meeting, and in it she had her boss. So I go up there. The projector was setup in the middle of a box of tables strung with interconnected hubs and power strips. "What can I help you with?" I ask the Director. "BIGGER!" yells her boss, throwing his hands into the air. "Can we increase the screen size?" she asks me. "BIGGER!" he yells again. I try to NOT give him my tone it down, asshole I am so done with your mouth looks. "BIGGER!" he yells again as I carefully roll the cart containing the projector on it. I reach the limit of the cabling. "BIGGER!" he yells yet again. "I WANT THE PICTURE ACROSS THE ENTIRE SCREEN." He grabs the cart, and pulls it back further, dragging half the powerstrips and hubs to the floor. I know I visibly sighed. There was nothing more I could do but leave. I shit you not, I heard one last time, "BIGGER!"

Yeah, I know, I got a real problem with that.

Later, on http://ehowton.livejournal.com:

(4:25:12 PM) drax0r: I'm writing a post about morning jazz
(4:30:53 PM) EricHowton: I'm going to write about the proposed legislation curbing bandwidth access and speeds from the telecommunications lobbyists because they feel they bear the brunt of the burden providing access which allows entrepreneurial companies to get rich off their lines without them getting a slice of the pie.

AND:

(4:45:03 PM) EricHowton: I don't know which is worse.
(4:45:12 PM) drax0r: ?
(4:45:13 PM) EricHowton: Living with my wife who, every single day reminds me I haven't submitted an expense report for six months, or...
(4:46:18 PM) drax0r: That. That's worse. There's nothing you could say now that would make me think there's something worse than that.
(4:46:54 PM) EricHowton: Submitting a 6-month old expense report to my boss.
(4:47:30 PM) drax0r: Wow.
(4:47:45 PM) drax0r: That's a tough one.

Comments

[drax0r.livejournal.com]

I once spent about 50 bucks on an alarm clock.

I got mine for $8 at target. Clearance isle.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

[drax0r.livejournal.com]

You are so awesome.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

You are too, dude. Thanks.

[jesskd26.livejournal.com]

Sheesh....you can get a lamp for that much

[drax0r.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but does the lamp play CDs and have nature sounds?

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

My favorite is the under $20 ones where each of the selected nature 'sounds' return different combinations of...well what sounds like static. Very annoying. They should use high-bitrate mp3's in a loop on a flash chip or something.

[drax0r.livejournal.com]

I do really likes the ones with a little waterfall that plays nature sounds.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

I'd need to urinate in the middle of the night if I had a waterfall adjacent my head. Either that or I'd get my hand wet in my sleep.

[drax0r.livejournal.com]

Yes, that is always a concern.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a page right out of the American Beauty script.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Just because you re-create the Kevin Spacey shower scene every morning, don't go bringing that shit on my blog.

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

I was referring to the scene where he got caught masturbating in bed by his wife, not the shower scene.

Ass.

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to like you more and more...especially your shopping habbits. Perhaps we should go some time.

oh and Once, we went to Fry's to pick out cases for our computers. He chose his in 14-seconds. I took nearly a full hour.
I'm assumming this wasn't a mod case, right?

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

It ended up being very similar to yours, yes. But I did not go out in search of buying a goofy l33t c4s3 d00d! It simply ended up that way. Furthermore, anything purchased COTS like that, I don't consider a 'mod.' Only if you've done the modifications yourself, and I don't mean you added a neon fan, either.

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

Ass. My case rocks harder then your's does.

[drax0r.livejournal.com]

That was a joke. I wouldn't buy an $8 alarm clock. I would buy the most expensive one with minimal thought, assuming that at the price I paid, it would be halfway decent.

Do not go shopping with me.

[schpydurx.livejournal.com]

ditto. I have a bad habbit of doing this too. In fact, I joke with my co-workers that I'm used to overpaying.

[ehowton.livejournal.com]

Aisle. It's not surrounded by water. I am a rock, I am an island. And a rock feels no pain; And an island never cries.