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My Almost-daily Journal |
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| About I love trying out new things, especially when it comes to internet technology. I never really kept a journal, but it's something that I've always wanted to do. Now, everybody will get a chance to look inside my twisted, and somewhat-warped mind.
I've also subscribed to Audio Blog, so a few times a week, I'll leave actual voice blogs. Very cool!XML Newsfeed  |
Friday, May 27, 2005
Benjamin Peter (Scanned @ Decoma)Been in Toronto for two days. It's tough. All I can think about is baby I saw baby Benjamin when he was out in the world only one hour. Can you Baby Benjamin was so content. He wasn't the kind of baby that was fighting And I'm in Toronto, seperated from my new nephew. I've only known him for a posted by Dino at 10:13 AM (permanent link) (0) comments Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Ultrasound Multimedia Album I asked if I could bring my Sony digital camera into the ultrasound imaging room. Technician said it wasn't a problem. I guess I should have brought a VHS tape, since the whole thing could have been recorded. Oh well, live and learn. Capturing video on a digital still camera doesn't yield medical-grade video quality. Capture any video on a still camera (at least on one that's four years old) isn't ideal. Nevertheless, I have some videos! I encoded all the videos to wmv to drop them in size by a factor of five. Then during the night, I discovered the power of Sony Vegas, a commercial-quality, consumer-packaged video editing application. I wanted to zoom in and crop the video to see just the ultrasound image, as well as smooth pan to keep the image centered. The results were impressive. Click here for entire album (pictures and videos) OR... Click here for the pictures (same as blog entry below) Click here for the unmodified videos Click here for the modified videos (zoomed, cropped, stabilized) posted by Dino at 1:03 AM (permanent link) (0) comments Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Ultrasound Pictures! Here are the ultrasound pictures of our healthy baby. The ultrasound technician was pretty thorough, making sure every organ was there, measuring every component such as head, bones, abdomen, hands and feet. The first thing we saw was the baby yawning. I'd be pretty bored in there too. It was a great experience. Guess what? I've got videos coming too! 
 posted by Dino at 10:34 PM (permanent link) (0) comments I'd like a pastage for a bastage! Order Pasties from Calumet! Wow! posted by Dino at 11:50 AM (permanent link) (0) comments The DaVinci Code I'm almost done reading The DaVinci Code. I think that my friend Steve Egleston lent it to me. Now I think we have two copies in my house. Note to self: remember to give back this book to Steve. I know the book is totally fiction, and totally made to entertain the masses. But what this book does offer me, personally, is REASONABLE doubt of the Church's original motives of early Christianity. Here is a quote from US News and World Reports "Secrets of the DaVinci Code": "What I find interesting about Dan Brown's book is that it raises a very important question: If they-- meaning the leaders of the Church-- suppressed so much of eary Christian history, what else don't we know about? What else is there to be known? And as a historian, I think it's a really important question because the answer means a great deal." - Professor Elaine Pagels I personally denounce Christianity. No offense to its followers, of course. Just don't ask me to come to Bible Study, and don't bring prayer into my schools or civic functions. Keep your religion at home. I think the next step is to demand from the Catholic Church, namely, The Vatican, that they turn over all historical records, art works, notes, scrolls, books, etc., to historians for review. Can The Vatican be sued or subpoenaed? If they don't comply, we use force. What the heck are we waiting for? Oh... lemme guess... Ignorance is Bliss, right? posted by Dino at 11:21 AM (permanent link) (1) comments Sunday, May 15, 2005
Blower/Vac Update I ended up going to Weingartz on Thursday afternoon to make my big-ticket purchase of a blower/vac. Their prices were comparable to Home Depot's pricing on Echo products (these were the only comps available), so I'd have to say the store wasn't too "boutiquey" and price-gougey. They do sell high-rent items such as Stihl, Echo, and Honda, so higher-than-Home-Depot-pricing was expected. What I didn't expect was full-service treatment. I made my decsion and ended up selecting the Stihl SH85C. There was a promotional sale going on (you'd hate to know what the standard prices were), so I bit the bullet. After a super cordial transaction with the sales guy (I swear, he wanted to come over and be my grounds keeper friend), I strolled around drooling over $12,000 tractors, $25,000 Bobcats, and a few other big toys I'd probably never buy unless I owned a golf course. It wasn't too long before the assembly boy came out with my blower/vac, all filled, primed and prestarted. Wow, that was quite the service. "Would you like me to show you how to start it?", the assembly boy asked. "No, thanks. I'll figure it out when I get home. I can't wait to get home, so I'll take it off your hands right now.", I replied. So without hesitation, he followed me to my truck and I was homebound in no time. Got home, fired it up, and started sucking up lawn femurs, leaves, twigs and other lawn debris. Thing worked like a charm! You definitely get what you pay for in life, and this thing worked wonderfully! Bag was high-rent, motor was high-rent, and usuability was awesome! Everything was quick-disconnect (unlike the Echo), and I was blowing followed by vacuuming without much delay in between. If you can stomach the price, the Stihl Blower/Vac is the one to own! Now, I just need to justify replacing my current Weed Eater trimmer with a Stihl. That way, I can use detachable attachments like a mini-tiller, edger, pruner, etc. Not sure if I can make the sell to Danielle. Guess since we're not getting lawn service this year (my lawn guy was no-call no-show this year... pretty disappointed), it might be easier to justify. Who knows? posted by Dino at 8:28 PM (permanent link) (0) comments Friday, May 13, 2005
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Consumer Reports Got into Consumer Reports today (thanks, Peter) and got a quick lesson in blower/vacs. Looks like electrics are king of the hill for blowing and vacuuming (I never ever know how to spell this word... why are there two u's in this word!?!?!?). The Toro Super Blower Vac 51591 ($70) got a CR Best Buy, followed by the Toro Ultra Blower Vac 51598 ($100), then the Weed Eater 2595 Barracuda ($50), which also got a CR Best Buy. The first two had very good sweeping performance, and excellent loosening, vacuuming and handling performance. The latter got excellent sweeping performance, followed by very good loosening and vacuuming performance and good handling performance. But I don't want electric. I want gas-powered... The Stihl BG45 ($150) got a CR Best Buy, and it had very good sweeping and loosening performance. Vacuuming was N/A since that model didn't have a vacuum kit. I think the BG45 was discontinued and replaced by the BG46. However, the Stihl BG55 ($195) came in second with very good performance across the board. It was followed by the Echo 230 ($200), John Deere BH25 ($190), Weed Eater BV1650 ($100) which got a CR Best Buy, Craftsman 79712 ($100), Craftsman 79734 ($130), Echo 210 ($200), followed by Ryobi and Husqvarna. Surprising that the Husq under-performed. Earlier today in my blower/vac quest, I made the decision to visit Weingartz this afternoon after work. They are a few miles from my house, and they specialize in lawn and garden tools. Guess what they sell? They sell Stihl, namely the Stihl BG55 blower/vac. Reviewing the Stihl site, the BG55 Blower is exactly what I'm looking for. It has shredder blades on the impeller, and has air volume of 430 cfm. Only thing I don't like is its meager air velocity of 140 mph. But from what I've been reading, air velocity is misleading. Air volume should be the most important performance indicator, and 430 cfm is impressive. So, after reviewing the Stihl site and reading Consumer Reports, my decision is made. I am going to be a proud owner of a Stihl blower/vac. Hopefully, the Stihl will not electrocute like the Echo did. My luck, Weingartz will probably be out of stock. If they are out of stock, I might be forced to by the Stihl BG65 or BG85, which to me, isn't a bad thing. I look at spending like our government does... why buy one at one price, when I can buy one at twice the price. No regrets. posted by Dino at 11:58 AM (permanent link) (2) comments Wednesday, May 11, 2005
The Blower/Vac/Mulcher Saga I went to Lowe's for lunch in my search for the perfect blower/vac/mulcher. Why oh why don't they make a product that every homeowner would buy!? I don't think that I'm asking for much. I want a quality gas-powered blower/vac combo, with a metal impeller that will shred sticks larger than 2 mm wide, that's lightweight, ergonomic, has a leaf bag larger than a lunchbox, with quick-connect attachments. Echo is the best quality (and most expensive) brand of two-stroke gas-powered tools that Home Depot sells. Obviously, that company has problems, since three out of three blowers I attempted to purchase shoots a spark arc to any portion of your hand that touches any metal part on the blower. Plus air speed is below 200 mph. I think they're rated to 165 mph. El-cheapo blowers sport 200-205 mph. If that isn't bad enough, the vac attachment requires you to unscrew/screw a large radiator-style clamp to secure it. Can you believe that? And the impeller is plastic, but it has four metal blades attached to inside of impeller. Won't chop a femur, but some metal is better than no metal. Regardless, the shocks don't work for me. Echo is out. Toro sports a blower/vac with a metal impeller, but it's electric. I don't want electric. Toro is out, unless some rare boutique store sells gas-powered Toros in Birmingham. Everything else about the Toros are perfect: easy-on-easy-off attachments, large bags, 200 mph air speed, metal impeller, lightweight, and very ergonomic. Couldn't ask for a better designed blower/vac, other than the fact that you need a power source and extension cord. Toro is out. Then there's the offshore-built blower/vacs like Homelite (Home Depot brand) and Poulan (a Dewault look-alike, wanna be). All are gas-powered, have 200+ mph air speeds, and easy-on-easy-off attachments. These are made for the masses for the "light residential" guy that uses the product twice a year. The price is right too. Their top-o-the-line product sells for under $100 (the average is about $79). Echo's residential-quality blower, that sports a smaller motor, less air-speed, and not-so-easy-to-attach attachments costs $199. Differences between Echo (and other high-end brands) vs. Poulan and Homelite are you get actual bearings instead of bushings, higher quality motors, and better quality control. Basically, it's the difference between a blower that lasts 15 yrs and one that lasts 3 yrs (I owned a Poulan... it lasted 3 years... I took a sledge hammer to it after it didn't start). So I went to Lowe's during lunch. Guess what? No luck. Their high-end blower is a Husqvarna. Super! Too bad Husqvarna only sells gas-powered blowers. They don't sell blower/vac combos! Can you believe that shit!? What else do they sell? Next in line is the Troy-Bilt. I saw the exact same blower/vac at Sears Craftsman store. I guess Troy-Bilt makes blowers/vacs branded as Craftsman too. No big deal. Only problem with their blower/vac is that it feels like I'm holding onto a blower with a Kawasaki Ninja 750 motor. It's huge, cumbersome, and heavy. Secondly, the leaf bag is about the size of a lunchbox. I'd be emptying that thing every 30 seconds. Other bummer is that the blower requires 40:1 gas/oil mix. All my two-stroke tools in my garage use 50:1. WTF? What else? Plastic impeller. I don't want a plastic impeller, and I don't want a blower that requires professional sports conditioning/weight training to be able to operate for more than ten minutes. The thing weighs a ton. So Troy-Bilt is out. So what the heck are my choices?! WTF!? Am I asking for much? I want a two-stroke motor that runs off 50:1 gas/oil. I want a metal impeller that can actually cut up small twigs (actually, I want an impeller that can cut up a femur). I don't want to get electrocuted every time I use it. I want easy to attach/detach accessories. I want it to be ergonomic, lightweight and easy to operate. And I want a quality name which should translate into a quality product. Where do I find this non-existent blower/vac? Home Depot - nothing. Lowe's - nothing. I guess my only option is to buy the Poulan, then sledge-hammer it to pieces and buy a new one every three years. Any other hardware stores other than Lowe's or Home Depot? How troubling! posted by Dino at 2:35 PM (permanent link) (0) comments Shred "N" Vac Three trips, two flustered Home Depot employees, and one peeved customer later, and at the end of the day, I will never purchase another Echo product again. Three out of three of these blows arched a spark to my skin, each, with ever-increasing voltage. I even tried wearing leather gloves, just to finish up my yard before I returned the third and final one, and I just couldn't bear the neural torture. There is obviously a design or manufacturing flaw that carried over into three of these units. So now I am again on the gas powered blower hunt, and Echo products will never find a home with me. posted by Dino at 7:26 AM (permanent link) (0) comments Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Shred "N" Vac Got one of these yesterday from Home Depot: 
Sad thing is, after it heated up after about 30 minutes of use, any metal part I touched arched a spark to my skin! Ouch! It wasn't a shock from static buildup, it was a continuous spark from the coil that's connected to the spark plug. Exchanged today on my way back from one of our development centers. Hopefully the new one does not arc. Lesson of the day: even if you're buying the most expensive brand of a particular item, the quality control of that company is no better than the shittiest brand's quality control. posted by Dino at 5:12 PM (permanent link) (0) comments Sunday, May 08, 2005
The Heartbeats - End of Week 18 Wow. It is incredible to be able to listen to your unborn child's heart. Could people do this 25 years ago? Did people even do this 10 years ago? These audio files don't even do the experience justice. I swear, the level of detail can't be captured with audblog. Heart sounds strong: no heart murmurs, no irregularities, nothing... just a strong, beating heart, with a very healthy-sounding flapping of the heart valves. It is so cool. How do I get these audio files onto the blog? Basically what I do is call the audblog number, then record via the telephone. The audblogs instantly get uploaded to my blog (which in itself is pretty darn slick). Then I download the audio files locally, and slap a noise reduction filter on it using a free demo app called Tsunami Pro. Then I reupload the files via blogger. Main reason I run the filter through the files and save them locally is because the audblog files reside on audblog's servers. Who knows where audblog is going to be in 30 years. This way, I keep a permanent record locally, as well as our personal servers. These heartbeat mp3's have been filtered with noise reduction: 187410NR.mp3 187409NR.mp3 187407NR.mp3 The heartbeats below are sans noise reduction filter, and bone-stock: posted by Dino at 10:20 PM (permanent link) (0) comments Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Dog & Cat Diary (Got this from Danielle today. I thought it was great!) EXCERPTS FROM A DOG'S DIARY Day number 180 8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE! 10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 1:00 pm OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE! 4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE! Day number 181 8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE! 10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 1:00 pm OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE! 4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE! Day number 182 8:00 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 9:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 9:40 am - OH BOY! A WALK! MY FAVORITE! 10:30 am - OH BOY! A CAR RIDE! MY FAVORITE! 11:30 am - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 12:00 noon - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 1:00 pm OH BOY! THE YARD! MY FAVORITE! 1:30 pm - ooooooo. bath. bummer. 4:00 pm - OH BOY! THE KIDS! MY FAVORITE! 5:00 PM - OH BOY! DOG FOOD! MY FAVORITE! 5:30 PM - OH BOY! MOM! MY FAVORITE! EXCERPTS FROM A CAT'S DIARY DAY 180 - My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while I am forced to eat dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of escape, and the mild satisfaction I get from ruining the occasional piece of furniture. Tomorrow I may eat another houseplant. DAY 181 - Today my attempt to kill my captors by weaving around their feet while they were walking almost succeeded, must try this at the top of the stairs. In an attempt to disgust and repulse these vile oppressors, I once again induced myself to vomit on their favorite chair...must try this on their bed. DAY 182 - Decapitated a mouse and brought them the headless body, in attempt to make them aware of what I am capable of, and to try to strike fear into their hearts. They only cooed and condescended about what a good little cat I was...Hmmm. Not working according to plan. DAY 183 - I am finally aware of how sadistic they are. For no good reason I was chosen for the water torture. This time however it included a burning foamy chemical called "shampoo." What sick minds could invent such a liquid. DAY 184 - There was some sort of gathering of their accomplices. I was placed in solitary throughout the event. I overheard that my confinement was due to MY power of "allergies." Must learn what this is and how to use it to my advantage. DAY 185 - I am convinced the other captives are flunkies and maybe snitches. The dog is routinely released and seems more than happy to return. He is obviously a half-wit. The bird on the other hand has got to be an informant, and speaks with them regularly. I am certain he reports my every move. Due to his current placement in the metal room his safety is assured. But I can wait, it is only a matter of time. posted by Dino at 3:13 PM (permanent link) (0) comments Baby Onboard! Drive Safely! Lately, I've been reading a great deal of anti-goose propoganda, mainly "propogated" (hmmm... interesting choice of words) by building facilities management, "I hate geese... they shit everywhere!", "Only good goose is a dead goose!", "Geese are dirty, mean, and they shit everywhere!", "Those dirty creatures shit where they eat! They are vile!" Personally, I love geese. I love to see them fly. I love to hear them honk. And best of all, I love to see them propogate (hmmm... there's that word again). I just LOVE seeing baby geese walking in line behind their mothers. I don't see HOW anybody can hate them. So, it gratifies me to read emails like this... This was sent to me from Danielle. It was a company-wide email sent out to all Valassis employees: As many of you might be aware on the east side of the building we have had a mother goose sitting on a nest of about 6 eggs. Sometime since yesterday the eggs have hatched and we now have about 6 baby geese in the parking lot area. Please use caution when driving through the parking lot as the babies are small at this time and walking in the parking lot area. We just wanted to let you know that they are out there. Thank you, Supervisor, Strategic Sourcing & Facilities Here are some pictures of the mother goose and her nest. For some reason, she laid her eggs in the middle of a parking lot: The Lady of Valassis I can't wait for Danielle to take some pictures of the mother and her babies! posted by Dino at 2:01 PM (permanent link) (0) comments Xristos Anesti... Alithos Anesti... This past Sunday was celebration of Orthodoxy's Easter... the day that the highly controversial historical figure, Jesus Christ, allegedly beat death. Common day folktales, using the Bible as a reference, describe Jesus Christ as dying on Friday (after being crucified for crimes against the state), decaying & decomposing for two days, and on Sunday springing to life and levitating into space (heaven). If you say it enough times, through repeated verses of song and prayer, maybe people will start believing it. In Greek Orthodoxy, there is a song/hymn about the resurrection of Jesus that has the same versus repeated three times. I think the original brainwashers of the day, figured that repetition is the best way the beat an idea into somebody's brain. So now, on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday, Greeks greet each other with "Xristos Anesti!" The response usually is greeted with "Alithos Anesti!" Translation: "Christ has risen!" and "Truly he has risen!" My response now is, "Suuuuuuuure he has!" His proper medical attention, people suffering a gunshot wound to the head can live. Same goes for stab wounds. If I was Pontius Pilate, I would have stabbed Jesus in the heart, or cut the head off to make sure he was dead. Now, we'll never know, and the resurrection hoax lives on as if it were a fact. Please Don't Insult My Intelligence! When did the advanced civilizations of the time STOP believing that Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter and Uranus actually WEREN'T Gods? I would hate to think there are people living on this planet today that don't know by now that little lights in the sky are actually planets. When did Greek civilization stop believing in mythological Gods such as Zeus, Dionysus, Aphrodite, Achilles, and etc.? I would hope that there are not mini-civilizations, isolated from the rest of the world, that still worship the Greek Gods. Sadly, according to my father, there are small sects in Greece today that still worship mythological Gods. Sad. Very sad. Want to know something just as sad? Read below. This is a clip from a magazine article from U.S. News and Reports, "Secrets of the Da Vinci Code", page 40, "The Pagan Mysteries Behind Early Christianity" by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy: ... At the heart of the Mysteries were myths concerning a dying and resurrecting godman, who was known by many different names. In Egypt he was Osiris, in Greece Dionysus, in Asia Minor Attis, in Syria Adonis, in Italy Bacchus, in Persia Mithras. Fundamentally all these godmen are the same mythical being. We will use the combined name Osiris-Dionysus to denote his universal and composite nature. The various myths of the different godmen of the Mysteries share what the great mythologist Joseph Campbell called "the same anatomy". The more we studied the various versions of the myth of Osiris-Dionysus, the more it became obvious that the story of Jesus had all the characteristics of the perennial tale. Event by event, we found we were able to construct Jesus's supposed biography from mythic motifs perviously relating to Osiris-Dionysus: Osiris-Dionysus is God made flesh, the savior and "Son of God". His father is God and his mother is a mortal virgin. He is born in a cave or humble cowshed on December 25 before three shepherds. He offers his followers the chance to be born again through the rites of baptism. He miraculously turns water into wine at a marriage ceremony. He rides triumphantly into town on a donkey while people wave palm leaves to honor him. He dies at Eastertime as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. After his death he descends to hell, then on the third day he rises from the dead and ascends to heaven in glory. His followers await his return as the judge during the Last Days. His death and resurrection are celebrated by a ritual meal of bread and wine, which symbolize his body and blood. These are just some of the motifs shared between the tales of Osiris-Dionysus and the biography of Jesus. Why are these remarkable similarities not common knowledge? Because, as we were to discover later, the early Roman Church did everything in its power to prevent us perceiving them. It systematically destroyed Pagan sacred literature in a brutal program o f eradicating the Mysteries, as task it performed so completely that today Paganism is regarded as a "dead" religion. So how is it that these "godmen", pre-dating the fabled "Jesus" by millenia (that's several THOUSAND years), miraculously and coincidentally share the exact same story as Jesus??? Is it a coinncidence? Or does our society yearn a deity/godman SOOOOO bad, that it'll clutch onto ANY idea, as long as it's referenced to a "holy" source (that ironically has no references)? Please... don't insult my intelligence by greeting me with "Xristos Anesti!" You can read more about the similarities of world deities on a bulletin board article I wrote a few years ago: Historical similarities of world deities... Here's another article I posted on reasons NOT to believe everything you read: Reasons NOT to follow the bible... posted by Dino at 1:47 PM (permanent link) (1) comments Monday, May 02, 2005
Wow! I Have Archives! I can't believe that I've been "blogging" since 2003! I just went back and read some of my old blog entries. I can honestly say that I was entertained by myself of the past. If you're wondering how to access the archives, just look to the left. There's a whole list of weekly blog archives, indexed weekly. <-- LOOK LEFT. THERE THEY ARE! The interesting thing is that I've been really "blogging" for longer than three years. Dinofilias.com started officially on February 27, 2001... and that's actually the launch of the entire website. The bulletin board started off at least six months prior, running off a server in my basement. Can you believe that this all started off as Dan Glovak and I having debates about theism vs. atheism via email? Yup, it's true. I then got my hands on a copy of Ultimate Bulletin Board from Newsgroups, and figured out how to run a Perl-based server app from my PC, running off Windows 2000 Server that I wasn't supposed to have, and served via my broadband connection, which we're not supposed to do. The discussions and "blogs" exploded, and I've been writing non-stop ever since. I wonder if anybody ever reads all this nonsense. It's all show-business. posted by Dino at 12:30 AM (permanent link) (0) comments |
