Help...

I'm sitting here and wanting to hear some summer music. I'm so burnt out on the snow and need a pick-me-up. If you have a song that reminds you of summer, please send it my way. Anything to give me a mind set of chillin' on a nice summer day with a cold pop in my hand.

So Good....

I just finished putting the first season of Firefly on my laptop. When I'm working on something at work that doesn't require a lot of reading, basically when I'm writing code, I'll watch something. It breaks up the day a little. So I just finished watching an episode of Firefly. All I have to say is shame on Fox for letting this show fail. Joss Whedon is a genius with this series and it is just so good. If you haven't seen the series, and I think all 3 of my readers have, I suggest you pick it up. I think you can generally get it from your local library or buy it on iTunes. Either way, it is a must see series. Ok, that's all for now...

Waste of Time

So last night for our FHE activity we decided to watch Spider-man 3 which we got from Netflix. The kids have been really excited for it and I'd heard that it was better than the other two. So I was kind of excited. I'm not the biggest fan of the first two movies and I think Toby McGuire is a horrible actor. It was a waste of time in the fact that I had to watch the movie, it was fun sitting with the family and watching the movie, though that is usually uneventful. The kids are old enough now to just watch the show and not be too annoying, like kids can be. Well except for KK, she's a cute little pest.

Back to the movie...I missed the Jazz beating the Spurs for it. The highlight of the movie was Topher Grace. He did a great job as the bad guy. In my opinion he was the best actor in the whole movie. Kirsten Dunst just looks drunk during the whole movie. It was funny to see the cameo of Stan Lee. I laughed at that and then had to explain why I was laughing to my wife. She's not a huge comic book fan so she didn't know who he was. Anyway...if I was going to grade this movie, I'd have to give it a D. Only watch it when there is absolutely nothing else on. And if possible, borrow it from some dope that bought it, don't waste your money on it.

That's all I have for my movie review blog. I have Oceans 13 and The Game Plan at home, so I'll post again on those. Have a great day.

Family Games

This weekend my mom was able to come into town. I think its fun when she comes in because we all get together for a little while and share some food and laughs. This weekend we got together on Saturday night and I was able to try the new Singstar game.

For those of you that don't know, Singstar is like karaoke with the music video for the background and a score. So not only do you have to listen to your own crappy voice like you would with karaoke, you are getting scored by the game console. Rankings like "Wannabe" and comments like "awful" make for a great morale booster while allowing others to laugh at you. The only redeeming quality of the game is that they have the original music videos playing in the background.

If I really cared what people thought of my crappy singing voice (it IS crappy and I know it and I really don't care), I might not ever want to play again but I really enjoyed it. Especially when I'm singing side-by-side with my brother who's voice is about like mine.

One of those days....

Sometimes things seem to run smooth and then you hit patches where everything seems to hit at once. Well, the last month as been one of those patches. So here is a list of events that have occurred in the month of January to give you an idea of just how much Murphy really hates me. Most of it is annoyance so its not really painful but its enough to keep you on your toes:

1. Stove died - Not all of it, just the oven portion. There is a computer board inside our oven that regulates the temperature, self-cleaning, etc. Well, that board went out 2 years ago and we replaced it at the cost of $450. It went out again this month. The stove is probably 7-10 years old so its not under warranty (of course). We have since been to Lowe's (awesome store) and we get our new stove Saturday. (They will be hauling the other one away which is good because it may end up at a target practice range if they didn't.)

2. Toilet plugged - It was a partial plug so it would somewhat flush sometimes and then clog others. You could plunger it and it would work fairly well for a little while and then clog again. It ended up being a part of one of those kid's meal toys. It was far enough down that the toilet had to come up, a new wax ring and new bolts applied, and resealed. The first time I put the toilet on the bolts (really difficult by yourself because the bolts don't just stick up and line themselves up), one came out of its socket and I ended up at Walmart at 10:30pm on a Friday to get a new wax ring. 2nd time was a charm (only because I bought a spare wax ring in case I screwed up one.)

2a. Toilet cabinet broke - I placed this under 2a but it was a separate problem. It is linked because if I didn't have to work on the toilet, it wouldn't have broke. Anyway, it was sitting outside the bathroom door. At about midnight, I'd had enough of the bathroom. Took a shower and then sat to watch a little tv. The wife's cat decided it would be a good play toy, jumped up on it and toppled it over breaking the doors off in the process. It has since been replaced by a better cabinet.

3. Sick daughter (kind, of) - Jayna has complained off and on about a sore ear. She complains, then runs off playing and having a good time without another thought. Tuesday I was called by her school because she was complaining and they were a bit on the sensitive side because a week ago they had a case of strep throat in that class. So, I went and picked her up, took her to the doctor's office on Wed. She doesn't have strep but did have a little bit of a red throat. She's fine other than it being winter.

4. Computer problems at work - The day I take off to take care of my pseudo-sick daughter, I get a call that our accounting program won't let anyone sign in stating that they are already signed in. After 1-1/2 hours at work shutting down computers, restarting the server (more than once), we finally get it fixed. After that, I head off to the doctor's appointment.

5. Flooded basement - Before you get excited about this (I was excited about it enough for everyone), my wife called me while I was waiting for the doctor to come in. She got a call that our basement might be flooding. So I rush (after the doctor gets done with Jayna) out the door heading home. Come to find out, the frost-free faucet in the front of the house decided that it didn't want to be closed anymore. I think the gasket seal inside decided to finally conk out. It had problems before but would still seal so I wasn't really surprised. Anyway, I already had one purchased, got it changed and got the water back on within 10 minutes of getting home. (Most of it was trying to decide where I hid the new frost-free faucet.) Amount of water in basement was a gallon or less with one wet sweater, one wet Animal Shelter uniform and the bottom of one box.

6. Various work issues that seem out of the ordinary. Too many to mention individually but its been interesting. Maybe I'm being over-sensitive or maybe people just need to take a nap. Haven't figured out which yet but if there's a nap to be taken at work, I will volunteer.

Anyway, just a glimpse into my life. I'm not trying to complain but blogs are cheaper than therapists and blogs can't have you committed. (I guess they do provide a written record that can be used against you, but we will worry about that at the hearing.)

Just Sittin' Here

I'm sitting at home today. January is a crappy month for kids and family being sick. Jarik came upstairs last night and said that he had thrown up in the toilet. Chels spent the night in his room because he wasn't feeling well. Which in turn I think made her feel a little sick as well. So I stayed home today to help them all feel better. I just was sitting here watching my dog eat his own poop, which is really gross. I don't think he's feeling well. He's a big dog and he's a lot of fun to play with, he's just crazy. Anyway, now that I've succeeded in blogging about nothing, I'll finish now. Have a great day.

So much fun ... I'm sore.

Last night we went to Bouncin' off the Walls for my niece and nephew's birthday. It was a lot of fun but it really helps you to know just how out of shape you really are. I got to throw the kids around, tackle them, ride down the slide with them and let them beat me at air hockey.

Today though, I'm paying the price. I'm tired and sore; I have a rug burn on my knee. The cool thing is that I don't mind because it was a lot of fun. Every time I move and feel a bit sore, I remember the smile on their faces and know it was worth it.

Blog, Blog, Blog

I got a message from my daughter that she wants to start blogging and sent me her beginning message. We discussed a bit then I sent her to a couple of sites where I blog and realize, I don't blog enough.

Anyway, boring day at work. Going to go hang out with the fam in a little bit to go play for my niece and nephew's b-day party. Nothing like a birthday to bring the family close together. Mostly so you can beat them at air hockey!!!

Blog Just to Blog

So I'm going to blog just to blog today. Things are going well right now. Work is going in a direction, which direction that is, is yet to be determined. Things are moving forward, which is nice.

The family life is good. Kids are growing and doing all sorts of fun stuff.

I actually had an idea to blog about something earlier today and didn't so now it's left me. If I remember I'll revisit and add another blog laters.

Go Elf Yourself

This is funny...

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1311440760

Stupid 'Where' Clause

So I'm taking a little break and decided to write in my blog. It has been a few months since my last entry. I know I'm a slacker. Anyway, I'm taking a break because I did a programmer mistake and I'm now waiting for my database table to come back up. I'll make this as simple as possible. In programming we use Oracle databases and to update a table you simply write a query that tells the database what you want to change but you need to tell it what exactly to change or it will change everything. Hence the 'Where' clause comes in. Well I forgot the where clause and updated the whole table. That is my embarrassing moment for today. Have a great day.

New Story idea

Not sure if everyone is linked to my "McGee Films" blog, so I thought I would share here also. I have come up with an idea for a video-short which, if all goes well and we get enough collaborators and help, can turn into a series.

I have posted the series idea and episode 1 summary in a document on Google.com. There are a few collaborators (Tracy, Chels, Nic, Aly) that can view this and add to the idea. Here is a brief summary:

I have come up with a new idea for a video-shorts series. It is "Brother vs. Sister". While it is on the hush-hush for the moment (except for a select few), I think it will be a lot of fun. If all goes well, we could have this 1st one filmed and on YouTube, MySpace, or any other video sharing site. I think it will be a lot of fun.


That was the post on McGee Films. Anyway, for those of you that are interested in helping (I know there are a lot of creative types that we know and that were interested in helping with other projects before), send me an e-mail giving me your gmail account and, if I count you worthy, will add you to view the documents to start the little hamster running the wheel that is your mind.

Anyway, will post more later.

New Music...

As you all know, all 2 of you that read this post, I'm a big fan of music. I'm always on the lookout for new music that I can add to my ever growing collection. The radio started playing this song...



a while ago. It's pretty cool. This week iTunes has Bubbly free. Go get it, it's definitely worth having in the collection. Let me know if either of you hear any more good music.

P.S. I think I have 2 readers, but I may be way over-exaggerating.

Oh, the memories

So today I've been thinking back on the past. What a fun journey. I got up early and went golfing, it took me back to the days in Logan when we'd get up at the crack of dawn to hit Logan River before class. Those were some good ol days.

As well, the other day, I was laying in bed with the fan running and Chels was putting on some of that girly lotion that smells good. I woke up and thought for a second that I was back in Logan going to school in our small apartment in Aggie Village. It was a nice memory. Our apartment in Logan was always hot and Chels would put that lotion on and the sweet smell would spread throughout the house. Another good memory.

Then today I was just playing on YouTube and found the Def Leppard video of Pour Some Sugar on Me.



I just remember when I was a kid in Rose Park and we'd watch MTV when my step-dad wasn't around and this was always on the top 5 videos that we'd watch. Def Leppard and this one by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince...



Enjoy!!!

Introducing Wash...

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the McGee family...



This is Wash. Named after the pilot on Firefly and Serenity. I picked Malcolm, but Chels suggested Wash and it stuck.

Beans, the Musical Food

Last night for dinner we had Navajo Tacos. You know scones and chili. It is sooo yummy. Well while we were eating, Bree, the 3 year old, was picking like she normally does. She gets this bean stuck on the end of the fork and says, "Beans make you fart". It was so funny, it was just out of the blue and we normally don't talk about how beans make you fart. We do sing the beans, beans song once in a while when we do have beans, but I didn't know she had picked up on it. It was just funny. OK, back to work.

Another Year...

...under my belt. Saturday I turned a year older than I was, 31. Am I any wiser, no, fatter, yes, but not much wiser. Had a good birthday, could have been a little funner, but with it being Father's Day weekend, I decided not to do to much. I'm starting to feel like a home body. Going places where there are crowds just annoys me. It is usually fun when I get there, it is just the idea of going into a crowd. I don't know if that is the old talking or the fact that I have 4 very "active" children that have broken ears most days. I told everyone that my kids weren't going to be like that, but they are like that and worse. Buy my kids are the best kids on the earth. They make my day. Anyway, just some odd ramblings.

Thanks Hess and Crew...

Yesterday one of my best friends left for training with his National Guard unit on their way to a one year tour in Iraq. For this, I want to say "Thank You". Something about Hess that I think everyone needs to know. This man has always put himself in the face of danger for those he cares for. Even if it is facing up to a monkey boy that was more than a foot taller and about 150 pounds heavier than him. He cares about all of us and knowing the type of man he is, and the group that he's with, I'm glad that they are there helping to protect this great country we live in. While this blog isn't coming out as it is in my head, I hope that everyone that reads this will know that I truly appreciate all he and his fellow soldiers are doing for me and mine.

I heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing the Star Spangled Banner live yesterday and what a sweet song to help me remember that I have freedoms that I wouldn't otherwise have if it wasn't for people like Hess. I know he's not to fond of praise, to that I say too bad. As I said to you when you told me you were going, I'd be right there by your side brother. Thanks! See ya in a year.


Read Neal's Blog - "Godspeed My Brother"

SO COOL!!! So Bored!!!

It is Sunday, I'm sitting at the hospital working on a big ITS initiative to go from paper charting to electronic charting. For the most part I sit here and twiddle my thumbs. I was curious yesterday if I could find that pinball song from Sesame Street online, and sure enough...



SO COOL!!

Finally...San Fran Pictures

So I put all my photos from my recent trip to San Francisco online. There are some good ones and some ok ones, you choose. I added some captions for some of the pictures, but not all of them. Enjoy the slide show.

San Francisco, JavaOne 07