Things That Make You Go Boom

If you like things that are awesome, click here. Right this moment. I'll tell you why things like this happen. Sometimes mankind emerges from the dark forest of daily life, to emerge upon a rolling plain of grass and clover, with the sun shining and a light breeze blowing. At that moment mankind realizes "hey, the company executives are on vacation for a month, and we have two train engines that are scheduled to be cut up for scrap, let's be awesome!".

I don't know, maybe that kind of epic dudeness only happens in Texas. Or does it...

Overhaul Complete

My apologies for stepping away yet again. More technical issues, this time on our computer's end. Some of the files in our operating system were corrupt, so I enlisted some help in repairing it. NOW I understand why my college buddies who were into electrical engineering used LINUX. Our biggest highlight during the long moment of silence: we sold our house again, this time for more money than the first. Sadly, we again unsold our house within a week. Yet again, the buyer was financing 100% of the purchase and, despite being pre-approved, was denied at the final loan application. At least we found out when we did, since Wifey and I were going to put a bid on a sweet little property that very evening.

Good To Be Back

Sorry about the absence. A combination of technical difficulties and rough schedule have conspired to keep me away for some time. An update of what's been going on:

• Our house sold, then, due to the buyer's credit record, unsold. A word to the wise: If you're financing 100% of the purchase of a home (haven't we learned that's not so wise?), make sure to keep up your student loan payments.
• Sarah Joy has begun using words. This is a serious upgrade from grunting and screaming.
• Sweetness turns 4 years old Sunday. We took her to the doctor to get a vaccination, she stared at the needle the whole time it was in her arm, and she didn't even whimper. Impressive. I have lately found myself doing foolish things and internally saying "my 4 year old daughter is better than that. This provides some parenting insight: we are more intelligent, faster, stronger, more mature, and more experienced than our children. We are not better, and to think otherwise is to become a stumbling block to raising our children into upstanding adults.
• We discovered that the baby Wifey is carrying, due mid-July, is a boy. Could not be more excited, so to explain any more would just fail to convey.
• My job has shifted, for the moment, from checking calculations and putting out fires to acting as a sort of iron-mongering interior decorator for submarines. Want a giant hatch? Need some motion synthesis for a linkage? Will that be a power screw or a hydraulic cylinder? For a dork, this is a breath of fresh air after rooting out old mistakes on drawings and new mistakes on 400 page calculations for over a year. One thousand, one hundred, fifty pages and counting in the past 9 months.
• I was just patting myself on the back for pioneering the use of "monger" as a verb. Alas, a quick self-check of Merriam-Webster (who needs editors if you proof read?) showed that I am no pioneer, after all. Ergo, mongering is the word of the day.
• Started playing Warhammer: Dark Omen for original PlayStation on my PS2. Awesome game, makes me want to bring back words like "stoked". I'm sure I'll follow up with an entry on this gem.
• Wifey and I watched Stranger Than Fiction a few weeks ago. Strange, but very sweet movie. It really drew me in, and I loved it.

That's enough for now. More to follow, hopefully soon.