tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51614222012-01-04T16:53:05.970-05:00another blog in the crowdthoughts on whatever crosses my mind.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.comBlogger1031100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-78410272139772760712008-10-05T16:19:00.003-04:002008-10-05T16:22:59.205-04:00Oh yeah! 'Skins rule!With that said, I hate Solaris 10 patch bundles. The latest issue had a bug where the inetd.xml file didn't get propagated to the non-global zones. Ugh, ugh, ugh. With 6, 7, and 8, you could just get the install script running, go get some coffee/lunch/church time, and come back to reboot. Now you have to babysit the !@#$ things.Life is good. Melanie needed a nap, so I drove shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-22267272442199614902008-10-03T16:02:00.003-04:002008-10-03T16:04:22.515-04:00Interesting that the stock market went down after Son of Bailout got passed. The last unemployment report before the election shows 150,000 jobs disappeared. More jobs were created under Carter than under Bush II.I'll admit I'm only mildly for this rescue. I'd rather see a stopgap measure passed, and have Republicans and Democrats run on their own ideas -- and then a bill passed in February/Marchshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-46480253260057523862008-10-03T15:50:00.003-04:002008-10-03T15:51:49.033-04:00Lost in the news about the VP debate and the rescue package, it seems California needs $7 billion PDQ. This usually isn't a good sign. I mean, the last time the head of a major city or a state needed money that quickly, it resulted in two cyborgs fighting.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-2197689872117606962008-10-03T15:43:00.002-04:002008-10-03T15:48:32.822-04:00Sarah Palin strung together sentences and formed coherent thoughts. She may not have always directly answered the question, but she at least proved she was not a complete idiot.This still doesn't mean McCain is not behind as we head into the home stretch, with Troopergate's report coming out in a week, the next Obama/McCain debate happening next week, and the Ted Stevens trial continuing. The shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-78421879779777271022008-10-01T13:53:00.003-04:002008-10-01T14:22:14.403-04:00My daughter's sick again a day after I've taken a day off to get over my own cold. I'm not sure who gave who a cold here.I'm told that after kid #1, the colds don't come quite as fast or furious. I hope this is the case.The big Quinnipiac poll shows Obama up by 15 (!) in PA, and by high single digits in FL and OH. Unless we hear more, I'm going to treat those as outliers. I think Obama is shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-77224386760929232222008-09-28T19:27:00.001-04:002008-09-28T19:28:07.579-04:00I believe at this point Jim Zorn is the most popular man in Washington.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-74576854463918458432008-09-28T13:28:00.002-04:002008-09-28T13:29:52.004-04:00McCain, apparently, just canceled his town hall meeting that was to be on ABC's This Week.Apparently, no one told the 300+ undecided voters. In Ohio. Well, an e-mail went out. Supposedly.WTF?shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-47084927042599681182008-09-28T13:07:00.003-04:002008-09-28T13:08:35.677-04:00I fear Al Groh may be polishing his resume just about now.But not everyone hates him.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-91867788854350585472008-09-26T19:23:00.001-04:002008-09-26T19:23:58.400-04:00Damnit, we don't need two new members of the Senate up above this year. shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-70147223142581948432008-09-26T19:01:00.001-04:002008-09-26T19:01:58.654-04:00It's debate time! Can't you feel the excitement?shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-2030225562169371632008-09-26T09:40:00.002-04:002008-09-26T09:49:50.232-04:00Boehner's bailout plan was designed to keep economic conservatives on the ranch. I'm not sure how serious they are about passing it, or whether they will even want to compromise -- in the House, if Pelosi wants something done, the most Boehner can do is delay for a few days.McCain's clearly not suspended his campaign. Can he recover from not even showing up to the first debate?The social shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-22039367393879316122008-09-25T16:58:00.002-04:002008-09-25T17:05:07.743-04:00Just got some thin sleepers for Melanie's 24 month season.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-87291478978403902282008-09-25T16:39:00.001-04:002008-09-25T16:41:20.419-04:00I've got to admit, I enjoy Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" more than Jill Sobule's song of the same name.But I've also got to admit Katy Perry's set the gay rights movement back a good three to six months there.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-88337032579847592462008-09-25T16:32:00.000-04:002008-09-25T16:33:06.490-04:00I'm going to say that my first reaction to McCain suspending his campaign was, 'What the fuck?'McCain's gambling again. Maybe Bill Bennett has some advice.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-14708971185960745792008-09-22T14:13:00.003-04:002008-09-22T14:15:59.090-04:00I'm making a spreadsheet that contains voting percentages in 2004, 2005, and 2006 in each VA municipality, and shows the % of African-Americans and Hispanics. To be included would/should be US Census estimates, so we know how much localities have grown since 2000 ... anything else?shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-68977830377567065412008-09-19T15:20:00.002-04:002008-09-19T15:41:49.912-04:00Just thought of this --Nancy Pelosi has nothing to lose by throwing Charles Rangel under the bus.In an ordinary election year, I suppose she would be afraid of losing support from the Black community. This might be mitigated/stopped by naming another qualified Black to chair the committee. However, with Barack Obama on top of the ticket, the likelihood of flagging Black interest is nearly shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-62136922349828769172008-09-17T16:37:00.003-04:002008-09-17T17:06:03.655-04:00Ugh. Amazing how quickly I can forget to update this thing.Life's going pretty good. I'm getting over my cold as are Rebecca and Melanie. Our tenants are moving in this week.I had a Scholastic Bowl rules clinic yesterday and another one tomorrow. Questions are coming along nicely and I'll have half the regular season matches ready by tonight or tomorrow. The other half is a vendor I work with andshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-12905498647712025732008-09-12T10:59:00.001-04:002008-09-12T10:59:33.272-04:00This one gently mocking Palin's 'no media' policy.(People dressed as reporters approach a Sarah Palin look alike, asking questions. A glass dome comes from the sky and falls upon them.)(pan to Joe Biden answering questions.)'Sarah Palin says she's ready to run the free world.'(cut to McCain manager demanding deference and respect for Palin.)'But John McCain's campaign manager says she's not readyshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-54180102295572101652008-09-12T10:56:00.000-04:002008-09-12T10:57:45.353-04:00Now one tying McCain to Bush and Rove:Find out what the positive/negative opinion on Rove is among independents. If it is negative, tie McCain and Rove in the next batch of commercials.'Karl Rove. Bush's top adviser between 2000 and 2006, when he resigned during the Valerie Plame scandal.'(pictures of Karl Rove and Dubya)'Now, he's working for John McCain.'(cite of this article and others)'John shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-4047074229023681732008-09-12T10:51:00.001-04:002008-09-12T10:55:52.418-04:00I just realized I never did post my suggested commercials.Here's one on foreign policy.(map of Afghanistan and Iraq)Announcer: Our soldiers can improve the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq.(video of Obama meeting with foreign leaders)Announcer: Most wars are won before they are fought. Barack Obama will utilize our resources, diplomatic and cultural, to ensure our overloaded soldiers aren't shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-43960123375155299792008-09-11T21:13:00.003-04:002008-09-11T21:36:44.810-04:00Well, the generator is installed. Melanie's on a new round of anti-biotics. I'm getting over my cold but my in-laws have gotten it. I'm told the first year of daycare is when kids get the most colds.My prayers are extended to those facing Hurricane Ike. It still stays at 100mph, a weak Category 2. Although I've heard it is larger than Katrina and is dredging up more water in a storm surge. My shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-10923784806445439062008-09-08T10:39:00.003-04:002008-09-08T10:40:15.379-04:00I got the generator installed on Friday. The company, PSP Products, had its crews work overtime to get 3/4 finished generators such as mine operational. That's pretty awesome.Hanna was mostly rain, and Melanie needed a 3 1/2 hour nap to help her recover from her cold.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-22770803354925762392008-09-08T10:34:00.002-04:002008-09-08T10:38:39.710-04:00A gentleman on Fark called Sarah Palin the Republican Bill Clinton.If so, raging about Sarah's scandals simply won't work. Nothing this side of her being on tape calling Obama 'Sambo' is going to sink her.Here's what I said about it on Fark; sadly, it was way downstream and no one replied to it.I think CanisNoir made the comparison to describe Palin's ability to look like 'just a regular gal.' Heshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-55697813446063247762008-09-05T19:18:00.003-04:002008-09-05T19:19:36.138-04:00You know what I found out? Lynn Westmoreland, the guy who called Obama 'uppity,' represents a district that is 38.5% black. Basically, assuming equal turnout between the races (likely due to it being a Presidential election AND having Obama on top of the ticket), if the Dem gets 90% of the Black vote, he need only get 25% of the other vote to win.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-86501135537345963482008-09-05T11:18:00.000-04:002008-09-05T11:19:09.283-04:00I made this post on my Facebook notepage. Thought it bore repeating here.I was genuinely scared in 1992 that we were headed to a second Depression because Clinton was going to tax us all to oblivion.This didn't happen.No one is talking about returning to 70% or 90% tax rates that prevailed in the 1950s or 1970s.If we could innovate, create jobs/wealth, and generally prosper in the 1990s with shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-28578547200590401922008-09-05T10:55:00.002-04:002008-09-05T11:16:58.990-04:00I didn't get to listen to McCain's or Obama's acceptance speeches -- Melanie was sick for Obama's speech and getting her to sleep was a delicate operation that we didn't want to reverse. Last night, she started to fuss when the crowds really started to cheer (either that or she is a Democrat). So, I wasn't able to listen to McCain's speech.Hanna is headed our way (sort of) and I am in the midst shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-52483916529401273832008-09-04T21:40:00.003-04:002008-09-04T21:42:41.428-04:00I posted this on Fark at 9:40pm, and I figured to keep this preserved for posterity.I'll survive if McCain gets elected. In fact, I'll even stay in America.I agree with McCain more than Obama on some issues.I'm pro-life (see: Seamless Garment and Consistent Life Ethic) but I'm willing to see a pro-choice politician oversee a reduction in abortions. The rate of abortions decreased under Clinton shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-68315711669927392582008-09-03T11:25:00.003-04:002008-09-03T13:14:54.873-04:00I won't go on about Sarah Palin's being unqualified. If McCain can hold on for 12-18 months, I suspect she will be perfectly suitable as President -- she won't be going in without any support and will have Condi and other GOP foreign policy figures to advise her. The 'realists' have defeated the 'neocons' and 'paleocons' in America's internal foreign policy battle. Of course, if McCain doesn't shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-72419846181567044772007-10-02T08:12:00.001-04:002007-10-02T08:21:46.443-04:00I am currently laid up & writing Scholastic Bowl questions to the best of my ability. A cold has recently struck me -- I am unable to make the phone calls needed to edit questions, & have missed my second day of work. Fortunately, I feel as if I am turning the corner, & will attempt to go back tomorrow.As for Scholastic Bowl, I am now writing match #27. I've got enough questions for districts to shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-49431632425548578872007-05-31T15:40:00.000-04:002007-05-31T15:54:08.311-04:00The S&P 500 makes a new record high! Can anything stop the stock market?I don't think a simple financial or political issue is going to stop it. It's survived 6.5 years of Bush, a débacle in Iraq, the slowdown in real estate, and so on, and so forth.It's going to take another 9/11, an energy crisis, or something that will cause the world to lose confidence in the US.Part of the reason the latter shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-29525006552724122632007-05-31T15:21:00.000-04:002007-05-31T15:39:13.527-04:00Melanie is growing so fast. Here's a link to her photo album. New photos will be added as I take them, and I've gotten Lisa to send me some of the cuter moments she has during the day.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-51602176209917781732007-04-07T23:55:00.000-04:002007-04-08T00:05:21.193-04:00Today was fun. I got to go on a date with Rebecca, as her parents graciously agreed to watch Melanie. So we went out to Mario's Pizza in Berryville, where I enjoyed a nice spinach calzone -- it was too big for me to eat, in fact. Before that, there was a little visit to my parents, where I hung out with Mom, my sister, my brother, and Melanie. I have a few pictures of Melanie to give to my mom.Atshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-52032689607078685562007-03-10T21:44:00.000-05:002007-03-10T21:55:42.771-05:00Well, I am now a proud father!Melanie Sharon Pickrell was born on February 18, 2007, at 8:41 a.m., and weighed in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and was 18 1/2" long. She's back to her birth weight and is now 19" long.The hospital stay was surreal. I remember having a giant headache for most of the 18th, which only fully went away by about 7pm or so. Becca was hooked up to an IV and so was frustrated shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-85835955922809815842007-02-10T15:42:00.001-05:002007-02-06T01:02:02.857-05:00My original thought for the day: With the passage of time, the probability of any online community becoming a closed set approaches 1. shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-80100749522042595482007-02-06T00:51:00.000-05:002007-02-06T01:02:03.050-05:00Well, the VHSL state Q's are ready to go off to the editors. I placed an ad for editors on hsquizbowl.org. I hope someone answers it; the questions need feedback from people who are very good subject matter experts.The bathroom upstairs is torn to pieces. I should go and take a picture of that, but getting to my camera will require climbing over so much stuff from the baby shower Sunday. Puttingshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-91383808727062160132007-02-04T18:07:00.000-05:002007-02-04T18:25:43.076-05:00Lots going on right now. I am thankful that Rebecca, Melanie and I have been given such a supportive family and so many friends that can share in our joy.Had Rebecca's baby shower earlier today -- the third of four we apparently get to have. We are very blessed in that regard. The first was my work, the second her work, the third family/friends and the fourth our church family/friends. Right now,shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1169244133485273042007-01-19T16:38:00.000-05:002007-01-19T17:03:52.910-05:00Well, working from home today. We had a doctor's appointment which determined that everything was on track. We also added a few items to our baby registry. I'll probably go over and add some more stuff to the registry in the next week or so. As of right now we will be working right up until the 9th of February -- Rebecca's due date is the 12thGoing home yesterday was interesting. I found what I shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1169166929810207702007-01-18T19:23:00.000-05:002007-01-18T19:35:29.823-05:00Well -- we have a promising lead on an in home daycare in South Arlington. We will be visiting it before too long, hopefully tomorrow.However the big news is that we will have to get our bathroom redone due to mold. We had been talking about putting a full bathroom downstairs but now it is time to do it. Once that's done we'll be able to totally renovate the bathroom upstairs. Right now we're shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1169006276923802372007-01-16T22:37:00.000-05:002007-01-16T22:57:56.950-05:00Well, today we offered the nanny job to Maria -- I think she has to check with the folks who are employing her currently. So we're keeping our ears to the ground until a contract and a start date is agreed on.I'm still conflicted whether I should want Rebecca to stay home. Right now, she wants to go back to work, but she seems to change her mind on this every day or so. Given that she will get shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1168883336288836672007-01-15T11:57:00.000-05:002007-01-15T12:48:56.300-05:00Well, it's MLK day. We set up the pack n' play in the living room and I have to move a few things around. I finally finished the Rock Bridge tournament but I should go through and check for repeats, which will take a while.We interviewed a nanny yesterday. Maria seemed very conscientious, thoughtful, etc. The only problem might be that her English is moderate, but her current employer said it wasshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1168564252367606502007-01-11T19:06:00.000-05:002007-01-12T20:24:22.210-05:00Wow. It's been about two months since I last updated this. My five readers, I suppose, got bored and stopped reading this.Well ... the biggest news is that Rebecca is pregnant, and it's a girl!Her name is going to be Melanie Sharon Pickrell. Sharon was pretty easy, since both grandmoms are named Sharon. A first name was harder. Rebecca liked Janis and Lorna, neither of which I liked. Since there shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1163631057475244592006-11-15T17:04:00.000-05:002006-11-15T17:50:57.490-05:00I owe my sister a reply to her Myspace message.Well, this past week has been eventful. Lots of stuff going to the new backup network. I discovered a new live365 station, Aramis, radio by night -- it plays American, French, Greek and a smattering of Italian/German/Dutch oldies. Pretty cool, actually. Will hang out with Eugene tomorrow night -- just need to decide what movie to see. I'll head up toshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1163417199152201442006-11-13T06:22:00.000-05:002006-11-13T06:26:39.163-05:00Well, as you might have noticed, my spam counting project has ended prematurely. It was simply taking too much time out of my day, really -- who wants to devote 20 minutes a day to reading spam when there's Scholastic Bowl questions to be written and work to be done at my work?This weekend was pretty chock full of my regular work -- I ended up spending 13 hours working on servers on Saturday intoshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1163326934601049692006-11-12T03:30:00.000-05:002006-11-12T05:22:14.636-05:00The elections are all through. Right now, the Democrats are the party of destiny. Every 20-40 years, the time is simply right for one or another party. In the 1930s, it was time for the Democrats, in the 1970s, it was time for the Republicans. I just hope that I don't become so dogmatic that I lose sight of when to become a Republican again.A thread on Fark that I didn't get a chance to reply to shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1162863878848770252006-11-06T20:39:00.000-05:002006-11-06T20:44:38.860-05:00Well, I thought my foot was feeling better. But a trip to Starbucks proved me wrong.I discovered the joy that is French and German hip-hop today. I went on Wikipedia to get some artist name and then typed in those names in Youtube. Result: happiness.Today's the last day I work the evening shift. Well I go back to normal tomorrow. Then Wednesday I have a dentist appointment, the first one in shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1162741042369216582006-11-05T10:16:00.000-05:002006-11-05T10:37:22.383-05:00Yesterday was my wife's 28th birthday. We celebrated by going out to her parents' house in the Shenandoah Valley, and going out to a nice Italian restaurant named Venice out here in Winchester.We also hung out in her parents' hot tub. That was pretty fun. It also motivated me somewhat to clean out our porch. I think there'd be room to build a bigger porch and put our own hot tub there but we'd shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1158581915615340972006-09-18T08:18:00.000-04:002006-09-18T08:18:35.640-04:00Category 18-Sep TotalFree stuff 31 585Male performance 10 411Cheap stuff 20 423Loans 20 798Self-improvement 11 174Porn 36 1469Meet women 5 76Stock tips 30 523electronic scams 3 28offline scams 3 61Casinos 7 67Political 1 7Blank 20 127 Spanish 10 164Japanese 1 31Chinese 33 1304Undetermined Asian 16 55Portuguese 0 4French 0 1Italian 0 49Turkish 0 3Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 197 4749shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1158239057354882742006-09-14T09:04:00.000-04:002006-09-14T09:04:31.510-04:00Category 14-Sep TotalFree stuff 45 554Male performance 25 401Cheap stuff 33 403Loans 39 778Self-improvement 12 163Porn 91 1433Meet women 2 71Stock tips 52 493electronic scams 1 25offline scams 4 58Casinos 8 60Political 0 6Blank 28 107 Spanish 18 154Japanese 1 30Chinese 74 1271Undetermined Asian 18 39Portuguese 0 4French 0 1Italian 9 49Turkish 1 3Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 340 4552shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1157719639970255052006-09-08T08:30:00.000-04:002006-09-14T08:36:15.843-04:00Well, more fun stuff. Read this article from Salon.com about older, female virgins. My own opinion is that a man will use a woman's virginity as an excuse to ditch her if he isn't all that into her to begin -- women will do the same thing too. Basically, some people think if someone else hasn't been there earlier, well, there must be something wrong. This, of course, is as fallacious as thinking,shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1157542294970277072006-09-06T07:31:00.000-04:002006-09-06T07:31:34.993-04:00Another quick spam update. One of these days I am going to make this a real blog. But for now ... this is it. Category 6-Sep TotalFree stuff 53 488Male performance 40 365Cheap stuff 29 358Loans 97 714Self-improvement 16 141Porn 172 1272Meet women 4 67Stock tips 46 413electronic scams 2 24offline scams 3 53Casinos 9 49Political 0 5Blank 5 70 Spanish 15 129Japanese 1 24Chinese 158 1133Undeterminedshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1157075421344616332006-08-31T21:50:00.000-04:002006-08-31T21:50:21.356-04:00Category 31-Aug TotalFree stuff 24 435Male performance 29 325Cheap stuff 18 329Loans 55 617Self-improvement 17 125Porn 113 1100Meet women 4 63Stock tips 21 367electronic scams 2 22offline scams 5 50Casinos 3 40Political 1 5Blank 10 65 Spanish 9 114Japanese 0 23Chinese 109 975Undetermined Asian 1 17Portuguese 0 4French 0 1Italian 4 35Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 302 3543shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1156815501568721812006-08-28T21:38:00.000-04:002006-08-28T21:38:21.583-04:00Another spam countCategory 28-Aug TotalFree stuff 36 411Male performance 26 296Cheap stuff 12 311Loans 53 562Self-improvement 6 108Porn 79 987Meet women 7 59Stock tips 18 346electronic scams 1 20offline scams 4 45Casinos 2 37Political 0 4Blank 4 55 Spanish 6 105Japanese 4 23Chinese 68 866Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 0 4French 0 1Italian 4 31Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 248 3241shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1156558385044920842006-08-25T22:12:00.000-04:002006-08-25T22:13:05.056-04:00quick spam update for todayCategory 25-Aug TotalFree stuff 10 375Male performance 2 270Cheap stuff 10 299Loans 7 509Self-improvement 2 102Porn 25 908Meet women 1 52Stock tips 2 328electronic scams 1 19offline scams 2 41Casinos 1 35Political 0 4Blank 0 51 Spanish 2 99Japanese 0 19Chinese 20 798Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 0 4French 0 1Italian 1 27Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 63shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1156471817980126602006-08-24T22:10:00.000-04:002006-08-24T22:10:17.990-04:00Category 24-Aug TotalFree stuff 15 365Male performance 9 268Cheap stuff 9 289Loans 5 502Self-improvement 4 100Porn 34 883Meet women 2 51Stock tips 14 326electronic scams 0 18offline scams 0 39Casinos 1 34Political 0 4Blank 2 51 Spanish 3 97Japanese 2 19Chinese 32 778Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 1 4French 0 1Italian 0 26Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 95 2930shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1156382610362180472006-08-23T21:20:00.000-04:002006-08-28T15:21:22.280-04:00Myspace finally worked the way I wanted it to. I heard from a gal who was a year ahead of me at Warren County -- I need to write her back. But more importantly, I need to edit the myspace page to reflect my wife and me being a couple. I suppose I could also put a picture of my wife and me up there? Category 23-Aug TotalFree stuff 8 350Male performance 9 259Cheap stuff 6 280Loans 9 shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1156299679036286472006-08-22T22:20:00.000-04:002006-08-22T22:21:19.050-04:00Quick spam update.Category 22-Aug TotalFree stuff 17 342Male performance 11 250Cheap stuff 4 274Loans 12 488Self-improvement 4 92Porn 40 822Meet women 1 48Stock tips 8 304electronic scams 2 18offline scams 1 37Casinos 1 32Political 0 4Blank 3 47 Spanish 0 90Japanese 0 17Chinese 37 725Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 0 3French 0 1Italian 2 22Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 104 2758shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1156210611948515182006-08-21T21:34:00.000-04:002006-08-21T21:36:51.960-04:00Well, sorry for the lack of updates of late.Today was spent on work and editing VHSL questions. I'll be doing the latter for much of the week, and then it's a return to writing questions. It'll be busy, but I've got four fairly easy (for me categories) and I might be able to have 24 matches' worth by Labor Day. We'll see.Saturday, Becca and I went to the Clarke County Fair. It was okay, I suspectshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155859548808712952006-08-17T20:04:00.000-04:002006-08-17T20:05:48.826-04:00Just another quick spam count. The Chinese porn spammers sure are persistent.Category 17-Aug TotalFree stuff 9 290Male performance 5 191Cheap stuff 7 243Loans 6 399Self-improvement 4 79Porn 42 640Meet women 0 43Stock tips 7 273electronic scams 0 15offline scams 1 30Casinos 0 26Political 0 4Blank 1 41 Spanish 2 83Japanese 0 14Chinese 42 559Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 0 3French 0 1Italian 0 shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155831736407364362006-08-17T12:21:00.000-04:002006-08-17T12:22:16.426-04:00Quick spam updateFree stuff 2 281Male performance 3 186Cheap stuff 2 236Loans 7 393Self-improvement 3 75Porn 6 598Meet women 0 43Stock tips 3 266electronic scams 0 15offline scams 0 29Casinos 0 26Political 0 4Blank 0 40 Spanish 1 81Japanese 0 14Chinese 5 517Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 0 3French 0 1Italian 0 16Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0 Total 26 2192shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155727079333864072006-08-16T07:17:00.000-04:002006-08-16T07:17:59.380-04:00Quick spam countCategory 16-Aug TotalFree stuff 0 279Male performance 1 183Cheap stuff 2 234Loans 1 386Self-improvement 1 72Porn 30 592Meet women 1 43Stock tips 1 263electronic scams 0 15offline scams 0 29Casinos 0 26Political 0 4Blank 0 40Spanish 0 80Japanese 0 14Chinese 30 512Undetermined Asian 0 16Portuguese 0 3French 0 1Italian 0 16Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0Total 37 2166shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155696201749933442006-08-15T22:27:00.000-04:002006-08-15T22:43:21.856-04:00Well, another day is through. I wrote some questions and did some work. Not as much Farking today. My wife went to her Lions Club meeting and had a minor crisis when the toilet didn't flush. Turns out there was a used tampon clogging things up, but the snake managed to get hold of it and pull it out. Hopefully, no more toilet clogging.My MySpace adventure continues. I got two webcam girls (one shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155610110053481532006-08-14T22:12:00.000-04:002006-08-14T22:48:30.133-04:00Well, today I played in a thread on Fark, wrote some geography VHSL questions and did some work. Tomorrow I look forward to much of the same.Here's my quotes from the thread:"Hopefully every person with a significant other reading this thread will take an extra 30 seconds to hug that person and tell them just how much they mean to you. "thento user Captain Fashion: Well, it depends. Do you WANT ashawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155488898749033842006-08-13T12:55:00.000-04:002006-08-13T13:08:18.790-04:00Well, Becca and I just got back from church. Becca is reading right now and I am sitting around waiting for my digestive system to percolate. Then I'll go to the grocery store. I might ask her to wash the bed, it is getting fairly bad. But then again, she doesn't seem to mind it so much.Yesterday, Becca and I went to P.F. Chang's (it was Chinese food, mind you, good Chinese food, but just Chineseshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155383583137743462006-08-12T07:45:00.000-04:002006-08-12T07:53:03.146-04:00Another spam countFree stuff 6 248Male performance 8 157Cheap stuff 4 206Loans 12 354Self-improvement 0 65Porn 18 426Meet women 2 39Stock tips 1 240electronic scams 0 13offline scams 2 25Casinos 0 26Political 0 4Blank 0 34Spanish 2 75Japanese 0 12Chinese 17 367Undetermined Asian 0 15Portuguese 0 3French 0 1Italian 1 12Turkish 0 2Gender-inappropriate 0 0Total 53 1837shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155288865643982682006-08-11T05:32:00.000-04:002006-08-11T05:34:25.653-04:00Quick spam countTotal 139 1784Porn 57 408Loans 30 342Free stuff 15 242Stock tips 13 239Cheap stuff 4 202Male performance 6 149Self-improvement 5 65Meet women 1 37Blank 5 34Casinos 0 26offline scams 2 23electronic scams 0 13Political 1 4Chinese 56 350Spanish 1 73Undetermined Asian 0 15Japanese 1 12Italian 0 11Portuguese 0 3Turkish 0 2French 0 1Gender-inappropriate 0 0shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155171018201449382006-08-09T20:40:00.000-04:002006-08-09T20:50:18.216-04:00Well, another day at work. Apparently, we are going to be moving our backup operations to another server. This stuff will take place over the next 6-8 weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to start installing Solaris 10 on the server -- and then my bosses will get me a full membership on http://sunsolve.sun.com -- because right now, I can't get the patches for Solaris 10. But I suppose this will be shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1155087801097947592006-08-08T21:18:00.000-04:002006-08-08T21:43:25.050-04:00Well -- Joe Lieberman and Cynthia McKinney look like they are both going down for defeat in today's primaries. Gas looks as if it will hit $3.50 a gallon after the Prudhoe Bay disaster. Iraq and Lebanon remain war zones.Work went fairly well, nothing special really. I probably should've written more VHSL questions, but I will do so after posting tonight's post. The lights look as if they are shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154952964081459752006-08-07T08:06:00.000-04:002006-08-07T08:16:04.416-04:00Well, Randy is now gone as our minister. Kurt and Nancy Norton show up on Thursday. I emailed the church secretary, since every one of the members will want to hang out with them. On the plus side, they will be getting free meals for the next couple months. :-)One of my fellow small group members will be going to Little Rock with her new husband next month. Rebecca and I were suspecting it for a shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154722302360742662006-08-04T16:11:00.000-04:002006-08-04T21:45:00.733-04:00Quick spam check here.Free stuff 16Male performance 7Cheap stuff 3Loans 17Self-improvement 2Porn 15Meet women 1Stock tips 4electronic scams 0offline scams 2Casinos 1Political 0Blank 1Spanish 1Japanese 0Chinese 13Undetermined Asian 1Portuguese 0French 0Italian 0Turkish 0shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154658086454736232006-08-03T22:08:00.000-04:002006-08-03T22:21:26.600-04:00Well, Day Two of the lights being out at work has concluded. It seems the women don't like it very much and the men are enjoying it. I suspect we'll go back to normal when the temperatures go back to normal next week.Came up with some more Scholastic Bowl answers.I got 34 spams today.Porn 8, Cheap stuff 6, Loans 5, Free stuff 4, Male performance 3, Meet women 3, Stock tips 3, Self-improvement 2. shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154604441043973552006-08-03T07:24:00.000-04:002006-08-03T07:27:21.056-04:00Well, it's another day. Not much right now aside from a Spam count.Today (45): Porn 14, Loans 9, Free stuff 8, Stock tips 6, Cheap stuff 4, Male performance 2, Meet women 1, offline scams 1. Chinese 13, Spanish 2, Japanese 1, Portuguese 1, Italian 1.Overall (1,145): Loans 230, Porn 185, Stock tips 174, Free stuff 160, Cheap stuff 157, Male performance 111, Self-improvement 44, Meet women 20, shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154566996134280432006-08-02T21:00:00.000-04:002006-08-02T21:03:16.146-04:00Spam count for August 2. Lots of Chinese spam for some reason.Today (71): Porn 28, Loans 20, Cheap stuff 7, Stock tips 5, Free stuff 3, Self-improvement 3, Male performance 2, Offline scams 2, Political 1. Chinese 26, Spanish 4, Italian 1.Overall (1,100): Loans 221, Porn 171, Stock tips 168, Cheap stuff 153, Free stuff 152, Male performance 109, Self-improvement 44, Blank 20, Meet women 19, shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154550116710986362006-08-02T16:18:00.000-04:002006-08-02T16:21:56.723-04:00Today is hot. However, after we got a broadcast email asking us to conserve power by doing things like turn off the monitors when we go home, turn off desk lamps when we go home, etc., we got the great idea to turn off the overhead lights in our room and turn on our desk lamps instead.This worked like a charm. The temperatures went down 3-4 degrees in a matter of minutes, we have a cool vibe thatshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154479248434330742006-08-01T20:33:00.000-04:002006-08-01T20:40:48.496-04:00Today:It was in the lower 80s in my office today. Outside it was 100 or higher, probably feeling like 110. At least home is somewhat cooler, in the lower 70s with low humidity. Plus, I can wear shorts and a T-shirt. Otherwise, it was a quiet day, perfect for catching up on everything.VHSL: I wrote the answers to all the Virginia geography and US geography. Now left: world geography.Tropical shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154361926374862802006-07-31T11:57:00.000-04:002006-07-31T16:22:01.003-04:00It's another day. Today I'm taking off -- Rebecca is working. I will go out to lunch soon and then work some on VHSL questions.Am currently listening to Radio Yéyé (French music from the 1960s). Interesting stuff as I have tired of the standard oldies radio rotation, which is gradually being defined away from the 1960s and certainly the 1950s. Will be open to finding Dutch, German or Swedish shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154298255190216062006-07-30T18:04:00.000-04:002006-07-30T18:24:15.253-04:00Well, yesterday was spent visiting Berryville, where John took some steaks out of my in-laws' freezer and we had a grand old time. John and Abby were VERY kind in preparing dinner for them, Rebecca, my in-laws' friend Monique and me.Today was the farewell service for Randy and Beth. There was of course the service in the morning and then a reception for them at 4pm today. So -- no small group shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154138129395157672006-07-28T21:51:00.000-04:002006-07-28T21:55:29.410-04:00Well, I finally finished the "other social studies" section of the VHSL questions. Now I am to work on "earth science" and nag my contractors into getting things done.We didn't go out, just to the Metro 29 Diner for lunch and the Don Pablo's in the Potomac Yard Shopping Center (or whatever that thing's called at Glebe and Route 1.) Tomorrow Rebecca and I will drive out to see Luray Caverns and shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154057527772076312006-07-27T22:46:00.000-04:002006-07-27T23:32:07.836-04:00My wife also got an email about some opportunity to adopt blind kids from Asia. Hopefully this isn't a scam designed to separate us from our money. In any case, she's forwarding it to me, and I honestly think we'd be as good a parent to blind kids as anyone else -- we wouldn't make the mistake of believing our kids are made of glass or in treating our kids as if they were 100% incompetent.Well shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1154010069245630772006-07-27T10:17:00.000-04:002006-07-27T10:21:09.256-04:00Well, it's another day. Lots of spam today.Turns out yesterday's "cheap stuff/Undetermined Asian" spam was really Chinese porn.So take away 12 from cheap stuff/Undetermined Asian and add 12 to porn/Chinese.Today (73): Porn 18, Loans 16, Free stuff 13, Stock tips 12, Cheap stuff 5, Male improvement 3, Blank 2, Self-improvement 1, Meet women 1, Offline scams 1, Political 1. Chinese 17, Spanish 3, shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153916504330193212006-07-26T08:07:00.000-04:002006-07-26T08:21:44.363-04:00Well, last night we just stayed in. We went out to the Paradiso Restaurant in Springfield. Today, we're going to go out with Rebecca's friend Sarah, and Rebecca wants to make a real effort to see The Devil Wears Prada.We also had a devil of a time ... we're trying to get long-term care insurance and one of the questions was, "Have you received disability payments in the past five years?" Well --shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153849053048211562006-07-25T13:24:00.000-04:002006-07-25T13:37:33.093-04:00It's Tuesday. What more can I say?Deciding whether to see the Front Royal Cardinals or The Devil Wears Prada. Rebecca is going back and forth as we speak, probably to decide upon ...nothing! :-)Today's SPAM count (37 total)Loans 10, Free stuff 9, Stock tips 9, Cheap stuff 6, Porn 2, Male performance 1. 4 Spanish spams and 1 Italian spam.Total count (549 total)Loans 99, Stock tips 97, Cheap stuff shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153794655926175592006-07-24T21:34:00.000-04:002006-07-24T22:30:55.976-04:00Well, today was another fun day. I went to the Northern Virginia Lions Camp to help out with a cookout that was being prepared for a youth exchange camp hosted by some Tidewater-area Lions Clubs. One of these days I might take the plunge and actually join Lions. We shall see.My in-laws are going down to Wise, VA, for the annual Remote Area Medical Program this weekend. Rebecca and I might go nextshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153672715721757032006-07-23T12:32:00.000-04:002006-07-23T12:38:35.733-04:00Got back from church just now. Waiting until we're hungry to go out. Our Oreck vacuum cleaner gave out -- there is a belt inside the vacuum that has to rotate on there -- it frayed for the SECOND time this month. So I am throwing out the darn thing and have solicited advice from family members -- I may as well ask the four or five readers of this blog for further advice.Well, here's the SPAM shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153613727317022202006-07-22T19:51:00.000-04:002006-07-22T20:15:27.356-04:00Today is Rebecca and mine 6th anniversary. It hasn't gone as well as we'd like; she didn't sleep well last night, so we didn't get to see the Cardinals play tonight. Also, on the way back from my parents, I got nailed for speeding on I-66 just inside the Beltway. No speed trap or "police brutality" anything of the sort, just carelessness on my part, I let the speed get away from the low 60s to shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153430779850369722006-07-20T17:19:00.000-04:002006-07-20T17:26:19.863-04:00My vacation is beginning! I went out to the Malibu Grill Steakhouse for lunch and then went grocery shopping. I couldn't do that much since I slept until 11am and Rebecca was working but tomorrow we are headed out to her parents.Here's the spam count since the last time I posted. I got my first Portuguese spam, which is kinda fitting, since the Malibu Grill is a Brazilian churruscaria in which shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153342081866475092006-07-19T16:45:00.000-04:002006-07-19T16:48:01.876-04:00Well, my vacation will start soon. At 7:30pm today, I am off until the 1st of August. So my spam counting will be a bit sporadic, hopefully I can make a few posts while I'm off work.Here's the count since I started this on Saturday.Total 22655 Free products 1339 Stock tips 828 Mortgage/loans 730 Low cost products 628 Male performance 68 Other self-improvement 17 Meet women 16 Entirely blank 13 shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153259462798257612006-07-18T16:57:00.000-04:002006-07-18T17:54:02.326-04:00Hey all. Fark is a-buzz with discussion of a suspected viral marketing campaign. What fun! Let me see if my knowledge of HTML tables still applies. 25 spams since the last update and a total of 182.Total so farCategory# since last update31Stock tips424Low cost products422Male performance421Mortgage/loans310Porn24PayPal/eBay242Free products17Casino/gambling17Other self-improvement16Meet shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153223641763421812006-07-18T07:46:00.000-04:002006-07-18T07:54:01.773-04:00It's day 2 of the East Coast heatwave. It's a Code Red day, but I figure I can try to brave it out walking. Or, maybe, I'll just wuss out again and take a cab to and from work.Well, two more days until I am on vacation, which will last until the end of the month.I saw an interview with Elizabeth Smart on Good Morning America. It was kinda sad, really, she just seemed so nervous/robotic/scared ...shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153177469557614562006-07-17T19:00:00.000-04:002006-07-17T19:04:29.566-04:00Spam update. I got 25 spams since I last posted. 132 total so far.Categories:#2 Stock tips 8 (22)#3 Low cost products 5 (16)#1 Free products 4 (32)#4 Mortgage/loans 3 (16)#5 Male performance 2 (14)#7 Other self-improvement 2 (6)#9 Entirely blank 1 (4)#6 Porn 0 (8)#8 Casino/gambling 0 (6)#10 Meet women 0 (4)#11 PayPal/eBay 0 (2)#12 419/offline scams 0 (1)#13 Political 0 (1)Sub-categories#1 Spanishshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153151577834452822006-07-17T11:50:00.000-04:002006-07-17T11:52:57.853-04:00I was talking with Randy and Iad (two co-workers) about my spam collection. Iad suggested that in the blank spams might have white-on-white text. The odd thing about those is that the subject and even sender fields are blank. Randy suggested that sometimes a spammer will include a link to an image -- but the image host's account got cancelled. This too could lead to issues.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153136122005877782006-07-17T06:29:00.000-04:002006-07-17T07:35:23.070-04:00Interesting. I notice that stock tips seem to have surged up today. We'll see if this a Monday-only thing or if weekday spam is different from weekend spam.Spam categories (107 total)Free products 7 (28)Stock tips 9 (14)Mortgage/loans 5 (13)Male performance 2 (12)Low cost products 3 (11)Porn 2 (8)Casino/gambling 4 (6)Meet women 1 (4)Other self-improvement 0 (4)Entirely blank 1 (3)PayPal/eBay shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153132136415321542006-07-17T06:18:00.000-04:002006-07-17T06:28:56.426-04:00Well, I am checking my email once more. 35 spams, a few bills, but only a couple of real emails. Spam diary in the next post.It'll be hot today. I'm probably going to drive up to the Ballston Mall then take a cab in this morning. Tonight it should have cooled down a bit by 7:30pm, so I'll walk to the Metro and then drive back home.At small group, we debated the meaning of Revelations 20:11-15, shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153084063210613462006-07-16T17:01:00.000-04:002006-07-16T17:07:43.210-04:00Oh yeah -- one more thing. When I heard about the shiznit going down between Israel and Hizbollah/Lebanon, I bought 100 shares of the US Oil ETF. I've made about $70 on it so far, and we'll see what happens from there. I made a bet on some S&P puts when Ben raised rates another 25 basis points at the end of last month.Of course the next question: Is it immoral to profit off of instability thusly?shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153083658578235942006-07-16T16:57:00.000-04:002006-07-16T17:00:58.593-04:00In other good news: at the Uplift camp at Harding University over the 4th of July, seven of our teens chose to be baptized. I am praying that their faith can remain strong as they grow as Christians. I like to say that I am a practicing Christian; one day I will get good at it.In other good news: Arlington church has hired a minister, Kurt Norton. He accepted the position earlier this week and itshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1153052101757313352006-07-16T07:51:00.000-04:002006-07-16T08:15:01.803-04:00Hello everyone! It's Sunday morning. My sister told me yesterday that she is engaged to her boyfriend. Rather ironic, since both sisters-in-law have been dating their boyfriends longer than Rebecca and I have been dating -- and Abby and John got married last year and now Dave and Jennifer will get married, probably this fall.My wife and I are going to go out to eat before going to church and I shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1152989570753662382006-07-15T14:41:00.000-04:002006-07-15T14:52:50.763-04:00Well, it's Saturday. My wife and I celebrate our six-year anniversary on Saturday, in case you didn't know. We are going out to Front Royal to see a Front Royal Cardinals game and a Little League Challengers game. Apparently the Front Royal Little League Challengers competition has been invited to watch the Little League World Series and is raising money to do this. I'm not sure how Front Royal shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1149773267307069982006-06-08T09:21:00.000-04:002006-06-08T09:27:47.326-04:00Well, here I am again.A cousin of mine is getting married on Saturday. I just found out that my sister didn't get an invitation, but my wife and I did. Needless to say, my wife and I are a bit annoyed by this -- so we are not going. Am I rude in doing this?Post 212068 on the FNM board is a challenge I am making to a Chomskyite on that board (at the least, he quotes Chomsky frequently). The honestshawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1147698055023111642006-05-15T07:44:00.000-04:002006-05-15T09:00:55.076-04:00Well, I am feeling much better. The doctor prescribed a decongestant for me, and I've been faithfully taking it twice a day. I woke up today and had the least amount of gunk in my throat/nose/lungs that I've had in weeks.Right now the speculation is that Karl Rove will get indicted. Of course, Bush has the potential to screw up the immigration speech, as well. I don't think most people really shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1147476638996739152006-05-12T19:28:00.000-04:002006-05-12T19:30:38.996-04:00Ah -- how could I forget -- my FBR was stopped out today at 10.25. If it gets down to $9 a share, I'll get back in. For now, I'm out. My portfolio is getting smaller and smaller!I *really* mistimed KMP. I suppose investing in high-yield, interest sensitive stocks in a time of rising interest rates wasn't the greatest of ideas.shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5161422.post-1147476469879196152006-05-12T17:51:00.000-04:002006-05-12T19:27:49.960-04:00Well, Bush's approval ratings have hit 29%. We have gone out of Carter 1980 territory and entered Nixon 1974 territory; the next stop is Truman 1952 territory. Let's see if there are more polls showing a sub-30 rating -- remember these polls were taken before the NSA database. I'm not sure whether this'll up his ratings or drag it down a few more points, since it seems Mr. and Mrs. America don't shawnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12752505035514134833noreply@blogger.com0