Can’t Wait for the Debates!

Posted on September 4, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

Now we have heard from both presidential candidates during their own national conventions. I responded to the two candidates in vastly differing ways. They both say much of the same thing. Change is coming.

It is hard for me to comprehend what McCain has been through and how his POW experience changed his life. What a great story. Then you have Palin’s story, again, a great one. Is it just a story? I hope not.

Country first. Humility. Ownership. Accountability. Transparency. Integrity. Serve a cause greater than yourself. John McCain is right on.

I’ve always had feelings of mistrust for Obama. Maybe it is all the flash and sizzle and smooth talking and charisma. Maybe it is that he seems to play on our fears and his promise of “hope and change”, jobs for everyone, prosperity for everyone… these things strike me as socialism, and that scares me, even if it is a trend in our society.

Emotions are high; facts are getting distorted and words are being twisted and taken out of context. Spin. I hate the spin. I hate the rah rah of the conventions…

Lets move on to the debates, I can’t wait!

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31 reasons I love my dogs

Posted on September 2, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

As I was typing in the last entry, Amber came in and said “Comet is bleeding everywhere!”. Sure enough, he was bleeding, and it was everywhere!

Earlier this evening Dasher was showing off in the backyard for me and Bryson by expressing his dominance over Comet. Comet zigged when he should have zagged and came away with a gash in his ear. It didn’t take long for him to stop bleeding, and I let them in to eat and for their routine lounging before bed.

So we just finished cleaning up 31 blood stains in the carpet. There were also splashes of blood on the hall walls, spots all over the kitchen floor, and a pool of blood near Comet’s food dish. I guess I should have known he would scratch his ear as soon as I let him in the house!

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Bilbo Found!

Posted on September 2, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

Last week I helped survey some building and tank elevations at the local asphalt shingle plant. (A very dirty place if you are curious) We were in a far off corner of the property with a few buildings that apparently not used anymore, when we came across Bilbo’s mailbox.

From 200808-Bilbo

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Travel to LA

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

We packed up and drove to see nana in Lubbock for the weekend.  Bryson is not much fun in the car.  He doesn’t like being stuck in one place.  Thank goodness we borrowed a friend’s portable DVD player… that made a huge difference.

There were many things that needed to be done when I arrived. Mom’s garage door wasn’t working right and she couldn’t get the remote programmed. I suggested that we repaint the mailbox, since it was a pitiful, weathered color. I should have known that she would pick out a crazy color if left the option!

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Zen Isims (Wisdom)

Posted on August 26, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

Zen Isims

1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me either. Just pretty much leave me alone.

2. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt or a leaky tire.

3. It’s always darkest before dawn, so if you’re going to steal your neighbor’s newspaper, that’s the time to do it.

4. Don’t be irreplaceable. If you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.

5. Always remember that you’re unique.. Just like everyone else.

6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.

7. If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
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Ubuntu Linux 8.04 LTS Desktop and Server in Use

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

I’ve been busy installing and using the latest version of Ubuntu lately.

Desktop

With my recent move to use mint.com instead of Microsoft Money, and my almost complete satisfaction using Google Apps (email, calendar, contact list, most documents and spreadsheets) instead of Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel, I didn’t see a reason I needed to use Microsoft Windows anymore. Last time I tried to replace Windows with Ubuntu, I never did get my dual video working properly. Although I did have to fiddle for a while, I’m happy to report that I am happily typing away with my dual 1600×1200 display fully functional. When I plugged in to Amber’s Canon camera to get some pictures, it automagicly figured out what I needed. I also installed Google Picasa to make everything even easier. I am very impressed with the quality and refinement of this Linux distribution. Except for the video driver and the Picasa application, everything is 100% open source software. Down with the Evil Empire! :)

Server

I’ve had problems with a few of the hard drives in my file server, and for about hmmm, a year, I’ve had the computer opened up under my desk. I decided to go ahead and use my newest computer (only 4+ years old) as my new file server. I already had two 300GB drives I bought for the purpose. I successfully installed ubuntu server on the computer, using the two drives as a redundant disk array. I installed WordPress and all the supporting applications (MySQL, Apache, PHP) and started to move my blog over, but I haven’t had 100% success. I need to get my personal files moved over, plus all my pictures so everything is relatively safe on the mirrored drive. I’ve also ordered two more 750GB drives to replace my aging RAID 5 array that I’m worried about. For the uber geeky, I’d like to brag that I upgraded WordPress to the latest version using subversion (SVN) instead of the boring manual file replacement method. Future upgrades should be just a few commands away.

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Preping for Paint

Posted on August 25, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

Once we constructed the shed to the point it was dried in, I lost interest in getting it finished. I noticed that the wood trim has started turning gray, so I figured I had better hurry up and get done with everything and get it painted. I worked most of the weekend on completing the sofit, door trim, and caulking all the seams. Tonight I came home and started priming the bare wood trim for paint. Bryson took notice of my activities as he was exploring about the backyard.

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Michael Phelps – In the Beginning

Posted on August 22, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

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The Pictoral Story of Mike, Isaac, and a Busted up Pickup

Posted on August 21, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

Words of wisdom from Mike:
Never…never….teach your child how to drive and then leave them alone with the keys! One good thing, though, when I got on the scene, the flashers were on. He is always thinking ! Well…not always the right way…like don’t get in the truck and start it and put it in gear without someone there in the first place!

Damage to front bumper, broken fog lamp:

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Another First for Bryson

Posted on August 21, 2008 by Brian Gallimore

It is hard to believe that Bryson has never puked before now, but tonight was his first time.

I came home early to take care of him while Amber went to “meet the teacher” night. He was pretty fussy, but we played for a little bit. He climbed on me and wanted to be held, which is strange. I thought he was really tired, so we tried to eat dinner so I could get on with his bath and bed routine. He kept falling asleep at dinner. When I gave up trying to stuff food in his mouth and washed his hands in the sink, his head fell down and hit the faucet. Ooops.

I decided to skip the bath and just throw some PJ pants on him. He agreed that was a good choice and went right to sleep, butt up in the air like normal.

Amber came home about 7:30 and opened his door to check on him. He was awake, so she let him walk around. That is when he puked. (I’m glad I didn’t let Christy borrow our spot bot!)

He has a fever now, and Amber says she is sure he caught the virus that one of the boys from daycare has. She will stay home with him tomorrow. Poor boy.

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