Let it snow let it snow

Finally, here is a picture of our house all decorated for Christmas. The snow and lights really make it look good. Each year I try to add more lights. You can't see it, but my addition this year was adding lights down the sides of the house. I'm not sure what I have in store next year, but I"ll take suggestions.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a go night.

I missed the gun show, dag nabit

Due to the snow and ice, I missed the gun show over the weekend in Portland. I was hoping to get some final Christmas shopping done. Plus I need to stock up on ammo before Obama outlaws everything :)

Snow Day

Oregon usually doesn't see much snow, but we got a lot on Sunday. Now we are stuck at home since all of the snow has now frozen causing the streets to be treacherous. However the kids are happy to be home from school. Its a good time for family bonding.

Favorite Saying of All Time

If you can read this, thank a teacher not the NTA.
If you can read it in English, thank a soldier.
Only two have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American soldier.

I ask you to stop and say a prayer to Jesus for the safety of our American soldiers. A lot of soldiers are fighting and dying for our freedom.

Christmas Lights

How I love the glow of Christmas lights. I finally have all of the lights up. You could say our house now looks like the Griswold's house from the movie Christmas Vacation. I have enough lights that I think I'm actually causing global warming. :) The wife and kids are now happy. Now we just need a Christmas tree.

This picture will have to do until I get an actual picture of our house.




Remember "Christ" when you wish someone a Merry Christmas.

Fasting War Protester

This story was taken from kgw.com

SALEM, Ore. -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski has agreed to meet with a Corvallis woman who has been fasting on the Capitol steps in protest of a planned deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to Iraq and Afghanistan next year. Michele Darr has been on a hunger fast in protest of an Oregon National Guard deployment. A spokeswoman for the governor said he is concerned about the health of Michele Darr, who has been camping on the Capitol steps for nearly 40 days, drinking only tea and water and consuming only vitamins and the occasional cup of coffee. Darr has been sleeping on a thin mat outside the Capitol since late October. She said she planned to end the fast after marking a symbolic 40 days and nights of protest. The governor will talk to Darr about his role as commander in chief of the Oregon Guard, and share her concerns with soldiers and their families, the spokeswoman said. “I have close friends in the National Guard,” Darr said. “I instantly saw the toll it took on them to be called up again and I found that very sad and disheartening.” Some 3,500 Oregon National Guardsmen and women are scheduled for deployment in 2009. She said sacrificing this time away from her children is nothing compared to the sacrifices that soldiers are required to make overseas. “It's taken a huge, tremendous toll on the guard and their families,” Darr said. “We feel at the very least they're owed a justification for the sacrifice they're being asked to make.” Darr’s partner, Reese Gooch, stayed by her side. Other protestors occasionally stop by to show support. Kulongoski is the commander and chief of the guard but he does not have authority over deployment.

My comments...

I am sick and tired of people protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If they really want to help the nation, feed and cloth the homeless. Or support the shutting of our borders from illegal immigrants. This would really benefit the nation. This is a discrace to the men and women in uniform. I say let her continue to fast, one less crazy in the world. I think it is ludicrous that the governor of Oregon is giving her the time of day. I swear, if it wasn't this, she would be protesting something else.

Even though I love the state of Oregon, I'm absolutely sick of the liberals who inhabit it. If you don't like the country or what it stands for, then get out!

Tester Bootcamp

I'm leaving for 2 days to attend a tester bootcamp in Seattle (15th and 16th). The only downside is I'll miss Brandy and the kids, but I get to stay in a nice hotel in the downtown area. The bootcamp is a refresher course for me.

Overview of the course:
How do professional testers test software? This course teaches the techniques, tips, tricks, and strategies used by test professionals. You will learn and apply numerous detailed test design strategies for black-box (functional) testing and system testing. You will also learn practical techniques for planning, designing, and executing effective testing on real software projects. Determine how much testing is enough for your project, whether your test cases are adequate, and how to minimize wasted testing effort. This seminar emphasizes black box (functional) testing and system testing.

Like I said, this is mostly a refresher, but I will earn PMI (Project Management Institute) points for this course which is good. With enough points you can be certified through PMI.

Cool old flying car

Kim, here is the car you need. You can fly to work and still park in a compact parking space. Heck, I would carpool to work with you.

Here is another example of people being stupid with political correctness

This article is from a news site in Seattle.

Man Wants To Add Festivus Pole To State Capitol
SEATTLE -- A state agency is looking at a request to put a "Festivus" pole at the state Capitol's rotunda in Olympia, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News. Festivus is a fictional holiday created in an episode of the comedy sitcom Seinfeld by character George Costanza's father, Frank, after he became frustrated while fighting for a gift during the crowded holiday shopping season. Instead of a tree, the imaginary holiday presents a bare pole and people gather around it and have an airing of grievances or feats of strength. The request came after an anti-religion sign joined the holiday tree, Menorah and Nativity scene at the Capitol, creating a national firestorm and prompting thousands to call Gov. Chris Gregoire's office to complain after conservative TV personality Bill O'Reilly called the display "political correctness gone mad" in an eight-minute segment on Fox News. Things got so heated that Pastor Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church told Atheists that they were going end up out of the frying pan and into the fire. "Hey I believe in Jesus Christ and if you don't, that's alright cause you're gonna fry like a Jimmy Dean pure pork sausage," Hutcherson said. The sign from the Freedom From Religion Foundation calls religion "myth and superstition," and more than 500 people gathered Sunday to demonstrate against the display. Jim Buenzli made the request for the Festivus pole and hopes to put his up at the state Capitol later this week.

What I do for a living

I work for Sharp Laboratories of America. I have been with Sharp for almost 8 years now. Some of you already know what I do for a living, basically I test stuff or at least I used to. Previously I tested software and hardware products for Sharp. However the functional aspects of my job have changed in the last 8 or so months. My main duties now include running the day to day operations of our internal testing labs. This includes managing simultaneous projects for Sharp's different technologies. In turn that means I'm in charge of multiple test teams both in the US and India. To sum it up, if I was in the mafia, I would be considered the underboss. My actual job title is 'Software Quality Assurance Lead Test Engineer' (that is a mouthful). I make sure the daily operations of our test labs run smoothly. I attend tons of meetings and write even more reports. I interface with our India counterpart on a regular basis via nightly teleconference calls (2 or more times a week). I also work closely with our Japanese counterparts on a regular basis. In addition I'm now traveling more to California where Sharp has a satellite office. I will probably be travelling to India next summer, pending an improvement with the global economy. I've already requested combat pay due to the recent violence they have been having (idiot terrorists). I may also be travelling to Japan next year. There is also a slight possibility that I will travel to Europe sometime in the future (this would definitely be cool). Sharp has subsidiaries in England, Germany, etc...

If you are interested in seeing some of Sharp's technologies go here http://www.lifechangingbox.com/

Christmas lights

Brandy and the kids have been on my case to get the Christmas lights up for a couple of weeks now. They are up now, and for some reason she will not talk to me. There is just no pleasing her!

Recovery from surgery

By the way, I forgot to mention that I still have another 4 to 6 weeks of recovery from my surgery. I found out that I have an infection in my incision, so hopefully that will not prolong my recovery.

Back to work

Finally I was able to go back to work. What a relief, I live for spreadsheets and reports. Actually I will miss my time that I had with the family. Staying up watching Little house on the Prairie with the kids. It has now become a nightly ritual.

But I could tell that my co-workers were glad to have me back. If I were in the mafia, my title would be underboss. I was able to make it through half of my emails today. Not bad considering that I have a few hundred emails waiting for me.

Couch potato

Webster's definition of a couch potato: a lazy and inactive person ; especially : one who spends a great deal of time watching television

This is what I feel like. Due to my surgery, I'm stuck on the couch recovering and it sucks. The only good thing has been more time with the family (playing games with the kids). I can't wait to be back in the trenches at work. Hopefully this will be tomorrow.

India terrorist attacks

We still haven't felt the full fall out of the recent terrorist attacks in India. As some of you know, I work on a regular basis with my Indian counterparts. I just pray that all of my immediate friends and their families over there are OK. I haven't had a chance to confirm with them yet. In addition, my company had people over there at the time of the attacks. The only good thing was that they were in a different part of India (Bangalore). I'm not looking forward to my trip over there. It looks like that may possibly happen next summer. I'm going to request combat pay :)

What I am thankful for

This Thanksgiving got me to thinking about the things that I am thankful for.

First and foremost is my family. I couldn't have asked for a better family. I'm truely blessed to be married to my best friend who is the love of my life and to top it off, I have three wonderful kids. I thank God everyday for the blessings he has bestowed on me.

Second is my immediate family. Some people may find my immediate family strange because we are extremely close. It seems like we are always together, be it Sunday dinner at my parents or attending some sort of sporting event for my kids or the nieces and nephews. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have a family like this.

Finally the last thing I am thankful for is the 2nd amendment.

God bless the republic!