.: What’s Bruin :.

This is a cool cake. Yup, it’s carrot cake. Josephine made it for her boss’ birthday.

Josephine made this cake for Mel’s birthday

Tags: birthday, cake, Events, Josephine_Bruin

I have no reason to watch the US Open Tennis tournament this year because Andy Roddick lost in the first round to someone whom I have never heard of before. I think the guy’s name is Jill or something like that, last name Muller from Luxembourg. He beat Roddick pretty handily in three straight tiebreak sets.

Roddick is in a slump. Wow, Roddick sucks now.

I hope that an American wins both the men’s and women’s title. If there is somebody interesting to watch on the final weekend, I may tune in on television. What a long two weeks this is going to be.

Well, at least football season starts this weekend. UCLA opens up against SDSU.

Tags: football, Roddick, Sports, Tennis, UCLA, US-Open

I found out I was approved for a *** Clearance today. I have my security briefing on Friday.

Right now I’m not working on anything that requires the clearance. Our current work is unclassified. But it’s good to know that I have this clearance. It will be an asset for other contracts and work.

Tags: Career, work

I’ve made some style changes near the top of the site. But they don’t seem to be working properly in Internet Explorer. Specifically, the sidebar is down at the “bottom” of the page instead of at the top. I blame IE’s inability to support CSS and web standards properly. My only hope is for people to switch in mass to Firefox or Safari.

After reading the Internet Explorer 7.0 blog, I see that Microsoft is behind in their schedule to support web standards in their Beta 1 version of IE 7. But they seem to have the desire to catch up in Beta 2. I hope they decide to fully support CSS and web standards. It’s frustrating enough with so many different browsers. And it seems that Microsoft is the only one not committed to standardizing the web.

So to make a long story short. If you continue to use Internet Explorer, you are stupid contributing to the problem. That means that 98% of the world population who use the Internet is stupid contributing to the problem. So be it.

Switch to Firefox. You won’t regret it.

Until IE/Microsoft decides to fully support CSS and web standards, I’m not going to go out of my way to fix the sidebarstripes on the Permalink pages to the right. This site looks good enough in browsers that support web standards.

Tags: CSS, Firefox, Internet-Explorer, Safari, site_announcements, web-standards, web_design

I had just gotten off the freeway on my way to pick up Josephine from work. Pourpa had the other car and was on his way to his company’s softball game.

“The car won’t start.”

[Great. More money to spend.]

“Does the engine turn over? Are the lights on? Are you getting any power?”

“The car is totally dead.”

[Wonderful.]

So after picking up Josephine from work we had to head back south on the freeway, going through traffic again, to pick up Tony and see what was wrong with the stupid car. When we arrived, I saw for myself that the car was totally dead. So I called the Auto Club (AAA). The driver was going to be out in half an hour.

In the meantime, Josephine and Pourpa went over to Mr. Chick to get us some dinner while we waited: gyros and fries. Yum yum. I was hoping that Josephine would get to try Mr. Chick some time. Too bad the circumstances were not more pleasant. While I waited for them to arrive with the food, I called the Ford dealership to let them know that my truck would be towed there to stay overnight. The service advisor told me he would diagnose it for $80.

“Thank you very much, Santiago.”

[Yeah right.]

So then the set of good news comes in the form of a telephone call. It’s the Auto Club calling me, letting me know that the driver won’t be able to come until 90 minutes because of rush hour traffic, which would put him there in the parking lot at 7:30 PM. But they said the driver would call me 15 minutes before arriving.

Great.

So we headed off to Starbucks for some coffee and to endure the long 90-minute wait. After finishing my mocha frappucino, my phone rings and it’s the towing company asking me how far away I am from the car.

“About 5 minutes.”

[Thanks for following directions, buddy. Now we have to run out of Starbucks to head back to car.]

When we got to the truck, the driver was doing something in the cab of his truck and did not see us. So we stood around waiting for almost 5 minutes. All I could think of was “meta dio heria” because he was doing something with his hands.

So he gets out of the car and asks for my key. He tries to start the engine. Nothing. Pops open the hood.

[Now I'm thinking... What are you going to do about this totally dead car?]

He fiddles around with the battery and the lights flicker.

[There is hope.]

Come to find out that the positive connector to the battery was loose. So he strips the wires and twists them tight. Then he inserts the wires back into the connector so that it’s snug. Voila, the truck is running again. So the story has a happy ending. I don’t have to pay $80 to find out that the wires were loose and what would most certainly be other ailments that my car has from the dealership.

We get back on the road again, finally headed for home. I called the Auto Club back to compliment the driver. I think he just saved us over $300 because that’s what the Ford dealership would have charged to fix all the things wrong with the car that they were bound to “find” from the diagnosis.

What a fun evening. Not.

Tags: cars, Food, general_stuff, Life, repairs, traffic

Today the four-port USB switch arrived, which allows me to share four USB devices with two computers, my PC and my PowerBook. So I have my junk printer HP DeskJet 880C (which is on its last leg since it’s printing only black and white now), my Canon PIXMA iP1600 (which I use for color printing), my HP LaserJet 1012, and my Canoscan LIDE 50 scanner. With the press of a button, I can use either computer with all four devices.

I also have the print server connected to the cable modem, which allows me to share the old HP DeskJet. The other two newer printers don’t seem to like the print server. In any case, it will allow any computer in the house to print in black and white. Mainly, I wanted something I could print to from downstairs when I’m using the laptop there.

I placed the switch underneath my desk to try to remove the clutter, so maybe I’ll have to switch with my toes. But I doubt that I will switch very much since I don’t really use my PC all that much.

I also placed my external hard drive underneath my desk which clears up some more space. This weekend, I will finish cleaning my office/desk now that summer school is finally over.

Tags: Computers, printers, technology

The verdict is in. I got A’s in both classes. Sweet.

The funny thing about my last assignment in EDTEC 540 is that I slapped that thing together and it earned a 94%, the highest grade of my three assignments.

Now it’s time to relax from school.

Tags: EDTEC, education_and_training

Today we were at the Del Mar Racetrack for horse racing. The CSUSM Alumni Association sponsored a cool event for $20 to have a meal at the races on Family Fun Day. Josephine and I had never been to races before. I guess not many people wanted to come to this event because Charles (CSUSM, Director of External Affairs) said that only 10 people bought tickets. Too bad because at least the food was good. They had hot dogs and BBQ chicken, corn, beans, salad, and fruit.

Charles and Fellow Alumni

The only thing that was kind of a downer was having to eat next to the USC Alumni. God, I hate them. I seriously felt disgusted, like I was going to lose my appetite. I sat with my back to them the whole time. One guy from ‘SC said “No 8 Claps” as we walked by them early on. I wish had thought of something to say, but I guess they disgust me so much that I couldn’t think of anything. Later, I wished that I had replied with “Why are you talking to me?”

Eating with the Enemy

After eating a lot of food, we went over to the track, to stand next to the gate. I guess because our tickets were so cheap we definitely were not in the grandstand and we were on the other side of the racetrack. So when the horses went by, you couldn’t really see them very well. They look so small. I put my camera on servo focus (for moving objects) and turned on the motor drive to shoot continuously. So I have lots of shots of the horses going by in sequence, but they look frozen in time because there’s not really any motion blur.

Racing at Del Mar

Horse racing in general is kinda boring. I don’t see how people can get so excited about it. I don’t gamble so there’s really no point. I would say even boring baseball is better than horse racing.

We just watched one race and then left. I took some interesting pictures as we were exiting the park.

Wagon Trail

Ugly

Josephine’s New Friends

Tags: alumni-association, CSUSM, Del-Mar, education_and_training, Events, Food, horse-races

The last memories I have of Julie were in 1984 or 1985. We were studying in the Biomed Library at UCLA. She had transferred to a real school, UCLA, from UC Irvine. After that year, we really didn’t see much of each other at UCLA. She was a Communications major (North Campus) while I was suffering in the Biology department (South Campus). Our common love for the band, Duran Duran, did not bring us together as much as the band’s popularity fizzled. And so life passed on.

A year or so ago, we reconnected electronically. I knew that Julie was the International Vice President for Sony Music in Europe and I was in the middle of my MBA program and also looking for a career change. I contacted Julie out of the blue to see if she could connect me with anyone in Sony San Diego. While that did not pan out, it was good to touch base a couple of times by phone and email.

So now some twenty years later, Josephine and I went to Julie’s parents’ house in Whitter for her California Whittier wedding reception. It was fun, driving through the old stomping grounds of Whittier. I had not been to Julie’s house in a long time since we were in high school. We had launched on some crazy adventures from there that involved going to dance clubs in Los Angeles and under-age drinking. But that was a lifetime ago.

Valedictorians Reunited with Spouses

Now we’re on the cusp of middle age. Julie finally got hitched to Robert, her long-time boyfriend. And life comes fulls circle.

Cutting the Cake

Redeux: Choking the Competition

Josephine and I had a great time. We met and hung out with some of Julie’s friends and family. She had great, authentic Mexican food there. They hired a Mexican woman to make carne asada, pollo asada, and salsa. It tasted sooooo good. It was just like Mr. Taco.

Chocolate

We stayed for three hours or so, talking and sipping on margaritas. Julie’s nephew played a few songs on the violin for entertainment. It was very cute. I saw myself many years ago playing piano and performing at my parents’ parties.

Because of the traffic going up to Whittier, we decided to take the 60 freeway to the 15 south to head home. So on the way we passed by the high school and my parents’ old house. Memories. The old neighborhood. The tennis courts. Whittier, from days of old.

La Serna High To You We Pledge

Memories of Whittier

Tags: Events, Food, Friends, high-school, traffic, wedding-reception, Whittier

Okay, maybe not science. But for some reason this morning none of the outlets in any of the bathrooms in the house are working. Yes, all the lights and the appliances work. But when Josephine tried to blow dry her hair, none of the electrical outlets would work.

So I tried resetting the circuit breaker. Nothing.

I guess it’s time to call the home warranty again and have someone come out here. Thank goodness we have that home warranty insurance to take care of these things for a $50 deductible. I would go crazy just thinking of how much an electrician would charge us per hour.

It’s always something breaking down, isn’t it? If not something with the car, then it’s the house.

Tags: electricity, Events, house, strange-events

I was kinda worried when I finished the multiple choice portion of the final exam this morning. I thought it was difficult, especially since I had read two out of the three books assigned to us this summer. But I figured that since I was heavily involved in the field of educational technology and had been a veteran teacher for 11 years, that my experience and common sense would help me out.

So I was quite please when I submitted my responses and my grade came back as an 82 out of 100. I trust that will be enough to earn at least a B in this class, probably and hopefully an A.

Oh yeah. It is good to be finally done with school . . . at least until January 2006. Four years in a row of graduate school is enough for awhile.

Now I’m going to enjoy, read, and learn Greek!

Update 8/21/05: Sweetness. The final exam has been graded. With my perfect score on the essay, combined score average for the final was 93%. I also got 100% on participation. The only thing remaining ungraded is my third assignment. I think it needs to be at least a B+ to get an A in the class. We’ll see.

Tags: EDTEC, education_and_training

So I finished my little 500-word essay response last night, proofread it again this morning, and emailed it off to the prof for EDTEC 540. I was kinda hoping that he would give us one of the easier questions for the free response. And my hopes were answered. We had two questions from which to choose. I chose Option 2:

You are sitting at an airplane terminal and the person next to you asks you what you do for a living. When you answer “I am an Educational Technologist” they look confused. Please explain to them what an educational technologist is. This person is especially interested in hearing the specifics of a project an educational technologists would complete, the major processes used by educational technologists to do their work, the different types of work educational technologists do, and a bit about the philosophies that influence the field. By the way, your plane is on time and you’re on different flights. You only have a few minutes before boarding, so get to the point.

EDTEC 540 Summer 2005 course

My initial response was almost 800 words out of 500 maximum. So I had to pare it down by almost three hundred words. That took about an hour last night. I think my response is pretty decent because I framed it through my current job with S Tech. Here it is:

(more…)

Tags: EDTEC, education_and_training

Day 2 of the VRR IPR consisted of another all-day meeting. We stayed downstairs in our office. My finishing up of summer school this week has left me tired due to lack of sleep. So it was difficult to stay awake today. The highlight again was lunch. Although Felicia decided we needed to make it a “working” lunch — meaning we work while we eat, which is what we normally do anyways.

Base Bowling Alley

So we went to the base bowling alley across the street. It has a cafe. There was a lot of food items to choose from. So I waited until almost everyone ordered before deciding. I was just about to order a cheeseburger and fries when I overheard two of the workers talking in Tagalog. Translation: “Do we have any more lumpia in the freezer?” BINGO!

Bowling Alley Cafe

I scrapped my order and requested fried rice and lumpia. Worker: “You want ‘pried rice and lumpia’?” I replied, “Opo.”

IT1 Hall chimed in: “What?!? You have lumpia?”

“Yup. And you’re too late to order any because they’ve already started cooking your food.”

“Well you’re gonna hook me up with some.”

“I don’t think so because Filipinos don’t share lumpia. Once the lumpia is placed on a Filipino’s plate it becomes all his.”

“I see how it is.”

Pried Rice and Lumpia

It was again a large meal. But how can you say “no” to lumpia? So we ate chowed down while continuing our teleconference call when we got back to the office. Nobody really was saying much except for Felicia since she was leading the meeting. We all we enjoying our food.

IT1 Hall and Chief Walker,
Done with their Food

Tags: Career, Food, Navy

These idiots were stealing bandwidth by making direct links to some pics from my site. What losers.

One of them is actually a law student at UCLA, named David. The other one is some 16-year-old bimbo from Arkansas, named Kayla. I hate that name. It reminds me of that ho that was in my math class at MVHS who talked about oral sex during class time.

Both are dumbass users of that lame web community called MySpace. Both of their web sites on myspace are so hideous!! Don’t bother with pictures in the first place if your site is so damn ugly.

Learn to save the picture to your own desktop, then upload it to your own web site. Estpuidos. Vlakas kai malakas.

Updated List of Thieves:

• Another bimbo named Byrd, stealing bandwidth - discovered 8/26/05
• Another bimbo named Arin has been blocked for the crime of stealing bandwidth because she is too stupid to know how to upload her own pictures - discovered 9/1/05

What’s up with this MySpace crap? Those idiots shouldn’t be allowed to post pictures if they don’t know how to save them on their own computer first and then upload them to their own site without stealing bandwidth.

Tags: bandwidth, hotlinking, MySpace, Rants

Dining area

Today we had lunch at the catering/restaurant on base, called Anchors. The menu today was prime rib and fried chicken. It’s a buffet style, all-you-can-eat for $9.95. And there were definitely no cockroaches in this place. It was very clean and nice looking.

Felicia going through the buffet

My plate

The menu

Pourpa and I plan to have lunch here, hopefully Josephine can join us too. It’s located just outside the base where you don’t have to show I.D. to get in. We want to go on Friday when it’s a seafood buffet.

Tags: Career, Food, Navy