tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42093458098478479832024-03-07T11:13:54.568-08:00Just JasonBuilding My Empire One Step at a Time.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-23423477174206322292007-07-23T07:47:00.000-07:002007-07-23T11:21:39.139-07:00Harry Potter Book 7<img src="http://www.justjason.com/images/postgraphics/harrypotterdh.jpg" align="left" /> I finished it yesterday and I know all the secrets and read how it all wrapped up and I'm dying to discuss it all. What better place to do so than on my blog. However, I'm certainly not going to spoil all the drama for those who haven't read the book or are in the process of finishing it themselves. To protect that certain population who unlike me and my Mom did not clear their schedules, take time off work, and sit in one place for 14 hours straight reading, I'm going to hide the spoilers.<br /><br />First off, I really enjoyed the book. It's hard for me to consider this my favorite in the series because the Prisoner of Azkaban I thought was excellent. Prisoner of Azkaban was the book that really started setting things in motion, a lot of things happened in that book. We were introduced to Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Hogsmeade, Dementors and Expecto Patronum -- all things that would become major plot points and points of interest in the books that followed.<br /><br />Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is definitely a worthy finale for the series, however, it wasn't a perfect one. I don't have many criticisms but the book was longer than it should have been. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it was 759 pages, in fact I wish it was even longer, but the story that was told could have been wrapped up sooner. Some chapters, like chapter 15 crept along until finally within the last few pages we were introduced to what the chapter was about. This is all a small blemish on what is a great story.<br /><br />The biggest things that happened in the book were <span style="background-color:#191919">all the deaths. J.K. Rowling was cleaning house. The most notable deaths were Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks and Serverus Snape, surprising when Dobby died, I got choked up. I never liked Dobby throughout the series, but upon Dobby's death after he rescued everyone from the Malfoy mansion I was stunned. What pushed me over the edge was a montage I ran through my head of several Dobby moments that happened in the other books.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color:#191919">Snape. I can't say that may faith in Snape ever wavered, it did but I believed in my heart that he was faithful to Dumbledore. In order to believe that Snape was on Harry's side, you had to trust Dumbledore's judgment. Interestingly enough, across the series there was never an instance that would allow you to question Dumbledore's decisions, logic, and love for Harry. So why should anyone think differently of Snape, especially Harry.</span><br /><br /><span style="background-color:#191919">In one of the final chapters called The Prince's Tale, it gave a lot of back story on Snape. How he met Lily in a park when they were just children. How he told her that she was a witch and that she would be going to a school called Hogwarts. It turned out they were best friends. What I thought interesting was they stopped being friends mainly because of who they each began hanging out with, Lily and James, Snape and Death Eaters.</span> Then Snape called Lily a Mudblood <span style="background-color:#191919;">something he regretted and apologized for but ultimately ending their friendship. His love for her continued making him a double agent for Dumbledore. This was one of my favorite chapters in the book because I I enjoy hearing the back story on characters that I have come to know very well over the course of the years. After reading this chapter I took his death pretty hard, because in fact he placed himself in the most danger to protect Harry.</span><br /><br />I was in the camp that believed that Harry should die. Of course I didn't want him to, but thinking about the good and protection of the series. <span style="background-color:#191919">I am beyond happy that he didn't and I thought the epilogue at the end of the book was fantastic. I nearly sobbed through the whole thing. Looking at Harry's life 19 years later with his wife Ginny and their three children, Lily, Albus and James. Then seeing Ron and Hermione and their children all at King's Cross Station sending their children to Hogwarts was outstanding. What got me the most was Harry addressing his son Albus, then saying his middle name, Serverus when he was concerned about being put into Slytherin. Harry said to him, "you were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."</span> I still cry when I read that.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-42105310625547136822007-07-17T19:54:00.000-07:002007-07-17T21:25:37.638-07:00A New DesignAnother redesign. I know, I tend to redesign this blog more times than I wash my sheets, but I was feeling bummed that my other design wouldn't work and I ended up losing everything when I deleted it off my web-space provider. Maybe it was for the better.<br /><br />Initially I was going to do something really simple. I was picking the most bland template Blogger had. I wasn't going to make any changes, I was just going to start writing. Then the tinkerer part of me kicked in. I was only going to change the font, and maybe the color of the title. Then it all just snowballed and I added another column, messed around with RSS feeds, included a label cloud, changed how the blockquotes displayed, reworked margins, justified all the text, and added a border among other things.<br /><br />It sounds like I did a lot of work, but it all came together quickly like it was meant to happen. The whole experience was very satisfying and I'm pleased that I took a moment and built on to the template I chose. In the end I'm excited with the result even though it wasn't the original design I worked so hard to get working a few months ago. The decision ahead of me now is whether or not I completely start over with the posts.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-30720821351751969732007-05-28T15:21:00.000-07:002007-05-28T15:24:33.293-07:00Neighborhood InsanityI am currently being driven insane by my neighbors insistence in cutting down a tree that we believe is on our property. In a way, I am grateful that they are cutting it down and not I, but I cannot stand the sound of the chainsaw that has invaded my airspace for the better part of the day.<br /><br />I wish they would just CUT IT OUT!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-50011411701079789962007-05-23T13:31:00.000-07:002007-05-23T13:38:56.100-07:00Insurance OptionsMy mom and I spent 2 1/2 hours last night figuring out some choices I could make with my insurance. I have to decide what I'm going to choose by this Friday, and while initially I wanted to get LASIK eye surgery, I just can't afford it at the moment, however, I am going to finally get my wisdom teeth extracted.<br /><br />This morning I called a dentist, not my dentist but after the conversation I had with the person on the phone, I want to make them my dentist. She suggested I put $450 into my Flexible Spending Account to cover my out-of-pocket expenses for the extraction. I don't know why, but I'm really excited about going to the dentist.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-4780131075260871242007-05-21T12:56:00.000-07:002007-05-21T13:09:05.807-07:00Script FrenzyIn a mere ten days, Script Frenzy will take place. Script Frenzy, organized by the same folks who do NaNoWriMo is a race to write a 20,000 word screenplay or stage play in 30 days. Of course I am partaking in this challenge, after successfully completing, for the first time, NaNoWriMo last year.<br /><br />I have never in my life written a script, so this is all new to me. In addition to writing the script it must be correctly formatted, a rule that is not enforceable, but I imagine if it isn't formatted like a script, then it isn't necessarily a script.<br /><br />Anyway, this is a great challenge and I am excited for the next 10 days to pass so I can get cracking.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-66880328935157290402007-05-20T11:47:00.000-07:002007-05-20T12:35:03.103-07:00A Long Time ComingI realize it's been a few months since my last post, but there are good reasons. The first being, I was completely redesigning the blog and moving it over to WordPress, a task that proved more difficult than I first imagined. The redesign was going well, but then trying to introduce the WordPress elements required a high learning curve. Well, not so much placing the elements but rather making them mesh well with my design.<br /><br />Next, my PC began acting up. So I was without my computer for a couple of weeks and had to work exclusively on my iBook. Fine, but it was not well equipped for my blog design because all my files were on the PC and I was only able to get a few on my webspace.<br /><br />Finally I bought a new computer, this time sticking with the Mac format and bought my dream iMac with all the bells and whistles that came with it. I thought I would just pick up where I left off. Ultimately, I decided against that and so now, I am sticking with blogger and looking forward to getting back to my normal routine.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-43674402268770395162007-02-22T17:48:00.000-08:002007-02-22T17:57:10.690-08:00Poor Paul PresslerBusiness Week decides to kick a man when he's down with <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_09/b4023067.htm?chan=search" target="_blank">this article about Paul Pressler</a> and what he did and didn't do to single-handedly bring Gap to its knees. There were several moments where I laughed out loud at the ludicrousness of some of the scenarios. Hope you enjoy.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-62299013933633999482007-02-21T18:33:00.000-08:002007-02-21T18:53:55.874-08:00You Win Some, You Lose Some<span style="font-weight:bold;">Lose</span>: Yesterday I woke up around 7:35-ish in the morning go through my morning routine, forgetting that I wanted to hitch a ride to Target from my Mom. She had already left, but it wasn't a big deal, I wanted to listen to a CD I hadn't heard but just recently rediscovered, so the walk was fine.<br /><br />I arrive at Target with intention of picking up Crackdown for the Xbox 360 to play the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta this spring. I walk down the long aisle to the electronics department to see if the game is on the shelves. It isn't, I hunt down the electronics guy who is working, and he tells me that the side stock workers haven't gone through the boxes and so it won't be out until about 12pm. I certainly am not going to hang around Target for four hours for a game I'm not sure I really want.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Win</span>: After hearing the news I walk down an aisle that I don't normally go down to leave the store, but it looked like the staff was having some merchandising meeting that I didn't want to walk through. I look to my left and there is one of those old PC game two-packs. One of those games, Sanitarium, was one I've been wanting for nearly 10 years. Get this; the two-pack is only $2.48!<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Lose</span>: I get home, and glance at the system requirements wondering if it will work with Windows XP. It does, I install the game and go to play it; after the first level loads the game freezes and shuts down. It does this a couple more times as I try to launch the game.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Win</span>: Today, I ran over to Target and they had Crackdown.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lose</span>: After buying it, I look at the case and it's broken.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Win</span>: Mom and I went to Best Buy because I wanted to pick up a couple of DVD's that I meant to get on Sunday.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lose</span>: They only had V is for Vendetta in stock. I also wanted Heat, but I had to settle for Poseidon.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Win</span>: The also had Crackdown, so I considered picking it up and almost did. Instead, I decided not to get the game and save myself $60. Who knows, I might change my mind later.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-34525714133698938962007-02-18T21:29:00.000-08:002007-02-18T22:04:00.775-08:00An All*Star SeasonLet me throw this question out into the ether. Is there a better show on television than The Amazing Race? Now, let me answer it for you. No. The Amazing Race is not only an amazing race, but it also happens to be an amazing program, an amazing reality program. In terms of drama, action and intrigue, there is no other show on television that offers an ample supply of each.<br /><br />With that said, tonight began the series premier of the 11th season. This time, some of the best teams from past seasons have returned to make up the first all-star edition of this Emmy awarding winning program. After watching it tonight, I'm starving for another episode.<br /><br />Back in January <a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2007/01/amazing-race-allstars.html">I ran through the teams racing this season</a>, so I won't go into depth about each team. Nevertheless, I think it's imperative that I make a list of them in order of most favorite to least favorite.<br /><br />01. Rob & Amber<br />02. Dustin & Kandace<br />03. Eric & Danielle<br />04. Oswald & Danny<br />05. Uchenna & Joyce<br />06. Kevin & Drew<br />07. Charla & Mirna<br />08. David & Mary<br />09. Teri & Ian<br />10. Joe & Bill<br />11. Jon Vito & Jill<br /><br />While thinking about this list, I placed Charla & Mirna higher than I would have thought. If I just didn't hate the way David & Mary raced last season, and how poorly their racing this season, they probably would be a little higher. Kevin & Drew seemed to lose their sense of humor, and they are just a drag to watch. The last three couldn't be less interesting. I will say that Joe & Bill were great to watch in the first season, however since then, many teams made better villains.<br /><br />The top three, Rob & Amber are the king and queen of The Amazing Race. Never was there a team that raced better and had amazing luck on their side. Dustin & Kandace ran an excellent race last season and I favored them to be in the final three. Unfortunately for them and me, they were unable to do so, ultimately making the final episode a little less exciting.<br /><br />In this first episode, Rob & Amber came in first place and Jon Vito & Jill were eliminated for being the last team to make the same mistake as a few other teams. This worked out beautifully for me because they never made "great TV" so their elimination will better concentrate the drama.<br /><br />I am optimistic that this season will be the best season yet.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-72618619860068243742007-02-12T23:10:00.000-08:002007-02-11T21:58:08.915-08:00Cleaning in ProgressIn reaction to my post last night, I decided today would be one of cleaning. Well, maybe not all day, I mean, I have other things I need to accomplish. Nevertheless, I washed my sheets, cleared off a few surfaces, and filed my pay stubs. It may not sound like a lot, but the difference is noticeable.<br /><br />Tomorrow I'm continuing the project and finish cleaning the odds and ends. Really, how many tubes of <a href="http://www.chapstick.com/" target="_blank">ChapStick</a> does one person need? I don't know about you, but I need quite a few. One thing that I really want to do is laundry. I just did some laundry a couple of days ago, but there are some jeans and t-shirts that could use a second wash because of the junk once covering them.<br /><br />Well, it's the last song on the new <a href="http://www.gwenstefani.com/" target="_blank">Gwen Stefani</a> CD signaling my final moments on the computer. Time to do a quick spell check and post. I'll talk to you all tomorrow.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-19110994902639232932007-02-11T21:35:00.000-08:002007-02-11T10:32:11.862-08:00Sick of CollectingI'm sick of everything. I'm drowning in the vast quantities of stuff I've accumulated over the years. I feel like I need to purge myself of all my excess, like DVD's and video games. One of these days I would like to go through my entire collection of belongings and make a list of things I'd like to keep and things I'd like to sell.<br /><br />I would first go through <a href="http://dvd.justjason.com" target="_blank">my DVD's</a>. I have an enormous collection of DVD's and a lot of them I haven't even opened, much less seen. It would be difficult, because I like watching movies so much, that to give any up is heartbreaking. My ideal collection would consist of no more than 100 of my favorite movies and television shows (an entire series would count as one).<br /><br />Video games are next. This would be a little easier because the NES would be the first to go. I never play it and all my 152 games are just sitting in my closet collecting dust. However, after the NES things would get a bit hairy because we move into hallowed territory with the SNES, considered by many the greatest gaming console of all time. I have most of the classics like Final Fantasy III (FFVI), Chrono Trigger, The Legend of Zelda a Link to the Past, and various others. I hope that many of these would be offered as downloads on Nintendo's Virtual Console, although I would hate to have to re-buy them all.<br /><br />In my head, I look at my room and it is sparse. The only furniture is one desk with a computer, a bed, a dresser a book shelf and a <a href="http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?sourceid=Mozilla-search&va=phat" target="_blank">phat</a> 46-52" plasma/LCD TV adorning my wall hooked up to an awesome 7.1 surround sound system. That isn't too much to ask. Right?Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-45784879178250983422007-02-10T20:50:00.000-08:002007-02-10T22:24:03.921-08:00Anna and Her BabyAnna Nicole Smith died! I couldn't believe it when I was told Thursday at work by a manger that has a habit of making jokes. Not necessarily jokes about death, but you get my meaning. It came as a total shock that she was dead after losing her son and giving birth to her daughter just five months prior.<br /><br />Even more shocking and telling, just hours before her death, <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah3962.shtml" target="_blank">Rosie O'Donnell decided to rant about Anna Nicole Smith</a> on The View saying,<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"If I have to see Anna Nicole Smith one more time on television, one more time, that woman and her paternity tests and she can hardly even speak now. She can't even speak. It's a tragedy all around. Her son died. She has this little baby. There's obviously some kind of medication or substance involved."</span><br /><br />Rosie O'Donnell has a keen sense of tragedy that she can anticipate when it would least benefit her career to go off on a tangent. Honestly, whom can she possibly defame and kill next?<br /><br />Above that, the question of who is the father of her five-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. Is it <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_K._Stern" target="_blank">Howard K. Stern</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Birkhead" target="_blank">Larry Birkhead</a> or Prince Frederick von Anhalt (aka Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband)? Whoever it may be, that is going to be one rich daddy.<br /><br />There are tons of questions that still need answering. I can't wait to see how this modern-day Marilyn Monroe mystery unfolds.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-26892028472312313902007-02-09T20:48:00.000-08:002007-02-09T21:14:39.672-08:00Just Lindsay's LuckThere was a movie that I've wanted to see for a while now, but I never thought there would be an opportunity for me to watch it. The movie is called Just My Luck starring the ever popular and doped up queen of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulimia" target="_blank">bulimia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindsay_Lohan" target="_blank">Lindsay Lohan</a>. Lindsay plays Ashley, the luckiest woman on the planet, that is until she meets the unluckiest man, Jake. They kiss on the dance floor and swap more than just spit; they swap luck. Now Jake who was unsuccessfully trying to get a record producer to listen to the band he represents, immediately makes them superstars. All the while Ashley finds herself living with her friends and eating scraps off other people’s plates.<br /><br />My friend Kim was taking the movie home and I commented that I wanted to see it. She asked if I wanted to borrow it and I of course said yes. The movie was charming and I enjoyed it, however it was extremely formulaic. Formulaic in the sense that it borrows aspects from a thousand different formulaic movies. It had a little, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0322330/" target="_blank">Freaky Friday</a>, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120185/" target="_blank">Spiceworld</a> and then your generic romantic comedy.<br /><br />My relationship with Lindsay Lohan is interesting. It wasn't until I saw her host the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415469/" target="_blank">2004 MTV Movie Awards</a> that I began liking her. I continued to enjoy Lindsay in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/" target="_blank">Mean Girls</a>, after which her stock plummeted when she became a causality of her own fame. The drugs, the drama, the bulimia. The whole episode of her life was just too much for me to care about that I and everyone else immediately made her a punch line. Yet, even though she is trying to get her life back together, I still don't think she is going to live down her shenanigans.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-83529504016602560272007-02-08T17:52:00.000-08:002007-02-07T21:18:43.668-08:00Bold Woman, Bold DecisionA customer came to my register today and told me she was moving to the <a href="http://www.usvi.net/index.html" target="_blank">Virgin Islands</a> to be a yoga instructor and wedding planner. She also said bold women make bold decisions. I think it is obvious that this was one bold woman. It inspired me; I wanna be a bold woman too! Not really, but I would love to make as bold decisions, to leave everything I know and move to some exotic location to start a new life.<br /><br />I think I would rather leave everything I know and <span style="font-style:italic;">visit</span> an exotic location for a week or two, then return home. I can't imagine anyone wanting to live in the Virgin Islands. It's hot there and there are hordes of fat, sweaty tourists half clothed and always ready for a party. It doesn't sound like fun at all.<br /><br />Thinking about it, I can't say for sure where I would like to live if I had the chance to leave Oregon. I love Oregon, the climate's great most of the year and everything I'm interested in is just a stone throw away. If I had the chance though, I would like a try at living in England, Japan, Switzerland and Alaska. That is of course assuming that I would have Internet access and FedEx and UPS were able to deliver. The only thing that's keeping me from doing that is television programming.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-62355423755951175592007-02-07T20:49:00.000-08:002007-02-06T18:25:51.750-08:00A Fresh CoatI spent the bulk of the day cleaning. In the next few days, another manager or group of managers from other stores will judge our store on its cleanliness. This is always a tough time for the team because we clean and clean and clean; yet it almost never makes a difference, because we can only be as clean as our customers and the age of the store allow us.<br /><br />So, as I said in the beginning I spent most of my time cleaning. The first thing I do in the morning is <a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2006/12/bathroom-blues.html">clean the bathrooms</a>. I think I've mentioned that this is usually my favorite time at work, because it allows me to have a few quiet moments before associates and managers start laying down demands. I make that sound worse than it is. After I clean the bathrooms, it is nearly time to open and my second task is to wipe down all the carts.<br /><br />This is not a task I do daily, come to think of it; I don't think I've ever actually done it before. I know I've attempted to dry carts for customers, but I never cleaned them. So I take out the Sani-Spritz Spray II, spritz the carts and start wiping them down. Not the most glamorous of jobs, but it did keep me busy. One of the tools I like to use when cleaning are latex gloves. This was the crux of the experience, because every time a customer was ready to pay, I had to take off the gloves and ring the customer through. After helping the customers, I put on a fresh new pair of gloves. I got both tired and good at putting on latex gloves. Sadly, it's always been a slight dream to be able to put on gloves as seamlessly as they do in medical drams like ER, and even The X-Files as I have seen Scully do a thousand times before.<br /><br />After I returned from break, I was instructed to do my favorite task of all time, <a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-day.html">paint</a>. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the painting wasn't done yet. This time I had to paint the doors. Immediately I began to panic like last time. I don't think I did a good job last time, and this time I let my general manager know it. She didn't seem to mind, but I could see my blatant lack of experience shine through. Those poor doors went through a lot.<br /><br />I had three doors to paint. The first door took the longest because it was absolutely filthy. The second door was easier and more interesting. Let me tell you about the second door. There was tape all over it; some of the tape was fresh while other pieces were painted over. I used a scraper to take off most of the tape. Afterwards, I grabbed a <a href="http://www.mrclean.com/sites/en_US/mrclean/products/eraser.shtml" target="_blank">Mr. Clean Magic Eraser</a> to try to get the goop that was left behind. The thing about the Magic Eraser is it will take paint off walls, but what happened next was a complete surprise.<br /><br />I washed the door with the magic eraser and got most of the sticky goop off. I realized I still had some pieces of tape on the door, so I grabbed the scraper and went to scrape of the tape. I put the scraper to the door and pushed up and down came a long strip of paint. I kept scraping up and more of the paint came off the door. Soon I had most of the paint on the floor in these long strips. It was the most satisfying moment of the day.<br /><br />All the while two managers were trying to scrape off this horrible green paint off the third door with little success. I won't go into the details, but suffice to say, it was like watching Laurel and Hardy scrape paint. After I finished the second door, I moved onto the last one. This one needed the most work of all and I just didn't have the time to fix it. One of the managers said he would work on sanding down the divots so I could get it painted tomorrow. <sarcasm>I can't wait.</sarcasm>Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-57596241207816460612007-02-06T18:20:00.000-08:002007-02-06T18:25:51.954-08:00Weaving NightmaresI am sick and tired of working on websites. I knew the work I was doing with Dreamweaver 8 wasn't going to amount to much. I knew that it wasn't going to be compatible with Blogger. I knew all that, but there was a small part of me that believed it would. I hoped that all the hours I invested in this blasted program was going to produce something great.<br /><br />It's very likely that I don't have a clue what I'm doing with the program. I'm not taking advantage of any of the intermediate or advanced features, mostly because I don't know how. What I am doing, creating style sheets, linking them to my HTML document and formatting my CSS in the HTML page takes some knowledge. However, Dreamweaver is not doing all the heavy lifting, I still am. I'm still hand coding the vast majority of what I'm doing and that doesn't seem right.<br /><br />This is the problem with WYSIWYG's, what I see in Dreamweaver, is not what I'm seeing in the browser. My XHTML validates, my CSS validates, and I have cross-platform compatibility, yet there is one tag that affects the page in Dreamweaver, but doesn't affect it when I preview the page in a browser.<br /><br />Later this afternoon, when I realized my design wasn't going to work in Blogger, I looked into <a href="http://www.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">WordPress</a>. Many of the <a href="http://www.mattbrett.com/" target="_blank">better-designed blogs</a> out there use it and so I thought, if it works with them, I can see it, in the end, working for mine. The first thing I needed to do was create the template for my blog. I began reading about how to do that. I continued reading, and read some more, then more. While I loosely understand the concept, there is little out there to solidify my knowledge. Then I got lost when I realized I needed to use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP" target="_blank">PHP</a>.<br /><br />I tried to learn PHP last year by buying one of those horrible 900-page Behemoth XLs (read: books) that ultimately teach you how to create the Internet. It was an attempt to make my website dynamic and I got lost at page 27. I'm sure I understood the underlying concepts and even the syntax but it was putting it all together that twists my brain into a knot.<br /><br />What doesn't help is that I never start small. I always figure that if I'm going to do it, I want to go for the gold. So, I have the very complicated design that I need to shoehorn into WordPress using templates and PHP and CSS and XHTML and all other acronyms that I only have a rudimentary understanding.<br /><br />For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to try and study and work on getting a firm grasp on everything I need to learn. If your thinking about me taking a college course in this, stop. They don't offer one. They offer one about Dreamweaver, and I may in the future begin taking that, but that's not what I want. I want to know how to do it the hard way before I start doing something the "easy" way.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-45559475920852230942007-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:002007-02-05T22:31:06.836-08:00Weaving DreamsYesterday I remembered there were programs out there called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYG" TARGET="_BLANK">WYSIWYG</a>'s (What You See Is What You Get) to help with the creation of websites. I used to use on called FrontPage several years ago and it allowed me to do some amazing things. Now, with the advent and widespread usage of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS" target="_blank">CSS</a> (Cascading Style Sheets) I decided to look back into these to free up some of the work.<br /><br />Last evening I downloaded a free trial of <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver/" target="_blank">Dreamweaver 8</a> from <a href="http://www.adobe.com/" target="_blank">Adobe</a>'s website. This seemed to have all the tools I wanted to make creating a valid website with ease. I installed it and began working with it that evening. While it does a good job of keeping me organized, you still need to know the basics of CSS, its structure, and how to place your tags within your HTML document.<br /><br />The program was difficult to use at first, because facing a blank screen, much like a blank canvas represents a daunting task ahead. I didn't know what to do or where to start. I took a layout I worked on a couple of months ago down from my bulletin board and began piecing together the code. The site is coming together nicely, the only thing holding me up are the graphics and what I'm going to do with all this space.<br /><br />Here's a quick tip, make sure you have a plan for the space you create. I have a lot of room that I don't know what I'm going to do with. Several things are running through my head, but I'm unsure how to implement them. I just have to think everything is going to work out in the end as it normally does.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-5726722236635453122007-02-04T18:53:00.000-08:002007-02-04T19:31:39.361-08:00Super-BowlersI don't follow baseball that much, but since it is the Super Bowl, I thought I would get into the spirit of the event. While at my computer I had the game on in the background and occasionally watched grown men run up and down a court chasing a ball to make a goal. I find it amusing that this is what people wait all year to do. They buy gigantic televisions to watch this. Why? What is it about sports that require this much devotion and expense?<br /><br />All right, I'm just kidding about my ignorance about sports. I'm well aware that the Super Bowl is the football game of the season. I know it pitted the AFC's Indianapolis Colts against the NFC's Chicago Bears and I even know the score. I still don't know why this is such a big deal. I look back at the days when I followed basketball like a second religion, and yet I don't know what got into me when the Finals came around. It was just another game.<br /><br />Even though the Finals were big, what I remember enjoying the most was the All-Star game and I wonder if the same is for those who enjoy football. Coming up is the Pro Bowl and I think that would be a much more entertaining game to watch. While the competition isn't as intense as each team plays soft, I always thought seeing the best players in a league compete together far more interesting.<br /><br />For any of these games, would I buy a $3000+ television to watch it in all its HD glory? I suppose. I know that if I had the money and the technology was more readily available back then, I would have plunked down some serious cash to watch the NBA Finals in high def. Looking at it now, it's stupid, but that's just my opinion.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-63101928785026155562007-02-03T20:07:00.000-08:002007-02-03T22:34:41.856-08:00The Ballad of Will FerrellWe just finished watching Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby starring the incomparable Will Ferrell. Yes, it was funny, but not nearly as funny as I expected. I think as a whole, I was disappointed I didn't laugh until I cried. Something I tend to do.<br /><br />First, let me talk about Will Ferrell. Will Ferrell has a spotty history of funniness with me. On Saturday Night Live, he was probably the funniest cast member of all time and then in 2002 he left to do films. To be frank, even while he was on SNL, his shenanigans on SNL movies were poor. Have you seen A Night at the Roxbury and Superstar? After leaving SNL in 2002, he started strong in Old School and Elf, two of the funniest movies I had ever seen. That's when things began going downhill.<br /><br />Daily I come across people who think Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is hysterical. I didn't, I barely laughed throughout the entire movie, and maybe I just didn't get the joke. At that moment, my faith in Will Ferrell as a comedic actor waned. Would he ever be funny to me again? Where did his magic go?<br /><br />My hopes were set high when I bought Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby when I saw the many previews. I laughed hysterically when he named his children Walker and Texas Ranger. I laughed when he begged Tom Cruise to do his magic. I even laughed when his father made him drive with a cougar in the car. By the time I actually saw the movie, the jokes weren't funny anymore. To my surprise, those were the funniest moments in the movie, and they used all of them in the previews. This is not new for movies, they have to use their best material to attract viewers, but at least leave something to surprise us.<br /><br />We began watching the movie and then paused it 38 minutes in. Mom and I both silently thought to ourselves that it was the longest 38 minutes of our lives. I thought that if the first 38 minutes of the movie was this slow, I couldn't imagine what the last 90 minutes would feel like. I almost dreaded it. To my surprise, the movie got better, and Ricky Bobby miraculously got smarter.<br /><br />For someone I thought was as dumb as a box of rocks, his reasoning and common sense were sharp. There were some conversations he had with his friend Carl that had me wondering if this was the same character. Then in the next scene, he would be this bumbling idiot; I just didn't really know what to think. It frustrated me that they didn't stay true to the character throughout the movie.<br /><br />This is where it gets sad. The moment I laughed hardest wasn't in the movie at all, but in the gag reel. It wasn't the gag that was funny but the line, "pale and paralyzed" that had me laughing so hard. Maybe if they kept that line in the movie, I would have walked away with a better feeling. Overall, it was a good movie. It definitely had its moments, and most importantly, I got the joke and was entertained. That's all I could really ask for.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-21913651380710353792007-02-02T17:07:00.000-08:002007-02-02T20:31:35.928-08:00ReservedI couldn't wait. I needed to do it. I needed to go to Barnes & Noble. I needed to reserve my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I needed to, and I did.<br /><br />The time was 11:20am and I set out for my quest. It was a chilly mid-morning and butterflies where flapping a freaking hurricane in my stomach. Harry Potter, as my last posts faintly suggested, is my favorite series of all time, so it was imperative that I get this book. I was prepared to pay anything they asked. The whole amount? Sure, no problem!<br /><br />A moment of terror struck as I was walking over. What if they hadn't set up the preorders in store like the one they had online? What was I to do then? I knew; I was going to scream bloody murder as I tipped the New & Notable table over and ran down the main aisle knocking every book off their themed displays. I wasn't going to let some corporate giant get in my way of me getting the most important book release in the last decade.<br /><br />I still wasn't there, I hadn't even crossed the street yet; a battle I wasn't looking forward too. Crossing four lanes of traffic isn't easy, especially when coming upon the lunch rush. I was able to walk halfway across the street before having to pause in the turn lane for some idiot who obviously doesn't understand pedestrian laws in Oregon. I arrive at the other side of the street safely and make my way to the front door; heart beating a million beats a minute.<br /><br />I step in expecting to see some grand display notifying all the patrons they were ready to begin taking preorders for the next Harry Potter book. I got nothing. There was no fanfare, nothing to indicate that Harry Potter existed. Surprised, I looked around to see if there was someone I could bully into reserving me a copy. I chose the fat kid in the corner. Luckily for him, there was a sign at his station informing the public about the Harry Potter book.<br /><br />I walked up to the counter, and stated that I would like to preorder the book, he obliged and it was over in a manner of minutes while he typed in my information. I walked out thinking how easy it was. I mean I didn't even have to tip tables or knock down displays. The next challenge is taking down any kids that get in my way.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-90897103725438728432007-02-01T20:05:00.000-08:002007-02-02T17:04:49.353-08:00Does Harry Die?I just checked my e-mail and I received e-mail from both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0545010225?tag=justjasoncom-20" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a> and <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?ISBN=0545010225&z=y&cds2Pid=9481" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble.com</a> preparing me for the event of the decade. On July 21, 2007 the release of the final installment of the <a href="http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com/" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> franchise of books, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</span>. Panic has surged through my body as I am in disbelief at how quickly this day has come.<br /><br />Several years ago I remember going Christmas shopping at the mall while my Mom was at some seminar for her job. I walked into the B. Dalton books and picked up the first Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone after pre-militant lesbian Rosie O'Donnell talked at length at how great the book was.<br /><br />It was a kid’s book and I had grown out of those. In fact, I had grown out of those long before I was supposed to since all the books were geared towards girls. It was very difficult to find a book that a boy would enjoy reading. Finally, I sat there in the food court after all my Christmas shopping was done, and began reading.<br /><br />The Boy Who Lived was the title of the first chapter and it sparked in me a reading frenzy unlike any book or series ever did. I devoured the book, and then I bought the second one. Even though I didn't think it was as good as the first, I still relentlessly took it all in. Then I added the third, Prisoner of Azkaban, currently my favorite in the series and consumed it. <br /><br />When the fourth book came out, that's when trouble arose for me. The book was the longest in the series, and I just couldn't get into it. It was difficult for me to become excited about the Triwizard Tournament because it seemed like it was going on forever. I thought it would never end. I did press through and finished the book, however it took me much longer than the other three combined.<br /><br />I finally reached a point when I dropped almost anything for Harry Potter. Upon the release of the fifth book, I actually took Saturday off so I could read it. I knew I had to get through it quickly as everyone and their grandmother was going to start discussing it and I wanted in on the discussion. When it arrived, I opened it up and began reading. I barely stopped and was able to get through it in the weekend. It was the largest book I ever read in such a short amount of time. I seem to remember that Charles Bronson died around that time, yet hardly anyone was talking about his death, but more about the death of Sirius Black.<br /><br />I made the same arrangements upon the release of the sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I took that Saturday off and when I finally got the book, I began reading and didn't stop until I finished that same weekend. It's almost necessary to read them all the through as quickly as you can because people talk and want to discuss things about the book, and if you haven't read it, than the dreaded spoiler will ruin the experience.<br /><br />Even though the task is daunting, I am looking forward to reading this book all the way through. What is even better is that there are about six months before the final book's release. Therefore, I just might read all six books in the next six months to be up to date on everything Harry Potter since I haven't read a Harry Potter book since The Half-Blood Prince, nearly two years ago.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-37308114932329895202007-01-31T18:03:00.000-08:002007-01-31T18:23:22.775-08:00A Wink and a NodMy right eye is twitching. It's been twitching for the last several days and it is driving me crazy. There are two reasons why this is happening to me, first, the lack of sleep. I have not been sleeping very much because of being so busy. I get up relatively early in the morning and I don't get to bed until rather late. During the late night hours, I am most creative, so I need to harness as many of those as I can. <br /><br />The second reason is eyestrain. I spend many hours in front of a computer screen. I'm going to blame this and another blog I am trying to get started. In fact, I started it yesterday but I'm waiting until I have more posts before it's "launched" in a couple of days.<br /><br />Naturally, a twitching eye can be a little embarrassing in public. I can be talking to someone and my eye can begin to twitch resulting in a wink. Thankfully, no one has called me out on it, and probably no one has noticed my spastic winks. However, I'm waiting for the moment when someone reads more into it than an involuntary spasm. I hope that I will be able to put an end to it on Monday when I can sleep in. Until then, if you see me winking at you, it's not what you think and just let it go.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-6403672985483601082007-01-30T14:48:00.000-08:002007-02-06T18:19:55.202-08:00Are You Reading Me?It's weird to learn that people other than family and friends have read my blog. It's an uncomfortable feeling that my opinions are out in the Internet ether for the entire world to read and comment. Regardless of how uncomfortable it feels I've placed myself out there for a reason; I wanted an open forum, a street corner on the Internet where I can stand atop a soapbox and talk about anything I wanted.<br /><br />It's interesting, if I were out in public, standing on a soapbox, rambling on about the <a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2007/01/night-of-music.html">Barry Manilow concert</a> I attended, I probably wouldn't get much attention. However, on the Internet someone is willing to stop and listen to what I have to say. I'm surprised to tell you that that is exactly what happened. Someone stopped and listened while I rambled on about my <a href="http://www.barrymanilow.com/" target="_blank">Barry Manilow</a> experience.<br /><br />I was checking my "<a href="http://www.bernzilla.com/item.php?id=595" target="_blank">Google Juice</a>" on <a href="http://www.google.com" target="_blank">Google</a> yesterday and came across <a href="http://barryfun.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Barry Fun: A positive, fun blog, about Barry Manilow</a>. One particular <a href="http://barryfun.blogspot.com/2007/01/good-reviews-from-oregon-concert.html" target="_blank">post</a> had links to different reviews of the Portland Barry Manilow concert including mine. In addition, the blogger used my concert ticket graphic, which would have been a point of contention if the blogger were stealing bandwidth by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_linking" target="_blank">hotlinking</a>. Plus, it's a Barry Manilow site, I had a scan of a Barry Manilow ticket; it's all good.<br /><br />Then I found that "<a href="http://goodsexy.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">James Doogin</a>", a friend of mine, <a href="http://www.digg.com" target="_blank">Dugg</a> my post called "<a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2007/01/first-tv-show-to-dvd.html">First TV Show to DVD</a>". It was then <a href="http://digg.com/how" target="_blank">Dugg</a> a few more times by other people. It never gained critical mass to make it popular, but this blog is so diverse that it's unlikely going to make me famous, unless a lot of people really like hearing about <a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2007/01/water-cooler-moment.html">showers</a> and <a href="http://jstjsn.blogspot.com/2007/01/sandwich-of-year.html">sandwiches</a>. I'm sure there aren't many out there.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-44339590505391993762007-01-29T18:55:00.000-08:002007-01-29T21:12:11.885-08:00Water Cooler MomentIn Oregon, we have soft water, which means our water has a low mineral content. This enables us to get a nice frothy lather when we use soap and toothpaste. Conversely, Southern California has hard water, so getting a good lather is difficult. What does this all have to do with my post? Actually, very little, but it's still all within the same family of discussion.<br /><br />Yesterday evening, I had 10 minutes to take a shower before dinner was ready. I aggressively took on this challenge and hopped into the shower. Usually I can quickly attain a nice soapy lather due to the soft Oregon water. This time however, it was difficult. When I attempt the quick shower, looking back it's always difficult to lather-up. Why?<br /><br />I thought about this while showering and wondered what causes this phenomenon. Could it be that the body must absorb enough water for the soap to effectively lather? Does the body need to reach a certain temperature to react to the soaps chemical structure? Would using a liquid soap over a bar of soap remedy this? All these questions cascaded through my mind.<br /><br />I then began breaking down what my process is when showering. The first thing I do when I step into the shower is an initial rinse off. This ensures that my body is wet and I can maintain the soapy lather. As you might of guessed, I do a lot of thinking in the shower, so I never rush to begin the actual washing. During this time, the water heats up considerably and I am more than adequately drenched before beginning.<br /><br />When I take the quick shower, this process is dramatically shortened. I do the initial wet-down, before I do the lather-up, but because of the time constraint, I don't do an as thorough job within the wet-down stage. This leaves me to believe that the body needs to absorb enough water to begin lathering the soap. Yet, the water hasn't warmed to its highest temperature. I seem to remember a time when I took a stone cold shower during a summer month before we had air conditioning, and the soap didn't react.<br /><br />So, what is it? Why didn't I get the lather? Is it the water temperature, or is it the body's water absorption level?Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4209345809847847983.post-78142187034846687632007-01-28T16:46:00.000-08:002007-01-29T08:05:11.113-08:00Geeked OutFor a couple of weeks, I've been consumed with taking all my DVDs and ripping the disc image to a hard drive. To clarify, by ripping the disc image, I would be putting an exact replica of the DVD onto the hard drive. Naturally, this idea is just a piece of a much larger and complex puzzle, because there are many different factors that go into accomplishing this.<br /><br />The idea goes far beyond just putting DVDs on a hard drive. Ultimately I want to access them or any of my data from anywhere in the world. When you look at it that way, you can see the logistical nightmare this could entail. That is a focus for another day and likely another generation of hardware. For now, I'm willing to settle for anywhere in the house.<br /><br />To begin, I will require a new computer. The computer is the most essential part of the process; it acts as the foundation, and dictates future expansion possibilities. If I choose the wrong platform, I could be shutting myself down even before I begin. The question is <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/windows/default.mspx" target="_blank">Windows</a> or <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/index.html" target="_blank">OSX</a>. The both have their strengths and they both have their weaknesses. <br /><br />The major downside for Windows is I will have to buy a computer from a manufacturer who will fill it with a bunch of useless trial programs (AOL, Napster, etc.) that, in the end, screws up the entire system when you try to uninstall them. Also, Windows tends to have many cool features that never actually work as their intended, or at all. However, <a href="http://www.microsoft.com" target="_blank">Microsoft</a> has a clear vision that is in line with my own, so it seems only natural to go with them.<br /><br />The trouble with <a href="http://www.apple.com/" target="_blank">Apple</a> is I don't see their vision. It seems only recently that they are trying to enter into the living room with their <a href="http://www.apple.com/appletv/" target="_blank">AppleTV</a>. A great concept, but certainly not on par with what Microsoft is doing with Vista and Media PC. In addition, Mac hardware is more expensive, Mac memory is outrageously expensive and their software is not up to the task. However, the stability of the OSX platform is outstanding, while it wouldn't be easy or cheap, there would be as sense of confidence that everything would work as it should.<br /><br />Beyond the purchase of a computer, there is a small issue with hard drive space. I currently have 543 barcodes in my DVD collection. I say barcodes because there are collections of movies within a single barcode, like the seven Superman movies in the Ultimate Collectors Edition. Today, I went through my entire DVD collection updating how many discs each DVD had while filing DVDs that hadn't filed. After going through and counting all the individual DVDs, the total count came to 1,114 DVDs that would be ripped to a hard drive. This does not account for dual-sided DVDs, which would slightly raise that number.<br /><br />Looking at the maximum capacity a DVD can hold (dual-layer: 8.5GB; single-layer: 4.7GB) and multiplying it by 1,114, I would need approximately 10TB of space. TB stands for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terabyte" target="_blank">terabyte</a>, which is like a 1,000GB. This is assuming of course that every DVD I own is dual-layered and using all 8.5GB. I know this isn't true because the first disc of Superman Returns only uses 7.43GB and I'm positive I have single-layered DVDs in my collection.<br /><br />The cost of one terabyte of storage is expensive, and then multiplying it by ten is ridiculously expensive. The least expensive solution is a $500 external hard drive from Western Digital, for one terabyte worth of space making the final total $5000. I get the distinct feeling that I'll have to wait 10 years before I can affordably accomplish this.<br /><br />Other, cheaper solutions don't involve ripping anything to a hard drive. <a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/_wbr+target=_blank_INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=VGPXL1B2&Dept=computers&CategoryName=cpu_digitallivingsystemh" target="_blank">Sony</a> makes a device that holds 200 DVDs and hooks up to a PC. I would only need six of these, and it's half the price at $400 a pop. The problem, it's not what I want, and it is not as versatile as having digital files. Until the next waves of computers come out with HD DVD and Blu-Ray drives in them, I won't know what I'm going to end up doing. It's all dependent on whether the hardware enables the software.Jasonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09613271523098333988noreply@blogger.com0