The Life and Times of Jim
Hi, there. I'm Jim. Welcome to my phlog!
This site was written for Las Vegas, then LouisVille. Now, it seems to be about anywhere. In these phlogs, you'll see a lot of my personal notes and pictures. I like to post my observations here to remember life and celebrate it. I'm not religious. I don't pray for good fortune. I'm ecstatically grateful for the gift of life and I think our time should be remembered and not taken for granted. I'm not a writer. I think pictures tell stories so much better than words. I love just about everything in this life, and, I guess that would have to include you. So, if you've seen me, don't be surprised if your picture is in here somewhere. Of all the critters, people are absolutely the most interesting. 
<< 10/2003 < 09/2004 Calendar 11/2004 > 10/2005 >>Sign InView Other Logs
Fri 
10/29/2004 17:25:39
 jim  Struggling with VB.Net
I've been trying to compile several programs that I wrote in VB6, with VB.Net
I've been trying for days to do this now. I create a solution. I add the vb program to it. I build it. Then I open a new project, select Setup and Deployment Project (it always puts its location in someplace that's ridiculous, so I have to browse around) select Setup Wizard, then I go through 5 screens, and select Finish, and it gives me an odd looking screen with 3 entries. You set it up by right clicking each entry and selecting properties. These property names are AlwaysCreate, Condition, DefaultLocation and Transitive...and I'm thinking "WHAT?". THEN, you click Build and select either Build Project, Rebuild Project, Build Solution, Rebuild Solution, Batch Build or Configuration Manager...I'm thinking "WHAT?".
hmmmm....now, computer programming is supposed to be about logic right. I see nothing logical about this, nothing at all.

As a computer user, I've put up with the wondering OPTIONs selection...the thing you click to get into the preferences of a program. OPTIONS setup seems to be located under File|Properties, Edit|Preferences, View|Options, Tools|Options, Window|Setup or even Help|Configuration, and it sucks.
But now, simply to compile a program, one has to jump through hoops. All I can say is, Microsoft, what have you done here? Is anyone paying attention to this mess.
I mean, the whole reason for entering a development environment is to produce running code. Why would it be a hidden technique? I don't understand why someone would pay $1,600 for Visual Studio, and then have to buy a book on how to use it.
Fri 
10/29/2004 17:00:00
 jim  FYI-Bush and Kerry are related...lol
Both Bush and Kerry are decendants of a 1700th Century, a New England colonial immigrant.
Then again, if you believe the story about Adam and Eve, we're all related. This question comes to mind however, if Cain was killed, who did any of them have to mate with. Maybe more women were made out of Adam's ribs. Nice trick!
I remember I once tried to make a woman out of some sand on a beach. She was full of grit! Just kidding. I need to bash the Democrats.
Fri 
10/29/2004 15:10:28
 jim  These election years, so many lies.
I guess the politicians think we are too stupid to notice what's going on.
I'll pick on the republicans first.
Remember The Clinton Impeachment hearings...can anyone tell me what that was all about anyway?
To me, that was the most disgusting period in US history.
Ken Starr investigates the Paula Jones thing at the request of the Supreme Court. The Paula Jones thing was dropped, but Starr continues to go in deeper and deeper. People went to jail, and Lewinsky produces a sperm stained dress. Republicans try unsuccessfully to impeach Clinton because he lied about having sex with an intern. The Paula Jones thing was almost forgotten.
Almost all of the Republicans voted to impeach, while all of the Democrats voted against it.
Give me a break! Ken Starr was as independant as much my ass smells like a rose garden. He worked very hard to smear the president, and crushed a lot of people along the way for not testifying (remember now?).
Our tax dollars were spent to the tune of over $50 million for his efforts. We got a cheesy x-rated soap opera out of it.
Who doesn't believe that the Republicans were behind that little smear?
In the end, Clinton should have been impeached for perjuring himself about having sex with Lewinsky, and abusing his power by helping her get a job. And if that is the case, all politicians should be prosecuted.

It seems to me the Bush administration is all about lies.
I read the news during The War in Iraq.
Bush was saying there were weapons of mass destruction stockpiled there.
The US and its allies were under pressure to present proof of the weapons. Bush cited some reports he got from the CIA.
I should type up a letter in Word with a CIA letter head, saying that Haiti has stockpiled weapons, send it to the president and see what happens...haha.
I read at one time they found a lot of mustard and chlorine that could have been used for weapons of mass destruction. At first I thought they raided a super-secret Sadaam delicatessen. I mean, I have that stuff in my laundry room. Bomb me too I guess.

Does anyone else out there think that the Iraq war was really about oil?
That seems obvious to me...Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world. So, why not just tell us that the war was about us controlling their oil reserves.
Good ol Republicans. Bush and his people must have thought we were just too stupid to realize that we needed was oil, they had it, a madman controlled it, and we couldn't drive to the 7-11 without it.
Quote from Bloomsberg 5/1/2003 "Oil production in Iraq was halted before the U.S.-led attack that toppled President Saddam Hussein. Iraq is losing about $55 million a day in oil revenue.
$55 million a day! I think the conflict was aimed at securing Iraqi reserves to benefit Western economies and oil companies.
What do you think?

BTW-This week I read 250 tons of weapons are missing from a UN sealed facility in Iraq. The weapons were sealed in 1991 and could be used to detonate a nuclear weapon. Does the timing of this seem rather convenient? Bush is still defending our right to bomb Iraq.
I ask this question, why weren't the weapons destroyed? Why leave them in an Iraq facility for 13 years?
It sounded to me like they could have been destroyed with a can of gasolene and a match. I read that they were secured by a seal that was not broken, lol. Who's telling white lies now? Or are we that stupid?

And also, about Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990...have you ever heard of 'Slant Drilling'?
It was the technique used in Kuwait, to suck oil from Iraq's gigantic Rumaila oil field.
What if
- You had land with a stream on it that you depended on.
- I had land upstream from yours.
- What if I built a dam and diverted the stream away from your land because you wouldn't trade your oranges for my apples?
What would you do? You might raid my land and wreck the dam. (sound like Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990?)
It's hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys, isn't it?
Wed 
10/27/2004 14:46:01
 jim  The Electoral College...hmmm.
What do I think about the Electoral College vs Popular Vote?
Well, it seems, in the whole wide world, there are only three nations who use Popular Vote: France, Finland and Russia. The election counts could gone on forever, with recounts all over the country. Absentee ballots could become the issue too (and how the votes are collected as well). Having the college limits the area of focus when it comes to miscounting of the votes. I suppose I'm for it.
Sun 
09/09/2007 16:49:17
 jim   (Reply).The Electoral College...hmmm.
So, to continue the topic of the Electoral College:
In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote by 2% (Gore-50,999,897 vs Bush-50,456,002). Bush, however, won by the electoral College Vote by 1% (Bush-271, Gore-266). WHY? Because Bushes people are better at playing the game, his votes came from the right states. As a matter of fact, history would have to be rewritten if it weren't for the Electoral College. The popular vote has lost 3 times to the Electoral College
Wed 
10/27/2004 14:01:45
 jim  I’m going to touch on this subject, the Electoral
270 votes are needed to win a presidential election. The Electoral College consists of 538 citizens, each with 1 vote. 538 = 1 x the Representatives in the House, plus 1/2 x the number of Senators. If no candidate recieves 270 votes or more, the House of Representatives votes for the president. This system was defined in the 12th amendment of the Constitution back in 1804. It was all about the means of counting votes back then. Today, if a candidate gets the popular vote in 11 of the following 12 states(CA,NY,TX,FL,PA,IL,OH,MI,NJ,NC,GA,VA), he has won the election. Its the game, to campaign in only 12 states.
Wed 
10/27/2004 13:31:14
 jim  I suppose I should mention politics being that Nov
These election years seem to fill my mailbox and keep my phone ringing off the hook with news from people I would never associate with. For starters, most of the information is either total lies or twisted truth.
Consider this statement: I've grown 10,000 times my height during my life. While that statement is the truth, it is skewed, limited to only a short period in my existance.
Consider this statement: "I believe Sadaam is a great leader". That could be considered the truth, if I said "Sadaam is a great leader, if the moon is made of green cheese" Of course, you'd have to take what I said out of text and leave out "if the moon is made of green cheese". So there you go. Political smears suck.
Tue 
10/26/2004 13:43:09
 jim  Time is creeping by, this Sunday is Halloween agai
Me, I'm going to be a vampire, and my Becky will probably be a wench. Personally, I'd like to spike Becky's hair and call her the Statue of Puberty (lol). All-in-all, we'll be headed off to the wealthier neighborhoods for buckets of candy stash to be gobbled up in the years to come.
Fri 
10/22/2004 16:55:43
 jim  Hackers..man, they sure are a silly crowd.
Yeppers...some hacker uploaded some more trojans to my website, ain't life grand!
Somebody out there has earned bragging rights for hacking my web passwords. I'm sure whoever did it used the brute force technique, since none of my passwords make any sense, even to even me! What a waste of time!
Fri 
10/22/2004 16:52:07
 jim  Sounds like you’ve been busy Mike.
Reloading PC's is a boring business. Sometimes I make a few bucks doing it, sometimes I just get parts out of it. I don't think I could ever do it full time though.
Thu 
10/21/2004 00:00:04
 jim  Gabriel,NV-Squirt,Jim,Becky
Sun 
10/17/2004 18:09:19
 jim  Those rotweiler broke through AGAIN!
First thing Saturday morning, those rotweillers behind my house broke through the fence.
Six of the beasts were trying to get in through the glass door. They dug up a dog I buried in September. NASTY!
Went over to Jerry Newberry's house to fix his PC's CDRW.
Jerry has the nicest, most logically laid house I've seen in Las Vegas. His 5th wheel is excellent too! I fixed his CDRW by just cracking the case open and changing around some cabling. hmmm. Jerry and Joan look great after all of these years. Anybody would be lucky to age as well as those two have.
Sun 
10/17/2004 00:00:02
 jim  Gabriel,NV-Amy,Becky
Fri 
10/15/2004 01:13:17
 jim  Someone hacked into my website yesterday
But why, I don't know.
I basically have nothing there. They wiped out my index.html with their own blasphemous page. Some people really surprise me. I mean, with all the effort that it took, what was the point? I helped a neighbor move some furniture across town. We were heading into the infamous sphaghetti bowl, when his truck that I was following puffed out a black cloud of smoke and quit. So their we are, on what Vegas calls an emergency lane that's 4 foot wide, with cars whizzing by at 70 mph. But we didn't get smacked. Incredible! We ditched his truck, and everybody piled into my truck. All in all, it was an interesting day. Robert is coming by to borrow my air bed for the night...wow...and here it is 2:00am.
Wed 
10/13/2004 13:47:56
 jim  Testing my HTML coding
Quick Test for HTML code. HTML should be bold.
Wed 
10/13/2004 13:41:00
 jim  Squirt has already learned how to play fetch!
Well I'll be dammed. Squirt has already learned how to play fetch!
It seems like this puppy was born with training knowledge and is just rediscovering it.
Ain't Genetic Knowledge truly amazing!
- Spiders make webs, beavers make damns, birds build nests, bees make honeycombs.
- Female Praying Mantisses and Black Widows kill their mates after having sex. :(
How do they know they're supposed to do this?
Its truly incredible how little we know about anything in this life!
In college, we learned that earthworms can be taught certain behaviors which are then passed on to their offspring. The experiment proved that the knowledge gained for survival in a parent can be passed on to its offspring as instinctive behavior. Simular studies have been done to verify this inherited knowledge using other species (EG:baby chicks).
BTW - Reflex lives in our nervous systems, where as instinct lives in our brains.
I like this little snippet on our thought processes:
The measure of intelligence
Take a brain or any information processor, input information (knowledge), check the conclusions (output). The conclusions it reaches is a reflection of the quality of the processor. The information went in, was processed and conclusions were reached. These conclusions tell us about the quality of the processing. This is the essence of intelligence.
Wed 
10/13/2004 12:41:27
 jim  What to name our new Pomeranian?
I'm still working on getting a job in California (just for kicks), but it may take a few weeks.
Our new Pomeranian puppy is a BLAST!
We're still bouncing around on what to call him: Squirt, Mammal, Puff, Beeper, Balls...hmmmm. At one time I was even thinking about calling him Raspus, Bob, John, Elvis, or Chewy. Life is tough when they're are so many decisions to make. :)
Tue 
10/12/2004 12:41:27
 jim  And later we got toys and snacks for our puppy.
I spent the morning clearing and backing up my laptop.
Becky got a cell phone!
And later we got toys and snacks for our puppy.
Tue 
10/12/2004 00:00:04
 jim  Gabriel,NV-Becky,Squirt
Mon 
10/11/2004 12:41:27
 jim  The neighbors brought us a cute litte puppy!
Those dreams of mine...
I woke up, realizing where more of the drainage problems were occuring, and why the scale built up in the first place.
The sewage was backed up at the street. It all makes so much sense now:
Why the drains often burped when draining. I snaked the sewage at the front access.
Worked like a charm!
The neighbors who gave us Rusty (who was run over in September) brought as sweet present,
A 6 week old Pomeranian puppy!!! This little guy is smarter than any dog I've ever owned. He figured out the doggie door in the first two hours. He's got the idea of using the bathroom on some newspaper we spread out, and is close to being paper trained. AND, I gave him a nylon rope with a knot tied on both ends...he untied the ends and tied a knot in the middle!
Sun 
10/10/2004 12:41:27
 jim  The plumbing was all backed up in the kitchen
Its been painfully slow since I've lived here. So, I rented a professional snake from Home Depot ($40 for 24 hours), and did the work my self. It took HOURS to snake from the back all the way to the sewage access in the front (approximately 75'). And the drains still were slow. So, I dismantle the kitchen drains: Garbage Disposer and everything and snaked it from there. The scale was built up so far only my little finger could go through it. I eventually broke through the mess with a chisel and got the snake in, BUT, and this is a very big BUT, the pipes in the wall dissentigrated. So, all of the sudden, the minor problem became major. I had to cut through the wall to repair the pipe. By 11pm, I rebuilt all of the plumbing better than before, this time, everything surpassed code (5 degree slope on all of the drainage). Everything was cool.
Sat 
10/09/2004 15:02:00
 jim  SunsetPark,NV-Rennaisance
Sat 
10/09/2004 14:43:00
 jim  SunsetPark,NV-Jim,Becky,Jen,Dustin-Facade
Sat 
10/09/2004 12:41:27
 jim  Went to the Rennaisance Fair at Sunset Park
Becky, her kids, and I went to the Rennaisance Fair at Sunset Park. The event was awsome, and well worth the $30 to get all of us in. These people dress up in Knight in Armor fare and play the part well. I take it most of the vendors (about 200) travel around the country living in their tents and playing the roles of Jester, Magician, King, Queen and Knight. It's a pretty cool site to see.
Mon 
09/10/2007 07:01:28
 jim   (Reply)Spent the day applying for jobs via the internet
Right now, I'm up for grabs in Los Angeles, Kansas City and New York City. My fingers are crossed on that Los Angelos job. Wish me luck.
Sat 
10/09/2004 09:00:21
 jim  Vegas,NV-Cemetary
Thu 
10/07/2004 17:11:09
 jim  I just replied to you Robert
Testing my reply...I just replied to you Robert, and I wrote a book. I think Earthlink is going bonkers, or something else is out of wack. So, this is mainly a test to see if I CAN enter blogs ok.
Wed 
10/06/2004 10:11:06
 jim  Well, this blog seems to work kind of okay now.
What a pain! I had to change the locations of my programs, change the programs themself and alter the security on my server hosted by Earthlink to conform with my (.HTACCESS) security file.
It was a real Cleopatra's Pain-In-The-ASP.
Mon 
09/10/2007 07:05:44
 jim   (Reply)Testing my blog
Still
Sat 
10/02/2004 12:06:31
 jim  Vegas,NV-SamsTown
Sat 
10/02/2004 10:08:35
 jim  Becky, Dustin, Jennifer and I all wrote to Renee
It seemed like a sweet thing to inspire, huh *wink*
Fri 
10/01/2004 12:06:21
 jim  Vegas,NV-GabrielDr
Sat 
09/25/2004 23:07:50
 jim  September 2004
Saturday, September 25, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Took Becky, Dustin and Jennifer to Boulder City
I let everyone drive around on the dry lake on 95.
Also taught everyone how to use a wrist rocket. Shot off a bunch of fireworks. yippee!!!
Saw the carshow in Boulder City along with their Octoberfest celebration
I was amazed at how many cars that were there, that I had owned in my life (65 Chevy SS, 74 914 Porsche, 63 Chevy, 62 Chevy, 65 Chevy, 72 Nova, 75 Mazda, 74 Cadillac, 72 Vega). I guess now they're all classics. I sold most of them as junk, I only paid $25-$300 for a car in those days.
Drove up boyscout trail just south of Boulder City
Going up was strange. We passed a rocky field with air ducts coming up out of the ground. Then we passed an iron smelter. THEN, we came up to what looked like a flat radio telescope. At the end of the trail, there's a point where you can see Lake Meade, Railroad Pass Casino, and Las Vegas. What a view!
Friday, September 24, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Went to Boulder City to visit some friends in a band.
Missed Chuck Shepperd, but connected with Mark and Sandy. They're fun people. Mark plays in a band, and they own a small janitorial business. Crazy people (like Becky and me).
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Drove 200 miles touring Nevada Primm, Nevada.
Visited the Dry Lake
Just north of Buffalo Bills is a dry lake that's 2 miles wide, 5 miles long. It's perfectly flat and perfect for trying out your vehicle at high speeds. You can do anything safely out there in a vehicle!
Visited Goodsprings.
This old town (founded in the 1800's) is home to a haunted bar, old mining buildings, houses and trailers with a backyard Sandford and Sons would drool at.
Visited Sandy Valley.
I remember when this town was hot in the real estate arena. I knew people out there. The girlfriend I ended up married lived there.
- I could have died near Sandy Valley in a high speed motorcycle wreck
I left the road over a hill with an unmarked curve doing 80mph. I got bloody, with bunch of stitches, but I survived.
Memories.
- The people who bought out there bought on speculation. What a hype. Its a sandy valley with a collection of some very strange people. Someone built a porch surrounding their 20' travel trailer. Very Odd thing to do. Someone else planted a strip of grass 5' wide by 100' long. I guess they like to mow grass. It looked kind of stupid.
- They have gliders out there, a dome building, some kind of ranch, and off road races.
Drove 20 miles through the desert to Pahrump.
If you haven't driven through the desert, you're missing a real treat. Some of the trash is over 50 years old.
How does it go, bury a cheap Timex watch in the desert and in 1,000 years it becomes priceless!
Bought $40 worth of fireworks in Pahrump.
For me, that's a life time supply of cherry bombs...Yippee!
Pahrump has casinos, brothels, fireworks, fish farms, turf farming, and lots of trailers. It's a town out of this world and one step out of time!
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Shopped at Primms Outlet Malls
Monday, September 20, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Stayed at Buffalo Bills. Got a two day comp
Wednesday, September 15, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Camping at Lake Meade was fun.
I discovered a WATERMELON PATCH out there. Wow!
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Camped at Lake Meade
Watched movies, had a great time
Saturday, September 11, 2004 at 10:08:35 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Dustin, Jennifer, Robert, Joy and Amy came by. Nice day!
Sunday, September 5, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Went to the Stratosphere with Mike Ginsburg
Saturday, September 4, 2004 <Jim Cutlar>
Hung out with Mike Ginsburg
Friday, September 3, 2004 at 10:08:35 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Took pictures of a really neat little fellow (A praying mantis)
Wednesday, September 1, 2004 at 10:08:35 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Visited Joy and Amy at the hospital. Nice day!

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