April 2005
Saturday, April 30, 2005 23:23:02 <Jim>
We just got back in from Arizona!
We went to Boulder Dam. The place can be very pretty at night!
I experimented with my new camera and took some time exposures.
They are just tooooo cool.
Saturday, April 30, 2005 20:28:54 <Jim>
It's funny, to have company, and to feel all alone.
Everyone is playing on their laptops.
Is this what the world is coming to?
People in their own introverted worlds, socializing with people they'll never meet, playing games with people across the world.
It's both a wonderful, and pathetic testiment to the times we live in.
Saturday, April 30, 2005 19:53:09 <Jim>
Dustin, Jennifer, Robert, Joy and Amy hung out today.
We trudged through a game of Pachisi.
I had to ream Joy out for abusing our cell phone. Man, I still can't get over that, 1,600 minutes for one month.
Anyway, it was a very simple day, the kind people would find in heaven, but we had it on Earth instead.
Friday, April 29, 2005 21:48:42 <Jim>
What is it with WEED WHACKERS
Yesterday, Becky and I picked up a new weed whacker. My old one kept getting the string tangled. Every weed whacker I've ever owned, gets the string tangled!
We spent 2 hours weed whacking the backyard and front yard. The brand new weed whacker's string got snagged 10 minutes after whacking. After spending a half an hour digging through my tools to loosen the factory tight string assembly, I recoiled the string. I got to whack for another 10 minutes.
Now I know it must have been a wonderful idea at first: a blade that never needs sharpenning
But this blade cost $10 for 30 feet. I used half of that yesterday!
That's the cost of a happy meal, and at 49, I'd rather be eating than whacking!
Friday, April 29, 2005 18:51:25 <Jim>
I'm going to another wedding. Ashley Allred's getting married July 4th!!!
Yahoo! She's a blast! Her wedding reception will be at 4817 Primes Ct at 6pm.
Ashley and I talked about people and their prejudices.
We ended up joking about how people would react if our skin was actually colored instead of shades of brown.
What if people were the color of M&M's.
Would we have enslaved and freed the Brown ones?
Would a Blue and Green couple, with a Yellow baby, be shunned?
Would there be signs on the bus telling all Red people to sit in back?
We, as people, have always been InSaNe!
Friday, April 29, 2005 21:47:26 <Squirty's alter-ego>
He's a really a nice guy for being from the wrong end of KY
What can I say? I get a kick out of his accent...
Friday, April 29, 2005 17:32:05 <Jim>
Those guys in Eastern Kentucky are hicks!
They drink corn squeezins, moonshine, raccoon peeess...
I grew up in Western Kentucky where we drank Pabst Blue Ribbon...the King of Beers!
Called King, cause it stank, cause Kings don't take baths, cause they had no indoor plumbing in their castles. Bbbbbbbbbbbwaaaahahaha!
Friday, April 29, 2005 07:18:53 <Squirty's alter-ego>
BARK.......
HOWL...
Friday, April 29, 2005 07:15:29 <Squirty's alter-ego>
One of the guys at my job is fairly fresh from eastern KY...
Has the thick KY accent.
Looks and walks like a hillbilly
Thinks Puducah is a big city
But he is a really nice guy...
Thursday, April 28, 2005 22:54:40 <Jim>
Why does bottled water have an expiration date on it?
Isn't all water on earth 4 billion years old?
Do they put something in the water that makes it go bad? If so, WHY?
Or is there something we should know about the plastic bottle?
"Curious Minds" wants to know...
Thursday, April 28, 2005 22:46:22 <Jim>
Imagine the universe exploding and collapsing. Now imagine it happening in one minute.
Like every controlled experiment, the next result would be simular to the previous.
Now, imagine our universe has expanded and collapsed trillions of times.
Finally, imagine each expansion happenning 20 times in 1 minute.
Wouldn't it look like a Jelly Fish...? lol!
Thursday, April 28, 2005 19:42:18 <Jim>
Pat Hill submitted me to Fifth Third Bank too.
I'm hoping for the best there. As far as Raymond James goes, I never heard back from Michelle. I left her a message to not submit my resume and that worked out to be a mistake, maybe.
Thursday, April 28, 2005 19:38:00 <Jim>
Picky Picky Picky! Remember when it was a programmers market?
Just like all markets, ours got flooded somehow. I suppose it has something with people learning how to program in high school. It's hard to believe they would not consider you because you consult. They must want to beat the shit out of a salaried person...hahaha.
I worked this one Air Conditioning job for less than minimum wage.
It would have been a decent salary except they worked me 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. Nabs, Bank of America and Caesars did that to me too!
Thursday, April 28, 2005 21:02:59 <Squirty's alter-ego>
Headhunters
I never liked Catino. R1 is a group of lazy jerks. Even Sweet Michelle has been losing her innocent ways. I'd love to get you in somewhere. Pat Hill submitted me for Third Five Bank here in FL but they didn't like all my contracting history, so they passed on me.
Thursday, April 28, 2005 10:55:50 <Jim>
I just added a couple of buttons to help with formatting.
Check Preview if you use them to see the results.
This is a Subheader.
This is its details
This is Info
This is its details
It should work with Keep Layout checked or unchecked.
Thursday, April 28, 2005 08:26:40 <Jim>
Here's the problem I have with Headhunters
Don Catino
This man says he's going to submit my resume but he never does to my knowledge. He finally told me that he wasn't submitting my resume to Tandem Cobol shops because I didn't have recent experience on Tandem. From the job hunter's respective, he's as worthless as tits on a boar.
Resource I
Michelle has been straight with me, but I haven't gotten anywhere with her. Results matters. With Michelle, I've had none. I feel like I'm burning my hand on a stove.
Headhunters from India
Most of my phone interviews have come from resumes submitted through these people. They find me in Dice.
It could be that the headhunters from India are better at what they do. They don't seem to care about the American Headhunter ethics. They try to get results based on quantity, not quality.
When I used to actually look for jobs, I'd focus on one place for a job, and bug the hell of them until they hired me. I wasn't afraid of ruining my reputation because I didn't have one. The system worked.
With these headhunters as the go between guys, I have to deal with their home grown ethics. They're afraid of getting their reputations smashed. They play the quality game. While they are playing, we're losing. A programming job should never take more than one month to secure.
It seems the headhunter method of finding work lacks checks and balances
How do I know they've submitted my resume or not. I don't have access to find out. Mike, you said Resource I sat on their thumbs submitting your resume to Northrop and you had to give them a wake up call. I know Don Catino didn't submit my resumes. I doubt if he's ever done anything he's said he was going to do.
Thursday, April 28, 2005 08:15:45 <Jim>
Thanks Mikey! I talked to Pat yesterday.
He said to find out if R1 sent my resume to Raymond James. These headhunters seem to be reluctant to mention who they're sending my resume too it seems. Both Michelle and Pat said they're was two places looking in Florida. Raymond James was one of them. Only Pat told me that the second one was Fifth Third Bank.
Pat Hill's info is:
   Phone: 727-669-6868
   EMail: phill@uscsi.com
Michelle form Resource 1 said the may act one of two ways:
1) Proactively, meaning they'll submit my resume without an openning
2) Submit my resume when they have an openning.
Thursday, April 28, 2005 09:48:43 <Squirty's alter-ego>
Never put all your baskets in one egg...
Or was that "Kill two stones with one bird"? Give two or maybe three headhunters your business.
But you must do two things: First, make sure they are ethical in that they won't submit you for a job without your prior permission.
Second, that you manager them well.
You have the responsiblity to keep track where you've been submitted so you don't get submitted twice (will kill your chances for a job).
I never did care for R1, and that goes back to 1999
I worked with them for 3 months on a contract in the HellHole of America, Boston, MA. They were ok until I was done and they wanted me to wait 3 months for my last check. Even now, it'll be two more weeks before they pay me for the last two weeks I worked at NG. It's not necessarily Michelle.
If they were that good, why do they never seem hungry enough to get me in some where.
Plus, I know they had my resume and knew I was looking in January 2004.
It took my friend Jeff who had gotten in at NG that week to send me an email about the job.
R1 never called me. WHY???
I was sitting in their collective lap, looking for a job, and they had one that was perfect for me, and they didn't contact me...
SAE (Squirty's ALter Ego)
Wednesday, April 27, 2005 12:40:11 <Jim>
Sonny's car got towed,The word Ok, Working Girls, and the Speed of Light.
I took him down to Quality Towing. The girl said she'd have to escort Sonny to his car, and I said "Wow. A Quality Escort Service". Well, that didn't go over too well.
Sonny, Becky and I ate at Denny's
When we got done, Sonny said "Well, that was really OK". And I said, yea, it's agreeably great, which means it was okay! Cause if everything was great, everything would be OK, and it would take something greater than great to be GREAT!
LOL.
Then Becky and I went to Hollywood Video
One of the clerks was throwing some posters away. And Becky said, "WOW! SHE'S A WORKING GIRL". Then I apologized...haha...and said she meant she was a "Hard working girl".
Life surely is funny.
Sonny and I got to talking about the speed of light again.
This shouldn't be a hard concept to grasp. Sound has a speed that it travels relative to the speaker, but a pilot can talk in a plane that's going faster than the speed of sound, because it's relative to the point of origin, only. Someone on the ground behind him, wouldn't hear his voice. To someone he passed on the ground, his voice would be accelerated. It would be a boom.
Einstein never meant people to think we couldn't go faster than the speed of light. That's silly. If two objects were travelling towards each other going 3/4's the speed of light, their relative speed to each other would be .75 the speed of light. Since there is no fixed point in this universe, everything is relative. And light travelling towards light is going twice the speed of light relative to itself.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 22:25:48 <Becky>
Hey Babe
I think that it would be great to go camping this weekened with the kid's. We would go on Saturday? Yes I would love to go camping this weekened. I Love You Jim Cutlar.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 16:03:50 <Jim>
Mikey, what's your opinion on this?
I've got Michelle working on this thing for me. If I go to another headhunter, is that considered unethical? I'm not sure about how ethics plays when job hunting. It seems to me it should be whatever works, is the preferred method.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 21:25:22 <Squirty's alter-ego>
OH NO!!!! You are looking to give R1 some business? 
 Well, I suppose there are worse things you can do. 
Oh, It's Raymond James, not Raymond Jones. 
Jimmy, I spoke to this headhunter based in Tampa Florida mid afternoon today, 
and he implied there is indeed an openning at Raymond James. 
R1 is so inept, they probably tell you the spot is filled, 
just so they don't have to work too hard to get you in for an interview. 
Try giving Pat Hill a call: at 727-669-6868 and tell him I sent you. 
He's based in Tampa and has a spot at a bank called "three fifth" 
(yea, I know it is a weird name) 
based in St Petersberg FL, as well as Raymond James.
Mikey
Tuesday, April 26, 2005 14:53:06 <Jim>
I just talked to Michelle (Parker) Shumaker at Resource One 
I'm trying to get in at Raymond Jone's in the Tampa Bay area in Florida.
Jim Gardner is the point guy for Resource I.
Michelle Shumaker's info is:
    Phone: (800) 508-2822 ext: 5146
    Fax:   (630) 575-5170
    Email: E-mail: mparker@dpholdings.com 
She said she'd try both getting me in proactively, which sounds like juice to me, 
and submitting my resume when the next job gets posted.
The posted job openning has already been filled though.
Monday, April 25, 2005 23:08:05 <Jim>
Obesity magically moved from the #2 most preventable disease to the #7 - CDC says.
Now...exactly how does somebody screw figures up like that!
They said 260,000 people in the US died last year from obesity.
Now their saying 24,000 people died.
My guess is, they're idiots.
This is 8th grade math.
Do a bell curve of a random sample for all people born in 1950, using their current or death weight. That will give you an unbiased percentage for a death to weight ratio. Simple. Don't adjust figures because you decide 200,000 people died of heart attacks instead of obesity...that's subjective thinking.
The Center for Disease Center apparently is using politics
Instead of science to influence personal behaviour.
Why? It is always about money and power. They've put pressure on smokers. To do that to fat people (for whatever purpose) and move them ahead smokers would affect more than half the population.
When will government agencies stop with their obvious lies?
Whatever we do, the average life span will stay around 76 years old because that's how we were designed. Humane considerations are expensive. You figure it out for yourself.
Monday, April 25, 2005 22:11:22 <Jim>
Sonny, Becky and I ate at Hush Puppies again.
Speaking of puppies, Squirt got out the front door. I got in the truck, but was blocked in by a dump truck stalled in my driveway. Had to back up throught the yard. THEN, Squirt was on the busy Mtn Vista Blvd. I pulled over, cars whizzing by me at 45mph, and grabbed Squirt. We're lucky he's alive. I'm lucky I'm alive.
Hush Puppies, as usual, had excellent food.
Monday, April 25, 2005 11:51:49 <Jim>
I'm not sure why I ever started this log thing anymore
Rob died and I wanted a cool way to hear from people.
My blog is having timing issues.
What a pain. I haven't found a way to check errors from called programs.
I wrote a special email program
It writes formatted emails from anybody, to anybody, but it only works intermittently. sheesh!
Monday, April 24, 2005 23:03:16 <Jim>
We just ate at Applebees.
I was so upset about that cell phone bill and all the principles that got broken by the ones using it. Eating is better than drinking though.
Sunday, April 24, 2005 18:01:08 <Jim>
Youch!!! I got my cell phone bill!!!
I helped a couple move into their apartment. I loaned them my cell phone for one week because they didn't have a phone yet and they have a newborn baby. I told them to use it only for emergencies and don't give my phone number out. I didn't get the phone back, there were a lot of excuses and reasons. I was just being nice.
Being nice is one of my flawed personality traits.
They made a call on my cell phone to Kansas, for 145 minutes
I don't understand how anyone could be so cold. I was helping them!
They've had the phone since March 11th.
THEY RACKED UP 1,564 MINUTES WITH 265 CALLS ON MY CELL PHONE IN 30 DAYS.
That's 50 minutes a day, every day! It'll cost me $160. And this month, I have 30 minutes left out of 500. I had to cancel the cell phone. I've heard all the excuses I can stomach.
Problem:What do you do when you love someone, but they continually hurt you?
I've helped them a whole lot! I've never asked them to do anything they weren't more than happy to do. I'm their mom's boyfriend and I went way out of the way to help them. Their own folks don't even help them.
Solution: Don't quit loving them, but don't let them hurt me either.
Distance myself. I have to. They forced me. The love isn't shared.
I'm sad. I've been known them for four years. This sucks. Why do people do these things?.
Sunday, April 24, 2005 09:17:46 <Jim>
Warren D - Thanks for the compliments!
My dad's genes seems to have tossed varying levels of genious, wit, insanity and depth onto our CPUs .
We seem to share:
- An insane look at the world, that while lucid, we present to the sane in the form of wit and humour.
- A genious that reduces complex concepts into simpler ones that can be shared
I've found my strengths are in writting/rewriting complex computer systems
I change them into simpler systems that other people can easily understand. Some may think I'm insane, but, in this web site alone, I've reduced thousands of lines of code down to hundreds.
My techniques for transforming crappy code into something meaningful
Get the crap code.
Remove the acronyms,
...Change AB to AccountBalance.
Replace all references with their textual meanings
...Replace Section3284 with AddTransactionToCustomerAccountBalance
Eliminate negative logic. Remove double negatives and replace with positive logic.
...Replace If not NoError with If Error
...Replace If not Error with If Successful
Read the result.
Toss out the unnecessary code.
Organize what's left into logical steps
...Replace - ReadAB. Section3284. Section1001. Section9255. Section9256.
...With - ReadAccountBalance. AddTransactionToAccountBalance. WriteAccountBalance. GetCustomerName. WriteCustomerReceipt.
I was surprised that the above technique works with any language
Any thought, in any language, whether it is technical or not, can be broken down using the above procedure.
Warren, you mentioned that I have some of the family mud and depth.
You seem to have the same. I translated what you said into how we think. Tadaaaa!
Sunday, April 24, 2005 09:10:04 <Jim>
Warren D(avis)
It's good to hear from you. Want your own log? I like this one a lot.
It's to bad about your mom/my sister (Linda).
It would be nice to find her, sortof.
Sunday, April 24, 2005 08:53:02 <Jim>
Hey Mikey - I added a few things to Add an Entry yesterday.
Keep My Layout
   Checked:
      Everything comes out looking just like you typed it. 
      However, if you never hit [ENTER] while typing, everything displays as one long sentence.
   Unchecked:
      Reformats everything you type. It ignores the [ENTER] key and things like
      double spaces regardless of where you typed it in. 
      It's an HTML thing. I should override it with my own routine. 
      It kind of a sux.
Preview
   Shows exactly what will be entered into the log.
Sunday, April 24, 2005 21:17:42 <Squirty's Alter Ego>
Looking for porn on my old HP liptop...
Yes, I sometimes eat corn or play my horn... But I removed all the porn fromt he liptop I gave you. Didn't want to risk Becky seeing it and becoming corrupted. And I don't like big arses on women. Manner of fact, just the opposite. Even got in a huge fight with Steven, the black guy I used to share a cubicle with at Northrop. He LOVES big, and I mean BIG, asses on women. The bigger and fatter the ass, the better. I am sure it is a genetic thing, but he and I difinitely got to almost throwing punches over this issue..
Saturday, April 23, 2005 22:56:33 <warren D>
Where's the world size fire retardant in case this thing gets out of control, oh, never mind then.
Heyyyyy bud, Youre websight is out of sight! Baby. Your girl is true blue, [as well]. [what a hottie!]
Just wanted to say hello. The fam photos you posted the other day, er, spring 2004, were very appreciated. The times I have wished that dear ol Dad or Linda wouldve hooked me up with a camera whilst I was one year old. Seems my forehead had plent of room for somesort of creative application involving duct tape. Oh well. Better luck next time.
p.s. - I like the way you operate upstairs myfriend, good qlean family mud with a twist of deepness.
Sunday, April 24, 2005 21:03:42 <Squirty's Alter Ego>
Jimmy, how do you get paragraph breaks when you make entries on the blog?
I make paragraphs, but the text all comes together when I submit...
Sunday, April 24, 2005 20:34:27 <Squirty's Alter Ego>
Bark from Gainsville, Florida
Well, finally got close. Maybe I should have just headed for Orlando, but last night I made this reservation fo a Holiday Inn in Gainsville, about 70 miles west of my ultimate destination, Orlando.
Did almost 12 hours of driving today. Even though Tuesday and Wednesday, I did 8 hours each day, I felt I got a good start. Ha Ha.
Ended up in a San Antonio Starbucks early Thursday, I think it was, and exchanged a few emails with Diane LaGesse (la gesseeeeeee-eeeeeeee as I pronounce her last name, although the french pronounce it a lot different).
I worked with her at Northrop and she got the ax the week after me, back in January. She ended up where I am headed in Orlando at about Feb 1st. She is a New Jersey native, but grew up in Houston, TX and did this same drive as I just did, back in late January. She said I better get my arse in gear, and sure enough, she was right.
Besides an accident on I-10 just west of Mobile, Alabama cost me about 90 minutes.
Then I got stopped THREE times here in Florida tonight.
First was some sheriff's deputy from some mickey mouse county, for going 75 in a 70 zone warning. Thing is that there were semis and other cars around me going 80 and better, but they didn't have CA plates, plus I think I was the easiest target. First time I have been stopped for anything in probably 15 years or better. But still no ticket.
Then a couple hours later, after it got dark, a FL Highway Patrol schmuck pulls me over because my right tail light is out. He writes it up, but fine, I didn't know and am happy to get it fixed tomorrow morning.
Then a half hour later another FL highway patrolwoman pulls me over. She was kinda hot, so I wish she had decided to arrest me, handcuff me and take me home, but I am too fat and ugly for that fantasy. We both laughed when I showed her the paperwork from the previous stop.
Hey Jimmy, please don't bother yourself with that thing with the apartment I was arranging for here in FL.
Manner of fact, if they want anything from you, please tell them NO as I am backing out. The dumb bitch who had the nerve to call you at 5:30 am said it was ok since you were already up. I was peeved she was harassing you and at that hour of the morning. Then she said she needed the paper from you saying I lived there with you notarized. And from the Travelodge too. F her. And she hung up on me twice when I told her I wasn't happy with all the hassle.
Plus I stubbled upon a web site last night that people vent compliments and complaints about apartments, and this one sounded nasty. Thin walls, noise all over, stolen cars daily, cops coming regular to break up fights, etc.
Well, me really tired, so I am going to go and lick my belly, brush my teeth and then go to bed. SAE (Squirty's Alter Ego)
Saturday, April 23, 2005 07:30:31 <Jim>
Ahhhh, lets see if that's better
I changed my PERL program. Its a pain so I simplied its functions.

Saturday, April 23, 2005 07:24:38 <Jim>
I've got to throw this in to see if I have a bug
Hmmmm again.

Saturday, April 23, 2005 07:21:05 <Jim>
Here it is morning. Another semi-sleepless night in Las Vegas
I love to relax by playing with this code. It's fun to me.
It's crazy for me to think I'd like anything but dinking with logic, attractive screen layouts and graphics manipulation, but I've got to get a career started sometime. hmmm.
Saturday, April 23, 2005 at 04:05:22 (PDT) <Jim>
The Sounds of Silence
Voices that resonate through empty space with a gradience that accumulates nowhere.
These are the words that know one hears: words from the young, the elderly, the poor, the brightest and the dullest.
If we could hear the voices of everyone that has ever existed all at once, it would sound like the wind.
It would have no value.
Words only have meaning when they are heard and understood.
If you were to mention a thought that could make the world a better place
...If your best reponse was what to eat for lunch
......If your words would have falling into empty space
..........THE WHOLE WORLD SUFFERS
The worlds suffers when generations can't pass their thoughts to the next because no one was listening.
Imagine how much of life is wasted solving problems that have already been solved.
Imagine that every problem you've ever had, has had solutions reached by others...hundreds of times before. Imagine, that you've heard the answers to all your problems, but you make mistakes simply because you didn't listen. Not listening and learning is like burning your hand on a stove over and over again. Someone else told you the stove was hot, you didn't listen, so you burn your hand.
If people are sharing a conversation, the idea is to talk and listen.
A conversation about something should have a path. If it doesn't, it's the equivalent of the ramblings of an insane person. Expansion is not possible.
Test the people you are talking to just to see if they are listening.
Ask a question; make an incredibly vague statement; say something about someone that can't possibly be true; tell the person you are talking to that they have a bug in their hair.
I was amazed at the results. Is it just me, am I worthless, or do most people just not listen?
I've discovered is that strangers are the best listeners.
Strangers know you'll walk away if they ramble on meaninglessly. If you want to exchange information, thoughts and ideas, or you find something interesting you want to learn more about, find a stranger to talk to. They'll at least pretend to listen. I've heard that lack of communication is the main reason for people having affairs. I can understand that. Nothing can make you feel more alone than having nobody to talk to.
Friday, April 22, 2005 at 15:12:37 (PDT) <Jim>
Cigarettes...who needs them?
They may be society's raw oysters, but they do offer so much pleasure!
And what a wonderful addiction. It leaves you with a sense of tranquility for about 10 minutes.
Then you simply smoke another one. Nothing seems more pleasurable.
In High School, I'd always go after the girls that smoked cigs.
I knew my chances of scoring were much better. For those of you who never scored in high school, you wouldn't be away of that little tidbit. Those guys with attitudes saying "She's damaged, she smokes" weren't getting laid nearly as much as me. By their own prejudice, they were excluding 20% of the girls in High School.
I'd much rather be me.
Friday, April 22, 2005 at 10:02:24 (PDT) <Jim>
I'm starting to futz with my website again
Trying different things is fun.
Friday, April 22, 2005 at 09:52:12 (PDT) <Jim>
I'm on a my new laptop
I've got it 90% loaded up with the great software and it looks like everythings working fine. I'm happy.
Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 22:20:01 (PDT) <Jim>
So burnt out.
Installed software all day long, but in the end, it was all worth it.
Becky has a nice laptop. I have a nice laptop.
Everything works lightening fast.
Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 03:15:11 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Stranger things that happened today.
I talked to Ida, whose still in love with Allen. Allen's probably too drunk to fall in love with anyone.
Somehow, Ida's found a man who will take her. She wants to get married.
Ida asked me if I was ever going to marry Becky.
I told her that would be a great idea:
- I'd have a piece of paper and would acquire $500 a month in child support.
- My last wedding was a marriage into debt.
It was no fun having my tax return gobbled up!
It cost a pastor $35 to get licensed in Nevada.
He can then marry anyone. It's got nothing to do with God!
Why would I sign a contract that changes itself from year to year?
I asked her if Missouri was a community property state. She'd never heard of that!
I explained the difference between a community property state and an alimony state.
She had no idea what I was talking about.
So, here was the explanation:
- Missouri is an alimony state (equitable property distribution state).
- If she married Allen, and she worked, and he got drunk everyday and decided to divorce her,
Ida would have to pay him alimony, even if they were married for 1 month!
I don't understand why people don't research the major moves in their lives.
People just jump into marriage, wide eyed and stupid, with no concept of what they are really doing.
They just jump right into the pool head first without seeing if its got water in it.
Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 02:47:48 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Had to reformat and reinstall XP on my new laptop.
I installed some software that crashed the existing setup. Everytime I'd get to the 2nd disk of Visual Studio.Net, XP would try to install an HP Camera. Strange! Nothing would install after that. Things just went downhill.
- Then I tried to install my Windows XP Pro. That bombed.
- Then I tried to install the XP disk Mike gave me, but it didn't have any drivers.
- Then I downloaded the drivers from the internet onto another laptop.
However, since I couldn't access the network, I had to burn a CD.
- This whole process took over 6 hours. BUMMER!
Now, at almost 3am, I'm where I should have been at noon. Computers are so much fun aren't they?
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 at 10:44:13 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I love using my laptop's GPS software.
It's excellent travel entertainment. It shows stores and whatever else you want on the map as you drive.
We discovered a "Used Military Weapons and Ammo Outlet" in Yermo!
I need a new BAZOOKA and I'm out of Mustard Gas Grenades.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 22:28:35 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
We just got back from Los Angeles
The ride in seemed to go very quick. I could get used to driving everyday. I really think most people driving long distances are sleeping with their eyes open though. When I drive, I keep a safe path of exit if possible. If I slip and veer into another lane, I don't want anyone to be there. If someonese veers, it won't affect me because I won't let them hoover next to me. It's just smart. But I don't know how many times, someone would speed up next to me and hoover there for no reason. I kept expecting to see a shotgun levelled at my head, but I'd look and see the other driver just blindly staring at the road.
I just love to calculate things.
I did some calculations for my Ford F150 4x4 XLT based on the trip coming back to Las Vegas. I had to buy a new tire in Upland, California, so I ended up getting a set of 4 4x4 tires. The Ford sold new with street tires that got stuck everywhere (which is pathetic for a 4x4). They cost Exactly $450 or $112.5 each. The truck has 28,000 miles on it.
For my F150 4x4 I get
   A Gas Usage Cost of: 14.5 Miles per Gallon,  5.7 Miles per $1.00,  $0.175 cents per mile
   A Tire Usage Cost of: 28,000 Miles per tire,  112 Miles per $1.00 (all tires) , $0.016 cents per mile
The trip was a blast and frustrating.
Most of what ever we planned went sour. The $60 room turned out to be over $80. We ordered a vegetarian pizza with hamburger spread all over it, and got one half-and-half. So many things went wrong with this trip.
But the special things are always hidden.
It was great to see Mike off.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 06:06:11 (PDT) <Jim>
We took off an hour late, trying to get Becky's cell phone back from Robert.
Robert left Becky's cell phone in someone's truck and we really needed it. Damnit! He kept telling us he was going to bring it over, but I guess things got in his way. Taking off at 7am instead of 6am put us in the middle of rush hour traffic!
I lost focus and almost drove off the road at 80mph.
We were swerved all over the road. All it took was one second of inattention. I was playing with my visor. The traffic was packed. The people on the way up kept driving like idiots too. This one couple liked to ride next to us for some reason, even if the traffic ahead and behind was clear. He kept choking off my path of emergency exits. They were lucky they weren't next to me when I lost control!
Could have easily been gonners.
I blew a flat tire after going over Cajun Summit!
What was strange is that I didn't even realize it until someone waved me over. California drivers are very polite. It was windy. Everything I touched had road soot. We managed to change the tire in about 10 minutes though.
The Disneyland area has signs for every place but where to park.
We drove in circles trying to find it's entrance. All in one area, there is the Disney Hotel, Disney Downtown, Disney's California Adventure and finally, Disneyland. The parking is marked for Disney Downtown, which seems so strange!
We finally got to ride some rides around 1pm.
We rode the Star War's Motion Simulator, Pirates of the Carribean, and the Haunted Mansion. Mike had to take off because of his hip. I was getting pretty sore myself.
Becky and I stayed and rode Indiana Jone's Adventure, Mr Toad's Wild Adventure, Snow Whites Scary Adventure, Tarzan's Tree House, The Mattahorn, and Wild Frontier Roller Coaster.
Becky now likes Roller Coasters. Go Figure. She had her eyes WIDE OPEN too!
It was great!
My cell phone's batteries went dead!
I got couldn't find Mike's Travelodge. We drove in circles for hours trying to find an address that didn't exist. The address we had took us right through LAX's arrivals pickup. One call would have saved us all a lot of time. By the time we decided to drive off course, we found a Travelodge. By pure luck, Mike was there standing in the parking lot! However, my truck was way too big for the main parking lot.
Monday, April 18, 2005 at 05:21:32 (PDT) <Jim>
Ah Yes, I'm up and ready for 10 hours of driving to Disneyland and Back
I'm all jazzed up!
This will be Becky's first time.
A Sharon Sheppard's dad told us last night that the best place to ride on the roller coaster is in the very back, because it goes faster over the hills. I think that's a very good point!
Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 20:58:50 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
It's off to Disneyland in about 9 hours.
The tickets are $52 x 3 people = $156 + $160 for gas = $316 + $15 for parking + ?
But we're gonna have a GREAT TIME!
I wish we had our cell phone back though.
I'll have to let Becky use my cell. I'm worried about us getting separated. It's easier than it sounds. Especially where using the bathrooms are considered.
Disneyland is HUGE! This is going to be so much fun!
Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 09:59:07 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Last night I BBQ'd some Southwest Chipolte Chicken
It was my first time BBQing chicken. I smoked it with hickory chips too, but the flavor didn't come through. OH HELL!
I suppose the smoke flavor only works on meat with fat in it.
Here's my BS analysis of how smoke flavoring works:
The fat absorbs the smoke flavor, then melts its way through the meat, delivering that wonderful smoky aroma.
Robert, Tyrelle, Dustin, and Jennifer ate my experimental dinner.
The only complaints I got were people spitting out the chicken on the first bite. After that, their tongues were sufficiently burnt to numb to pain from all of the hot chili peppers in the seasoning.
I gave Roberts dog a baked potato. He ate the whole thing in one bite!!! A WHOLE POTATO, ONE BITE...wow.
Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 09:49:14 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I discovered that Jesse deliberately destroyed my electric scooter last weekend.
That brat! He did everything I told him not to do on that thing.
I hope the aliens abduct him and do a probe!
Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 09:46:50 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I just realized shoes don't have souls.
They have soles...
If shoes had soles I guess their soles would have gone in the trash and their souls would have gone to Penneys!
Stupid English language! Who invented this language anyway?
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 14:08:18 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
It's a beautiful day in Las Vegas.
Its 81 degrees with a little breeze outside and its gorgeous.
Daddy just got a new pair of shoes (for myself and Dustin). Dustin's spider fell off of the soul of his spiderman shoes.
We just got back from Winterwood Park.
Robert, dog, Jennifer, and Dustin are hanging out with us.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 10:30:25 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Becky's Mom is going after her for child support. 
She told Becky that last night, when Becky stayed over.
I knew Becky's mom was going to do that with glee.
The model I have of her in my head works great! 
Becky's mom thinks she's being righteous. 
Here are the facts, the way I see it:
1. Becky probably won't ever make much more than minimum wage.
    She doesn't have any marketable skills.
    However, she could make decent money in the tip industry.
2. Child support laws vary widely from state to state.
    I researched child support and there are no real guidelines for it.
3. Child support debt grows, whether you are working or not.
    The amounts Becky owes now are already phenomenal.
    The state seems to go after the weakest parental target.
    From what I've seen, the family division is justifies its existance with uncollectable numbers. 
4. In Nevada, it's typical to take 20% of the parents GROSS income for the first child.
    Child support is not tax deductable.
    So, if Becky makes $6 an hour, she'd take home around $620 a month.
    That's a net of less than $4 an hour. Thats with $120 taken out for child support.
    The Family Court wants $200 for child support. 
    Using that, Becky's take home would be $540.
    And her low life ex, pays $0, mainly because he's in another state.
5. Becky's mom will never relinquish her custody of the Becky's kids.
    They are income to her.
6. Becky is going to need health insurance.
Here are our options:
1. Get as far away from Becky's mom as we can.
    Someday, Becky will go back to work.
    Becky's going to need a job for health insurance.
    Right now, Becky is convenient for her mom to pick on.
2. Get Becky on disability.
    Document and amplify her learning disability. Get a lawyer. Get her on disability.
    That would clear up her health insurance problems and her liability.
3. Let Becky get a job here in Las Vegas.
    She could see her kids then. 
    She wouldn't be able to cover her cost of living. I'd have to cover her for those.
    Having a job costs money. We would lose with this option.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 10:05:43 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Well, I guess it's obvious I had a couple of drinks last night.
Becky spent the night at Grammys last night and I was all alone!
And a couple of drinks won't kill me as long as I stop at that.
I'm all jazzed about going to Disneyland Monday.
Mike's gonna give me his old laptop.
Its not that old though. He bought it last year. Mike and I share the same attitude about working and life. You should treat yourself at least once a year to something special. The best gifts I've ever gotten, have always been the gifts I bought for myself I remember one Christmas when I knew I was going to get next to nothing. I bought a laptop for myself on Christmas Eve. Doing that really softened the blow of giving alot, and getting a little.
I'm gonna give Mike a Compaq Ipaq...but
Mike never said he wanted it. He will and I'm all jazzed about giving it to him!!! It's still a top of the line PDA. Great screen. Great software bundle. It can be used as a remote control for most devices. Plus, its got a card with it that lets you go wireless. I'm also throwing in some GPS software and hardware. I know he's going to love that.
The two most important impressions: The first and the last.
I'm don't know if Mike and my paths will ever physically cross again. They probably will, but if they don't, I'm covered. I'm going to miss him not being in LA.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 03:31:52 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Robert and I were alone tonight without our significant others.
I don't know what he's thinking, but I know I think when I'm alone.
I amount to kitty litter.
Being alone in life is more like a prison sentence, when it should be a vacation.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 03:15:41 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
How do you know when you are talking to an angel.
How would you know if you were shaking Jesus's hand?
How would you know if it is God that you see?
How would you know if something is good or evil?
You just know. It's your call.
For me, good is what perpetuates our species.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 02:41:55 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Becky and I have to get out of here.
Becky is an angel. I have to protect her.
Her mom has kicked her out, taken her kids, and is trying to turn her into a criminal.
Her ex husband has abused his kids by his sexual fantasies and has hurt Becky.
Becky just wanted a life, with kids, and love, and a husband who cared.
Isn't that the way its supposed to be? How would she ever have known he wanted to have sex with her children? How could she have known her own mother would take advantage of the situation for money?
Becky has a learning disability. She is a simple human being; pure of heart, pure of conscience. She thinks there are 100 minutes in an hour. And her mother knows this.
I, in my heart, think Becky is an angel. She loves, she cares more than anyone else I've ever known, she is selfless...she'd give her life in a moment for a better cause. Why do people hurt her? Why do people hurt angels?
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 01:54:01 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
My ex - RUTH CUTLAR'S SOUL
A very good person. She cared for others. She helped others. She did that through me. All of that was fine by me. Ruth just had her own agenda. Most of it wasn't mine. That's where we went our separate ways.
To be a couple, either one person leads and the other gives, or they both share the responsibilities.
A couple can't exist where both lead and one has all the responsibilty. That situation will never work.
Without an understanding of that, Ruth and I had to come to an end, and I'm sorry about that.
Ruth (ex) Cutlar is a very good person.
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 01:31:22 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
BECKY'S SOUL
She doesn't lie, she can't.
She doesn't tell the truth either. She doesn't remember.
She trys to help people. She has a good heart.
She loves everyone. She doesn't know any better.
She smiles, she loves, she does this everyday of her life. Becky is beautiful!
Becky is what I'd like to be.
I wish, sometimes, that I wasn't smart, maybe I could overlook so many injustices, and just go day by day.
I, myself, can't. My soul wants to seek a balance of good and evil. I want to do worse to those who have done bad to me. I could be part of the worlds problem thinking like this. I don't know what I am really, but I know I am good. By making Becky a part of my life, maybe I'll understand my role in making this mess called life an organized place (as it is in heaven, if there is one).
Saturday, April 16, 2005 at 01:10:55 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
To Jennifer, Happy 10th Birthday
This may not mean much to you when you're 16 and you hate your mother. It may not mean much, what your Mom did to try to keep you. You may not understand anything that has happened to you or her.
But, your Mom loves you more than life itself. She would die for you. What do you do when you know what is right, but aren't smart enough to battle against those who don't care.
A part of her has died, because of the position her ex-husband left her in. She tried her best to keep you. She's slow. The people that came after her aren't. They said whatever they wanted too, and she couldn't defend herself.
It wasn't a fair fight.
Friday, April 15, 2005 at 11:27:48 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Hot dangit!
I just noticed this site looks like crap in Netscape. What's up with that?
I just called Mikey! We're going to Disneyland!!!
He's not sending his laptop here, but he is going to give us his old laptop when we see him on Monday! I told him we'd give him your Compaq IPAQ PDA, and the wireless netcard that goes with it, babe.
Well, we're off! Becky's staying with Grandma for a whole day!
Friday, April 15, 2005 at 08:41:10 (PDT) <Becky>
Good Morning Jim
Hi Jim. Today we are going to be two busy beaver's (LOL).
The first thing we got to do is pick up cake for Jennifer's birthday party, then go to my mother's and help her decorate at 12pm.
Then before 6pm my mother want's you to pick up three pizza's from Little Ceasers.
How did Squirt do this morning, did he chew anything up this morning?
I'm wondering if Mike is going to call you.
Thursday, April 14, 2005 at 23:00:50 (PDT) <Jim>
I really like this new look!
This site is a personal site, doesn't sell anything. But still, I think it's cool!
Thursday, April 14, 2005 at 14:15:22 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Whooooops!!! Mikey called, and now I owe him an apology.
I told Mike we might come up to LA to see him off before moves to Florida, and I maybe I could quietly sneek Becky off to see Disneyland for the first time in her life. I also told him I'd created a weblog for him in Squirts name.
But Mike called me for a purpose. He told he was sending his laptop here, that he bought a new laptop at Fryes. I told him thankyou, and told Becky what he was doing.
I dropped a tear or two. Its rare when somebody gives me something.
With exception of their trash, lol. After I thanked the heck out of him for his old laptop, I told him maybe my sister and all of her religion crap, about getting 10 fold for your offerings, was true, since I just sent her $500.
Mike then told me that he custom ordered the new laptop
If he had it sent to California, he'd have to pay sales tax on it. I asked him if he'd take a Compaq Ipaq in exchange for his old laptop, and he stuttered. It dawned on me, that he was sending his new laptop here, for me to forward to Florida. Sheesh, I feel so stupid. Mike said he'd give me his old laptop because he owed me. I told him nobody owes me anything. He said he'd give it to me as a birthday present then, but I know, it wasn't his will to do that.
Life can be a fluttering of elation and gloom.
I suck! When am I going to grow up?
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 21:26:04 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Some things seem so uncontrollable in the programming arena
Trying to get this entry to return to the right page seems to be impossible.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 19:14:04 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
D.O.G. is not going to stay here
Heeee's juuuuust tooooo sheddy (if thats a word).
And Joy's flight back only cost $120. Hopefully Robert can afford that.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 14:48:08 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Wat the heck!!!!
You mean I have to share my barking rights here at Casa de la Cutlar with a dog horse? Why is Joy going ot Kansas? Can she afford to go to Kansas? Why can't RObert take care of D.O.G.? Bark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 11:33:07 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Robert's alone...Joy left for a week. She's visiting in Kansas
Since this is Robert's first apartment, this would be the first time he's ever been alone. Me, I'd be putting on the porn, drinking beer, and blasting the stereo.
It'll be interesting to see how he handles it.
He just asked if he could leave D.O.G (his dog) over here while Joy's gone. I told him we'd take him, but DOG is as big as a horse, will ruin my screen door, and sheds everywhere. The last time we kept him, we had to dust, vacuum, and wash everything after they took him back. Those little hairs were everywhere.
Dogs can be quite a responsibility in an apartment.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 11:25:42 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Things men do, when their spouse leaves for vacation... 
Watch porn.
Learn how to use the remote control.
Drink milk from the carton.
Stack the trash can 2 feet over the top.
Leave dirty clothes on the floor.
Pee in the sink cause its closer than the bathroom
Say: shit instead of doo doo, piss instead of pee, fuck instead of do it,
     cunt instead of crabby, pussy instead of squeeze box, tits instead of hooters
     dick instead of hang down, whore instead of slut...the list goes on.
Sit on the couch totally naked.
Call old girlfriends.
Get snot slinging drunk.
Leave the toilet seat up.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 10:19:24 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
About Mikey going east to Florida
Mike, you are, and will always be my friend (cliche: Star Trek - Return of Spock) no matter where you are.
My friends are scattered around Las Vegas and this country these days. To see a buddy across town last week, it took 40 minutes to get there (4 gallons of gas round trip).
The internet has bridged all of the old geographic gaps.
Suggestion to you Mikey:
At your hourly wage, you're going to be tight month after month there.
For example: $30-W2 is $62,000 a year. But you receive no benefits. For me, with that kind of figure, I would only have $16,000 disposable income. Ouch!
Click here to see the spreadsheet I use. If it ask you for a username enter "guest" with no password.
You might check the ads for rooms to rent and save bookoo bucks!
I would be tempted to buy a distressed home, buy it using a Quick Claim deed, quietly assume the mortgage, and with plans of renting it out when I left. Its income for life, bud!
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 09:54:47 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
My sister called yesterday
She sounded genuine when she said "Thank You" for the money I sent her.
When I told her "It's a loan. Paying it back is all that I require.", her tone went downword. She must have burnt out all of her financial bridges with no fall back. Why else would she call me asking for money after five years? She hates me!
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 09:50:41 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I was down for the count yesterday...food poisoning!
It may have been the crab at Hush Puppies, all of that Pepperoni I ate on cheesy toast, or that pudding concoction I made with old brownies.
I just don't know.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 at 09:49:17 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I'm glad you found a job in Florida Mikey!!!
Go Mikey
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 13:35:14 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Check your email Jimmy....

Sent you an email from work just a moment ago. Take a look.
BARK!!!!!! HOWL!!!!! Lick my belly....
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 12:29:08 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Frenchmen's Mountain is where the snails grow and roam the earth 

Snails. Snails. Snails. Oh, how I hate those snails. But, then again, the Frenchmen love 
their snails. And good wine and laying over and being beaten in wars. 
But it is still a great place to see the LV valley, despite its name. 
Bark... Howl... Darn, I just stepped on another snail and crushed the darn thing. 
What a mess!! Now I need a bath.. Bark..
Tuesday, April 12, 2005 at 02:17:13 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Sonny, Becky and I ate at Hush Puppies and drove around. 

I had the all you can eat snow crab and it's the best in town!!!
We took in the view of Vegas from Frenchman's mountain.
I think it's one of the best veiws in town.
I don't understand the Mormon Temple
It has three tall steeples.
At the top of one of them is a golden guy blowing a horn with no holes or buttons.
In other words, the horn only plays one note. 
Was it cool, way back when, to play an instrument that plays only one note?
Hmmm. Guess I've never heard Mormon Music except for the Tabernacle Choir.

Monday, April 11, 2005 at 22:58:32 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>

Yea, I think its better...I can tell jokes much better now.

So I can say...
Anything I want to say...
In that very very special way...
I kind of hated that word wrap, didn't you...

Monday, April 11, 2005 at 16:51:47 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>

Text wrapping... 

New system doesn't wrap the text, so it ends up being one very long line.
Monday, April 11, 2005 at 13:50:34 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Shopping at a Fly's on a Sunday afternoon/evening.....
What a torture you put yourself through before you went to walk the Strip. I hope you harassed the cashiers there. Heck knows I harass all Fly's employees at any of their stores I visit. Got a few at the Manhattan Beach store well trained. They know my ways, so they try and keep me off my toes. You know, there has been such a turn over of cashiers at the LV store, that probably none of the ones there now know me. So, I could get away with kaka on them. Bark.. That was one thing that I prided myself on is that no matter how much crap there was, I could take it and still come and work a complete shift with pretty close to no mistakes in 13 months. One of the reasons Blessila (now the store asst. manager) got mad at me when I quit and kicked me out of the store my last day. She was losing an employee who helped keep her numbers up, so she could maximize her weekly/monthly bonuses. BARK...
Monday, April 11, 2005 at 11:57:47 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Bark... I am a puppy dog alter-ego and I like to bark at passing cars.
It's just a shame I am sober, as I have no excuse for having bumped into the rear of that Bentley I was chasing down Mtn Vista this morning. 
Monday, April 11, 2005 at 11:27:12 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>

I love those mail-in rebates from Frys

My Norton Antivirus rebate wants me to mail them the boxtop from my previous Norton.
Like I still have that from over a year ago.
The 50 DVD-Rs looks like you can write on both sides too. LOL.
Monday, April 11, 2005 at 10:19:58 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Gosh, I hate when I do that!
I copied updates to my software from my website to my PC, which is backwards
Monday, April 11, 2005 at 03:02:29 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
We walked the Strip tonight! Well, almost.
We left Frys, where I bought 2 camera lenses. Plus they had an offer for 50 free DVD-Rs and Norton Antivirus/Firewall software that I couldn't pass up.
We left there, parked at Bally's, saw 4 Bellagio water shows, explored Caesars Forum shops, and came back down the other side of the Strip. I guess we covered over 3 miles of walking. Now, this doesn't sound like much, but with all of the shows to see, it took us 3.5 hours to do.
The Forum Shops is still a great place to hang!
They have so many things there to see. The shops with the cobble stone streets and the sky that changes from night to day was special. The architecture of the ceilings, walls and pillars were quite a sight too.
For shows, the Roman Gods/Goddesses and Zuess Statues moved and acted out plays with pyrotechnics and and a water show. The colors were awesome.
It's funny that the girls on the strip seem to dress like hookers and expensive call girls while the guys dress casually if not sloppily.
Coming home, Becky said something that caught my interest.
She said that her chiropractor told her that she needed to strengthen her calves to improve her knees. Then she said it wasn't her chiropractor, it was someone else. Now, I was already kind of horney from all of the girls on the strip, so you can guess what I was thinking. Anyway, I thought it was humerous.
Saturday, April 09, 2005 at 13:53:52 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Heck of a day so far! Visitors and Commotion!
I spent an hour on the phone helping Jerry Newberry fix his printer.
Beckys mom came over bringing Jennifer and Dustin to hang out.
Ryan came over bringing Jessy to hang out.
Joy called. She and Robert are coming over to hang out.
And here I am, still not showered, still in my robe, writing in this blog and while doing a million other things...What a day! This is a long shot away from walking the Strip!
Saturday, April 09, 2005 at 13:41:44 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I didn't pay a Homage to Mikey, did I?
Mike Ginsburg:
Mike and I were consultants at the Mgm Grand.
Everyday he'd come by my desk and put a shiny new penny next to me. I thought it was odd, but cute. We seemed to hit it off. After Mike's contract ended at the Mgm he went on to work at Security Pacific in CA. My 3 month contract at Mgm ended up lasting 5 years.
Mike's contract ended at Security Pacific
I was taking a year off (which is now 4.5 years). He asked me if he could hang out here for a couple of weeks (which turned out to be a 1.5 years). Jobs just weren't turning up for him so he took a job at Fryes (with another ex-Mgm programmer who was canned during the Mgm/Mirage merger). At the time, people who were out of job (Larry Loff, Rob Allred, Mike Ginsburg, Allen Harmon...) couldn't find anything.
Finally, after 1.5 years, Mike landed a contract position in LA.
I'd reluctantly tried to find consulting work and failed. When Mike lived with me, he was pretty strapped for cash. He's now living in Los Angeles in motel rooms, but he's been consistant sending me money.
Mike has a lot of integrity.
I gave Mike a place to stay, which was nice. Mike sends me cash, even though I tell him to save it, and that's nice.
What we've got here, is a brotherhood thing going.
Which, is very nice. My homage to him has nothing to do with Information Systems. Mike's out there, and he genuinely cares about people. Thanks for remaining my friend Mike.
Saturday, April 09, 2005 at 12:17:23 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I think of favors as currency with an expiration date.
I didn't mention Paula Kennard or John Edwards in my < Homage to Information Systems>.
However, we did exchange a lot of favors. Heres my Homage to them in Information Systems.
Paula Kennard:
On a programming level: Paula and I always had what seemed to be adversarial roles. She hated my code, and called it New Wave Programming. I hated her code. Paula liked using GO TOs. I liked using PERFORMs. But when it came down to banging out systems, she could type and create systems just as fast as I could.
The major difference between our styles was, Paula followed the rules and I would do whatever it took to get the job done (I often had to break security). Because of that, I got assignments that most people couldn't pull off, EG: installing 130 programs single handedly, or writing code that was outside the realm of normal programming. And I always had a backout strategy, which is why I was in charge of all implementations, deimplementations, backup stategies, and even the Remote Data Facilities Systems.
On a personal level: Paula was a very good friend. We shared personal secrets that I'd never tell anyone. I'm not aware of her doing anything special for anyone, not that she didn't do special things. And I never really did anything special for her, but I did steal her passwords all the time, haha.
John Edwards:
Background: Frank McDonald and Doug Stait started TSI together. They installed a home grown hotel system at the < Outriggers Hotels in Hawaii>. John Edwards was a project leader at the Mirage and started consulting with TSI. He brought Rambo and Chris Pajak in as after hours consultants. Somehow Doug Stait (who now consults with Dell computers) left TSI and John took his place as Frank's right hand man.
Back to John Edwards:
John was always quiet, intelligent, and sometimes witty around me. I loaded, delivered, and unloaded a ton of floor tiles to his house one time. John asked me if I'd do him that favor because he knew I had a truck. That was nice of me, but, I didn't include in my homage simply because it was a favor asked of me. I know John has done a lot of great things in IS, and probably has done a lot of nice things for other people, but I just don't know what they are.
Saturday, April 09, 2005 at 09:34:46 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Las Vegas has a wind advisory out for today
Question of the day: Should we walk the Strip this afternoon, or stay indoors. hmmmm.
I'm thinking that having our faces sand blasted couldn't hurt our skin's complexion that much.
People use all kinds of facial scrubs (apricot, oatmeal...), but I've never heard of a sand scrub.
Vegas winds are usually gusty. It'll blow 30mph for 10 seconds then stop. Why it does that here and not in most places, I'll never know.
I usually associate gusty winds with a dark cloud passing over that causes a sharp temperature drop.
Saturday, April 09, 2005 at 09:34:22 (PDT) <Squirty's alter-ego (Mikey)>
That is a cool game and also an interesting tribute to your IT gang there is Lost Wages
But Jimmy, you didn't mention the two of the best it people you worked with. John from TSI and "oh, and now my mind is failing me.... The lady at MGM who worked with you at Caesers. She did the DBA roll at MGM rehost project."... Now, I am clearly being a smart ass. Now nasty of me, but sometimes I can't help it. I will tell you though I had a great time working with Richard Faircloth, Rob Allred, you, Frankie and a small handful of others on that project. Definitely only one more week at NG unless something totally weird happens. And I mean really totally weird. I have an interview on the phone with a place in Orlando FL this Monday morning. Pay ain't great, but it beats unemployment. Have a great weekend, my buddy Jimmy. And Ms. Rebecca too... And three huge Barks at you both...
Friday, April 08, 2005 at 17:24:58 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Cool Kids Game ->Clothes Pin Grab
Get at least 7 kids together. Put 1 clothespin on the back of each kids shirt. Have the kids face each other in a circle. When you say "GO", they grab as many clothes pins as they can. Grabbing or holding on to the other person is illegal. The winner is the one who gets the most clothes pins.
Friday, April 08, 2005 at 01:17:08 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
My homage to Information Systems.
I should say the following, before I go on to the next phase of my life.
Larry Lewis:
Larry is the most decent man I'd ever met in Information Systems.
I don't think the man ever sweats, though. I was Larry's right hand man at Caesars.
Through Larry, I got in at Caesars and IGT.
Dale Pickett:
I passed the Employee Of The Month papers around for Dale Pickett twice.
Dale did an outstanding job helping me in Customer Analysis
The effort cost me nothing. All it took was a little coercing, some time, and a smile.
I got Dale Pickett into IS through Larry Lewis.
I groomed him to take over my responsibilities so I could be freed up to do other things. That's what he did. Dale has no idea I pushed to get him in, but that doesn't matter.
Emilio Honrubia:
I passed the Employee Of The Month paper around for Emilio Honrubia.
I got Emilio into IS through Larry Lewis. Emilio was the finest Computer Operator Caesars Palace ever had. I was on call for everything online at Caesars. Emilio was who I dealt with most.
Jimmy Leavelle:
I was offered the position of Project Leader at Nabs. I told the VP at First Western Savings to promote Jimmy Leavelle. I was better at programming and Jimmy was better at handling the BS.
Before I turned in my resignation letter, Jimmy and I conspired to bring me back in as a consultant for more than four times the pay.
These kind of arrangements work out well.
John Benchback:
I'm indirectly responsible for John Banchback's termination at NABS.
I reamed John in my Letter of Resignation. Jack Brebbia, the First Western Savings Vice President responsible for NABS asked me if I'd stay if he canned John. I told him no, it was too late. I lost too much of my life working for John.
John didn't know what he was doing half the time. One time he ordered screws from Japan saving a nickel a screw. He think he got a bonus for that. They had the wrong pitch and didn't hold the printer cables in the printers. All of the printer nuts were stripped. I got 20+ calls. We taped the cables on the printers. But all in all, he let the customers push him around at my expense.
John went on to become the Vice President of IS at the Hilton.
Leaving NABS was the best thing that could have happened for him. He had no function at NABS.
Dennis Cole:
I got Dennis into IS through Jerry Brown.
He was Bank of America's best Computer Operator. Dennis had ambition and he was a self teacher. He read and modified my Tacl code and made it better. He also gave me unquestioned access to the computer room and all of the systems.
Chris Fahey:
Chris and I wrote the pilot system for the ATM side fee charge.
The project made millions. It allowed the owner of an ATM to charge a fee for a transaction.
I gave Chris the recognition for the project even though he didn't do much work on they system. We both got excellent bonuses for it and that's all I wanted.
I was positioning him to be a Project Leader.
Chris was my best friend, and he was a great BS'er. However, he got a job offer from Diebold before I could make that happen.
Dennis Sheppard:
I got Dennis Sheppard into IS through Jerry Brown.
I pleaded with Jerry Brown to bring him in. Dennis is now making excellent money because of that change.
Dennis's car broke down, so I bought him a car on my credit card after work. He paid me back. Dennis is good people.
Jacquis Sussman:
Jacquis Sussman used to tell everyone she had me as her personal programmer at Caesars.
Now she's a Vice President at Mgm (which had very little to do with me). It was nice, to hear people she'd talk to, describe my working with her as great! It's nice when your reputation precedes you.
Jerry Newberry:
Jerry changed my life. He was my mentor at NABS.
Jerry taught me to write code for other people, and he taught me the finest ambition of a computer programmer was to work his way out of a job.
Instead of writing code like: GO TO DOITNOW, he wrote code like: GO TO FIND-THE-WINNING-RESULTS
It must have been someone like Jerry that wrote the Rosetta Stone for decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
Rob Allred:
Rob taught me the attitude for working on anything.
If you keep messing with something, given enough time, it will eventually work for you.
Rob and I worked together at URS. URS was the only US based Tandem Airline system in existance.
Together we got various people into IS.
He brought me into Caesars through Larry Lewis.
He also helped pull me into the Mgm through Richard Faircloth.
Frank McDonald:
Frank brought me into the Mgm through his company, Transaction Software Incorporated.
Frank and I both sat in the shadows in Information Systems. He, like me, wrote entire systems.
Frank, sitting in his cubicle and behind closed doors, quietly changed peoples lives.
Larry Lewis, Jerry Newberry, Jimmy Leavelle, Jerry Brown, Rob Allred:
Our working together changed people's lives. We accomplished wonderful things.
Some of those people I mentioned don't even know I played major role in the course of their lives.
Some kind of know, but they've them give credit to others.
The point isn't that I'm a great guy or that these people are great people.
I could say more about the good things other people and I did...there's so much more to say.
The point is, that it is easy to be nice and to change the course of a person's life.
It takes just a little bit of time to be nice. So be nice!
If you have a chance to do it, put someone up for Employee Of The Month.
It'll make them feel good, it will give them some extra cash, so why not do it.
Me, I got my reward all through out my career. I got money, and lots of it.
It doesn't matter who gets credit. What matters is that good things were done.
I was a damned good programmer.
I never wanted recognition. I never got employee of the month. I stayed in the shadows.
According to Larry Lewis, I did the largest install, single handedly, in Caesars Palace's history.
I think I installed 130 programs. It was really too bad that it happened when my Mom was dying in the hospital.
Nobody but Lewis and I knew the magnitude and scope of the install.
I never left behind an unmaintainable system.
At Nabs: Through menus, clerks could run my systems, from operations to systems management.
My systems were installed at six major casinos. Caesars had one of them.
At Caesars: Operators could complete audited installs, backouts and systems operations with a single command.
Programmers could generate code and submit implementations with one command.
At Mgm: Operations could maintain the my systems without any knowledge of the Tandem.
Programmers could be generated entire programs with one command.
At IGT: I groomed Emilio for taking over everything that I was responsible.
I even wrote code after my contract ended to make his job easier.
I'm very proud of my accomplishments.
I succeeded in my goal to work my way out of a job and I made excellent money (6 figures) for doing it.
I had the best time of my life!
I gave programming my best effort, but in the end...
I developed a rational fear of the phone ringing. Everytime it rang, a piece of my life would be destroyed.
I believe I received more phone calls than anyone else in IS at URS, Bank of America, Caesars and Mgm.
While everyone else was sleeping, I'd be fighting fires, and I'd come in the next day like nothing happened.
I developed Carpal tunnel sydrome. That is where your wrist hurts and your arm goes numb from repetition (typing).
I turned to alcohol to find my quiet place. I knew if I didn't get out of programming, it would kill me.
I had to say the above before I change careers.
In my 17 years of programming, I only looked for a job once.
When I left one job, the phone would ring with another job offer.
I don't think the phone is going to ring this time.
I won't be coming back into Information Systems.
Thursday, April 07, 2005 at 21:21:42 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
My sister just called.
Kelly can be quite a charmer when she wants to be
We talked for about an hour or so. It was very nice, after all of these years. Her kids are doing wonderful. Eric (her son) is going to be a doctor. She's almost got a job working for a lawyer. Her divorce is almost final.
It sounded wonderful.
Thursday, April 07, 2005 at 19:09:06 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
The difference between genius and stupidity is genius has its limits- -Albert Einstein
Thursday, April 07, 2005 at 13:24:05 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Kelly (my sister) called. It's been about 8 years.
It's funny how we remember ourselves. She remembers a different childhood than I do. I moved away with my mom when I was 13.
Enough about that. She needs help and she called the right person. I will always help when someone is in need.
Of all the people I've known, family members have always been the most expensive.
Ruth's family got $12,000 and a car out of me and I supported almost all of her HUGE Mississippi family at one time or another. They don't even call.
My step-kin, well, I just got through supporting my step-brother for a year. I supported my other step-brother for a year and my oldest sister. They don't call.
Thinking about it, I've spent most of my life supporting people. LOL.
And I don't have kids. Oh, the irony of it all!
I believe a person has no value in this life if they don't do positive things for others. It's a good rule.
I just hate when favors come out of my savings.
Thursday, April 07, 2005 at 10:27:32 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Allen and I were fantasizing about becoming mountain men this morning.
But the devil is in the details.
I grew up using an outhouse, a chamber pot, washing clothes in a bucket, and pumping water from a well. I don't miss it at all.
But when I imagine a life where there's no toilets, toilet paper, cigarettes, coffee or even Kotex for my babe, I shudder!
So you have to make one kill (maybe) a day to eat and you cook it. Then what? What would a person do with all of that spare time? Watch clouds float by? hmmm.
This is what I imagine would happen over a period of time.
You build a log cabin. Spend your time cleaning it. Instead of going to the stream for water, you decide to have water in the cabin, so you create a daily chore for bringing in the water. You do the same with a chamber pot (a bucket used as a toilet). Then you want to look good every day, so you wash clothes more often...and add more and more chores as you go along. I could probably stand maybe a month of that before I started to go insane. I'd dearly miss modern living.
I've grown to wear we need the smell of flowers everywhere.
Modern living for the middle class is better than it's ever been.
It's only going to get better. The rich have their toys, but, these days even kids have cell phones. Nobody is getting ripped off here in the USA. It seems to be just a matter of perspective. People who complain don't realize what they have.
I think the Jeremiah Johnson life would be a useless existance.
Thursday, April 07, 2005 at 08:25:28 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I can't believe this week is almost burnt up to a crisp.
We're just going to have to do something incredible this weekend. That's all there is to it!
I'd bet it would be a great weekend to see the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, Bryce or Zion. hmmm.
I think we'll walk the Strip Saturday...now there's a plan. The weather is great! The tourist haven't invaded us yet. And Becky's kids need the exercise.
Good plan...eh? lol
By next month, it'll be 100 degrees in Las Vegas.
By July, it'll be 110. By August it should get up to 120 degrees. We'll be frying eggs on the sidewalk. yuck.
The best reason that I had for selling my travel trailer was its bathroom melting. The exhaust fan, caulking and molding melted inside it last summer.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 16:53:46 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I like this question: What section do you like the best at the grocery store?
I like the hardware section.
Becky likes the soda section.
Joan Newberry likes the vegetable section.
Jerry Newberry likes the wine section.
Allan likes the hard liquor section.
Jimmy likes the beer section.
Joy likes the baby section.
Robert likes the snack section.
Jennifer and Dustin like the candy section.
People are attracted to different store sections like magnets.
Isn't it great that we're all different! Long live personality!
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 15:13:01 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Cyrus Cruz just emailed me!
Now that's quite a twist. Some people remember their past. I do.
I haven't seen Cyrus now for something like 8 years.
Cyrus was my bud at Caesars. He moved on to bigger an better things at Dell. Smart move! I moved on to consulting...another smart move!
And I'm still surprised that no one from the old Caesars showed up at Jan Overbo's wedding last Saturday. I'm still scratching my head on that one. hmmmm.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 15:07:51 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I've always thought that Jewish people seemed somewhat smarter than most people.
Jews have gotten bad wraps for being tight with money, but I'd call that good horse sense.
Hiring people to cook for you is a great idea too!
It's the pork and shrimp thing that I really don't get.
Ok, so they eat there crap. If you put sugar on shit, then put a pretty wrapper on it with, say, Spiderman, on the cover, people will eat it!
And pigs have to eat what's thrown in their pens to survive. I hear they really love pizza.
Now this is nasty: I read the FDA allows 5 pounds of excrement in every ton of coffee.
Hey, have you ever heard of Birds Nest Soup?
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 12:13:16 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Here's what the Jews do, and I know first hand, being kosher as I am...
Jews hire non-jews to do their work for them from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, which constitutes Jews' Sabbath. Jews have it particularly hard in that turning on lights, driving, cooking and handling money on the Sabbath is wrong, and sinful... BARK. BARK.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 10:59:40 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Actually, the whole 10 Commandment thing seems ironic to me
Moses said anyone who tried to look at him on the mountain would be killed.
Then he comes down with 10 commandments and one of the commandments says "Thou Shall Not Kill".
In the same document, it says anyone who works on the Sabbath shall killed. It seems to me that someone has got to work on the Sabbath.
Things like that are why I'm so confused about religion.
It seems to make no sense at all too me. I need to put my stupid hat on, I guess.
I've read that common people aren't smart enough to read the Bible "alias-The Word of God". Only the Pope and his consorts are capable of interpreting it.
Wow. I don't know. I think I'm reasonably smart, but I don't get it. I never did.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 10:24:32 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I haven't found a really cool religion that matches my own beliefs
I suppose almost all of them are better than what I would come up with.
Sheesh, if I wrote a religion, it would state that killing is not only good, it is necessary for our survival.
What's ironic is that most religions would kill me for saying that.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 09:58:06 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I'm confused about this whole Pope thing.
Pope John Paul II (2) just died.
The first Pope was Pope Peter. He was the brother of Saint Andrew the Apostle. His name was assigned by Christ. "Peter" means rock.
Here's the break down: Jesus said: "Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." On this strong foundation I will build an everlasting temple. The great height of my Church, which is to penetrate the heavens, shall rise on the firm foundation of this faith. To you, Peter, I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind (make a slave) on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose (free) on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven."
Ok, uh, so later on, there was Pope Saint John 1.
Pope Saint John lasted almost 3 years. He was an Arian, and beleived Christ came between God and man. He died in Roman Catholic custody.
Then there was 23 Pope Pauls mixed in with 6 Pope Pauls and other palpal names.
Then FINALLY, they came up with Pope John Paul I. Which leads us to the name Pope John Paul II.
Terminalogy Defined.
Pope - The head of the Roman Catholic Church. The male head of some non-Christian religions.
Papacy - The office of the Pope.
Papal - Of or relating to the Pope.
Pontiff - French for a bishop or a pope
Pontifacate - The term of office for the pope
Bishop - 1. A high ranking Christion cleric, in charge of a diocese. 2. In some churches, regarded as having received the highest ordination in unbroken succession from the apostles.
Diocese - A district, or a group of churches under direction of the Bishop.
Saint - 1. A person officially recognized, especially by canonization, as being entitled to public veneration and capable of interceding for people on earth. 2. A person who has died and gone to heaven.
Apostle - One of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus to preach the gospel. 2. A missionary of the early Christian Church. 3. In the Mormon Church, one of the 12 members of the administrative council.
Canonization - To declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such.
Canon - An ecclesiastical law or code of laws established by a church council.
Ecclesiastical - Of or relating to a church, especially as an organized institution.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005 at 05:47:14 (PDT) <Becky>
Jim, I really like your new blog thing
Its too wide for my screen Jim. luv u.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005 at 23:38:51 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
We went to Jerry Newberry's today.
I fixed his puter. Installed Windows XP upgrade ($94 at Sam's Club).
Jerry, bought us lunch at Big Dogs Red Barn. Its a pretty cool place with really cool food.
He also gave me a swing, which may sound kind of kiddish, but, I've missed my backyard swing.
Jerry sold us his Compaq laptop, which was great!!!
Becky's Compaq monitor went dark a while back and she's had her laptop hooked up to an external monitor. It was hokey but it worked.
All-in-all, it was both a profitable and productive day!!!
Tuesday, April 05, 2005 at 23:23:05 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I am so fat that...
I can empty a pool with one cannon ball.
When I sit in a car, it leans.
I found a crayon in one of my fat rolls.
My feet flop when I walk.
I have to reserve two seats for airplane flights.
I sat on my remote, and couldn't tell.
I've forgotten what my feet look like.
I can scratch my back by pulling my stomach around.
Seriously though, being fat is more normal than being skinny.
I think obesity is often the result of boredom or depression.
However, I also think that being fat is often the result of having great food available.
Did you know that fat people are jollier than skinny people?
Tuesday, April 05, 2005 at 11:33:11 (PDT) <Jerry Newberry>
Hey Jim
From Jim
Monday, April 04, 2005 at 17:44:36 (PDT) <Mikey, Squirty's alter-ego>
Bark. Bark. Bark.. Another 12 hour day at work. I can't stand it.. .
Bad enough I can't slept well. Played two hours of racquetball doubles yesterday, and it didn't start to hurt until towards the end. But I've been in pain (bad hip) all day today. And I need to spend some time in the gym working out (even lifting weights to avoid hip pain) to try and shed these pounds. Damn, I am so very fat. Can't stand to look at myself in the mirror. And it was awful when I told one of the racquetball guys Sunday that I weigh twice what I did in 1990, when I had gone on a special diet. One of the other guys on the court and I have known each other since January 1989, and he confirmed it. It is awful. One very fat, out of shape Jive Turkey Puppy alter-ego.
Monday, April 04, 2005 at 12:07:18 (PDT) <Mikey, Squity's alter-ego>
I don't understand it either
You are way beyond my feeble knowledge of computers and programming too, Sir Jimmy....
Monday, April 04, 2005 at 10:30:55 (PDT) <becky>
Good Morning
Hi Jim I don't exactly know what you were saying in your blog. You are a intellegent man that's a good thing. I can learn alot from you. I would like to try to have my own blog. I need to learn how to write letter's. Please help me. Love Becky
Monday, April 04, 2005 at 10:30:22 (PDT) <becky>
Good Morning
Hi Jim I don't exactly know what you were saying in your blog. You are a intellegent man that's a good thing. I can learn alot from you. I would like to try to have my own blog. I need to learn how to write letter's. Please help me. Love Becky
Monday, April 04, 2005 at 08:35:13 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Here's the scoop on Web Development using HTML, Javascript, CSS, CGI and PERL
It's error prone.
I made major mods to the CGI program in my Blog software this morning and it was a pain.
If you don't save your work, if you copy it but don't secure it, if you missed one single { or ;, you get a vague error. Hmmm.
I had to make changes, one line at a time. I changed over 200 lines of code.
If I made any kind of error, I'd get an error message saying there was an error in the program.
No line number or anything
The error I hated most is:
"Did you forget to strip your newlines when transferring across the network?"
What the heck does that mean. I only get 3 error messages and that's one of them.
And what the heck does this code do?
$value =~ tr/+/ /;
$value =~ s/%([a-fA-F0-9][a-fA-F0-9])/pack("C", hex($1))/eg;
$value =~ s///g;
A lot of the code that I scavanged, I simply won't touch.
It probably took a programmer a week to develop those 3 lines of code.
If I told you what that code does, you'd puke...lol
It takes hex codes out of a string. Most languages have an unescape command.
So what good is a powerful language if it takes a month to write one line of code?
About a year ago, a local guy who owned a casino website wanted me to work with him.
I should have taken him up on the offer.
He was frustrated. He told me it took him a week to get one line of software to work.
It turned out to be an unlogged security message.
Anyway, this guy was willing to give me shares in his company. Hmmm. I wonder how he's doing.
Monday, April 04, 2005 at 06:55:36 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
Saw Chuckie last night.
His new motorcycle has been in the shop for 3 weeks now. That's gotta suck!
Sunday, April 03, 2005 at 11:53:29 (PDT) <Jim Cutlar>
I changed the software for entering Blogs
It's now capable of handling 1,000's of blogs, which is cool.
What's not cool, is it still has a few bugs in it.
Sunday, April 03, 2005 at 08:00:08 (PDT) <Mikey, aka: Squirty's egoistical alter-ego>
Long live Jewish delis with kooky waitresses
I figured I'd start hitting as many of the old Jewish delis as I can for Saturday or Sunday morning bewakfasts, and the one today, Factors, has free wi-fi. So many of these places have kooky waitresses, but this one here is the best. A slightly kooky version of someone who reminds me of Ms. Rebecca. Just a shame I can't follow her home today. She might very well go home to a slightly kooky version of Jimmy Cutlar. Wait a minute, Jimmy is already slightly kooky. Sounds like a fun Saturday. Wedding sounded typical from the bit you wrote.
Saturday, April 02, 2005 at 22:00:56 (PST) <Jim Cutlar>
We went to Janis Overbo's wedding.
It's amazing, none of her best friends from 7 years ago were there. In fact, nobody I knew from Caesars was there, and I know they were invited.
Her daughter didn't recognize me. Jan gave me a hug, but she was too busy giving everybody hugs.
I know I'm sentimental.
Any friend of mine can be a friend for life if they want.
I have always thought that's the way it should be. I thought everybody thought that way, but I guess not. Out of sight means out of mind with both lovers and friends. So sad.
All of those good old times, those memories, those pictures...they only mean something to me. If I don't care, they're trash. But I do care.
What was weird was how we chummed around with the people we just met.
You'd swear, by the way we were interacting, that we'd been friends for decades.
Saturday, April 02, 2005 at 15:42:58 (PST) <Jim Cutlar>
Robert, Joy, Amy (the babe), Dustin and Jennifer came over.
We watched Dead Like Me most of the day.
It's one of those odd days.
Tonight, we're going to Jan Overbo's wedding.
It'll be more like a Caesars Palace reunion though.
Kind of like Rob Allreds' wake, but not.
I'd expect all of the old timers to be there (all of them except for Jerry Newberry).
It'll be interesting. Everytime we get together, it's amazing.
I'd compare it to being in a coma for five years then waking up and looking in the mirror.
I'm getting ready to install some more versatile Web Blog software.
It's dynamically driven, so, the software can handle 1,000's of BLOGS if I let it.
But for now, I'll install it, along with a calendar. Later I'll expand it to whatever.
I think Weblogs are a great way to keep track of the days gone by.
Saturday, April 02, 2005 at 15:32:19 (PST) <Jim Cutlar>
Ahh, I forgot to say what my ol' birthday was like
We went to HOOTER's for my birthay!
I had a dozen steamers, and some hot wings. Becky had a Hooter Burger!
YUM!
Then, on April 1st, we lazed around, eventually landing in Robert and Joy's Jacuzzi.
I also talked to my old buddy, Jerry Newberry. The old fart is turning 70 soon, but he's the youngest old guy I know. We've known each other since 1983.
Saturday, April 02, 2005 at 14:41:29 (PST) <Mikey, aka: Squirty's Alter-Ego>
Jimmy go to AppleCees?
Jimmy... You and Miss Rebecca go to AppleCees for din-din on your BD? What'd you have? Hope you still alive, now that you're so darn old!!!
Saturday, April 30, 2005 10:58:39 PM, From: jim, To: Stories