Great Line

Taken from the movie "Blood Diamond"

Jennifer Connely (reporter): "It would be completely off the record"

Leonardo DiCaprio: "Well off the record, I like to get kissed before I get fucked."

Missed Opportunities

Regardless of whether I remember my book or not I tend to grab The Boston Metro for the ride to or from work. It is definitely a great resource and just the right length for my ride on the 'T'.

On Friday's read I came across something that I was excited to go and see because even after reading the article about it, I was still in a state of true disbelief. The only way I really would have believed it was to see it with my own eyes.

On Saturday Wentworth Institute (along with 11 other colleges over the next couple of months) will competed in a 20th annual canoe race. Okay so that doesn't sound too exciting I know, but if I were to add that the canoes were built by the Wentworth students, would that make it a bit more exciting? No, okay then here's the whole kit and caboodle. The students, with no assistance of outside help, will build and race in canoe's that are made completely of cement! Yes, you read correctly canoe's made completely of cement.

Unfortunately do to the timing of a call I was waiting for I was unable to witness this race, but boy would it have been a site to see!

To read more about the 20th annual concrete canoe race click here

Go Grandma!

To be older and still bust a move...I love it!

If The Saying Is True...

If the saying "it always ends up being the quiet ones" is in fact true, then I don't think any area even if it is deemed to be the safest place is ever truly out of harms reach.

This was proven with Cho Seung-hui acts of violence. What I don't understand is how he fell through the cracks. Yes, he was a quite kid, but when you put all the facts together they paint a pretty clear picture.

Now, I am not saying they represent a killer, but they represent someone that may needed some type of help. Even if that help only amounted to talking...it could have been a start.

The red flags I have gathered:

1. He had a police report for stalking two girls
2. Based on the file against him he was sentenced to a mental health institute
3. In the mental health institute he was deemed a threat to himself and to others around him, but was still released noting he needed to seek outpatient therapy
4. The screen plays ... although not criminal as seen in the eyes of the law, they definitely were not your everyday satire and even drew one teacher to report them to the police

I have said this before, but I will say it again, it is really sad that all you see on the news now a days are murders. It almost makes you immune to it because you see it so often. I am not immune to it though because I have seen it first hand. When I was a sophomore in high school I lost one of my best friends to a sick and twisted low life dirtbag who took her life. So each time I see something like this happen it reminds me of that day and no matter how many times it happens I will never understand why.


Compliments of the BBC.Com website here are some quotes from the video Cho mailed to NBC the day of the shootings.

In quotes: Virginia gunman's message

Cho Seung-hui sent 28 video clips to NBC Excerpts from video recordings sent to NBC News by Cho Seung-hui - the student who shot at least 30 people at Virginia Tech university on Monday.

"You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today. But you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off."

"You had everything you wanted. Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfil your hedonistic needs. You had everything."

"You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenceless people."

"Do you know what it feels to be spit on your face and to have trash shoved down your throat? Do you know what it feels like to dig your own grave? Do you know what it feels like to have throat slashed from ear to ear? Do you know what it feels like to be torched alive? Do you know what it feels like to be humiliated and be impaled on a cross and left to bleed to death for your amusement?

You have never felt a single ounce of pain your whole life. Did you want to inject as much misery in our lives as you can just because you can?"

"I didn't have to do this. I could have left. I could have fled. But no, I will no longer run. It's not for me. For my children, for my brothers and sisters that you (expletive). I did it for them.
When the time came I did it. I had to. "

Just Playing With Some Egypt Pics

Bridge over Funicular

Looking Up

Time to Dive

Nothing but crystal blue water

Doesn't it just make you want to take a swan dive?

It Is All About The Signs And How You Read Them

Telemarketers

What is the one thing you thought you had gotten rid of when you signed up to be on the "Do Not Call List"?

What is the one thing you didn't get rid of when you signed up to be on the "Do Not Call List"?

That's right, telemarketers, but my mom has come up with an ingenious plan to strike 'em where it hurts. On a recent trip to Colorado I thought I was going to have a chance to share with my housemates some tips on how to get a telemarketer to hang up on you! That's right, hang up on you and not vice versa. The following are two simple scenarios, but I must say please don't take offense as it is all in good humor:

1. When you answer the phone and find out it is a telemarketer, immediately scream with joy and in an exaggerated excited voice repeat the following:

"Oh...my....god! Congratulations!! Do you realize you are the 100th telemarketer to call me and you have just won a prize. Please hang up and immediately and dial 800~555~0000 to claim your prize. Again I want to congratulate you on this great honor and wish you the best! Now have a great day!"

Once you have finish if they haven't hung up on you, then feel free to hang up as you have said your spiel.

2. When you answer the phone and find out it is a telemarketer, immediately start breathing heavily and of course in an exaggerated voice repeat the following:

"Ohuh...my...goood! I am so sorry, but you have called at a bad time....awe!" Take a few breaths and continue with..."can I...take a break...take your name....and number...breath in...and call you back? I am just in the middle of...uh ahhh...well I am embarrased to say"

You should be able to make your own ending at that point.

Now if either one of these options doesn't work for you and you want to take it even a step further, then there is always this option:

How to prank a telemarketer

Work Emails

Work emails tend to be nothing more than "can you pull this report", "how are we doing on this project", "these invoices are outstanding can you follow up on them" or they can be generically sent to the whole firm about independence, expense policies and the drolling list goes on...

Every now and again though the work newsletter can be okay and there are the rare times that it is rather funny...here are two from today's newsletter that well gave me a bit of a chuckle. One is in light of what this month brings. Valentine's Day of course!

Without further ado, I present to you the....

Top Ten Gifts NOT To Give on Valentine’s

10. A new vacuum, dishwasher, or any appliance really…

9. A membership to Boston Sports Club, if you don’t know why, don’t plan on having a girlfriend for much longer…

8. Anything from Lane Bryant…

7. The Die Hard Trilogy, now including Die Hard, Die Hard 2, and the digitally re-mastered I’ll Remember this Awful Gift with a Vengeance…

6. Anything you made yourself (only your mother appreciates the 15 minutes it took you to glue some photos and trinkets together, and that was because you were 5)

5. Dinner for two at the Texas Roadhouse, there may be peanut shells on the floor, but you smell that… that’s love in the air (or is that burnt meat?)

4. Any jewelry that comes in a ring sized box, unless it actually is a ring and you’re proposing…

3. That 60inch plasma TV that you… I mean she’s always wanted…

2. That lovely perfume your ex used to wear, and your soon to be ex never will…

1. Flowers from a gas station, nothing says I love you like the sweet smell of 93 octane!

If Valentine's Day is not your thing here was the other part of the email that was a bit funny and rather true of most companies with deliverables.

And if that still didn't do it for you, then this one definitely will. I was at work last week and received an email from a friend whom used to work with me at my current company. I mention this because it plays a part in the story.

I open the email and my friend writes "You have probably already seen this because it has appeared to have gone around the company several times" She was referring to my company, the one she no longer works at.

After reading just that much, knowing that my company is on the rather large size, and the fact that my friend had received this and is no longer working with me, I deducted that somebody was screwed.

I noted that I had to scroll to the bottom to see what this email was all about. As I scrolled down I was seeing that there were several people in my company that had forwarded this email on and they were of varying levels throughout the company. Hmm...I really wondered what this was. So I kept scrolling.

I finally came to the bottom of the email and holy crap, if this is not a lesson on double checking who you are sending your emails to then I don't know what is. This is what an intern that thought she was writing to her boyfriend wrote, when in fact she sent it to her boss on the job.

"baby what time is your game on sunday? i want you all day!"

Poor girl! I bet she'll never do that again!!!

Sometimes you gotta go bold

It may come as no surprise, but girls face many challenges that a guy will/would never even think is a challenge. One of those challenges occurs when we wake up and have to head to the closet to pick out an outfit for work. There are many factors that can hinder a girl from making this decision in the morning (i.e., what's the weather going to be today, is the boss in or out of the office, do I feel bloated and can't wear a particular outfit, is the cute guy in whatever department going to see me, what's going on after work, I think you get the idea as the list can go on forever).

This morning I faced this issue and had it resolved in all of 2.2 seconds when I decided to go BOLD. As I was flipping through my closet contemplating what to wear I decided to just do it. The thought that it is winter did cross my mind, but with the weather we have been having right now I figured why not.

It would take some confidence to pull it off, but without a doubt I was feeling it this morning and the thought of it just put a smile on my face. I knew it would draw attention to myself and I am not one that typically likes to do that, but hell everybody deserves that every now and again. I also had an inkling that it may just put a smile on others faces as well...yes, some of those smiles may be induced by laughter, but as I always say "laughter is the most important part of the day and if you weren't fortunate enough to laugh at least once during the day, then you had a very bad day!" and if they laughed I served a good purpose! :)

By now you are probably wondering just what I did in fact wear to work. I wish I had a picture to post b/c a pictures speaks louder than words, but since I don't I will just have to tell you...I went for the green pants. I am not talking about your ordinary winter green pants either, I am talking green so bold that one would wonder is it spring or St. Patrick's Day or is this girl just nuts? My thought was to just brighten up the day. In Boston and especially this time of year it is a sea of black, grey and khakis colored pants and I felt like brightening my life up a bit and the life of those around me.

In the end I did get looks of wonderment, joy and some hidden laughter, but I also got many smiles including the one on my own face that made it worth it! Now if it were only Friday it would be even that much better. ;)

Uncle Sam gives back...what?

I just received this email from my Uncle Brian and thought that I would share it with everyone...happy tax filing to you! Feel free to pass this on or make copies for family and friends who don't have computers. Click on the blog title for more information.

A SPECIAL ONE TIME TAX CREDIT ON YOUR 2006 TAX RETURN

When it comes time to prepare and file your 2006 tax return, make sure you don't overlook the federal excise tax refund credit. You claim the credit on line 71 of your form 1040. A similar line will be available if you file the short form 1040A.

What is this all about? Well the federal excise tax has been charged to you on your phone bill for years. It is an old tax that was assessed on your toll calls based on how far the call was being made and how much time you talked on that call.

The IRS has now conceded this is obsolete. Phone companies have been given notice to stop assessing the federal excise tax as of Aug 30, 2006.You will most likely see the tax on your September cutoff statement, but it should NOT be on your October bill.

But the challengers of the old law also demanded restitution. So the IRS has announced that a one time credit will be available when you and I file our 2006 tax return as I explained above. However, the IRS also established limits on how BIG a credit you can get. Here's how it works.

If you file your return as a single person with just you as a dependent, you get to claim a $30 credit on line 71 of your 1040.If you file with a child or a parent as your dependent, you claim $40.

If you file your return as a married couple with no children ,you claim$40.If you file as married with children, you claim $50 if one child, $60if two children.

In all cases, the most you get to claim is $60.

One final point - this credit is a refundable credit. That means you get this money, no matter how your tax return works out. If you would end up owing the IRS a balance, the refund will reduce that balance you owe.If you end up getting a refund, the credit will be added and you get a bigger refund by that $30 to $60, depending on how many dependents are on your return.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I read these while perusing someone else's blog and well love them...enjoy or better yet let me know what you think too...

Please be good to me

I am going to grab you by the collar,

push my lips to your ear and whisper in my most murderous tone:

"I am not only a good girl I am the best good girl there is."

When you kiss me,

I won't even like it.

It won't matter how the blood rushes to the surface of my cheeks,

how the hair on the back of my neck stands up

or

how my heart beats right out of my chest.

I will limply stand there and politely push you away.

No way are you making me be bad.

Now please remove your hand from my cheek, and let's not mess up this beautiful friendship.

The emotionally intense,

the spiritually advanced,

the madly in love,

the truly insane,

the terminally foolish,

the grief-stricken,

the guilty,

the enlightened,

the people with souls of poets and hearts of children.

Jimmy,

I think the future's broken.

I say we go back to a time when catching a glimpse of ankle was fairly orgasmic.

It's official!!!

You are looking at the newest C-card certified diver! Yes, that is right I finished my certification today!

And yes, you may have been privy to the fact that I had some issues with filling and clearing my mask in the past. You may also have been privy to know that every time the day came/comes to suit up and hit the water I manage to get sick the night before. No not praying to the porcelian god kind of sick, but something worse! I get all congested, flemmy...you know your good old fashion type of being sick. The not so fun kind when hitting the open water.

Have no fear and put all that aside though, like I did today, because there wasn't anything keeping me from getting my goofy looking picture taken to cart around with me on vacations.

After I had finished my cert. dive my buddy and I got to take to the open waters on our own. What an advenutre that was. I should tell you my buddy is practically blind without her glasses so it is fun to see her reactions when she finally sees things. Things need to be really close to her face for her to focus on them and at that point she always seems to get cartoon eyes. You know the eyes cartoon characters make when they are so surprised at what they see. Well that is my buddy.

In our first free open dive we navigated around underwater a bit, but mainly it was us trying to figure out what the other was trying to say (in not so many words, if you know what I mean).

We did see a baby lobster, pretty big crab in hiding, and a really large lobster with an injured claw. Other than that it was pretty much seaweed, muscles and a lot of different types of algea.

Lookout warm water b/c I am definitely coming your way soon and can't wait to get rid of the stinken hoodies!

Cost of flights bothering you lately?

I was watching the news before work this week and well the topic of airfare costs came up. I was really flabergasted at what I heard. I thought the increase in gas prices was one of the main causes of the airfare hikes, but this was definitely not what was being reported.

*Before I write what I am about to write, I want to prefice that this was reported on the news and is not a personal thought.*

It was noted that one of the main reasons for the airfare hikes is due to Americans being overweight. I was actually shocked to hear this, but after I heard it, it got me to thinking. Planes due have weight limits and depending on the size of the plane will depend on the amount of weight it can hold. All luggage that is checked is weighed and if it goes over a certain weight limit it costs the traveling individual a surcharge to get the bag checked for flight. Now are you seeing where I am going with this.

Let me try and spell it out for those that don't follow. Planes have weight limits, but the only thing getting weighed is the luggage that goes in the undercarrage. What about the total weight of the passengers on the plane and there respective carry-on's??? I am surprised that in this day in age of having to know every last detail about a person that weight isn't a determing factor for boarding a plane. Although, I was on one of those seat-aisle-seat-seat sized planes where the flight attendent had to move people around so the plane was equalized and able to lift off.

Anyway, just a thought even it is a silly one.

Mommy wow I'm a big kid now

Don't you just love being a kid sometimes? That is how today was for me. It was my first day of work from my new place 'sans' the car. That's right, since I live in public transportation central I no longer need the car to cart me around.

And just like the first day of school the alarm goes off and I proceed to hit the snooze button. I so didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but after a nice 20 minute snooze I sprang out of bed to get the day started. After the usual morning routines (shower, get dressed, packing of the work bag, etc.) it was out the door I go.

I throw on the iPod and head on out to what I hope is the right bus stop. Of course out of all the bus stops in the city the one I have to go to doesn't have the route number on it. Eh, I figured I would wait it out and see what happened. If it didn't come by 7:15 then I new I was up sh!t's creek because the next one on this bus line wasn't for another 30 minutes. Yes, there were other buses around the corner that could ultimately take me to my final destination, but do you think I was prepared with all that info...not a chance...remember I barely made it out of bed!

Low and behold the bus arrives and I make my way to work, but not before I realize that this route makes like a 101 stops before it gets me to the T. I am wondering if that is why it is really called the 101 bus. Anyway with tunes in tack I figured I would take in the surrounding sites for what they were worth. I found a gas station that has gas at $2.61! Pretty damn good if you ask me. Oddly the station across the street was offering it at $2.75. I know where I would be getting my gas.

Anyway, with the little anxious girl inside I made my way to the T and hopped on. Only to find out that I had made it to the T that had to keep stopping for some type of traffic up ahead. I think I have heard that "we will be standing by momentarily due to traffic up ahead" speel 101 times today.

The best part of my day was my last minute decision to stop at good old Dunkins before heading into my building this morning (which I also found out this morning is for sale). I walk up to the counter order my medium tea, extra skim, no sugar and go to hand over my $1.76 when I hear $0.49 please. My reaction is "come again?" Gotta love customer appreciation day at Dunkins. They were offering up medium coffees and teas for $0.49 all day today. :)

The bad part of my day was finding out that my FY07 Goals are due tomorrow and giving them a second thought didn't have any effect on me considering I hadn't even given them a first thought!

After work it was off to meet up with my girls for some good eats, drinks and whatever stories that needed to be told. What I didn't know is that after we finished our night together that my not was only just beginning.

I had survived the commute in this morning and was ready to take on the challenge of a new way home. Might as well try all ways to come up with the best way to and from the city, right?

Oh how wrong I was to do this. I took the T with Mags back to Haymarket knowing there was a bus back Medford Sq., but to my surprise the MBTA website is wrong and there is no such bus or so I was told by one of the bus drivers. So back down to the T I had to go to wait 20 minutes for the next T to come. Got to love off peak T hours.

Finally a T comes and I get off at Sullivan Sq. where I know the 101 bus comes, since it dropped me off this morning. I get off the T go to the bus stop and surely there will be a bus any minute now. From what I could remember they came every 10 minutes.

As I stand there waiting for the bus I look up and can see the Schrafts building clock. Hmm 15 minutes have gone by and no bus. Okay it should be here any minute now...I mean all the other bus routes are coming and going. I take another gander at the clock and now we are pushing 25 minutes and no bus. By now I know someone is having a laugh at my expense. After 30 minutes had gone by I gave up and went into the T station to see what was up. I find a useless T guy who could have given 2 sh!ts if I came or went and was in no way interested in helping me out. When another T guy was more than willing to try and help me out my first T guy started telling him to butt out. Back outside to the bus stop I went.

After 45 minutes of waiting at the bus stop a bus finally arrives. Back on the good old 101 I went with all its 101 stops, but I can happily say I made it home, but am now going to print off some bus schedules because I have to add that this reminded me of a time that some friends and I were stranded in a Switzerland or Austrian (can't remember which) train station b/c a friend didn't know how to read a train schedule. Doh!

Absolute Craziness!!

Not sure if anyone is even reading this blog, but if you are and you're a traveler and will be doing any London traveling anytime in the near future or want to plan a trip to or from London then check out www.Ryanair.com before Saturday. They are offering up 4 million tickets at just $0.02!!! All you have to do is pay for the taxes on the flights. So get going on scheduling that next trip! Gitty-up!

Free concert with backstage passes....Okay

A friend offered me his second ticket with backstage pass to check out the Wyclef - Shakira concert last night. I had no idea how much fun it was going to be till I saw our seats! I have to admit I am not a groupie of Shakira, but dang that girl really can sing and dance.

By 7 :15 I was backstage chillin' with a beer and checking out the behind the scenes of the show. By 7:17 I am realizing that back stage of a Wyclef - Shakira concert is not that exciting. We did get to hang out with the band members - minus Shakira and Wyclef (Shakira actually arrived late) and they gave us our own hospitality room too boot! Kind of neat to be able to go back and forth throughout the night as we pleased.

Wyclef and his crew put on a great performance. My only thought was how different the crowd would have been if it were a Fugees concert instead of a Shakira concert. Regardless it was a pretty damn good show. My favorite part of his act was when he rocked a little Hendrix...he even pulled out a little behind the head action and he even mouthed it a bit. He just truly rocked it!

During Wyclef's performance he was all about getting the crowd standing and jump...jump...jumping around...that is until he saw the guy in the section next to us. Yeah you guessed it...the whole arena was jumping around but the 2 peeps in the section next to us. So when this happens what do you think could happen next. Let me tell you. Wyclef stops the show and turns to the guy to see what is problem with standin gup is. Here's how it plays out:

Wyclef:
"I wanna see everyone get out their chairs and start jump...jump...jumping around with your hands in the aaaaiha!" Do you people realize where you are? You're at a Shakira concert now get out your chairs and wave your hands in the aaaih! Whoa..whoa...whow stop the show...STOP THE SHOW...YO! You over there...you gotta problem with standin' up?"

Guy:
"Yeah"

Wyclef as he starts walking up on the guy:
"You can't stand up"

Guy:
"No"

Wyclef:
"Why not you gotta problem or somethin'?"

Guy:
"Yeah, I just had a pendicitis"

Wyclef:
"You mean to tell me you can't stand up b/c you had a pendicitis, but you can drink a beer?"

Yeah so the guy stood up and well Wyclef gave him a personal show right then and there. It was really cool because at that point it was like he was two seats away.

After that Shakira came on and I gotta say her hips really don't lie. She really can shake it while dancing! 90% of the concert was in Spanish, so as you can imagine she had a big Columbian following. The best part was the 6 year old pudge ball that was sitting behind me. He knew every single word of every single line of every single song! He rocked!

I also have to say our seats rocked too b/c not only were we 3 rows from the floor, but we had an up front and personal performance by Wyclef that was shortly followed by and upclose and personal performance by Shakira. Little did we know it, but about half way through her performance we saw the "bubba" of all "bubba" bouncers and stage crew come out to set up a stage infront of us. Shortly there after Shakira shook her way down to us to perform another song.

Check back sometime later this week...as soon as I get my friend's pics and videos I will upload them for your viewing pleasures.

Next potential concert on the list...Aerosmith and Motley Crew

It's time to take a moment of silence for the "Crikey" Man from down under.

I learned today that Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, died at the age of 44. He was killed by a stingray off of The Great Barrier Reef while filming a series on the deadliest sea creatures.

A barb is the bone like structure within the tail of a stingray. It is used as a defense mechanism for stingrays and has been compared to that of a serrated bayonet. After a stingray has stab the barb in to their offender, it can actually break off the barb leaving it within its offender.

Stingrays are not known to be dangerous animals and Steve is only the second person to have actually died from a stingray encounter.

Below are a few pictures of different stingray barbs.

This is just to show where the barb is located.

Below is just an example of the effect that a barb can have after it has stabbed a divers bootie.

It may not seem that serious, but after you look at the result on the foot in the picture below the bootie you will see that yes, it really has a serious effect. Many cases have been reported, but none as serious as the result of Steve Irwin's case. For most, it is a slow healing wound. The reason for that being that most doctors will increase the size of the wound to ensure that there are no remnants of the barb left inside the wound. If remnants are left behind they may actually cause gangrene to occur, making the removal of all remnants an important factor.

Steve you were a "Crikey" of a man and you will be missed.

Funny

So I thought I was staying in tonight to take it easy for tomorrow's dive certification, but low and behold Ernesto has taken that joy away. Since everyone is away and after doing a few things in the condo I have resorted to the computer and found some pretty funny and icky videos...so what do I do well share them with the rest of the world of course...

Best SNL skit: Cork Soaker

Best Cell Phone add: Crime Deterrent

Few good Bud adds: Good Dog - Bad Dog Never Ending Beer

Funny/crossing the link speaker add: Blaupunkt Speakers

Biggest beer ad: Carlton

One of the better 'judging a book by it's cover' adds:



And finally one of the best car commercials I have seen yet: Hyundai

Outfit

So it's late on a Friday night and I am not out due to an early shift at the PB tomorrow. Also can't sleep so I figured the net was the next best option.

Came across one of my favorite commercials:

Click on the link below and then click on the "Outfi-2004 Emmy Award Winner"

http://www.citibank.com/us/cards/cardserv/advice/commercial.htm#