I made some good progress this past week. I've been getting my consolidation loan in order, fixed a couple things. I contacted Gary whose website I made and he said he was on a little vacation, taking care of his parents and daughter. That explains why he hasn't been available, but he said he'd love to get things rolling again and of course get me paid too. I have his details but apparently the registration website requires a few details that I need. I'll have to get a hold of him again.

The past couple days I've been home sick. I have an infected tooth that abscessed and now my face ballooned up like a basketball. I'm taking antibiotics and the dentist opened up the tooth so it could drain, but that is going to take a couple days.

I'm glade to hear Amanda's sister is alive and okay. She seemed like such a vibrant girl this world would have been a little less sunny without her.

I am indeed a huge Reboot fan. I loved the show from beginning to end and I heard they were going to bring it back I thought it would be awesome.

However, the news was tempered when I learned more of how they were approaching the comeback. If you check out the link above, you'll find out that they have 5 different teams with 5 different "visions" of what Reboot is and what it is going to be. So far the choices are garbage, save for the "Reboot 2.0" idea. The others either sideline the main characters(Screw Bob, the savior is a virus!), create some convoluted claptrap story(a sprite whose parents are Bob, Dot AND Megabyte?!), or try to make the show into something it truly isn't(Hello new Open-source sprites here to fix ur internet. Lol linux).

The only idea that I thought that stayed within the vein of the original story was Reboot 2.0, where the User installs a new Operating System to make Mainframe a more stable place... but all is not right after the install. It seems dark enough, and the original characters are there, but I recommend that the characters keep their original colors and Bob doesn't turn into the gloomy anti-hero that is Matrix. I'm going to keep an eye on this and hope the idea improves.

In other news, my buddy Dave stayed with me for about a week and then he went back into the hospital. He's in bad shape and our local hospital can't perform the necessary treatment, so he's moving over to Buffalo General on Monday. If they can't do it either, he may end up going to the Cleveland Clinic. Please everyone keep him in your prayers. He's come a long way and he deserves as much of this life as he can get.

I also went fishing with my Dad today. We were hoping to catch something edible as I wanted to learn how to clean a fish, but alas we only caught some small bullhead at a pond. We moved up to Lake Ontario in search of bass or trout but it started to rain heavily. We were in and out of the rain a couple times before we gave up Alas, we'll have to do this another time.

Right now I'm exhausted. I stayed at my dad's for a nice 4 hour nap but I'm still pretty tired. I was thinking of going shopping but I think I'm going to hold off on that until tomorrow.

Can't wait, Amanda! Only 3 weeks to go!

It's been a hectic week. Work's been hit or miss, with days of stupid callers and days of decent folk. I learned that I will be making bonus again for last month, and that makes my heart all warm and fuzzy. Money isn't so tight, but I won't spending on anything special... at least not right away. Paying for my teef, the computer, and the Wii is all in my sights.

Dave has landed! Back from Japan and in need of some American Health Care, he's going to be staying with me until he's back on his feet. I think it'll be pretty cool. I mean, put up with Goob for 3 years, I can put up with Dave for 6 months . He's already settled in and my sister is 99% moved out(still some stuff in the closet), so we should be good.

Hopefully I'll get the chores done before dinner time on Friday. Laundry, dishes, vacuuming... it's gonna be a full weekend!

I watched Transformers on Saturday, and boy it was an 80s kid's dream to watch. I loved almost everything about it. Optimus Prime was heroic, Bumblebee was funny, and Megatron was... well he was plenty evil. I thought it was fantastic to see the Tranformers as nearly real life as we've ever seen them, and the story was really good too. The only criticism I have is that the tranformations were so complex and convoluted it was difficult to follow. Other than that though, it comes highly recommended.

I also watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 as well, which rocked. A tricky but suitable finish too.

I'm not too much in a writing mood so I'm gonna just head to bed. The past few days I've been waking up early to ferry my sister to work and I haven't been getting good sleep. Her car is in the shop back in Batavia.

The Atkins Nutritional Lifestyle continues to do its work! I am now officially 497lbs, down from my previous weigh-in at 502lbs two weeks ago. I'm so happy!

In other recent news, I have kindled my comic book interest, and I think it's becoming a full-blown hobby. I recently picked up several comics from the comic shop. There's the Silver Surfer comic called "Requiem," Samurai: Heaven and Earth, a Hellboy comic(which is pretty funny) and of course my favorite Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born. I also had the opportunity to pick up the first book of the "Age of Apocalypse" collection. It's all organized quite well and I'm really enjoying it.

I visited my cousin on Saturday too. She just bought a house out in the country, with 4 acres and she has several horses too. I was really impressed. It was also a good chance to chum up with my father's side of the family, a group I never felt very close to, and it was pretty awesome. I was also told to take some food home with me and I ended up with the equivalent of 3 whole chickens. Great for my kind of diet!

I also won the lottery! Well, 3 dollars, but still On a final note: Cheer up sis!

Former Extremist Speaks Out

This article is fascinating. It's by a former Islamic extremist and about how the terrorists think. This crap that we're being attacked because of our foreign policy is all just propaganda by the extremists and the truth is that they want to wipe us out because we are not Muslim.

In addition to blogging my life on this medium, I also wanted to use it to post things I've pondered over the years. From politics to religion to everyday things. I never really sat down and done it though. Until now.

One of the things I have thought about a great deal is God and his relationship to me, and in this case how I can reconcile my strong faith with my strong scientific sense. Let me say it wasn't easy. When I was young, the idea of Christianity was this nebulous notion that I never bothered to pinpoint. My mother was Christian, my dad was Catholic Christian, but I didn't know what that meant exactly. We believed in God, we followed the 10 Commandments, but other than that I had no clue.

It was in high school that I became fascinated with science. Evolution made sense to me, as well as all the other sciences that come from it. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I did really well in Biology. I started the foundation of my scientific mind's growth during these years. And even though I still did not know what Christians were, I joined a Christian outreach group that tried to build a place for kids to hang out after school. It seemed like the right thing to do, and I helped them out quite a bit, and I even made friends with their son, who was only a couple years younger than me.

It was then I learned that not everyone accepted evolution. We were talking about my classes and I noticed one of their booklets talked about how dinosaurs perished in the great Noachian flood. I explained that I disagreed with this because it didn't fit current scientific fact. They tried to persuade me that I was wrong and that evolution was hocus pocus, meant to confuse me from the path of Jesus. I mostly shrugged off their comments and didn't want to argue with people I considered friends. The next day, when I walked into the Christian outreach center, the family all started making monkey noises and the mom was hanging on a railing by her one arm. I was stunned. Then I became angry. I took one last look at them, noted how ridiculous they looked, and walked out. The son ran out after me and tried to apologize and I told him that I never wanted to come back. And I never did. That day I decided that if that's what Christians were like, I didn't want to be one. I was embarrassed, and angry that they would mock my beliefs, something I never did to them.

From that day forward I became more aware of the sizable "Christian" population in my school. These people took every moment to argue in Biology or Earth Science class to argue for a young Earth. I got into arguments with them, frustrated at their blindness and sometimes stupidity. And I was glad to leave them behind.

In college I really started to come back though. My uncle and my father were instrumental in this, as well as a few friends in my science classes who were also Christian but also understood how science fit into it. I was grateful to learn that not all Christians were like the idiots from my high school. I learned that science is only something we use to find out how God did it. Science is the how and the what, and my faith is the why.

Nowadays I can debate fairly well when I have time to research a topic. I have Goob to thank for starting this training and my critical thinking classes that followed. One of my favorite topics I like to engage with my father is whether or not science can prove that God exists. Since my Dad suffers from a lifetime of goofiness and of taking things he has read at face value instead of the grain(or tablespoon) of salt that he should, it is hard to believe some of the claims he makes. He says that many astronomers and physicists can see where God leaves His fingerprint, and that things are too complex to have been just a natural process. I agree to a point on the complexity issue, but if God is beyond our reality and understanding then how can we use science as a tool to find Him if science is grounded in our physical existence? More to the point, God wants our faith.

Faith is the belief in something that has no proof. If we were to use science to prove God exists, then it wouldn't be faith anymore, it would be fact. To prove that God exists would compel humanity to accept God instead of choosing Him. What good is giving free will to someone who knows they have no choice? God is beyond our reality, so we cannot use our reality to prove his existence.

On that same note, I got into an argument about a phrase I used on a forum. "If you don't believe in God you will believe in anything." I was duped into the argument because once I replied the atheists came down on my like a feeding frenzy. I knew the argument was a waste of time, so I didn't bother replying to the attacks. The phrase was regarding this new Global Warming religion that's been growing of late. Humans are wired to believe in a higher being, and if it isn't God then they will make something up to fill the void. I was told that the Global Warming followers were no different than Christians who follow an imaginary friend. I wanted to point out that the big difference is that my beliefs are based on believing in something that has no proof, while the Global Warming group bases their beliefs on lies and pseudo-science. It took me a while to conceptualize that thought, but by the time I did the thread was old, the frenzy over and I didn't want to argue with my friends.

So there you have it, my first full rant of the blog. I hope it brings up as many discussion points as the day I switched to the Atkins diet!

My apologies for the post drought, I have been pretty busy. Many good things to report!

I'm losing weight, I can feel it. My surgeon has now asked me to come in every two weeks to get myself weighed. I won't be charged for the visit either, so that's awesome.

I convinced my friends to start playing some good ol' Warcraft 3 again. We've played some old favorites and it's been cool so far. Hopefully we can find some maps that aren't broken after all these years.

I've started hosting the game server for my friends once again. So far no trouble, but it could use some improvements. We'll see how it goes.

I made bonus this month! Very happy about it, nothing too big but now I feel torn between buying my computer parts for my new machine or getting my teeth pulled. In the end, I'll probably do what I need to do. $450 left to go... sigh

Speaking of teeth, a tooth broke, but it wasn't unexpected. It's not hurting but it's another thing that is on my mind.

I think I should get a hold of Gary again. It's been a month since we talked last and I'm hoping to get paid for the website I made.

I made this kick-ass Saturn V rocket, the details you can see here:

Looks awesome doesn't it?

I was driving home tonight, and as I'm at the home stretch on Transit Road, some guy in a truck comes up behind me and flashes his lights. We're going around 55mph. He then pulls up to me, and I roll my window down. He shouts at me about missing my gas cap and to turn at the next left. Something was weird about this- my gascap is on my driver's side, so I knew it was there when I got in my car back at work. The guy pulls in front of me and turns at the next left, but I pull forward and go to the 24 hour gas station a mile more up the road. I inspect my car and didn't see anything wrong. What the heck? I look around to see if he followed me here, and get back in my car and head home. I probably should have gotten the plates on that truck, but nonetheless I'm glad I trusted my instincts and didn't stop. I don't know what he was up to, but I'm glad to be home. If it happens again, I'll definitely pick up the plates.

That's right, I'm back on track. I've only been on the Atkins diet for 11 days and I've already lost 9lbs. I'm not starving all the time, I have more energy(I even did a good 30 minute walk on Friday), and things are going good. I should have started this from the beginning.

Other good news includes my sister 95% moved out. There are still some things left in my apartment but I'm sure to wipe that clean this coming weekend. Even if I need to put it all into a big box and leave it at her door. Just kidding! I'm sure I'll find a reasonable method for getting the stuff out, and then I'll have more room again. It's like a breath of fresh air!

More to come, but right now I have to take some calls. Wish me luck!

I'm done with the ICOMS calls at work! It's such a relief. Now I can enjoy the same calls as I was doing previously. Saving the world from stupidity... etc. My current supervisor is one of the best I've worked under. He and I were teamed up before but ended up on the same shift again this time. He's one of those guys who knows exactly what you're going through and is very optimistic about the job. Kinda like me I suppose. He definitely makes the day go by quicker and smoother.

Been taking care of business at home too. My sister is mostly moved out and tonight she's finally sleeping up in her own apartment. Also, she's finally taking her damned cat with her. I openly say it now; my sister's cat is a wretch. She whines and complains about everything, and then when you give it to her she walks away. She pooped and peed on things that wasn't cat litter, and had a knack for hiding in the bathtub and not leaving until you turned on the water. I didn't like that cat and I don't think I ever will. She never got along with my cat either. So long!

Atkins is going good- haven't cheated at all and I'm even eating less than I expected. I'm quite happy with that, as it'll make this expensive diet not as expensive.

I was planning on buying a 5lb brick of silly putty, as it seemed like a lot of fun and something I always wanted to do. But then I heard about a friend of mine and she was having a rough time(and looking to get worse). Instead, I spent the money on something for her and I hope she uses it. It won't solve her troubles but for at least a short time she can relax and not worry about them. I think though if she asks me why I sent it, I'm going to plead temporary insanity.

Tonight I talked with Digigurl, my sister in Ohio. I had some concerns on my mind and she talked me through them. I don't know if she knows how much she is appreciated. She is far more intelligent and mature than she shows on the surface. This is the Digigurl I wish she'd show everyone, but I guess everyone has to have their secrets Thank you sis for a wonderful thought-provoking evening.

So far so good. I'm moving through Atkins pretty well, 4 days in. I was a little groggy at first(always expected) but I haven't cheated at all. I got a couple interesting emails from work. One, stating that I'll have one more day of ICOMS overflow on Sunday, but hopefully after that they'll be done. Crossing my fingers on that one. Second, in appreciation for all our hard work running the ICOMS overflow, they're giving us a free t-shirt! Hurray. They even have my size. Other work related news, it looks like I'm going to make bonus again! Woot!

Finally got the parts to fix my executive chair. It's great being in something comfortable again. And with my sister moving out, things are starting to look cleaner and more empty around here. It's actually a pretty keen sight to see.

My buddy Dave is still doing okay. He does have a hole in his stomach, and it looks like he's going to have to have the surgery done here as he nor the doctors in japan themselves trust anyone in Japan to work on the surgery. Japan doesn't have gastric bypass surgeons like the USA. Keep in mind, Dave's surgery was completely different than the one I'm getting, so don't worry me having such complications. Anywho, Dave is going to need a place to stay and I've told him once my sister moves out, he's welcome to stay with me until he gets back on his feet.

Yesterday's Father's Day party was pretty good. My brother Greg hosted it at his place, and while the picnic area was a little inconvenient for my aunt and uncle, we managed pretty well. The picnic area was next to a river, and the houses were up several flights of makeshift stairs cut out of dirt. My aunt has a hard time going up and down stairs, much less makeshift ones, so that's why it wasn't all that safe for her. Regardless, the party went smoothly. My brother Greg did most of the cooking as well as an old friend from my childhood was there. Adam used to live on a parallel street to us and we're somewhat related too, I learned. Adam's also going through chemotherapy for lymphoma cancer. He said it's recurring, started in his neck and was treated for it then, but then it showed up in his abdomen. He plans on living to ninety where he'll take everyone out with a Mack truck. Now that's a goal to set!

We dined on the standard fare- hot dogs, hamburgers, roast chicken, sausage, and of course, grilled clams. When I arrived at the local supermarket, they only had the goldenneck clams. I was told that they tend to be more bitter, but that wasn't true. They tend to be sandy but the lady at the fish market said that you can cut that down by putting the clams in water and sprinkle some corn meal in and as the clams filter the water to eat the corn meal, they'll spit the sand out. It worked, and the clams were fantastic. We also had 4 different kinds of salad; potato salad, egg macaroni salad, tuna macaroni salad, and a vegetable macaroni salad(for my stepmom). I skillfully avoided these things despite temptation and stuck to my dietary requirements.

It's a new week and I feel fantastic now. Things are looking better. Wish me luck!

I just weighed myself. After 3 frustrating and grueling weeks of being hungry, cutting out beef, avoiding carbonated drinks, eating lots of salad, I've lost....nothing. Not a single pound. Frustration is the only word I can produce right now to express how I feel. So starting tomorrow, I'm going on the Atkins diet once again. At least with this diet I won't have to feel hungry anymore.

Sorry for the post drought. I kept thinking there wasn't much to report, but in fact there was much to write. For starters, I've been really hurting the past few weeks. I've been trying to get used to being hungry- getting used to the feeling- and it's not helping me at all. I don't eat as much anymore but I don't know if it's enough to impact my weightloss. I'm going to weigh myself later today and if I haven't lost at least 8lbs since my last weighing(a month ago) then I think I'm going to switch to the Atkins diet. It worked for me before, and I believe it'll do so again.

My brother Greg seems to have taken over the Father's Day party and moved it to June 2nd. It was a little bit of a surprise as I had plans to see Pirates of the Carribean on the 2nd, but I guess it'll work out- I can go the following week. I also planned to bring clams for everyone, but my brother wanted it to be a "Father's Only" treat. I thought that was ridiculous, as our family parties are about fellowship and getting people together. I believe it would have been unfair to tease everyone with clams and not share them. Eventually he relented and it looks like everyone is going to enjoy grilled clams this Saturday! :9

Also this week I decided to take down my anime wall scrolls(think of posters that are woven by thread) and started putting up pictures of my friends and family. I've been meaning to do so for a while, as I feel I've grown up a bit since my college days. So far I've got a picture of My dad and mom, my dad and step-mom, as well as a picture of Goob and myself, Amanda and myself, and two small pictures of Amanda and Candi on the one wall. I want more up there, like the picture of all my cousins and my family put all together. I have to find the picture as well as a frame for it. I've recently learned that Dollar General is great for cheap frames too!

I watched Shrek the Third this weekend too. Third time around and Shrek is still funny. I agree with most people- it's definitely more serious than the previous ones, but the hidden jokes are still there, and I laughed heartilly several times.

At work I learned that I will be moved off the tier 1 split and moved back to the National Help Desk call split by June 1st. It's been a grueling month and I'm glad to be off it and back to doing my old job. Also this week my shift changed to an earlier one, and instead of Saturday and Sunday off, I get Friday and Saturday off. Not bad, and it'll put me in good position for August's trip to Ohio. I can't wait!