Well, we got an email asking when we would want to close on the house. No further information. My dad/realtor said that the primary contract may want to close in a few months, which is more mortgauge payments for whoever holds the house. My dad sais August 28th or sooner. Tomorrow he will follow-up with them.

We also got more information about the house, apparently last year the owners had a huge mutha-frickin' balloon payment. So now they are out.

More updates to come.

2 backup contracts on new houses / 0 contracts on our house.

Apparently there were three other offers on the table for the last house. We are another backup contract. We are just biting the bullet and putting in an offer on the dream house. What can they say, NO!? Yeah, right.

In other news, I am exhusted and will be until Friday. I have a face to face meeting until Wednesday.. on top of my normal work, so, I've been up at 4:30 to get into work to work before the meeting. For the past three weeks I've put in overtime, I've been submitting my activity/status reports, taking on new work, cleaning up the old work, transitioning work to a returning employee... I'm a team playa, give me da billz, 'cause I've gots da skillz.

When I was about 6-7, I was watching Magnum P.I. in my moms room. The bottom of my foot was peeling, so I continued to peel, peel, and peel... until I made a deep hole. It really hurt when I touched it.. go figure!

My humidor finally stabilized at 70% relative humidity. Unfortunately, my adjustable hygrometer is anything but. I'm going to call the company for an RMA, because I didn't pay extra to remember that it reads -1% RH. Anyway, I am happy.

Either today or tomorrow we should hear if our offer has approval from the seller. Which, may or may not be the bank.

My cigar order came in yesterday. My Gurkha 20th Anniversary humidor (every time I think about the Gurkha brand, I imagine what kind of history lesson I would receive about the Gurkha soldiers from iskender), hygrometer, humidification device, and the Rocky Patel gift box of 10 cigars. I'm still waiting on my new cutter, because the old cutter I have is not fit to cut the cheese (so to speak). I bought the old used cutter from an small liquor store down the road when I needed to cut a cigar. I drove all over town to find it.

I prepped the humidor and calibrated the hygrometer. By tonight everything should be ready and I can load the humidor with cigars. I decided to celebrate the arrival of everything so I smoked the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Toro Maduro. It was my first Maduro, and not my last because there are two more in the sampler. It was very spicy and peppery right off the bat, and also towards the end. In the middle of the cigar it was woody (oak?) and also some hints of burnt coffee. Overall an enjoyable cigar. It burned well, but went out towards the end due to my own inattentiveness.

Usually I am just a special occasion smoker, but I can see myself stepping it up a little bit. Not an every day or every week occasion, but maybe monthly. I will miss my expensive cigars, the last two I smoked were Padrons (1946 and 1942), but at $27 and $15 a pop it is much.

When I smoke a cigar Tina usually takes the opportunity to drink some wine, that is really the one of the few time she drinks during the year. Last night she was out with her church group, Addy had gone to bed earlier, and I just wanted to sit in the garage, listen to the radio, and smoke. It was nice, except the college kids across the street were having a party in their garage. Yelling erupted every 5 minutes.

I'm really looking forward to the RP Olde World Reserves as well as the '90 and '92s. Those will have to wait. Smoke 'em, if you got 'em.

The funniest response I've seen on Slashdot appeared on a recent story. A user posed the question about which software to use to build a large scale network monitoring solution from the ground up. The appropriately moderated comment was "I Name My Devices After Al Qaeda Members. Publish them in DNS, and have the NSA monitor them for me!".

BRILLIANT! This is going to be my recommendation when we have our face to face structured improvement activity regarding log monitoring next week.

Baby fix my car
Bab, make me breakfast
Baby, mix me a drink
Baby do my banking.

If you have children, you need these books to make your life a lot easier!

This song is catchy, and I love it because my daughter sings along to it "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" and Tina and I belt out "POKER FACE!". Here is a version done by Chris Daughtry.

I just found out that Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill album is about her relationship with Dave Coulier. CUT! IT! OUT!

That album has a whole new meaning to me now...

Well, if you don't know by now...

Ok, I am in Israel during some weird demonstration/parade by this religious figure. My cell phone rings and it's my mother. I tried not to tell her I was in Israel, but had to tell her. Later I am eating at a small restaurant/stall in a bazaar. It had one table and the meal was going to be hugely expensive because this place is so exclusive. Then all of a sudden our dinner, a lamb, runs away. I chase it down an alley to a raised stage area at the end of the alley. The lamb starts to hump my leg. All of a sudden the religious figure, who looks like a swarthy Dr. Suresh from Heroes, grabs the lamb from me. He is standing there in his underwear lusting after my lamb, making sexual thrusting motions at the poor lamb. I go to get up on the stage and get back my dinner, but one of his lackeys grabs the back of my head and kneels me down saying something that it is an honor to be in this guys presence....

Ed McMahon is dead at 86.

Happy Belated Father's Day to all the fathers out there!

This weekend was good. The family packed up and went to Kelly Springs State Park, only to be turned away because they were full. We were meeting some church friends and ended up going back to one of their houses, cooked out and went to the pool. It was a good time. Then Sunday I was able to sleep in and my daughter woke up me. I love when she comes in to wake me. :) Then we met with my father for the father's day dinner. During dinner, my dad got a call from someone wanting to see our house. W00t! Dad also put faxed the bid on the house we wanted. I know this is a long shot, but it would be nice to get accepted on our offer and an offer on our house the same day. Tina and I discussed it and we would be willing to lose whatever pocket change we would get from our house as long as we got our FHA approval on the other house.

We will see.

Oh, my father day gift was a new weed whacker/trimmer. We went to Sears to look at them. As we were walking in, a group of women were being herded back into the store by LP for shop lifting. The guilty until proven innocent party was screaming at the top of her lungs "I didn't do it! I DIDN'T DO IT! If something is in my bag it was put there by mistake! I'M NOT GOING THROUGH THIS AGAIN!". Wow... way to admit your guilt there sweetheart. A little piece of advice next time, you should have just KEPT ON WALKING. You were all ready out the door. Who cares if there is a large man blocking your way. Legally he cannot frickin' touch you. Just take your spoils and leave!

Ain't that the truth. Apparently I just sent myself an email with that subject. I love self addressed spam. Especially those originating (or spoofed) from Columbia sending me to a Chinese website.

It ain't no wonder why I read all my mail in plain-text, eh?

As told by Rock Band.