updates and opinions

1) it sucks when people you care for just don't seem to "get" you

2) loneliness is more bitter when it's not shared

3) all work and no play really does suck

4) blowing stuff up is cool and exciting

5) i'm doomed to a single life

on a lighter side... Into The Woods opens tomorrow night and then I switch roles from Master Electrician to Lighting Designer and my job becomes ten times easier - ten times harder - and I get paid more for it.

Man - I hope I don't F#@$ it up.

pyro

Probably THE coolest thing that I've done so far [at Jenny Wiley] is to create flash pots and other pyro effect delivery devices, and design and build the firing mechanisms for said devices.

More on this later... if you're lucky.

soundtrack to my life - issue 1

Summer Nights - from Grease!Key Lyrics:
Summer loving had me a blast
Summer loving happened so fast
...
Summer dreams ripped a the seams
But oh those summer nights

The Luckiest - Ben FoldsKey Lyrics:
And where was I before the day
That I first saw your lovely face?
Now I see it everyday
And I know

That I am
I am
I am
The luckiest

getting high

Another quick post from JWT...

Today I helped rig up the flying track and mechanism to make Peter Pan and company fly for our production of Peter Pan. It's another great resume builder experience. When we were finished the "Fly Guy" - the man from whom we're renting the gear and who's teaching the flymen and actors how to do everything thing - asked me if I wanted to fly. Of course I said yes, and I flew like Peter Pan, Wendy, John and Michael. It was really cool and a lot of fun, I was basically the guinea pig for the guys learning the ropes before the actors came in. I guess I'm more expendable than the actors are or something ;). Anyway, I'm having a blast when I can... my part of putting up the shows is almost over (at least the tough part). A lot of late nights are happening right now, but in the end, it'll be worth it.

Love to all!

not dead

To those of you that want to know. I'm not dead. :)

Sorry to those of you who wish I was... looks like luck's on my side today!

working... hold please

I've been in Prestonsburg a little over a week, now. I'm getting all buff and tan and sweaty. We're doing a lot of great things and everyone's working really hard. Here's a quick run-down of some of the highlights:

- arrived and it felt like a family reunion (the good kind)
- cleaned 150 lighting instruments and uncoiled over 5000 feet of cable
- hung a pipe grid and created a makeshift truss
- played basketball
- played ultimate frisbee
- ate lots of good food (5 meals a day)
- had lots of laughs with new and old friends

That pretty much sums it up for the moment, folks, except for some specific stories that I don't have the time to go into right now. I hope everyone that reads this is enjoying their summer to some extent. I know I am... I mean what's better than doing something you absolutely love - AND getting paid for it!?

over and out

congratulations

Congratulations to my Big Brother - Kelly (Bub) Cox, and his BRAND NEW WIFE - Jamie!!!

I wish you two all the best!

seeing the light

I'm beginning to see the side of those people who oppose the smoking bans in certain cities around the country. I don't think the government should have ANY control over business owners. They shouldn't have to worry about making a building safe for people to enter the premises. After all, it's their choice if they want to step inside a condemned building. I definitely think that health inspectors should stay OUT of kitchens in restaurants. Who cares if there are a couple of rats running around the kitchen... it doesn't bother me if an employee doesn't wash his/her hands after using the bathroom and then handling my food. What's a couple of hairs in food between total strangers, right?

The government regulates all kinds of things, things that we take for granted every day, things that we wouldn't think of changing... all for public health and safety.

If you're a smoker. That's fine, I'm not telling you not to smoke, just don't smoke around me. An hour in a restaurant WON'T kill you to be without a cigarette.

Second-to-Last thought: I think an exception to the ban should have been made in the fact that if someone wanted to open an establishment especially for smokers (aka - a smoking bar or a cigar bar) that should be allowed.

Last thought: Being a person who has been VERY affected by the horrors of cancer and other diseases due to smoking, I totally agree with the ban. NOT going through with the ban is like sentencing everyone to a slow and ugly death. If you disagree with me, feel free to take it up with my father - wait, you can't - he died from lung cancer caused by smoking almost 13 years ago.

procrastination

I hate packing. Therefore I'm not doing it. I leave tomorrow and I'm only about 1/4 packed. Packing is the worst part of taking a trip or moving... I mean, UNpacking is even better than packing. It's more fun. Almost seems like a treasure that you've just discovered!

Anyway. I'm procrastinating. I guess I should go make another attempt to pack SOMEthing at least.

never before

I'm very overwhelmed by the people from my church. As many of you know, I'm leaving on Wednesday for Jenny Wiley Theatre to work for the summer. Now, I've worked there for four years, now, and each time I've left, I have just had a friend or two say goodbye to or to "see me off". Tonight people are actually getting together to have kind of a send off get-together for me. Never has anyone ever done that for me, and it just really makes me feel like part of a really awesome family. I'm really going to miss a lot of the people from my church, and especially people from my small group. I suppose I've gotten by before, but I'm just a little bit sader to leave this year, even though I know I'll have a good time in Prestonsburg.

On another note, Blogger just launched it's new site and they've got a blue zillion new templates, so I figured I'd try one out. They've also got a whole slew of new features to try out. Too bad I won't have a lot of time to actually play around with them before I leave. Oh well.

Thanks to all my friends and "family" for your presence in my life.

another update

Since april 19th I've been having issues with my computer. I call Dell Tech Support and they fix one problem, and then another pops up. I have wanted to change my template for a while now, and prior to the unfortunate state of my laptop, I was working on one. Now, I've switched back to one of the lame template presets that you can get from blogger (they're nice and all, but I'm just not content with them anymore) until I can upload my new page. I just got tired of looking at the other one, really.

On another note, I leave for Prestonsburg, KY, in 5 days. Podunkville, USA, as I affectionately call it sometimes. It's a really beautiful place, but I miss everything about a larger city when I'm gone. The blog will probably be put on haitus (sp?) for a couple months since I may not have access to the internet. I know all three of you who read my blog will be distraught and heart-broken (yeah, right) but it can't be avoided.

Please pray for patience, sanity, health, and safety for me while I'm away. Thanks. :)

fritz update

After an hour on the phone with DELL, the determination was that my hard drive has errors on it. They're sending me a new one and it'll arrive in two days. Until then, thanks to my roommate (Dustin) for the use of his computer.

And now a moment of silence for all the programs lost due to my fallen hard drive.

Oh yeah... and let's not foget all the porn. (j/k)

tip(s) of the day

I know a few people who have the very popular iPod made by Apple. I also plan on purchasing one in the next couple months. I recently read an article that gave some tips to maximize the life of your battery for not only the iPod but any other device that uses Li-Ion (lithium ion) batteries for power such as laptop computers.

Tip #1: Leave some gas in the tank.
Letting a Li-Ion batter run all the way down is a bad idea. It reduces the overall life of the battery and can trigger a protective cut-off circuit that may prevent the battery from being recharged at all. It is ideal to discharge 80% of the battery's capacity before re-charging and to recharge frequently.

Tip #2: Store at 40%.
Never store fully charged Li-Ion batteries for any length of time. The self-discharge of lithium-ion is about 5% per month. Once the charge level, cut-off circuitry kicks in, and the batter goes to sleep and quite often cannot be woken up unless you have special equipment.
For Notebook computers - it's recommended that the user removes the battery from the system anytime the machine draws power from the wall socket, other wise the battery stays in a less-than-ideal 100% charged condition at all times. Only top off the batter before you go on trips, when you know you'll need the extra juice.

Tip #3: Keep your cool.
Hot temperatures can significantly reduce the lifespan of a Li-Ion battery, and exceedingly hot temperatures can cause the battery to leak or even explode. Keep your battery packs or iPods in a cool place (59' F or lower) when ever possible. [note from Scott: so don't leave them in your car on a hot day, after all they're made to be extremely small and portable, and chances are that your pocket or purse will be much cooler than inside your car] For products with removable batteries, take the battery out whenever possible when using them on AC power to avoid heat and over-charging issues that can reduce the lifespan of the batteries.

Tip #4: Beware of old age.
Because of their chemical makeup, Li-Ion batteries deteriorate as time passes, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent this process. Over a period of 18 months to three years, the capacity of the battery slowly diminishes until finally it won't accept a charge, at which point there is no way to resuscitate it.

Tip #5: A couple of solutions.
- 1) If still under warranty AppleCare only charges $29.95 for shipping and handling. Out of warranty: Apple's Battery Service costs $99 plus a $6.95 S&H (total of $105.95).

- 2) iPod ResQ - cost $79. Service: ship a padded box to customer via overnight with prepaid overnight shipping back to the company, technicians switch out the battery that day and box it and send it back to the customer via overnight.

- 3) Two others to check out: PDA Smart.com and iPod Battery.com.

The Article Recommends: Use Apple or iPodResQ


Websites to check out for further research and information:
iPod's Dirty Secret
CE Tips.com
Cadex Electronics
Battery University

Hope this is useful to everyone. Send feedback!

update

I'm home from NY, but my computer is still on the fritz... so you'll just have to wait for the whole story. Sorry.

A bite out of The Apple - Update

Yeah, I haven't had the chance to do an update everyday. I've been going and going and going, and then I get "home" and I crash... hard.

When I return home, I'll make sure I post a bunch of pictures for your enjoyment. Until then, I post pics in my PhotoBlog in the sidebar, and you can click on the images to see larger images, so go there until I return!

Exploring a new place is tough work.

A bite out of The Apple - Day 1

Okay, so I've had my first official day in New York. What a beautiful city! Today, I visited Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and saw CBS and NBC Studios. Pretty cool. I don't really feel like writing too heavily in the blog for the next few days or so, but I will be taking pictures and posting them to my PhotoBlog, so make sure you check it out to see what I'm up to on kind of a day-to-day basis while I'm away. And look forward to a really big post when I get back with better photos of my time in New York.

Miss you all... well, not really.

... end transmission.

great stories

I have some really great stories and pictures to share with everyone from this past weekend... unfortunately, my computer doesn't like me right now, and I can't do anything with it. I'm on my roommate's computer right now, just so I can check my e-mail and give this quick update. By the time I have my computer back in working order, I'll hopefully have even more great tales to retell. Here's some things to look forward to:

- Hiking/Rock Climbing Trip to Red River Gorge
- Holocaust Remberance Day (this one's a bit tricky)
- Trip to NY for a Wedding and Site-seeing

Hopefully DELL will be able to help me get up and running quickly.

insomnia and early mornings

Yep. It's 3:30am. I'm up, and awake... unfortunately. All attempts at sleep have failed at this point. Normally, I wouldn't mind AS much, except my small group is going hiking/climbing tomorrow... or correction - today. I have to be awake in three hours in order to make it to church by 8:00am. I just wish my body would work with me here. I've been getting up fairly early to try to impede the progressively later and later nights. I've stopped drinking a lot of caffine, and I exercise during the day. I just don't understand.

inside the matrix?

Josh Wilhoit... Then - actor/singer/musician. Now - Agent Smith.

This kind of thing almost makes you wonder if we really are inside the matrix or not. And if Josh actually is an agent or not. Could that explain some things?

video

I found this link on Dave Barry's blog... check it out, it's a japanese commercial.

I sure would love to know what they're advertising... any guesses?