Karma

This last Sunday Karma smacked me in the butt. I was behind eight cars coming up to a section road where two lanes becomes one lane and passing becomes next to impossible. Knowing that I have 50 miles of this one lane road ahead I found my chance and took it. I was gaining speed as fast as my little jetta could. I finally got up to about 75 in a 45 and road was narrowing. I started nudging over and made a fellow driver slow to let me in. Essentially I cut him off. I had made it by 7 of the 8 cars. I think to myself: "I am sure that I will find a way to get around just one car." But it turns out that the set of eight cars were all together and the youngest of the group was the one in the front, little did I know this at that point in time. This realization started to mount when I had to slow way down to keep from hitting him . He was going 22 mph. We stayed at this speed while cars were flying by in the other direction. As soon as the road cleared I was off to pass him. I got right beside him and he burned me. He took off like I was going backwards. This is all due to the young driver manning the brand new WRX. Yes it is as fast as they say. I thought that if I were persistent I would go faster than he would want to go and I would be able to pass. So I continued to speed up trying to pass, I am still in the wrong lane. I started to get a little closer to being able to pass and he left me in the dust again. Cars started coming again and glancing at my speedometer showed me I was way over anything reasonable. 95mph on a country road could really get the police excited, not to mention New York's roads not being able to handle that kind of speed. I relinquished my chase and sat back. He slowed way down again and continued to play with me for the next 45 miles of back country roads. Throughout this trip all seven other cars stayed behind us, not so weird but I started thinking that this guys reaction to my passing was repayment for cutting off his followers. We finally got to an intersection where he took a turn and all seven others followed him. This is when it had all become clear; Karma is a bitch, but a good teacher.

Back again.

Things are really moving right now. The research is pounding at my door while I am working on many other projects. Nothing at home is getting done, but I will be using this weekend to try and complete my planting of many gorgeous trees and shrubs. Kerry has been bringing home perfect specimen's of the most wonderful of natures beauty. Within the next couple years this yard will be unrecognizable. Thank goodness for that.

I have turned down my trip to Spain for the biggest ASLO meeting yet due to being so overworked. I need to get some things done and get moving on with my life. This will not be achievable if I don't lock in and get my writing done. I will just have to talk at the next big ASLO meeting.

Vitaglo Warehouse!

I met some great people today while making a visit to the Discount Natural Foods warehouse. I usually stop to grab some supplements, protein shakes, and to chat with the owner about anything and everything. He has a wealth of knowledge in a wide range and he knows everyone. He treats he customers like friends and supplies them with good products and information. While hanging out this afternoon I met some nice ladies who are involved in another business here in the grand area of Syracuse, the Paparazzi Day Spa. They have started up a Pilates Studio there and I am told getting into a class is very difficult. I have not been there but I am going to make a visit real soon.

live well!

I have been slowly coming to realize (by that method of building incidents) that long healthy lives are most prominently gained by living happy. Stay in the gym, don’t work too hard at things you don’t really care about, eat healthy, and keep your mind alive. Best axiom I keep at the foreground of my mind is “If you don’t use it you lose it”. Very basic, very true.

Flash actionscript coding!

I have been searching all over the place for a good flash effect. I really like the random generation effects I have seen in the past but as of now I can't find any good ones. If someone has a favorite they would like to see published or have seen a really good one, please send me an email and tell me about it. george@lunamuse.com . I am begging to hear about some cool new things.

Endings are so sweet!

The semester has come to an end and now I can start to try and live a life. But first I must write my thesis and defend. This is not going to occur until the beginning of next semester. Summer of writing hell here I come! I guess that we all have to put in our time to gain those cherished prestige papers that say we can perform a job. I am ready. Hit me!

Great flowers for those you love!

Damn, I know how cheesy that sounds and I hate advertising, but I have found a wonderful place for sending flowers of the highest quality. My better half found a web page called Organic bouquet. I thought that it would be a nice thing to send my Mom some organic flowers for Mothers day, so I did. She called the morning they got there (perfectly on time) and rant and raved about the quality and beauty of these unique specimens. She was completely amazed. So for anyone out there looking for something extremely nice for your most prized individuals I highly suggest you check out OrganicBouquet.com. Sorry for the sales pitch but the word has got to get out about a find like this.

cruel Déjà Vu!

Sometimes I have to wonder if I have lived this exact same life many times before. I know that my memory is not quite what it used to be (it is not really bad) but when it really counts I can pull pretty much anything out of my rear. It seems as though the points at which I would start to feel apathetic towards myself and start some downward spiral, I am able to redeem myself. I by no means am saying that I am better than others; I am just saying that I feel that I have had many tries at this life and I am programmed to remember when it is most needed. I just wish my brain would function better on a routine basis.

Jetta Brakes Twist?

So I am feeling like a total dumb guy right about now! I have seriously soaked up some valuable time, energy and money trying to fix my brakes. Let me fill you in....

Kerry brought my car back to me yesterday after running some small errands. She was in as much of a panic as Kerry gets. You would have to understand that panic is not really something that Kerry does so excited might be a better word. Well she excitedly told me about this horrendous noise that she was hearing from my car. She said that she was coming to a stop with all of the windows closed and no building near by for echoing, and it sounded so much like a plane landing next to her that she had to find out what it was. She shows me her hands tucked in real close to her body and neck craned looking at the ceiling. "This is me looking for the plane". When there was not a plane she opened the windows and cringed at the horrible sound coming from my poor Chloe. Of coarse I did not believe her and I inflicted the same pain upon myself on the way home.

So I jacked the car up and removed the wheel to reveal that the brake pads were quickly grinding the brake rotor away. I began work immediately to replace these guys. I was totally amazed at how easy everything was coming apart and how easy it was all going to go back together. I quickly got to the reassembly where you easily compress the brake cylinder (to gain more room for the new brake pads). To do this, I put a C clamp on the caliper like I have been doing for years and I cranked down on it. The cylinder was not moving. So what do you do to something that does not move under force, APPLY MORE. Ya, that didn't work, I actually broke the C clamp. I didn't think that was possible. Of course I deduce that I have a ceased brake caliper. This did not seem right due to the fact that I had Kerry press on the brake and it comes out just fine. What the hell is going on?

Well after giving up on the car and almost getting to the point of sending the thing to the dealer for repair (I hate doing that), I decided to do what I tell everyone else to do when they ask me a question. Google it! Ya I found a little tidbit that filled me in on the fact that Volkswagen has taken to making their rear brake calipers the screw release type. I have also become aware that many cars are using this method.

The lesson of today is no matter how much you think you know about cars there will always be something that is different between one car and another, not to forget that there will always be a difference in what you are working on from one year of the same car to the next. BUY THE BOOK AND GOOGLE EVERYTHING!

MS Walk!

So my amazing family came together and went on a Multiple Sclerosis Walk-a-thon with me this last Saturday. Ya they all put aside their own projects and fun stuff to raise some money for MS and walk three miles on a cold rainy day. You are all great people for that. Everyone involved selflessly arranged their schedules and traveled to the forgotten city of Binghamton to do this fundraising walk. Thank you All.