I know this has been around for awhile, but if you haven't see in it yet, you gotta check it out.  It original aired on Saturday Night Live.  (link is below)

"Lazy Sunday"

Although it has been five or six years since the original occurrence, I dislocated my kneecap again.  I haven't had a single issue with my knee since the original time it happened.  I ran on my own getting ready for qualifications for my job.  I ran in the academy...a lot.  Last night I was carrying out the garbage and suddenly my knee gave out from under me.  Like the first time, it popped back into place after a short while.  Now it's a bit swollen.  Luckily I still have the knee brace from way back when.  Unfortunately, I'm about to go to one of my extra jobs.  I'm going to start making some calls in a couple of hours and see if someone can come out and take some of my time.  If I do have to stay, at least it's a sitting down job.  And...I'll holler at you later.

Christmas was a busy day.  I was working for the duration.  I only made it to the in-laws to eat Christmas dinner during my true lunch break.  Otherwise Christmas as good though.  I worked New Years Day also, which was another busy day.  But I did get to eat my traditional black-eyed peas and cabbage that day.

Based on the schedule I got this year (Weds, Thurs, Fri off) and the days that the major holidays fall on, this year I will have Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day off.  So I will enjoy it while I have it.  Having said that, I have awhile to worry about that anyway.

My favorite gift we bought for someone else: is the hot dog toaster.  I want one.  We got this for my brother-in-law.  I don't think he's tested it yet. 

Although I love my new XBox 360, and I play it almost daily, one of my favorite gifts this Christmas is the blue hoodie Jana bought me.  It's gotten some use with the cold weather.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope all you Xangans have a wonderful Christmas.  I'm looking forward to opening gifts tomorrow.  But, even more so, I look forward to watching other folks open gifts Jana and I bought for them. 

So, once again, Merry Christmas!

P.S.: Is is wrong to write a Christmas message in a Diablo font?  Because if doing so is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

I know, I know...I haven't been around quite as much as usual.  That reason is twofold. 

1. I'm working a lot.  I work about 18 hours of off-duty jobs a week on top of my regular 40 hours.  I'm working some extra for the holidays. 
2. Two: X-Box 360.  I love Mass Effect.  That game is phenomenal.  I have never played a game quite like it.  If you have a 360, go get that game immediately.  Wait...Make sure you aren't getting it for Christmas first.  If you like in-depth worlds, you'll be blown away in a major way.  I estimate I've played about 20 hrs on the game since I bought it Friday.  And that is actually excluding the playing around time on Friday night.

So, I apologize.  And I miss you all.  I will try and come around a little more often.  Also, Merry Christmas.  I can't believe we are one week away from the big day.  I love Christmas, but I will be working.  I will be trying to spend as much time as possible at my in-laws house though.

I am sorry I haven't been posting lately.  I have been working a lot of off-duty security on my off time.  I haven't had much time and when I do I just come and look at what everyone else has posted and otherwise do a hit-and-run attack on the internet. 

The cool news, at least for me, is that I have my X-Box 360 being held for a Friday purchase along with a copy of Mass Effect.  I'm super excited.  I can't buy any other games until after Christmas though, in case I get one as a gift.  I have a lot of stuff on my wish list, so I may or may not get a game.  But I don't want to piss anyone off and buy one and mess up a gift.  Either way, Mass Effect will probably keep me busy for awhile.  Like I said, I'm excited.

Anyway, be back soon.

I'm probably the last person to find this, but it made me laugh my ass off.  Basically this is the soundtrack from the trailer to House of 1,000 Corpses.  Only they used some different video.  Check it out for yourself.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I've decided to hold off on the car stereo indefinitely.  Why?  Because I want an XBox 360 much more than the tunes in the car.  What changed my mind?  Well, there is usually one thing that makes up my mind about upgrading my computer, or building a new one, or getting a new console.  I bought my first Playstation because of Resident Evil 2.  I got a new computer, and a big debt to Gateway for a long time, because of Half-Life and Aliens vs. Predators.  What game is turning me to the XBox 360?  That game would be Mass Effect.  This game blows my mind.  It looks amazing.  I just can't describe how cool it is.  You just gotta go to the link and see for yourself.  On top of that, the XBox has really pulled ahead of the PS3, in my opinion.  They have a better line-up of games than the other console.  I'm going to get the middle system (not the arcade and not the elite).  I can't see anything better about the elite except that it comes with the HDMI cable and it has a bigger hard drive, which I probably won't use anyway (and if I need it, I can upgrade the existing hard drive).  Anyway, I'm just excited.  Had to share.  I know it's not all that exciting to everyone else.

P.S.: Of course, this is with the permission of the wife.  In fact, this is her big present to me for Christmas.

5201 SONGS, 14.2 DAYS, 18.57 GB

I finally finished getting all of our CDs imported to iTunes.  Well, every CD that could ID the songs.  A couple just wouldn't even show up on iTunes at all.  After a full week of doing almost nothing (during my free time) but importing CDs I finally finished with the final numbers in the title of this post.  Now I really need to get an external drive in case my computer has problems so we don't lose all of that.  That and every time we buy a new CD the first thing we will do is rip it to the computer.  On the other hand, I had just assumed I would need to buy the 160 GB iPod.  Now I know that the 80 GB will be more than enough.  I don't forsee quadrupling our music collection anytime soon.  My old first generation iPod is a 20 GB and it barely holds the whole collection.

I worked an extra job last night at the local Knights of Columbus Hall for a sweet 16 party.  They did a good job with it.  It was nothing like those MTV sweet 16 parties.  But they probably spent some money, at least for being average folks.  I expect to be busy with the extra jobs for the holidays.  I work my normal 10 hours at a local corporate office every Friday.  Plus this coming Thursday I work an extra five hours.  And starting the last week of November through the rest of the year I will be working seven hours every Saturday at an electronics store.  They do security every holiday season.

Speaking of extra jobs and extra money, I just signed on for that LifeLock service last night.  They arrange for all the major credit bureaus to contact you anytime there is an attempt to get credit in your name.  They also get your credit report from all three places once per year.  And they take you off all the lists for preapproved credit and take you off junkmail lists.  Also, if they should fail to alert you to someone trying to steal your identity, they will pay for the attorneys and other specialists needed, up to $1,000,000.  It sounds good, in theory.  So I signed us up.  It costs $10 per month per adult on the plan.  And $25 per year per child you put on it.  They say that children often have IDs stolen because they have social security numbers and no one really watches their credit history, since they aren't expected to have one.

Otherwise, there isn't much going on.  I go back to work tomorrow.  I was in a school all of last week, so I haven't been doing the normal work thing since the Thursday before last.

P.S.: Check out this amazing piece of technology.  The helmet below will be connected to cameras placed on the outside skin of the new Joint Strike Fighter.  Those camera will transmit images to the visor of this helmet, allowing the pilot to essentially look through the aircraft.  Very cool!