My little Angel.

Here is my cute girl in her Christening dress. This is her everyday smile, tongue and all. I love it.

Hackers 1, Chad 0 and Christmas Memories

Despite my best efforts at keeping my computer free from the various social diseases, it fell prey to an annoying little virus in the last two weeks. I'm not sure of the origin of my problems, but I think it started with an upgrade to Internet Explorer 7.

My internet security software had picked up on the virus, but was pretty unsuccessful at actually fully removing the plague. So I dealt with the annoyance for a few days while I confirmed everything of importance was backed-up.

This morning, I intentionally wiped the computer and started over. I loaded up the operating system, the drivers, the software and then reloaded my iTunes. Everything is pretty much back to normal.

Izzy had her first picture with Santa today. She took it pretty well. She didn't cry or fuss when Santa held her. In fact, he complimented her on being a pretty good baby.

Cold weather and planning ahead.

Winter has finally arrived, at lest until Wednesday. I much prefer the cold to the oppressive heat of summers in Texas. If not for the heat, summers would be wonderful. I like the cold better because you just have to bundle up a little more for comfort. With the heat, you can only take off so many layers of clothing before modesty kicks in. No one gets embarassed about having too many layers.

Having moved over the summer, Ash and I had packed away all of our cold weather clothes. We stuffed everything rather haphazardly into four giant plastic bins. These were stored, along with the rest of our collected crap, in a rental storage space. So when the weather started to turn, I dutifully collected the bins for the cold weather / warm weather swap.

Funny thing happened. I couldn't find my cold weather shell jacket. It's my favorite coat. Ash and Liz bought it for me last year. I wear it most days when it's chilly enough for a jacket. When it gets really cold, I add a few layers underneath and keep on moving. So, I was pretty upset when it didn't turn up. After a little searching and some questioning, my father-in-law mentioned a box up in the attic. While he was helping us move, he packed up my closet into several boxes that found their way into the attic, rather than storage. So a short climb into the attic, a few slices with my trusty knife and I had my jacket in hand. Problem solved. So now I'm prepared to face the bitter cold or the mildly cool.

This next semester I have a workout partner at school. A guy named Cody, who's in several of my classes, mentioned that he needed to get back into the gym after a shoulder injury. So after talking about our plans for the next semester, we decided to pair up for our workouts. It's so much easier to stay dedicated to whatever program if you have some support. I don't just mean workouts. Everything is easier with a friend. I always feel pressure to keep working at it, because I see them working at it. I don't want to be the one that drags that person down. It could be that he feels the same way. Who knows?

So I started checking out the rec center on campus. I pay for it, so why not use it? They have some pretty cool equipment. In fact, it's about five times better than the gym I pay to attend. The University gym costs me about $75 a semester or roughly $200 a year. Through in an extra $40 for a locker and towel service each semester and the total is still under $300 a year. The gym I belong to charges me $50 a month. Lockers are available, but longterm rentals are about $10 a month. Towel service is the same. So for a year of the same features (gym, towel and locker) I'll spend about $840. The savings at the University are at least $540 a year! The University also has cheaper personal trainer services. For under $150, I can get 16 30-minute sessions with a personal trainer. My gym would charge me $300 for 3 30-minute sessions. That's also a no-brainer. I'm looking forward to using the rec center to it's maximum. They have tons of equipment, swimming pools, rock climbing walls, and tons of fitness classes.

I'm thinking of taking a yoga class next semester. It's part of my workout program. I have one routine for cardio-vascular conditioning, one routine for strength training and I am lacking a program for flexibility. Flexibility is really crucial for avoiding injuries. I think I'd enjoy yoga. Just don't expect me to get into the meditative or spiritual aspect of the practice.

I'm a worthless git.

So I've been ignoring this site for several days. One would think I could find the time to write something, if only to forestall the inactivity. Obviously not.

I'm going to retool my site. I'll move my blog about me and my wacky family back to blogspot. You'll probably find it at http://temperamentalblender.blogger.com in the near future.

Temperamental Blender will undergo a remake. I'm going to do something worthwhile with my site. I'm studying geography at the university right now. My interest is centered around Geographic Information Systems or GIS. I am starting to branch out into the environmental sciences that are associated with geography. This last semester I took a class on conservation and resource management. The class definitely left it's mark on me. I'm not about to become the militant environmentalist, but there are tons of things I can do to make a positive impact. Some are extremely simple.

So my new site, which will still be called Temperamental Blender, will focus on the myriad of little things that make big differences.

Funny how time flies.

I haven't written anything here in several weeks. I've posted a few pics and some videos, but nothing substantial. Don't count on that changing anytime soon. In the next three weeks, I have finals. Once I'm done with finals, I have to start studying for a promotional exam at work. The test is on January 31st.

The Spring semester starts on January 14th. I've got 19 hours this next semester. My class-load shouldn't be too difficult. I have a directed studies course with my adviser. The rest of the classes will be time consuming, but not overly difficult.

So basically, I should have some free time later next year. I'll post before then.

Izzy being funny.

You must provide me with one, uh, no, TWO ponies!

Pictures of Izzy

Here's some new pictures of Izzy. She's showing off her smile. Enjoy.

Latest Izzy Video

I haven't posted much in the last few days. Sorry, work has been a bear. However, I do have a video of Izzy that I took a few days ago that will have to tide you over until I can do something else.