It all started around the beginning of December. My son got a temperature out of the blue. We tag-teamed it with Motrin and Tylenol, got the fever down and in a day or two he was feeling better. This happened a couple more times, then the Daycare called my wife at noon one day and said Zach had been screaming all day that he hurt. She picked him up and took him to the Doctor who said it was an ear infection / sinus infection and prescribed antibiotics. He develops a cough, but for the most part is in good shape. The next weekend he again gets the mystery temperature. We use the meds, bring down his temp again, but this time he develops a real bad cough. Again, its a Saturday, so all the doctors offices are closed. We get some cough suppressant and take him back to the Doctors.

Meanwhile, Sunday of that week, my wife (pregnant with twins) starts to cough. Nothing real bad, but since she's pregnant, she's having a hard time breathing. Monday, we take her to the Doctor. They check her out and give her a weenie medicine (again, because she's pregnant) to try to knock it out. Zach's cough is worse, and he's coughing enough to throw up on occasion. My wife's in misery and can't get comfortable, or stop coughing at all. I'm getting a relapse of bronchitis to top it off, but at least I don't have a temperature.

We go through the week. My wife gets progressively worse. She peaks at times where she's okay, then drops back down to fevers and feeling like shit. Being pregnant, we have to keep her temperature much lower. 100.4 is about all the twins can stand. We're doing pretty good. Saturday, my wife wakes up with pinkeye. Go to the emergency clinic on December 23. Three hour wait. So we wait and she gets goop to put in her eye. She now has: bronchitis, pink eye and occasional flu-symptoms.

We manage to get Christmas together (barely). Kim's hacking up a lung, and I sleep on the couch Christmas night (my mother-in-law stole my bed in the guest bedroom). Zach says something about itching, but we didn't pay much attention to it as he has eczema on his arms sometime. Christmas comes and passes. My mother-in-law has diarrhea so bad Christmas day that she CLOGS MY FUCKING TOILET and has to stay another night :mad:

Next day, mother-in-law goes home. Zach complains that he itches. I pull off his shirt. He has a rash over 80% of his body. My wife freaks out thinking its Chicken Pox. I remind her that's not what it looks like, and call the Pediatrician. The nurse says they're closing for the day, but gives me advice to give him some Benadryl and Motrin to keep his temperatures down (which has gone back up again). Splotches get worse, we call back in the morning, and take Zach in. Turns out some kids get freaking HIVES when the get certain Virii. That's right, my kid, for all intents and purposes, is allergic to being sick. I'm supposed to give him a 2x dose of Benadryl 3 times a day for until it clears up. That "until" could be months according to the doctor.

When we're at the Pediatrician, I notice that I'm not feeling so hot. We're close to our general practitioner, so Kim drives me over there, and I try to get an appointment. Their EARLIEST appointment was today at 1:15. I take it and we head home. Grab McDonalds and I feel like absolute shit. Eat and climb into bed. I shit you not, I thought I was gonna die. My head was splitting and I couldn't get comfortable. Temperature was as high as 103. Took DayQuil all day (remember, we're all sick here), at night, I finally said fuckit and took 800mg of Advil to get rid of my headache. Within an hour, my fever broke and I felt immediately better. Ate two cups of soup, and helped take care of the boy for the night shift.

This morning, I get up, feel a lot better, but Kim's sick again. I head out to the doc's at 12:30 (its across town, but I like to be early - I just made it on time, but that's another story). Get in, they take my information and I wait for the Doctor to show up. Generally, I LIKE Dr. Neal. He's very to the point and USUALLY listens. I told him that I had bronchitis and the flu. He asked me to describe the symptoms. I do and he tells me that the 'flu' is symptoms of the bronchitis. He gives me a prescription for an inhaler and antibiotics. I know that the antibiotics probably won't do much, but take them anyway.

Get home, my wife's got diarrhea. Just. Like. Her. Mom. Fucking great. Her temp's up again and she now has 4 count them F O U R diseases and being pregnant, can't take shit. It was as high as 101, but I gave her tylenol and a luke-warm shower and got it back to about 99. I feel like crap, and what do you know - I have it too. So does the boy.

Fuck this.

d

I had managed to keep the disease at bay for two weeks, but alas, I too am now ill with flu-like symptoms.

What's worse is my son has HIVES from the virus that struck him down.

God this sucks. Off to get more NyQuil.

I went and grabbed my glasses today. I'm now officially part of the vision-enabled. The frames I decided upon are actually very nice, Oakley Jackknife. The lenses however... Let me start by saying I'm light sensitive. Blue eyes, worked nights for years, yeah - me and Mr. Sun aren't exactly best friends. So the doctor talks me into getting a 10% tint in the lenses (along with a few other goodies like anti-reflective and scratch resistance). I look like a complete and total dork because of the damned tint. Its a shame too, because its actually the perfect amount of tint for me. I feel less like I'm being bombarded by the rays of light coming out of everything right now.

Ah well, perhaps this time next year, I'll get a new set of lenses and drop the tint. I got the cheap lenses (plastic) and the Doc said to wear my real sunglasses outside anyway.

My uncle didn't make it out to my house this year (he's fighting the same bug as everyone else). With everyone sick (and my son now has a 101 fever... again), it was different. It was shorter than normal as everyone was not quite 100%. We all had fun, took a lot of turns playing Wii. Many games of bowling were played.

Speaking of the Wii, I got 5 games to play over the next few months:
- Excite Truck
- Super Monkey Ball
- GT Pro Series (w/ Steering wheel thingie)
- Rayman Raving Rabbids
- Need for Speed Carbon

Got a few Alton Brown things (I'm currently wearing my "Science: Its what's for dinner" T-shirt). Got a few small things from my parents (they bought us tires for the Magnum last month for "X-mas"). My wife was surprised by the diamond earrings I bought her. My son seems to enjoy the Thomas trains he got as well as the tool set.

The entire family's been sick for a few weeks now. It started with my son getting moderate to high temperatures (101.9 range) and a hacking cough. We treated him with the Motrin / Tylenol 1-2 punch and got the fever down, but it kept coming back. Doctor prescribed an antibiotic amoxicillin to help fight his congestion, but my wife, in caring for him, caught it. Being pregnant, she can't take anywhere near the amount of medications that the rest of us can, so she's stuck with this low dosage antibiotic. Thankfully, she took the week off from work, unfortunately, the cough has turned into bronchitis. To add to it, this morning, she woke up at 4AM with her eye glued shut. Pink eye. Great. Merry F*cking Christmas.

On the other news front, we got another sonogram yesterday. Both were about the same size, and had 'estimated due dates' (due to sizes etc) within 2 days of their previously planned due date (March 21). We expect they'll go earlier due to overcrowding, but they're the size of normal singletons of their age, which is awesome.

As some of you may remember, when we had the initial sonogram, baby A wasn't cooperating with sex determination. This time we got a good look, and its going to be two more boys! We're thinking of Alexander (Xander) and Xavier for their names right now. Our eldest is Zachary, so there's a bit of onomatopoeia going. Middle names are being discussed, but my wife wants to do William and George (honoring two of our grandfathers). My son's middle name is my father's first name, so there's a reason behind that as well.

Nintendo has a form available for Wii owners to get replacement straps for their Wiimote controllers. You need the serial number from your Wii system to fill out the form. Nintendo says they'll begin shipping on December 21.

1. If you had to live in a different state than the one you live in what would it be?
Florida

2. If you were on a plane that crashed, would you rather be stranded on an island or a desert?
Island

3. What "catches your eye" first in the opposite sex?
bOObies

4. How much do you think a guy should spend on an engagement ring?
As little as he can get away with :)

5. How old do you want to be when you retire?
55

7. Would you rather be the smartest person in the world or the most attractive person in the world?
Smartest. You can fix looks with plastic surgery after you make all the money from being smart.

8. Do you think tattoos are hot?
They can be.

9. What was your first pet?
Cat.

10. Where did you go on your first Spring Break?
I never went on spring break.

11. Are you scared of spiders or snakes?
I have some weird allergy to some spiders, so I steer clear of them. I'm not super afraid of either.

12. What was your first job?
Grocery Bagger

13. What is in your front, right pocket?
Car keys.

14. Do you put up a real Christmas tree each year?
Artifical pre-lit FTW.

15. How many blankets are on your bed?
One comforter.

16. Do you have a TV in your bedroom?
Yes

17. When was the last time you received a card in the mail?
A couple days ago we recieved an xmas card from some family members.

19. Who was the last person that text-messaged you?
Nagios Alert System (system down)

20. Who was the first person you saw today?
My wife.

21. Do you have any awards hanging on your wall?
No, I have them in my closet right now.

22. Do you own glasses?
Not yet, I go to the eye doctor Tuesday.

23. When is the last time you shaved something on your body?
Couple days ago

25. What was your first vehicle?
86 Dodge Aries K station Wagon (my mom's). My first car that was 'mine' was an 87 Z-24 Cavalier.

26. Do you miss high school?
Nope, just some of the people.

27. Are you more of a neat or messy person?
I'm a slob.

28. Do you think that everyone should have a cell phone?
Yep

29. Do you remember your first family vacation?
Disneyworld was the first 'biggie' but my family always went to Chicoteague every Easter and Thanksgiving.

30. Ever been in a fight with a best friend?
No

31. Ever puked in public?
No

32. Would you prefer dinner and a movie or bowling and ice cream?
Bowling & ice cream.

33. Do you sleep with your door open or closed at night?
Open so the cats and child can roam.

34. How far do you live from work?
61 Miles

35. Do you believe in afterlife?
No

36. How many credit cards do you own?
Two

37. Would you move to another country tomorrow, if you were offered a $100,000 job?
Depends on the country. I make nearly that here now.

38. How many kids do you see yourself having?
I have one and two on the way. I can't see us having more after these.

39. Were you a trouble child?
No

40. Do you like butterflies?
Uh... No. They're a bitch to get off the windshield when they go splat.

41. Can you shake your booty?
No. Alas, I'm white.

42. Do you shower at night or in the morning?
Morning.

43. Where is your favorite place to eat?
At home.

44. What did you wear to bed last night?
Underwear

45. Do you have to sleep with something "ON" every night in order to sleep?
Yeah, I guess.

46. On average, how much TV do you watch a day?
About 2

47. Do you have any piercings?
One 12 ga in each ear.

48. Would you rather go snorkeling in the Caribbean or hiking on the Appalachian Trail?
Snorkeling. I'd rather dive though (I'm even certified by PADI).

49. Have you ever taken karate lessons?
I took Kung Fu for a while.

50. Do you think if you got married, you would ever get a divorce?
I am married, and I don't forsee getting divorced.

1. What is your occupation?
Sr. Unix Systems Engineer

2. What color are you socks right now?
White

3. What are you listening to right now?
CPU fans

4. What was the last thing that you ate?
4 sausage links and toast

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
Yep.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Death Black

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My mom

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
I saw it posted a few times, and I generally like those who have posted it (I DO have them friended afterall)

9. How old are you today?
30 years, 2 months shy of 31

10. Favorite drinks?
Snapple Apple, Mt. Dew, Sweet Tea.

11. What is your favorite sport to watch?
WRC

12. Have you ever dyed your hair?
I've got highlights, does that count?

13. Pets?
Two cats. Solaris (overweight Orange Tabby) and Ash (Black Tabby with a nerosis)

14. Favorite food?
Chicken, apples, Indian.

15. What was the last movie you watched?
Watched Van Helsing last night on TNT

16. Favorite holiday?
Fourth of July. All of the family togetherness, with none of the Christmas / Thanksgiving stress.

17. What do you do to vent anger?
I play video games.

18. What were your favorite toys as a kid?
Video games, transformers, Construx.

19. What is your favorite: fall or spring?
Fall. Apples are in season and I LOVE apples.

20. Hugs or kisses?
Yes please.

21. Cherry or blueberry?
Cherry.

22. Do you want your friends to send this back?
friends?

23. Who is the most likely to respond?
blinder

24. Who is least likely to respond?
Cowboy Neal

25. Living arrangements?
3500 sq ft house, 4 bedrooms. Wife, son. Twins expected in February / March.

26. When was the last time you cried?
When I found out about my impending financial ruin (twins).

27. What is on the floor of your closet?
Shoes. Sock baskets. Winter scarves/gloves/hat basket. Clothes I intend to throw away but never get around to.

28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you're sending this to?
blinder

29. What did you do last night?
Played Wii. Bowling and golf mostly.

30. When's the last time you hit a pot hole and fucked up your tire?
Uh, 2004. My Avenger, and the super nice hot white rims I had mounted only a few months before.

My parents were over today to help us move some furniture around in preparation of babies "a" and "b" arriving soon. My son decided to turn on the Wii to show Pop pop and Grammy. At first, my parents were apprehensive about playing, but within an hour, they were both competitively playing the Bowling and Baseball games within Wii Sports. I showed them around the system a bit, but between working, we managed to all play Wii for about three hours apiece. My mom who is a pretty hard person to get to move, was swinging bowling balls for the better part of 5 games, and even managed a few home runs in the home run derby.

If Nintendo is trying to really corner the "but I don't play games market" I think they have a winner on their hands. I passed on Technolust's declaration of the fun of Super Monkey Ball for Wii, and my Dad made me write it down for my Mom. They state they don't want one of their own, but hinted that the fourth controller may be purchased for the Wii to make it a complete set, so more people could play together at the same time.

About a year ago, I had created my first account on the virtual plane and found it lacking. The world was mostly centered around furries and erotica. A place where everything you wished, you could make real. After about three days of jaunting around, I grew bored of the place and killed the account.

Recently, Sun Microsystems had a virtual conference on the virtual world of Second Life. I decided with large companies putting some of their resources into this world, it was worth a second look. I created a new login, and played around with it, going first to Sun's Pavilion. The area was nicer than what I had remembered of Second Life in my previous trip, but it was completely deserted. I decided to head back to the starting areas and try to get a feel for the world again renewed.

Its still as glitchy as I remembered. Erotica is prevalent in most of the world and the social interactions are severely limited by either your skill as a coder / modeler or the amount of money you are willing to invest into their economy. I'm getting the hang of creating simple things using the pre-rendered 'prims' but they're still largely lacking in intuitive nature or a backend coding architecture to do what I really want. If I did come up with something new and interesting, I'm not sure where to even begin turning that into a revenue stream, short of buying land and creating a virtual storefront.

Any other JE-circle members into Second Life? Am I missing something here?

Clicky

Brilliant in the fact that most of pop music is so useless that a very simple chord progression used in an 80's song will accommodate tens of songs from the 60's to songs a few months old.

redacted

Friday afternoon, decided on the minivan I was gonna take home finally, called the dealer had him get it in stock. Couldn't sleep Friday night in anticipation. Played PS2 until like 1:30 AM just trying to fall asleep. Got up at 7, went to the dealer. He lowballed me on my old car, and wasn't moving much on the bottom line (I'd already dropped him $2500 on a previous trip). Got him down to $17k out of pocket took the car home. My second mortgage is now nearly maxed out.

Mother in law came over to bake pies. Always stressful. I played PS2 the entire time.

Stayed up until midnight to pick up my Wii. Went to the EB at 11:15. Got to play with the Wii until midnite, when they called out our names one at a time. I was out of there by about 12:35, played Wii until 2:30.

Got up yesterday, played some Wiisports with wife and son. My wife goes upstairs to take her shower finds our oldest cat acting weird. I call the Vet Emergency number wait for call back. Crate the cat in case its contagious. Vet never calls back, call answering service AGAIN they had the wrong number. Vet calls back and tells us to go to Pet ER 30 mins away (which the answering service FORGOT TO MENTION). Drive there at 7PM, Doctor tells us it could be due to a parasite - the same one that pregnant women aren't supposed to be near because it can cause issues in unborn babies (my wife's pregnant with twins).

The cat was rebounding on the IV's and other treatments, but they want to keep her overnight. We agree on a treatment to the tune of $750. The cat was supposed to be picked up this morning at 7, so my wife makes arrangements to have her classes covered at work. The vet calls us at 9 to say she's looking good, and they'll keep us updated. We get another call at 10:30 to say she's stopped breathing, and is brain dead. Apparently her system just crashed. We told them to put her down at that time. My wife cried for thirty minutes or so. Its hard because she was our first pet together. She was 9 years old, but its still hard, especially since we lost another one last year to kidney failure.

So I get to bury a cat today. Thanksgiving is Thursday, we go on a three day vacation to Chintoteague, Va after Thanksgiving (family thing we've done forever), Christmas and all my family's birthdays are coming up and my wife's gonna give birth to twins soon. I'm going to be absolutely financially strapped, being house poor and I'm really starting to stress out just a little bit.

I voted this morning.

The computers used to check everyone in seem to be working as planned. I was disturbed that the woman kept feeding me information rather than asking for it. No id's were checked, but in Maryland that'd hurt the ruling party, so its kept from becoming law.

I was surprised how close the political signs were to the entrance to the polling place. Its like the ruling factions had a war of "who can get the closest" to the door. I was surprised that there was little signage for Ben Cardin compared to Michael Steele.

I arrived at approximately 9:30am. I was the youngest voter there by a good 40 years. The polling location had eight judges. Four were manning the 'check in' table with the newfangled computers, the other four were manning the actual election boxes. Five of the judges I would suspect were retired, one of the remaining three was a well dressed woman in her fifties, the other two were a young Caucasian man about my age (thirty) in a tie, and an African American woman in a sweat suit who also appeared around my age. Two of the judges were helping one gentleman, while another was helping another elderly gentleman. The third was on his smoke break. Of the seven available polling computers, four were in use due to the judges needing to help the people already voting. The judge on break came back in and we were moved through the line more briskly. I was the first one not in that group, so I got to wait and watch the people vote.

Now, an observation. I fully support everyone's right to vote. I am concerned about the elderly's ability to use the computer systems. Most of the folks had brought their sample ballots with them and were examining them repeatedly, so they knew who they were voting for. Everyone was taking ten or more minutes to vote. I was getting concerned that there were problems with the machines, which had been anticipated in Maryland. When my turn came up, I was logged in (the election judge took my card and placed it into the machine). One odd thing was the election judge sat there and watched me for a minute. I finally asked her if there was anything else she needed to do for me to start, she said she just wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing by watching me vote. I told her politely that I'd call her if I had any problems. I was done in under 3 minutes. I verified the screen agreed with my intentions, and clicked on the "Commit Vote" button.

Other observations. The voting machine had ports that were obvious and exposed. One of them was a serial port, the other appeared to be USB, and another RJ-45 jack (possibly ethernet or serial). It was tempting to plug in my USB drive to see if it'd do anything, but I really didn't want any trouble for 'hacking' into a Diebold box.

Listening to the radio on my way into work, I've been hearing about irregularities, such as people receiving their absentee ballots last night and other people being able to vote twice. I'm curious to see how much of a mess the vote counting will actually be here.

How'd it go for the rest of the crew, especially those of you in Maryland?