Wally = Tim?

Some High School Photos

Click on the pictures to see a larger view of them





Can everybody spot the relatives? FYI: one of them has the name of Drake.

I found the two pictures after reviewing the post "Googling" from the original Everett Family Blog at the Hartford High School Class Composites page. The two relatives were graduates in '54 and '55.

More Progress on the original Everett Family Blog

The bulk of the site is back up and functioning. I have disabled comments for the original Everett Family Blog.

If you really really want to leave a comment on that site, drop me an email at teverett96@yahoo.com and depending on my mood, I should be able to help.

btw: the piece of the site that I am still actively working on is getting all of the pictures functional again. They were "hardcoded" to the original address, therefore I need to find a quick and dirty way to change them all. Either that I will be manually editing every post on the site.

Update:The picture issue has been resolved. There is some "goofiness" with some of the pictures (not displaying correctly), but that will need to be troubleshoot another day. I deem the original Everett Family Blog as fully functional.

The Office vs The Office

My preference is the U.S version of the Office (with Steve Carell) vs the original BBC version of the Office (with Martin Freeman).

Though the comparison might not be well thought out considering the only time I watched the BBC version of the show was last night at 4 am.

The BBC version last night has been re-written and filmed as the pilot for the NBC version so it would have been a great show for comparison if I wasn't half asleep.

The other thing I recognized at 4 am is that I can hear a train somewhere in San Jose.

I did really enjoy Martin Freeman in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.



The above picture is from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but does not have Martin Freeman in it. I find Zooey Deschanel as Trillian to be a better choice of a picture.

Music That Makes Me Happy

Hotel California (Spanish Mix) by the Gipsy Kings

Painting of House

The work will start either next Monday (9/4) or Tuesday (9/5).

Patience vs. School Starting

Did school start today in the Bay Area of California or am I just losing my ability to be patient?

I found myself during the commute today driving with aggression that I just haven't done in a while.

I had to "work" my way thru a herd of slow moving vehicles this morning. All four lanes of Capital Expressway clogged up with cars that was simply slow moving, touching their brakes, slowing down prior to an intersection even though the light was green, etc...

Same sort of behavior coming home.

Is there a different set of folks that all of sudden start driving when school starts?

Is it due to there being more cars on the road that causes people still slow down significantly?

I can understand being more careful, but there is no need to have 3 to 4 car lengths in front of you and anticipating the light possibly changing. Rant over, though it is fun to drive the Civic with its manual transmission on a day like today. Makes me feel like Parnelli Jones.

Bed Side

FYI: I have switched which side of the bed I sleep on. Just in case you were going to sneak into my bedroom and scare me.

Why the switch? No real good reason other than to make a change. Moved from bathroom side to the window side.

Quick Update on Former Blog

I am making progress in getting the former "Everett Family Blog" back up and functional. It is important to me to be able to go back and review the things I felt and shared via those earlier postings.

I still find it impressive that I have kept the blog alive for over 3 years.

The old site will be reachable via http://everettblog2.dns2go.com. At the moment, it is simply displaying a default page from the Apache webserver installation.

Duck and Cover (lyrics)

Duck and Cover by Glen Phillips

Someone’s in the backyard banging on the door
Daddy’s gone away, he’s coming back no more
His baby’s curled up on a stranger’s floor
Momma’s thinking family dinners weren’t too much to ask for

Everybody here’s got a story to tell
Everybody’s been through their own hell
There’s nothing too special about getting hurt
But getting over it, that takes the work

One way or the other we’ll all need each other
Nothing’s gonna turn out the way you thought it would
Friends and lovers, don’t you duck and cover
Cause everything comes out the way it should

Blessed are the humble, blessed are the meek
Blessed are the hungry, blessed are the weak
Blessed are the ones on the other side
And blessed are we just for being alive

One day I stopped wanting anything at all
The heavens opened up like a waterfall
No use in worrying about when it ends
Just for now be thankful for what I get

One way or another a man’s gonna suffer
Makes no difference the way you wanted it
But friends and lovers, don’t you duck and cover
Cause everything comes out the way it should in the end

Seems like life is a palindrome
Cry when you die, cry when you’re born
In between it’s all about the ups and downs
Add them all together, they’ll cancel each other out

One way or another, one way or another
You won’t get what you wanted, but you’ll get enough for sure
One way or another, the winter pays for the summer
Won’t get what you wanted, but what you got’ll be good

Someone’s in the backyard banging on the door
Daddy’s gone away, he’s coming back no more
His baby’s curled up on a stranger’s floor
Momma’s thinking happy endings weren’t too much to ask for

New vs Old Computer Comparison

The burning of a "tivo"ed movie to make a DVD

Old Computer: anywhere from 12 to 14 hours. Also brought the computer to its knees so it really wasn't useable for anything else.

New Computer: roughly 1 hour. That also included changing settings to allow for the best quality (thus requiring more time). At the same time, I was listening to Car Talk via KQED.org, reading various blogs, and downloading a file via bittorrent.

Significantly different (and better)

Another Pluto Decision

Via Science Blog: Is Pluto really a dog.

I am glad we finally have an answer.

The Machine is Here

My new computer (XPS 700) has arrived and is functional. Yeah!!

Snow (monkey)

Observation and Car Challenge

The Observation: how come the bottom bed sheet tends to bunch up directly under me? I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, doing a little bed body hop pulling the sheet smooth underneath me.

I can understand the bunching, I can't understand why it is occurring directly underneath me.

Car Challenge: Every so often, my Honda Civic will have odd electrical issues and then "magically" disappear. The oddness reappeared last night with the non functioning of dashboard lights (specifically around the gauges). It is interesting to drive without the benefit of knowing how fast you are going. It is also interesting to see how often I scan the gauges. That becomes very obvious when you can't see them.

Pluto

The planet that is called Pluto is no longer consider a planet.

No word yet on the state of this Pluto, dog or not a dog?

Mind over Matter

"There have always been people who have said that we could make ourselves better by positive thinking,” says Dr. Michael Selzer, professor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine from Placebo's power goes beyond the mind

I have joked many times that I was too orney (stubborn and mean) to get sick. I definitely think that concept does help me to fight off being sick. Not fool proof, I still do get sick, just not that often.

I also believe I can make the conscious decision to be happy. To not allow negative thoughts to rule my life.

Making that conscious decision to be happy has been a challenge for me over the last few months for various of reasons. Some days I am up for the challenge, some days I am not.

It is always helpful for me though to get some confirmation that my "I control my happiness" theory isn't completely a "whacky" idea of mine.

Here is a book that I read years ago that I still have on my dresser in my bedroom: You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles Your Therapist Never Told You

Superman can be a jerk

If you click on the picture, it will get larger so that you can read it.

Elephant Joke

Why do elephants paint their nails red?

Highlight for Answer-->The answer, of course, is that it helps them hide in cherry trees. If you doubt the truth of this, ask yourself when you last spotted an elephant in a cherry tree.

Polar Bear (animal fact)(left hand alert)

I had recently seen a fact that if true would be very cool.

The fact: Polar Bears are left handed

Here are a few links that state that fact:

Skinny lightning bolts, southpaw polar bears, long and short of spiders
The Left-Handed Page > Fun Facts
Did you know?



Here is a site though that I have decided to believe.

Polar Bears International - Bear Facts

It states "Another recurrent myth is that the great white bears are left-pawed. Scientists observing the animals haven't noticed a preference. In fact, polar bears seem to use their right and left paws equally."

Based on my research: I don't believe polar bears are left handed.

Can anybody find more relevant information that either confirms or disproves my belief?

Computer Troubleshooting

Last night I updated my laptop with many Microsoft security updates. Following the required restart, my laptop refused to connect to my wireless network. It kept failing via WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy).

My first immediate thought was a few choice swear words, second thought that followed very quickly was that the updates caused the problems. Since connecting to my wireless network worked just fine prior to the security updates and reboot.

I made sure my Tivo was still able to connect successfully and it was, thus the wireless network was fine. After a few more choice swear words, I decided I had enough "fun" for the night. Turned off the laptop, watched an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and then fell asleep.

Woke up this morning and decided to give it another try. I had decided to try the "let it cool down" theory of computers. Hoping the problem would fix itself over night, surprising enough, that theory does work a fair amount of the time. It didn't this morning.

With a night's worth of sleep and only 10 minutes of thought (and only a couple of choice swear words this time) I had a new theory. The theory was that my laptop was trying to connect to another wireless network. After some poking around on the laptop, I determined how to force my laptop to connect to my home network rather than searching for any wireless network.

Magically, it connected and the world was back to normal, sun shining, birds singing...

True Friend (quote)

"A true friend is someone who thinks you're a good egg even though your slightly cracked!" ~ Source Unknown

Status of New Computer

Based on the Dell site, my new machine is in Testing. I am getting a little excited, but am keeping my emotions in check just in case.

Mr. Profound

The title is a small inside joke between Dani and I...



Among the Multitude - Walt Whitman

Among the men and women the multitude,
I perceive one picking me out by secret and divine signs,
Acknowledging none else, not parent, wife, husband, brother, child,
any nearer than I am,
Some are baffled, but that one is not--that one knows me.

Ah lover and perfect equal,
I meant that you should discover me so by faint indirections,
And I when I meet you mean to discover you by the like in you.

Baldie (monkey)

It's a Dream (lyrics)

It's a Dream - Neil Young

In the morning when I wake up and listen to the sound
Of the birds outside on the roof
I try to ignore what the paper says
And I try not to read all the news
And I'll hold you if you had a bad dream
And I hope it never comes true
'Cause you and I been through so many things together
And the sun starts climbing the roof

It's a dream
Only a dream
And it's fading now
Fading away
It's only a dream
Just a memory without anywhere to stay

The Red River stills flows through my home town
Rollin' and tumblin' on its way
Swirling around the old bridge pylons
Where a boy fishes the morning away
His bicycle leans on an oak tree
While the cars rumble over his head
An aeroplane leaves a trail in an empty blue sky
And the young birds call out to be fed

It's a dream
Only a dream
And it's fading now
Fading away
It's only a dream
Just a memory without anywhere to stay

An old man walks along on the sidewalk
Sunglasses and an old Stetson hat
The four winds blow the back of his overcoat away
As he stops with the policeman to chat
And a train rolls out of the station
That was really somethin' in its day
Picking up speed on the straight prairie rails
As it carries the passengers away

It's gone
Only a dream
And it's fading now
Fading away
Only a dream
Just a memory without anywhere to stay

It's a dream
Only a dream
And it's fading now
Fading away
It's only a dream
Just a memory without anywhere to stay

It's a dream
Only a dream
And it's fading now
Fading away

Elephant (animal fact)

Elephants can't jump



I am aggressively researching another animal fact that if I can get confirmation will be the best animal fact that I could ever imagine!!

The fact would be so great that I might have to put the "Animal Fact" postings out to pasture for an early retirement.

Left Handed Men and Income (left hand alert)

Just one more reason out of sooooo many that any single women that happen to read this blog should seriously think about dating me.

Higher paychecks: a left-handed compliment?

Left-handed men with at least some college education earned 15 percent more than similarly educated right-handers, while those who finished college earned about 26 percent more, wrote Christopher S. Ruebeck of Lafayette College, and Joseph Harrington and Robert Moffitt of Johns Hopkins University in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

So I earn about 26 percent more income... and I look like Jacques Offenbach. What more could a woman want??

Unfortunately for any left handed women reading this posting, it seems like the left handed and income effect doesn't apply to women. It might have something to do with that extra set of chromosomes that women have.

Tired yet?

Anybody tired of the James Blunt song yet? Only one more posting and it will be moved into the archive.

Left Handers Day (left hand alert)

Sunday (August 13th) was Left Handers Day (as informed by Kimberly), who was determined to find content for the blog since I turned down her "square watermelon" story.

Thanks Kimberly!!

A Hand for the Lefties - Yahoo! Buzz Log

As you can see in the article, it lists Tom Cruise as #8 on the list of Top 20 left handed people searched for on Yahoo.

Just in case you don't remember my opinion of Tom Cruise and his left handedness, read Left Hand Retraction (left hand alert).

btw: is it just me or does Tom's shoes in the picture seem to have a very thick sole??

TWE House Update

I have two painters visiting me this week for quotes, tonight and Thursday night. Hopefully I will be able to make a decision early next week on the painter with the work starting within the week.

Pluto (poll)

Do you think Pluto is a planet or not?

Pluto on the chopping block via cnn.com

Friendship (quote)

One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, but in the number of things they need no longer mention.
~ Clifton Fadiman

Really? I look like these famous people??

Not the best picture of me, but which one is. :)

I am just glad that I look like Jacques Offenbach.

Animal Fact

Unicorns are not real.

Television Show Observation

I have been watching a fair amount of CSI and X-Files recently. Something that I have noticed on the shows just doesn't make sense to me.

There seems to be an inordinate amount of flashlight usage. Oddly enough CSI Miami doesn't seem to have this problem, it is always sunny and bright there.

For example: a recent X-Files that I watched involved 14 people dying in a darkened movie theatre. When Scully and Mulder investigate, instead of turning on all of the house lights, they wander thru the theatre with flashlights.

On CSI, they are constantly doing the same thing. I can understand when they pull out those fancy filters for the flash lights to view for various items that glow under specific frequencies... but why not flip on the lights when doing the initial look around.

Heck... Edison invented the light bulb in 1879 just for that reason, to shine a little light, to allow us humans to see things when the sun goes down.

I still enjoy the shows, but I can't help thinking to myself "flip the switch, it is right there by the door".

Quick TWE House Update

Two phone calls have been made to get quotes for the interior painting of my pad.

The color choices are:

KM-4005-2 Victorian Gold
KM-4004-2 Star of the Garden
KM 4002-1 Limestone Ridge

(colors can be seen at Kelly Moore Paints (Entire Color Xperience Catalog))

Limestone Ridge will be used for the ceilings

Star of the Garden will be used for living room, entry, family room, upstair hallway, laundry, downstairs bedroom, and kitchen

Victorian Gold will be used for dining room, upper part of family room (above the television), upstairs loft/office, and inside niche around window above front door.

James Blunt

My most recent music purchase: James Blunt - Back to Bedlam

BEAUTIFUL (James Blunt)

Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

Sorry for the autostart on the video. I asked for the html to include "no autostart" from Video Code, but that feature doesn't seem to work.

Left Hand Retraction (left hand alert)

In a prior posting, Stand Around or Run (poll), I made reference to Tom Cruise being left handed and too much of a "nut" to get his own "left hand alert".

I need to make a retraction. I had read somewhere that Tom was left handed. I am now calling "shenanigan"!!

I have found this statement about Tom Cruise on IMDB.com: "Is right handed when writing, but does most things left handed." and now this picture:



If you throw right handed and write right handed, you are NOT left handed.

So once again, my opinion is he is NOT, I say NOT, left handed. Thank you very much.

Vision (quote)

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." ~ Carl Jung

Categories at Everett Family Blog

I don't know if anybody has realized that I try to put postings in categories.

For example: Run (lyrics) - the word in the braces ( ) is the category. Until blogger.com supports categories in a more organized manner. I will continue to use my method.

The current set of categories that exists on the site are:

- lyrics
- monkey
- analytics
- poll
- blog
- quote
- left hand alert
- trailer

If I am consistent, you should be able to search the blog for the category name and essentially get all postings for that category. Am I consistent you might ask?? No I am not, but I try to be.

Mona Lisa is Small

This picture is part of a posting on a blog called Why the Mona Lisa's eyes follow you around. The blog is part of a collection of blogs that can found at ScienceBlogs.

I always imagined the painting Mona Lisa was significantly larger.



I still would like to see it, but at least now I will not be caught off guard and feel that initial dissapointment that it is smaller than I expected.

Did you know that Mona Lisa has no visible facial hair at all - including eyebrows and eyelashes?

Random Bit of Knowledge

Use a Wristwatch as a Compass

Hold a watch with 12 o'clock on the face pointing left. Move your arm so the hour hand points at the sun. The spot halfway between the hour hand and the 12 (on the face) is south.

btw: for those that don't wear a watch or wear a watch without hands (digital), I guess you better not ever need to determine south or have another method on hand...

Everett Family Blog Analytics (analytics)

Here is another set of stats for the Everett Family Blog. Not to get my hopes up too much that I might be getting an audience, but yesterday matched the all-time high for unique visitors.

My goal is to post something of interest at least daily. I hope everybody who reads the site is enjoying it.

Senator Feinstein Disagrees

About a month ago, I wrote Senator Dianne Feinstein (from California) an email expressing my displeasure at her "yes" vote on the flag-burning amendment. Yesterday, I received an email from her. I picture her getting ready to go to bed and saying to her husband, "I'll be right there, but first I need to get back to Steve Everett on his email, it's been over a month since he wrote".

It's not that I'm for burning the flag, of course, I'm not. The main points of my email were first, how many flags are being burned in the U.S., is this really a problem? Second, even there was a flag here and there being burned, there must be at least 50 issues that are more important for the Senate to be spending its time on. Unfortunately, I didn't save my email since I typed it into a web form. Too bad, I'm sure it's a classic! :)

In any case, here's Senator Feinstein's response:

August 4, 2006

Dear Mr. Everett:
Thank you for writing to express your opposition to a constitutional amendment prohibiting the physical desecration of the American flag. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me and welcome the opportunity to respond.

Unfortunately, we will have to disagree about this issue. I strongly believe that the American flag holds a unique position in our society as the most important and universally recognized symbol that unites us as a nation. The flag -- as a symbol of our nationhood -- can and should be respected and protected from attack. Beyond my personal convictions, many Californians have told me of their desire for such protection for our flag. Indeed, California had a flag protection statute from 1929 until 1989, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down State flag protection statutes.

The authority for a nation to protect its central symbol of unity was considered constitutional for two centuries. It was only a decade ago that a narrow majority of the U.S. Supreme Court said otherwise. At this point, it seems clear that the only way to protect the American flag is to amend the Constitution to authorize Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag. I believe that outlawing this specific conduct does not limit American's freedom of speech. Recently, the Senate failed, by a one vote margin (66-34), to pass Senate Joint Resolution 12 (S.J. Res. 12), which would have returned to Congress the power to protect the flag. While this vote was disappointing, I will continue to pursue this topic in the Senate.

Please know that I value your opinion, but on this issue I am afraid we will remain in disagreement. However, I greatly appreciate your input and hope that you will continue to share your views with me. Further, I have included with this letter the statement that I gave on the Senate floor on this topic so that you may better understand my position. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to call my Washington, DC office at (202) 224-3841.

NOTE FROM STEVE: Here was the text of Senator Feinstein's Senate floor speech. I've included the link if you're interested
http://feinstein.senate.gov/06releases/r-flag-protect.htm

Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
http://feinstein.senate.gov/

Kevin Smith and Superman

Video of Kevin Smith discussing his involvement in an early version of Superman back in 1996. From a series of lectures that he did on college campuses. Very funny stuff...

I have seen the bulk of his lecture before on television. I should look to see if it is available on DVD.

I hope to catch Clerks II at some point, just need to find somebody to go with me. I have read nothing but good comments about the movie.

btw: Kevin Smith is a great speaker so I enjoy that part of the clip. The other part that I find interesting and enjoyable is the Spanish subtitles. With my limited 2 years of high school Spanish, I don't believe the curse words that Kevin typically uses a lot of are showing up in the subtitles.

Can somebody verify that for me? If true, that is odd, because I am pretty sure people that speak Spanish also swear.

Endless Love

President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair... singing Endless Love to each other.

Got Any Manly Tasks?

I feel like I am on a roll...

The Civic has all four tires on it again. The little spare doughnut is back in the trunk. Battery is completely charged.

The car is ready to hit the streets again.

Driving Chimp (monkey)

"Step on it, I'm late for dinner." That's what the owner of this car at left tells his pet chimpanzee, who can really drive the automobile in a capable style and understands directions perfectly. James, who was renamed to conform with the discovery of his driving ability, sits proudly in the seat and guides the car through traffic. He learned by watching his owner. One day he climbed in the car and drove it off. Everyone expected to find it parked on a telephone post or in a ditch. However, the new driver pulled up in front of the home and stopped the car.

Thank God!!

Fries are French again on Capitol Hill

At least this time the changes didn't require multiple senators to get involved.

btw: I tried to insert a picture of McDonald's french fries to this post, but it seems like blogger.com is having some problems... Update: it worked finally

Service Provider

Let me know if you need anything blown up. I now have a compressor.

I decided to finally deal with the flat tire on the Civic this morning. Was going to go into work late after getting the piece of metal removed from the tread. Since it had been a while since I used the car, the non flat tires were low on air... but the big stopper was that the car won't start and needs to be jumped. So my plan was off for the day.

At work, I had decided that I should just buy a small compressor. Could use it to get the tires back up to full pressure. Afterwards I would jump start the Civic to get the battery fully charged again.

I bought the compressor... my only mistake that I realized after I got home. I don't have any jumper cables.

My new plan: buy jumper cables tomorrow after work. Going to drop only the tire off at the tire place on Thursday morning. I will jump and put the tire back on the car on Thursday night and that item on my to do list will finally be scratched off.

FYI: I am an expert on changing a tire, can do the job in 10 minutes flat.

BTW: The Accord's registration expired today. It needs to be smogged which even though the Accord has never failed, getting a car smogged still is an ongoing challenge for me.

Too Much Monkey Business (lyrics)

Too Much Monkey Business - Chuck Berry

Runnin to-and-fro - hard workin at the mill.
Never fail in the mail - yeah, come a rotten bill!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in!

Salesman talkin to me - tryin to run me up a creek.
Says you can buy now, gone try - you can pay me next week, ahh!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in!

Blond have good looks - tryin to get me hooked.
Want me to marry - get a home - settle down - write a book!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in!

Same thing every day - gettin up, goin to school.
No need for me to complain - my objections overruled, ahh!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in!

Take home - something wrong - dime gone - will hold
Order suit - hoppered up for telling me a tale - ahh!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in!

Been to yokohama - been fightin in the war.
Army bunk - army chow - army clothes - army car, aah!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Too much monkey business for me to be involved in!

Workin in the fillin station - too many tasks.
Wipe the windows - check the tires - check the oil - dollar gas!
Too much monkey business. too much monkey business.
Dont want your botheration, get away, leave me!

Too much monkey business for me!!

FYI: The answer to the 112 point Everett Family Blog question is: Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll

This documentary covers the concert at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri, to celebrate Chuck Berry's sixtieth birthday, and also discusses his life and career.