Wii are having fun!

The time has come, my friends. Thanks to the generosity of a friend and colleague, and the permission of my wonderful, loving wife, the Wii is finally here! I haven't had so much fun with a gaming system. Granted, since the original NES I haven't owned another system, but have played the PS2 and 360 of friends and family.

Stephanie and I have enjoyed bowling from the included Wii Sports (bowling, tennis, golf, boxing, and baseball). Chris and I have enjoyed approximately three hours of Excite Truck -- a game which wii both agree completely rocks. Needless to say, races can become quite competitive as, unlike similar racing games, the goal is not solely to cross the finish line first, but to earns "stars" by performing stunts, air (flying by jumping), drifts, and even "artistic crashing". He with the most stars is the winner.

Peep the flicks below.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiii...

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

It's finally here and the weather outside is starting to actually feel like Christmas. I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your kindness and support this year on behalf of both Stephanie and I. It means a lot to us to have you all as friends and family and to have your prayers for continued health and well-being throughout the year. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Deja Vu

Sorry for disappearing for a couple weeks -- holiday time and exam time makes for one busy Jason.

We saw Deja Vu recently. Awesome "Big Brother" thriller!

So, who of my readers is rocking the Wii?

Family Fun

The Gallatin bowling alley has $1 games every Thursday. So, stuffed with turkey, ham, stuffing, mac n cheese, potatoes, beans, apples, pies, cakes, puddings... oh the humanity... I went bowling with three of my cousins (Duane, Andy, and Tim). Some things were learned:

• Jason can take out the 9 pin or 9/10 combo blindfolded, one hand behind my back, in the dark.
• Men (read: Jason and Andy) cannot bowl in socked feet. I hurt my butt and my ego.
• Don't bowl with a 10 year old in the lane next to you. They will show you up (see: hurt ego).
• Time spent with family is priceless.

Thanks, guy, had a blast!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'm truly thankful for my wonderful wife, all my family and friends, being cured for over two and half years (and still going!), for having a stable job that provides for my family, having a roof over our head, and being able to help others however we can. What are you thankful for?

Movie Review: "A Good Year"

Recently Stephanie and I went to see Russell Crowe's "A Good Year". To be honest, I figured I was walking into a "chick flick" but I was pleasantly surprised. Crowe's character is a stock market tycoon who is very, very good at his job and has been quite successful. He learns of the death of his uncle in France's wine country to which he is the rightful heir -- or is he? While staying in France he learns there is much more to life that he is missing by doing nothing but working. Most of us have to work to make a living -- we just have to find the right balance between work and life.

Beautiful day

Though the rain is here now, this morning was truly beautiful. (It's a crappy camera on the phone, so use your imagination.)

Messy. For a limited time only.

Sure they are fattening the world one fry at a time. Sure they burn stupid people with hot coffee. But, they did bring it back -- long live McRib!

What happens at 9:25?

I work as an IT professional and deadlines are just a part of that life. I get that. But what's the deal with this?

"Blue Like Jazz"

Today I finished reading Don Miller's book, "Blue Like Jazz". Wow. Miller puts his "songs" and those of his friends into words in a way that everyone can understand. The book is about the Christian faith without focus on "the rules" and without feeling as though he is "preaching" to you. It's a book about love, forgiveness, grace, family, friendship, loving others and loving yourself. It's the best $10 you'll spend all year. Enjoy the music.

Buy "Blue Like Jazz" at Buy.com
Buy "Blue Like Jazz" at Amazon.com
(Hardcover Large Print and Audio CD versions are also available.)

If you want to read Blue Like Jazz and
truly cannot afford the $10, let me know.

Woohoo!

YES! The test results are back this morning and I'm all clear and still cancer free!

Four Months

Four months have passed and it is again time for my oncology checkup on Monday, October 23rd. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated -- both for perfect results of the bloodwork and for peace of mind while we wait for those perfect results.

Thanks, friends.

Reading: "Blue Like Jazz" by Don Miller

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is breast cancer awareness month (hence the pink). I encourage EVERYONE to help in seeking a cure. You can help fight all cancers through donations to the American Cancer Society. Women, please check yourself regularly and consult your doctor.

Transmission, TL, and TSX

Wednesday - "Check Engine" light illuminates on the '02 TL-S that I drive for the first time in the five years I've owned her (yes, it's a her, don't make me explain it). I schedule it for the 90K mile maintenance at my Acura dealer.

Thursday - TL-S goes to dealer, receives maintenance, and "check engine" light doesn't come on for them. Nice. Makes the 50 mile journey home like a new car with no trouble.

Friday - Off to work, drives like a new car, no issues. Leave work, start car, engine "idles" at 1500RPM and transmission will not shift out of first gear. Great. Call dealer and tell them to come get the car... most likely needs tranny which [thankfully] will be under warranty but the 4 days it will take them to do it will suck. Or, will it?

Because I purchased my car from that dealer they loaned me a car while the TL-S is being repaired -- a 2006 Acura TSX. It's a four-banger compared to my usual six-shooter but still packs 205HP, digital gauge cluster with LED backlighting, Bluetooth HandsFreeLink connectivity through the XM-equipped 360-watt sound system, drive-by-wire throttle, etc. While I'm used to another 55 ponies, "it ain't bad at all" in my mind -- a very nice sub-$30K sedan.

Tivo Series3 DMR

The Tivo Series3 DVR DMR (Digital Media Recorder) is now on the streets. After fighting with the Comcast set-top box and Tivo Series2 combo since January '06 and the fundamental flaws annoyances (having to switch inputs to view HD, no HD recording/playback, out-of-synch audio and video, and having a single tuner) we decided enough was enough and got an early Christmas gift (thanks, Steph!).

After Fedex sending out an illiterate driver and delivering my package to the wrong address it finally arrived. Setup was a snap -- up and running in under 30 minutes including the installation of two CableCARDs in the rear of the unit for dual digital tuner recording. The new unit is outstanding -- dual tuner (with the mentioned cards), full 1080i/p HDTV recording/playback, Dolby digital output (optical), HDMI connectivity, SATA storage, THX certified.

Yeah...

JasonAlanBradley.com

After a bit of work and assistance with graphics by my brother-in-law (thanks, Mike!), my new professional-career site is now online!

http://www.jasonalanbradley.com/

Windows Vista Ultimate RC1

Microsoft has publically released Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 -- the successor to Windows XP. I installed it on my Dell Latitude D620 this week to give it a whirl and it is very nice.

(Vista Ultimate RC1 on a 2.16Ghz Dual Core, 2GB RAM, 80 GB 7200RPM, 256MB nVidia video Dell Latitude D620.)

The Vista Aero interface

The Window Switcher

Alt-Tab w/Preview
SideBar (right)

Cancer Cure Research

In this quarter's CURE magazine there is a write-up from Lance Armstrong about his retirement from the bike to lobby in D.C. for more government-funded cancer research. One factoid from the article just runs all over me:

"A war on cancer was declared in 1971. From then until today all the money
totalled that the government has put toward cancer research wouldn't pay for six
months of the war in Iraq."

Google it, baby!

In today's world where Google is not only a name but also a verb I'm still amazed by the sheer number of people that don't utilize Google fully. (Side note: The Google Story by Vise and Malseed is an awesome read.)

As such, allow me to do my part in educating everyone so that you may share the wonderful goodness with others...

• When searching all terms are searched. There's no need to type AND between words, it's assumed.
• You can use "-" to omit a word. For example, "red car -BMW" would return all sites with RED and CAR but NOT those with BMW.
• Need a dictionary? Just Google it... define:life
• Need a calculator? Google it... "4+8/2" or "half of 235 times seven"
• Need a translator? "translate:world in german"
• Conversions? Yup, Google. "10 gallons in liters" or "75 pounds in kilograms"
• Mobile and need info? Send a text message to GOOGL (46645).. "outback steakhouse in madison, tn" or "movies 37203" and Google will txt you back with the deets.
• Looking for something and want to check all synonyms? "~car" will also check automobile, vehicle, etc.

Enjoy your new powers. Share them with others. :)

Drive Safely

I see Tennessee tax dollars are being put to good use. The sign shown below reads "CALL 511 FOR TRAFFIC INFO". So, let me get this right... we [Tennesseans] pay sales tax to allow TDOT to install remotely configurable display signs for traffic information, Amber alerts, and other emergency information. TDOT installs signs and, instead of just providing the information, they want drivers to change focus to their cell phones, dial the number and listen to a recording on a loop. Yeah.

Calm before the storm

Just a lazy weekend... the calm before the storm. I hope everyone is doing well. More rambling to come...

MCSE

Today I completed my certification track for Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) on Windows Server 2003 -- one of a 40,000+ member ever-growing groups of professionals. It has taken about three months to complete -- and a lot of study hours. Woohoo!

Best wishes, my friend

My colleague, Jim Sawyers, was visiting the office this weekend. Knowing the camera drops a note to me when someone enters on the weekend he decides to send me a message. The downside to this is that he has brainwashed his wife into joining the dark side as well.
Seriously though -- Jim & Carmen -- best wishes in North Carolina!

Pirates and a Lady

So, movies were the theme of this weekend. On Saturday Steph and I went to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." I think it's well known that Johnny Depp is a great, diverse actor. In this sequel he seems to play a more muted role than in the first -- a lot of the plot centers around Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) and William (Orlando Bloom). Nevertheless, Depp was awesome yet again. Someone is engaged to the arrow-shooting Elf boy. Who was that? Oh yeah, Keira. The trilogy wraps in 2007 with "At World's End."

Sunday afternoon went to M. Night's "Lady in the Water." Should you see it? If you like Night's movies you will like this movie -- intense attention to detail, no stone unturned, twists and turns and wonders of meaning. If you are not a fan of his films -- at least wait for the DVD. No spoilers here, but the movie has another good message to it -- at least one that I walked away hearing. Not quite as loudly said as "Signs" but still great.

It's Hot out there! (and you need a pool!)

Tower of Power

It's that time of year when we IT nerds professionals deploy new equipment to the general population. This year's unboxing porn brings us the Dell Optiplex GX620 with a 3.2 Ghz Dual Core CPU, 2 GB RAM, 80GB SATA, DVD+-RW and of course, the beloved flat panel of which our users will enjoy for the next year 48 months.

Quote of the week

This week's "quote of the week" is awarded to Chris Bransford. During a recent Battlefield 2 free-for-all is piloting the AH-64 Apache in a full throttle strike on my character he announces in his best Maverick voice:

"Goose, I'm too close for missles, I'm switching to crash."

God Bless America

As we celebrate the 4th of July holiday I thought it fitting to re-post the original transcript from Red Skeleton's TV show. I've never heard it put any better than this:

I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?"

I -- me, an individual, a committee of one.
Pledge -- dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
Allegiance -- my love and my devotion.
To the flag -- our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!
United -- that means that we have all come together.
States -- individual communities that have united into 48 great states.
Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for country.
And to the republic -- a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands, one nation -- one nation, meaning "so blessed by God"
Indivisible -- incapable of being divided.
With liberty -- which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice -- the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For all -- which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.

Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country
and two words have been added to the pledge of Allegiance...
UNDER GOD
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said
that is a prayer
and that would be eliminated from schools too?
God Bless America!

Superman Returns (with today's CGI)

The Man-O-Steel has returned to the big screen. If you haven't already seen the new movie -- do so. It's worth the price of admission (even as it is these days). Today's special effects are incredible (though you understand how amazing the original Reeve's "Superman" film FX were back then). I'm not going to spoil anything for anyone but fans of the original movie series have to see this. Spacey's Lex Luther is much darker than the original and he plays his role quite well in this film. Outside of Spacey, I think the reason this movie will do so well is actually the lack of stars in the movie. Of course, we've seen Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) in a few films (Blue Crush, Remember the Titans), the majority of the roles are played by lessor knowns so that you concentrate more on the plot itself and not so much "that girl from that movie". Enjoy the show!

It will be alright

It's been "one of those weeks" so far. Servers dying, contract negotiations, studying for exams, hectic schedules -- these are things we IT-folk deal with routinely and at times can even become numb to -- yet some days it brings out evil-Photoshoped-Jason. :)
(No Jason's were harmed in the production of this image.)

Is it Friday yet?

Sorry for the "lack of noise" around here, but I was on an attempted vacation last week. I'm sure I'll be fussing about something on here real soon. :)

Yes!

The ultrasound and CT scan results are back and everything is clear! Still pending one bloodwork result that should be back on Wednesday, but everything so far is just peachy!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad and all others reading this!

Short post today, but I did want to share a funny video with you..

Dodge Caliber & "Binky"

"Customer Service"

Anyone who knows me knows that my biggest pet peeve is poor (or no) customer service. I do completely understand that some accidents happen and that everyone will "screw up" on occasion. The trick to customer service is [1] mitigating the risk of such an accident or mistake, and [2] how you will "make it up" to your customer.

On the other hand, at least in my eyes, the past two years my eyes have been opened to poor customer service of a seemingly blatant nature. A few examples:

• I went to Mrs. Winners on West End with Chris the other morning. I said to the Fast Food Order Acceptance Engineer, "I'd like two chicken biscuits with cheese and two large sweet teas." The FFOAE responded, "Two chicken & cheese and two large sweet teas. Thank you, drive around." I proceed around to the window where I'm told my total and pay. When the bag of food is put in my hand the bag is open and I see no evidence of yellow through the wrappers (read: no cheese corners). Chris opens one of the wrappers to reveal a chicken biscuit sans cheese. When I inform the FFOAE that there is no cheese she says, "Oh, I forgot to ring that up, that will be eighty-seven cents." So, let me get this right -- I ordered, you confirmed my order, gave me the total, and now you still expect me to pay you to fix your mistake?
• My father recently purchased a new entertainment center from Rooms-to-go which was delivered with cosmetic flaws. When he contacted Rooms-to-go customer service they said a replacement would be sent. When the replacement showed up it also had the exact same problem. He told the delivery driver he had to make a call to RTG before they unloaded it -- instead, they drove off. RTG's offer for all of this trouble? A $30 certificate toward other merchandise.

These examples may seem anal, and perhaps I sometimes am when it comes to customer service -- but these are weekly occurrences. Of course, there are FFOAEs out there that are excellent -- though if the FFOAE at Subway on 21st Avenue asks me one more time if I want my sub "heated or toasted" I don't think I will be able to restrain myself. Toasted, please, hold the heat.

Prayer Request

Tomorrow morning (Friday, June 16th) is my ultrasound and CT scan. Then, on Monday the 19th I will meet with Dr. Shipley to get the results of those and have blood drawn for the bHCG and AFP tests.

I ask for your prayers for great results and a clean bill of health. Thank you all!

Q are the one for me

Today I [finally] got my hands on the Motorola Q from our friendly Verizon rep. Awesome device, especially once Nashville gets EV-DO fully running in late August. The screen is incredibly sharp and bright, buttons are easy to use, and the size is only slightly larger than a RAZR V3. You may drool now...

HOV abusers: Move over

Each weekday my commute is about 70 miles round-trip. During this 70 mile journey I routinely see stupid unskilled drivers. Along I-65, as with most interstates these days, are signs like these:

Of course, on the northbound lanes it reads 4PM-6PM MON-FRI. The text is in plain english (which could be the problem) though every day there are multiple single-occupancy vehicles travelling in this lane around 4:30PM going 10 miles under the speed limit. To top it off, Nashville's finest Metro Nashville PD is busy pulling everybody and their brother over for speeding but seemingly ignore the fact that the HOV is being abused. Oh, the humanity!

The Dyson DC14

Okay, time for some man talk about VACUUMS. When I first moved into my home in 2002 we received, as an early wedding gift, the Hoover Bagless WindTunnel. Initially this machine was quite the cleaner -- until lately, as a matter of fact. The HBWT lost suction quickly when it's HEPA filter became clogged. Sure, you could clean the filter which would get you another run, maybe two before clogging again. Sure, you could buy a new one (for $40 a pop) and get a few months out of it before it really clogged again. Then there was the belt it needed three times in 4 years. Needless to say, it took more time to clean the vacuum in order to use the vacuum for cleaning!

Enter the Dyson DC14:

As James Dyson put it best, "It quite simply doesn't lose suction." Admittedly, when these things first hit the US market I thought "who in their right mind would drop 4 Benjamins on a vacuum!" The answer, as it turned out, is me -- and boy, is it worth it. Guys love numbers (and motors) so let me hit ya' with this -- typical vacuum motors run between 5000-7000 RPMs while the Dyson RootCyclone models churn an F1-like 14,000 RPM. This machine truly loses no noticeable suction. Bradley labs (aka my house) tested the DC14 model on some very dusty crevices and ceiling fans (which had been spinning 24/7 for months). With the waste bin half full the unit just kept on going. If you're in the market and have the means, make the wise investment.

Vrooooooooom...

Just in case you Comcast users out there have been crying that your 6 or 8 Mb connection is too slow, hold on tight. The "cable company" will soon be bringing you all kinds of speed for your gaming enjoyment -- up to twice your current limit at times. That's right, 12 or 16 Mb, baby. Talks with a Comcast friend also yield that the upstream is going from 384Kbps to 1 Mb, which is great news for those of you wanting to get your VoIP and online gaming fix at the same time.

Read the article from Cnet here.

Prayer Requests

Tonight's post is a bit more serious in nature. I'd like to ask for your prayers for:

• My cousin Daryl, who had chest pains today and will be going to Centennial Hospital this evening for 3-5 bypasses in open-heart surgery.
• My uncle Perky, who had chest pain while on the road in South Carolina and has to have a stunt reworked and is unable to return home for several days.
• On June 16th and 19th I will have my six-month CT scan and oncology checkup.

Thank you, friends. -Jason

Johnny 5: "No disassemble!"

Warning: This post contains graphic material not suitable for some viewers. Discretion is advised.

Here we have a photo I thought I lost with Chris proudly displaying his ability to boot a Dell Latitude D600 using only the mobo, RAM, CPU, and a display for proof. The owner, a law student, didn't know what to think seeing her baby's guts strewn about like this. Some people have weak stomachs I guess. :)

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Hang around a lazy man...

The old saying goes, "If you have around a lazy man long enough you will learn his ways." So, being the trend-setter type, I thought I would share my most recent purchase with you -- the Python 1400XP Remote Start System from Directed Electronics. This coolest thing ever add-on will allow you to start your ride from your air-conditioned office in the middle of summer (or warm your stuff in winter). Two taps on the remote and 5 seconds later your cylinders are purring like a kitten. This can be yours for US~$199 installed at most Circuit City stores (add another $60ish for a bypass module if your car has a factory system/alarm). Go on, you know you wanna. Sorry, manual transmissions need not apply. :)

Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 Beta 2

My Dell Latitude X1 is now running Windows Vista Ultimate Beta 2 and Office 2007 Pro. In a word: wow. Bill & Crew have really outdone themselves.

Office (and Vista) bring forward the glass interface with incredible thought into the layout and functionality, particularly with toolbars, by providing you with exactly what you need when you need it.

Vista desktop and Start menu:

Word 2007:

Here I go again

My CT scan is June 16th and the oncology follow-up is June 19th. Your prayers are welcome that the results will be clean. Please also pray for my sanity mental well-being as I await the results.

But I like the cookie!

I'm back! Sorry for the hiatus... I was busy uhhh being lazy.

Last weekend Steph and I saw "Over the Hedge" and it was a great, clean, fun, movie. I encourage you to take the kids (or your spouse) and see it!

QOTD

Try to learn something about everything and everything about something. - Thomas H. Huxley

QOTD

You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do.
-Henry Ford

"Inside Man" (the Spike Lee joint)

People, go see Inside Man. Awesome. Totally.

All good!

The test results are back and everything's still perfect. CANCER FREE! WOOHOO!

One more again...

March 20th is my next checkup. I ask for your continued prayers that I am still cancer free. Thank you, my friends.

"Rascal" 1989-2006

It's with sorrow that I let you know that Rascal has passed away due to complications arrising from renal failure. He was Stephanie's cat since she was 12 and moved in with us when we married and I grew attached to him as well. Please pray for comfort for Stephanie as she says goodbye to her old friend.

You can email Steph at steph@jasonandsteph.com.

I'm back!

Sorry I've been out-of-pocket for a while, everyone! Busy little bee...

I just wanted to remind everyone about StateLine Quartet singing tonight at 6:00pm at Gallatin First Baptist. You'll really enjoy it!

I'll leave you with this QOTD: "You wouldn't worry what people thought of you if you knew how little they did." -Unknown

What's this?

What's all this white stuff outside? Is winter finally here? ;) Bundle up, stay warm, but enjoy the snow.

PS - please pray for Mom and Dad to quickly get over their cases of bronchitis!

StateLine Quartet in Concert

StateLine Quartet will be singing at Gallatin First Baptist Church on February 26th at 6:00pm. All are welcome!

GFBC is located at 205 East Main St, Gallatin TN 37066.

http://www.statelinequartet.com/

QOTD

Thomas H. Huxley - "It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance."

Injured. Injured bad.

Everyone needs insurance.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1564000965967411931

Snow & QOTD

Well, the snow finally came in Gallatin. After it was 70 just a couple days ago. Not a lot of accumulation (probably an inch) but I love it.

QOTD: The best way to succeed is to double your error rate.

QOTD

"When all is said and done, more is said than done."
-Lou Holtz

Drivers, listen up!

Let me tell you what really irks me...

1. Turn signals left on... Being southern doesn't justify your stupidity. Turn them off.
2. Light bulbs... You owe it to Edison and your insurance company. They're pretty cheap. When Mr. Bulb doesn't glow happy any more, REPLACE IT.
3. On ramps... speed up! I'm going to go over this one more time. If it's an ON ramp you speed you push the slender peddle on the right. If it's an OFF ramp you push the big fat one. YOU CANNOT MERGE INTO 70MPH TRAFFIC WHEN YOU ARE GOING 30! You will only accomplish two things -- a wrecked car or seriously pissing people off.
4. Slow traffic... KEEP RIGHT. Europe got it right, why can't we? If you are in the left lane and faster traffic approaches, move over!
5. Running out of gas on the Interstate... if you get on an Interstate and you run out of gas you are stupid and should be fined accordingly. The closer you are to the nearest gas station you passed up the higher the fine.
6. Do not drive in the shoulder... I see this all the time by MetroCenter. If you get in the shoulder to go around you will stay there. Note: There is a concrete wall that says so. It's not worth it. Just get in line.

TiVO, my friend, thank you

Finally! Tivo announced at CES2006 that this year the Tivo Series 3 HD Recorder will be available. HDMI, Dolby Digital, CableCARD v1/v2, SATA, arf arf arf! Check it...

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/05/tivo-announces-series-3-hd-tivo-due-this-year/