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.