AtomicMrX

“Merry Christmas!” 5.8 MB (00:38)

I tried to make this into a Flash movie so it would be a little more cross platform friendly but it kept crashing my Flash application for some reason. Go figure. So it is in a Quicktime format and hopefully no one has a problem viewing it.

In the picture (and movie) Shannon is on the left, I am in the center and Jaki is on the right (our Toy Fox Terrier).

Here’s the link to make your own! ElfYourself!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Here is the Wikipedia definition of World AIDS Day:

World AIDS Day, observed December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people, with an estimated 38.6 million people living with HIV, making it one of the most destructive epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 3.1 million (between 2.8 and 3.6 million) lives in 2005, of which more than half a million (570,000) were children.

The concept of a World AIDS Day originated at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, it has been taken up by governments, international organizations and charities around the world.

From its inception until 2004, UNAIDS spearheaded the World AIDS Day campaign, choosing annual themes in consultation with other global health organizations. In 2005 this responsibility was turned over to World AIDS Campaign (WAC), who chose Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise as the main theme for World AIDS Day observances through 2010, with more specific sub-taglines chosen annually. This theme is not specific to World AIDS Day, but is used year-round in WAC’s efforts to highlight HIV/AIDS awareness within the context of other major global events including the G8 Summit. World AIDS Campaign also conducts “in-country” campaigns throughout the world, like the Student Stop AIDS Campaign, an infection-awareness campaign targeting young people throughout the UK.

It is common to hold memorials to honor persons who have died from HIV/AIDS on this day. Government and health officials also observe, often with speeches or forums on the AIDS topics. Since 1995 the President of the United States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day. Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued similar announcements.

Here is a small portion of the list of friends I have lost to AIDS:

• Steve Lansing 1993
• Carl Woodford 1994
• Quience Sykes 1994
• Yul Stell 1996 (?)
• Paul 1997 (?)
• Darrin 1998 (?)

There have been far too many of my buddies at the bars that have been lost to AIDS as well. Unfortunately I can’t remember all their names and years of passing. I’ve never been good with names but I always will remember their smiling faces, conversations, and fun times dancing at the bars.

Jaki and I made the trip up to Omaha on Thursday morning. I got up like I was going to work (so that would be getting up at 4:30 AM) and then left the house at 6:00 AM so we would arrive in Omaha at 9:00 AM. It was a nice ride up although most of it was in the dark. Jaki behaved the entire way up. Shannon stayed in Raytown and didn’t go home to see his folks. He actually had to go into work on Friday. The drive back from Omaha, Jaki slept the entire way!

I took some pictures and was gonna upload them to the blog but my camera card (brand new) is acting up. I get a camera card error when I turn the camera on. So the pictures sit on the “maybe” damaged camera card in the camera. I’m gonna let it sit a bit and try again. I didn’t take many pictures but still — some of them where pretty good. The camera card is a Polaroid brand so it isn’t some knock off cheappy thing. Maybe the trip back in the car shook it up a bit. I may give my card to someone with a card reader to see if they get the same message or not. It could be the camera or the card I have to figure out which.

I finally found a new phone from Verizon that I liked. Shannon and I actually spontaneously stopped in a Verizon store in Lee’s Summit the weekend before Thanksgiving and saw phones we both liked. Shannon is getting the Samsung Juke and I am getting the LG Chocolate (new updated version). I thought I would like the Juke as well but once I got to the store and held it in my hands — it was great except for the text on that little screen was so small I couldn’t read it easily with these old eyes. So I had to start looking around to see what other phones were new. That’s when I saw the new version of the LG Chocolate. They changed up the interface and added a dial (just like on the Juke) to scroll through selections and it is very much like the iPod interface actually. The LG Chocolate has nice big text on its display for my tired ol’ eyes! Shannon and I decided to wait and get them the weekend after Thanksgiving because they just might go on sale and we weren’t in any hurry since they would cost a lot of money if we got them right then. Mine would have been an extra $30 and Shannon’s would have been $100. I have a new every two plan and as long as the phone is $99, I get it free and the LG Chocolate was $129 — so I would have to pay the extra amount over the $99. Shannon doesn’t have the new every two so the Juke was just the price of the phone.

On Thanksgiving night after my relatives left, Mom and I were in the kitchen waiting for the turkey carcass to cool so we could pick the meat off to use in Turkey Noodle Soup. We were looking through the Friday Sale Ads and that’s when I saw the ad for Verizon and both Shannon’s and my phones were on sale. My LG Chocolate was on sale for $99 (which makes it free for me) and Shannon’s Juke was on sale for $79! So I got online Friday morning and bought them through the Verizon Wireless web site, because the sale was only good through the 26 of November and I wasn’t about to battle the stores to get the darn phones! Their web site was getting hit hard — it was very slow on Friday morning. I guess a lot of other people had the same plan! The phones will ship in 2 business days so I should see them on Monday or Tuesday. It is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday by 7:00 PM.

I took my Wii up to Omaha so my folks could check it out. My Dad could not figure out how the thing works and didn’t know they made such a thing. He is 87 going on 88 so it’s a little beyond his comprehension right now. Mom thought it was pretty fun. She played 27 holes of Golf and played several games of Bowling. I just watched her play Golf because she is much better than me and it was more fun to watch. We played each other in Bowling. I think we tied in the end. My nephews played a little with it but not much. I have determined I don’t like Super Mario Party for Wii. The mini games a kind of fun but the game play (going through the board game style part) is just plain boring. You just watch the game play itself most of the time waiting to hit A button and read a bunch of crap. The most fun was the free games that came with the Wii. Boxing was fun with my nephew Joe. I was getting pounded in the beginning then in the end he was getting pounded!

Since I don’t like Super Mario Party I’m leery about getting “Rayman: Raving Rabbids 2” since I think it has turned more into a Party game then a platform game. I think it will be a rent before I buy. At least I’m enjoying Super Mario Galaxy! I don’t have a lot of time to play it but when I do it is fantastic to watch and fun to play.

Over all it was a great Thanksgiving. The food was fantastic and I still have plenty of leftovers. I will be making Turkey Noodle Soup today with my Mom’s home made egg noodles and the broth and turkey meat we got off the carcass. It has become a tradition for Mom and me to sit on Thanksgiving evening and pick the bones for meat after boiling them for an hour. Its fun and I enjoy it a lot. We talk, pick meat and get our hands all greasy! In a couple weeks I’ll be driving back up for Xmas. I have a few more gifts to buy and then I’m done.

Here are the pictures that compare the yard when I bought the house to what is is currently. I bought the house in 2003. Click on image to view larger.

Here is a comparison shot of the front yard bushes; before on the left, after on the right.

Here is a comparison shot of the back yard; before on the left, after on the right.

Here is a comparison shot of the yard to the side of the garage; before on the left, after on the right.

Here is a comparison shot of the yard to the side of the house next to the street; before on the left, after on the right.

Here are just some more shots of our current yard around the house.

Well, that is a lot of photos! A lot of progress has been made in the short time here. Shannon is the main reason the grass looks so nice and green. He did a lot of work on the yard last Summer and Fall. Shannon also bought all the flowers and plants for the gardens. He has put several weekends into getting it to this point. It looks great!

My Mom & Dad just got a new car and here are some pictures of it. It looks really nice and is brand new only 14 miles on it and is an Aveo. Click on any image to see a larger view.