Orayzio.com: the untitled blog

Go go gadgets

2009-03-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

I am what you might call, technology-savvy. But, at the same time, I'm not someone that wants or needs to be on the leading edge or that wants to be particularly "connected" in all ways possible. Even though I took my first computer class in high school in the early 80s, my major in college was computer science, my first job was doing data entry, I've worked in the credit union software industry

A blog in search of a new identity

2009-01-17T16:02:00.000-08:00

Now that Dweedle Dum and his evil administration are about to be replaced by a man that I consider a personal hero of mine, my views will no longer be considered "aid and comfort to the enemy" by the executive branch. Thus, I am retiring the "Comfort for the Enemy" name and my blog, for the time being, is untitled.

Star magazine? Really?

2009-01-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

I was a subscriber to Premiere magazine for its entire 20 year existence until it folded in 2007 and I loved that magazine. When it folded, they tried to convert my remaining multi-year subscription to US Weekly, but I asked for and got a refund.I was unhappy about Premiere, but luckily, Radar Magazine had just re-started publishing and I, at least, still had that.I just got the postcard in the

My brother-in-law is an artist in metal

2008-11-20T19:00:00.001-08:00

We now interrupt our irregular programming... My brother-in-law, Fritz Church, is an incredible artist and metal worker. He lives in Tacoma, Washington and owns his own business, Fire Works Forge, which creates custom metal railings or other custom metal work that are both practical and beautiful. (He also does metal sculpture, which is beautiful, but not meant to be practical.) I encourage you

How you should vote on Tuesday

2008-11-02T15:57:00.000-08:00

I'll make this simple: President and Vice President: Barack Obama/Joe Biden If you live in California: Prop 1a: Yes Prop 2: Yes Prop 3: No Prop 4: No Prop 5: Yes Prop 6: No Prop 7: No Prop 8: No Prop 9: No Prop 10: No Prop 11: No Prop 12: Yes If you live in San Diego: City Council District 3: Stephen Whitburn City Attorney: Michael J. Aguirre Prop A: No Prop B: No Prop C: Yes Prop D: Yes

My dad started dialysis today

2008-10-16T15:55:00.000-07:00

My dad's side of the family has been hit hard by Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). We know that my Grandma "Kitty" had it and my dad tells me she was on dialysis for 20-25 years before she finally got a kidney transplant in the mid-to-late 80s. She felt much better after the transplant, but due to other health issues, she died within a few years of her transplant.Her brother, beloved Uncle Nick,

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

2008-10-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

As mentioned previously, I first saw parts of Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains in the mid-80s when it showed up on late night TV (Night Flight on the USA Network), but since it was never released on video or DVD, I never got to watch it from start to finish. I remember that I really liked what I saw, though, and I've kept my eyes open for it for the last 20 years.When I found out that it

I'm walking for PKD again

2008-09-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

As I have for the last several years, I am walking again to fund research to find a cure for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). My walk is on Sunday, September 21, 2008 at 9:30 am at the Spanish Landing Park on Harbor Drive in San Diego, but similar walks will occur that same weekend all across the United States. I walk because I have an extensive family history of PKD, including, my grandmother (

Sea Rocket Sputters

2008-08-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

I was a fervent fan of The Linkery until they moved into their new, much larger space and decided to do ass-hat things like charge for ice tea refills (I think the charge for Kara's ice tea alone was $15 on our last visit!) while providing much slower service than at their old location. But, I'm still willing to give Jay the benefit of the doubt and I do plan to go back again in a few months,

Comic-con has come and gone

2008-07-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Life-size Iron Man (P1020556)taken by meThoughts on my 4th Comic-Con...Wednesday through Friday seemed busier on the dealer floor than did Saturday and Sunday was much slower than last year. It was absolutely crazy on Wednesday.Last year, I sat in Hall H all day for two days. This year, I only sat through Kevin Smith on Friday night and Heroes and Lost on Saturday.Kevin Smith's panel was OK, but

Our house "re-do" has started

2008-07-23T14:06:00.001-07:00

The new cabinets have been installed in our kitchen/dining area (just this morning). There's still a lot more to come with new furniture in the bedroom, dining room and living room and new French Doors (the third set since we've moved in almost five years ago) in the bedroom.

It's Comic-Con time again!

2008-07-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note that I'll be at Comic-Con again this year, starting this afternoon as soon as Jimmy G swings by to pick me up. Expect lots more pictures in my Flickr photostream soon!

Cult Night Flight movie finally comes to DVD

2008-06-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

Being a teen in the early 80s, I enjoyed staying up late and watching the cult movies that were found on late night TV. One of my favorite shows (if you could call it a show) was Night Flight (on the USA Network), which always delivered bizarre and interesting stuff to my head. But of all the things that I remember watching those late nights, one movie stands out as something that I've always

Outlook 2007 - Still Craptastic after a year

2008-04-25T17:26:00.000-07:00

You can read my original post on this subject here.A year and a service pack later and I'm still having problems with Outlook. The latest bug is one that's plagued me since Outlook 2007 came out. I sort my Inbox by the Received date with the most recent emails at the top. When I have several unread emails in my Inbox, I like to open the oldest one first, read it in a separate window, act on it by

Crazed Pooch

2008-03-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

When Kara adopted Gracie 9 years ago, the shelter said that she was part Dalmation and part Labrador Retriever. Her vet at the time, though, thought she was a mix of Lab and Weimaraner and we think that's far more likely to be the case. Old Crazy EyesIf you know anything about Weimaraners, you know that they have a tendency to be high-spirited and to suffer from separation anxiety and that

As Bluto Blutarski would say, Food Fight!

2008-02-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

This clip is incredible.How many conflicts did you recognize? You can find a cheatsheat on the creator, Stefan Nadelman's web site. Link

Help put Paul Broadway on the ballot

2008-02-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

Paul Broadway needs signatures to get on the ballot for the upcoming San Diego City Council, District Three elections, so he's looking for volunteers to spend 2 hours this Saturday, March 1, to go knock on doors. I blogged very briefly about Paul before and I'm supporting his campaign, so I plan to help out. If you're interested in helping out, we're all going to meet on Saturday at noon at the

Lucky 13 and Old House Fair

2008-02-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

For the two of you that read my blog on a regular basis, you probably already know this: I got 13 correct Oscar predictions (out of 24). Going by memory alone, I think that's the worst I've done in any Oscar pool over the last 10 years. (Not so) amazingly, Kara also got 13 predictions correct, even though some of the ones she got right, I got right, and vice-versa.On a separate note, South Park

My Oscar Predictions

2008-02-24T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here are my predictions for what will win the Oscars tonight:Actor: Daniel Day LewisSupporting Actor: Javier BardemActress: Marion CotillardSupporting Actress: Cate BlanchettAnimated Feature: RatatouilleArt Direction: There Will Be BloodCinematography: There Will Be BloodCostume Design: AtonementDirecting: There Will Be BloodDocumentary Feature: War/DanceDocumentary Short: FreeheldFilm Editing:

Orayzio.com or www.orayzio.com

2008-02-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

Since I seldom update my old web site, I changed the DNS entries so that orayzio.com points back to this blog. You should be able to use both www.orayzio.com and orayzio.com to get here, but I won't know for a couple of days whether or not this is all working. You should also still be able to get here using orayzio.blogspot.com.What a hassle!

We can't get enough of Zia

2008-02-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

Kara introduced me to Zia and Zia's Afghan Cafe when we first started going out and it was one of our favorite places to dine. And, for a little while, Zia had a booth at the Hillcrest farmer's market where he sold his delicious chicken in pita bread sandwiches that I could never pass up. So, it was very sad for both of us when Zia stopped showing up at the market and closed his restaurant. We

Tucson, the desert of my dreams?

2008-02-12T14:59:00.000-08:00

I use Yahoo! Travel to book most of my trips and I allow Travelocity to send me their marketing emails, even though I delete most of them without reading them. But today I received an email from them with the subject line, "Visit Tucson, the Real Desert of Your Dreams" and I couldn't resist posting about it.Is the "desert of your dreams" supposed to be a good thing? I could understand "the

Paul Broadway for San Diego City Council District 3

2008-01-15T14:47:00.000-08:00

Due to term limits, the San Diego city council district three position is up for grabs in 2008. The first election won't be until June 3, but there are already seven "potential candidates" that have filed their intention to run form with the city clerk's office.I've been leaning towards John Hartley because he seems honorable and because he's been pounding the pavement, knocking on doors and

Swimming against the tide - Juno what I mean?

2007-12-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

When Napoleon Dynamite came out, lots of people raved about it and said that it was the funniest movie they'd seen in years. I waited until it came out on DVD before trying to watch it and then I could only make it a few minutes before it became one of those very rare films that I could not bear to watch a moment longer. I watched it wanting to laugh, hoping to laugh, but mostly just wondering

A good reason to turn back the clock

2007-09-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

I was perusing a copy of the local daily rag at Rebecca's this morning when I came across an article that stated that Monday is the 50th anniversary of "In God We Trust" on U.S. currency. Then, just few minutes ago, I was skimming old unread emails and came across a forwarded spam email expressing outrage and demanding a boycott of the new dollar coins because "In God We Trust" is not printed on