Look! Tracy has a camera!

Yellow Snow...

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 20:18:00 +0000

It snowed. It snowed a lot. This is a picture of my dog peeing in the snow.

Do we have any questions?

Today at work I could see out of my window the various art that clever students made on their snow day off. I simply adored the snow couch, snow tv, and snow chair made outside of the gym complex. My boss would not excuse me for 10 minutes to go sit on the snow couch. Boo.

jingle bells jingle bells...

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:28:00 +0000

It's amazing how a forecast for a "trace" amount of snow can turn into 8 inches.
Bravo, local weather dude, bravo!

The Blog Readability Test

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:55:00 +0000

I saw this on we saw that's blog and couldn't resist.

Flattering, but perhaps a bit off? :)

MIRRRRR - the mail in rebate gauntlet

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:27:00 +0000

There's a great Dilbert strip about mail in rebates I used to keep on my old bedroom wall. I guess it was suiting because 1) I was the only one in the house who had the patience to complete them so they were always dumped on me and 2) I was the only one who bought the electronics that usually came with the MIRs. I confess, I once got up at 4am on Black Friday just to get the free stack of CD-Rs at Bestbuy (but only after the MIR - of course!) It was worth the $12.88.. But I digress.

After buying upgrades for my PC, I had about $65.00 worth of rebates to apply for. It's hard to believe, but after filling out dozens of these it still angers me how inane the rebate submission rules can be:

Remove the UPC code from the item you have just purchased, rendering your warranty rights completely null and void.
Send us a copy of the "sales receipt". Yes, we realize all you have to show proof of your transaction is an "invoice," which is actually a legitimate and acceptable record of said transaction, but we like to instill fear and doubt in every applicable scenario.
Fill out this rebate form. Do not leave any blanks blank, even the blank that says "leave this blank". Good, you're paying attention.
Write the 30 digit serial number of the item in this 1/2 inch space.
Send the above items in a self addressed envelope. The idea that you may have employed the capabilities of a computer in writing the address scares us - we're counting on the fact that you have bad penmanship, your letter will be lost in the mail, and we won't have to own up to the $30 bucks we owe you.
Finally, make sure you send your item to:

P.O. Box 4546098245034672
Offer - 0OL1UV (and any other alpha-numeric character that looks alike)
Philapraguacago, TN 66666

Ugh.

I upgraded my HP Pavillion!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 01:38:00 +0000

Last week I was debating which route I should take to upgrade my somewhat recent purchase of an HP Pavillion A6167c I got from Sam's Club.

I knew when I purchased it that I would eventually want to crank out some more cash and upgrade the on board graphics to a valid PCIe card. I didn't realize until I started looking at the cards that the PSU (power supply unit) would have to be upgraded as well. Evil HP packs in a dinky 250W PSU in this case.

We decided to go with the Radeon X1950 PRO 512mb version. We also decided to get this OCZ 700W PSU. The OCZ is a bit much for what we need (I'm not going SLI - don't have two PCIe slots anyway). But, it's got a spiffy blue LED and has room for growth should I decide to throw more hardware in this thing.

To those of you looking to upgrade your HP Pavillion, keep in mind some things:

You WILL have to upgrade your current power supply unit to satisfy the requirements of your new GPU.
HP Pavillion cases are not very roomy. Consider the size of the graphics card you are purchasing and the size of the PSU you get. Our case fit a standard ATX 12v PSU, but some cases may require a microATX.
Because of the lack of space in these cases, you may want to consider getting a modular PSU. My husband was patient enough to find room for all of the extra cables in my tower, but this still restricts airflow and impedes your ability to keep your case temperature down. Being able to take out the superfluous cables would have been nice.

In hindsight, I probably should have cranked out the extra cash and got a Dell. But I lurve my 22 inch LCD! Now that my PC is all sexified I can play my newest addiction,Vanguard. With my on board graphics, I was getting heinous FPS rates. With my new ATI graphics card, I can play 1680x1050 resolution at max settings and still get at least 20 FPS. This actually says a lot for this game with a mid range graphics card as Vanguard is notorious for having excessive system requirements. I can get well over 80 FPS with just a little tweaking. =D

spider dog, spider dog...

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 05:37:00 +0000

I swear, I'm not one of those people...

tech help needed

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:10:00 +0000

Hey guys!

So I bought a new computer late this summer. It's an HP pavilion a6167c (here's the specs if you're so inclined). It's a somewhat decent system to carry me over for a few years but I disdain the onboard graphics and it comes with a meager 250 watt PSU. SO - here's the thing.

I need to get a new graphics card so I can geek out with my husband on our latest fix, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. I have a $150 - $200 budget to upgrade my video card and PSU. I realize this won't get me a high end DX10 graphics card by any means, but relieving my system of the onboard graphics should greatly improve my system performance.

So, here's what I was thinking:

This Geforce 7900GS 256MB

OR

This Radeon X1950PRO 256MB

OR

This Radeon X1950PRO 512MB

For the PSU, I've been eying this OCZ just because it seems to be a really good deal and leaves room for some expansion (or I can stick it in another system in a couple years). I have no preference for the PSU, I just want something reliable and reasonably priced.

SO, which graphics card should I get? I'll be happy to look at recommendations outside of the three listed - those were just the ones that I gleaned would be appropriate to include in my price range. I don't anticipate playing DX10 games in the near future.

Also, suggestions for a PSU adequate for the chosen card would be appreciated.

Man, I'm a nerd.. I'm just not an uber nerd :(

Mister Clean Magic Eraser

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:39:00 +0000

This is, without a doubt, the best thing since Febreeze.

Long live Mister Clean.

the dark side of coffee is often better

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:55:00 +0000

I don't drink coffee very often. When I do, it's usually when I'm reading a really good book or after a nice meal out.
That being said, I've never gotten onto the whole "designer coffee" bandwagon. You know what I mean - those people who go into Starbucks and order the grande decaf with 1/2 an equal packet and a splash of soy milk. I have a severe disdain for coffee that takes you longer to order than it does to drink it.

What's even more painful than being behind someone who orders coffee like this is having to "fetch coffee" for someone else who orders like this.

My story ensues....

I work in a pretty high maintenance office. I am essentially the assistant to the assistant of a very needy chief executive. My job has slowly gone downhill as far as "becoming someone's bitch" is concerned. Last Friday, though, was my lowest of lows.

Last week I was in the middle of training a fellow office worker. She was brand new, and has a lot of the same responsibilities I do. The big boss's assistant approached us and asked us to fetch some coffee for the big boss. Since the new girl was unfamiliar with where the coffee bar was located, I decided to take her with me.

Our mission was to fetch some coffee that was half decaf, half regular, with a splash of skim milk. We were instructed to get a flavor that was "somewhat sweet and pastry like"..!?! We were given the "green mug" which supposedly meant free coffee because you had to pay an exorbitant amount to attain the status of owning said green mug.

We get to the coffee bar and I show the kid my green mug of the gods. He looks at me quizzically. He and the manager are trying desperately to close the bar for their lunch hour and my request does not bode well with them.

"Do you have your coffee perks card??" The manager asks.
"No, this is for THE BIG BOSS and she told me the green mug would suffice," I exclaimed.
"Are you SURE she didn't give you a card??" she asked.
"I'm SURE she didn't give me a card. Look, this person is too busy and has too much power to even care about your perks card. Please just let me get the boss her coffee."
"OK, but just next time remember to get her perks card from her" says the manager.

I proceed to tell the kid what I need to get for the boss. He tells me that she might have been talking about a "sinless cinnamon" flavored coffee that, wouldn't you know, they're fresh out of. So I filled the mug with half decaf and half of some "Georgia pecan" coffee. I throw in a half a splenda packet because I know the woman won't think it tastes very good without it. I try guessing how much skim milk would make a dent in this monstrosity of a travel coffee mug. DAMN! There's too much coffee and not enough milk in the mug! I looked around, trying to find a place that I could pour out some of the disgusting brew but there's no place to be found. So, I do what any desperate lowly office worker would do - I gulped flaming hot disgusting coffee from the mug until there was enough room for more skim milk. All the while, the new office worker is staring at me in a disillusioned frown. Poor kid, it's not always this bad...

So, finally, the coffee concoction has been crafted. We rush back to the office and ... SHE'S IN A CLOSED DOOR MEETING!!! There's no way I can go in there and give her the coffee. I sat the coffee on the assistant's desk and reminded her about the dumb perks card.

Three hours later the coffee was still sitting on the assistant's desk.

My message to all you "special" coffee drinkers out there:
Your coffee is a lot like sex - only you really know how you like it. Don't expect someone to be able to go to the coffee shop and buy you 16oz of sex and have it come back exactly how you want it.

Seven P's meme

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 06:00:00 +0000

Chip tagged me!

First things that come to mind are:

Passion - cum passio = "to suffer with"

Purpose - seeking

Pursuit - Cops (the TV show) hah

Position - sitting

Pummeling - ... wrestlemania XII?

Progress - movement

Personality - myers briggs

I'll have to neglect tagging others atm. I swear, I must need caffeine. Some of these words just weren't triggering a damn thing with me for a while. I'm sure my husband the clinician would have something to say about this "projective" test.

On buying a car

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:32:00 +0000

We're in the market for a new car. This is the first time my husband and I have actually gone through the arduous process of researching, test driving, and haggling for a new vehicle. I've been with my parents for every single vehicle they've purchased (well, the vehicles they purchased while I was in existence) but I've never initiated the purchase by myself.

I went into the whole process being pretty optimistic, really. I mean we're trying to buy an '07 at the end of the model year which is good. We've done the research on the invoice pricing and dealer incentives which is also good. Plus, the vehicle is already marked down $2,000.00 under MSRP which is a better starting point than haggling from MSRP.

We test drove Monday. The salesman was maybe 2 years older than we are. He was unprofessional and didn't have his crap straight about some of the details of the car, but I didn't care because I was only going to believe what I had already researched. After the test drive, we told him we might be interested in buying it but definitely not for the $22,600 on the "sales price" sticker. It was 103 degrees out (the hottest day of the year - great time to buy a car!). He asked us to come inside because he didn't have his business card on him (yeah, right). As we're walking inside, he pulls a business card out of his back pocket while fumbling for something but he claims that it's not his (?!?). What seemed like 10 minutes later of us standing in the lobby for him to get his "business card" he comes back and says that he might be able to swing $22,000 on the card. I told him to get it under $22,000 and then we'll talk - he knew how to reach us.

That was on Monday.

He didn't call on Tuesday - that would seem too eager on his behalf.

But, lo and behold, Wednesday morning rolls around and here's an incoming call from none other than the car salesman. Here's a synopsis:

Him: I talked to my managers, we could probably get you that $22,000 you were looking for.
Me: Oh, okay. Well, if you can commit to $21,900 then we can be in the dealership within the week to purchase the vehicle.
Him: I'll have to talk to them, I don't think we can give it to you for that low.
Me: Well, I guess you'll have to talk to them if you want to sell the car to me. *click*

5 minutes later....

Him: Are you sure you want a V6?

*note: there is a lot FULL of 4 cylinders and like 2 V6s left... he must have tried pushing one of those 4 cylinders a million times

Me: Let me rephrase your question and my answer - yes, we are going to buy a V6.
Him: Well, because I talked to my managers and we can't give you that car for less than the sticker in the window. That $22,600 is the invoice price on the vehicle.
Me: Oh really? Because I happen to know the invoice is $21,700 and, besides, 5 minutes ago you were prepared to sell it to me for $22,000.
Him: Did I say $22,000? When did I say that? Wait, tell me exactly what I said so I can write that down.
Me: I'm at work and don't have time to play a game of semantics with you. If you want to sell me the car for $21,900 then you know how to reach me. *click*

Ugh. The optimism is fading. But, I must say that I've got this guy by the balls. We are in no hurry and he knows it.

Abita Beer - how I miss thee!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 05:31:00 +0000

I miss a lot of things from Louisiana. I miss fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, and stuffed shrimp (I'm seriously not trying to pull a Bubba Gump reference on you). I miss 190 octane daquiris - with an extra shot, stuffed crab, snoballs (from RoBears - none other!), and that really awesome shrimp and crab alfredo they serve at Drago's over in Metairie.

But if I could have one thing from NOLA right now, it would be an Abita Wheat Bear from those yankees at the Abita Brewing Co. up in Abita Springs, LA. I'll pay top dollar to somebody who can smuggle it over the Missouri border.

puppy poop

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 04:20:00 +0000

... and other things I've learned about my dog:

The dining room is a good place to poop.
Just coming in from a walk does not preclude me from pooping in said dining room.
I must wake up at 6:30 AM, be it a weekend or weekday, even if I went to bed 2 hours later than usual.
I will stand under your feet all day long.
The moment you actually need to pick me up, I will run faster than the wind in evasive maneuvers around the couch.
I know when you actually have a treat and when you're just closing your damn fist to trick me into coming near you.
Peeing on your brand new comforter is totally OK, get over it.
You can buy me dozens of squeaky chew toys but all I really, really want is your underwear to chew on.

I guess I wouldn't have it any other way.

blueberry smoothie recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 01:56:00 +0000

(out of the blue)

6oz cup Yoplait Lite French Vanilla yogurt
6oz skim milk
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 frozen banana

Directions: Blend until smooth.

I got a puppy!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:54:00 +0000

My absence from blogging is because of this little girl. She's a 3lb 6oz miniature poodle puppy. When she grows up she'll be about 12 pounds. We call her Cinder!

My readers sure know American Idol!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:32:00 +0000

Way to go to all of you for picking out the bottom two, Haley Scarnato and Phil Stacey! You guys also just barely chose on Haley being booted off by one vote. Impressive!

Go check out the poll results and see how awesome my readers are.

Which American Idol contestant will be voted off April 11th? Poll results!

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:05:00 +0000

America voted and here are the results:

Haley Scarnato looks like the big loser with a whopping 15 votes. Phil Stacey is in a close second with 14. I wouldn't be surprised to see both of them in the bottom three tonight. We'll see if my readers were right in just a couple of hours!

the rock

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:11:00 +0000

When we go hiking together, there's a great part of the trail that passes by a river. The trails keeps going and to your left you can see deer enjoying an afternoon snack. After a good rain, there a small streams that will swell up and cross through the rocks that comprise most of the trail.

I tend to keep my eyes down when I'm on this part of the trail because the rocks can be tricky. But, it was Jon that ended up pointing this one out to me.

Jono: Check it out! This one looks like a fish!

Tracy: A what??

I looked around the trail thinking he was tripping out and referring to a deer or tree.

He pointed down. I looked down.

Tracy: FISHY ROCK!!!

Our kids are going to think we're nuts.

American Idol - Who do YOU think will be voted off tomorrow?

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:27:00 +0000

How about a sneak peak at who America will vote off Wednesday night? Tell me what you think! I'll close the poll at 6:00 p.m. central tomorrow night.

Poll is closed - thanks for voting! Here are the results!

Japanese Beat Doll

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:12:00 +0000

This one falls under the category of "I have GOT to get me one of these!"

Take that, dancing Coke can!

great Easter joke

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:25:00 +0000

Hope everyone had a safe, happy, and warm Easter weekend!

American Idol Update (4/7/07)

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 02:00:00 +0000

Yo, so check it out, dawg.

This week was Tony Bennett week and, although I think Tony is a classic, it really made for a tad boring show. Also, I found it pretty funny that none of the contestants really listened to his advice.

Blake Lewis - sang "Mack the Knife"

I was surprised how much the song suited him.
Had some pretty smooth moves on stage.
I missed the beat boxing.
All in all, not one of my favorites, but I still really like Blake.

Phil Stacey - sang "Night and Day"

Agreed with Simon on this one. It just wasn't the right connection with the song. A bit too morose.
Was it me or did he really break into a sweat just after the judging??

Melinda Doolittle - sang "I Got Rhythm"

Ooooh! New hair! She looked great.
Had the most upbeat performance of the night.
Really did a great job with the end of the song. It's like she saves the best for last.
How can we criticize her, Simon?!

Chris Richardson - sang "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"

Did anyone notice the last three songs he's sang have all started with the word "Don't"?

"Don't Get around Much Anymore"
"Don't Speak"
"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying"
Chris, DON'T do that anymore!

He really does have charisma on stage.
I hate how he feverishly bounces when he sings. It's not to keep rhythm, it's more of a disorder.
Good performance, I just wish he didn't sound like he was whining most of the time.

Jordin Sparks - sang "On a Clear Day"

She really does much better with ballads. Her performance was a bit cheesy last week.
Smooth performance. I actually really enjoyed it.
Loved how there was feedback into Paula's mic during the judging and how Randy exclaimed "That's the heat, man!"

Gina Glocksen - sang "Smile"

Gina sang the song well, it just didn't suit her.
She really just didn't look comfortable on stage to me.

Sanjaya Malakar - sang "Cheek to Cheek"

Tony made a point to say he liked him. Greaaaaaat.
Sanjaya cut his hair! What's the deal?!? Hasn't he ever heard of Samson?
Sanjaya looked a bit sleazy with his hair combed back. I hate to say it, but the nicest thing I can say about him this week is that he looks like a used-up lounge singer in a 17 year old body.

Haley Scarnato - sang "Ain't Misbehavin'"

Is it me or does she start of all of her songs in the same position?

I thought her performance was fun and cute. She sang it well.

I agree with Simon in that she's caught on to the fact that she's rather attractive and that is helping her in this competition.

Lakisha Jones - sang "Stormy Weather"

She's a great singer. Very sultry.
Even though, I think that Melinda is much more believable than Lakisha when she sings.
Almost a great finish. What was with that very last note? Was that intentional?

Results

I'm not surprised that Gina was voted off. I think she really did want to win, but she was too inconsistent with her style. At least Sanjaya is consistently awful - know what I mean? It was somewhat bittersweet that the song she had to sing the week she was voted off was "Smile".

I think Phil Stacy is in danger of being voted off next week. He's been in that bottom 3 way too much lately. I think he knows it, too, since he was really sweating after the judging Tuesday. Only time will tell!

p.s. Melinda's in it for the win!

Version 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 23:06:00 +0000

I've changed a couple of things around the site - a sort of spring cleaning you might say. The old black background and white text was making me feel like a fifteen year old in her "goth" stage. I wasn't able to figure out how to get a footer to stick to the bottom of the page, but who needs a footer?

Anyway.

Spring is here!! Time for flowers, birds, pollen all over the cars(!), sunny days, and... wait.. uhm... 16 degree temperatures? That's right, folks, it snowed here yesterday - in Missouri... in April.

At least last weekend I was able to get out to the nature center and have a nice walk around.

Tune in soon and I'll show you the deer I had a nice conversation with.

Wanted:

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 06:04:00 +0000

Knowledge of CSS.
More specifically, how to get a footer to stay at the bottom of a page.
Bleh.

Failure is just success..rounded down

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 03:17:00 +0000

Here is a final caveat on my celebration of Pi Day. The image is too large to post here.

Ahh, the nerd in me really loved this.